Love and Rumors: A Summer Sisters Beach Reads Contemporary Romance (The Summer Sisters Book 1) by Jean Oram

What was happening to him?
    He dragged his hands through his hair, then down his face.
    “You okay, man?” asked the lead vocalist.
    “Yeah, of course. No problem.”
    “You sure?”
    He gave a short nod.
    The band shifted from foot to foot, eager to get back on stage. “Ready?”
    “Yeah. Just, uh, take it slow if you can. I’m a…beginner.”
    Damn. What was he doing? These concert-goers had paid money to see the band they loved, not to watch him flounder and ruin a song.
    The lead vocalist grinned as he caught Finn’s uncertain gaze going to the front row. “What’s her name?”
    “Hailey,” he replied without thinking. He winced. How did he not know by now to keep his trap shut?
    “We’re on. Oh, and don’t go smashing the guitar at the end of the song. It’s Josh’s favorite. Just in case you had any ideas.” The singer gave Finn a look that made him feel like a kid who’d been scolded for aiming his slingshot at the butt of a rival classmate. Finn pulled the borrowed guitar closer. No smashing of other people’s toys. Just like in kindergarten.
    Well, they weren’t in kindergarten any longer, were they? And there certainly wasn’t a principal to keep him in from recess for not playing nicely.
    The floodlights brightened as the group hit the stage, leaving Finn behind.
    They stirred up the crowd, introducing him at the last possible second. He saw Hailey’s eyes fly open as if someone had goosed her good. His hands shook and he wasn’t sure he’d remember a chord, let alone how to rip one up with his uncertain digits. He downed the last of his triple rye and Coke, the burn making his throat ache, and then with a smile hit the stage, hand raised above his head. The band was already playing, and he had to concentrate to pick up the rhythm of “Drooping Flags.” Every once in a while he’d fall behind, but the band would slow, add a few extra riffs and let him slide back in as if it had all been intentional.
    By the end of the song the adrenaline and energy from the crowd had him keeping up, his fingers moving faster than they ever had back in the cottage. Cell phone flashes blitzed the stage and Finn grinned. They let him take the lead vocals and he gave the lyrics a throaty, rough rendition that brought tears to the eyes of a special gal up front. Hailey looked awed, almost stunned, but her arms remained hanging limply at her sides. She didn’t take a single photo.
    Damn it.
    He wanted her to make money off this act, not Austin. She’d do him justice, whereas Austin would turn him into some fame-hungry monster—and rightly so.
    Finn flicked Hailey a quick wink, hoping she’d snap to. Her face turned crimson and she slid her arms around herself protectively, toying with a lock of her long hair. The women around her, thinking the wink was for them, almost fell over themselves. This must have been what the Beatles felt like. Awesome. Indestructible. In control.
    The band members crowded around him at the mike, belting out the chorus as if they owned it. Finn grinned. He was singing on stage in a concert. With a sweet group. Was being famous awesome, or what?
    The song ended and Finn didn’t want to give up the mike. Pumped up from the high, he bounced off the stage, forgetting to crowd surf as he headed for the next best thing: Hailey.
    He grabbed her in a bear hug and spun her around, knocking into several people.
    “That was for you, Hails.”
    “Hails?” she said, pushing him away.
    “Hail Mary, full of grace, you make me do crazy stuff.”
    “You can’t blame me for that.” She shrank against his chest as the crowd squeezed closer, people shouting over the music, congratulating him, praising him, snapping photos. Finn protected Hailey with one arm and smiled, then, snagging her hand, drew her to the back of the crowd. People were still snapping photos, slapping him on the back, making room for them to move. Royalty.
    He stopped when he knew he was in line with Austin and his