“Fine. Closet kisses are back on the table. But I also want to kiss you out in the open.”
She drapes her arms around my neck and looks up at me in a way that makes it feel a lot hotter than the seventy-five degrees it is outside. “Then what are you waiting for?”
It’sa good thing I’m cool with the sound guys. Without them on board, there’d be no singing my song with Mia. They’re the ones with access to Fusion’s sound database. I don’t even have to reassure them to blame me if they land in hot water because of this stunt. They’re fully on board.
Paul’s wary of the idea at first, but after talking to Mia and me for a few minutes, he shakes his head at us, smiling. “You two have really kept things interesting on this tour. Let’s hope I have a job after this.”
I squeeze Mia’s hand offstage as she waits for her cue, guitar hanging at the hip of her overalls. Victor almost had a heart attack, but it felt wrong to send Mia out to sing lead vocals and her own stuff in anything but overalls. In some miraculous turn of events, she’s hiccup-free too.
She gets her cue and looks over at me in a way that has me wondering if it’s too much to propose to someone the day after you make your relationship official.
Watching her sit on a barstool and strum the guitar, I know without a doubt I’m completely gone over this woman.
I still remember how I felt going out on stage for my first solo performance. Walking out to join Mia to sing one of my own songs beats that by a mile. The way she smiles at me makes me so glad I used whatever pull I had with Fusion to convince them to let her sing. It was so worth it.
I’m vaguely aware of the deafening cheers of the crowd as I stand next to Mia, and she hands over the guitar.
Mia covers her mic and leans toward me. “Think you’ll be able to keep your shirt on for this one?”
I suck air through clenched teeth as I arrange the strap over my chest. “It’ll be a close call.”
She laughs softly, then squares me with a more serious glance. “You ready?”
I look out over the crowd and swallow with effort. “I’vebeenready.”
“Anything yet?”I ask Paul as we step off the Eurostar in London.
He shakes his head. “I left a voicemail letting them know we’d be on a train under the Chunnel this morning. I expect they’ll be calling soon, though.” He grimaces in a way that saysand it might not be pretty.
He’s probably right. We did go behind their backs on last night’s stunt. But the crowd loved the song. Why wouldn’t Fusion be happy about that and want to capitalize on it by producing more of my own content?
We’re a bit of a circus going through St. Pancras station, withall our luggage and equipment. We have no tour buses now, so we’ll be staying in a hotel for these last two nights. I can’t believe it’s almost over.
In the hired cars that take us to our hotel, I make sure I sit next to Mia. Paul knows how I feel about her, but no one else is in the know yet—at least not totally—so I set my backpack on my left leg and hold her hand beneath it like we’re star-crossed lovers in junior high instead of grown adults. I kind of like having this little secret between us for a little longer.
Paul talks to the people at the hotel’s front desk, and Mia steps aside to take a call.
As Paul distributes room keys, I try to stay focused, but I can’t keep my eyes off Mia.
“Who’s she talking to?” Kelly asks.
“No idea.”
“Whoever it is, apparently, she likes them.”
She’s not wrong. Mia’s eyes are wide, her mouth pulled into a huge smile. My heart skips as her gaze shifts to mine. I can’t believe she wants to be with me. Given how things started between us, it’s a modern-day miracle.
People head to their rooms, and I hesitate.
“I’ll stay and give Mia her key,” I say to Paul.
He hands me the card. “I’m going to call Fusion. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
I take a seat in one of the lobby couches, but less than a minute later, Mia heads my way.
I’ve never seen her eyes so wide as she lowers herself next to me.
“Who was it?” I ask.
