Page 270 of On a Fault Line

The concert extends beyond the normal set, taking in requests and doing some covers of other popular songs that allow for duets.

Hours pass, and by the third boat of popcorn, I think Penny is on an all-time high.

Luckily, she switched over to sparkling water after the first daiquiri to stay sober.

I most definitely need her to be coherent tonight.

“I’ll be right back,” I say, getting up from my seat. “I need to use the restroom.”

Penny looks over at me. “Okay.” She tosses some popcorn up into the air and catches it on her tongue like a pro. “I’ll be here.”

I nod and exit to the side where the restrooms are located.

Sneaking behind them, I move my way over to the side of the stage and wait for the worker to give me the signal to approach.

Taking two steps at a time, I walk across to where Jace is standing. He pats me on the back, while Grace gives me a half hug.

Passing off the microphone to me, Grace and Jace move to the side, allowing me to be front and center.

Looking out into the crowd, I find Penny who is wide-eyed and scooted all the way to the edge of her seat. She must have given up on her popcorn, because the boat is flipped partially over on my seat, with kernels scattered about where I once sat.

She is my beautiful, chaotic mess of a girl.

“Hi, everyone. I’m Collins.”

“Hi, Collins,” the crowd says back.

“I hope you all don’t mind if I call the beautiful Penelope Hoffman to the stage to join me for something a little off script tonight.”

Penny hesitates for a few seconds, but when several people nudge her forward, she stands up and makes her way to the side where the stairs are located. The crowd erupts in cheers as she finally joins me on stage, creating an energy circulating among us.

Rocking on her feet, she twists her fingers together in front of her.

I take one of her hands and give it a squeeze. “Don’t be nervous. Everything is going to be alright.”

“What are you doing?” she mouths, unable to produce sound.

Speaking into the microphone, I make my declaration to this girl who has enraptured my heart.

“Penny, I love you.”

“I love you too,” she says with a raspy voice.

“My whole life, I thought I wasn’t good enough or easy enough to love. Then I looked into your eyes and saw the reflection of myself in them. It’s you, Penny. It’s always been you, and it will forever stay you. You are my endgame. You are everything that I’m willing to fight for and won’t ever stop fighting for… When I look at you, I see more than just today—or even tomorrow. Princess, I see the next one hundred years of my life with you in it. And there isn’t a measure of time long enough when it comes to you. But I will settle with forever.”

“Oh, Collins…” she whispers. Then she grabs the microphone. Keeping her eyes on me, she smiles. “I love you, and I will keep loving you, for all the days of my life.”

Bending forward, my mouth captures hers, and I quietly—and with intention—surrender my life to her.

“Penny, I lived a tortured life before you.” I place my hand over where my script tattoo of the wordLitostis located. “But it was you who helped me out of my own misery and made me believe in the possibility that someone could love a man like me.”

“And I do,” she chokes out, probably overcome with the implications of the next steps.

Then, reaching into the back of my jeans pocket, I pull out a little box. “Penelope Josephine Hoffman…” I get down on one knee and reveal the heart-shaped diamond to her and those now standing in the audience in anticipation. “Would you do me the great honor of becoming my forever partner, my wife?”

“Yes!” she screams, flopping down onto the stage floor to join me in a hug that knocks us both off-balance.

The crowd goes wild with excitement.

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