“We’re going to add ‘Ropes’ and ‘City Nights’ into the rotation if Chloe is ready.”
“She’s ready,” Greer said, causing Chloe to grimace. She cut her eyes to Reid, who stood with his shoulders squared and his jaw taut. This wasn’t how she wanted to start the rehearsal. If Reid and Greer got into a pissing contest, there was no way Reid would be okay with what she had planned. She’d sworn to stay out of their battle of egos, but this time she needed to do damage control.
“Eh.” Chloe shrugged. “I played ‘Ropes’ earlier and missed a couple of notes. I might need a little more practice. Reid, can you let me know if anything seems off when we run through it? I don’t want your fans pissed if I mess up one of their favorite songs.”
Reid chuckled and relaxed his shoulders. “You’re not fooling anyone, Chloe.”
Her innocent expression was almost cartoonish. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Chloe, I heard you yesterday. You didn’t miss any—”
“Let’s do this,” Drew interrupted, sending Greer a meaningful look.
Chloe smiled at Drew and avoided eye contact with Greer as she got into position. The last thing she wanted to do was demean Greer’s help, but he knew how protective Reid was about his music. Sometimes she wondered if Greer pushed his buttons on purpose. Regardless of his motives, the moment Reid turned away from the group, she turned to Greer and mouthed, “I’m sorry.”
He pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes before nodding with a sigh. “It’s fine,” he mouthed back.
“Let’s start with ‘In the Dark,’” Reid instructed.
Everyone got into position as Drew counted down with the tapping of his drumsticks. Chloe closed her eyes as the opening beat flooded the silence. The soft sounds of the keyboard and violin harmonizing with the deep bass of the drum pulled Chloe into the music. Lulled into an almost sedated state, she wasn’t prepared for the crushing emotion that saturated the air when Reid began to sing. Song after song, his voice mimicked the lyrics. Soft and sad, rough and tender, hopeful and despairing. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced, and it affected her in ways she didn’t realize were possible.
She wanted to step behind Reid and wrap her arms around his waist. She wanted to press her cheek to his back and hug him as tightly as possible. She wanted to do anything to stop the pain in his voice. The more he sang, the clearer his lyrics became. Puzzle pieces fell into place and Reid’s past began to take shape. She’d heard these songs more than a hundred times but had never really thought about the inspiration behind them. Until now. Jess wasn’t just some girl; she was the girl. The one he sang about, longed for, and mourned the loss of. The one he’d finally gotten back.
Chloe’s eyes stung and her chest felt heavy. Wistful and envious, she let Reid sweep her away with his words. As the rehearsal drew to a close, Chloe pulled in a deep breath and turned to Drew. A part of her wanted to forget her stupid idea, but the rest of her wouldn’t be deterred. After two hours of listening to the beauty of his soul, there was no way she wouldn’t at least try to help him find his words again.
“Okay, last song. Let’s do ‘Memphis.’”
Chloe smiled. “Memphis” was already in the rotation. One they’d played since the beginning. She doubted he’d be too upset about her interruption. Chloe turned her head toward Drew and nodded, before doing the same to Greer. He made the sign of the cross over his chest in dramatic fashion, causing Chloe to let out a choked laugh. She cleared her throat and diverted her gaze when Reid gave her a questioning look.
A few moments later, Drew began to play, but not the notes Reid expected. The melody was slow and easy as Greer joined in and Chloe played the guitar piece on her violin. While Drew and Greer kept their eyes down, their attention focused on the sheet music, Chloe kept her gaze locked on Reid. His reaction was slow, delayed. His head tilted and his shoulders bunched then relaxed as the song became clear. When he turned to face the group, his eyes went straight to Chloe.
“What are y’all doing?” he asked, his arms lifted from his sides with his palms facing outward.
“Just go with it,” she urged, cueing the guys to loop the intro again.
“Why are you playing this?” he asked instead, making no move to join in.
“I’m Yoda-ing you.” Her face split into a smile when his eyes widened in understanding and a grin turned up the corners of his mouth.
“You can’t be serious,” he chuckled, but he shifted his guitar into position and moved toward the mic. Instead of turning his back to the group as usual, he faced them.