“Hey, everyone, I’m Connor Jacobs. As you can see, I havesomeof The Forgotten Flounders with me.” She gestured to Evan and me with a grin. “Tonight…I’ll be standing in for my brother, Calum, who’s currently unable to be here. Go easy on me,” she joked, earning a few laughs from the patrons.
They watched with growing interest, and once everyone was mic’d up, I started strumming one of our earlier songs that Connor helped us write. “Wicked Game”was one we didn’t often play at shows, but it was one of my favourites because it was the last song we wrote with Connor before signing with Maple Records, and the one that Killian stumbled across.
It was also her first time officially being on the record as a songwriter for us. She’d been so excited to see her name in the credits. That album was our first studio release, and when she opened the package with an advanced copy of our new album over FaceTime, she cried with tears of joy when she saw her name in the credits.
Connor smiled, turning back to face the audience. She started singing, and although she lacked the depth of Cal’s vocals, she had the range. The rasp. Hell, she even exuded that same confidence.
Lara kept time, playing along with us as if she’d been born to do it. She brought a folk feel to our performance that the crowd loved and ate up. More and more people started to fill up the dance floor, swaying in time to the beat with drinks in hand.
After we’d played four songs, Connor looked over her shoulder at me. She was ready to play track three. This song called for a piano solo, so she stepped off the stage to whisper to George. He nodded, stepping on stage to move the microphone near the piano while Connor took a quick water break.
Once the microphone was positioned, Connor sat down at the piano bench and looked out into the crowd.
“Now, this is a little something I wrote with Dare.” She spared me a quick glance before turning her attention back to the crowd. They were eating up every word she said, watching her like the star she was. “It’s not exactly the same vibe as the songs I just covered, but I hope you enjoy it anyway,” she said, smiling like an angel.
The way the stage lights made her hair look like it was fire, the way her skilled fingers danced across the keys as she started playing, the gentle sound of her voice…she wasn’t just casting a spell over me; she was casting a spell over the entire crowd.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
Connor
I wasready to melt back into the crowd the moment I stopped playing and silence overtook the pub. It was almost as if everyone else was holding their breath too. Then, the applause happened. The cheers and hoots.
My nerves were so frazzled. I’d never performed that song for anyone outside of Dare, Lara, and Gramps. Hell, I’d never performed it with both Dare and Lara together before. By the second chorus, Evan had joined in on the drums, his beat kicking it up another notch.
To have the patrons react with a standing ovation made me want to faint.
“Thank you,” I said, my voice shaking. I had to take a breath, a moment to gather myself. I walked off stage as quick as my shaking legs could take me, rushing toward the bathroom, my stomach churning with nerves.
I locked myself in a stall, praying I wasn’t about to throw up the contents of my stomach. Someone else came in after me.
“You okay, Connor?” Lara asked, the concern in her voice evident.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just feeling sick. I think it was the nachos and Buttery Nipple shots,” I laughed, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
“It’s probably the nerves. I feel like puking too, but that wasincredible! Thank you for letting me be a part of it.”
The nausea feeling started to go away, and I opened the stall door. “Thanks for not forcing me to do it alone,” I laughed. She grinned at me. “I’m really going to miss you when you move to London, you know,” I sighed.
“You’ll come visit,” Lara predicted. “Probably with your gorgeous boyfriend. Or maybe…on your own tour.”
“I’ll definitely visit, with or without my gorgeous boyfriend,” I replied. She hugged me.
“I really hate to play and split, but I should head back now. I don’t have the week off,” she reminded me with a wink. “Am I dropping you off at home?”
“Yeah. Let’s go say goodbye to the guys,” I sighed. I knew if I stayed out any later, my father would likely get suspicious. Especially if Lara wasn’t dropping me off. I’d used up my bravery for the evening just stepping up on stage, I didn’t have it in me to start peeling back the layers of secrets tonight.
We made our way back to the table we’d vacated earlier, weaving in and around patrons. The “reserved for band” plaque had kept other patrons from nabbing it from us while we were on stage, and now Dare and Evan sat there.
Dare watched me as I approached, a smile tempering his lips. Evan was on the phone.
“Yeah, yeah, Daddy boy. You’ve got a bedtime now. We get it. Just hurry your ass up,” Evan was saying. He listened for a minute, then cackled, lowering his phone. “Cal’s on his way.”
“Pity. We’re just leaving,” Lara said, grabbing her coat from the hook.
“Both of you?” Dare asked, his eyes going to mine.
“Yeah, my parents are expecting me home soon.” I shrugged.
