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“Knew she could do what?” asked Lacey. She popped up onto the stool next to me and swiped a cherry from the bar’s garnish tray.
“Stop that. You know better,” Niki chastised her sister.
I held in my laughter. After getting her culinary degree from Johnson and Wales, Lacey had taken over the kitchen here. And just like Niki she was waiting for the time when she could craft a menu herself instead of serving the same food they had for the past thirty years.
Lacey winked at me. She loved to annoy her sister. “You need a record contract.”
I laughed.
“I’m serious, Zelly.” She’d been calling me that since the day we met. It had grown on six-year-old me. “You’re really good.”
“I don’t think I’m the type of person who should become a star.” I shrugged.
“What the hell does that mean?” Niki asked, while she shook the metal shaker that contained my cosmopolitan. My usual after performance drink.
I held up my hands in surrender. “I know I can sing.”
“Then what do you mean, Zelly? People love you. They only fall more in love with you when you sing.” She propped her arm on the bar and rested her chin in her hand. “When you open your mouth it’s like magic surrounds you.”
“Lacey, come on.” I chuckled at her exaggeration, but wasn’t this what best friends were for? To build you up. Now if it was just as easy to get Jareth to fall in love with me. Perhaps I should sing to him more, I thought to myself with a smile.
She straightened her spine and pointed at the people sitting at the tables in front of the stage. “Any single one of them would say they were mesmerized by you on stage. Why can’t you give yourself the same credit?”
I shook my head. “It’s the attention. I can’t imagine being in front of thousands of people and doing this.” I took a sip of the drink Niki put down in front of me. “And you know I’m a more behind the scenes kind of girl.”
When I sang I could forget the world. Music became a part of me. It called to my soul and allowed me to express myself in a way nothing else could. On the stage, once I got over my nerves, I was my most confident self. I knew I was good and there was nothing better than looking out into the crowd, albeit a small one, and seeing how the song affected those people.
Lacey sighed. “I’m your friend so I get to tell you the hard truths because I love you, right?”
“Yes?” I answered, my voice catching at the end.
“You are the most amazing, the sweetest, and kindest person I know, Hazel.” She grasped both of my hands in hers. “But you’ve taught yourself to stay in the background, to not be seen. How do you truly know if that’s who you are? You only started doing it so you could protect yourself. If you were invisible no one could hurt you.” Tears welled in her eyes. “You are full of life and sparkle on stage. I wish you’d let the world see that.”
“Aw, hell. You’re making me cry too, Lacey,” Niki complained and wiped at her cheeks after passing me a stack of napkins to do the same. “And she’s not wrong, kid.”
I let out a shaky breath. It wasn’t often that I let myself be drawn back into my earliest childhood memories, especially not so close together. That first night with Jareth and now, was leaving me a bit raw. Even if I couldn’t say it out loud, a tiny part of me wondered if she was right.
“Your boss owns a music production company. I’m sure he could get someone to listen to you,” Lacey offered.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not using my connection to Jareth like that.”
“Just consider it. Please,” she begged. “I think he’d listen if you asked.”
I sighed. Even though I knew I wouldn’t, I still said yes.
“Speaking of connections. There was a hot, broody man here to see you, Hazel,” Niki said.
“What?” I furrowed my brow. I hadn’t told anyone I was singing here tonight. Most weeks I sang on Saturday, but with the Christmas party, the pipes bursting, and dealing with the renovation, I had to cancel my regular times and reschedule for today.
“He said he was looking for you.” Niki’s eyes narrowed, catching on that this wasn’t planned.
“Did he give a name?” A chill skated down my spine at the thought of a random guy looking for me. “Is he still here?” My eyes searched the crowd for this unknown man.
“No,” Niki leaned her forearms on the scarred bartop. “He left at the end of your first song.”
I frowned. “Weird. If he comes back, try to get a name or something.” I was one hundred percent going to have Mike wait outside with me when I went out to get my Uber. Part of me wanted to call Jareth and have him send Elias. Even though I used Uber often, the thought of a random guy possibly following me creeped me out and made me suspect everyone.
“I will,” she answered, giving me and Lacey a quick wave and headed to the other end of the bar.
