“I do?”
“Yep. Go ahead. Queen City is so big you’re never going to see these people again anyway.”
“She sings in church, too.” Gianna nudged her again. “You can’t have stage fright with the way you sing every Sunday.”
“That doesn’t involve a stage, and you’re standing next to me in the pew, singing the same song.”
“If I go up there with you, will you do it?” Gianna didn’t give her time to answer, standing up and grabbing Ginny’s hand, tugging her toward the stage.
Zoey watched the woman try to return to her seat, but Gianna wouldn’t let her. Unable to watch Ginny panic in her attempt to get off the stage, she stood, hurrying to the front.
“Gianna, she doesn’t want to.” Managing to get her away from Gianna’s grasp, Ginny looked startled when the DJ handed her the microphone.
Zoey felt bad for her, seeing she had a massive case of stage fright, her hand shaking as she held the microphone.
The rowdy crowd started yelling at her to sing.
Gianna, seeing the commotion she created, sent her an apologetic look before stepping off the stage.
The DJ started to play “Poker Face,” the lyrics coming up on the screen to the side. However, when Ginny remained unmoving, Zoey asked the DJ to switch the music to “Million Reasons.”
The first sounds coming from Ginny were so low that Zoey couldn’t hear the words, even with the microphone in her hand. It was only when she took Ginny’s hand and started singing with her that she could hear the perfect voice coming out. As the song went on, Ginny’s voice grew louder. She didn’t notice she was now singing alone.
The crowd got quiet as she sang, and when the final note trailed off, the entire audience clapped enthusiastically.
“Play another one!” Penni yelled out.
Zoey gave her a quelling look, but it was too late. The audience started stomping their feet.
Turning her head, she saw Ginny nod.
Seeing the DJ, Zoey then requested another song. She held Ginny’s hand firmly when “Girl on Fire” started playing. Zoey started the song, and after a second, Ginny jumped in. Zoey stopped, letting Ginny’s voice be the shining star on the stage. Everyone in the room was shocked and amazed at the talent they were witnessing.
As she sang, the song took her over. She didn’t pay attention to the rapt audience that couldn’t take their eyes off her. Nor did Ginny realize she was singing alone, weaving a spell that made each of them think she was singing to them personally. She had that magical something that thousands of performers tried to imitate without success, while Ginny did it with just the sound of her voice.
When the song ended, everyone in the bar was standing and clapping.
Zoey felt Ginny slip away from her side. So, left alone on the stage, she moved back to the microphone. “That’s it for the night. I need to rest my vocal cords.”
The crowd laughed at Zoey’s attempt at humor, giving her the chance to escape back to the table where her friends were still congratulating Ginny about how well she had done.
“Wow, Ginny, you did great!” Zoey added her own congratulations, sitting back down.
Ginny flushed red in embarrassment, grabbing her drink to hide her face.
“You’re better than Kaden’s opening act! You should try out. Jesse won’t be coming back for the next tour,” Kaden’s wife excitedly yelled from the end of the table.
“Sawyer, I’m not a singer. I like to sing to relax or make time go by faster. I’ve never had any lessons—”
“Kaden could teach you. He gives lessons when he’s not touring.”
“No.”
“Ginny, don’t be negative to possibilities.” Penni’s unreadable expression had Zoey convinced that her friend had a plan brewing behind her hooded eyes. When the woman used the same method that she used with her clients, Zoey knew Penni wasn’t going to give up.
“I’m not being negative. I’m being realistic. I have no desire to live like Kaden and the rest of the band.”
“I thought you like traveling with the band?” Zoey questioned her.
“I do, but that doesn’t mean I want to sing.”
“You would make more money to afford the house you want to buy.”
“I can do that when I save enough money doing a job I like to do, which isn’t singing.”
“That’s true.” Zoey nodded sagely. “You have a lovely voice. It takes a lot of self-confidence and self-esteem for singers to put themselves out there to be open to criticism. Did someone make fun of your singing?”
Ginny’s face closed like a book.
“I see. Would you stop cooking if I didn’t like your cooking?”
“No,” she answered reluctantly.
“Do you get nervous if Gianna doesn’t like the way you clean the apartment you share?”
“No.”
“Because you’re good at it. You have confidence in things you do well. If you took lessons from Kaden, you could discover you do that just as well and enjoy sharing your gift.” Zoey leaned closer to Ginny. “I’m not talking about taking a gigantic step and changing your choice of careers but being comfortable enough that you could join a choir or sing karaoke without someone standing next to you.”