I clapped his shoulder, happy for him. “No thanks necessary. I’m glad I could help.” I paused to frown. “But you do owe me for Griffin.”

Matt wrinkled his nose. “Welcome to my world. Sucks, doesn’t it?”

I laughed, feeling better than I had in hours.

Matt was extra peppy during the show. He even engaged the crowd a little bit, tossing them a wave when he walked out, nodding his head at them when I introduced him. It was almost like stepping so far outside of his comfort zone like that had broken off a small chunk of his shell. And to my delight, it stayed off—over the next few weeks, he became more and more comfortable on stage.

It made me happy for more than one reason. One—he should relax more on stage, there was nothing for him to fear in the spotlight. And second—he was impressing the shit out of Lana. They all were. And they still had no idea.

As per usual, Lana approached me when our set was done. I liked Lana. While the reason for her presence here was knotting my stomach, as a person, she was cool, easy to talk to. And she always seemed to want to hear my thoughts after a show, so I usually took a few minutes to talk to her. And I was usually high on performance-endorphins, so I was typically a little giddy when we spoke.

“Did you hear that crowd? I think that was the loudest one yet,” I told her, grinning.

She laughed, then nodded. “I agree.” Smiling, she shook her head at me. “Every time you guys play, you are spot on…just incredible. So much talent. I usually have a tip or two to give the other bands, some sort of critique, but never for you four. It’s like you’ve been doing this for twenty years.”

I laughed at her comment, then leaned forward so she would hear me over the noise. “They were really good out there, weren’t they?”

She got an insightful look on her face. “You’re the only prospective band whose sound hasn’t changed since my arrival. They have no idea I’m scouting them, do they?”

Biting my lip, I looked around, but the guys had already fled. “No. I didn’t tell them who you were.” I shrugged. “And I’ve been making sure they don’t find out.”