“Tay is sick. Like, really sick. She’s been barfing since last night. Jase and Crash took her to the ER and it’s just extreme morning sickness. They prescribed antinausea meds and she’s resting, but she can’t hardly talk after all that barfing, let alone sing.”
“Fuck.”
“I hate to say this, but the songs she plays keyboards in won’t lose much, but, Dev, she’s your main backup singer. A big chunk of your set is devoted to songs with three- and four-part harmony. We can’t just say we’ll work around it. Some of those songs are the ones fans come to hear. Especially ‘Chains and Trains.’”
“Fuck,” Devin said again. “What are our options?”
“We could initiate an audience sing-along, and people won’t notice the lack of harmony coming from the stage.”
“Which will work for a few of the songs, but not half the damn set.” Devin stood and paced. “Jesus. I hate to say this, but I wish Jesse-Belle was on this leg of the tour right now. Either she or one of her ten backup singers could fill in for a night.”
“I thought of that. Our opening act, Rider Ekman, doesn’t have a woman singer in his band.”
“Can’t you just announce at the start of the show that Tay’s on bed rest and ask female audience members to fill in?” Liberty suggested. “The ladies who come to your concerts know all the words. Even if they screwed up, it’d be entertaining.”
Devin studied her. “Definitely a last resort.” He said, “Hang on,” and disappeared down the hall.
Liberty asked, “How is Tay?”
“Miserable. But Jase is being really sweet to her for a change and they’re happy about the baby, so that’s good.”
Devin returned with his guitar and parked his butt next to Odette. He strummed a few chords of “Baby Loves Me like Mama Does” and then pointed to Liberty with the guitar pick. “Jump in when we get to the chorus.”
Liberty’s mouth fell open, but she couldn’t have spoken to protest if her life depended on it.
Good thing Odette demanded, “Devin, what the hell do you think you’re doing? She’s your girlfriend, not a backup singer.”
He faced his songwriting partner. “Liberty sings.”
“Devin.”
“She sings so damn well that when I first heard her, I thought Tay had broken in to use my shower again.”
Odette aimed her skeptical look at Liberty. “Is that right?”
“Yes,” Devin answered for her. “And she’s been with the tour for months. She knows the set list and all of the songs, don’t you?”
“I guess, but—”
“We’ll go through the song once so you can get a feel for the harmony sections. Then, the second time through, join in at the chorus. Ready?” he said to Odette.
She nodded.
Liberty’s heart jackhammered. Besides her brief karaoke appearance, the only place she ever sang was in her car or in the shower.
Devin did his thing. Cranked out the tune perfectly, like he’d done hundreds of times; no fancy digital sound engineering, no additional instruments, just a man and his guitar. Odette chimed in with the higher harmony. Immediately, the missing harmony she’d heard at least once a night flowed into her head. She hummed along. By the second run-through, she closed her eyes and eased into the chorus, making sure her voice blended with the level of sound they created.
Silence stretched after Devin quit playing.
She didn’t have the guts to open her eyes. Had she sucked?
“Uh, yeah. Nice little secret you’ve been keeping, Devin,” Odette cooed. “Any other mad skills your personal assistant’s got that you want to share?”
“She’s also really good with her m—”
“Omigod! Shut up! I was joking! Can’t you see you’ve already embarrassed the poor girl?”
“Liberty. Baby, look at me.” Someone nudged her knee.
She peeled open her eyes and focused on Devin’s face. His smiling face. His you-rocked-my-fucking-world smiling face.
“You nailed it.”
“Really?”
“Really. You up for running through the other songs?”
“Okay.” She rubbed her suddenly sweaty palms on her jeans. “What’s next?”
“‘Show Me,’” Odette said thoughtfully. “That’s got a faster tempo.”
Devin started playing, and after the first run-through, she joined in. They did this until they had tackled every song on the set list. Twice.
“Looks like we’ve got our backup singer for tonight.”
Panic set in. “But I’ve never . . .” Been onstage, to say nothing of singing in front of thousands of people.
Then Devin was crouching in front of her, holding her face in his hands. “We’ll get the band together and do a quick rehearsal of these pieces. That’ll give you experience onstage and with the earpieces you’ll need.”
“But—”
He kissed her. Not a sweet shut-up kiss. But one with enough fire that she started to get warm all over.
“Uh, excuse me? I’m still here and not into voyeurism,” Odette reminded them.
Liberty tried to break the kiss, but Devin held her in place. “Odette?” he said without looking away from Liberty.
“What?”
“Tell Crash to call a rehearsal. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know the drill; don’t let the door hit me in the ass on the way outta here.”
Door. Liberty pushed to her feet. “I’ll let you out.”
She was so distracted by their impromptu jam session—wait; how much of a dork was she to call it a jam session?—that after she scaled the stairs, she smacked into Devin. She glanced up. Damn. That heavy-lidded, impatient-to-get-her-naked vibe rolled over her like an electrical storm. Normally, she’d launch herself at him and fight for who got to be on top.
But right now . . .
“So I take it we’re not picking up where we left off before we head into the arena?”
Arena. Why did that word make her gut clench and all the breath leave her lungs?
“Baby. Breathe.” Devin plucked her up—something she rarely allowed him to do—and settled them both in the recliner.
As much as she wanted to play it tough and cool, she buried her face in his neck, letting the clean scent of his skin center her.
After a bit, he said, “You don’t have to do this.”
“But you need me to.”
“Just for this one night. That’s it. It’d save a lot of headaches all around if you could embrace your inner rockstar and walk onto that stage. And if you weren’t good enough to be on there? Sweetheart, as much as I like you, if you sucked ass, I wouldn’t have asked you. I’m a hands-on perfectionist, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“Gee, really? Somehow that escaped my notice in the past few months we’ve been together 24/7.”
“And she’s a comedian.”
“I’ll admit I’m nervous, okay? But two other things occurred to me that might throw a wrench into these plans anyway.”
Devin tilted her head back. “What? Security issues?”
“For one. I won’t be thinking about that as I’m trying to remember words to songs, the part I’m singing, and having all those eyes focused on the stage.”
“Two guards will walk me to the stage and escort me to the room when I’m done. Will that work?”
“I guess.”
“I oughta point out that you cannot be armed onstage.”
“Not even a stun gun?”
He shook his head.
“Shoot. Now I’ll really feel naked up there.”
Devin laughed. “What else?”
“I want to be kept fully in shadow. No one should see my face, either from the crowd or behind a camera lens. No introduction either.”
“Makes sense.” He traced the edge of her T-shirt collar. “You’ll be on your own up there. You have to pay attention for the song cues because all my energy is focused on what I’m doin’ in front of the crow
d, not what’s goin’ on behind me. Understand?”
“Yes.” She squirmed out of his hold. “I’d better get dressed in something more appropriate for rehearsal.”
Before she reached her bunk, Devin spun her around and stalked her until her spine met the wall. “One other thing I should warn you about. After the first time you’re onstage, there’s a performance rush, so be prepared for it. I know I am.”
“Meaning what?”
His seductive lips moved over her jaw. “You’ll see. Now, let’s hit rehearsal.”
It took three tries for her to get used to the earpiece—it was very different from the military ones she’d used. But the rehearsal went better than she’d expected. Still, she’d be a nervous ball of energy until the final house lights went dim and she was off the stage.
Three hours until showtime, she accompanied Devin to his meet and greet in the banquet hall.
Two hours to showtime, Devin caught her eye and smiled before the two security guards escorted him to his ready room.
Before she could make a break for the bus and figure out what items of black clothing to wear onstage, Odette hooked her arm through Liberty’s.
“Alone at last.”
Why did something about her tone set off warning bells? “What’s up?”
“You and me are having girl time. I’ve been told to make you presentable for stage.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Who said that?”
Odette just slid her a sly smile. “It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you look the part of Devin McClain’s backup singer, not Devin McClain’s personal assistant. Although, with your funky but professional look, you do have great taste in business attire.”
She did? Huh. Thank you, Harper. “But it won’t matter because I’ll be in the shadows.”
“It’s not about the crowd. You climb on that stage looking hot as fire, girlfriend, you’ll be on fire. We need you confident to pull this off tonight. Lucky for you, I’m an expert in creating that wow factor.”
Liberty’s gaze moved over Odette, from her shiny black hair casually tossed up in a messy bun to her flawless porcelain skin. Even her lounging clothes were color-coordinated. “No offense, Odette, but you’re gorgeous, so your wow factor comes naturally.”
Odette stood on the tips of her four-inch heels. “You think this is my natural look? Oh, honey. It took me an hour to look like I didn’t do a damn thing but roll out of my bunk. I’m as plain Jane as they come.”
“I doubt that,” Liberty muttered.
“I’ll have to prove it, won’t I? Let me grab my stage kit and I’ll meet you on Devin’s bus in ten minutes.”
Liberty had just enough time to lock up her guns and bring out her classiest plain clothes before Odette knocked. When she saw the two suitcases of stuff, she felt light-headed. Surely that wasn’t all for her?
“Let’s treat ourselves to a cocktail while we’re putting on the glam. It’ll relax you. I promise. And, doll, you need relaxation.” She smirked. “I figured Devin would’ve helped you with that.”
“He tried. But someone interrupted us.”
Odette laughed and passed her a bottle filled with pink liquid.
“What’s this?”
“Cherry pomegranate wine cooler. Drink up while I check out your clothes selection.”
Everything Liberty had laid out got the big no from Miss Wow Factor. No jeans. No dress pants. She pulled out a lace skirt that Liberty had hidden in the back of the closet.
“We need to see some skin,” Odette announced. She tossed two tank tops at her—one silver and one gold. “Try those on. Oh, and show some cleavage.”
Cleavage. Right. Not happening. She still had to work with the road crew after her one night onstage. She needed them listening to her, not gawking at her chest. She left the black compression bra on, but it looked good showing beneath the sparkly silver tank top. She stepped from the bathroom and Odette squealed.
“I’ve got one piece that’ll make this perfect.” She looked at Liberty’s feet. “Provided you have black leather boots? Preferably with spike heels?”
She had a pair of shoes Harper had forced her to buy that she’d never worn. “I have to walk onstage in front of thousands of people. If I wear heels, I’ll fall flat on my face.”
“Suck it up and show me the goodies you’re hiding.”
Liberty froze.
Relax. She’s not talking about your boobs; she’s talking about your shoes.
Odette gasped, “Omigod! These are to die for,” when Liberty handed her the spike-heeled booties with black suede strips crisscrossing from the open toe to the zipper at the heel.
Then, from her bag of tricks, Odette whipped out a short black leather jacket.
“That’ll never fit me.”
“There’s no zipper. This is meant to be worn tight.” Odette clapped, and Liberty slipped it on.
Hey. It did fit.
“Now the outfit is outstanding.” Odette toasted herself and drank. “Makeup time. And I’ll warn ya: My motto is more is better.”
Awesome.
Odette wouldn’t let her look until she finished.
So Liberty was more than a little afraid to see what stared back at her in Devin’s big mirror.
“What do you think?”
Her eyes were outlined in black, making them appear enormous. Her irises reflected the shimmery eye shadow, turning her eyes the color of liquid silver. Her lashes were dark and long enough to reach the bottom of her eyebrows. A natural glow highlighted her cheekbones and masked her freckles. Her lips were a frosted purple that should’ve looked clownish but gave her mouth a sexy pout. Her eyes met Odette’s in the mirror. “You weren’t kidding. You really are a master at the wow factor.”
Odette hugged her. “My turn. And, yes, you have to stay while I’m putting on my game face.”
Liberty tried to keep the conversation focused on Odette and Steve, but the wily woman directed it back to her.
“What happens when this leg of the tour is over? I mean, you and Dev are together all the time. I assume you’ll go to Nashville with him?”
“To be honest, we haven’t discussed it.”
“I know what you mean. While we were dating, Dev was so great to me when we were on the road. But when the tour ended, we went back to our real lives and it wasn’t the same. There are such heightened emotions on tour. Big highs and low lows. That’s why Tay and Jase are at odds. In love on the blacktop, but they can’t find common ground away from it.”
Rather than apply that same logic to her relationship with Devin, she said, “So what’s it like for you and Steve?”
“There’s some friction when we first start out on tour. Too much togetherness and all that. We settle in and we’re fine. But Devin is always restless. He’s a great singer, a fantastic songwriter and a generous boss.”
“But?” Liberty prompted.
Odette smiled sadly. “But nothing. I chatter too much. A trait Devin didn’t like because he needed his alone time. I imagine you can give him that.”
Liberty nodded.
“Good. He needs someone like you. You’ve been good for him. He’s been a lot happier lately.”
So have I.
Odette fluffed up her hair. “Now that it only took us an hour and a half to become presentable, let’s hit it. Show starts in thirty.”
Liberty held her hand to her stomach. Thirty minutes.
After the second encore, Devin brought the band up for a final bow. “Thank you, Midland!”
Liberty hung back in the shadows.
It was night-and-day difference, standing beside the stage and being on it when thousands of people were roaring approval. Like the difference between watching porn and having sex.