Brennan gestured at her with the apple. “Nothing wrong with crying, sweetheart.”
“Thereiswhen you cry as much asIdo,” Liza retorted, sniffing back her tears and then huffing in irritation. “My tendency to cry is like a sickness.”
He held the apple at his side and slipped his opposite hand in his pocket, looking at her with that thoughtful expression again. “You have a tender heart. And that’s one reason why you’re precious to me.”
She smiled warmly. “You know, B., with a friend like you, honestly, why would I ever need a boyfriend?”
Brennan coyly arched an eyebrow. “I can think of one reason.”
He winked and then dramatically chomped into the apple, and she laughed. “Well…true.”
The murmur of voices approached from the hall, and Jimmy emerged, arm draped over Oscar’s shoulder as he spoke and gestured passionately. Oscar wore a somber expression as he stared straight ahead. Connor padded quietly behind them, hands in pockets and chin tilted down.
Something was clearly wrong, and Liza stood from her chair and crossed around to the front of the desk. “Everything okay?”
Oscar shrugged. “Just don’t know if I’m gonna be worth y’all’s while, Miss Liza.” He crossed his arms over his chest, hugging himself slightly. “I’m just impotent in there.”
“No, you’renervous, son,” Jimmy said, patting his shoulder and then letting his hand fall away. He plodded to the back living area and took a seat on one of the couches. “Everybody gets that way at first. We’ve all seen you do your thing. We all believe in you.”
“I’m tellin’ y’all,” Connor said, meandering toward the kitchen and retrieving a beer. “I think it should be a live album.”
“Nobody debuts with a live album. Not unless you’re trying to be Dave Matthews 2.0 or something,” Brennan said. He bit into the apple and then gestured with it at Oscar. “This kid isnoDave Matthews.” He punched Oscar’s shoulder. “I’d never insult you like that, my friend.”
Oscar gave a quick smirk before his face fell somber again. “I appreciate that.”
“You don’t know shit, Riley,” Connor said. He dangled the beer by its bottle neck and stood next to Liza. “He’s a natural in front of a crowd, and that’s how people should be introduced to him.”
“I know jazz sounds way better with the right acoustics, and none of these clubs has it.” Brennan pointed at Connor with the apple. “Don’t act like you can’t feel the lack of fullness when you hear Coltrane’s Alabama at Birdland versus the studio version.”
Connor dropped his head backward. “Ha!” He laughed heartily. “Man, I can’t even hear you after you say something bad about Coltrane at Birdland.Fuck. Who even are you and why are you here again?”
“Oh, you know why I’m here, Sarge.” Brennan lifted his hand and rubbed his thumb against his index and middle fingers.
Connor rolled his eyes and swigged his beer.
“I actually prefer the Birdland version,” Liza chimed in, grabbing the meeting handouts and swiping a couple of peppermints off her desk before joining Oscar at his side again. “It’s grittier. Like you can really feel that razor’s edge someone only gets when they’re really caught up in their emotions. It’s seductive. It’s sexier.”
“Hey, yeah you right.” Connor let his brows raise and drop at her, and Liza’s cheeks warmed.
Brennan noticed the look Connor gave her and offered her a hopeful lift of his eyebrows and a wink. “Well you would say that, L. You’re from the so-called Live Music Capital of the World.”
Connor groaned. “Austin isnotthe Live Music Capital of the World, and I wish you wouldn’t bring up that blasphemy in this place.” He stalked to the living area, and Brennan meandered after him, laughing under his breath while he grabbed Connor’s shoulders, rubbing them and shaking him in a brotherly manner.
Liza placed her hand on Oscar’s back and gave it a firm rub. “I’m sure it’s all very overwhelming, and that can be frustrating.”
Oscar shrugged and blinked his deep brown eyes. “It is a little. But it’s more like… have you ever had something really good happen to you, and you just want to share it with someone you love, except they’re not there?”
Liza felt her face melt into a frown as something stabbed the inside of her chest. She nodded, absently holding the handouts against her lower abdomen and clutching the peppermints to her heart.
Oscar sighed long and loud and then shrugged again. “Anyway. I just can’t find my sweet spot today. And it took me all last week to getRooflaid down. Jimmy was hoping I’d have at least three songs done by now. He’s gonna change his mind.”
“He’s not.” She placed her hand on his arm. “He believes in you. He’s been doing this a long time, and he knows that good music is organic and can’t be forced. You’ll figure out what works for you.”
Oscar pulled his lips between his teeth for a second and then chewed his thumbnail.
“Okay, why don’t you try this?” Liza placed her hands on her hips. “Don’t think about the record or what you’re doing here. And next time you play, and you’re really feeling like you’re at your best, wherever, whenever that is, make a mental note of that. Then go tell Jimmy that’s how you want to do the rest of the songs.”
“Psh.” Oscar jerked his chin and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’ll go so well. ‘Hey, Mr. Jimmy, care to sit in my rotted-out living room for a few hours while I blow my horn?’” He shook his head. “Sorry, Liza. I just think I’m gonna have to suck it up and figure out how to do it here.”
