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PROLOGUE
Daisy
“Truth or dare?”
One half of my mouth quirked up in a smile.
It was the easiest question anyone could ever ask me, because the answer would always be the same. As I twisted my neck to the side to glance at the man who’d sat on the stool beside me, I answered. “Dare.”
His reaction was just as I expected—surprised.
“Most girls pick truth.”
Yep.
And that was probably because they didn’t have anything they refused to admit. I wasn’t so lucky. Of course, I wasn’t going to share that with a random stranger in a pub. Smiling, I countered, “I’m not like most girls then.”
It was the truth, but it didn’t have anything to do with the girls specifically. I found it was rare for me to have much in common with anyone, male or female.
Despite that, I still had dreams for my future. Or maybe just one dream—to be loved. Genuinely. I didn’t need any more fake friendships or false declarations of love. I wanted the real deal.
And while I might have had every reason to believe it didn’t exist for me, I refused to accept that. One day, I’d find it.
It was entirely possible the guy who just sat down beside me could be the one to give it to me. So, I didn’t mind entertaining him with a fun game of Truth or Dare. Maybe he’d like my bold nature and fun-loving self. It was entirely possible he was the one. I couldn’t risk rejecting him off the bat.
He smiled at me, a mischievous look in his eyes. “Alright, then. How about you go put a song on the jukebox and sing along for anyone to hear? I’ll even give you the quarter.”
The man reached into his pocket, pulled out a quarter, and held it out to me.
“Seriously?”
He shrugged, sending a look my way that indicated he didn’t think I’d do it.
I pressed my lips together, fighting the urge to smile, and took the quarter from him. After I stood from my stool, I downed the last of my drink.
I might have been a bit adventurous, but I liked to think I wasn’t a complete fool. I didn’t know this guy, and the last thing I was going to do was leave my drink unattended with him.
Sucking back the rest of my drink was all about keeping myself safe and had nothing to do with needing liquid courage to carry out the dare.
What I was about to do didn’t bother me. I was the kind of girl who’d try anything once. And while I’d certainly done my fair share of loud singing in my car or the shower, I didn’t exactly make a habit of doing it in the middle of a crowded pub.
Who knew?
Maybe I’d start a trend, and the next time I came into this pub, they’d have regular karaoke nights.
I scanned the list of songs, smiled when I found one I liked, and dropped the quarter into the machine. After making my selection, I spun around to face the guy who’d given me the quarter and let out a laugh when the instrumentals started.
Though I wasn’t a singer, I knew what it meant to put on a performance. They always said the most believable performances were the ones where it was clear the performer was connecting to the material. In this case, a song. The first two phrases of the song I’d chosen described me perfectly, and many of the lines in the song, in general, fit the bill for my life. So, there was no reason I wouldn’t knock this out of the park.
The words started before I made it back to my stool, but that didn’t stop me. I sang. I mean, who could blame me? Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” was playing. As I belted out the lyrics, though not as on pitch as Steve Perry, I watched my opponent in our game laugh, clearly finding me entertaining.
Closing the distance between us did little to help diminish my need to do this in a way that indicated I believed I was giving the performance of a lifetime. And the truth was, wasn’t that how it should always be? Why do anything if there was no passion behind it?
I didn’t care that people around the pub were watching me. It didn’t matter what they thought. I was having a blast, and the guy who’d dared me to do this was enjoying himself. That was all that mattered to me.
By the time the song ended, a handful of patrons clapped. I offered a bow in response before climbing onto my stool again.
“I’m impressed.”
