He kissed me hungrily and I savored his taste right back.
Setting me down on the floor, he cupped the side of my face. “Is that a yes?”
Loosening my arms from around his neck, I looked around us and spotted the mic. I let go and grabbed it. “What does everyone say, should I forgive him?”
The cheers from the smiling faces in the crowd were deafening. The stage rumbled under my feet.
“I think the people have spoken.” I handed him back the mic.
“Thank you everyone.” He threaded his fingers through mine. “And to show you my thanks, I’ve prepared another song.”
Everyone in attendance started shaking their heads and screaming ‘no’ at the same time.
“Hunter, that’s really not necessary.” I tried to tug him away.
“No, I’ve got to do it.”
The beginning notes of As Long as You Love Me by the Backstreet Boys began. Hairs on the back of my neck stood up as he earnestly began the ballad and held onto my hand. I tried to keep a straight face.
Before I could say another word the curtain that had been stretched behind us dropped and all of Without Grey joined in on the accompaniment. The crowd switched from horror to screaming delirious happiness.
Camden strolled forward with his own mic, and I blessed the sound engineer who swapped the levels so his voice overpowered Hunter’s.
I loved the man, but he couldn’t sing to save his life. I couldn’t stop grinning, the kind of grin that made the spot behind my ears ache. I’d thought tonight had been shaping up to be a new chapter in my life, a dreary one, one I trudged through while piecing myself back together.
The song ended to cheers and Camden talked into his mic thanking everyone for being here tonight. “And I want you all to know you’ve got ten seconds left until midnight, so grab someone you love and show them as we count this thing down.”
Hunter walked me into the wings and held my face in his hands. His thumbs brushed along the corners of my mouth. “I’m really happy they got you to come.”
“If they’d told me why, I never would have.” My chest tightened at what might’ve happened to us if I hadn’t.
“I know.”
“One!” Camden’s voice boomed in the arena. Glittering confetti rained down from cannons shooting it into the air.
“Happy New Year, Sabrina.” His breath brushed against my lips.
“Happy New Year, Hunter.” My lips parted, and that was all the opening he needed. Another hungry kiss met my own. I held onto him and he wrapped his arms around me, keeping me close.
The band on stage played Auld Lang Syne. The confetti drifted through the air and sprinkled over us, twirling and reflecting the stage lights.
Staring into Hunter’s eyes, I had no doubt that this would be a New Year’s Eve to remember.
Epilogue
HUNTER
I lay beside her with my head propped up on my arm.
Her chest rose and fell beneath the blankets in our bed. It still didn’t feel real, and there were times I jerked awake only to be calmed by the gentle sounds she made in her sleep.
Months had gone by since the New Year’s Eve concert, but I still found myself grateful every day I woke up beside her and not alone.
The nightmares had been washed away and the sleeplessness was a thing of the past, but midnight admirations weren’t the worst way to wake up. Folding her up in my arms, I inhaled deeply.
She snuggled deeper against me, her ass brushing against the front of my boxers and her hands curled around my arms.
Even in sleep, she could drive me wild, but I’d save that until the morning. I closed my eyes, letting myself drift back to sleep.
“Why does it feel like you’re trying to trap me here?” Everest’s voice rang with the suspicion of a person who had a feeling they’d been set up—mainly because he’d totally been set up.
“Trap-schmap. You’re being a bit dramatic.” Camden and I had worked together to orchestrate the perfect scenario to finally bring these two together. One week of island isolation where the only way out was a propeller plane or some strong rowing skills.
I hated sending Everest in blind to the whole Maddy not knowing he was coming thing, but Camden had assured me that Maddy would without a doubt paddle the 190 miles to get to the mainland after she’d throat punched all of them, and he needed his voice.
Tapping my phone against my chin, I hoped Camden knew Maddy well enough to pull this off, and I hoped we all made it out of this with our throats intact.
Sabrina’s footsteps padded down the hallway.
“Where have you been hiding these?” She walked into the dining room and lifted the four brightly wrapped boxes high into the air.
My stomach clenched seeing the presents I’d tucked away in the closet after Christmas. I hadn’t been able to bring myself to look at them again, and then, in the aftermath of New Year’s Eve, I’d forgotten all about them.
She slid into her seat beside me and shook the box with her name on the tag. “At first I thought you were super prepared for Christmas already, but then I saw this one I’d gotten you and realized they were from last year.” The paper glided across the table to me. “You didn’t open mine.” There was a tinge of sadness to her words.
My name was in bold blue ink on a small tag with one of Sabrina’s designs on the back that she’d done in marker and pen. I traced my fingers along the intricate lines. The striking interlocking design reminded me of a sunrise.
I met her gaze and covered her hand with mine. “If it was the last present you ever gave me, I didn’t want to open it. I didn’t want it to be over.”
She brought my hand up to her lips and kissed it. “Who knew when I first moved in you were such a softie? You hid it well.”
I chuckled. “I wanted you too much from that first moment, and I was good at hiding it.”
It was her turn to laugh now. “You definitely did. This one is yours.” She drummed her fingers on the one box, sliding it to me and stared at the others in front of her. “And these three all mine?”
I nodded and watched her tear into the paper.
Her head snapped up when she opened the first box. Inside lay a necklace using one of the designs I’d snapped a picture of on her tablet before taking it to a jeweler. The same jeweler I’d visited not long ago.
With wide eyes, she cupped the platinum in her hands and stared at me with shocked surprise. Just the look I’d been going for. “You—I can’t believe this is one of mine.”
I popped up and pecked her on her open mouth. “There’s more of that coming.” Her design work had been getting recognized more and more, and the rates she charged kept creeping up, especially with the addition of her custom design work to August’s wedding client portfolios.
“I love it.” The other gifts, a new stylus for her tablet and a new tablet for that stylus were met with even more kisses peppering my face.
“You didn’t open yours yet.” She nodded toward the one sitting in front of me.
Ducking my head, I peeled back the wrapping paper off the thick package on my lap. Gingerly lifting the tape away, so I didn’t ruin it, my eyebrows dipped when I saw the blue cover I was so familiar with. The one I’d thought was still on my shelf or had been misplaced in the apartment.