Page 159 of Stormswept Colorado

And it sounded like she’d said yes.

“So should we tell them?” I asked.

“Nah, not yet. It can be our secret for now.” She leaned closer, hypnotizing me with the look in her bewitching, world-famous eyes. “But I do need you to kiss me, Mr. Landry.”

“I can make that happen, future Mrs. Landry.”

Our lips touched. Slid until they locked together. Then parted as my tongue surged into her mouth, and her fist gripped my T-shirt.

Whoops and whistles suddenly rose around the room, and I knew they were about us. There were probably cameras recording us right now. I didn’t care. People could look all they wanted, say what they wanted, but the love I’d found with Ayla would always belong only to us.

In some ways, I had burned down my own world to be with her. Remade it into something new. Ayla had just said it best.

This, right here, was perfect.

Epilogue

Ayla, One Year Later

“How are you feeling tonight, Denver?”

I looked out at the screaming, cheering crowd. I couldn’t make out their faces, but they looked like a sea of lights. The signature crimson stone of Red Rocks Amphitheater bordered the sides of the stage, now faded into dimness.

The air was crisp and cool. An ideal summer night.

“I appreciate you joining me tonight for the final night of my tour. This has been quite a journey. A lot has happened to me in the last few years. You might have heard.”

More cheers and laughter. “We love you, Ayla!” someone shouted. “You’re amazing!”

I grinned. “Why, thank you. I love you too, Denver. You’ve all been very good to me. It’s fitting that I’m wrapping up my tour here in Colorado. A place I love calling home whenever I’m here.”

As I strummed a few familiar chords on my guitar, the screams got even louder as they recognized what song I was about to play.

“But there’s one person in particular who has come to feel like home to me. This is a song that I wrote about him.”

The crowd just about lost it.

I’d started writing this song in Silver Ridge during Emma and Ashford’s wedding weekend. Long before I had any idea what Teller and I could truly become.

This song was also the biggest hit from my new album. My number one.

Just like the man who had inspired it.

Usually, when I was performing, I gave everything to the fans who had come to see me. This was the quieter moment during my show, when I brought out my acoustic guitar and played. An intimate moment between me and the thousands of fans who had joined me on any particular night.

I’d found a new kind of peace in the last year. I liked to think that I had settled into my fame. Both becoming more creative and reaching a new level of independence in the business side of my career. I finally felt like I was the one in charge. I listened to the advice of Cheryl and the rest of my team, but I had the freedom and the confidence to make the final decision that worked for me.

Always after consulting with Teller, of course. Simply because he was my partner. My best friend. The person who understood me the most.

After I’d put the finishing touches on my album, with the help of my most trusted producer and collaborators, I hadn’t been sure how my fans would react. I’d been more heartfelt and more honest in these songs than ever before. In a way that Ruxton Records hadn’t allowed me to be.

The first single had been this one, the song Teller inspired, and it instantly hit number one. The singles that followed also did well on the charts, and the album went platinum soon after its release.

As soon as my tour was announced, it sold out pretty much instantly. My tour manager had begged me to go with the biggest venues possible. There was nothing like filling a stadium of tens of thousands of people and hearing them scream your name. I loved attending concerts like that too.

But for this album and this tour, I hadn’t wanted quite so much spectacle. And I’d known that I had to end the run right here, at Red Rocks. Which had been difficult to book even for me, let me tell you.

Teller had joined me for most of the performances. I adored knowing that he was waiting for me backstage, watching and singing along. My rock. The person who could always make me laugh when I needed it, who steadied me when I felt overwhelmed.

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