Page 24 of Rock My Girl

CASSIE

I'd never felt so fragile, and was grateful that Ford got me out of the studio as quickly as he did. We walked down the back hall, then outside to the parking lot where I gulped in the fresh air.

"Slow, deep breaths," he said, gently rubbing my back.

"Thank you."

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Ford asked. "Most people smile and laugh and jump up and down when they sing that incredibly."

I wasn't sure what to say. Stepping away from him, I began pacing slowly in a circle.

"I'm not sure. Maybe it's too much, too fast, you know? I'm used to working with people remotely, and I'm still incredibly nervous about disappointing them, and what they think of me."

Ford nodded, keeping his distance while I shook out my hands, trying to get rid of the tension that had overwhelmed me. "I think I understand. Pouring out your soul like that while strangers were standing right there staring at you must have been a bit much."

I nodded. "Exactly. And here you are talking about going on tour, where I have to assume there would be a lot more people in the audience."

Ford nodded, smiling. "You were pretty good at the open mic night. I saw your fingers twitching, but it wasn't so bad."

"That was just a bar, for fun," I tried to explain. "This would be a real tour, with real money on the line."

"Remember how I said the label would do anything to make you comfortable?" He spoke slowly, as if afraid to frighten me. "They have coaches for this sort of thing. Whether it’s for stage fright, to loosen a person up on stage, or vocal coaching to keep your throat healthy."

I stopped pacing to look at him.

"Kelly went when we first started," he continued. "She said it was really helpful, and she went from being pretty nervous to having a blast every time."

Staring down at my feet, I thought about that. "Isn't that sort of changing who you are as a person, though?"

Ford ran a hand over his slight scruff of beard. "Oh, I don’t know. I see it more as using a tool to accomplish something you want to do."

There was no way to tell Ford how scared I was. We were very different people. He was outgoing and personable, with many friends. He clearly loved the limelight.

I was used to a quiet life, just me and my laptop. Of course I'd dreamed of having a larger world, but was that a fantasy that I really wanted to come true? And if so, was I ready for it to happen so fast?

I was falling in love with Ford. That was a simple fact that couldn't be denied. And I thought he might be falling in love with me. But how could he stay in love with me if I wasn't the person he needed? If I wasn't the person he was hoping I could be?

At some point, I was going to let him down. How could I let him depend on me if I already knew that was going to happen?

This was such an important project that he couldn't be wasting time holding my hand while I figured it out. No, I was going to have to do what was right for him.

I was going to have to put some space between us

"There you are!"

A booming voice made me jump, as we both turned toward a short, sturdy looking man in a blue golf shirt and khakis. I hated how familiar he looked. Far too much like someone I tried to forget about.

"Cassie, this is Frank—" Ford began, but the older man cut him off.

"What's the deal, Ford?"

He seemed startled. "Deal? What do you mean?"

"You just hired your girlfriend and started recording without a contract in place?"

"You said that you were in a rush to get the demo done," Ford said.

Frank stared at the two of us as if we were complete idiots. "What if it somehow got leaked without a contract in place?" His harsh voice was rising. "We're ready to put a lot behind this album, but we need absolutely everything to be in order first."

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