I opened my mouth, but Damien pressed his thumb against it, keeping me from talking.
“Shh. My turn. I’m sorry, Cay. For everything. After this, can we have a real discussion? You know, one where we both get to say what we need to.”
I nodded, unable to do much else.
Damien grinned and pressed a quick kiss to my lips once more.
As he walked back to the stage, I called out. “Is that your new song?”
He stopped and looked over his shoulder as he lifted the mic to his mouth. “Yep. Can you guess where I got the inspiration?”
Warmth bloomed in my chest as I was met with stares from almost everyone in the restaurant. People who had watched me grow up.
Heat rushed to my cheeks, and my fingers moved to my lips. As if that would hide the fact that I had just made out with Damien Walker for… what did Hudson say? Seven whole minutes?
I should be embarrassed.
But I was exhilarated.
As Rebel Rebellion played their set, I sang along, letting the words and the music into my soul, where it healed and comforted me.
I watched him on stage, completely awestruck and unable to keep myself from giggling. I was still in shock that he was here. That he had put this together just to show me how much he cared.
I waited for the moment when I would wake up from this dream. It was just too good to be true.
I threw my arms around Jade, hugging her tight. “I know you helped with this. Thank you.”
“I’m always here for you.”
As Damien wrapped up the last song, he said, “You’ve been a wonderful crowd tonight.”
“Are you gonna hop down here and start kissing all of us?” someone yelled from the audience.
I swore I spotted the faintest blush cross his cheeks as he grinned. “If you’re a smoking hot, fun-size brunette whose name happens to be Cadence, then I’m all yours.”
“I’ll be whoever you want me to be, baby,” a woman yelled.
Damien’s gaze met mine, and his cheesy grin matched my own. “I’m really hoping that girl down there claims me as hers after all this. Do you guys think I have a shot?”
“Hell, yes!” My head snapped toward Jade.
She was sitting next to me. She didn’t need to yell.
Damien laughed. He was completely at home up there andJesus,did he look good in those tight jeans and snug gray tee. His tattoos were showing and I loved how they gave him an edgy bad boy vibe, even though he was just a huge teddy bear underneath.
I’d never been so attracted to someone in my life.
“Well, I have one last song to sing, and I can’t do it without my special girl.” Damien met my gaze. “Can we all give her some encouragement to get her cute little ass up here?”
Shane strummed a familiar set of chords, and all eyes turned toward me for the second time tonight as I realized what Damien meant.
I was a deer in headlights. “No way. No way in hell.”
Jade nudged me with her elbow. “Don’t chicken out now.”
I whipped my head toward the traitor sitting next to me. “Jade! You. You did this. And…” I gasped as realization hit. “Is this my song?!”
Jade looked up at the ceiling, feigning ignorance. When she met my gaze again, she was grinning like a Goddamn fool before she pulled me into a quick hug. “Go get ‘em, tiger.”
