“We’re not going to be able to decide which song to submit. They’re all incredible.”
She laughed my compliment away. “For real, though. What did you think? I really liked the way our voices came together on that last one. And that thing you did with the bass line was genius.”
I smirked. “Well, as you know, I am a genius. At least, according to my grandparents,” I added, so she’d know I was only joking.
“I know you’re being facetious, but I think Gramps is right. You’re seriously talented on the piano.”
“That’s only because I have a talented partner.”
Layne grinned. “Now who can’t take a compliment?”
“Okay, okay, we’re both bloody brilliant. But what are we going to do about our problem?”
Layne thought on it for a moment. “I don’t know. Maybe we should let Gramps decide what song we submit.”
I barked a laugh. “I love the guy, but you heard him. He’s tone deaf.”
She giggled. “I think he’s adorable.”’
“That’s not a reason to let him pick the song that will decide your future.”
“Fair enough,” Layne said. “But can we still let him hear the songs?”
I smiled, my heart feeling suddenly too large for my chest. “He would like that very much.”
I didn’t tell her about the other reasons I’d brought her to meet my grandparents. But I was more than a little excited about her enthusiasm to visit them again. Gramps had always told me I’d know when I’d found ‘the one’ because I would be excited to spend time with her no matter what we were doing. I felt that with Layne.
Whether we were singing karaoke, making music, visiting nursing homes, eating pizza or just driving around in my car, she made me happy.
Honestly, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had such a streak of exhilaration in my life. I was starting to wonder if maybe Gramps was right. I sort of hoped he was.
As I looked over at Layne holding her guitar as she thumbed through her songbook, my heart squeezed in my chest. Could she be the one? Was I ready for that?
I was getting way ahead of myself. One step at a time. First, we needed to get through this competition. Then we could see if there was more to explore.
I forced myself to stop looking at Layne’s kissable lips and cleared my throat. “Well, I’d say that’s a wrap for tonight. Why don’t we narrow it down to our top few and I’ll remaster them tonight?”
“Okay. I’ll finish setting up my profile so we can upload the song we decide on to the competition site.”
“Are you ready for this?” I asked.
“For what?”
“For the world to meet the next diva they’re going to fall in love with.”
She laughed. “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Layne
After twenty minutes of panicking over not remembering my password, I finally logged on to Facebook and finished setting up my profile on the Northeast Regional Scholarship for the Dramatic Arts page.
I hadn’t been on here since last fall, right after I registered for the competition. A little stab of guilt hit me when I saw all the missed notifications I had in the Diva Squad group.
Rose Parson had started the private IM group shortly after we all met at registration. At first, I really enjoyed chatting with her, Lillian and Lola. But when Jenna joined the Diva Squad I felt completely out of my depth. All the other girls were so talented and confident, and that only made me feel worse about my own chances.
The more I checked in with the group the more my nerves grew, until I stopped checking all together. I’d never been big on social media and since Lola was my partner, I figured it was okay to let her be my voice in the group. She always filled me in on any of the important gossip anyway. But now that she was out, I figured it was time I put on my big girl panties and step out of the shadows.
Besides, thanks to Wyatt and his sweet grandparents, I’d decided I was no longer going to waste time being a wallflower. I was taking control of my destiny. So, without hesitation, I clicked on the Diva Squad group and read through all the messages.
By the end of the thread, I was more invigorated than I’d expected. I felt like I knew each of the girls a little better and was surprised to find