The Spiral Down (The Fall Up #2)(26)

Not me. That stage was the only place I belonged.

But, as the high filled me, I found myself squinting past the bright lights to that empty seat in the front row. Disappointment slashed through me all over again.

I shouldn’t have cared that much. But I did. Truly. Even if I didn’t understand it.

Shaking my head at myself, I waited for the crowd to quiet before I continued. “Now, that was much better.” I shrugged my guitar on and settled on the stool. “I have a confession to make,” I said, strumming softly across the strings. “You guys probably know this, but I’ve been on the road a lot recently. Sometimes, it can get lonely.”

Catcalls came from women and men alike, making me laugh.

“Not that kind of lonely,” I crooned suggestively. “I figured why not bring my family with me tonight?”

There was exactly one person fans knew I referred to as my family. And this was why they lost their damn minds.

Over the deafening cheers, I announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for the amazingly talented love of my life, Levee Williams!”

In a flowing, red dress that barely masked her very obvious baby bulge, she strutted across the stage with a guitar hanging from her shoulder. Sam was predictably close behind her, dragging her stool. Part of me was shocked that he’d let her carry the guitar. His eyes were aimed at the ground, and a black long-sleeve shirt strategically covered his trademark tattoos. A tech could have gotten her stool, but while Sam might not have wanted to be recognized, he still wanted to be with her. I both smiled and felt my gut twist in jealousy at the sentiment.

That—what they had—wasn’t meant for me.

But that didn’t stop me from longing for it anyway.

“And who do we have here?” I stood, pulling my mic from the stand. I gave Levee a quick kiss on the forehead before walking over to Sam as he tried to make his getaway. “Whoa. Slow down there”—I paused dramatically before using the nickname Levee had publicly given him years earlier—“Spiderman.”

The audience erupted all over again.

Sam glared at me out of the corner of his eye while lifting a hand to the crowd.

“Where ya going, Sam?” I offered him the mic, but he only shook his head. “You don’t want to stay and hang out with the wonderful people of Los Angeles?”

He smirked. “I have a feeling it’s not me they want to see.”

“Oh, but I beg to differ.” I tossed an arm around his shoulders and asked the audience, “What do you guys say? Should Sam stay?”

He glowered at me, putting his hand over my mic and mumbling, “I’m texting you seven million naked women tonight.”

He’d do it too. I’d long since given up opening pictures from him. He’d scarred my retinas too many times.

Over the audience’s resounding yes, Levee called, “Henry! Stop flirting with my husband and get your ass over here and sing with me.”

“That baby has made you bossy,” I teased, releasing Sam and sauntering back over to her. “Goodnight, sexy!” I called to him, putting my hand to my ear in the universal “call me” signal.

Levee slapped it away, which caused the crowd to laugh.

She shot me a wide grin that made a warmth of contentment fill my chest.

Yeah. This is exactly where I belong.

No matter who was or wasn’t in the front row.

For the next fifteen minutes, Levee and I sat side by side and played an acoustic mashup of our most popular songs. And, for those fifteen minutes, the world disappeared.

There was no Evan.

No unrequited longing.

No fears.

No Robin.

No hurt.

No pain.

There was nothing but me, a guitar, a woman I’d give my life for, and the music that was my refuge.

When our dueling guitars fell silent, the rush of everything I had been hiding from found me in an instant. My eyes flashed to that seat in the front row. Only, this time, it was filled by the silhouette of a tall, dark, and sexy man I feared my imagination had conjured.

I blinked, waiting for it to disappear.

It didn’t.

My heart skipped a beat as my already-wide smile stretched across my face.

I couldn’t make his face out amongst the lights, but my gaze remained locked on him. I imagined his strong jaw ticking as he held my stare, powerless to look away. The confusion of why he was there would likely be torturing his mind, but his body would recognize the visceral urge that had forced him to come. He couldn’t resist it. He didn’t know what it meant. But the weight in his balls and the thickening of his cock would override his mind, making him needy for me.

Any way he could get me.

And every way I could take him.

A victorious growl rumbled in my chest.

But that wasn’t the only draw I felt to him.

And, almost as much as it confused me, it made me needy for him.

Any way I could get him.

And every way he could take me.

Levee snapped me out of my trance by wrapping her arms around my neck. “What are you doing? I’ve said goodnight three times now. Say something so I can get out of here.”

“Evan’s here,” I replied.

Her body shifted in my arms.

“Don’t look!” I hissed, but it was too late. She was already offering him a finger wave.