Facing the Music (Rosewood 1)

He wasn’t about to sit down. He wasn’t committing to anything. Instead, he leaned on the edge of his desk and crossed his arms over his chest. “You have five minutes, and then I’m leaving.”

Chapter 19

The concert was going well. Judging by the enthusiasm of the crowd and the smile on Kevin’s face, it might actually be one of her better performances. No doubt, she was buoyed by the emotional high of performing Blake’s song tonight. It would be the encore; Kevin had it all set up.

The first time she’d told Blake she loved him, she had been scared to death, shaking in her sixteen-year-old boots. Whispering those words to him for the first time had taken every ounce of courage she had. To her relief, he’d immediately responded that he loved her, too. It had been one of those moments of teenage romantic bliss.

Tonight somehow seemed even scarier. She was going to get on that stage and announce not only to Blake, but to the whole world that she was in love with him. That she wanted to be with him no matter what it took to make things work.

Finishing the last song in the set, Ivy waved to the audience and shouted, “Thank you and good night!” The stage went dark. The roar from the crowd was near deafening. Ivy slipped off her guitar and handed it to a stagehand before running off stage to where Kevin was waiting for her.

He was beaming with pride as he clapped her on the shoulder. “Are you ready to do this?” he asked. “This is a career changer.”

Ivy took a deep breath and nodded. She had enough pressure announcing her feelings to Blake without remembering that the new direction of her singing career was also depending on how this next song went. Another stagehand brought out Blake’s letter jacket. She would wear it during the performance while a slideshow of old pictures of Blake and Ivy would be projected behind her.

Ivy looked around her, more nervous than ever. She expected Blake to be backstage. He’d been there for the majority of the concert, but now, when it mattered, he was missing. She figured he had to be around here somewhere, but she hated not knowing for sure. What if he missed it?

“Have you seen Blake?” she asked.

Kevin shook his head, snapping his finger for a stagehand. “He was here a few minutes ago when I was on the phone. Find Blake Chamberlain,” he said to the guy in a headset. The stagehand disappeared and Kevin put his arm around her shoulder. “He’ll hear it. You’ve got a hundred thousand watts of sound to back you up. Just get out there and sing your heart out.”

Her lead guitarist struck the first loud riff of the song and the crowd went nuts. The cool blue lights illuminated the stage.

That was her cue. Ivy walked back out and took a seat on the wooden stool. She slipped on her acoustic guitar and adjusted the microphone. The low instrumental of the song played in the background as she introduced it for the first time.

“You guys are probably used to songs of heartbreak and betrayal coming from me, but tonight, I want to share something new. I’ve had my heart touched in a way I can barely describe. The only thing I could think to do was put it in a song. So here, tonight, I’m telling all of you, and a very special someone, just how much I love him.”

The roar of applause following her announcement made her smile. “I’m really excited to debut this new song here, because it hits really close to my heart, the way Rosewood is close to my heart. I couldn’t think of a better way to thank all of you for coming out here tonight and helping Rosewood rebuild than to give you an exclusive performance—the debut of ‘I’ve Never Stopped Loving You.’ ”

The background music got louder and the crowd cheered wildly. Ivy put her fingers to the strings of her guitar and started to play. Closing her eyes, she leaned into the microphone and began to sing.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that nothing good in life comes easy

And when it comes to love, it’s painfully true the same rules apply

We’ve had our differences, and you’ve taken the long road back to me

But now I’m in your arms, and I must admit that baby, I lied

I said I was over you, I said we were through

I said I’d go on without you . . . but I’ve never stopped loving you

No, I’ve never stopped loving you

I’ve tried to move on, but your hold on me is strong And I can’t stop loving you

She sang as though she were alone, singing the song to Blake. He was the only one who needed to hear it. The only one who would really understand what she was trying to tell him. She forgot about the crowd and the audio/visual team recording her performance; she just lost herself in the music.

As she strummed the last chord and the music faded away, Ivy felt a huge weight lift from her chest. There were tears in her eyes as she looked out at the enthusiastic crowd. They loved the song. She’d sounded damn good. Kevin would be more than pleased with the live recording. She had no doubt the song would be available on iTunes before she landed back in LA.

She stood and blew a kiss to the crowd. “Thank you.” Ivy took a bow and absorbed the applause. Hopefully Blake would be as receptive as the audience was to her song.

Now was the moment. This was when she would walk off stage and into Blake’s arms. She’d fantasized about it all day like it was some romantic movie playing in her head. She would run into his arms and he would tell her how much he loved her. That would be better than any amount of audience applause.

She took a deep breath and started walking. As she cleared the curtains, she looked around but found only Kevin. This was not what she was hoping for. “Where is he?”

Kevin shook his head. “We’ve been looking for him. He’s around somewhere. I’m sure he heard it. How could he not?”