Page 29 of The Best Christmas Choir Ever

Oh God, Charlie thought.

“Let’s try to keep it PG,” Julian said, shaking his head. “The first thing we need to do is get an audition video filmed to submit with our application. If the council likes us, we’re in. So let’s not try to scare them off with our racy moves.”

Harriet smirked.

“Audition video?” Charlie said. She hadn’t realized they needed to film something. That meant they needed to be a functioning choir long before Christmas. “When’s that due?”

“About a week and a half,” Julian said. “Or else we risk missing our chance at the competition altogether.”

She lowered her voice. “You need to tell me these sorts of things.”

“I sort of thought I’d handle the logistics, and you’d handle the music.”

“The music is affected by the logistics,” Charlie said.

“Is it?”

“Isn’t it?” God, she wanted to shake him.

“Don’t stress. It’s all coming together.”

Charlie didn’t know what exactly he thought was coming together, but if he—

“All right,” Julian said, breaking Charlie from her train of thought. “All in favor of calling ourselves the Glendale Shakers?”

Hands shot into the air. “Aye!”

Seven

Julian

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Charlie called, shaking her hands from the front of the music room to get the group’s attention. The choir broke off mid rockin’. They didn’t even get around the Christmas tree. “Let’s pause there for a second. This isn’t working.”

Julian sighed and stopped the recording on his phone. He glanced up, watching the choir exchange confused looks. This was the third time Charlie had interrupted the filming since they’d started rehearsal this morning. At this rate, they weren’t going to have time to get something filmed before the competition application was due.

Julian deleted the draft, sending it off with all the others he’d trashed in the past hour. “What’s the problem now?”

“Maggie needs to switch places with one of the other sopranos.” Charlie gestured for the residents to change positions. “Her voice is coming through too heavily. She’s all I can hear during the chorus.”

Julian pursed his lips. Really? “Things sounded fine to me.”

Charlie shot him a daggered look that told him he should probably stop talking. She’d been doing that all morning, too. “Well, if all you want is fine—”

“Look,” Julian said, taking a step closer to her and lowering his voice. “That’s not what I meant. But don’t you think you’re being a little too—”

“Too what?” she demanded loudly, crossing her arms.

Julian’s eyes flickered to the residents and back. He could tell he’d waded into dangerous territory. He’d forgotten how fiery Charlie could be when she was passionate about something. He remembered the harmless arguments she used to have with her brother on Doris’s porch. Julian would sit there, amused as they debated the minutiae of theatrical performances long into the night. But this wasn’t some good-natured debating, and he hated that they were arguing in front of the residents. It didn’t really instill a whole lot of confidence as codirectors.

“Look, I’m just saying…”

Her hazel eyes seemed to blaze with heat, daring him to keep going. He lost himself momentarily in their depth, in the rosy color of her lips, in the soft blush on her cheeks.

What was he trying to say?

“Weren’t you the one who said that I should handle the music and you should handle the logistics?”

“Yes,” Julian said. “But I think in this case—”