Chapter 40
Julian's concert had started at seven-thirty and ended at nine-thirty.
By every reasonable measure, it had been a success.
The crowd knew the songs well enough to sing entire choruses back to him, and Julian gave them exactly the kind of performance they'd waited for—high-energy, polished, and nearly two hours without letting the atmosphere drop.
Most fans left thrilled.
A few, however, had been paying very close attention.
Julian had kept looking toward the front sections.
Not constantly. Not enough to affect the show.
But often enough that people noticed.
Every so often, his eyes swept across the first few rows as though he expected to find someone there.
And each time, he turned away without finding them.
Naturally, the internet had theories.
Emma skimmed through the comments.
Then kept scrolling.
Who Julian had been looking for wasn't really her concern.
She didn't particularly feel like being on social media either, but she was sitting in the back of Nathan Grant's Rolls-Royce while he worked beside her.
Pulling out a game and aggressively killing people on her phone somehow felt a little disrespectful.
So social media it was.
Back at the stadium, Sophia Reed was still riding the high of the concert when Evan found her.
"Julian wants to see you backstage."
Sophia stared at him.
"Now?"
"Now."
Her excitement immediately shot back up.
She'd met Julian plenty of times over the years. She'd even eaten with him and other longtime fans before.
That didn't matter.
She'd just watched his first headlining stadium show.
He'd been incredible.
Three years of supporting this man, and tonight she'd watched an entire stadium sing his songs back to him.
Money well spent.
When Sophia reached backstage, Julian was sitting in front of a mirror while the last of his stage makeup was being removed.
His silver hair was still perfectly styled.
Sophia walked over.
"Hey. Evan said you wanted me?"
Julian looked at her through the mirror and smiled.
"Yeah. I wanted to ask you something."
"What?"
"Do you know why Emma wasn't here tonight?"
Sophia didn't find the question particularly strange.
Julian had always been good to the fans who'd supported him from the beginning. After events, he'd sometimes check in through the fan community to make sure people traveling home late had gotten back safely.
Emma was one of his most recognizable longtime supporters.
And tonight, she'd been noticeably absent.
"She had something at a medical center today."
Julian's expression changed.
"Is she sick?"
"I don't think so." Sophia shook her head. "I think she was visiting someone."
Some of the tension left his face.
"Oh."
That made sense.
If someone close to her needed medical care, obviously that came first.
She'd probably see clips from the concert later anyway.
At least he'd given everyone a good show.
Julian was quiet for a moment.
Then he asked, "Do you have Emma's number?"
"Yeah."
"Can you send her mine?"
Sophia looked at him for a second, then nodded.
"Sure."
She still didn't find it particularly strange.
Julian had always maintained a good relationship with the fans who had supported him early on, and Emma had been around for three years.
Sophia herself had Julian's number but rarely used it. If there was an event or anything work-related, she usually contacted Evan instead.
She wasn't particularly interested in Julian's private life.
For her, the fun had always been watching his career grow.
She didn't want Julian.
She wanted to watch Julian succeed.
In a way, his career had become the ambitious side project she didn't have the energy to build for herself.
And unlike another designer bag, this was still entertaining.
Sophia sent Emma a message.
A few seconds later, Emma replied.
Sophia looked up.
"I sent it to her."
Julian nodded.
"Thanks. You should get going too. It's late."
"Okay. Good show tonight."
"Thanks. Get home safe."
Sophia left.
Julian picked up his phone.
Emma stared at the number Sophia had sent her.
Why did Julian want her to text him?
She couldn't figure it out.
If it was something fan-related, Sophia could have just told her. If it wasn't, Emma had even less reason to randomly message him.
She saved the number anyway.
Then she didn't text him.
Simple.
If Sophia asked later, Emma could say she'd saved it.
Technically true.
She went back to scrolling.
A few minutes later, she somehow ended up on a shopping app after seeing a post claiming a store was selling six-foot plush geese for twenty dollars.
Emma searched immediately.
Nothing.
Fake.
She frowned at her phone.
People really needed to stop lying on the internet.
Backstage at the stadium, Julian checked his phone.
Nothing.
He put it down.
A minute later, he picked it up again.
Still nothing.
Nathan, meanwhile, had been trying to work.
Trying being the important word.
An entire day's worth of emails and reports had piled up while he'd been out with Helen and Emma. He should have been making quick progress through them.
Instead, he'd been on the same paragraph for nearly a minute.
The faint scent of strawberry lingered in the back seat.
Nathan glanced sideways.
Emma was absorbed in her phone.
One moment her brows drew together as she read something. A few seconds later, her expression relaxed and the corners of her eyes curved with amusement.
Every so often, she pulled the lollipop from her mouth while typing, then absently put it back.
Nathan returned his attention to the tablet.
He read the paragraph again.
His attention wandered again.
He loosened his tie with one hand.
Then looked back at Emma.
"Is that good?"
Emma glanced up.
"What?"
"The lollipop."
She looked at the candy in her hand.
"This?"
Nathan nodded.
"Yeah."
Emma considered it.
"It's pretty good."
Nathan's gaze dropped briefly to the strawberry lollipop.
Then returned to her face.
"Can I try it?"