Page 41 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

“But I’m starting to learn that’s not such a bad thing, princess,” he finished.

She didn’t know if she wanted to smack him or kiss him. Lyric went with the smack, and her palm hit his arm. “You suck. Don’t scare me like that,” she complained.

Emerson didn’t even spare her a glance, but he took a step toward the stage with a smile on his lips. “Let’s play.”

“Play with your new toys first,” Lyric countered. “I’ll be back.”

Lyric turned on her heel and headed for the back of the venue where the sound and lighting booth had been set up.

Andi, lit by the glow of her cell phone, waved at her from beside the booth and began the trek to meet her in the middle. As she drew closer, Lyric watched the frown on her face deepen before she locked it away like the phone she slid into her pocket. “Come meet the sound guy. He’s safe.”

Glancing over her shoulder, Lyric spied a man who was older than her, probably in his thirties, and waved as he met her gaze.

“Hey there, I’m Jimmy,” he greeted when Andi and Lyric drew closer. As he reached his hand out, Lyric realized he was a beta. Safe. As if she’d expect anything less from Andi’s arrangement.

Lyric smiled. “Hey, Jimmy. How’s everything looking?”

“It’s great. We’re all setup, and everything should go as planned.” He offered a friendly wink. “Emphasis on should. But that’s what practice is for, right?”

“Right,” she agreed. “Are we good to start whenever?”

“Yeah. We already did a sound check, so we’re just looking to go through the set, start to finish, make sure all the pieces work and nothing is missing.”

“Got it. We’ll give you a shout. Is Tom here?”

Tom was the monitor engineer, one of the best ones Andi had ever introduced her to. They’d first crossed paths at a local show Lyric had played, and they’d stayed in touch as her career had grown. His job was to balance the music they played into their in-ear monitors, which would help them stay on beat, and allow them to hear each instrument, vocals, and any backing tracks they needed without the fuss of the stage noise.

“He’s here, should be back any minute,” he said, and made a point to glance around.

“Oh, good. It’s been a while. Thanks, Jimmy. Let us know when you’re ready for us to start.”

“You got it.” With a nod, Jimmy turned back to his station and flipped a few switches, adjusting a few levels, and the lights adjusted in real time.

Lyric approached the stage again but froze in the center of the venue.

“Wow,” she breathed.

Months ago, when she had first come up with the stage concept, she’d almost scrapped the whole idea. Stained glass was impossible, and adding in moving parts was too risky. Too much could go wrong, and it was expensive.

But Andi had pushed her to work with the label, finding cheaper substitutes, and convinced her to fight for the idea she had for her stage. The set designer hired by the label had been the true genius, finding real, working parts to bring her ideas to life.

And there it was, manifested into reality.

Her reality.

To think that in only a few days, she’d be on that stage, performing for thousands of people.

“Once you get done, I need to talk to you.” Andi’s voice came from behind her, breaking into her moment. It was the serious tone that caught her attention.

Lyric turned to meet her, and the grin that had been slowly sliding into place faltered. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Andi’s steps stumbled a bit, and she handed a small case over. “This has all of your guys’ temporary monitors in there, just for practice. You have an appointment this evening at 6pm to get fitted for your in-ears. Payment’s already been handled, so just show up. Let the others know.”

Lyric’s heart sped up, and she stepped forward, clutching the case in one hand and grabbing Andi’s hand with the other. “Andi, are you okay?”

Andi sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly, her bottom lip quivering. “It’s my mom…”

Her voice choked off, and Lyric pulled her into a hug before she finished. Her mom’s health had been declining over the past few months, and while her death was expected, it didn’t make it any easier.