Chapter 33
Thirty-Three
It’s on the third song when Miranda appears beside me. She lifts my camera, not like it’s an obligation, but perhaps a missing part of me.
I thank her and place the strap over my head.
We stand together for a moment without speaking. There’s something different about Miranda as she watches the boys play. There’s an investment she has in Ryder that’s different from the other two. There’s something softer when she watches him, and an easy smile curves her lips.
I raise my camera and find Ryder in the frame.
Stage lights catch the line of his jaw, and I unapologetically zoom in.
In another shot, I catch the movement of his hands on the strings.
Then I capture a moment between songs when he drops his head briefly.
Something private moves across his face before he looks back up.
Then I lower the camera and just watch, because some things shouldn’t be photographed. Some things should just be witnessed.
Miranda steps in close, so I can hear her over the music. “I spoke to an attorney yesterday.”
I look at her.
Her eyes stay on the stage. “Your inheritance. The money from your parents’ estate.” A pause, measured and deliberate. “We will have it moved into a trust. It will sit there for as long as you need it to. Until you know what you want your future to look like.”
On stage, Ryder’s voice lifts into the chorus, and the room lifts with it.
“Miranda,” I start.
“I’m not asking you to trust me because of it. I’m just telling you it’s done.”
I look back at the stage. At Ryder, who is somewhere in the middle of the best performance of his life. Right now, I don’t want to make any decision that doesn’t involve staying close to him.
“Thank you,” I say.
Miranda nods once, as if the matter is settled. Then she says, so quietly I almost miss it. “Your mother would have liked him.”
Her words move through me. Comforting yet painful, and I feel every part of it.
We stand in the wings together until the set ends, and the encore brings the room to its feet.
The last note hangs in the air for a long moment before the crowd takes it.
Then the room erupts. The kind of sound that starts in your lungs. Real and unmanufactured.
As the band gives a final wave to the crowd, Ryder is grinning large. There’s sweat on his face and his chest is puffing, and I’ve never been more attracted to him.
As they move off the stage, Ryder says something to Chase that makes him laugh. Brooks smacks his drumsticks together over his head, cheering as he runs off stage.
Ryder comes through the stage door and finds me immediately. He crosses to me in four steps. His hands come up to my face, and I could almost keel over from the rush of it.
“You stayed the whole time.”
“I told you I would.”
He closes his eyes and sighs. “My muse.”
“You were incredible,” I whisper as his thumb brushes against my cheekbone.
“Hamilton.” Chase grips Ryder’s shoulder, splitting the moment open. “The suits are ready. This is the conversation we’ve been waiting for. Let’s go.”
Ryder’s hand drops from my face, and his focus goes over to the enthusiastic executives hovering in the backstage space.
This is it. This is bigger than him and me.
“Go,” I say softly. “It’s okay.”
Something moves through his expression. Then Chase says his name again, more agitated, and Ryder nods. I watch him go, absorbing into the fast-talking conversation that includes dramatic hand gestures.
Mr. Kensington tousles his son’s unkempt long hair.
There’s more liveliness in Chase’s expression than I’ve ever seen before.
More men than I can count shake Ryder’s hand, and I take it as my cue to leave.
As I make my way to the backstage exit, the corridor is still busy and loud as people move urgently in all directions.
I keep my head down and follow the signs for the main hall.
I’m almost at the door when I hear him.
“Hey!”
Before I can turn around, both his arms are around me, scooping me off the ground.
I gasp as he spins me around, still cradled in his strong arms. Ryder has the same larger-than-life grin from the stage.
Before I can speak, he kisses me. I pull my arms around him, anchoring myself as my feet are nowhere near the ground.
My lips press firmly to his, wanting to savor the moment before he’s pulled away from me again.
Slowly, he lowers me back to the ground, hunching so his face stays near mine as we pull apart.
“Where are you going?” he whispers.
I blink. “I was… you have a meeting. I was going to let you…”
“Let me, what?”
“Ryder, there are executives waiting to talk to you.”
“I know.” He’s still smiling underneath every word. “We played the showcase, and they loved it. Nothing can erase that. They’re here to talk to my band, not anyone else’s.” His hand brushes back my hair. “I don’t have to rush into a room and have a meeting tonight. They want us. They can wait.”
I look at him. “Chase is going to lose his mind.”
“Probably,” Ryder agrees, unbothered.
“Miranda, too.”
“Miranda will understand.” His eyes don’t leave mine. “I’ve got this, Ally. But I want you more.”
I feel those words in the same place I felt the encore. In my ribs. Moving through me before I can stop them. He’s watching me like I’m the prize he won tonight.
And I’m going to let him.
“Okay,” I say.
He pulls me in for another hug, kissing the side of my head. He takes my hand, and we leave the noise behind us. Soon, his parents are quick to swoop in and hug and applaud him. They’re so proud it makes my heart ache.
They wholeheartedly agree Ryder can take his meetings tomorrow, offering to take us out to dinner instead.
A dinner with loving parents and their son, whom I adore. How could I say no?