Page 82 of Heartstruck at Dawn
“Then, more reason for you to stay until the end. I’ll be at Joel’s. Meet me there when you get back.”
“I promise to be there before midnight. I still want to be the first one to give you a big birthday hug. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
“Hmm. What exactly did you have in mind?” he asked with a naughty tone over the phone. I laughed, mostly because I was relieved to hear him shifting away from anger.
“Lotsof things. You’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Can’t wait for you to come back. I have more than a few things in mind too.”
William cocked his head toward the exit and tapped his watch twice.
“The intermission is almost over. I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Of course. Enjoy, love.”
William and I rushed back to the box, and just before we went inside, Caleb asked for a word. William stepped inside while I talked to him.
“Are you sure everything’s okay?” Caleb asked. I bet he couldn’t understand why I’d chosen to stay with William.
“Yes, of course. There was a slight misunderstanding, but everything’s okay.”
“Slight?” he asked with raised brows.
“Caleb, come on. Not you too. I’m already dealing with William and Nathan. I can’t do this right now. I swear I’m fine,” I replied with a tinge of exasperation. Caleb’s fabulous mood streak had gone down the drain in an instant. I’d been trying to keep it together, but I couldn’t deal with him too. I was out of random-access memory space for the time being, but I didn’t want to make him feel bad about worrying about me either.
“I’m sorry,” I said with a sigh. “It’s been a weird night. I know you’re just looking out for me.”
“No need to apologize,” he replied, opening the door for me. “Go ahead. It’s already started.”
When I joined William, I saw him silencing a call from Nathan. Just thinking about Nathan calling William made me feel anxious. But I had to allow Nathan to do whatever he needed to do to feel at ease. I trusted him.
Knowing I would eventually listen toUna Furtiva Lagrimakept me going during the second act. After speaking to Nathan on the phone, I was ready to leave. But he told me to stay, and I knew he was genuine about it.
The opera was finally over. When we walked out of the box, William asked me if I wanted to meet Rolando Villazón. “I’m sorry, what?” I was in shock. Of course I wanted to meet him!
William pulled out a couple of backstage passes with our names on them. “So, what do you say?” he asked, looking at his watch. I pulled my cell phone out of my clutch—11:15 p.m. I needed to get back. He knew it was Nathan’s birthday at midnight. He knew everything. He was tempting me.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to be late for—”
“Nathan.” He snorted and shook his head twice. “Look at us finishing each other’s sentences,” he said sarcastically, probably irritated I was choosing Nathan over him.
As angry as I was with William for tricking me into coming, I wanted to thank him. It was a grand gesture on his part. The dress, the donation to get the tickets, the notes. He knew how much I loved notes and letters.
“Thank you. For all of this,” I said, looking down at my dress. “This is the closest I’ll get to go to a concert, I guess. You didn’t have to.”
“Ihadto.” We were walking down the stairs, and I could feel people’s gazes directed at us like programmed missiles. He leaned in and whispered, “A little bird told me Nathan was bringing you here tomorrow. But that’s a big first I couldn’t allow him to take away from us.”
Nooooo!
“William—h-how could you,” I whispered back with a glower. I could feel my lips shaking and twitching with rage. I shook my head at him, disappointed, and walked out and away into the cold night. Aaron and Caleb walked close behind me.
I peeked over my shoulder and saw William trying to follow me, but a horde of photographers and, I don’t know—fans—surrounded him once they noticedWilliam Sjöbergattended the event. Aaron and Caleb immediately responded by directing me hastily toward the SUV that David had waiting for us in the distance.
I took one last look at William, and he was staring at me, watching me leave. He brushed his lower lip with his thumb and looked away to smile that synthetic smile he used for the cameras.
William definitely lost the plot.
IT WAS 11:37 P.M., and I arrived just in time for Nathan’s birthday. I knocked on Lily and Joel’s apartment, and Nathan opened the door. “That bastard has good taste. I need to give him that,” he said, eyeing me up and down. His expression was made up of a mix of anger, annoyance, and hunger.
