Page 149 of Sing For Me

He breathes in deeply, like he’s trying to take in my scent. “I love you, too. Now tell me about your label.”

He listens while I try to sort my way through my feelings about the label that changed my life by signing me, how indebted to them I feel. At the same time, they pushed me in a direction I wasn’t crazy about, molding me into a bleached-blonde, dancing, sparkly-leotard-wearing pop star when that was never who I really was.

“So basically, I have no idea what I want to do,” I tell him. “And being without management is making it kind of hard to navigate, you know? I know so little about contracts and what labels might be interested or how the business part of this works.”

He nods, looking deep in thought. “You need someone who knows the industry front and back and also has your best interests at heart.”

“Exactly,” I agree. “So Marissa has been making calls, trying to find me a new manager, but that’s not really her wheel-house, either. Before me, she mostly worked with actors. She doesn’t have a ton of music industry contacts. And Luke is in the musical theater world, which is a totally different thing.”

Suddenly Will moves to the edge of the bed and stands, bringing me with him. “Get dressed,” he says, setting my feet on the floor. “I know just who we should talk to.”

* * *

Less than an hour later,Will pulls his truck to the curb in front of a sprawling brick house. Actually,houseis too small a word for the massiveness of the building. I’d thought the lodge in Tennessee was big, but it has nothing on this place. Cash Ransome’s house is a freaking mansion.

“You grew up here?” I can’t help but gasp out.

Will gives me a sheepish look. “It’s over the top, I know. My dad’s kind of a show-off. And when Reed bought his house, Dad just had to make sure ours was bigger. Which is why we ended up in a ten-bedroom house—Reed’s has eight.”

I manage a laugh, even as I continue to gape at the house. It’s easy to forget what a big deal the Ransome family is when they’re all so down to earth.

Will hops out of the truck, coming around to open my door the way he always does, and helps me climb down. “Are you sure about this?” I ask him for at least the tenth time since he told me where we were going. After the way Will reacted to his little brother’s band, I’m having a hard time believing he actually wants to talk to his dad about my career. But when we get inside, I realize it isn’t just his dad—all three of his uncles are sitting in the living room, plus Levi, Haylee, and Will’s grandfather. I stop in the entryway, gaping at them.

“You really called in the cavalry, didn’t you?” I whisper.

Will grins at me. “As annoying as my family can sometimes be, there aren’t many people who know the industry better. They can help.”

It’s such a huge one eighty from where he’s been that I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around it, but I allow him to pull me into the living room.

“Eva,” Cash says, standing. “It’s so good to see you again.” He surprises me by pulling me into a tight hug.

“You’ll get used to it,” Will says from behind us.

“Cash is a sappy bastard,” Reed calls from the couch.

“Huge hugger,” Daltrey adds, grinning. “It’s annoying as hell.”

In spite of their teasing, I’m more than a little touched by Cash Ransome’s welcome. And when he whispers, “thank you for giving him another chance,” into my ear, I have a hard time keeping from crying.

“What’s up, Will?” Lennon asks once we’ve taken our seats on the loveseat across from Will’s uncles.

“Eva fired her manager,” he says without preamble. “And her lawyers think they might be able to get her out of her current contract.”

Levi’s eyebrows go up. “That’s very unusual,” he says. “Recording contracts are notoriously difficult to break.”

Will nods. “Her PA is going to send the contracts over. I thought maybe your lawyers could take a look as well.” He looks over at me. “More importantly, Eva needs a new manager before she can even think about signing with anyone.” He glances around at the assembled family. “I was hoping you guys could help her with that.”

There’s a long stretch of silence, every face in the room wearing a matching expression of surprise. I have no idea what he told them to get them to agree to drop everything and meet with us, but they clearly hadn’t been expecting this.

“You…you want our help?” Reed finally asks, eyes wide.

Will makes eye-contact with him before nodding. “I do.” He swallows hard, the first sign that this might be difficult for him, but he barrels ahead. “Eva’s first manager was an asshole who was willing to jeopardize her health to get her back in a recording studio. He’s the only person she’s ever worked with.” His eyes meet mine. “She needs someone we can trust.” Then he looks back to his uncles, scanning each face before landing on his dad’s. “And there’s no one I trust more than the people in this room.”

There’s another long stretch of silence, and I’m pretty sure I see a few sets of wet eyes around the room. This is big, him coming to them. Him trusting them. I’m sure, to the very depths of my soul, that Will Ransome is in love with me. For him to trust his family to help me means a lot. And I can tell that everyone in this room understands that.

“Well,” Levi says, breaking the silence. “Let’s take a look at this contract then.” He turns to Will Sr., brow furrowing. “What about Kyle Hendricks? Is he still managing?”

Will’s grandfather looks thoughtful. “I think so. And Flight Risk hasn’t recorded an album in at least four years, so he might have some extra time on his hands.”