On the other hand, if it didn’t, it wouldn’t matter that millions of people could watch it on YouTube because I’d know the real opinion of the only person who’s opinion mattered to me on this one.
“I’ve enjoyed my life as a rocker. Before you start wondering, no. I’m not about to tell you that I’m leaving the band. I still do love this life, but there’s always been something missing.”
Moment of truth time.
“Kelly. Kelly Diamond, would you please come up here?” A burst of static sounded in my ear, my earpiece still in it.
A voice I didn’t recognize, presumably one of the security guys, said, “Mr. Larsen, are you referring to Ms. Diamond, the reporter? Your PR agent’s sister?”
I nodded to the disembodied voice, and I knew he’d be able to see it on every monitor in the place with all the cameras keeping me tight in their sights. Within seconds, Kelly appeared in the wings nearest to me, looking flushed and bewildered.
Motioning for her to join me, I grinned like a maniac as I watched my girl walking toward me. When she reached me, I let the mic fall to my side and hooked my arm around her. “I’m really fucking sweaty, but I’m going to kiss you anyway. That okay with you?”
Kelly nodded, relaxing against my chest as I pulled her to me. It sent a spark through me to know that even in front of all these people, all these cameras, she still trusted me. She still forgot about everything else as soon as I held her.
I knew the feeling because it was the same for me. Lowering my lips to hers, everything else disappeared. The stage, the crowd, the rest of the band. None of it was there. It was only Kelly, only her soft lips underneath mine.
Not able to hold back, I deepened the kiss and groaned into her mouth. Her arms wound around my neck, and she pressed herself closer to me. I forgot where we were and what I supposed to be doing. All I knew suddenly was that I needed her. I needed to get inside her. Now.
There was a low cough behind me, and Jared’s voice followed it, snapping me back to the reality where I was about to rip Kelly’s clothes off in front of a live crowd of thousands.
“Guys, uh, I hate to break this up, but we’re all kinda waiting on you here. Also, I don’t think there’s a rating on this show, so you know, we gotta keep the nudity to a minimum.”
The audience was hooting and hollering, clearly enjoying the show. I realized our misstep and broke the kiss reluctantly, giving Kelly’s lip one last nibble as I released her mouth.
She giggled, pulling slightly away from me. Her cheeks were bright pink, and her breath was coming fast, but she looked over my shoulder at Jared. “You’re one to talk about nudity.”
He dipped his chin and chuckled. “I’ve never been more than half naked on stage. You two looked like you were about to go all the fucking way. What’s the hold up, bro?”
“Nothing,” I grunted, trying to gain control of my raging hard-on before stepping back from Kelly. Jared stayed slightly behind me, giving us our space but still letting me know that he was there for me.
I drew some of his fearless energy that always seemed to drip from him when we got on stage, desperately needing it for what I had to do next. Christ, this was much harder than it’d looked like when he did it.
Lifting the mic back to my lips, I gave the crowd an unapologetic shrug as I ran a hand through my hair. “I’m not sorry about that, but let’s get back to business, shall we?”
They yelled their agreement, some still wolf-whistling and cheering. I waited for them to calm down, clearing my throat into the mic. “In this one case, I won’t be as cool as my brother because I didn’t have time to get a ring yet, but I wanted to do this anyway.”
The silence from before returned in an instant, heavy anticipation settling over the crowd. I kept the mic to my lips, sinking to my knees and reaching for Kelly’s hand with my free one. I heard Jared gasp behind me, “No fucking way.”
I ignored him, keeping all my focus on Kelly. Her eyes were wider than saucers, disbelief shining through cautious optimism and a touch of “what the fuck are you doing?”. My lips raised at the corners, my eyes only on hers.
“What do you say, Kelly Diamond. Will you marry me?”
The crowd erupted at my question, security now circling the stage as the energy levels rose and people started surging forward. The audience was going wild, but neither Kelly nor I moved a muscle. Our gazes were locked, our fingers entwined.
The only thing that mattered to me in that moment was Kelly’s answer. Even if I had to get trampled to hear it, I wasn’t fucking moving until I got it. I’d make sure the security got Kelly somewhere safe, of course. She could call me with her answer, but I wasn’t moving until I had it.
In the back of my mind, I became aware that the crowd was chanting now. It was a steady, deafening chorus.
“SAY YES! SAY YES! SAY YES!”
Kelly tugged at my hand, and I stood in front of her, my heart in my hands as I waited for her response. She threw her arms around me, pulling me closer to her. “Yes. I can’t believe you did this, but yes. A million times yes.”
“Yes?”
She grinned, and it lit up my being. “Yes!”
My arms wrapped around her waist, and I lifted her off her feet, spinning her around. Her soft hands found my cheeks, and she lowered her lips to mine, kissing me so hard and so deeply that my breath left me.
I clung to her, knowing that as long as she was there, I had everything in the world that I was always too afraid to even hope for. Kelly’s lips parted beneath mine, and I kissed her with every fucking thing I had.
Epilogue
Kelly
Three months later
It was late March, and we were back in Los Angeles. Finally. The tour was over, a whirlwind of private planes and expensive champagne that I couldn’t drink, fancy hotel rooms and insane crowds. It went better than anyone had expected, and Destitute was rocking the charts worldwide.
The fact that both Larsens were now officially off the market had brought out the female fans by the hordes, and toward the end, even Nick was wary of stepping out of the hotel. It was kind of funny, actually. But he didn’t think so.
I looked around the empty room, trying to imagine what it was going to look like when it was done. “Do you think we should paint it taupe or gray?”
Caleb’s brow scrunched up. “Gray or what?”
“Taupe.” I laughed, showing him the swatches of paint colors I was holding. He grabbed my wrist and tugged me closer. My tiny baby bump nudged at his hard stomach.
“Whatever you want.” His arms came around me, and he rested his head on my shoulder and pressed a kiss to my neck.
“You can’t keep saying that,” I complained, swatting his arm.
I could feel him smile against my neck. “Everything I’ve read said that I’d better keep saying just that.”
“Then stop reading,” I joked, peering down at the swatches I was holding. “But I think gray. What do you think?”
“Gray it is,” Caleb agreed. Sighing, I smiled and released him. He’d been absolutely amazing since I’d told him that I was pregnant and even more so since we’d gotten engaged. My ring caught on the sunlight dancing in through the window, and the sight took my breath away for a second.