“Thank you for giving me this chance, son.”
“Thanks for proving that you deserve it.”
“I have a surprise for you,” Grant whispered in my ear as we stood backstage.
“What is it?”
His nose trailed down the soft contours of my neck, making my skin break out into goose bumps. His lips landed on my shoulder as his fingers made a line up the waist of my light-pink sundress.
“It’s not a surprise if I tell you, Princess.”
“It’s a tiara, isn’t it? You’ve finally realized that I need a tiara with this whole princess routine.”
He laughed and nipped at my skin. “Cheeky tonight, aren’t we?”
“Every night.” I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck. “So, what is it?”
“Later. It’ll come in parts throughout the night.”
“Parts?” My eyebrows rose. “This sounds complicated.”
“Well, part of it just walked through the door,” he said, pointing through the open stage door that led out into the audience.
My eyes searched through the sea of people already out there until I saw where he was pointing. My mouth dropped open and I gasped. “Are those my parents?”
“Yep.”
“Oh my God! And Aaron and Sarah?”
“Yep!” he said, sounding smug.
“They said they couldn’t come down for the show this weekend!” I cried.
“Aaron got a hold of me to keep it a surprise.”
“That’s…that’s amazing. Let’s go say hi.”
I grabbed Grant’s arm and pulled him out through the excited crowd, heading straight to my parents, who stuck out like sore thumbs and looked uncomfortable as hell, even from a distance. My mother was in a square neck dress with a cardigan wrapped around her shoulders. My father was in a very expensive-looking Tom Ford suit. At least Aaron and his girlfriend, Sarah, were dressed more casually.
I threw my arms around Aaron. “I can’t believe you guys made it!”
Grant shook hands with Aaron when I moved to hug my mom and dad.
“Hey, man.”
Finally, I turned back to Sarah. She giggled and stretched her left hand out. On her ring finger was an enormous rock. My mouth dropped open for a second time, and then I was squealing and jumping up and down.
“You’re engaged? Oh my God, I’m so happy for you. I’m so excited. Tell me everything. How did it happen? Where did it happen?”
Grant wrapped an arm around me and squeezed. “Maybe give them a chance to answer your questions.”
“You’re right. Wow. Just…wow. Congratulations! Both of you.”
Sarah launched into all the details about the engagement, which had happened at a romantic dinner a couple of nights ago. They had been waiting to make an announcement because they wanted to tell me in person. Grant had been the catalyst behind keeping it a secret from me. And I was surprised and thrilled. It was good to see my brother settling down with Sarah and not gallivanting off with anyone else. It would definitely do him some good.
My parents were also pleased with the news, which was no surprise to me.
“It’s going to be so glamorous. A big Boston wedding!” my mother said. She looked down at the grimy barstool and upturned her nose. She carefully slid the pad of her index finger over the surface and then examined it. She shuddered. “Anyway, I’ve already had an engagement announcement drafted and sent to the newspaper. It’s going to be the event of the season.”
I laughed at my mother’s behavior but nodded. “It certainly is.”
The news seemed to ease the discomfort that had occurred with my family, and even though my parents looked stuffy and uncomfortable, they carried on a conversation with Grant without snubbing him. It seemed like enough progress to me.
Almost too soon, Grant was kissing the top of my head and whispering my ear, “Time to go backstage. I’ll see you after the show. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I said.
My hand held on to his until he was too far away, and we had to let go. He gave me a mischievous smile before disappearing in the crowd.
“Jim, I’m going to need a drink.” With disdain, my mother’s eyes scanned the dive bar, but it was nice to at least see her here…trying.
“Of course, Diana.”
“Vodka martini. Grey Goose.” Then, she seemed to think better of it. “Do you think they even have Grey Goose?”
He shrugged his shoulders, and I tried to keep from laughing hysterically.
Only my mother.
“Well, I’m going to go to my normal spot. I’ll see you all after the show? We can get dinner or drinks? Talk about the wedding some more?”
“Yes, of course, dear,” my mother said. “We’ll go somewhere…a bit classier, I hope?”
“Sure, Mom.” I wrapped my arms around my father. “Thank you for giving him a chance.”
“We love you, baby girl. We trust you to make the right decisions…even if we don’t always agree with them.”
“Thank you,” I repeated before pulling away from my family and veering through the packed crowd.
I found the girls standing at the center of the pack, only about three rows back from the stage. Not speaking to each other, Shelby and Sydney were on opposite sides of Gabi and Cheyenne. Sydney didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. While she was around, Miller didn’t seem to realize how much Shelby cared for him. It was such a weird juggling act that no one had expected from Miller. He had turned into this accidental player, and I wasn’t looking forward to the fallout when it all blew up.
At least for now, McAvoy and Gabi were back on. I didn’t know how that was going to work out with the band going to L.A. for the summer, but Gabi seemed confident enough. She already had plans to visit. Cheyenne had sworn up and down that she and Vin weren’t serious, but I saw her eyes sparkle when he walked onstage. Another mystery—someone actually liked Vin. It baffled me.
My eyes cut to the left, and I saw Kristin standing in the audience with a guy at her side. She smiled at me and waved. We hadn’t hung out much since school ended because she had gone home for the summer, but it looked like she was back—at least for the night.
Then, it all came down to Grant and me.
He strutted onstage to an eruption of applause, cheers, and catcalls. He looked like a god in jeans and a button-up with the first two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up. His hair was wild. His eyes were even wilder as they searched me out in the crowd.