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“Am I amusing you, sir?”
“Not at all. I think it’s adorable you wrote me a poem. I can’t wait to hear it. But if I’m going to get to the showcase on time, then—”
“Right,” she smacked her forehead. “I’m sorry. We can deal with all of this later.”
“Or, you can come with me,” I offered, extending my hand. “I have something to show you anyway.”
One of her eyebrows rose as she asked, “What’s that?”
“A surprise that you’ll have to trust me enough to deliver,” I shrugged, patiently waiting for her to take my hand. “What’s it going to be, Love?”
It took her all of a few seconds to place her hand in mine. “I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth, Luck.”
The only thing that terrified me more than hitting the stage was leaving Nyx alone in the venue, knowing my mother was prowling around. Despite her assuring me that she’d be on her best behavior, part of me worried she’d do something stupid. I couldn’t do anything but be glad my brother and Ximena were there to be a buffer in case things went wrong.
But it was time to push all those thoughts to the back of my brain and perform in front of a live crowd for the first time. Time seemed to fast-forward from the moment Nyx and I left my house. It was a whirlwind getting to the venue. As promised, Judah had my guitar, which sorted out one of my problems. Now, it was on me not to choke or forget the lyrics.
When it was my time to hit the stage, I sent up a prayer that I wouldn’t make a damn fool of myself and forced my feet forward. Thankfully, the lights shielded me from seeing too much of the audience, which eased part of my anxiety.
“How y’all doing?” I inquired, slipping onto the stool and adjusting my guitar. “The song I’m performing for y’all today is one I’ve been working on for a minute.
“Ever since the inspiration blew into my life like a whirlwind, I’ve been glued to a notebook, writing exactly how I feel about her. This is my first time doing something like this, so hopefully she likes it, and here goes nothing…”
Letting fear fall to the wayside, I allowed every emotion to pour out of me while performing. Any thought, feeling, or fear I’d had about falling in love with Nyx was on display for the world to see.
Once I was finished, the room erupted into applause, filling me with relief. Standing, I gave a slight bow before finally disappearing off stage. Leaving my guitar in the back, I anxiously returned to the audience area, looking for Nyx. I should have known that instead, she’d be the one to find me.
“Oh my God!” she squealed, jumping into my arms. “You did amazing. That was beautiful!”
“You liked it?” I tightened my grip on her.
“I loved it, Jamie. And I’m so glad I didn’t sneak a peek at your notebook and ruin the moment.”
Returning her to the ground, I shook my head. “You are something else.”
“I know. I can’t believe you wrote a song about me.”
“Well, believe it, Love.”
She squeezed my hand. “You know, I never answered the question you asked me months ago.”
Quickly racking my brain, I tried to recall what question she was talking about. Drawing a blank, I gave up. “What question?”
“Actually, it was more of a statement. You told me I never shared with you whether I found what I was looking for the day we met.”
“Well?”
“Yes, James Luck. I found exactly what I was looking for and ten times more when I met you. I love you. And if you allow me to fix my mistake, I’ll gladly spend forever proving it to you.”
“You’re in luck, Nyx Love. Because I’m in a forgiving mood and entirely too in love with you to let you go.”
“I think that means the two of us are Just Lucky ‘n Love.”
“I guess so.”
Epilogue
Inhaling deeply, I watched Jamie nervously dart around his home, double- and triple-checking to ensure he hadn’t forgotten anything. As adorable as it was, I knew his actions were fueled by the anxiety of his life’s sudden change in direction.
