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“Did you not see what happened out there? I’ve never seen anything like it. Yes, I’m serious. Dead serious.”
“Absolutely,” Becky, another member of the group said, nodding emphatically. “That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. Please find some more outside-the-box songs.”
“Yes!” Marissa echoed.
I stared at them all, dumbfounded. “You guys are rocking my world right now, I can’t—I can’t believe this. Thank you.”
“Come on, let’s get to the lobby. I want to see my parents. They came in for the show,” Diana said, patting me on the back and guiding me toward the exit. The girls dispersed to find their friends and family. Surveying the crowd, my eyes landed on Naomi. She jumped up on her toes and waved, patted Ben on the arm, and ran to me, pulling me into her arms.
“That was amazing! And Prince was all you, right? That’s the song you’ve been working on for, like, ever?”
“Yes. It is.”
“Great job,” Ben said. His smile was warm as he held Naomi’s hand. “And great song choice.”
“Pretty good, Weezer,” Sully said as he approached with the rest of the Spotlight crew.
“Seriously, that was awesome,” Marley said. “I can’t wait to see your next show!”
“This was our last one for the year, unfortunately.”
“Well, it was impressive,” Emmett said.
“Thanks, guys. I’m just…I’m so happy you all decided to come. It was a great surprise.”
“Of course, we did,” Hannah said. “Dutch and Kevin are holding down the fort. Speaking of which, I should get over there. I don’t trust those boneheads to cash out the drawer tonight. Great job, Tilly.”
“Thanks,” I said, taking a deep breath.
Slowly, each couple said their goodbyes, and within a few minutes, I was standing alone in the lobby, my eyes wanting to scan the crowd for Wyatt, but my heart trying desperately to appear above it all.
As the crowd thinned out, I sighed, resigning myself to go backstage and change into my street clothes. For a second, doubt crept in, and I wondered if I was really the person that Wyatt came to see. The first time that he came into the store, he was with Marissa. Maybe he was there to see her tonight.
Unable to pretend any longer, I allowed myself to survey the room. And there he was, talking to Marissa with another couple.
It doesn’t mean anything, I told myself, but part of me felt foolish for assuming Wyatt had only come to surprise me. No. He had a friend in the group, and perhaps I had nothing to do with his being there at all.
Holding back tears, I turned and started to walk to the doors that led backstage when I heard him, in the distance, calling my name.
“Tilly!” he yelled, running to me, carrying a bouquet of deep purple irises in his hands. “Wait!”
An almost hopeful glint was in his eyes as he handed me the bouquet. “Hey. These are for you.”
“Thanks.” I smelled them. “Great color choice.”
“I swear I didn’t know about the song, but Marissa just told me that you arranged it.”
“I did, yeah.”
“It was extraordinary,” he said, eyes bright and cheeks a pale pink as he stared at me in awe. “I mean, the second I realized what song it was, I figured you had a hand in it.”
“I’m obvious, huh?”
“I mean, it is Prince,” he said with a shrug.
“I’m surprised you remembered,” I said, my voice trailing off.
“That you love him?” he asked, his eyes gentle and contemplative as he studied my face. “How could I forget?”
