She closed her eyes, absorbing it, losing herself in the beauty of Eden’s voice and the electricity that filled the room. It was one of themost intense things Anna had ever experienced, being onstage yet hidden from the audience. As she listened to Eden sing, her nerves melted away. Anna was one with the music.
“I’m never alone, because I have myself to keep me company.” Eden delivered the final line, her voice heavy with emotion.
Anna’s heart clenched. Did Eden really feel that way? Was she alone when the spotlight didn’t shine on her? The music changed, and Anna leaned forward as the felt hilltop was stripped away, revealing the band. Eden stood overhead now, but Anna didn’t dare look up. She couldn’t let anything break her concentration this close to her entrance.
The opening beats of “After Midnight” pulsed around her, and Anna turned her microphone on. She pressed her hands against her thighs, ready to spring to her feet. Eden sang the opening verse, and Anna could hear the crowd clapping along to the beat. The energy in the room made the fine hairs on her arms stand at attention. With a hiss, stage smoke burst from the structure behind her.
“But after midnight ...” Eden’s voice reached her.
Anna lurched to her feet, eyes on the red tape marking her way through the smoke now billowing thick around her. She stepped onto the main stage, where a spotlight engulfed her, and the crowd roared with surprise.
“I let my hair down. After midnight, I’m not afraid to be a clown.” Anna’s voice sounded clear and strong, and luckily for her, the stage lights were so blinding she couldn’t see the audience, even if she’d wanted to. She spun so that her skirt flared around her, then danced her way over to Eden as they alternated lines through the chorus.
Eden stood before her, looking like an actual celestial being, not merely a star. Her dress sparked beneath the stage lights, glinting and shimmering and dazzling Anna until she nearlydidforget the words to the song. For a moment, she was lost, staring helplessly at Eden as an arena full of industry heavyweights looked on.
Eden gave her a reassuring smile, dipping her head in the smallest of nods.You’ve got this.Anna received the message loud and clear, and suddenly, she did.
“I’m a little bit more wild. Iammy inner child. I haven’t taken off my rose-colored glasses,” Anna sang, tugging at imaginary glasses.
Eden held her gaze as the music swelled, her expression anguished. Then she turned her face toward the camera. “I don’t daydream anymore.”
Her voice was heavy with emotion, anddamn, she had some acting chops. They’d tweaked the lyrics of the song to suit the theme of this performance, and Anna could hear the crowd buzzing in response.
Anna angled herself slightly toward the camera, which was on a boom that swung overhead, allowing the network to get its close-up for the people watching at home. Her gaze slid past it to the audience beyond. The stage lights had shifted, and now she saw so many faces she recognized, really intimidating faces. Holy shit.
She wrenched her gaze back to Eden. They circled each other as they sang, sparring back and forth as Eden wrestled with the demons of her younger self. Anna had never seen anything as mesmerizing as the way the stage lights glittered on Eden’s silver dress.
And then that rhinestone-studded dress was against Anna’s cheek as Eden embraced her inner child. When Anna straightened from the hug, her earring snagged on one of the crystals, yanking her back against Eden’s chest. She was stuck. Before she could panic, her earring broke, freeing her.
Anna spun to stand with her back against Eden’s, melting into the background as Eden delivered the final line of the song.
“After midnight, I’m free.”
The crowd began to whistle and applaud, the noise again making those hairs on Anna’s arms rise. Eden squeezed her hand, Anna’s cue to step beside her.
“Thank you so much!” Eden called to the crowd.
“Thank you,” Anna echoed, tears blurring her vision as she saw a few people in the audience get to their feet. It seemed to happen in slow motion: people in tuxedos and ball gowns, people Anna looked up to, industry legends, standing and clapping forher.
Well, for Eden, probably. For both of them, maybe. And then Eden pulled her in for a hug. Anna was grinning like an idiot, and Eden still smelled like rose petals, and she was definitely having an out-of-body experience right now.
If this was what heaven felt like, Anna never wanted to return to earth.
CHAPTER FIVE
Eden smiled, ignoring the camera in her face, as the woman onstage read out the nominees for Record of the Year. If she lost this one, she’d be going home empty handed, which wasn’t the end of the world, but after the year she’d had, it kind of felt like it.
“The nominees are ... Sasha Sol for ‘On the Rocks,’ Eden Sands for ‘Alone,’ Tony Marko for ‘Life of the Party,’ Anna Moss for ‘Love Me, Love You,’ and Lamar Cruz for ‘Tension.’”
Eden’s heart thumped against her ribs, and she struggled to keep her breathing even.Please. Please. Please.The beady eye of the camera moved closer, poised to catch every nuance of her expression as the winner’s name was read.
“And the winner is ...”
Paris squeezed her hand, and Eden tossed a grateful glance in her direction.
“Sasha Sol for ‘On the Rocks’!”
Eden’s smile didn’t waver. She applauded enthusiastically as Sasha popped to her feet several rows ahead. This was definitely Sasha’s night, and although Eden felt a crushing sense of disappointment, she couldn’t help but be happy for Sasha too. She deserved the win.