“Don’t worry. I can change all your tires,” he said easily. “Okay. Never have I ever had a surprise party.”
“Me either.” I shook my head, taking a cracker from the board. “I’ve never really done a lot for my birthday.”
“Because you don’t want to?”
“I don’t know. I guess I don’t feel real comfortable being the center of attention. Besides, I’ve always been the one that enjoys planning stuff for the people I love. Like this year, for Ella’s birthday, I threw a hair metal party complete with leather skirts and a KISS cover band.”
“Please tell me there are pictures because this is something I will need proof of.” He took another bite of his cookie.
“Oh, there are. Ella dressed up like Bret Michaels, and my hair was teased up to the heavens. The higher the hair, the closer to God.” I giggled. “It was a good time.”
“You said you don’t feel comfortable being the center of attention. Why not?”
“I guess Ben was the one who was always in the spotlight.” I ran my finger along the rim of my glass. “I got used to being in the background, you know?”
“No, I don’t.” He shook his head, and his eyes met mine. “Liv, you deserve to be so much more than in the background of someone else’s story. You deserve to be center stage.”
My cheeks blushed, and I shifted my eyes to the darkness that extended beyond the patio door. “Never have I ever played on stage at The Ryman.”
“Cheap shot,” he teased. He threw back the remainder of his wine before pouring himself another glass and topping off mine.
“Yes it was, but I just have to know what that feels like.” I picked apart a pretzel, gazing at him thoughtfully. “The Ryman is kind of the dream for a lot of musicians or at least it was for me back in the day. Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Elvis, all of the greats have played there. So, what’s it like? Had you played there before the show last night?”
“One other time.” He polished off the rest of his cookie. “It’s pretty incredible. The sound in that place is unreal, and there’s something intimate about it. You can look out and see the faces in the crowd, unlike so many other venues where they all sort of bleed into this backlit blur. There’s an energy there that’s indescribable. It’s almost…”
“Spiritual?”
“Yeah.” He smiled. “That’s exactly it. There’s a connection that happens on that stage that’s unlike any other venue.”
I sighed. “It sounds magical.”
He looked over at me sincerely. “You deserve to be on that stage, Liv, and I believe it will happen one day.”
“I wish,” I said incredulously. I popped a grape in my mouth, eager to change the subject. “Your turn.”
“Hmmm…” He sipped his wine contemplatively for a moment. “Never have I ever been in love.”
I raised my eyebrows and picked up my glass, swirling it in my hand a moment before taking a long drink. “Really?”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “I’ve dated a couple of girls over the years. They were nice and all, but none of them were serious girlfriends. It’s never been high on my priority list before. I guess part of me has been scared.”
“Scared of love?”
“Scared of losing it.”
I nodded. “It is scary.”
“But is it worth it?”
“I’m probably not the right person to ask.” I placed my elbow on the table, resting my chin in my hand. “I’d probably do things differently if I knew then what I know now.”
“Because your feelings for him changed?”
I sighed and picked up my glass, studying the way the wine lightly sloshed in the flickering light. “Because how I felt about him changed how I felt about me.” I threw back the rest of my wine and poured myself another glass.
“Liv… I—” He started, but I shrugged him off.
“It’s okay,” I assured him. “I made my choices, and they were the wrong ones. That’s the way it is sometimes.”
