Music of the Heart(61)

I waved my hand dismissively at him. “You’re embarrassing me with all the compliments.”

“So are you ready to wow Des Moines?”

I smiled out into the audience. “Why yes, I am.”

Garrett bobbed his head. “All right then. Let’s do this.”

The familiar melody of Don’t You Want to Stay echoed throughout the arena. As soon as it came to my part with the chorus, all nervousness faded away, and I gave it my all. With only one quick rehearsal, I didn’t know exactly what to expect out of Garrett. And just like I had promised Jake, I imagined it was him I was singing to, rather than Garrett. By the time I got to my solo, Garrett was all up close and personal. He winked at me as if to say, “Let’s give them a hell of a show.” But then I got the impression he might be actually enjoying rubbing against me or trailing his hands over my arms and back a little too much.

But like the professional I knew I had to be, I forced a smile to my face and acted like I was enjoying it just as much as he was. When we finished, thunderous applause rang around us. “Thank you,” I murmured breathlessly into the microphone.

All the loud whistling pierced my eardrums. I could see now why the boys wore earplugs. Garrett pulled me to him and planted a kiss on my cheek. “Thanks for giving our girl Abby such a warm welcome. I’m looking forward to working very closely with her over the next few months.” He then winked at me again, and I gritted my teeth to keep from twisting away from his too-close-for-comfort hug.

“Thanks again! I’ll see y’all again in the next set!” I called before hurrying off the stage.

Waiting in the wings, the boys launched themselves at me before I could hand off the microphone to the technician. Gabe pulled me into his arms for a big bear hug. “Way to go!”

“Can’t. Breathe,” I muttered.

“Oops,” he replied letting me go.

I grinned at him. “But thanks.”

Micah embraced me next. “Nice job, Baby Girl!”

With a wide grin, Eli smacked me on the back and cried, “Abster, you nailed it!”

“Aw, you guys were so sweet to come out and watch me.”

“And this time it was all about sincerity. There’s two more songs to go before our set.”

“What sweethearts,” I mused, pinching Eli’s cheek.

“Hey now, don’t mess up my makeup!” he whined.

“Such a pretty boy,” Micah muttered under his breath.

“Speaking of pretty, wowzers that’s some more dress,” Gabe commented.

“Yeah, I’m changing before our set.”

“That’s good to hear,” Dad said behind me. I whirled around and felt warmth flood my cheeks.

“I so did not have anything to do with this.”

He stared at me a moment before a smile spread across his face. “It’s not what I would have picked, but you sure look beautiful in it.”

“Really?”

Mom nodded. “And you sounded wonderful, honey.”

“Yes, you blew us both away,” Dad replied.

“Thank you.”

It was then Cari, the stylist, strode up to me. “Come on, Abby. I have another dress for you to try.”

“Okay.” I turned back to the boys. “Good luck. See you in a bit.” I gave Mom and Dad a quick hug and kiss before trailing behind Cari to the wardrobe room.

After I saw my new outfit, I decided that Cari was more of a miracle worker than a devil. She had found a slightly longer dress—this time with sparkly, spaghetti straps and a beaded bodice. It was deep purple. “That’s beautiful.”

“Glad you like it,” Cari mumbled as she unzipped my torture-device ensemble.

Now that my first performance was over, most of my nervousness had dissipated. There was only one person in the world I wanted to talk to. “Um, do you know what happened to my phone?”

Pressing a button, Cari spoke into her headset. “I need Abby’s cellphone brought to wardrobe. Pronto.”

“Oh, it’s really not that big of a hurry.”

Cari rolled her eyes. “Trust me, honey. You have to talk one way to these roadies and technicians. If you’re not a bitch, shit doesn’t get done.”

As if to illustrate her point, a knock came at the door. “See?” she questioned with a grin.

I hurried into the dress while she went over to the door. Barely cracking it, she took it from the roadie and then brought it over to me. “Thanks!” I called.

Once she had fluffed the dress and adjusted the straps, she sent me on my way. I quickly dialed Jake. He answered on the third ring. “Hey Angel.”

“I had to call you and tell you I did it! I sang, and everything went great!”