Page 173 of Of Heartbreak and Harmony
Sav nods, an expression on her face that makes me feel more understood than I have since waking up in that hospital bed. I feel like she gets it, even if she hasn’t lived it.
“Thatis why you’re still the first band I want signed on Rock Loveless Records.Thatis why I’m betting on you. But more importantly, you need to bet on yourself. You’re not a musician just because you play piano. You sing, you write songs, you preform and entertain. I saw you in Chicago. I know the potential you have.” Sav spreads her hand on her chest, right across her heart, and pats twice. “You feel it in here, Callie. I know you’ll play again. And even if you never get back to thelevel you were, you’ll adapt. You’ll adjust, and you’ll make fucking great music, because you have to. It’s the only way you’ll feel whole.”
I blow out a long slow breath and blink back the sting of tears. She’s right. She’s fucking right, and she knows it, but it doesn’t make it any less terrifying.
“I still don’t know if I feel comfortable letting you put so much faith in me. I don’t want to disappoint you.”
“So, we’ll sign a provisional agreement contingent on you producing an album within two years. If you get to the end of that two years and you still don’t think you can do it, we’ll part ways amicably.”
I arch a brow. “You’d do that? Even knowing everything, you’d do that?”
“Uh, yeah, Cal. I’d give you a formal contract right now if I thought you’d take it.” She smirks, and I almost blush.
I consider it again. I try to imagine how it would work, what a scenario like that would look like.
“I don’t know if the guys would go for it. They’d basically be in limbo for me.”
Sav snorts out a laugh. “Calla Lily, those boys are just happy to be included. And trust me, there is no one they’d rather do this with than you.”
The more I think about it, the more excited I get, and it’s like a candle has been lit in a room in my mind. The one that went dark after the accident. My fingers itch to feel the keys. My mind starts swirling with potential lyrics. When my lips twitch with the urge to smile, Sav grins in triumph and pulls Hammond’s tablet out of her bag.
“Look...” She pulls something up on the tablet and slides it in front of me. “I just happen to have a provisional agreement right here that you could look over, if you want.”
“Oh. What luck,” I deadpan, my eyes falling to the tablet.
She shrugs in my periphery. “I’m being a proactive businesswoman.”
As I scan through the contract, I can’t help but draw comparisons between today and the day seven months ago when Torren propositioned me. I’m feeling much less dread this time around.
“I should talk about this with the guys...” I mumble.
“Oh, they already read it. Pike’s out, but the other three are ready to sign whenever you are. But I definitely agree you should talk to them.”
I look up at her through my lashes and quirk a brow. “You’re something else, you know that?”
Her only response is that mischievous grin. The one I can’t help but return.
THREE MONTHS LATER.
“Do we think this is smart?”
Ezra’s voice carries over the loud noise from the plane. Even through his goggles, I can see the uncertainty.
“There are approximately twenty skydiving related deaths every year. Maybe we should reconsider.”
Becket shakes his head, and even over the rumble of the engine, I can hear his sigh. “I told you to stop googling shit. You literallyjuststopped thinking you have a tumor.”
“We’re already up here, bro,” Rocky chimes in. “You signed the waiver. You took the class. Don’t punk out now.”
Instead of giving my two cents, I turn my attention to Torren. He’s watching them with his lips pursed, and I can’t tell if he’s amused or annoyed. I’m a little of both. I give his shin a nudge, and he turns to me with a smile. He leans in close, so he doesn’t have to shout too loud.
“Are you scared?”
I shake my head. “Not at all.”
“Are you excited?”
“Absolutely.”
