Page 107 of Thunderstruck
My stomach twists into a knot as she wraps an arm around herself and takes a step back, looking smaller than I’ve ever seen her. “Sage.”
She holds up a hand and smiles. “No. Don’t say anything. We weren’t good together, and you were never going to try to stop my wedding, so I shouldn’t have…” Pursing her lips, she turns without another word and follows Javi to the bar.
Part of me wants to follow her and make sure she’s okay, but the larger part of me is frozen, trying to understand why she would ever think I would do something like that. I didn’t stop her from breaking up with me, which I realize now is probably why she came back to tell me about her wedding, hoping I would beg her to take me back.
What if I had begged?
Since the breakup, there has always been a part of me that hated how easily I gave up on us, but as I stand in the middle of a gaudy wedding that could have been mine, I feel nothing but relief. I wasn’t meant for this life. I wasn’t meant for Sage.
“I hope she’ll be okay,” Carissa says, her eyes still on Sage and full of concern.
Letting out a single laugh, I pull her into my side—gently—and kiss the top of her head. “You are spectacular, Carissa Paxton.”
“Maybe we should—”
“We should leave. Sage can look after herself; she always has.”
Thankfully, Carissa doesn’t argue even though I can tell she still worries about leaving. But if I know Sage like I think I do, odds are high she’s going to be filing for divorce within the year and taking Javi for everything he’s worth. She’ll be fine.
Hand in hand, we pass by the table with the cake and steal a couple of plates to go, and I snag the first car we can get so we can head to the Moda Center where Liam’s opening act is probably in the middle of her set right now. We eat our cake as we ride through downtown Portland, and I’m not sure I’ve ever been happier.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Carissa
This isn’t the firsttime I’ve been to a Liam Connolly concert, but this is definitely the first time I’ve had a VIP pass, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go back to being a regular concert-goer because I have officially been spoiled. We have our own sectioned-off area near the front of the stage so we don’t get mauled by the mosh pit of screaming women, and we can order whatever drinks and snacks we want without paying for them. I even got a free signed Liam t-shirt, though I gave that to a girl in the main crowd who burst into tears as soon as I handed it to her.
Cole rewarded my generosity with a kiss, which made me curious to see what else I could give away, but then the show started.
Liam Connolly is, in a word, phenomenal. I’ve loved his music since he first got his big break, but there’s something about a live performance that makes the music so much more real. Liam isn’t justtalented; he’s passionate, and he connects with his fans the instant he strikes the first chord on his guitar. I sing along to his songs with everyone else while Cole hangs back and grins at me like he’s never had more fun than watching me dance and scream with the crowd behind us.
Two songs in, Liam grabs his mic and makes his way down the walkway that leads deeper into the crowd, close to where we’re standing, though I don’t think he’s seen us yet. He likely knows we’re here, but he’s focused on his fans.
“What’s up, Portland?” he shouts into the mic, holding it up to catch the cheers and applause from the audience. “Man, it’s good to be out playing again. I’ve missed you guys!”
Cole’s hand is suddenly on my back as he comes up to where I’m standing, but his focus is fully on Liam, his eyes narrowed. What is he looking at?
“Let’s give it up for Layla Knight!” Liam continues, talking about his opening act. “Wasn’t she awesome? I wish I could play the piano as well as she does. That was brilliant!”
“He didn’t,” Cole mutters incredulously. As Liam starts talking about his latest album and how he came up with the next song he’s going to sing, Cole turns wide eyes to me. “Youwereabout to say wife!”
My stomach drops. I hoped he’d forgotten about that after all the drama with Sage and Javier. “What? Nnnnnn…” I can’t lie to him. Not after what he said to Sage about wanting us to be more. “Maybe,” I amend. “But how—”
Cole sticks his thumb and middle finger into his mouth and whistles so shrilly that the whole arena goes quiet for half a second.
Liam looks over, catches sight of Cole’s glare, and says some sort of curse in another language into the mic before remembering to drop it. Though he looks properly spooked, he recovers quickly and flashes a bright smile at the crowd. “Wow, this crowd sure is expressive tonight! Sounds like you want more music. Yeah?” He turns to head back to themain stage where a roadie waits with his guitar ready for him, but he pauses just long enough to look down at us.
“You and Kaseygot married?” Cole growls. Thankfully, we’re close enough that Liam seems to be able to hear us over the cheers of the crowd.
Clenching his jaw, Liam adjusts his earpiece and glances around to make sure no one else heard Cole. “How did you figure it out?”
Cole rolls his eyes. “Dude. You have a ring tattooed on your finger that wasn’t there a week ago.”
Liam glances down at his left hand, where sure enough a dark band with a Celtic design loops around his ring finger. He curses again and heads to grab his guitar with the look of someone who knows he messed up.
“We’re not done talking about this,” Cole warns before he gets very far.
Liam pauses, glances back with a thoughtful expression, and smiles. “Wanna bet?” He takes his guitar and slings it over his shoulder before counting off to his band.
