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"I'm not singing alone," she told Hannah.
"I'll sing with you," Decker said.
"Perfect," Hannah said with satisfaction.
Chloe turned to Decker as he moved back into Joel's seat. "You don't have to sing with me."
He shrugged. "Why not? It's just karaoke."
"I'm not a talented singer."
"Well, I'm great, so I can carry you."
She smiled at what was clearly mock arrogance. "Great, huh? You're not short on confidence, are you?"
"Not for singing karaoke. Are you in?"
"I'm in." Turning to Hannah, she added. "And I won't be asking you for a favor any time soon."
Hannah gave her a smug look. "I'm sure that's not true."
Hannah was probably right, but next time, she would negotiate better.
After several singers had taken the stage, she and Decker made their way to the side to pick a song. Her nerves increased after Gianna and Zach sang a duet that resulted in a standing ovation.
"I don't want to go after them," she muttered.
"We'll be good, too," Decker told her.
"I highly doubt it."
"Hannah has known you for a long time, right? If you couldn't hit a note, I don't think she'd be pushing you to take the stage."
"She thinks I have a good voice, but I haven't sung in a while. I'm rusty. And I'm nervous," she admitted. "I feel like I've been failing a lot lately, and I don't need to add one more thing."
"Then we won't fail," he said. "I've picked the perfect song."
"Hang on," she said, as he grabbed her hand and led her onto the stage.
She looked at the prompter in front of them. "What did you pick?" She'd no sooner asked when the music started, and the words came up.
"Sing," Decker said. "Don't look at the audience. Just sing."
He grabbed her hand as the music started, probably afraid she was going to bolt from the stage. Then he sang the first line, "Don't go breaking my heart."
She looked at the prompter. "I couldn't if I tried," she sang.
Her voice was a bit wobbly, but as Decker kept going, she followed. They were singing about a love that scared the hell out of the two people who were trying to avoid it. It was probably the perfect choice for Decker, a man who wanted no entanglements. But it was also a good choice for her, a reminder that falling for yet another wrong man was not an option.
When the song ended, applause rang out, and she could hear Hannah's cheering voice above the rest. She looked at Decker, who was grinning happily.
"Told you," he said, squeezing her hand. "You were great. We were great."
"We were okay," she admitted.
He let go of her hand as they exited the stage, and she felt almost chilled by the loss of heat, but then they were back at the table, with everyone giving them another round of applause, before turning to pay attention to the next singer.
Decker lifted the pitcher of beer. "Do you need a refill?"
