Darcy breathed out a laugh.
“And – no. Ijustearned back people’s trust in my music withWhiskey and White Lace. I don’t want to throw it away, especially on a cover.” Juliet leaned in, garnering Darcy’s full attention from a foot away. “Trust me, because I’m saying this from a genuine place: you don’t want to throw away the credibility you’re building right now, either.”
“No, I don’t,” she agreed. “But I really don’t believe my credibility comes from shutting up and doing what I’m told.”
If she’d done that, she would have given up long before she’d ever made it here.
She could tell that they were swiftly heading to another stand-off, and the thought hit her: “What if I told you that my favorite album of yours isEchoes?”
She watched closely as Juliet took that in. The way her eyebrows furrowed, then she frowned, then the way she scoffed, and narrowed her eyes at Darcy.
“I’d tell you not to lie right to my face. No one’s favorite album of mine isEchoes.”
“Mine is,” Darcy doubled-down, gently kicking her foot out and nudging Juliet’s under the table. Making the slightest connection physically, hoping it could help Juliet really understand that Darcy meant what she was saying.
It had felt right, but then she immediately questioned it. Juliet could still want to cut Darcy’s appendages off if she approached in the wrong way.
Juliet didn’t move away or kick Darcy’s foot. But she did shoot Darcy a very unimpressed look.
“Buttering me up with a lie is a really shitty thing to do to try to get your way.”
Darcy decided to take a risk. She reached across the table before she could second-guess herself and caught Juliet’s hand in hers. Juliet’s fist was still lightly curled, but Darcy took it between both of her hands.
She could feel the calluses on Juliet’s finger from playing guitar, the same as Darcy’s own, such a contrast from the rest of her ridiculously soft skin.
Juliet’s hand froze against hers, and Darcy decided to gently, encouragingly, squeeze as soon as Juliet didn’t slap at her.
“I’mnotbuttering you up,” she promised. “And I’m not lying. I’m serious.”
Juliet’s dark eyes were still narrowed as they bored into Darcy’s. Searching. Like she was waiting for the second Darcy was going to turn on her and saygotcha. But it wasn’t going to happen.
“Quite frankly, if you’re being honest, I’m going to have to believe you don’t have as good of an ear as you think you do.”
Juliet had clearly been going for an acerbic comment, but… it didn’t quite land. Mostly because Darcy could feel the slightest twitch in her fingers, sandwiched between Darcy’s still, and she heard the quiet waver in Juliet’s voice before it firmed up.
Which encouraged Darcy to continue. “You know whatEchoessounded like to me?”
“I’m afraid to ask,” she dourly responded.
“I thought it sounded like you wanted to try something a little different. And you hit the right notes so many times, but…” Darcy’s lips drew into a small, thoughtful pout. “I don’t know. It sounded like you had all of the right elements but couldn’t pull everything as tightly together. Like you had everything teed up, but things didn’t fallquiteinto place the way you knew it could when you concepted the album.”
Juliet was clearly biting at her inner cheek, her expression drawn tight. “Wow. If this is how you talk about your favorite album of mine, I’d be terrified to hear how you talk about your least favorite.”
She pressed, “I loved that you did something new. And you sounded fuckinggood. So, yeah, maybe everything didn’t land perfectly. But… you really had your grasp on something, on a new sound, and it wasn’t bad. You shouldn’t be afraid of it.”
“Tell that to everyone else.”
“Deal,” she agreed, eagerly.
That stopped Juliet up, as she blinked at Darcy a couple of times. “Yeah? You’re going to walk around and sing the praises of my most panned album?”
“If it means you’re willing to listen to my ideas for ‘Porchlight’ then, hell yes.”
If this was the thing that could also be the peacemaker between them? Double yes.
“You’re… ridiculous.” But there was none of that heat that Darcy was now well used to in Juliet’s voice.
Juliet’s eyes fell to the table, where Darcy was still holding her hand. She felt Juliet’s fingers twitch slightly under hers once more, and she gently squeezed before Juliet pulled away.
