“Really.” He leaned back in his chair. “What song did you choose?”
“I have no idea.” She grabbed the book and flipped through it, looking for songs she recognized enough she’d be comfortable standing in front of a crowd singing. She found a few she loved that were in her vocal range, then grabbed a card and penciled one in. Before she lost her nerve, she carried it up to the deejay and handed it over.
That’s when panic set in. She went back to her chair and flopped into it. Her heart pounded and her palms began to sweat as nausea swelled in the pit of her stomach.
“You going to live?”
She jerked her head up. “I’m not sure yet. Why?”
“You look pale. You don’t have to do this.”
“I want to. It’ll be fun.”
“Yeah, you look like you’re about to go live on national television.”
She leaned her head against her hand. “Shut up.”
“In case you throw up on the stage, I’ll run a bucket right up there.”
She glared at him. “You are so funny.”
She had to wait through three more singers, and then her name was called. The dread in her stomach turned into hot and cold flashes. Her feet felt numb as she pushed the chair back.
Ty stood and grasped her hand, forcing her attention on him. “Have some fun, Jenna. You really can sing.”
She nodded and walked up onstage, not realizing how many people were crammed into this club until she looked out over the sea of expectant faces. The deejay handed her the microphone, introduced her and the song she was about to sing, then stepped back, leaving her alone in the spotlight.
What if she failed tonight and people laughed, or even worse, booed her? Tyler said she was good, but she was ha**g s*x with him, so his vote didn’t count.
This was the real test, and as the music started up, she knew there was no changing her mind now. She lifted the microphone and started to sing, the song as familiar to her as her own name. She’d sung it hundreds of times before. It was a twenty-year-old song, but one of her favorites. A sweet pop song about love and romance and the man of her dreams.
Her legs were shaking. Hell, everything on her quivered, but her voice didn’t, thank God. She gave the song everything she had, pouring herself into the lyrics, singing to the crowd, forcing herself to look right at them. She found Ty out there, saw him smiling at her. She latched on to his face and stayed focused on his gaze, relaxing her body and sinking into the music, making it through to the last note.
When she heard the thunderous applause and cheers, she couldn’t quite believe it was real. She thought maybe she had dreamed this entire night. She was sure she’d wake up any minute in her bed.
She finally forced her feet to move as she backed away.
“You have a killer voice,” the deejay said as she returned the mic to him. “I hope that’s not the only song you’ll sing for us.”
She grinned and hugged him, then left the stage, soaking in congratulations on her way back to the table, where Ty scooped her up in his arms. She kissed him, pouring her relief and gratitude into the way her lips moved against his.
“Whoa,” he said when they pulled apart. “Who knew that singing turned you on so much?”
She finally relaxed enough to smile. “I’m just glad I got through it.”
“You were incredible. Did you hear the crowd? They were one hundred percent behind you.”
They sat and she took a long drink of water. “It was unbelievable. I would have never thought…You know, I loved it back in Europe. The crowds seemed to love me. But I always sung with bands. Never alone. I never knew it could be like this. And then when they cut me and told me I wasn’t good enough…”
“Well, now you know you are good enough. You’re amazing, just like I told you.”
Adrenaline kicked in, and she suddenly couldn’t sit still. She wriggled in her chair and she was ready to leap back onstage and wrestle the mic away from the guy who’d just gotten up to sing. “I might want to do it again.”
He leaned back in the chair. “I imagine you would. Who doesn’t love an audience? I know I do. It makes me skate faster.”
She laughed. “Is that why I’m shaking all over and I want to kick everyone else off the stage and take over for the rest of the night?”
One side of his mouth lifted in a knowing smirk. “Exactly.”
“It’s a powerful feeling.”
It was, and she hurriedly scribbled down the next song she wanted to do, and waited impatiently for her turn, barely hearing the singers and bands who got up before her. She couldn’t contain her excitement when her name was called. It was so much easier to get up there the second time, and she soaked in the applause when she stood on the stage. This time, she did an upbeat contemporary pop song, delighted when people got up to dance while she sang. She was so comfortable onstage. A live band to work with would be better—she was used to that—but she’d take what she could get. At the end, everyone applauded and whistled for her.
She couldn’t have been any giddier than if she were drunk, which she wasn’t. She went back to her seat and downed an entire glass of water.
“I’d say you’re a hit tonight.”
She grinned. “A lot of the acts tonight are hits.”
“I think you had the loudest applause.”
“You’re my date. You have to say that.”
He took a swallow of soda, then studied her. “No, I don’t.”
Okay, so he didn’t. He could have been polite and non-encouraging. He hadn’t pushed her, but he had told her she was a good singer.
“Thanks. I appreciate your belief in me.”
“Hey, I’m no music mogul, but I know a special voice when I hear it. So what are you going to do with it?”
She snorted. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Yeah. I mean, what else would I do?”
“I don’t know. Do something with your talent.”
“Like what? Go on one of those reality show singing contests? That’s not my thing.”
“Not what I meant. But there’s a lot you can do with a voice like yours. You could have a career as a singer.”
“I already have a career.”
“You have a job. It’s not the same thing.”
She shrugged. “I’m doing fine. I got up and sang in public for the first time in years. That was monumental. It was enough.”
“You’re settling, and it isn’t the same thing at all. Haven’t you ever thought about doing something you loved?”
She’d thought about it a lot. She’d had this dream since she was a child. A dream that had been shoved aside again and again. She refused to let herself wonder about things that were never going to happen.
Until tonight, when she’d finally released her crushed dreams from the locked box she’d held them prisoner in for so many years. Now that she had, her mind whirled with possibilities.
Time to lock up her dreams again, because it wasn’t going to happen.
“You could—”
“No, I couldn’t. I don’t want to talk about this. It’s getting late, I’m tired, and I want to go home.”
She stood and headed for the door, not knowing if Ty followed her or not.
When she walked outside, he was there at her side, grasping her hand despite her initial refusal to hold his as they crossed the street.
She was being petty, pouting despite the great night she’d had. Her mood had soured and she had no idea why. There was no reason to blame Ty. None of this was his fault.
God, it was freezing out, the icy chill biting right through her clothes. Her ears stung and she wished she’d thought to bring her hat.
They walked to his car and he held the door for her, then climbed in and started the engine. She wrapped her coat tighter around her to ward off the cold. Heat filled the vehicle after a couple minutes and she finally stopped shivering.
As Tyler drove, she focused on the road ahead, though she chanced glances at Ty.
He should be mad at her. She acted like a child in the club, running out of there because she hadn’t wanted to hear what he had to say.
“I’m sorry,” she finally said.
“About what?”
“I was abrupt in the club and I hightailed it out of there without even asking you what you wanted. You might have wanted to hang out there longer.”
“I was fine with leaving.”
Which didn’t tell her anything about how he felt about her behavior. She laid her head against the headrest. “This whole singing thing gets to me.”
“Obviously. But why?”
“It’s been nothing more than a hobby for so long. Just a fantasy to me. No one knows about it except you. And then tonight…”
“It became real.”
She studied the silver ring on her thumb. “Something like that.”
“Did you have fun?”
She turned her head and looked at him. “I did.”
“Then that’s good enough for tonight, isn’t it?”
“You’re right. It is.”
But it wasn’t good enough, because now she felt unsettled, as if she’d stood on the edge of a cliff tonight and had a glimpse of heaven, and all she had to do to get there was fly. She had been poised on the edge of that cliff, ready to take a leap of faith. The problem was, there was a good chance she could also drop like a rock straight to the bottom. She wasn’t confident about her wings. Hell, she didn’t know if she even had wings.
And in her way was a sheer rock wall. Immovable. Impenetrable.
She didn’t want to think about this, didn’t want to dream about what she was never going to have.
It was a stupid dream, anyway. She was never going to be famous, and she was never going to be a singer. She ran her family’s bar. That’s all she was ever going to do.
Ty pulled into the parking space in front of her condo and turned off the engine. She put her hand on his.
“No reason to turn that off. Your car will get cold.”
“In other words, you don’t want me to come in.”
“It’s late. And you have a game tomorrow.”
He arched a brow. “I’m a big boy. I can stay up late. If you want to get rid of me, Jenna, use plain language and tell me you don’t want me to come in.”
She swallowed. “I don’t want you to come in.”
He opened his door and came around to her side to let her out.
“I’ll still take you to the front door.”
She didn’t know what kind of mood she was in, but it wasn’t a good one. She was taking it out on Ty, which she absolutely hated since he hadn’t caused any of this.
She fished her keys out of her bag and turned to him. “I’m just tired. It’s been a long day.”
He smiled down at her and took the keys from her hand. “You don’t owe me any explanations.” He opened her door and handed the keys back to her, then pulled her to him and brushed his lips against hers.
A fire burned low in her belly and started a flame as the kiss—meant to be brief—turned into something hotter. Despite the bitter cold outside, she held on to his arms and didn’t want to let go.
Ask him in, idiot.
But something stopped her.
He didn’t deserve her mood. Some other time.
She pulled away and licked her lips. “Thanks for tonight.”
His dark gaze made the barely banked flame inside her roar to life.
“You’re welcome. Night, Jenna.”
She hovered at the doorway as he walked to his car, and everything in her wanted to call out to him and ask him to come back.
But she stopped herself, and when he climbed back in his car, she went inside, shut the door, and leaned against it.
Yeah, another thing she wanted and wouldn’t allow herself to have.
FIFTEEN
TY ATTACKED THE PUCK WITH A VENGEANCE, SHOVING the defender with his shoulder as he advanced down the ice.
This was a tough game against Vancouver, and he was sweating inside his gear. The team was kicking their ass and they were down by two goals, but the one thing he never did was give up. Neither did his teammates. It was the beginning of the third period, which meant there was a lot of time to go. All they had to do was stay focused, tie the game, then go for the win.
One goal at a time.
He moved the puck in the center, swept it around the defender, and passed it to Victor. Ty pushed hard, skating toward the net, hustling back and forth with his opponent as Eddie fought the defender to get into position.
Come on, man. Work with Victor and Jerry.
The defender slid the puck behind the goal and it screamed around like a pinball and headed toward Vancouver’s side of the ice.
Dammit. Huffing and puffing, he reversed, on the defensive now, using his stick to stop their center from the attack.
But it was two on one and they skirted around him. Jerry and Steve were there, the goalie in position.
They took a shot. Missed. The defenders pushed the puck back out on the ice and Jerry brought it to him, sliding it in his direction.
Ty took it, this time Victor joining him as they volleyed it back and forth, keeping the opponents scrambling. Victor passed it to Eddie, and Ty got in position with Victor near the goal.
He was slammed into but held the puck within his stick, refusing to give up the prize, battling to hold on to it as he skated toward the goal. He shot it to Victor, who plunged it toward the net. The goalie shoved it out, but Eddie was right there and slammed it back in.
One goal down. Yes!
Now they had to hold them.