EPILOGUE
TWO MONTHS LATER
MOLLY
The sun was winkingover the long horizon of the desert when the crew finished unloading the trailer. I got Kaz’s phone out of my brand spanking new Jeep Wrangler and walked it over to the singer. The car had been the guys’ gift to me once they got their first check from WMI, and no matter how much I protested, they insisted I accept it. Audrey had been honorably discharged from my life.
“It’s crazy they’re going to be streaming the entire festival live,” Kaz said to Mase and I. We took in the empty stage and the enormous field that would be teeming with people in just a few hours. “Trinity said they expect to have hundreds of thousands of people watching.”
Mason let out a whistle. “Better not mess it up, dude.”
Kaz scoffed. “Please. This is going to be the best show the audience has ever seen.”
A smile tugged at my lips.This guy.His confidence was a true force of nature. Today was Last Rite’s second ever concert, which just happened to be during a massive festival in Palm Springs, and here he was, as unperturbed as ever.
If the reporters that waited for them in the backstage area were hoping to get a glimpse of nervousness, they’d be disappointed. For the past month and a half, I’d watched Mase and Kaz rehearse the shit out of every single song they’d written, and now, not even an earthquake could shake the performance they planned to put on.
This was a big deal. The first show had been intimate—relatively speaking. We’d put it on for the first two thousand fans who’d managed to nab a ticket. But today, they’d be playing for an audienceten timesthat size.
Sound check was uneventful. I snapped a few shots of them up on stage anyway, because I was taking my duties as seriously as they took theirs. We’d gotten creative with the photos in the past few weeks, releasing them a series at a time to tell a story about a new song or some behind-the-scenes moment, and the fans were eating them up. Our engagement was through the roof. Other bands were taking notes.
In the afternoon, our guests began arriving at the VIP area where we were hanging out until the guys’ set.
Bleeding Moonlight’s arrival was always easy to spot because Silas towered over everyone wherever he went. I waved everyone over, and Adeline pulled me into a hug. I gasped in delight when I felt the roundness of her belly for the first time. “Oh my God, you’re starting to show!”
She grinned. “It’s the weirdest thing. I can’t believe I’m in the second trimester now.”
Turned out, my sister, being the boss that she is, had managed to finish the last half of Bleeding Moonlight’s tour while pregnant. I was ecstatic when she shared the news with me in the days after I accepted Last Rites’ offer to become their official photographer. Her and her partners had decided they wouldn’t do a test to determine the father, because all four of them would play that role. I was sure this kid would be the most loved little thing in the entire world, and I couldn’t wait to become an aunt.
Mason enveloped Ade in an enthusiastic hug. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
“Wouldn’t miss this for the world,” she said before extending her hand for a fist bump with Kaz. “This is really exciting.”
Mase and Ade were well on their way to rebuilding their old friendship, and it made me happy I’d played a part in that. Kaz was also warming up to my family, although slowly, as was his nature. He squeezed my waist before letting go to say hello to the rest of Bleeding Moonlight.
Ade came over to my side and lowered her voice. “Is Kaz’s dad still coming today?”
I nodded, pulling out my phone to check for any new messages. “He’s driving up from LA. I think he should be here soon.”
Lance, Kaz’s father, had turned out to be a pretty cool guy. Apparently, Kaz had bumped into him at a bar during our short-lived separation, and they’d had a conversation without Lance knowing who he was speaking to. When Lance showed up at our house a few weeks later and saw the guy from the bar opening the door, he’d nearly passed out.
And then he’d passed out for real when he found out his long-lost son was the lead singer and guitarist for Last Rites. Apparently, he was a fan.
“Him and Kaz are doing well?” Ade asked.
“They’re making progress. I think Kaz is still figuring out how to relate to him, but the fact that his dad is into his music helps a lot. It gives them something to talk about.”
“Is he thinking of meeting his half sister?”
The photo Lance showed us of his ten-year-old daughter flashed in my mind. She was adorable, with two pig tails and a pair of jean overalls. Her smile reminded me a lot of Kaz. “Eventually. Baby steps,” I said.
We sat on the grass for a while, enjoying the sun and sharing a couple of beers. Ade eyed us enviously while sipping on her sparkling water. When Lance arrived, Kaz got up to greet him, and my heart melted a bit when he planted a kiss on Kaz’s cheek. For all the challenges Kaz had endured in his early life, I was determined to make sure his future continued to shine brightly.
Mase wrapped his arm around my shoulders and tugged me in for a kiss. I was about to protest the PDA but then I remembered our discussion from last night. They’d finally pestered me enough to agree our relationship didn’t need to stay hidden.
“We’re rock stars, sweetheart,” Mase had said.“If this is the most scandalous thing about us, we’re doing pretty damn well.”
In truth, I knew if we kept trying to hide it, we’d slip eventually. At least this way, we were able to control the narrative.
