Page 101 of Specters & Spotlights

Graham perked up. “What song?”

Nick grinned, devilish and unrepentant. “Oh no. No spoilers. I want to see your faces when it starts.”

Elise narrowed her eyes. “That’s… concerning.”

“You should be concerned,” Nick said brightly. “And you should definitely keep your cameras ready.”

Elise took a sip of her Jack and Coke, the plastic cup cool in her hand, and leaned closer to Graham—just enough to smell his aftershave.

“So,” she said innocently, eyes wide as she batted her lashes, “what are you going to sing tonight?”

Graham gave her a slow sideways glance, half-exasperated, half-entertained. “If I sing, you sing. Those are the sacred rules of karaoke.”

She shrugged, lips curving coyly. “Fine. Let’s do a duet.”

“Oh?” His brow arched. “Got something in mind?”

“Bohemian Rhapsody,” she replied sweetly. “You sing everything except the ‘let him goes.’”

He laughed—head tipping back, a warm, real sound that sent a tingle down her spine. “Wow. Generous. Very generous of you.”

“I try.”

“I don’t know,” he said, playing along, “that arrangement doesn’t really work for me. What about something from Grease?”

Her eyes sparked. “Oh yeah? You feeling more ‘Summer Nights’ or ‘You’re the One That I Want?’”

There was a pause, just a breath, but it was charged. She wasn’t really asking about karaoke, and they both knew it.

Graham’s smile deepened, eyes locked on hers. “Is that a trick question?” he asked softly. “‘You’re the One That I Want.’ No contest.”

Elise met his gaze, playful but earnest. “Maybe we should ease into it with something safer. Like ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.’”

He didn’t miss a beat. “I will start wherever you want to start. Truly.” His voice dropped just enough to make her pulse jump. “Say the word.”

Her heart fluttered, caught somewhere between thrill and something sweeter. She turned back to her drink with a smile she couldn’t quite hide.

“Careful,” she murmured. “I might hold you to that.”

“I’m counting on it,” he replied.

They were still leaning toward one another, drink cups in hand, half-whispered jokes darting between them, when the current karaoke song ended to a cheer from the room. Neither of them noticed.

The next track queued up, and Nick sprang to his feet like he’d been shot from a cannon. “My turn!”

He grabbed the mic with the glee of someone about to commit a truly spectacular social crime. “Marco, you’re with me!” he called, and Marco, clearly in on the scheme, bounded up to the little stage with mock solemnity.

Elise blinked, glanced at the screen—and groaned audibly. “Oh no.”

“Kiss the Girl.” From The Little Mermaid.

Of course it was.

She didn’t need to look at Nick to know what he was about to do—but she looked anyway, and there it was: his absolutely devilish, I-will-be-causing-chaos-now grin. He threw her a wink, then turned to fully face Elise and Graham—still on the bench—lifted a hand in a dramatic flourish, and adopted the posture of a narrator preparing to make fate happen.

Then he launched in with terrifying commitment.

The voice. The accent. Full Sebastian.