he’d had anything to lose. But as much as he’d love to say his nerves were related to losing an opportunity to get a meeting with the studio, now that he was standing here, talking to his stupid, perceptive jerk of a brother, he was finally able to see that he mostly just hated the thought of letting Kendall down.
She had faith in him. This was a big deal for her, too. She’d worked so hard. If he went out on that stage and sucked, all her hard work would be wasted.
And she’d stop looking at him like he was somebody she could be proud of.
Disappointing her, letting her down, would be devastating.
He had to shake this off, get his shit together fast, or he was going to ruin everything for both of them.
Not going to happen. He wouldn’t let it.
But his song choices were all wrong. He was completely sure of that now. Kendall would know what he should play, but he’d stubbornly refused her help over the past couple of weeks. She had enough on her plate and didn’t need him clinging to her skirts like a scared kid.
Ray handed him his 12-string. “Here. It was a little off, so I tuned it. It’s ready to go.”
“Thanks, man.” He could do this. He could pull this off. All it’d take was the right song choices. It’d have to be stuff he knew by heart, but hell, he knew a lot of songs by heart. “Hey, what’s Kendall’s favorite song?”
Ray frowned. “Why?”
“I’m thinking of changing up my set a little.”
His brows inched up into his hairline. “You’re going to change up your set less than an hour before you go on?”
He shrugged, trying for an air of nonchalance that he totally wasn’t feeling. Fake it until you make it, right? “I used to do it all the time.”
“And your band doesn’t speak to you anymore,” Ray reminded him dryly.
“No band this time. It’s just me. I can do whatever I want.”
Ray sighed and shook his head. “It’s true what they say. The pretty ones are always the craziest. So, do you want to know the song that she tells everyone is her favorite, or the one she’s ashamed to admit turns her on?”
Well, wasn’t that the question of the hour?
“Give me both. I’ll decide when I get out there.”
Chapter 19
Everything was going exactly to plan. The scheduling of this event was almost surgical in its precision.
The news crews were salivating. Jackson had been charming and gorgeous and humble on camera while talking about the rescue and the importance of adopting over shopping for a pet. He’d done better than she ever could’ve imagined.
She’d been ready to step in and rescue him if he got flustered, but he never did. He handled everything like he hadn’t been laying low in the middle of nowhere for the past fifteen years.
So why did he look like he was going to puke?
From her position backstage with Ray, she could see Jackson on the other side of stage, behind the curtain. He was pacing, appeared to be talking to himself, and looked like he was trying to choke the life out of the guitar he was carrying around by the neck.
Was he afraid the audience wouldn’t be receptive or something?
Kendall glanced out at the crowd. There were thousands of people out there, and they all seemed to be loving the local band that was currently onstage. Their music was kind of folksy, somewhat funky, but altogether cool and fun.
Even without alcohol the crowd was cheering and swaying to the music. So, she couldn’t imagine Jackson was worried about a cold audience.
“Ray,” she said, “why does Jackson look like he’s going to puke?”
Ray stopped eye-fucking the band’s super-cute lead guitarist long enough to glance over at his brother. “Oh. Probably because he is. He has stage fright. Always has. It’s damn-near crippling, especially right before he goes on. Sometimes before a Maelstrom show, a roadie had to shove him out on stage. But he’s always fine once he gets out there. I’ll shove him if I have to.”
Kendall’s eyes widened and her blood ran cold. “And no one thought to tell me this beforehand?”
He looked down at her, smartass brow raised. “Why? He did it for years. He’ll do it tonight. He’s got this.”
“You’re useless,” she grumbled, making her way around the stage to Jackson.
It took a few minutes to work her way through the crowd, but when she eventually made it to him, her