I can’t help but chuckle.
Rory pulls away from me slightly. “Something funny?”
“No. I was just thinking of something else.”
“What?”
“It’s nothing.” I pull her back toward me. “Your hair smells amazing.”
“I use a honey lavender infused shampoo, professional grade. I guess I won’t be able to get it anymore now that Raine is out of my life.”
“I’ll figure out how to get it for you.”
This time she chuckles. “You still think you can buy everything, don’t you?”
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
I truly didn’t. But it’s true. I don’t think sometimes. Do I think I can find that shampoo for her and get it? Absolutely. Probably within a few seconds on my phone.
Growing up a Steel does have its benefits.
Rory doesn’t reply. I hope she believes me. I was only trying to please her. And strangely enough, I really want to please her.
Finally she says, “I’m sure I can find it somewhere on the internet. These days you can find anything, even things that only licensed professionals are supposed to buy.”
“If you can find it, please do,” I say. “Your hair… It’s so soft and smooth, and the fragrance is… I don’t know. I’ve never smelled anything like it.”
“You probably have if you’ve ever gone out with a woman who went to Raine’s salon.”
Since Raine was the only hairstylist in Snow Creek for the last couple of years, Rory is undoubtedly right. But this is the first time I’ve noticed it.
And that’s because of who it’s attached to.
When the song ends, the band takes a fifteen-minute break, so I take Rory back to the bar, where she takes another drink of her cognac.
“This is growing on me,” she says.
“Good. I’m glad you like it.”
“Would it surprise you to know I’ve never tasted cognac before?”
“Should it?”
“You know as well as I do that my family doesn’t have the kind of money yours does.”
“That doesn’t mean you’ve never had cognac.”
“We’re not your kind of family. Plus, Callie and I don’t drink very much. We never have.”
“Nothing wrong with that.” I take another sip. This is a nice cognac, but it’s not the best. The best cognac is Armagnac from France. I didn’t want to freak Rory out by ordering that. It’s pretty expensive.
“What are you thinking about?” I ask.
She has a serene look on her face. Her eyes seem focused on something far away, perhaps in her mind. “It wouldn’t interest you.”
“Why would you say that? Of course it would interest me.”
She sighs. “I’m just thinking about…my life. About how part of me still yearns for the spotlight. When I hear big-band music like this and I see the musicians dressed so formally, I remember the audition process. Recitals. I miss it.”
“Have you thought about doing a recital?”
She laughs then. “In Snow Creek? Who would come?”
“Probably the whole city, Rory. It would be something new and exciting.”
“I don’t know. With everything else going on in my life. In your life.”
“What’s my life got to do with it? In fact, what if I bankrolled the whole thing?”
Her eyes go wide then. “No. A thousand times no.”
“Come on, Rory. This isn’t a handout. This is me providing our city with a cultural event. And let me tell you, cultural events are lacking here in Snow Creek.”
“Brock…”
“Honestly, I think this is an amazing idea.”
Truth. Absolute truth. Rory could get her recital, and our city could get a cultural event, something we’ve never had before. And why am I suddenly interested in cultural events?
Because it would please Rory. My God…
“I’m loving this idea,” I continue. “What do we need?”
“Well, first of all, we need an event location. We don’t have an auditorium in Snow Creek.”
“We have a cinema.”
Rory pauses a moment, cocks her head. “You know, that could actually work.”
“Of course it could work. A lot of cinemas rent out their space for conferences and workshops. Why not a recital?”
She twists her lips, her head still tilted.
“What else?”
“I’ll need an accompanist. On piano.”
“Surely someone in Snow Creek plays piano.”
“No. I would need a professional accompanist. One who knows all the classical and musical theater pieces.”
“Okay, we’ll bring someone in from Grand Junction.”
“And…”
“Yeah?”
“I need a dress. A cocktail dress.”
“Easy enough. Not in Snow Creek, of course, but here in the city you can find anything. What about music?”
“I have plenty of sheet music, including the piano accompaniment. That won’t be a problem.”
“Let’s do this, then.”
She shakes her head, smiling. “You’re crazy.”
“I’ve been called that before.”
“No one in Snow Creek is going to be interested in this.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because no one in any big city was interested in me, Brock.”
“Hey, I was just in middle school at the time, but I seem to recall you starring in every high school musical to a packed house.”
“That’s because all the people who came had kids in the chorus or in the play.”