I watch as Gabi takes a big breath in, before slowly letting it out. “The divorce was about two years. That’s not counting the year before it, when I knew it was over, after I found out he cheated and we tried to work it out. It’s just… I felt like it was never going to end. Then he pulls this shit.”
It takes a lot for me to hate someone. Normally I’m a pretty easygoing guy. But now that it’s confirmed that he’s not just an asshole, but a cheating asshole? Good to know for the future, if I ever meet him. Now I can punch him. I’m a lot of things, but I will never, and I mean never, cheat on someone. I’ve seen firsthand what cheating does to a person. I had to watch my mom grieve the loss of her marriage and also somehow still puton a smile while raising me and my sister. And if this guy is crying crocodile tears when he’s the one who ruined things, then, disrespectfully, fuck him.
“I’m sorry,” I say, clearly seeing how her demeanor has changed in a matter of seconds. “What can I do to help?”
Gabi shakes her head. “Nothing. It’s…”
She trails off, but I watch as her eyes go from defeated, back to angry, before morphing into downright vengeful.
The transformation is fucking hot.
“Is the offer still standing?”
“What offer?” I ask, wanting to make sure I’m on the same page. “Don’t get me wrong, the answer is yes. I just need to know what I’m doing.”
Her smile is wicked, and it’s making me fucking hard. Which is fucked up, but also doesn’t surprise me. I love a woman with a little crazy in her. “He and his fucking girlfriend want to stalk me on social media? They want to talk about me? Then I’ll give them something to fucking talk about.”
Gabi takes my hand in hers and marches us back to our group. When we return, Hannah, Shelby, Ainsley, and Linc are all waiting for us, eyes unblinking as Gabi and I walk back into the VIP area.
“You two ready to record another performance?”
Shelby grins and takes her phone out of her back pocket. “In high fucking definition.”
Hannah already has hers out. “We’ll get it from multiple angles.”
“Oh! I can help!” Ainsley chimes in. “I come from a family who takes pleasure in revenge. I’m all in for this.”
Gabi laughs as she turns back to me. “I know I didn’t come up with a signal yet, but were you serious when you said that I never needed to ask you to sing?”
“As a fucking heart attack.”
CHAPTER 6
GABI
“Ladies and gentlemen… welcome back to the stage… Gabi and Maddox!”
Maddox hands me my microphone and leans into my ear. “You ready, gorgeous?”
With a deep breath that doesn’t do anything to ease my racing heart, I give him the most confident answer I can muster. “I am.”
The music starts playing as we slowly start to walk on stage. I knew when I picked this song that Maddox started it off. I didn’t pick it on purpose to give me a chance to settle in, but right now, I’m glad it does. My nerves are skyrocketing. I never used to be like this when I had a microphone in my hand. Give me a stage and a song—especially this song—and I’d be in my element.
That was before.
But that’s why I’m up here. This weekend is about taking myself back. Regaining parts of myself that got lost or were taken during my marriage. And I have been. It started with a dare. Along the way I picked up a handsome football player. And me being up here and singing not just any song—but this song—is the final thing I’m going to reclaim.
My voice.
My song.
I’m taking it all back.
I watch Maddox as his verse comes to a close. The man is oozing confidence. I don’t know what it is about him, but he should put it in a bottle and sell it. It’s that charismatic. That electric. I don’t know how a man can command a football field and a stage, but he is. And doing it damn well.
When I told Maddox the song I wanted to sing, I was worried he’d be intimidated by it, or rethink his words from earlier. I mean, this song is deep. Has layers. He seems like a smart guy, so he must have an idea that this isn’t a random song.
But the man didn’t hesitate. In fact, he got a little smile on his face. And now as he’s singing it with a haunting tone to his voice, I can’t stop staring at him. I’m sure the videos that Shelby, Hannah, and Ainsley are taking probably show me with my jaw dropped and my eyes unblinking. I have to right myself when his final note trails off and he slowly walks over to me, leans in, and gives me the lightest, but most meaningful, kiss on my cheek that I’ve ever received.
