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Or was it?
He had to do something.
“You heard the conversation. You know I’ve been invited to perform at Red Rocks Unplugged. The Luxes have acquired my label and have given the green light for my new sound. This is everything I’ve been working for.”
She crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “And thanks to me, you got it.”
She wasn’t wrong.
He paced like a boxed-in tiger. “We work as a team. It’s you and me. I told you, I’ll fix this. If you want to pursue your career, then we can figure that out, too.”
She stared at him and said nothing.
“Isn’t that what you want, Harper?” he snarled.
“You hide behind a facade. You only need me so you can keep up the charade.”
He threw up his hands. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means you’re a coward. It means stadiums can chant your name, and fans can cross-stitch your face onto pillows, and that adoration won’t change the fact that you’re afraid to let people see the real you.”
Her words hit like a punch to the gut.
The only choice he had was to give her a taste of what she was dishing out.
“What about the real you, Harper?”
She narrowed her chameleon gaze and took a step toward him. “What about me?”
“You let one setback keep you from following your dreams. The music industry is rife with obstacles. You have to believe that you’re good enough to be on that stage. Trey, Leighton, and I knew we were supposed to be there.”
Her jaw dropped. “Are you saying you don’t think I’m good enough?”
“No, we both know how talented you are.”
“But?” she shot back.
He might as well say it.
“Fear holds you back.”
“Fear?” she balked. “Do you want to talk about fear, heartthrob?”
He kept his trap shut.
“You’re the one nursing one hell of a monster fear,” she scolded. “You see your neurodiversity as a weakness. That’s your kryptonite. That’s your Achilles heel. It’s not the neurodiversity. It’s how you see yourself. You could do real good, Landon. You’re famous. You have a platform. You could help kids and young adults. Look what happened at New Beats when you shared about being raised in the foster care system. Those kids connected with you. I could see it on their faces. They were thinking if he could make it, coming from a tough background, then so could I. You could tear down the stigma of living with dyslexia or ADHD or being on the autism spectrum—just to name a few. You could show the world that thinking and learning differently isn’t a deficiency but a strength. A strength that bolsters creativity and ingenuity. And the cherry on top is that you could be a role model for your niece.” Her voice cracked. She blew out a tight breath. “Aria’s doing well now, but there will be times when things are tough for her. Do you want her to feel ashamed when she needs more time to complete an assignment or requires an alternate way of finishing a project?”
He scrubbed his hands down the scruff on his cheeks.
She didn’t get it. She didn’t understand.
“I want to be respected as a legitimate artist, Harper. An artist who stands on his own two feet. This business is tough. The minute you show weakness—”
“—you prove you’re a human being,” she interrupted. “But here’s the kicker. You’ll never get the respect you want, because there’s one person you need to win over to get it, and if you keep living the way you’re living, you’ll never do it.”
“And who is thisone person?” he snarled.
Her eyes glinted with emotion, and the saddest ghost of a grin bloomed on her lips. “It’s you.”
