Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 91285 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91285 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
I barely register any of it. All I see is Cheyenne standing in the middle of the madness with her arms full of bouquets, her cheeks flushed and eyes bright. She’s smiling at something one of the other actors says, but there’s a dazed quality to it, like she still can’t quite believe this is her life.
I can.
I watched every damn second—from the moment she stepped out there and owned the theater like she was born for it to the final bow she took before the curtain came down. And through it all, she made it look effortless. Especially when I know how much work, fear, and grit it took for her to get here. I watched her stand in front of a packed house and claim the life she used to think was too far out of reach to touch.
And I watched her become the woman she was always meant to be.
As I stand here now, knowing she chose this life and built it with her own two hands, it damn near brings me to my knees. This is the moment that will change everything for her. And through all of it, I get to be the man standing at her side.
Cheyenne looks up just as I reach her, and our gazes lock. For one split second, everything around us drops away. The noise, the people, the flowers in her arms.
All of it.
Before my name even makes it past her lips, my hands are on her waist and I’m lifting her off the floor. She laughs as the bouquets get crushed between us.
“You were amazing,” I tell her.
Her smile wobbles. “You really think so?”
“Baby, you killed it.” I tighten my hold on her. “No, fuck that. I knew you’d be good and that you belonged out there, but what you did tonight…” I exhale, still trying to wrap my head around it. “You walked on stage and took something that was always meant to be yours. You made that whole theater believe in you.”
A mixture of relief and pride flickers across her expression as her eyes glisten with tears.
Her fingers slide into the hair at the nape of my neck. “You really mean that?”
“Chey.” My hand drifts higher along her back. “I’ve never meant anything more in my life.”
She releases a breath before grinning. “Thank you for believing in me and helping me to believe in myself.”
My mind flashes through all of it at once. The months of her running lines. The nights she second-guessed herself. The mornings she needed someone to look her in the eye and tell her she could do it.
That she was already enough.
That this life was hers if she was brave enough to take it.
A smirk tugs at my mouth before I can stop it. “Pretty hard not to when you’re so damn talented.”
She turns her face toward mine until my lips are able to find hers. The kiss is brief, but it’s enough for her to melt into me.
She draws back before whispering, “I love you.”
Those three words bowl me over every goddamn time.
I kiss her once more. “Love you too, baby.”
There’s a long dramatic sigh from behind us.
“All right, McNichols. Give the girl a little room to breathe,” Rina announces. “She literally just brought the house down.”
Cheyenne laughs again as I set her on her feet, though I keep one arm banded around her waist.
Rina narrows her eyes. “You’re still hogging her.”
“That’s because she’s mine,” I shoot back.
Amusement dances in Cheyenne’s eyes.
Rina snorts. “You’re such a caveman.”
“Where this woman is concerned? Correct.”
That earns me an eye roll from Lilah.
Sloane lifts a brow. “Subtle.”
Kia smiles as Callie shakes her head.
But I don’t care. They can give me all the shit they want. I just watched the woman I love walk onto a stage and set the world on fire.
Even though people continue wandering over to congratulate Cheyenne, my hand never leaves the small of her back. It’s a quiet reminder that I’m here and that I’ve got her. No matter how big this gets, she’ll never have to carry it alone.
The afterparty starts forming around us in loose, glittering clusters. Theater people, producers, family, and friends. Cheyenne handles all of it beautifully, gracious and smiling and somehow still entirely herself.
Every once in a while, she glances at me, and my chest tightens in response. It takes everything in me not to hustle her out the door, but it’s important she enjoys this moment.
Her moment.
A few hours later, Cheyenne whispers, “Would you mind if we sneak out?”
I grin. “I thought you’d never ask, baby.”
Rina points a threatening finger at me as we collect the flowers and slip from the crowd. “Don’t kidnap her for, like, a week. The woman just had a breakout moment.”
I guide Cheyenne toward the exit. “Sorry, no promises.”
Chey laughs under her breath. “You’re impossible.”