Page 72 of Wes

As I lower myself to the chair beside Wes, I offer, “Guess my fire-engine high heels and cherry-red leotard has given me away. Or was it the black nun tunic I’m wearing over it, that barely reaches the top of my thighs?” I adjust the black veil and the white band over my blonde hair and wink at her.

“Got it. Half nun and half temptress,” she replies. “That would do it.”

“Where did Nick go? The celebrity auction is about to begin,” I ask Wes, stretching my neck to search the room over people’s heads. “Oh, there he is.”

The guitar player plops his butt on the chair beside me with a broad smile on his lips and a dreamy twinkle in his eyes. Wes and I exchange a look when his band mate doesn’t say a word to anyone at the table but sighs a couple of times.

I eyeball his costume, Romeo from a nineteen-nineties Baz Lurhmann’s film that I love. Snickering, I comment, “I guess you’re taking this outfit way too seriously with all these sighs and love-sick puppy eyes.”

“You’re in a party, not a play, bro,” Wes guffaws.

Nick shakes his head. “Guys, I think I’m in love.”

EPILOGUE

WES

A Year Later

Iglance around Jerry & Ron’s Lounge from behind my drum set. I find Maria’s beaming face as she sits at a table in the first row. The house is packed tonight with fans of Muse of Darkness as well as others who follow Ally Howard’s booming career. We tried to keep this celebration small but failed miserably. Word got out about it and the sea of faces is the result.

Glancing over at Erik, jumping up and down as if we we’re performing at a stadium, I know for a fact that he is as ecstatic as the rest of us. Between the band and Ally, we collected a whopping number of little statues of golden gramophones last month at the Grammy Awards ceremony – twelve in total.

At the same table as Maria, Christine and Angela have their eyes trained on their better halves, Erik and Nick. Ally is onstage with us belting her biggest hits.

When we finish, she grabs the mic and announces, “We’ve got something special for y’all tonight. We just need a quick break to set it up. Don’t go anywhere.”

High-pitched whistles and rumbling applause follow us as we rush backstage. As Nick grabs my drum sticks and a roadie hands me an acoustic guitar, Ally plants a kiss on my sweaty cheek.

“Break a leg,” she wishes me, before disappearing behind the curtain, certainly going to join Maria and the others in the audience.

I catch Erik’s gaze on me.

“You’ve got this,” he promises me.

“How did I let you talk me into doing this?” I mutter.

“Because it’s the right thing to do.” Nick slaps his big hand on my back.

“Make a fool of myself in front of a packed house and the woman I adore?” I suggest.

Nick laughs out loud. “Such a drama queen. I meant taking that leap of faith. You’ve got to do it, man. It’s the only way to go.”

I search his green eyes. “I’ve got the feeling this comment has more to do with you and that raven-hair beauty sitting beside my woman than with me?”

“Quite the caveman, aren’t you?” Nick elbows my side. “I thought Maria had tamed you.”

My turn to burst out laughing. “Said the pot to the kettle. Or have you grown mushy lately?”

“I don’t hear Angela complaining.”

“Good point.” Logan joins the fun and asks me, “Ready?”

“Not in the least,” I confess before steeling my back. “But let’s do this.”

We return to stage, Nick straddles my tall stool behind the drums, I plop myself on another in the middle of the stage, hooking my legs around the wooden stool. I place the guitar on my thigh, pluck the strings, and the melody I’ve composed for Maria fills the suddenly quiet room.

I lock my eyes on my wife, her lips hang open forming a perfect circle. I’ve accomplished the first part of my plan – surprise her. Now, I’ve just got to sing in front of an audience of adults for the first time in my life. I’m crossing my fingers all my practice with the kids at Welcoming Hills pays off now.

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