“You ready for this?” Julian asked.

“No clue,” I breathed. “Ask me when it’s over.”

Nerves fluttered in my stomach. Not as many as I had feared, but enough to make me vaguely nauseous.

It had been years since I’d been on stage. What if I didn’t have that spark I used to? What if I couldn’t command the stage the way I used to? What if—

“Hey.” Julian’s hand was a reassuring warmth squeezing mine. “It’ll be fine. We’ve been practicing for months.”

“Jam sessions aren’t the same as getting up on stage.” My shaky voice betrayed my unease.

“You’re going to be amazing,” Julian said confidently. “I have no doubt.”

“You think?” I laughed nervously as I scanned the audience from behind a crack in the curtain. “What if they’re only here for you and Seth? What if I get out there and they hate me?”

Julian put both hands on my shoulders, making me face him. His eyes were lit with excitement, the kind of vibrant energy that came from being seconds away from performing in front of a crowd. Still, beyond that excitement was a soft, loving look. He pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“Listen,” he said against my skin. “They’re calling for you.”

I turned my attention away from the fluttering in my gut and toward the pit.

The fans were crying out names, mostly Julian and Seth, but among the buzz there were people crying out for me, using both Ever and Everly. They remembered Where Angels Burn. They remembered our break up. And they couldn’t wait for our much-anticipated return.

“They love you,” he said. “Soak up that energy, just like before. Use it. Don’t let it frighten you. Breathe it in and let it sustain you.”

I did as he said, taking in a deep, slow breath. It did help. I took in another. The buzz of the audience began to buzz in my veins. Anticipation of my own washed over me.

I clutched the guitar slung around my shoulder. A smile spread across my face.

“We really are going to kick ass, aren’t we?” I asked.

“We are,” Julian agreed. He played with a strand of my pink hair. “You’re going to blow the roof off.”

“What the hell are you guys waiting for?” Seth bounced up like a kid hopped up on sugar and threw his arms around us. “They’re going to call our cue in five seconds.”

My fingers went cold, but I clenched them tight, refusing to let nerves overtake me again.

“Let’s rock our goddamn hearts out,” I said with determined grin.

We waited those five seconds, then sauntered onto the stage to thunderous cheers and applause.

I took my place in the center and grabbed the mic, bringing it to my mouth.

“Been a while, hasn’t it?” I called out.

The crowd roared back.

“You guys ready for a show?”

They roared again, waving their arms and stomping their feet.

“Let’s fucking do it!” I cried.

With a forceful strike of my hand on the strings, our first song began.

Pure joy flooded my system. As we played, all my old instincts returned, muscle memory kicking in as I strutted around on stage, owning that shit like I was born for it.

Halfway through our set, after our eighth or so song wound down, the lights dimmed. A spotlight popped up, shining down on Julian. I turned to him, confused. It wasn’t his turn for a solo.

“Hey guys,” he spoke into the microphone perched over his keyboard.

The audience hollered for a full minute straight. He chuckled lightly.

“You excited?” he asked.

The hollering continued.

“Could you do me a favor?” he asked.

“Yes!” the crowd shouted back.

“I’ve got something important to announce, so it’d be great if you could be as silent as I usually am for a few seconds.”

The crowd clapped but didn’t voice any objections.

“What’s going on?” I mouthed to Seth behind his drum set. We hadn’t planned this.

Seth shrugged at me, but he was practically bobbing up and down on his stool. His lips were pressed together in a straight line, but the corners kept on twitching up, as if suppressing a grin.

“Our lovely Everly, my amazing girlfriend and lead singer, has been pretty fucking kick ass tonight, hasn’t she?” Julian asked.

I forced a cocky smirk, even as I tried not to flush.

“I know you guys have heard of our latest single,” Julian said. “It’s a song I wrote myself. I called it Forever Love, and For Ever, Love.” Julian said. “But before we launch into it, I need to do one thing first. You guys okay with that?”

“YES!” they all shouted.

Julian left his keyboard and approached me where I stood next to the main mic on it’s stand.

“What are you doing?” I hissed quietly at him.

He gave me that unreadable, mysterious little smile that had first entranced me all those years ago at the music store.

Then I nearly ate my own tongue, eyes bugging out, as Julian got down on one knee. My hands immediately went to my gaping mouth. He held out a small black box, displaying a gorgeous, brilliant diamond ring.

“Holy shit!” I choked out from behind my hands. I heard my own voice, amplified and reverberating throughout the venue through the speakers. “Are you fucking serious?”

Julian laughed out loud, a grin spreading across his face.

“I’m fucking serious,” he repeated. “Ev, will you marry me?”

My mind went blank for a split second, vision turning black. When I came back to myself, I was in Julian’s arms, my mouth fused to his in a furious kiss, tears streaming down my cheeks.

“Is that a yes?” he murmured into my lips.

“Yes,” I said through gasping sobs. “Yes, yes, a million times yes.”

He pulled away long enough to take my trembling hand and put the ring on my finger. Then he clutched our clasped hands to his chest.

“I love you, Ev,” he said softly. “I always have.”

“I love you, too,” I replied, swallowing down tearful laughter.

Julian nodded his chin to the audience.

“I think they’re happy for us,” he said.

I scanned the pit and saw absolute pandemonium. Shouts of congratulations were almost drowned out by sheer noise as most of the crowd screamed their lungs out with pure delight. I was sure they hadn’t expected this when they’d bought their ticket to a reunion concert for Where Angels Burn.

I wiped the tears from my cheeks, trying to sop up the smeared mascara.

“Sorry, guys,” I said into the microphone, still half giggling. “I think I’m going to be a bit of a mess for the rest of the show.”

“I think that’s allowed, considering the circumstances,” Seth said into his own microphone standing next to his drum set, sounding loud to my ears.

“You dick, you knew and didn’t say anything?” I mock-chided him with a grin.

“I wasn’t going to ruin the surprise!” he said, outraged.

“And here I thought you were a shit liar,” I chuckled.

The audience howled with amusement at our banter.

Clearing my throat and drying my eyes one more time, I planted a kiss on Julian’s cheek, and pushed on his chest.

“Back you go,” I said. “The show must go on.”

He pulled me close and plastered one last passionate kiss on my lips before letting me go and returning to his keyboard with a satisfied grin.

I took in a few shuddering breaths, still overwhelmed. We’d talked about engagement and marriage over the last few months, but it had only been half-formed ideas and vague mentions. I hadn’t expected a thing.

“She’s right, guys,” Julian spoke into the microphone. “The show must go on. So let’s get to it. Here’s our next song. Forever Love, and For Ever, Love.”

Love.

I’d spent so long wondering when and if Julian would say it. Whether he could say it. And here he was, announcing his love for me to the world.

I’d made the promise to myself a thousand times that I would stop thinking about the past and look only toward the future. But it was the past that had shaped me. Shaped us.

Now, whenever I thought of the past, I would only feel grateful. It was because of everything that we’d been through that Julian and I were now able to find our happiness. Not despite our past, but because of it.

I placed my hand on the neck of my guitar and pressed down with my fingers.

I couldn’t wait to see what our future held.

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