Saw you in the crowd the other day
You were ten years older, ten years colder
When your gaze wandered my way…
The crowd is in the palm of our hands, fervently lapping up every word we sing as though they, too, know this is the last time they’ll ever see Wildwood together onstage.
Sure it’s sad but it isn’t complicated…
You’re my only memory that never faded…
You never faded… Oh…
The lights go dark,the crowd cheers… but the platform never descends down into the arena below.
“Ryder? Where’d you go?” Felicity’s voice trembles as she searches for me in the dark. “Is the platform broken? Are we stuck?What do we do?”
“Don’t worry, baby. It’ll be fixed in a minute.”
A smile twists my lips as I drop to my knees and reach into my back pocket.
“But—”
Felicity’s question turns into a gasp of surprise as the stage lights suddenly come back up. She blinks, dazed, before her gaze drops and she spots me, down on one knee before her. Her eyes fill slowly with tears as they lock on the small blue velvet box in my hands.
The audience’s cheers amplify by about a million percent as what they thought was an encore song turns out to be something very different.
“Felicity Wilde,” I say, staring up at her. “You have changed my life in every way possible. From the first moment I met you, I knew we were meant to cross paths. But I had no idea that, from that point on… my path would lead me straight back to you.”
Her eyes begin to leak.
“No matter where we go, no matter what we face… I know, with you by my side, we’ll make it through. You are my light in the darkness. You are the song of my soul. And, if you’ll have me, I’d like to spend the rest of my life making you as happy, ascomplete, as you’ve made me.” I crack open the box, revealing a dazzling diamond ring. The same ring I was meant to give her, all those years ago. The one I’ve kept close, never giving up hope that one day I’d finally get a chance to ask her this question…
“Felicity Wilde, will you marry me?”
The entire arena seems to hold their breath.
Myself included.
I watch a radiant smile break across her face and know the answer before it makes it past her lips.
“Yes, Ryder.Yes.”
I slide the ring onto her finger, its many facets glittering beneath the spotlight. She barely has time to admire it, because I find my feet and scoop her into my arms with a triumphant yell to the crowd around us.
“SHE SAID YES!”
They roar their approval as I spin her around in circles. Onstage, Linc and Aiden start playing a celebratory riff, completing our perfect fairytale moment with a soaring score.
Our lips crash together as I hold her in the air.
This may be the end of the tour…
But it’s the start of something infinitely better.
Chapter Thirty-Two
felicity