Two hours later, I was in the back of a limo with all the women of Sunder. We inched down a busy, narrow street in historic downtown Los Angeles as I fidgeted with the plunging neckline of my dress.

My hair was coiled in a soft twist, wavy pieces falling down around my face, and the heels I wore were higher than anything I’d ever chanced stepping out in before.

And this dress…

This dress…

It was gorgeous and outrageous, lined in tiny blue sequins that somehow didn’t come across as tacky but instead sexy and elegant.

I felt beautiful…and terrified. I had no idea what was waiting for me at the end of the night. The only thing I knew was the girls were right. I had to take this chance. Life was meant to be lived, and I always, always wanted to live mine to the fullest.

By saving me, Zee had ensured I had those chances to take, so I was taking one more on him.

City lights flashed from a dazzling array of blinking signs boasting the best night life.

Nervous anticipation clawed beneath the surface of my skin as the limo slowed and came to a stop in front of the old movie palace that hailed from the thirties.

An old-style vertical sign hung from its ornate exterior, the box office tucked beneath the marquee that danced with large twinkling bulbs.

A thrill tumbled through my body, and I sucked in a breath as I peered out the window.

I gasp out a small, surprised laugh when the back door swung open, and Ash suddenly ducked his head inside, extending a hand my direction.

“Madam,” he exaggerated with a bow. He was wearing a pair of snug black dress slacks and a white button-up with the sleeves rolled up his forearms, the outfit paired with suspenders.

A giggle slipped free as I looked around at all the women staring back at me with smiles on their faces before I accepted his hand and allowed him to help me down onto the sidewalk. A cool breeze kissed my skin, and a shiver of chills lifted as I stared at the theatre.

“Have fun!” a chorus of voices called before the limo door slammed shut behind me. I jerked to look over my shoulder as it began to slowly pull from the curb.

“Aren’t they coming?”

Ash shot me a smirk as he extended me an elbow. “Nah, darlin’. I think this might be an exclusive kind of viewing.”

Oh God.

My heart sped as awareness took hold.

This was for me.

For us.

My knees were shaking as Ash led me toward the single door that was propped open. The box office windows were closed and the silence was thick and profound as we stepped into the lobby.

Maybe I should have realized something was up when none of the women had changed when they’d gotten me ready. I’d been too wrapped up in what was about to happen. This moment significant.

Critical.

Another beginning or a permanent end.

I sucked in an awed breath at the opulence when we stepped inside.

The lobby was at least six stories high and crystal chandeliers hung from their heights. Pillars rose on all sides and murals lined the walls, the carvings ornate and elaborate. A grand staircase ascending to the balconies rested in the middle, and the stairs were covered in the same red-and-gold tapestry as the floors.

“Oh my God,” I whispered.

Ash patted my hand. “No need to be nervous, darlin’.”

“How could I not be?”

He guided us to the side of the stairs and toward the main entry to the auditorium floor.

“Think it’s safe to say our boy is about as nervous as they come, so you’re in good company.”

The auditorium was just as lavish as the lobby. The walls were a stunning display of architecture and art, lined with coved balcony seats that jutted out in welcome of the performance, and the rows of seats taking up the floor were covered in plush maroon velvet and edged in gold.

But none of that held my attention.

The only thing I could see was the Grand piano that sat in the middle of the stage. It was bathed in the warm wash of spotlights perfectly angled to capture the bench where the pianist would sit.

I struggled for a breath when we made it halfway down the middle aisle.

“You okay?” Ash asked.

I forced myself to nod.

“Where would you like to sit?” He waved a hand out over the empty seats. “House is yours.”

“Right here is good.” I couldn’t bring myself to get any closer.

Not without being completely consumed by this brilliant boy.

Ash’s mouth tweaked in a knowing smile before he released me, murmuring, “Enjoy the show,” with another bow.

Anxiously, I eased into a seat.

Movement caught my eye to the right of the stage. I leaned forward, captured by an expectation unlike anything I’d ever experienced.

Zee.

Zee.

The bold, gorgeous man slowly made his way out onto the stage.

Confident. Owning the space as if he’d never stepped away.

I swore, he was the most intriguing man I’d ever seen.

He wore an outfit identical to Ash’s, his pants fitted, sleeves rolled up those arms and exposing the ink etched into his skin. His head was tilted down, his face hidden beneath the shadow drawn by the lock of hair guarding his expression.

But I could feel it. The emotion that rippled through the auditorium like a shockwave.

Annihilating everything in its path.

I sucked in a ragged breath. The air thinned.

Tears gathered in my eyes as I watched him take a seat at the place where he’d always belonged.

Clearing his throat, he looked out into the darkness.

Without a doubt, I was cast in shadows. Hidden.

But it didn’t matter.

That bronze gaze found me. Penetrating and piercing.

My stomach tightened as I felt everything gather to a pinpoint.

Waiting on a moment.

For this moment.

He settled his fingers on the keys.

A shudder captured his body and his tongue darted out to wet his lips.

Shivers flushed across my skin when his powerful voice struck the air.

“When I was a little boy, I made a million wishes that one day I’d get to sit right here. On a stage just like this. I couldn’t imagine anything better than people piling in to hear me play, thinking I might have the chance to affect them the same way the music affected me.”

My body shifted forward, drawn to him through the hazy distance.

“And I’d had that dream right in the palm of my hands. Already becoming a reality. But I fucked it all away.” The words grated from his mouth. “The day my brother died, a piece of me died, too. And that music, Alexis? That music that had been there since the day I was born was silenced. I couldn’t hear it. Couldn’t feel it anymore. It left this vacancy inside me that I’d accepted as a reminder of what I’d done. Welcomed it as a punishment for what I’d cost my brother. That silent echo the price for what I owed him.”

His thick throat bobbed heavily as he swallowed. “For seven years, I tried to fill his shoes. Did everything in my power to make it up to him when I knew nothin’ I did would ever be enough. But I was committed to seeing it through anyway. I never expected anything to change. Not ever. I’d been happy to live out this life sentence if it meant protecting a little boy who’d become the entire meaning of my life.”

His jaw clenched, and he pulled in a deep breath as I battled to draw one of my own.

“Then there was this girl…this brilliant girl who’d needed me in one of the darkest moments of her life.” His voice deepened in sincerity. “I’d thought it was chance, finding her that way, rushing in to save her and having no clue what it was I was saving her from.”

His fingers pressed down, playing a single chord.

It resonated through my being, the beat of my heart turning erratic.

“I was terrified when I realized when I was with her I could feel it again. Music. Strains of a song that had been silenced for so many years.”

My insides clenched.

Oh God. This boy. This brilliant boy.

“It didn’t take me long to realize it was her song,” he continued, voice rough. “That she was the music. That she was the harmony behind it that stirred my spirit and itched my fingers to play.”

His mouth tweaked at the corner, a broken bow of sadness and a crest of hope. “I was terrified of her because she represented everything I couldn’t have. Because she made me want the things that had been missing. Because she filled the spaces that had been empty and filled me with song.”

My hands went to my thundering heart, as if it might stand the chance of keeping it from beating from its confines.

Regret poured from his mouth. “I hurt her because I was a coward, thinking again I didn’t deserve something so right. Something so good. Thinking maybe I was being selfish if I asked her to stay.”

His head slowly shook as he played another echoing chord. “But I realized I don’t want that silence in my life. I want the beauty. I want the music. God, Alexis, I want to live. And I know every time I turn around, I fuck things up. Make the wrong decision. But I know sitting here tonight, I’m finally making the right one. I should have said these things all along, and I hope maybe there’s a chance you’ll hear them tonight. I hope maybe…maybe you’ll listen.”

Emotion rushed me. Wave after wave, joy and pain as I watched Zee turn to the piano. His eyes dropped closed and his expression hardened.

A mesmerizing intensity. Deep and real.

It lifted and rose as his fingers began to move across the keys.

The sound strummed through my body like a caress.

His masterful fingers weaved that same web of beauty, the same maze of sorrow, that had staggered me the first day I’d come to his loft.

The impact of it slammed me. The energy pulsed and lapped, incited by the talented stroke of his hands as they danced across the keys.

That day back at his loft, I’d wanted to beg him to sing the lyrics. To let me hear what this sad, mesmerizing song meant. I’d wanted to know. To understand.

And now he was offering it to me.

His voice was both smooth and rough. It skated my skin like desire. Like relief.

I choked over a tiny sob as he allowed me into a place he’d never allowed me before.

As he let me glimpse inside.

Let me into that place where he kept his secrets and his pain.

His voice lifted and the song took a turn, rising into the chorus that penetrated the air.

That’s exactly what I felt.

Shattered.

Consumed by this broken heart I could feel him healing with each of his words.

His voice drove deep again, slowing as he hit the second verse.

Starshine.

I blinked around the tears that filled my eyes, unable to hold them back as this beautiful man’s powerful voice reverberated through the auditorium.

Questions and uncertainty threaded into the passion of his song as he again slowed, the sound coming from the piano growing quiet as his voice tilted into a raspy plea.

For a moment the song completely blinked out, and a bated silence held fast to the atmosphere.

My breath was hitched in my lungs.

Desperate in this anticipation that threaded through my spirit.

Then he drove back into the song as a medley of voices suddenly joined him.

One by one, they walked out onto the stage. Baz, Austin, Lyrik, and Ash, all dressed alike. Tamar, Edie, Shea, and Willow, who had changed into gowns.

Each of them were singing as they crossed the stage to stand at Zee’s side.

A part of him.

His support.

His family.

I could do nothing but rise to my feet.

Overwhelmed.

Overcome by this beauty.

And my heart, it beat wildly with his song, a confession that stitched together to become a part of me.

They all sang, some in tenor, baritone, and bass. Shea’s sweet voice lifted above them for a few moments in a perfect harmony.

Then they all slowed and quieted, the piano barely a trickle of sound as Zee once again began to sing alone. His mouth was right at the mic, and his vulnerable, perfect heart was on display.

He heaved out a breath, his eyes closed for a moment before he opened them and peered directly at me. “I know my life is complicated, Alexis. That I have a kid who’s been through more than any kid ever should. That he’s gonna need me every second of every day. But the truth of the matter is, I need you, too. Need your light. Your music. Your song. Take a chance on me, Alexis. No fear. Just life.”

And there was no hesitation.

No question.

I was running down the aisle.

Toward this brilliant, unforgettable man.

No fear. Just life.