Griffin looks through the glass doors Bailey has just passed through. “I should probably show my face again, say goodbye to whoever is left.”
Aria squeezes his hand. “Do youhaveto?”
When Griffin glances down at her, she grins, betraying her playfulness.
“My first choice would be to stay. You know that.”
“Why don’t you make the rounds, then make one last stop out here. We’ll linger till they kick us out.”
Griffin glances at his watch. “Technically, I have the place until midnight.”
“Music to my ears.” Aria pats his back, encouraging him to go, and Griffin reluctantly gets to his feet.
“I’ll be quick.”
Griffin leaves Aria smiling, and as she waits, the crackling fire glows before her and she pulls out her phone. Texts from Bailey are already waiting for her.
Bailey:OMG TELL!
Bailey:You’re clearly doing couple stuff.
Bailey:Is it official? If so, WHAT is official?
Aria’s fingers glide over the screen wistfully as she replies.
Aria:We said “I love you” and we kissed again.
Aria:More than once, of course ...We have more to discuss, but it feels like we’re coming back together.
Replies from Bailey ping in rapid succession.
Bailey:You THINK? Duh! You’re IN LOVE!
Bailey:Yay, Aria! You snagged your prince. Or is it that he snagged his queen? I think I prefer that.
Aria:I like any and all of the above.
Bailey:I’m so happy for you, sis. I’m going to hit the hay as soon as I get home, but I expect a detailed play-by-play at breakfast.
Aria:You betcha.
Griffin really does hurry back, and when he pushes through the doors back onto the patio, he seems almost out of breath. Aria waves him over playfully, then pats the seat beside her. Griffin sits down, and his tall, broad presence envelops Aria as he slides an arm around her shoulder.
He looks down at her and grins. “This event turned out way better than I initially expected.”
“Yeah? Lots of generous guests?”
“Oh, I have no idea. They haven’t shown me numbers; I’m not sure we’d have them yet.”
Aria’s cheeks heat, and her eyes bat of their own accord.
“You, Aria. That song. Man, I’m a lucky guy.”
Aria turns to look at the fire. “You might feel lucky, but so do I. The words in the song, I meant them.Meanthem. I’ve been struggling for a long time, feeling pulled between my desire to try something new, to be genuine, and my fears of what that could do to my career—a fear of failure, really.”
“You?Failing?” Griffin says the words so incredulously that it’s as if there’s a scoff hanging on the tip of his tongue.
“From the outside, everyone sees the strong, powerful woman who dominates the stage, but everyone forgets that I—a regular person—came from nothing. I didn’t have wealthy or connected parents. I didn’t have expensive vocal or guitar lessons. I had a dream, a cheap guitar my parents saved up to get me for Christmas, and a high school music teacher who believed in me. All this time, all these years, I’ve been striving to become the woman everyone now believes is me. Of course I’m afraid of it all falling apart, because only I know how much brute force and persistence it took to put it together. I know I’m not invincible.”
