by Karina Halle
I look down at Kevin who’s looking down at his shoes.
“I have a show,” she goes on. “I am the first one on, I promise I’ll be back before this all wraps up.” Sugar turns her attentions to her son. “Be good for Mr….Kid.” She doesn’t wait for me to answer and leaves.
Kevin looks up, past me, and scans the whole space with curious bright eyes. I look down at Kevin. He’s younger than I was when I first came here and I don’t think I was quite so shy, but he does remind me of myself in this very spot all those years ago.
I can’t resist from saying it.
“So, your mom let you out of your cage.”
The kid smiles at me for the first time and says, “Do you like Dilallo Burgers?”
Epilogue
Lael
Two Years Later
“Are you ready?” Arnie asks me as he hands me my bass.
“As I’ll ever be,” I tell him, slipping it over my shoulders.
Okay, that’s kind of a lie. I’m ready and I’m not ready all at once.
This isn’t just a normal show for me.
This is the first show ever for The New Mistakes.
My band.
I mean, my own damn band.
We’ve been rehearsing for months, me, my guitarist Bryan, the drummer April. During those months we’ve recorded an album at Francesca Studios, which Brad and I run together, and we’ve released that album to critical acclaim. In the day and age where it’s hard to make a dime on music, somehow our self-titled album climbed onto the back end of the Billboard charts.
Now it’s our first show and it’s at none other than the Francesca Theater (which of course is part and parcel of the recording studio).
The show is sold-out. Friends and family and fans are packed to the rafters. Christy and my father are somewhere in the crowd, opting for the real experience this time instead of side stage.
I’m nervous.
Not the kind of nervous like I’m going to puke everywhere, not like I did for my first show with And Then. But I’m still feeling lit from within, my stomach doing turns and jumps, my limbs feeling both solid and loose all at once.
The thing is, this is the first show and the first time really playing my own songs in front of fans. I know that Brad says to show them no respect, but I can’t help it. They mean everything to me and I want to put on the best show possible.
No pressure, of course.
Then there’s my voice. I can sing just fine and have been working on how to really wail on a few songs. I’ve just got that weird fear, like it’s about to turn into a bad dream, the one where you open your mouth to speak or sing and you can’t.
What if nothing comes out?
What if I mess up the notes?
What if fear gets the best of me?
And now, now there’s hardly any time to worry about it. The lights are going to go on me soon and I’ll have to start playing and singing whether I’m ready or not.
Oh god, I don’t think I’m ready.
I glance over at the side stage and my eyes meet with Brad’s.
He gives me a nod and a calming smile, his way of telling me that everything is going to be okay. In his arms, held up against his shoulder, is Emma.
She’s waving at me and grinning, looking ridiculously cute in the oversized headphones she has over her head. She looks like she’s about to pilot a plane somewhere far away.
And she’s wearing a shirt that says The New Mistakes on her. My heart couldn’t melt anymore.
Oh, yes it could, because Brad is wearing that exact same shirt.
My two biggest supporters, my two biggest fans.
After the demise of And Then, Brad never really stopped. He went on to do a myriad of different projects, some with artists you’d never think of, like Jay-Z and Elton John. When he’s not working with them, he’s working with other artists, especially up-and-comers, turning out beautiful albums. Francesca studios has become one of the best studios in the country and we’re busy all the damn time.
We’ve even paired up on our own projects some time. I’m not sure how long The New Mistakes will go on for but I always have room for Brad and he has room for me. One day, when the timing is right, maybe when Emma is older, we’ll create our own band together and tour the country, just like we did all those years ago.
Until then though, we have our hands full.
My husband gives me the thumbs up, bringing me back to the present and then mouths something to me.
“Just breathe.”
I nod and smile and take in a deep breath.
I throw my shoulders back.
I face the crowd, pick at the ready.
The lights come on.
And I play.
THE END
About the authors
Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact, Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, Dirty Angels and over 20 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband, Scott, and their rescue pit bull Bruce, where they drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.
Born in Montreal and raised in rural Ontario, Scott Mackenzie has worn many different hats in his life, from bartending to working as a heavy duty mechanic for the railway, to owning and operating a take-out restaurant. He finally settled down out West, where he lives on an island with his author wife and their dog. Scott can be found exploring the gulf islands on his sailboat, playing and recording music in his studio, or on a hike, thinking about his next book.
This is their first book together.
To connect:
@metalblonde
Karina Halle’s Anti-Heroes
www.instagram.com/authorhalle
[email protected]
Also by Karina Halle & Scott Mackenzie
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The Experiment in Terror Series
Books #1 – 9
Edgy Suspenseful Romance reads by Karina Halle
The Devil’s Metal (The Devil’s Duology #1)
The Devil’s Reprise (The Devil’s Duology #2)
Sins and Needles (The Artists Trilogy #1)
On Every Street (An Artists Trilogy Novella #0.5)
Shooting Scars (The Artists Trilogy #2)
Bold Tricks (The Artists Trilogy #3)
Donners of the Dead
Dirty Angels (Dirty Angels Trilogy #1)
Dirty Deeds (Dirty Angels Trilogy #2)
Dirty Promises (Dirty Angels Trilogy #3)
Veiled
Black Hearts (Sins Duet #1)
Dirty Souls (Sins Duet #2)
Contemporary Romance reads by Karina Halle
Love, in English
Love, in Spanish
Where Sea Meets Sky
Racing the Sun
The Pact
The Offer
The Play
Winter Wishes
The Lie
The Debt
Smut
Heat Wave
Before I Ever Met You (coming April)
Rocked Up (coming May)