who’s suddenly found himself in the spotlight. It was endearing, and the audience loved you. Not to mention the fact that the song was fantastic. You totally nailed it.”
“I still can’t believe that happened. I’m going to be on TV! Me. Holy shit.”
Harper grinned as he gathered our stuff and handed me a bottle of water. “I love how that’s just beginning to sink in. Come on, Phee, let’s continue this conversation in the car. This is only the first of our stops today.”
By the time we got back to Harper’s house in the late afternoon, we were both exhausted. He dropped onto his bed fully dressed and muttered, “Just think, we get to do all of that again tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that.”
I kicked off my shoes and crawled onto the bed with him, and I kissed his cheek before saying, “Can I bring you a drink or something?”
He wrapped his arms around me. “No thanks. The liquor cabinet is too far away, and I don’t want to let go of you.” I grinned at him, and he asked, “Do you want to watch our interview? I messaged Kel and had him record the Allison Show for us this afternoon.”
“Oh God, no. I’d die of embarrassment.” I pulled my phone from my pocket and muttered, “Why do I have twenty-six messages?” I’d turned off the ringer when we were on set earlier and had forgotten to turn it back on.
“Uh, maybe because you were on TV today?”
I started scrolling through the messages and said, “Dallas sent a text to congratulate me. That was nice.” I played my voicemails, and when I heard the last one I whispered, “Holy shit.”
“What is it?”
“Most of these messages are requests for interviews, but one of them is from a music producer.”
Harper sat up and exclaimed, “See? I told you!”
“Is that really all it takes? One TV appearance, and boom, the record industry comes calling?”
“A handful of viral videos help, too.”
“And a famous boyfriend.”
“I just opened the door, you’re the one who stepped through it.”
I played the voicemail again, then said, “I actually know this guy, Blake Brooks. He’s been a Nashville institution for about three decades, and I met him once when I was fourteen or fifteen. I’m going to message my brother and see what he can tell me about him.”
I sent Dallas a text and soon got one in return, and Harper asked, “What did he say?”
“That Brooks is as good as they come, and I should call him back and agree to anything he says.”
“Well, great. It’s good to know that guy’s the real deal.”
I stared at the phone in my hand and said, “It’s weird. I’ve been chasing this dream for such a long time, but now that it seems to finally be coming true, I feel totally unprepared.”
“I don’t think anyone’s ever prepared for fame. I know I wasn’t.” Harper gestured at the phone and said, “Go ahead, make the call. I’ll give you some privacy. Come find me when you’re done, okay?”
I nodded, and he left the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Then I took a deep breath and dialed Blake Brooks’ number.
Maybe forty minutes later, I put my phone on the nightstand and went to find Harper. It turned out he was sitting at the top of the stairs, leaning against the railing, and he asked, “What did he say?”
“He’s very interested in working with me, and he wants me on the next plane to Nashville. One of his clients is headlining Bridgestone Arena tomorrow night and they already have two opening acts, but he wants me to be the third. That’s the biggest venue in Nashville. After that, he wants to book a few gigs around town while I record an album. Then he wants to get me out on the road touring as soon as possible. He says his motto is ‘strike while the iron is hot,’ so the next few months are probably going to be pretty crazy if I agree to this.”
“You haven’t agreed yet?”
“I told him I’d get back to him with an answer within the hour. The most time-sensitive thing is that concert tomorrow night, so he’s waiting to hear from me.”
As I sat down beside him, he said, “You have to say yes. This is what you always wanted.”
“Yeah. It is.” Both of us were quiet for a few moments, and then I said, “You and I are just getting started, though.”
“I