Page 204 of Hayden's Stalker

Isaac tried very hard to get the venue changed, but the contracts were watertight. If I never have to come back to this place again in my life, it’ll be too soon. Going to the soundcheck means going back past the other dressing room again.

“Tati’s been sick. She’s in your dressing room, and she’s been asking for you.”

Daniel’s voice from that day echoes in my head, and the image of Tati passed out on the sofa. A part of me has a need to open the door and look inside, so I can see the room again. I don’t do it, and I’m relieved when we make it out of the corridor with the changing rooms to the big open area backstage.

Getting onstage is equal parts scary and relieving. Once we start the soundcheck, I begin to feel better. Jesse is standing with Tati nearby. He comes to all the soundchecks now, and with both of them here, I know I’ll be safe.

I relax into the music, my safe haven. Playing drums has always been able to calm me down. I focus on the rhythm, and it allows me to clear my mind of any thought other than the songs we’re playing.

I try my best to hold on to that feeling as we go back to my dressing room before the show. It’s still hard, but I feel better now that the soundcheck is over. I think having passed the point in the night when Daniel kidnapped me is helpful. I feel like I can breathe a little easier, and I sit on the sofa in my dressing room with Tati to read my book before we have to go back to the stage for the concert.

As we’re walking there, Tati gasps out loud. I realize she’s not next to her anymore when I’ve walked a few more steps, and I turn to look at her.

She’s staring at her phone, looking completely stunned, and I’m worried about what news she’s received. “Is everything okay, Tati?”

She nods and beams at me, her smile taking my breath away as usual. “April wants us to go to Los Angeles to see her perform in concert in two weeks’ time!”

“Sounds good. We can see your family while we’re there, and maybe I could take you out to Napa so we can visit Nate’s estate to see what you think of it.”

Tatiana’s excitement is obvious, and my heart swells as I look at her because it’s so adorable that she still fangirls over April after all of this.

“That sounds absolutely perfect,” she says enthusiastically.

She sends a reply to April’s text and then slips her phone back into her pocket. She goes back into ‘bodyguard more’ as her eyes dart around the place while we walk. We agreed with Tanya that it would be a good idea for Tati to continue guarding me onstage during the concerts for the remainder of the tour. I’m so much more calm knowing that she’s right behind me during the concert each night.

The arena is dark, but the noise and energy of the crowd fill the building the way they always do before a show. I take my place behind my kit and pick up my sticks to twirl them as I take a deep breath.

Everything will be okay.

I look over at Tati, where she’s standing a few feet away from me, and smile at her. She smiles back, and I look at her for a moment, amazed at how different things are from the day we met.

There are so many things I wish I could change, but the one thing I would never change would be her. From the day we met, I’ve felt safe with Tatiana Swanson, and even when I was kidnapped, it was thoughts of her that helped me to get through it.

Somehow, amidst all of this, I have managed to find the person whose heart beats in time with mine.

The Epilogue

Butterflies tumblearound in my stomach as I walk with my friends into the ballroom at Nate’s estate. The wedding planner has done a tremendous job, and the large room is decorated with fresh fall flowers with white wooden chairs on either side of a long red carpet for the aisle.

A few of our handful of guests have arrived already, and I smile at them as we head toward the celebrant at the front of the room.

“Hayden, lovely to see you,” she says with a smile as she shakes my hand.

I talk to her for a minute before I take my place at the front of the room. My friends are all seated in the front row as I shift from foot to foot, periodically staring up the aisle even though I know Tati won’t be here until the ceremony starts.

“You know she won’t be here for another thirty minutes, right?” Sebastian asks with a grin.

“I think I might puke,” I tell him with a moan.

“Too bad Lita’s not pregnant, Seb, or she could give Hayden a vomit bag,” Gabriel jokes, and my friends laugh.

“Hey, it’s not for lack of me trying,” he tells us with a smirk.

I join in their laughter and blow out a big breath of air. In less than an hour, I’ll be married to Tatiana Swanson. She’s leaving for a contract after our honeymoon in Australia, and I feel a lot more secure knowing that I’ll officially be her husband when she goes. I’m already prepared to worry about her at noon every day.

Jesse walks into the room, not looking much different from any other day since his black suit is so similar to what he wears when he’s on duty. I give him a wave, and he smiles back at me a few moments before April appears wearing a beautiful floral dress that bears all the hallmarks of being one of Heather’s designs. She heads down to the front of the room, and I walk over to give her a hug.

“Thanks so much for coming,” I tell her.

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