Page 98 of I Need You Tonight
“I’ll pick you up at seven,” she said, and walked away smiling.
—
It turned out that Mike’s on Thursday nights was super busy. Heidi and I squeezed through the crowd to the front of the room. On the stage, a twenty-year-old girl was belting out the lyrics to a Kelly Clarkson song. As I listened, I realized Kelly had been right when she’d pointed out that whatever didn’t kill you would only make you stronger. Loving Mason and walking away from him hadn’t killed me. It had made me stronger. It had been the inspiration behind my line of gifts, which had become popular. It had inspired me to donate a portion of the proceeds to a charity that helped individuals and families dealing with addiction. It had made me a better, stronger person…even though I missed him.
The final notes of the song faded away, and everyone applauded as she left the stage. Then the emcee strolled up to the mike, wearing a navy T-shirt withMIKE’S BARon the front in white. “Okay, next up we have someone many of you may recognize, though he won’t be playing the instrument you expect. And he’ll be singing a song he wrote.” Instead of introducing the singer, the man stepped away from the mike, and Mason emerged from the shadows and walked onstage.
The girls next to me started screaming, and I could’ve sworn one of them was about to faint. I glanced around, searching for the rest of the band. If they were here, they were well hidden.
Mason sat at the keyboard and adjusted the mike to his height. Then he began playing and singing a ballad, and I instantly melted. I’d never heard him sing before, other than when he sang backup vocals in the band. His voice was rich and deep and soulful, and filled every part of me with hope and longing.
I gripped Heidi’s arm. Was I dreaming? This wouldn’t be the first time I’d dreamed about him since walking away from him all those months ago. Although this would have been the first of my dreams where not only was he singing, but he was singing a song I’d never heard before. A song about loving someone and letting them walk away. A song about regretting it every day of his life.
“Did you know he was going be here?” I whispered to her.
She winked at me and went back to watching him as he sang, “I need you tonight.”
The song finished and the crowd erupted into applause, with some of his fans surging forward to get closer to him. I could only continue staring at him, my head spinning with all kinds of questions.
Mason didn’t seem to notice the applause. He was watching me with the same love in his eyes I had seen so often. He stood up from the piano bench, his gaze still locked on mine.
Heidi nudged my arm. “Go talk to him,” she said. When I didn’t move, she nudged a little harder.
That was all the prompting my legs required. Before my brain knew what I was doing, I stumbled toward him.
As I grew closer, I caught some of the questions being tossed at him: “What are you doing here?” “We’ve heard rumors the band’s splitting up—are you?” “Is it true that you’re the new owner of the music store here in Desert Springs?”
The last one got my attention, and my step faltered for a second.
But Mason ignored the questions, his focus solely on me as he pushed through the last of the crowd separating us. From the heated look in his eyes, I half expected him to kiss me in front of everyone.
But instead of turning it into a moment worthy of a Hollywood movie, Mason leaned in, his warm breath brushing my cheek. “Let’s get out of here so we can talk.”
“I’m here with Heidi.” I turned around, but she was no longer where I’d left her. I scanned the area, searching for signs of her. Then I realized what had happened: apparently my best friend had set me up, bringing me to the bar where Mason would be playing, and then she’d bailed. Which meant that if he really was the new owner of the music store, she already knew that.
I looked back at Mason, who was grinning. Yup, those two had definitely been talking since he kissed me two days ago—maybe even before that.
“Heidi knew you were performing tonight, didn’t she?”
“Yes. And she might have helped me out with a few other things.” He winked.
Mason rested his hand on my lower back, and I’d be lying if I said my body didn’t respond to his touch. He led me through the crowded bar, thanking his fans but making it clear that we were leaving and not stopping to socialize.
His car sat in the parking lot, but that wasn’t where we were headed. The sky was cloud free, with stars twinkling down on us. The warm summer night hugged us, though the temperature was comfortable after the heat inside the bar.
Mason threaded his fingers with mine, but he still didn’t kiss me. Part of me wanted to kiss him right there. But I held back, sensing he really did wish to talk to me first.
Or maybe that was all he wanted to do.
My chest tightened, squeezing my insides like a python crushing life from its prey. Maybe he had come to his senses and had finally moved on—even if only two days ago he’d declared he still loved me.
Still holding hands, we walked to a nearby park and sat on a wooden bench overlooking the water fountain. White spotlights around the circumference shone up through the water, making it glimmer.
“So is it true?” I asked. “Are you the new owner of the music store?” His home and the band were in L.A., which was why I had a hard time believing it.
He nodded. “The papers were finalized the other day.”
“What? Why would you want to invest in a business so far away from where you live? Won’t that be tough to manage, especially since you’re on the road so much?”
