“You did it,” Ash cheered as The Sunshine Academy Players filed into their dressing room. “Great job out there.”

The rehearsal had gone off without a hitch. By the time Ash returned from his brief interlude with Jesse, Butler had shared his brain surgery antidote, and by some miracle, the perspective had calmed everyone’s fears.

“I didn’t even mess up,” said Chadwick, the newest member of the ensemble who’d been with the group only four months. Playing must have been in his DNA because he’d picked up the instrument faster than any student Ash had ever had. Other than Jesse.

“Mrs. Hopewell is going to be blown away tomorrow night,” Butler announced, brimming with pride.

Millie had checked in on several practice sessions but opted to wait until the big night to hear the performance in full.

“Yes, she is,” Ash agreed.

He had to return to the stage to supervise the choir’s rehearsal, but the singers had been nailing their song for the last two weeks, so he was much less nervous about their performance. It helped that he was a mere supporter in the wings for them and not required to be on stage.

“You guys get packed up and sit quietly while I see to the choir.”

Sheila Worthing and Greg Etheridge, the two parent chaperones, gave him a nod of understanding, making it clear that they would keep the children contained in Ash’s absence.

As he hustled from the room, Ash nearly ran Jesse over. “Hey,” he said, steadying her. “Sorry about that. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she replied distantly. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m leaving.”

“But we came together. I only have the choir left, and then I should be able to go.” The kids were riding a bus back to the center where their parents would pick them up.

Jesse shook her head. “No, I need to go. Silas is going to drive me home.”

Something was off. “Are you okay? Did something go wrong during your rehearsal?”

“I told you, I’m fine. I just want to go home.” Eyes down, she mumbled, “I have to figure something out.”

“Jesse, what’s going on?”

The choir exited the room next door, and Zoe said, “Are you coming, Mr. Ash?”

“I’ll be right there.” He kept his focus on Jesse and lowered his voice. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll go with you.”

She finally met his gaze, her expression unreadable. “Not tonight. I’ll see you during the taping tomorrow.”

“What about the studio?”

“I’m taking tomorrow off to rest my voice for the show.”

Was that the problem? They’d been working hard for weeks so he understood her voice needing a rest. But this didn’t feel that simple.

Ash watched the last of the choir disappear down the hall. “I have to go. Are you sure you can’t wait?”

Jaw tight, she crossed her arms. “I’m sure. We can talk this weekend.”

This weekend? Today was only Wednesday. What the hell?

Confusion mounted. “There’s something you aren’t telling me.”

“Come on, Mr. Ash,” called Zoe. “We have to go on, and the risers aren’t long enough.”

Pulled in two directions, he squeezed Jesse’s shoulders. “Wait for me. Please.”

“I can’t.” She stepped out of his reach. “I have to go.”

Without another word, she hurried down the hall toward the back door where Silas waited.

“Figure what out?” Ash muttered.

“Mr. Shepherd, we need you on stage,” said a voice behind him.

As Jesse left the building, Ash fought the urge to go after her. What could have possibly happened in the twenty minutes since he’d kissed her behind that curtain? The question still ringing in his head, he followed the kid in the headset toward the stage, passing a dark-haired man in a suit on the way.

“Good luck,” the guy said.

Ash glanced over to find one heavy brow arched high, and a smug smile on the man’s thin lips.

“Who are you?” he asked, taking an immediate dislike to the stranger.

“Dennis Kohlman, at your service.”

Ignoring the extended hand, Ash said, “Should I know you?”

“No,” the reply came as the hand fell away. “And I doubt we’ll meet again. Farewell, Mr. Shepherd.”

Ash watched the Kohlman guy saunter away before he was hurried onto the stage to find half of his choir standing about in confusion. Zoe was right. The risers provided were never going to fit the entire group.

In the melee that followed, the stranger was completely forgotten.

What was she going to do?

Jesse had examined every option she could think of, but no solution came. Defeat weighed heavily on her chest as she lay in bed staring at the dingy popcorn ceiling.

There was no way she could avoid giving Dennis exactly what he wanted. She might survive the fallout. Clay might not drop her from the label. And another producer might be found to finish the album.

That was a lot of mights, and the truth was, the odds of any of that happening were not in her favor.

The more likely scenarios were that she’d lose her deal, her album would never be finished, and not only would Ash take a hit professionally, but their relationship would implode in the process. In fact, no matter what Jesse decided to do, there was no way to save her newfound happiness.

If she let Dennis do his worst, Ash would be dragged through a public flogging. Jesse wasn’t famous enough to garner the kind of headlines that Miranda or Carrie might, but Flesh and Blood had a significant following that was highly active on social media.

Even a hint that she’d wronged their beloved lead singer would result in a Twitter storm that would leave Jesse in tatters and take Ash down in flames right along with her. He was a private person who didn’t deserve that kind of embarrassment.

In a week, some other kerfuffle would steal the spotlight, but the damage would be done. Ash would forever be the guy who’d cheated with that no-name singer whether he deserved the title or not.

The alternative would be more painful for Jesse, but it would save Ash from the media spotlight. In fact, if she made sure to come through as the villain, her producer might get the benefit of the doubt. Ash would be the guy who’d given the difficult artist his best shot, but in the end, she’d been exactly as the rumors had claimed.

Impetuous. Impossible. Incapable of being professional.

Rolling onto her stomach, Jesse screamed into her pillow. A slew of expletives later, she curled into a ball on her side, desperately racking her brain for a third option. Her cell rang, and she closed her eyes. Ash had been calling for the last two hours. She’d sent every call to voice mail, but if she didn’t answer soon, he’d show up at her door, and Jesse couldn’t face him until she’d found some way out of this.

“Hello?” she said, pressing the phone to her ear.

“Why haven’t you answered my calls? Are you all right?”

Hating herself for it, Jesse used the age-old excuse. “I don’t feel good. It’s that time of the month.”

“Oh,” Ash said, voice slightly less frantic. “Do you need me to bring you something? Pain pills? Chocolate?”

Jesse squeezed her eyes tight as a tear slid down her temple. “No, I just need to sleep. I’m sure I’ll be better tomorrow.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind.”

“I know. Thanks for the offer, but I’m already in bed.”

A heavy sigh came down the line. “Okay, then.”

She did her best to smother the whimper. “Okay, then,” Jesse replied, chest aching. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Call if you need me to pick you up.”

Voice shaking, she nodded before remembering he couldn’t see her. “I’ll be well enough to drive myself.”

Silence loomed for several seconds before Ash said, “Then I guess I’ll see you there.”

“Good night,” she said as another tear fell.

“Night, baby.”

Before he hung up, there was one more thing Jesse had to say. “I love you, Ash. Please don’t forget that.”

“Never, hon. I hope you feel better.”

“Me, too.”

She ended the call and dropped the phone on the bed before rising to sit against the headboard. There had to be another way. Dragging a pillow onto her lap, she hugged it tight against her chest, willing her brain to think.

The only way to avoid losing everything was to take away Dennis’s power. But how? Start rumors of her own? Jesse wouldn’t even have to lie. She could simply out him for the predator that he was, but there was no guarantee she’d be believed. He’d already smeared her name enough to stack the game in his favor.

If Jesse played this card and no one believed her, she’d go from being merely difficult to a liar who spread vicious rumors about her main rival’s manager. If they did believe her, the one hurt the most would be Taylor. Despite how things had gone down, Jesse didn’t hate her former partner enough to throw her under a bus in order to save herself.

Which led her right back to where she’d started.

Tossing the pillow aside, Jesse snagged her phone and fired off an email to Silas asking him to set up a meeting with Clay for Friday morning. Once the damage was done, she would be the one to tell Ash. She only hoped he’d find a way to forgive her.

Unable to sleep, Ash strolled into his studio to find something productive to do. For once, he didn’t feel like writing a song, and he was too worried about Jesse to focus on anything else. Settling in front of the computer, he checked his email first, but there were no messages that needed his immediate attention.

Clicking over to YouTube, he typed a few familiar names into the search bar and found a new video by one of his co-writers. The performance was from the Songbird Cafe and featured a newly written tune meant to be a duet. The female artist performing with him, a woman Ash didn’t know, had a nice voice, but she wasn’t as strong of a singer as Jesse was.

They hadn’t talked about adding a duet to the record, but it wasn’t a bad idea. If they could convince Chance to join the effort, Jesse could have a ready-made hit on her hands that was sure to garner major attention.

Ash clicked back over to email to message the writer. With any luck, the song was still available.

Going back to the videos, he did a few more searches but found nothing he hadn’t already heard. Failing to find a distraction, the events of the evening played back through his mind, and Ash couldn’t shake the feeling that Jesse was hiding something.

Something happened between the time he left her behind the curtain and when she’d decided to leave without him. Maybe Dimitri had messaged her. Or she’d had another run-in with Taylor Roper. Had she been part of the show? Ash didn’t remember seeing her, but there were a ton of performers involved, and he’d been too busy with the kids to check out the rest of the lineup.

Finding the info for the Christmas special online, he scanned the list, but Taylor’s name wasn’t on it. Curious, he typed her name into a search engine and scanned the info. Halfway down the page, a name caught Ash’s eye.

Dennis Kohlman. That was the guy who’d been lurking backstage at rehearsal.

A few clicks more and Ash learned that Kohlman was Taylor’s manager. He didn’t have many other clients, but one name did match with an artist on the Christmas show list. There had to be a connection between Kohlman and Jesse’s sudden change. Had he given her a message from Taylor? And if so, why wouldn’t Jesse tell Ash about it?

Speculation was getting him nowhere, and there were no internet searches that would reveal what Jesse was thinking. Tomorrow he’d ask about Kohlman. If the man was responsible for whatever was bothering her, Ash would know from her reaction. And then he’d track down the snake and make sure he never bothered her again.

In fact, maybe he should call and make sure she was okay. Glancing to the corner of the screen, he decided that after midnight was too late to bother her. If Kohlman was the problem, Ash could take care of that easily enough. If it was something else, they’d deal with it together.

Turning off the screen, he crossed to the door and flipped off the light on his way out.