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He laughs. “Well, glad I’m finally prepared like everyone else,” he teases. “So, I have a question that I’m really hoping you’ll be into.”
“Okay …” I say slowly, not sure where this is going. “What’s that?”
“I’m performing at the tree lighting ceremony, and I was hoping you’d sing a duet with me. You know, one of the Christmas songs from Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.”
I let out a hard laugh. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“No, I’m definitely not. I think it’d be fun.”
“But I’ve never sung, like, for real. I’d make a fool of myself.”
“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think you could do it. We’d practice, so we can make sure you’re comfortable with the song beforehand.”
“Knowing the song is not my issue. I’ve been listening to their Christmas album my entire life. I’m just afraid I’d screw up. I don’t know if I can do that.”
Justine jumps into the camera’s view. “Oh, come on, Hannah. You’d be great up there.”
I look anywhere but at the camera while chewing on my bottom lip.
“You know you want to,” Justine singsongs.
“I’m just really nervous,” I admit, looking down. “I’ve never thought about singing in front of anyone else.”
Tucker speaks up, trying to soothe my nerves. “How about we set up a time to practice and you can get a feel of singing with the guys? Sometimes, the fear is more of the unknown rather than the actual event.”
I take a deep breath in while I think about it. “I mean, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to go to a practice and see how I feel.”
Tucker grins. “Glad to hear. I’ll get with the guys to set up a time and let you know. Is tomorrow good for you?”
“Yeah, that works.” I nod, still not sure if I should be agreeing to this. “But, hey, Tucker?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you not tell Matthew? I don’t want to say anything until we know if it’s going to work. I just, um …”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. I get it. I don’t mind keeping it from him for a few days.”
“Thank you. And thank you for asking.”
“Thank you for agreeing to try. We’ll talk soon.”
“Okay, bye.”
I hang up and am not sure if I should scream in excitement or if I should be freaking out. I’ve always loved music and singing in the shower, but I never thought about singing in front of people, let alone with Tucker, whose band, The Tucker Simms Band, is the most popular around. But when he asked, there was something inside of me that lit up.
Instantly, my stomach turned with nerves but then with fear. But not fear of doing it. Fear of hating myself for not doing it. If Tucker thinks I have what it takes, I need to at least see what I’ve got.
Of course, the first thing I want to do is call Matthew, but I don’t. Just the thought of telling him makes me even more nervous. I need to see for myself how this goes before I tell anyone, just in case I fall flat on my face. If I do fail, it’ll be embarrassing enough that it will be in front of his dad.
* * *
Tucker was quick to get back to me about the practice time, and I’m already at the venue when Tucker and Justine arrive the next day.
“Hello, doll.” Justine gives me a hug when they get out of the car.
“Hey,” I reply, then give Tucker a hug, trying to hide just how nervous I am.
“Don’t worry,” Justine whispers in my ear as Tucker unlocks the door. “I know you’ll be great.”
