OH WOW, THIS place is packed,” Anna said, peeking out of the heavy red velvet curtain at the Maxwell Center for the Arts, to where over twenty-five hundred seats were being filled for my sold-out inaugural concert.

“An-na.” Ollie gave her the look, and she quickly shut the curtain.

“Oops,” she said. “I mean, uh, wow, no one wanted to see you play tonight, huh?”

Oh Jesus. Where’s a vomit bucket when you need one?

Ollie just shook his head as he put his arm around her neck like he was going to give her a noogie. “Why don’t you go make sure no one’s taken our seats, would ya? Troublemaker.”

“No, my hair,” she shrieked, wiggling out of his hold, and then she launched herself at me. “You’re going to be amazing, Reid. Don’t even think about all those people out there.”

“Thanks, Banana. I’ll picture them all in their underwear.” Ollie sent the look my way, and I backtracked. “Okay, maybe not in their underwear.”

As Anna went back out into the audience, I took in a couple of deep breaths and stretched out my fingers.

“Come here—let me fix your tie,” Ollie said, and I stood still in front of him as he straightened the black bow at my neck, followed by the cardinal wings on my lapel. “Don’t be nervous. You’ve got this.”

“I’m not nervous.” When he raised an eyebrow, I exhaled. “Why would I be nervous? There are only a couple thousand people and a handful of producers out there who could make or break me. No biggie. Really.”

“Exactly. But just because you’ve been working for this for a year and a half doesn’t mean your whole career depends on tonight.”

“Gee, thanks, babe. You’re as bad as Anna.”

“Hey, you’ve gone through worse and come out the other side.”

“Are you referring to when I married you?” I teased. Ollie’s mouth fell open, a retort on his tongue, when I laughed and then planted a kiss on his lips. “I’m kidding. You meant the head through the glass thing, right?”

He shook his head and gripped my waist, pulling me flush against him so I could feel the way his cock pulsed through his dress pants. “I’ll remember that later.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” I tugged on his lobe with my teeth, and he shivered in my arms. It never got old, the effect I had on my man, and neither did the intoxicating scent of him, nothing but pheromones that made me want to lick his neck. “You keep distracting me, and I’m gonna have to cancel the concert.”

That made him pull away, holding me at arm’s length. “Not in a million years. I can wait two hours.”

I looked down at the way the front of his pants tented. “I don’t know about that.”

“Trust me, watching you play is the sweetest kind of torture. Foreplay, if you will.”

“Really?”

“Mmm. Something about knowing where those talented fingers of yours will end up later…”

It was my jaw’s turn to drop, and he laughed at my expression.

“Just know that’s what I’ll be thinking about tonight.”

“You bastard. I have to go out there in five minutes.”

“Then I guess you’d better practice your self-restraint now.”

“I had no idea you were so evil. Are you sure you haven’t bumped your head lately?”

“This is payback for the other night.” When I furrowed my brow, he said, “You. Showing up at the station. Not a stitch of clothing on underneath that fucking trench coat.”

“Ohh, yes, it’s all coming back to me now. Emphasis on coming.” I hummed as I remembered the look on Ollie’s face when I took him to the back and opened the coat. “That was a good night.”

“Two minutes,” the stage manager said as she passed by, and instantly the nerves were back, the panic settling in something fierce.

“Oh God. What if they hate it?”

“Impossible.”

I gave him a solemn look. “Be serious.”

“I am being serious. A contemporary infusion of classics and rock songs? What’s not to love? They’re going to be begging for more, just wait.”

“It’s been so long since I’ve performed. I think I’ve forgotten how.”

“What did you tell me once? That when you step on stage and start to play, everyone fades into the background. Right?”

My lips tipped up on one side. “Almost everyone.”

“That’s right. I’ll be the one cheering you on from the front row so loud it’ll be obnoxious, I promise.” I chuckled as he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my wedding band. “You always make your husband proud. Always.” Then he took my chin and gave me a soft kiss that lingered—one I was looking forward to continuing tonight.

“I love you,” I whispered as I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against his. His hands squeezed mine, firm and steady. Always my rock.

“I love you, Reid. This is the beginning of your dreams coming true. I feel it.”

“No. You’re wrong about that,” I said, lifting my head to meet his eyes. “My dream began before I met you. In that little coffee aisle at Joe’s, when you saw me and what we could be before I even knew to look up.”

Ollie’s eyes glassed over, and I kissed his full lips again.

“Thank you for saving me,” I said, and I meant that in every way. He’d not only saved my life, but he’d saved my soul. He’d saved my hope when I had none. The man I was lucky enough to wake up next to every day had brought me back to life, and as I took a deep breath and stepped out onto the stage, I knew that with him by my side, lifting me up as I did him, I’d never fall.

And that was what dreams were made of.