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After tonight, that potential might just be tapped.
“Destelle,” Margot said, tugging on my arm. “Is that Mr. Preston?”
Her words startled me. Mr. Preston, as in Mr. Preston who owned the recording studio? Uh,what?
I whirled around, following her gaze. A man in a fitted suit leaned against the bar. No one else stood with him, his attention focused on the stage and the beat that came from it, the lyrics lulling from the microphone.Good sign.
“Dad must’ve mentioned the gig to him,” I said, dumbfounded. But when would he have had the chance? I hadn’t told Dad about it until this morning. “Oh, my gosh, Margot, this—this is crazy.” I turned to her, my jaw practically unhinged. “Mr. Preston could change everything for them.”
Margot looked at me for only a moment before a sly grin passed over her face. Without another word, she slipped through the crowd and strutted toward him with ease, leaving me stumbling in her wake. “Mr. Preston!” she greeted with a voice dripping so much sweetness that I almost didn’t realize it was her speaking. “Fancy seeing you here.”
When his eyes landed on her, Mr. Preston’s face tensed. It almost reminded me of how Mrs. Holland looked when Margot approached her at that event back in January. Almost like he was afraid of her. “M-Margot.” Then his eyes slid to mine. “And Destelle. Great to see you two here.”
“Wouldn’t miss this for the world,” I said, fully knowing that this was probably my last time out of the house until I turned forty-five. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to listen to Untapped Potential. That’s your boyfriend’s band, right?”
I did an internal happy dance. “How did you know they’d be playing tonight?”
“When your dad told me about them last Saturday, I looked up their social pages. They’re growing fast, huh?”
Ah, so Dadhadn’ttold him about tonight. My resentment returned in full force.
But then Mr. Preston tipped his head to the side. “Well, and your father called me this afternoon to tell me. He really wanted me to come down and hear them.”
And then that resentment evaporated. Even after everything, Dad still reached out to Mr. Preston about tonight? Even after seeing Harry kissing me last night, even after my lying? I wasn’t sure what to make of that. I also couldn’t help but wonder what Mom thought about that. “Thank you so, so much for coming. It means the world to the band.”
“They’re very good,” he called as the music picked up its tempo. Harry’s voice mingled with Natasha’s, a perfect blend. “I can see why they’re growing as fast as they are.”
“They’re definitely going places,” I agreed, trying not to grin like an idiot. “I’m waiting to see what label snatches them up first.”
Margot laid her hand on Mr. Preston’s suit coat, as if they were long friends. I watched as he stiffened. “What’s your label been doing nowadays, Trent? Looking for new talent?”
He seemed to squirm under her touch, but didn’t back away. “Actually, we are.”
“Fantastic. You know, I’ve got a feeling that this band is exactly what you’re looking for.” Margot gave him a squeeze before pulling back, looping her arm uncharacteristically with mine. “Well, we’re going to go enjoy the show. Have a great night, Mr. P.” And without another word, she dragged me toward the other end of the bar.
My gaze locked on Harry smiling through his song, moving with energy around the stage. It was certainly much bigger than Crushed Beanz. I caught him grinning at fans, could see the dancing bodies moving rhythmically to Vincent’s drum beats. They were loving it, having the time of their lives. Natasha seemed into the moment too, the focus on her face artful.
“Margot,” I whispered to her as quietly as I could as she leaned alongside the bar, waiting for the server to come over. “What was all that?”
“What, chatting it up with Mr. Preston?” she asked innocently, ordering a water and passing over a couple bucks. “Remember when I said I caught Mrs. Holland with someone whowasn’ther husband?” She raised her eyebrows at my shocked expression, looking pleased with herself. “I didn’t think you’d appreciate my blackmail.”
Despite it all, I grinned. “I’ll accept it this once.”
We went farther into the crowd, and I kept my eyes peeled for Addy as Untapped Potential started their next song. I found her with Jonathan and Terry. It was so strange to see Jonathan without his apron on—I couldn’t remember a time where we’d seen each other outside of Crushed Beanz. Ever. The tight shirt he wore complemented his muscles well, and his black hair was all tousled.
“Good to see you,Stella,” Jonathan greeted with a wink, reaching out and tugging on a curl of mine.
“They’re so good!” Addy called over the music once, grinning ear to ear. Her cheeks were a bit red from the heat. “I don’t know what it is, but they sound so much better here!”
“The acoustics, probably,” I said with a laugh, looking at Terry. He wore another sweater tonight, a gray one that looked white under the lights. “Glad you could make it.”
Terry smiled, leaning forward while pointing to his head. “I like your hair.”
Right, because my curls were out in full force tonight. Gone was the silkiness of the black Stella wig. Still, I grinned back, adding with a chuckle, “Thanks.”
The band switched songs, starting to play their newest. “Dance Floor”—the one that Harry had written about me. I felt my lips curve into a stupidly wide smile, and I latched on to Addy’s wrist while glancing at everyone else. “Come on, let’s dance.”
