That voice.

Have I heard that voice somewhere before?

I wracked my brain, but came up empty.

It was good. Hell, it was damn good.

It was really unique, and whoever owned it knew exactly how to use it. I hadn’t heard control like that in years.

Whoever that guy was – he deserved to be absolutely killing it in the charts, but I was fairly confident that that tone didn’t belong to any of the artists who were in the top one hundred alongside me.

This was someone new.

“I want him,” I blurted out.

“Excuse me?” Charlotte raised her brows at me, fake outrage written all over her face.

I chuckled. “Oh c’mon. You knew what I meant… I want to sing with that dude.”

She grinned gleefully.

The possibilities raced through my mind.

“Who is he? How’d you get this? Who do I need to contact? Do you think he’d be interested in jamming with me? Do you know if he writes his own material?” I fired question after question at her without giving her time to answer.

That rasp would be the perfect accompaniment to my voice.

I knew a good mesh when I heard one – and if I could get this guy to agree, we could make some seriously good tunes together.

“Remember to breathe,” Hannah called helpfully from the couch.

I looked up at her and took a deep breath.

“But seriously, Lotte, who the hell was that? His voice is HOT.” She shot Jasper an apologetic glance. “Sorry, babe, but it’s true.”

Jasper didn’t reply, but I couldn’t help but notice the daggers he was shooting at my woman.

I was about to hit him up about it, but Charlotte spoke first.

“It’s just someone I stumbled across,” she replied vaguely. ‘He’s kind of… shy… I guess you could say he wasn’t too keen on having someone of your… status hearing him sing.”

“Why the hell not?” I demanded with a frown.

What the hell was wrong with this guy?

I had power in the music industry. Certain record producers would yell ‘how high’ when I told them to jump. I could give this guy the start he would need in such a competitive market.

Toot toot – blowing your own trumpet much?

She pointed her finger at me like I was in trouble. “Because… he wants to make it off  his talent – not because of your contacts, rock star,” Charlotte explained, almost as though she could read my mind. Actually, at this point I was willing to believe that she could read my mind – she knew me better than I knew myself most days.

I absorbed her words for a few beats. “Okay… I get that.” I nodded. “I can respect a guy for that… but if his talent wasn’t what it was, then I wouldn’t be willing to put my ass on the line for him, would I?” I shot back, hoping like hell that she’d see where I was coming from.

Charlotte grinned triumphantly. “That’s exactly what I was hoping you’d say.”

I furrowed my brow in confusion.

What is she playing at?

“So, let me get this straight… you think this guy has what it takes, right?” She jiggled with excitement.

Her breasts bounced, and for a moment I forgot all about the voice I’d just heard.

She’s so damn sexy.

Charlotte cleared her throat, disrupting me from my ogling. “Eyes are up here, rock star.” She pointed to her eyes with a smirk on her lips.

I shook my head to try and snap out of it.

Damn Charlotte…

The voice… think about the voice…

“If he can nail every track like he did that one? Then yeah, I know he’s got it. This is what I need. I need a guy with a voice like that… but there’s still the fact that I don’t know or trust him, so it wouldn’t be a done deal,” I explained.

“But if you could trust him?” she prompted.

I thought about it for a minute. “Then I’d offer him the deal of a lifetime.”

I wished more than anything that she could magic up someone with a perfect set of lungs that I knew would have my back. That was exactly what I wanted going forward.

I wasn’t sure when the loneliness had set in – it was probably around the time Charlotte had left. I didn’t feel as confident anymore – I’d done some harmonies with Pete lately and it was the most fun I’d had with music since before my hiatus, and while he wasn’t too bad of a singer, he didn’t hold a flame to the talent I’d need to make this duo idea work.

Talent like I just heard.

Raw talent.

I needed raw talent that I could trust.

“You’d want him to be your wing man?” Charlotte pressed, anticipation building in her eyes.

I nodded, unsure of where she was going with this. Trust took time to build; there was nothing she could say that was going to make me trust this guy in an instant.

“Hell yeah I would, in a perfect world, if someone would offer me a guy with a voice like that, that was down to earth and could be trusted in my life, then I’d offer him whatever he wanted.”

“Well then you’re in luck.” She grinned, her excitement palpable.

“Charlotte…” Jasper warned.

Charlotte snapped her head around to look at him.

I frowned in confusion as I looked between the two of them – locked in a silent standoff.

Hannah must have picked up on the tension too. “Alright, which one of you two is going to tell me what the hell is going on here?”

“C’mon, J…” Charlotte begged.

Jasper stared hard at her, and I could tell he was debating internally with himself. What he was debating, I had no idea, but it was clear he was struggling with it.

“Pleeease, Jasper,” she whispered into the tense silence.

J balled his fists tight and groaned. He threw his head back onto the back of the couch and muttered a string of curse words. “Fine,” he mumbled more coherently.

Charlotte squeaked out some type of ecstatic noise that I’d never heard her make before.

“But if it all turns to shit, it’s on you, Little Red,” Jasper added in warning.

Charlotte nodded furiously in agreement. “I’ll keep him under control, I promise.”

I didn’t know what was going on here, but I was starting to think that my girlfriend and my best mate had been doing some type of scheming together behind my back.

“Oh fill us in already,” Hannah snapped, looking between the two of them. She nudged Jasper in the ribs. “You know I hate secrets.”

“Well you’re going to be thrilled with me…” he muttered.

“You know who it is, don’t you?” Hannah replied in a pissy voice. “You better tell me, Jasper Jones, or I swear I’ll—”

“It’s me,” he interrupted her with a resigned sigh.

My jaw dropped.

It’s him?

He turned to face me, his expression guilty as hell. “Charlotte snapped me having a jam in your studio,” he explained.

Jasper?

Jasper can sing?

Jasper can play?

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. Even Hannah was silent – and that was a fucking never-before-seen event.

Charlotte took my hand in hers. “I know what’s going through your head, rock star, and yes, he can sing… and play the guitar, and who knows what else… I’ve heard him in person, and he’s really that good.”

It didn’t matter which way I swung it in my head, I just couldn’t make this information fit with what I knew about Jasper.

We’d been friends forever – since we were kids.

He’d been by my side, supporting my music career for years, and he’d never shown any inclination towards singing.

“Are you serious?” Hannah shrieked.

I winced.

Jasper was in for it now. Hannah was bound to rip him a new one for keeping this a secret from her.

“This. Is... AWESOME!” She cried.

What the hell?

Did I just hear that right?

Charlotte giggled – at Han’s reaction, or my bewildered expression, I wasn’t sure.

“My boyfriend is sweet, sexy, tattooed and can sing like a God. Oh you wait till the girls hear about this!” She bragged, clearly thrilled with herself. “It’s like a girl’s wet dream,” she added with a content sigh.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on Jasper’s face. He looked like someone had just crowned him king of the world.

Proud as punch.

He was smitten as hell with that crazy-ass girl, and it was clear as day that her praise was worth everything to him.

“He’s pretty incredible, right?” Charlotte whispered to me.

I looked down at her and nodded in agreement. “How long have you known he had that in him?”

She grimaced sheepishly and screwed up her nose. “Since before we broke up… I always planned to tell you – even though Jasper asked me not to… but then, you know…” She shrugged. “Life got in the way.”

“Why didn’t he want to tell me?” I asked her, surprised by the hurt in my own voice.

Jasper and I were like brothers, and for whatever reason, he hadn’t wanted to share this side of himself with me. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t wound me a little bit.

We could have had so many jam sessions together; we could have made new music... I would have put him in front of the producers that gave me my big break… he would be a signed artist by now…

Reality hit me.

That’s why he didn’t tell me…

He didn’t want a free ride.

It didn’t explain how I never knew he had that voice when we were kids, but it sure explained why he hadn’t told me since I’d made it big.

Jasper was so relaxed he was basically horizontal. We were different like that. I loved the attention – or at least I did for the first few years. I was all about the big parties and events, where J had always preferred to have a few quiet beers at home with a good group of mates.

He’d come out of his shell since he’d agreed to become my manager, but he’d been forced into that for the most part. These days he was comfortable in clubs, on the stage doing the intro and dealing with his own fans.

But could he handle hitting it big?

I thought about it for a moment, and knew that with me here to support him, he could do whatever the hell he wanted.

Charlotte was watching me quietly with a satisfied smile – she knew I was figuring it all out inside my head.

I kissed her forehead before turning back to my best mate.

“Alright, man… I’m just gonna lay it out there. I’m gutted you didn’t tell me. You’re the closest thing I’ve got to a brother, and you should have been able to talk to me.”

Jasper nodded his head, a shameful expression on his face like he’d seen my disappointment coming.

“But I can see why you didn’t… because you know me well, and you knew that I’d make a massive deal about this.”

He nodded again, his eyes fixed on mine.

“So, I won’t do that,” I told him simply.

Charlotte squeezed my hand and I knew she was proud of me.

“But I will tell you that your voice is good, man. It deserves to be heard, and hell, I’d love to have you up there with me if we could make it work somehow. I think a duo is exactly what I need… but there’s no pressure. I’m not gonna push you into something you don’t want, and I’m also not going to offer you anything you haven’t earned.”

“I appreciate that, Park,” he replied, his voice thick.

“How would you feel about starting small… just a few jam sessions in my studio?”

He nodded and grinned. “As long as you don’t attempt to drum, I’m there.”

I chuckled.

Charlotte looked at me in question, but I just shook my head.

I’m never touching those damn drums again.