CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
REID
Ren, Jordan’s boss, was ecstatic when I called him first thing in the morning, although he said Jordan wasn’t a fan of surprises or public displays of affection.
I told him it was all I had.
After a lot of silence and then a healthy amount of cursing, he’d told me it better go over well with the media or he was going to hang me by the balls and sprinkle me with birdseed.
And watch.
I was trying to figure out why he was so upset, but then he explained that if things went wrong it wouldn’t just be Jordan’s job but his firm’s reputation at stake.
I shivered and checked my watch. Becca texted that Jordan was on her way. The crew had torn down most of the set, but I didn’t need anything other than the park and my girl.
Well, that and a stage, props, and a few friends from Broadway.
Hell, I’d said good PR so much that day I was pretty sure it was going to become my new catchphrase: As long as it’s good PR.
“Well.” Max crossed his arms. “Our work here is done. It’s all you, kid.” He slapped me on the back. “Don’t screw up.”
“Already did.” I put the mask back on. “And thanks for trending the whole Batman thing on Twitter.”
“Dude, what else are brothers for? All I needed to do was put it on my blog. Seriously, you guys need to read my blog. I have millions of followers.”
“You have a picture of a goat, a gecko, and a snake as your background. I still don’t understand how people even take you seriously.”
“Because I’m awesome.” He frowned. “Thanks for your vote of confidence. Now go get your woman.”
I attached the mask and nodded just as a cab pulled up and Jordan stepped out.
Performances had always been easy for me. I’d never been the nervous type. Acting was in my blood. Even if the audience hated me, I was in my own world when I was on stage.
Except now.
Now I was bringing her into my world and praying she wouldn’t stomp all over my heart, then shoot me.
“Showtime.” One of the PAs spoke into his headset just as the lights hanging on the trees flashed.
It was overcast.
And starting to rain.
Which was perfect, because it made the lights stand out.
I waited for Jordan to turn the corner.
Max held his phone up so he could do the live feed. Now that we had our own YouTube channel, our subscribers were able to actually watch this take place.
Worldwide.
No pressure.
Talk about sinking my career if it didn’t work.
The Phantom overture began to play through the hidden speakers as Jordan made her way toward me, her eyes narrowing.
I held out my hand.
She stared at it.
“Music of the Night” started.
And I began to sing.
“Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation, darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Silently the senses abandon their defenses . . .” I crooned, twirling her in to my body so I could sing in her ear. “Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor.” I could play the Phantom in my sleep. But I wasn’t playing the Phantom.
I was acting out a part.
And making sure she knew that she was the main attraction.
The main everything.
“Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams, purge all thoughts of the life you knew before.”
Jordan’s eyes were wide with shock as I continued singing. A crowd gathered around us as I twirled her with my hand and gripped her hips, tugging her against me.
I walked her backward toward the stage.
Where an entire orchestra was sitting and playing the song. The music crescendoed as I sang one of the highest notes of the song.
“Only then,” I whispered, “can you belong to me.”
She gasped as I lifted her into my arms and carried her onto the stage. The crowd swayed in front of us as I kept singing, then gently lowered her into the boat.
“Let the dream begin! Let your darker side give in!” I sang. “The power of the music of the night!”
Cymbals crashed around us as I reached into my cape and pulled out a single red rose.
“You alone can make my song take flight. Help me make the music of the night.”
The music ended as I slowly caressed her face with the rose.
She was breathing hard, her eyes filled with tears. Gently, I wiped them away with my thumbs. “You told me you liked capes.”
Jordan nodded. Damn, she was beautiful. Her white dress looked exactly like the one Christine wore in the movie.
“You aren’t really a shrew. You never were.” I sighed. “Just like you’ve never been invisible, not to me. You’re vibrant.” I swallowed the emotion in my throat. “Just like this red rose, you stand out among the rest. And I’m sorry for not telling you that sooner. I’m sorry for trying to keep my feelings private. I’m sorry that I never got the chance to tell you how desperately I need you in my life. I think it’s finally time to tell the truth.”
“Reid, wait!” She gripped my hand.
I addressed the crowd and looked directly at Max, who held the phone higher. “It was never Jordan that needed taming. It was me. It’s always been me. She turned me from a man who was afraid of commitment, who thought that roses were the way to a girl’s heart, into a man who’d be willing to do anything, even sacrifice his own career . . . in order to tell a girl he loves her.”
She gasped.
The crowd simultaneously ahhed.
“I’m the shrew.” I smiled wide. “But I’m happy to say this woman here has turned me into a man no longer afraid to take that big step. But a man who can’t wait to leap.”
Tears streamed down her face as I lifted her into my arms. “I wanted to buy you roses, lots and lots of roses, but someone said roses are lame.”
“I love roses,” she blurted. “I’ve always loved them.” Big tears streamed down her cheeks, meeting her lips.
“Well,” I chuckled. “I figured since I gave you a rose in the Phantom costume, you’d give me a free pass.”
“I think the Phantom costume counts as a free pass for anything,” a woman shouted from the crowd.
“I never meant for you to misunderstand my intentions.” I kissed her softly on the lips. “I moved your furniture into storage because I want you to stay with me. But I did tell Max to keep it a secret, since he has a big mouth and apparently a blog with over five million followers.”
“Huh.” Jordan’s eyebrows knit together. “You mean you weren’t kicking me out?”
“NO.” I chuckled. “The exact opposite.”
“But Max said—”
“Exactly.” I shook my head. “Though, had he actually told you last night, we wouldn’t be here now, making PR history, hmm?”
“So is it all about the PR?” Her eyes narrowed.
I dipped her back, kissing her soundly. “No, you should know by now. It’s all about you. You deserved the big gesture. Screw the media.”
Jordan burst out laughing as she fingered the cape. “Batman, my ass.”
“Shh.” I kissed her cheek. “It was all I could come up with, otherwise you would have known my plan.”
“Your plan to seduce me by song and cape?”
“Did it work?”
She grinned. “I don’t know. You may have to bring the cape back to the apartment.”
“Still rolling.” Max coughed. “Wrap it up, kids.”
“Wrap this.” I flipped him off.
Max gasped while the crowd chuckled.
“You should know,” Jordan sighed in my arms, “I’m a terrible cook. That’s why I make you fix breakfast. I can do coffee. And I can buy pastries. That’s the extent of my cooking.”
“I know.”
“And I’m messy.”
I laughed. “Believe me, I know that too.”
“And I hate turning off lights!”
“My power bill is very much aware of this sad reality.”
“Still want me?” She smiled shyly.
“Hell, yes.” I kissed her soundly, twirling her in the air, my cape fluttering in the wind, making me feel more Batman than Phantom.
“Anything I should know about you?” she asked once I set her on her feet again. “You know, other than your sad fascination with Star Wars, your inability to seduce without using those aqua eyes, and your aversion to asparagus?”
“Just one thing.” I grinned.
“Hmm?”
I licked my lips, then whispered gruffly in her ear, “I’m Batman.”