Where are you?
Gig opportunity of a lifetime.
We need you.
This is everything. The gig. The record deal. Everything. Call me.
Bella scanned the rest of the messages. They were more of the same, increasing in urgency. She dialed into her voicemail. She knew she shouldn’t be excited. She shouldn’t let Kyle get her hopes up in this way. After all, it was less than a month ago that he’d all but ripped everything away from her.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true.
She’d sealed her own fate and had mostly burned that bridge all on her own by freaking out when she’d discovered that he was sleeping with—well, everyone as well as her. Apparently they had different moral and ethical standards. It was true that Kyle had no intention of kicking her out of the band, but it didn’t feel right to stay. Not when she’d been played for a fool. At least, that’s how it had felt at the time.
Was it worth giving up the increasingly prestigious gigs and the forthcoming record that Kyle kept promising?
Maybe not.
But apparently she hadn’t burned the bridge all the way down with Kyle the way she’d been so sure she had.
As she punched in the code for her voicemail, his voice came over the line.
“Bella, baby! You need to call me back right away.” He didn’t sound upset with her, despite the fact that she’d left him in the lurch for two paid gigs right before running to Glacier Falls. By all rights, he should be livid. But he sounded downright giddy. “I just got a call from Hector Graham.” Hector Graham? Why did that name sound familiar? “That name should sound pretty familiar to you, right?” Kyle clearly knew her better than she would have liked. “He’s the head of Starshine Records and before you get too excited…” Bella leaned forward in the chair, her stomach twisted in tight knots as she realized exactly who Hector Graham was. “He’s not signing us,” Kyle continued. Bella sat back. “Not yet.” She jumped up from her seat as Kyle’s recorded laugh filled her ear. “But he’s giving us the chance of a lifetime, baby. A private concert at his house. Just us. We’re the opening act and the headliner and if it goes well…” Bella held her breath. “That’s when we’ll get the deal.”
Bella wanted to scream. It literally was what she’d been dreaming of her entire life. A deal with Starshine Records was huge. Everyone knew that. She held the phone in front of her, did a silent squeal and danced her bare feet on the tile—careful not to wake Jeremy up, but also way too excited to contain herself. After she got it out, she put the phone back to her ear in time to hear Kyle’s recorded voice say, “I hope I can count on you, Bella. It’s a group deal. We need you. Just shoot me a text to let me know you’re in. We’re counting on you.”
The call disconnected.
She didn’t even have to think about it. Immediately, Bella switched over to her text messaging app and answered Kyle’s message.
I’m totally in! OMG!
Unable to contain her excitement for one more moment, she dropped her phone on the table, her water forgotten, and went to wake Jeremy up for a private celebration.
Jeremy yawned. His mouth stretched awkwardly wide, with no hope for covering it. He was on his third coffee of the morning, but it wasn’t doing much for his exhaustion.
Not that he was complaining. Not even a little.
Next to him, Natalie gave him a sidelong glance. “Stay up a little too late, did you, Jer?”
“Something like that.” He covered his grin with his coffee cup.
“Right.” Natalie laughed, the sound filling the cab of the truck. “Your late night wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain dark-haired singer who’s new to town, would it?”
He didn’t bother to deny it.
Jeremy wouldn’t trade all the sleep in the world for the night he’d shared with Bella. It had been beyond even his hottest fantasies, and he’d definitely had his share of them. Everything about being with her just…fit. Never before had he felt the way he’d felt with Bella.
Not. Even. Close.
The last thing he’d wanted to do was drop her off at her grandfather’s house so he could go to work. But there wasn’t much help for it. It’s not as if he could call in sick—as much as he wanted to. Christmas Eve was less than twenty-four hours away, which meant there was way too much to do to prepare for Glacier Falls’ annual dinner. It had been a tradition started by Ed Walker when he’d first taken over the job as fire chief many years ago. Now, he was getting set to retire, but still the tradition carried on. And as far as Jeremy was concerned, he’d do his best to make sure it did. Even if he didn’t get the chief job, which was his ultimate goal.
“We have work to do.” Jeremy changed the subject. “We have to pick up the plates and cutlery from the hardware store. They’re donating all of it, plus the napkins and some tablecloths. Then we’ll get back to the hall and start setting up tables. Last year, there were about eighty for dinner, so we should be prepared for at least a hundred.”
“A hundred?”
Jeremy shrugged. “It’s not like we’re going to turn anyone away and for some reason, it just gets busier and busier.”
It was true. What had started out as an event to feed the lonely, disadvantaged, or just those who didn’t want to be by themselves for the holidays had bloomed into a potluck of townspeople who simply wanted to share the seasonal spirit with one another. It hadn’t been too much of a problem as everyone always brought more than their share of food, and with the local ranchers and farmers donating turkeys and roasts, it didn’t cost the department anything except manpower to set it all up. A job Jeremy was happy to take on.
Especially this year. Spending time with Bella had been beyond anything he could have expected. But spending Christmas with her…serving turkey to his friends and neighbors…watching her grandfather play Santa for the children…cuddling up in front of the tree…having his Christmas wish come true…he couldn’t think of a better way to spend the next few days.
“There it is again.” Natalie interrupted his daydream.
“What?”
“That smile.” Natalie shook her head with a laugh. “She’s really got you in a twist, doesn’t she?”
He didn’t bother to deny it. “As long as Bella Burton is the one doing the twisting, I’m completely at her mercy.”
Natalie groaned. “You’re ridiculous. Just don’t let her twist too much, if you know what I mean?”
He didn’t.
“Don’t get screwed over, Jer,” Natalie explained further. “Women like that…well…”
Jeremy bristled and sat up straight behind the steering wheel. “Women like what exactly?”
“Calm down.” She shook her head. “All I was going to say is that women like her, who have a career and a life somewhere else, aren’t necessarily the best choice to uproot their whole world and move to the middle of the mountains. That’s all I was going to say. And weren’t you the one telling me that she has a blooming career in music?”
He nodded as what his partner said started to sink in.