Page 72 of Everything I Crave

“Absolutely not, I found out when we were talking before the show, but I didn’t tell her because I didn’t want to make her more nervous. She was shaking like a leaf!”

Probably for the best, she would be even more of a nervous wreck if she knew there was anything else on the line.

I sneak my way over to him. Trying to read his notes over his shoulder.

He looks up at me, and does a double take. “Are you Willow Harper’s boyfriend, Gunnar?” he asks.

“Sure am,” I respond proudly.

“Nice to meet you, man. She’s great. I can’t believe that idiot kept her hidden all these years.” He nods along to the beat of the song.

“She is. And he is the biggest idiot if we’re being nice.” I scowl at the mention of her ex-manager.

“She write these all on her own?”

“Every word, every note.” I beam at Willow on the stage before walking away from him to let him do his thing.

I move among the family members throughout her set, until I get to Mom. She slips something into my hand, and I take off to meet Roman at the stage.

He closes out the show, and the crowd is going crazy, the outdoor seating can be heard inside over the crowd. My phone is buzzing like crazy in my pocket and I know Mack and Bennett are blowing it up for her.

“Now, before we let Willow leave, how about we get her man, Gunnar Keaton, up here on the stage?” Roman asks the crowd. They go crazy in response.

Willow looks at us confused, but happy to see me. Now it’s my turn to shake like a leaf with sweaty palms.

I keep my hand in my pocket on the small velvet bag from Mom, and take the mic in my other hand from Roman.

“Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the show tonight. I just wanted to come up here, and say how incredibly proud I am of this woman. She’s conquering the world up here on this stage, and hopefully one day you’ll see her on a bigger one.” I look in the general direction of where the label executive was before I got up here with these blinding lights.

“But, before you go, I wanted you to be here to witness one more, hopefully equally important event.” I kneel down on one knee in front of Willow. Pulling the small velvet bag out of my pocket.

I open it, taking the antique ring that belonged to my grandmother out of the bag and pinching it between my thumb and forefinger.

I knew when I decided to propose to Willow that she needed this ring. It’s an art deco ring, with a diamond in the middle surrounded by tiny rubies.

I hold it up to Willow, and look up at her.

“Willow, you are the light of my life. You came barreling into my life, literally barreling, and changed me for the better. You make me the bestversion of myself, and I hope that I do the same for you.”

“You absolutely do,” she says through tears.

“I would be honored if you continued to choose me for the rest of your life. Willow Harper, will you marry me?”

She launches herself at me causing me to drop the mic. I can hear it hit the stage and roll off. I’m engulfed in a swirl of red hair, and kisses.

“I think that’s a yes!” Someone says into the mic, and everyone loses their minds, screaming, yelling their congratulations.

I place her down in front of me, and take her left hand in my own, sliding the ring onto her finger. It fits perfectly, I knew this was made for her.

“Oh my God, this is absolutely beautiful.” She stares at the ring, then at me.

“It belonged to my grandmother, I knew it was perfect for you.” I beam at her and pull her into my arms and walk off the stage with her. Roman can take it from here.

We get about a minute before both of our families are fighting their way through the tiny door that leads to the storage area where we are.

Epilogue

Willow

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