Epilogue
RONAN
Six Weeks Later
Iglanced across the tour bus at Evan, playing Call of Duty with Jax on the couch.
The Stanley Cup festivities, finalizing the new album, and getting Evan settled into my home were behind us.
We’d fallen into a domestic routine when living in Arizona, and I was learning to rise earlier, but never as early as Evan.
He’d also made sure I did my exercises regularly, and for the first time, my back didn’t hurt after a gig.
I petted Bean as he rested beside me at the bus’s dinette.
Embracing our relationship publicly had kept the haters in the hockey world at bay, mostly.
Evan still caught some derogatory comments on his social media feeds, but he was good at blocking them.
He’d learned this from his queer friends on the team.
“Babe, I’m killing Jax here. His reflexes suck.” His fingers flew across the controller in his lap. “You’d think, being a drummer, he’d have better reflexes.”
“Suck it, hockey boy.” Jax lifted his controller and stabbed a button. “Ha, ha, got you.”
“Damn it.” With a scoff, Evan shook his head.
The bus’s doors slid open and Drew stepped up the stairs. “It’s time. The techs have us all set up.” He glanced toward Jax and Evan. “End the game. We’ve gotta go.” He clicked his tongue.
I rose and patted Bean on the head. “Daddy has to go play for one hundred-thousand people now. You sit here and be a good boy.” Evan had seen us play twice before, but this crowd surpassed all the others.
Bean laid his head on his front paws.
Evan set his controller on the couch and rose. “Really? One hundred-thousand?” He stepped toward me, hooked an arm around my waist, and planted a hard kiss on my mouth. “You’ll kill it, babe.”
“That’s the plan.” I leaned against his side.
Having him with me on the road had settled something in me.
It wasn’t as chaotic as it had been. Sure, we hit after-parties, but I didn’t drink as much, and we left earlier.
I strolled out of the bus with Evan and Jax following. Tonight, I had a plan for Evan.
As he hopped off the bus, Evan snatched my hand. “It’s so nice here.” He glanced toward the sky, fluffy clouds meandering across it in the late afternoon sun.
“I saw it was one-hundred-twelve today in Phoenix.” I looked forward to the end of summer when we could hang out on my patio and drink coffee like we had when we first met. But his season began around then.
“Jesus Christ. I’m glad we’re on the road then.” He huffed a laugh.
I neared the stage’s edge where Drew stood at the foot of the stairs.
“Do you hear that?” Drew pointed his thumb toward the stage.
The crowd roared the band’s name.
“They love you almost as much as I do.” Evan slipped his arm around my shoulders and kissed my cheek. “You’re so fucking hot when you get onstage…”
“What about off it?” I gave him a coy grin. We’d booked a hotel room for tonight, and we’d make the most of it.
“Then too. Okay, you’re always hot.” Evan squeezed me into his side.
With a wave, Drew said, “Come on, it’s time.” He hopped up the stairs and onto the stage.
“Let’s go.” Jax jogged past me, took the stairs two at a time, and while he strode to his drum kit, he waved his arms.
The crowd grew even louder.
“Go, babe. I’ll be right next to you.” Grabbing my cheeks, Evan pressed a needful kiss on my lips.
“Stay on the side of the stage where I can see you.” And could call him out as I’d planned. As adrenaline rushed through my veins, I jumped up the stairs and ran onto the stage.
Men pumped their fists, and women screamed.
When I glanced to the side, Evan stood, beaming at me. After turning on my wireless headset and facing the stage, I said, “Hello, Chicago!”
We’d played through our first four songs, and Sudden was next on the playlist. After setting my guitar in a stand, I strolled across the stage and said, “Before this next song, I’d like to bring someone out.
” I grabbed a chair that the crew had set up behind a speaker and slid it across the floor.
“You might have heard of him.” I left the chair at center stage.
“He was part of the team that won the Stanley Cup this year.”
The crowd went crazy, whooping and whistling.
As a smile swept across my face, Evan stared at me from the side of the stage. “Come out here, babe.” I wiggled my fingers at him.
With his eyes wide, he pointed at his chest and asked, “Me?”
“Yes, you. Who the hell else is here who won the Stanley Cup?” I planted my hand on my hip. I couldn’t wait to share our love with my fans in the most public way.
Laughter filled the air.
Brushing the back of his hair with his hand, Evan ambled onto the stage and stopped next to me.
Jax hit a few well-timed beats on his snare and then smashed a cymbal while Drew lifted a brow at me.
This was all improvised.
“My boyfriend, Evan Crosby, defenseman for the Arizona Coyotes.” If they hadn’t known this already, they’d know it now. I threw an arm around him and planted a lingering kiss on his lips.
Evan stared at me while the crowd erupted again.
“Have a seat.” I swung my arm around the chair and watched him drop into it. This had always been his favorite song, and now I’d give him the best seat in the house. I grabbed my guitar from the stand and stood before him. Flicking a look at Drew, I ticked my head.
Drew started the quick thumping of the bass line, and Jax came in with his steady beat.
Strumming quick chords on my guitar, I stepped around Evan’s knees, my gaze locked on his, and sang the first verse.
I was chasing shadows in the neon light
Kissing strangers just to feel something right
Every face blurred into maybe, not you
Every night ended like déjà vu
I said love was a ghost I’d never meet
Just a song in a key I couldn’t reach
Then you walked in like a wrecking sound
And everything I lost came crashing down
This song explored the desire for someone you haven’t met yet and the sudden realization that maybe you already had.
Evan was this person for me. I should have realized it that night in the bar.
I should have seen it when we played the charity gig.
As I sang to him, his eyes grew glassy. Did he finally understand the meaning behind the lyrics?
He’d only said the music got him going in the rink.
As he bit his lower lip, he leaned toward me and placed his hands on my thighs.
My heart overflowed with love for him. As the chorus started, I sang again…
It hits me all at once, so sudden, so sudden
Like a heartbeat breaking into something
So sudden, so sudden
I was looking for a spark in the unknown
But you were right here all along
Now I’m burning, yeah, sudden, so sudden
Every doubt I had means nothing
So sudden, so sudden
I was searching for a love I couldn’t see
Till it crashed straight into me
I stepped back, strutted around the chair, and when I played the start of my solo, my fingers knowing exactly where to go, I leaned over him and kissed his cheek.
With a hard swallow, his attention drew to the crowd, hopping and dancing to the music.
Swaying my hips, I strutted toward the front of the stage while singing the second verse.
I replay every second in my head
Every word that I wish I’d said
All the signs I ignored, the truth I missed
Every almost leading up to this
You were fire in a quiet room
Every glance like a loaded fuse
And I swear when your hands found mine
It felt like fate finally crossed the line
The audience needed a little love, too. Men and women reached for me at the bottom of the stage, and while letting my chord resonate through the speakers, I quickly touched as many hands as I could—the connection giving me strength.
When the final chorus started, I pranced toward Evan, his smile reaching his eyes.
With the last notes of the song, I sat in Evan’s lap, moved the mic to the side, snatched his cheeks and kissed him with all the emotion welling in my soul. “I love you so much.” My words spread throughout the entire venue.
“I love you, too.” Wrapping his arms around my shoulders, he pressed his head against my chest. “The entire fucking place just heard that, didn’t they?”
“They sure did,” I said.
The crowd broke out into a chant of, “Ro-Van, Ro-Van, Ro-Van…”
Team captain Alex Volkov is supposed to mentor the team owner’s son—a spoiled rich boy who doesn’t belong anywhere near the ice.
Julian Mercer is arrogant, infuriating… and way too good at getting under Alex’s skin.