Page 78 of Home Coming

Mark was right. In an effort to spare her, he’d hurt everyone. Himself and her.

Not anymore. He wanted Bailey and if by some miracle she still wanted him, he was going to take anything she was willing to give.

The ticket Bailey left for Josie had included a backstage pass. It was how he’d gotten back there before the show, just in time to save her from her pissant ex.

That VIP lanyard was also how he was waved past security and into the backstage area now just as the final strains of Bailey’s last song echoed off the walls of the arena.

It was how he was in the perfect place to see her as she came off the stage, breathless and pink cheeked. Her eyes glistening with excitement and maybe a few tears as the crowd chanted her name.

She spotted him and their eyes met, just as a stagehand ran up to her with a bottle of water. Over the din Quinn heard the crew member say, “You ready to do the encore?”

With a quick glance back at him she nodded and then was gone again, back to her adoring fans.

“Does this happen every show?” he asked as the stagehand paused next to him.

She grinned. “Yup. They love her. She’ll be headlining next tour. No doubt about it.”

He let out a short laugh. It was amazing and surprising. Not because he ever doubted her, but because of the speed with which her life had changed so much. And here he was about to throw something else at her.

His feelings.

He couldn’t. He shouldn’t. She should be concentrating on herself and the rapid rise of her career.

The sound of a lone guitar quieted the cheers of the concert goers. Then he heard Bailey’s voice, so familiar to him now, as she said, “This one’s for… well, he knows who he is.”

The stagehand touched his arm. “You can watch from the wings if you want.”

He glanced down at the woman. “Won’t the audience be able to see me?”

“That’s the point.” She grinned.

He hesitated barely a breath before he moved to a place where he could see her.

Lit by a single spot of light she was as beautiful as her music.

The words and the melody were haunting. Like she was pouring her soul out onto the stage. The emotions were as raw and true as that first song she’d ever written, but this one felt different.

She got to the chorus and as the crowd sang along with her he realized it was the title track of her album,Unrequited.

He listened more closely than he had when Carter had played it for him at the bar. Hearing it live, an acoustic rather than a studio version, drove home even harder the angst, the sadness, the pain.

But beneath it all was a feeling of hope.

He felt that hope too. Maybe it wasn’t too late. He hadn’t hurt her so badly she couldn’t forgive him. Maybe they did have a chance.

She finished the song and the crowd went wild.

When she set down the guitar and turned to leave the stage, her gaze hit on him standing in the dark. A small tentative smile bowed her lips as she took a step toward him.

He didn’t wait for her to come to him. He strode to her. Wrapping her in his arms, he picked her up, holding her tightly against him as his heart raced.

Setting her back down on her feet, he pulled back just enough to bring his palms up to cradle her face.

Leaning close, partially because of the noise of the crowd that had gone completely wild, but mostly because he couldn’t seem to get close enough to her, he asked, “Who is that song about?”

“You. Only you.” She shook her head like it should be obvious to him. And yeah, he’d been really slow on the uptake but he got it now.

At that revelation he couldn’t control himself. He smashed his mouth against hers, finally taking what he’d wanted, what he’d waited for, for too long.

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