Page 21 of Addicted to You
I glanced over at her, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. “Any time you or your parents talk about him, I can hear how proud y’all are. He’s a lucky guy to have such a supportive family.”
She shrugged. “He’s worked hard to get where he is, and as his big sister, I’m so proud of him.”
When we arrived at the hotel, the lobby was full of guests, and a lot of them wore Surrender shirts. While I checked us in, Britt typed out somethingon her phone.
“Silas said he’ll meet us down here in a few minutes to go to lunch.” Britt slipped her phone into her purse.
Once we had our key, we rushed upstairs and dropped off our luggage before returning to the lobby. However, “a few minutes” turned into almost thirty before the elevator’s doors opened, and Silas sauntered over to us. The sunglasses hiding his eyes and his disheveled hair led me to believe he’d been up all night.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” He pulled Britt into a hug before turning to me with his hand out. “Cash. Good to see you again, man.”
“You too.” We shook.
“So, I’m starving. Do you guys want to eat at the restaurant here?” he asked.
I glanced at Britt who nodded. “Sounds good to us.”
As we walked down the hall, Britt hooked her arm with Silas’s. “You look exhausted already, and you haven’t even had your first show yet. Are you doing okay?”
“I’m fine.” He brushed off her concern. “Just had a late night.”
Britt frowned but didn’t push.
Did she suspect what I did? Could she tell he wasn’t just tired but hungover? Or maybe worse?
We reached the restaurant, and Silas perked up once he drank some coffee. After placing our lunch order, Britt excused herself and went to the bathroom, leaving Silas and me alone.
“You ready for tonight?” I took a sip of water.
He grinned. “Absolutely. The last couple of months have been intense, but now that hard work is going to pay off. The setlist’s solid, and I heard tickets sold out. Should be a good show.”
“I’m looking forward to watching you guys play,” I admitted. “Britt had me listen to your album when it was released, and I’ve been playing it a lot since.”
“Are you officially a Surrender fan now?” he teased.
I chuckled. “I think I am.”
The energyin the arena was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. Thousands of fans packed the seats, and they were all dancing and singing along as the opening act, Midnight Thunder, performed.
The tickets we’d gotten from Silas gave us an unobstructed view of the stage, and I could feel my excitement building as the crew came out to change the setup between acts.
Britt leaned toward me and said, “I can’t believe how many people are here. I knew they were popular, but seeing it in person is surreal.”
I nodded, glancing around. “Yeah, this is really cool.”
The first few notes of Surrender’s opening song began, and the crowd cheered. When Silas’s drumbeat kicked in, my eyes shifted to him. He sat behind the drums shirtless, the muscles in his arms flexing as he played. When his image flashed on the giant screen above the stage, I noticed, for possibly the first time since meeting him, a level of clarity and focus in his eyes that had been lacking before. It was obvious this was where he was most comfortable.
“This is even better than I thought it would be,” Britt shouted into my ear.
After performing “Silver Lining,” lead singer Malachi Danvers addressed the crowd. “All right, everyone. We’ve got something special for you tonight.”
The audience cheered as guitarist Jesse Bennett removed his guitar. Then, a single spotlight focused on him as he grabbed the mic and began to sing. It wasn’t a song I recognized, but he was clearly singing directly to a woman standing just a few seats away from us.
He walked to the edge of the stage with his gaze locked on her, and she covered her mouth with her hands. A hush fell over the crowd when he stopped singing, knelt, and pulled a small black box from his pocket.
“Liv,” he started. “You are my rock, my best friend, and the love of my life. I can’t imagine spending another day without you as my wife. Will you marry me?”
She nodded, and the crowd went wild. With a bit of help from security, she was lifted onto the stage. Jesse stood, slipped the ring onto her finger, then pulled her in for a kiss. Whenthey pulled apart, he took her hand and turned back to the audience. “Toronto, she said yes!”
