Chapter 21

A couple of weeks later, Riley stapled the bill to the invoice showing it had been paid. “Then these two go together, and you put them in the client’s file.” She handed the paperwork to Sunny, the new receptionist Hope had hired. She’d been shadowing Riley for two days, and she was as bright as her name suggested. Hungry. Happy.

She reminded Riley so much of herself, and while she nearly started crying every time she thought about leaving Your Tidal Forever, she knew she’d made the right decision. Change was just hard sometimes. All the time, maybe. Riley wasn’t sure.

Evan had assured her that she would still need her pencil skirts and heels, her jewelry and makeup, and that she’d get to meet and talk to plenty of people as she arranged everything for Georgia Panic.

He’d been giving her a new band T-shirt every day since Christmas, because he said they always traveled in “band attire.” She’d been slightly surprised to learn that meant Panic T-shirts and jeans, but she was willing to roll with it.

Carl had started to show her a few things in the evenings, and she only had three more days before she officially became the band manager. Carl had agreed to stay on through the Super Bowl to make sure she was comfortable and nothing got dropped during the next five weeks.

Riley was extremely grateful, and she told him so every time she saw him or messaged him. Sure, he might have a fierce look about him, and bark a little loud sometimes, but she’d learned that someone had to when it came to keeping five talented musicians on schedule, popular with the public, and feeling good about themselves.

Riley worked with eleven consultants at Your Tidal Forever, as well as Hope and Shannon, so she was actually downsizing by only having to worry about five people.

She continued to show Sunny how she’d organized the files, and the woman took notes on her phone. “Of course, you can do what you want,” Riley said. “This is just how I’ve done it.”

“It’s great,” Sunny said with a smile. “I don’t see why I’d change it.”

An alarm on Riley’s phone sounded, and she glanced at the note. “Oh, it’s my cats. I have to run home and meet the person who’s taking them. Are you okay here?”

Alarm ran across Sunny’s face. “Alone?”

Riley grinned at her. “Yes, alone. You realize we only have three more days together? Then you’ll be running this place.” She took Sunny by the shoulders. “And yes, Hope owns the company. Shannon is second-in-command. But Sunny, you run this place. Don’t forget that.” Riley had forgotten it once, and her life had spiraled out of control.

Sunny nodded, and Riley bent to grab her purse from the bottom desk drawer. “You just answer the phone if it rings. We don’t have any clients coming in this week. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Great.” Riley clicked her way out the front door and hurried back to her house. She had Sunshine’s and Marbles’s food all packed up. Their cat gym. Their mouse toys. Their beds. She arrived before Vera, the woman who she’d found to take the cats permanently, and Riley was glad she had one more opportunity to say good-bye to them.

Marbles waited by the front door, meowing as Riley entered her house. “Hey.” She scooped the gray cat into her arms and glanced around for Sunshine. The orange cat appeared in the mouth of the hallway leading down to the bedrooms, and Riley almost started crying again. “Were you laying on the bed?”

Of course the cat was. It was Sunshine’s favorite spot, because Riley had a window that let in the afternoon sunlight. Sunshine liked to bask in it for her fourth or fifth afternoon catnap.

Riley picked up Sunshine too and buried her face in cat fur. “I’m going to miss you guys,” she said. “But Vera is awesome, and I’ve met her. She loves cats, and she has two other cats already.”

She had a flash of herself as a cat lady, and she set the felines down as tires crunched over the gravel out in front of her house. “She’s here. You guys be nice to her.” She grabbed Sunshine before the female cat could bolt, and she put her in a cat carrier on the couch. “Marbles, you can stay out if you don’t run off.”

The gray and white cat sat down as if he understood what Riley had said to him. She stepped over to the door and opened it to find Vera getting out of her car. “Hello,” she called, and Vera repeated the greeting as she came up the steps.

“They’re ready for you,” Riley said. “I have food, beds, toys.” She picked up the box with the food and started toward Vera’s car. “Sunshine is already in the carrier.”

“I’ll get the gym.” Vera picked up the cat climbing toy and followed Riley. Within minutes, everything was in the car, and Vera had Marbles in her arms. “Are you sure you don’t want me to pay you?”

“Nope,” Riley said. “Just love them.” She reached out and stroked Marbles’s head. “You be good. No yowling.” Marbles meowed, and it sounded so mournful. Riley backed up a step, because she didn’t want to show Vera how sad she was to get rid of her cats.

“They’ll be well-loved,” Vera said, and she ducked into her car. Riley turned and went back up her steps to the safety of her porch. As Vera pulled out, the roar of a motorcycle filled the air, and Riley looked for Evan.

She didn’t want to be teary or crying when he arrived, so she wiped her face and hurried inside, closing the door behind her. She barricaded herself in the bathroom and looked into her own eyes. “This is a good thing,” she reminded herself. And it was. She knew it was.

“Sweetheart?” Evan called, and she liked that he just entered her house when he arrived.

“Coming,” she said back. Then she squared her shoulders and went to greet him.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He took her into his arms, and Riley wasn’t sure what he’d seen that she hadn’t been able to hide. “Did the cats get off okay?”

“Yes, they just left.” She let him hold her, the strength of his arms and body just want she needed.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I told you we could keep them.”

“I know.” She peered up into his face. “I’m fine. I am.” She smiled and touched her mouth to his. “Now, take me to dinner, because Carl texted a while ago and said he had a ton of work to go through with me tonight.”

***

Several days later, she entered Your Tidal Forever, and Sunny looked up from the front desk. “Riley.” She came around and hugged Riley. “What are you doing here? I thought you were leaving today.”

“I am. I’m just here to give Lisa my keys.” She glanced down the hallway. “Is she in? She said she’d be here.”

“Yep, she is.” Sunny hurried back to her desk. “I’ll tell her you’re coming back.” Her blue eyes sparkled as she dialed the phone and chirped, “Lisa, Riley’s on her way to you.”

Riley grinned and went down the hallway, feeling sort of strange she didn’t have the accompaniment of heel-clicking as she walked. But it was travel day for Georgia Panic, and that meant she wore blue jeans and a Panic T-shirt. She also wore sneakers, as they were traveling to Nashville today, and the high was supposed to be forty-six-degrees when they landed.

Forty-six. Riley didn’t even know what that cold of a temperature felt like, and she shivered as she entered Lisa’s office. The blonde was already walking toward the door, and she engulfed Riley in a hug.

“I’m going to miss you so much,” she said.

“I’ll miss you too,” Riley said, holding on to her best friend. She cleared her throat several seconds later and stepped back. “Okay, this is for the mail.” She held up her small ring of keys. “I’ve asked them to hold it and only deliver on Mondays.” She switched keys. “This one is for the front door. This one’s for the back.” She handed the keys to Lisa, who took them and wiped her eyes.

“Who am I going to talk to about my lame dates?”

Riley shook her head and smiled. “Me, silly. I have a phone. And you’ll meet someone, I just know it.”

“That last guy was a loser.”

“I know, honey.” Riley hugged her again. Lisa had been so excited about him too, and Riley had never even learned the guy’s name before Lisa had broken up with him. “But if someone can fall in love with me, you’ll have no trouble finding someone.” She grinned at her through the tears and hugged her again.

They’d already had a good-bye party for Riley on Friday, and she suddenly wanted to get out of the building before she saw anyone else. “Okay, Evan’s waiting, so I guess I have to go.” She backed up toward the door. “The car is in the garage. The keys for it are in the drawer next to the fridge. Take it out every once in a while, okay?”

“You got it,” Lisa said with a smile.

And just like that, Riley walked out of Your Tidal Forever, a place she’d called home for eight years. She felt great as she entered the sunshine. And when she found Evan leaning against the passenger side of the car where she’d left him, everything was right in the world.

“Ready?” he asked when he saw her.

“Ready.”

***

Super Bowl Night:

Riley watched from the wings, a place she was very good at being. Over the last few weeks, she’d been right at Carl’s side as he showed her the ropes. He had a very busy job, but he claimed it ebbed and flowed. She knew exactly what that was like, as Your Tidal Forever had busy seasons and calmer ones.

And right now, Georgia Panic was all the rage. The stage was set. The lights were off. The crowd was going wild.

All they were waiting for was the spotlight to appear on Evan, and then his cool, clear voice would fill the night. The anticipation built and built, and even Riley’s pulse felt erratic.

The light burst to life.

Evan’s voice rang out, and if possible, the screaming intensified.

Riley grinned at her boyfriend, because he was incredible. Simply incredible. He deserved solo albums and group albums and everything in the world.

He finished the first song, and she waited for Dan to start the next guitar rift. He didn’t. Riley straightened, because something was wrong.

Evan stepped back up to the mic, and he said, “Hello, everybody!” The crowd responded with a “Hello,” just like they always did at a Georgia Panic concert. Riley hadn’t known that until Carl had told her and she’d watched a few fan videos online.

But usually, Dan played a melody behind it. He didn’t tonight, and Riley turned to Carl. “Something’s going on with Dan’s guitar.”

“I’ll check on it,” he said, and he walked away.

Evan stood at the mic, and he said, “We’re going to get things kicked off here real soon. I have one thing I want to do tonight, and I want all of you, and the millions watching around the world, to participate in it with me. Are you ready?”

The crowd loved Evan, and Riley could feel his charisma and charm from her spot dozens of feet away. No wonder they had millions of followers on social media and every song they released went to number one.

“We’ve got a couple of new songs for you tonight, most that you can buy and download. But there’s one special song that you won’t be able to get anywhere but here, tonight. I’m going to get a special guest out on the stage with me in a minute, and everyone will know why.”

Dan started playing then, and relief hit Riley. She hadn’t heard Evan talk about a special guest though, and she was as rapt to the happenings on stage as everyone else in the stadium.

The tune changed, and Riley’s pulse flipped right before Evan sang, “She sits in the coffee shop, her head bent down.”

“No,” she whispered, and Carl appeared in front of her.

“Ma’am, I need you to come with me.”

“Carl, I am not going out there,” she said, digging her heels in though he hadn’t touched her. Every muscle felt tense, and Riley couldn’t believe Evan was doing this. She didn’t want to be on national TV.

She’s lovely in the sun, and perfect in the rain, and if I ever see her again I’ll ask her to marry me.

If I ever see her again I’ll ask her to marry me.

“What?” she asked, looking at the stage as the lyrics repeated themselves. Marry me.

“Riley,” Carl said. “If you don’t come with me now, we anger everyone.” He took her by the hand, and she was so stunned she went.

“Ah, here she is,” Evan said, the relief evident in his voice. He wasted no time dropping to his knees and positively bellowing into the microphone, “Riley Randall, the love of my life. Will you marry me?”

As if the crowd had been coached, they started chanting, “Say yes, say yes, say yes!”

Say—yes.

Riley’s heart beat with the rhythm of the chanting, and Evan held the mic out to her. She was going to kill him when they found themselves alone. Positively kill him.

At the same time, the warm sense of love flowed through her and over her, and she leaned forward and said, “Yes.”

The crowd cheered, and Evan swooped her into a kiss which he broke very quickly. “All right! Time to get this show started!”

The drums picked up, and the strains of their most popular song filled the air, and Riley let Carl lead her into the shadows and off the stage.

“Did that just happen?” she asked.

Carl put his arm around her and said, “Welcome to the family, Riley.”

She grinned and grinned, because she’d just gotten engaged to the Sexiest Man Alive. Her rockstar. Her everything.