Standing out here in front of everyone, I felt exposed in a whole new way, but it would be worth it. God, I hoped it would be worth it. Although abject humiliation after what I’d done would be at least part of my just desserts.
“I know you’re all ready to see the big band of the evening. They’ll be out in a few minutes, but there’s one announcement I need to make to everyone here first.”
The crowd hushed as much as an arena of ten thousand people could.
My palms were sweaty and the mic felt like it would slip from my grasp. “There’s a very special person here tonight that I owe an apology to. And I’m going to need your help. Are you up for it?”
42
Sabrina
“You lying assholes!” I shouted in the wings of the stage.
A bunch of people shhed us, but I didn’t care. I tried to pull away from Cat who had me in a bear hug from behind. Holy hell, she was freakishly strong. Or maybe I needed to go back to the gym.
She did have nearly a foot on me, but even so, all that work with the Russians had turned her into the Hulk.
“You need to see this.”
“I don’t want to be here.” But hadn’t I known? As much as I wanted to pretend I’d been oblivious, when we’d pulled up to the back of the stadium, it hadn’t been hard to piece together where we were going. Now my feet were beyond cold; they were ice blocks, never to thaw, and I wanted to get out of here.
“Whether you want to be here or not, you need to hear him out.”
“I don’t need to do anything. You weren’t there.” I broke her hold and spun around. I had no illusions that she hadn’t let me break free.
“No, I wasn’t. But I also know I’ve never heard you happier than when you were with him. He got you to go out. He had you sounding like the old Sabrina. You know I’m not one for second chances, but I think you should at least listen to what he has to say.”
Behind me, the people out in the stadium erupted in cheers, which petered out to confusion. A live mic turned on, and the voice I’d grown to know so well against my ear night after night boomed in the arena.
“And I’m going to need your help. Are you up for it?”
Standing in the wings of the stage, I was locked, unable to move from the first note. Everyone around me stood in stark stillness staring at the man on the stage.
The words were drowned out by the roaring sea swelling between my ears. It had been over a week since I’d seen him. A week since he’d given me no choice but to leave. And now he’d had me brought here. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he’d orchestrated this whole thing for some reason, but I didn’t know what had changed. What he thought could’ve changed between now and then.
If nails down a chalkboard and a knife in a garbage disposal had a baby, it would have had a better singing voice than Hunter.
He stood under the spotlights from the non-Trevor provided lighting rigs in his ratty t-shirt and sweats combo I’d only seen the day I moved in with a mic up to his lips. The crowd seemed just as confused as me, but everyone in the wings seemed to know exactly what was happening, which was probably why he hadn’t been tackled from the stage.
Sweat glistened on his skin and his horrible, terrible voice wavered, but he pushed on.
Hands pushed against my back, guiding me closer to the edge of the wings, where I was blocked from the audience by the rigging.
My heart leapt into my throat and my mouth was sandpaper dry.
I tried to dig in my heels and run away, but I was surrounded by a horseshoe of people. Cat, Zara, Leo, Jameson, August made up a human wall to block my retreat, but I was rocked when my gaze landed on a not-so-usual suspect. Ryder?
He grinned wide and stepped forward for a quick hug before taking up his spot as part of the blockage. “I think he’s got some things to tell you.” With a lift of his chin, he directed my gaze back to the stage.
Seeing Ryder here and with a smile on his face brought tears to my eyes. I pressed my hand to my mouth before letting my gaze return to the stage.
Hunter was giving it his all and had the crowd in the palm of his hand even though we’d probably all need a hearing test when this was over. But he turned, and his eyes locked with mine.
The words finally filtered through. It was a beat and rhythm I knew. He had the arena singing along with him about how much I light up his life and didn’t seem to know how beautiful I was. These were all words I’d heard before and sung a thousand times, but hearing them so nakedly and pitchily from Hunter as he stood in front of a sea of thousands of faces, they hit me differently.
He was exposing a part of himself he’d never showed anyone, not even the people closest to him, in front of strangers, and eviscerating the One Direction hit line by line.
“You all know this song, so how about you sing along while I bring my special guest out here.”
I shook my head and he walked toward me.
Still in the shadow of the wings, he reached for me and I jerked my hands back.
The fans behind him took over, singing the words like a giant choir.
“Sabrina, I was the biggest asshole known to man. I was scared of how you made me feel and scared of what it would mean to lose you. I’ve never loved a woman like I’ve loved you, and without you in my life, I’ve felt like a little piece of me was dying every day.”
Tears brimmed in my eyes and my heart raced in my chest at a gallop.
“I’ve missed you so much and I wanted you to know and I wanted everyone else here to know that. I love you unapologetically and without question. But now I have a question for you…”
The crowd died down and that’s when I realized everything he’d said had been on mic.
He pulled me forward.
My legs stumbled and hitched like a newly born calf and I was in the spotlight along with him.
“Can you ever forgive me? If you can, I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life proving to you how much I love you.”
The arena was filled with lights from people’s phones. Silence blanketed the massive space and all eyes were on us.
This was certainly the opposite of hiding me away. He’d brought me up on stage in front of thousands of people to torture them with his voice and profess his love to me, a love he didn’t know if I could still return, and more than all that, he’d gone to Ryder. He’d brought Ryder here, and from the looks of it, he’d won him over after the kid had given up hope.
I ached to be near him, deep down I’d known I’d never just get over him.
He brushed a tear from my cheek and his gaze was watery too. “I love you, Sabrina, and I’d rather spend the next thousand years cherishing every moment we have together rather than worrying over losing you. I’ve felt what that’s like, and I’d rather soak up every ounce of you for as long as you’ll let me than know you’re out there in the world and you’re not mine. You have my heart, and you always will.”
Unable to stop myself and not wanting to, I flung myself at him and let him lift me.
The mic thudded to the floor setting off some terrible feedback, but I didn’t care.
Hunter’s arms were around me and he spun me around on stage. Our lips met, bringing the electric charge rushing through me out the tips of my fingers. I hoped there wasn’t a grounding issue with the equipment all over the stage.