How to Steal Your Best Friend's Fiancé - London Casey Page 0,55

his chest like I had just stabbed him in the heart.

I moved away from the microphone and cleared my throat.

This was it. Now or never.

If I froze up on this stage I would never sing again for sure.

It made me hate Liam even more.

Even if I was smiling because of him.

I opened my mouth and let out the first note and I could hear it reverberate through my body and the club.

And it was not the most perfect note ever either.

But I didn’t stop.

I started to sing.

Like really sing.

It was me, the stage, the microphone, those semi-dark purple lights which were actually comforting, and a room full of strangers. Except one. One person I knew. One person I couldn’t look at because I knew he was smiling at me and that would make me feel way too good about myself. Because at the end of the night, no matter how well I sang, I would crawl into my bed, in my apartment, and be alone with my thoughts.

The song turned a little sad. The notes were depressing. They were loud and long.

But they worked.

The feeling that went through me was just…

I hated to be cliché, but I felt alive. I felt like I had woken up from a nap that had been lasting years.

I touched my chest and felt my heart racing and my body vibrating as I sang the last note. I shut my eyes and stepped away from the microphone to let the note fade away.

Then I stopped singing.

And nobody did a thing.

It was so quiet in the club you could hear the sound of a bottle cap hitting the bottom of the trash can behind the bar.

Liam let out a cheer and the rest of the club exploded into cheers and applause.

I covered my face with my right hand and hurried off the stage.

I was smiling, almost ready to cry.

The second I got off the stage and saw Liam, something came over me and I lunged at him. He caught me mid-air and spun me around as he hugged me.

“Em, that was fucking amazing,” he said. “That was just like old times. You are so fucking talented, babe.”

I laughed and threw my head back.

Everyone was still clapping for me.

When Liam put me back on my feet, his hands touched my sides.

And he held me. He squeezed just enough to tell me he wasn’t going to let go.

As we stood there in front of nothing but strangers, Liam never felt more like the opposite of a stranger in my entire life.

He looked like he had something to say to me.

I knew I had something to say to him.

Before we could speak our minds - and heart - someone called my name.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Liam

I wasn’t sure what the hell was about to happen.

Emily’s attention moved from me to somewhere else.

That somewhere else turned out to be someone else… times three.

It was the three women who sang on stage before her.

Even though my attention had been on Emily all night, my memory offered me three names. Carla. Faye. Robin.

I took one step away from Emily and smiled.

She was living the moment up. Which she should have rightfully been doing. For once in her life she was doing something for herself. It didn’t come down to money, business or success. Not to mention this was her hidden gift to the world. Now if only someone had given her a guitar to go along with the singing…

“Emily, right?”

The three women faced off with Emily.

“Yeah,” Emily said.

“I’m Carla. This is Faye. And this horrible person over here is a traitor. But you can call her Robin.”

“And this is why I’m leaving the group,” Robin said.

She had curly red hair that bounced when she spoke.

“Don’t listen to them,” Faye said. She had a big smile, big eyes and black hair pulled back into a bun that was messy and off centered. “We wanted to introduce ourselves. Forgive us for interrupting your date here.”

Faye looked at me and smiled.

“Liam,” I called out. “I’m her manager. Any questions go through me.”

“Manager?” Carla asked. Her blonde hair and blue eyes threatened to light up the entire place.

“He’s joking,” Emily said. “Liam’s not a manager. He’s my… he’s…”

Emily looked at me.

I quickly threw a smile on my face. “Can I buy you all a drink?”

“Oh, that sounds good, but the traitor has to go,” Carla said.

“Stop calling me that,” Robin said.

“It’s a joke, Robin,” Carla said. “Chill.”

“Uh, you three are really good,” Emily said to diffuse the awkward tension.