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“Fuck,” I spat.
When I turned back around, Nora blanched. “I’ll change and come out in a minute.”
I nodded, and then she was gone, dashing down the hall to her room. The door creaked closed as I threw on a pair of shorts and snagged a T-shirt. I was pulling it over my head when I reached the front door.
“Hey, man,” I said when I found Campbell in the doorway.
“Hey,” he said, barreling inside. “Where’s Nora?”
I shrugged. Did I look nonchalant? “Still sleeping.”
Campbell wrinkled his nose. “I thought she still had cleanup at the winery this morning.”
Shit. I’d forgotten. Neither of us had set an alarm. Hadn’t exactly been on our brains.
“Maybe she left then. I just got up.”
I headed to the coffee machine and poured myself a cup to have something to do with my hands.
“You’re never going to believe the call I got this morning,” Campbell said.
“What’s that?”
“We’re playing The Tonight Show.”
Well, he was right about that. I never would have fucking guessed. “You’re shitting me.”
Just then, a door opened, and a fully dressed Nora stepped out. She yawned. “What’s going on?”
“We’re playing The Tonight Show,” I told her.
“Really? That’s great!”
“Why aren’t you at the winery for cleanup?” Campbell asked.
Nora’s eyes widened slightly. She was not good at hiding her thoughts, but thank fuck she didn’t look over at me. “I didn’t realize how late it was. Yesterday must have wiped me out. I bet Tessi is wondering where I am.”
“Can we get back to the matter at hand? We’re playing The Tonight Show?”
“Yeah. I heard from Bobby. He said they’re going to drop the first single this week, and we’ll play in New York City the following Friday.”
My eyes widened. “A single already? I didn’t think we were even planning an album drop for a few months.”
“Still the plan, but we’re going to start building suspense for it. With all of Blaire’s footage, people already know it’s coming. It’s a matter of when.”
It was my first real album release. I’d played with a ton of no-name bands, but this was a whole new level. I had no experience here. I was just going with the flow.
“What are we releasing?”
“We’re going to drop ‘Rooftop Nights.’”
I nodded. We’d talked about which songs to release when we were recording in LA. “Rooftop Nights” was the strongest song with a wicked beat and a fun chorus. I always thought it was going to be the party song of the summer.
“That sounds incredible,” Nora said.
“We’re leaving a week from Wednesday. Bobby is going to send a private plane for us with the rest of the band.”
“And he wants me to play keys?”
Campbell shot me a strange look. “Of course you’re playing keys.”
“And Bobby is okay with that?”
“Bobby isn’t the fucking band. I don’t give a shit what he wants. You’re playing the keys at the show.” Campbell then paused before continuing, “Unless you don’t want to.”
“Fuck yeah, I want to.”
“Awesome.”
We clapped hands. It was all getting so fucking real. I wasn’t an official member of the band by any stretch, but I was going to play The Tonight Show. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I wasn’t going to squander it. Plus, it might put some much-needed distance between me and Nora.
“What about you, shrimp?” Campbell asked. “Do you have a wedding that weekend?”
“I don’t. Pretty much every weekend after that though.”
Campbell grinned. “Then pack your bag. I’m taking you to New York.”
Or maybe not.
Maybe there would be even less distance.
We carefully avoided eyes until Campbell finished his spiel and headed out. Finally, Nora looked up at me.
“Well, that’s amazing for you. Playing The Tonight Show with Cosmere. That’s what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it?”
I couldn’t deny it.
