I love you.
Luca
P.S. “Hasta Mañana.” (Figured I’d get one more in.)A few days later, the phone rang in the middle of the afternoon. My heart sped up upon recognizing it was Griffin.
I picked up. “Hey!”
“You did good, baby. They delivered the letter to my dressing room at The Palladium. I knew you’d come through.”
My heart fluttered. “I’m so glad it got to you. I was really worried that it would get lost or just miss you, and then I’d have to figure out a way to get it to the next place.”
“Nope, it was perfect.” He hesitated. “Listen, I don’t have that much time, because they’re calling me for a sound check, but I wanted to give you a heads-up about something. I figured you wouldn’t know about it if you’re still following through on your vow not to Google me.”
My stomach dropped. What do I not know about?
“Okay . . .”
“They posted some photos on a celebrity website of us vacating the hotel in Chicago during the fire alarm.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief. “I see.”
“I know you sometimes read the tabloids in the supermarket, and I don’t yet know if any of those photos ended up in any of the magazines as well, but I wanted to warn you in case you happened to see it.”
“It’s okay . . . Believe it or not, it doesn’t really bother me to be photographed. I mean, it’s intrusive and not ideal, but it doesn’t make me panic or anything.”
“Well, that’s a relief, because that trip was hard enough without that moment having to live in infamy.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about the photos.”
He sighed into the phone, and I could sense his own relief. I had to pick my battles. With enough going against me when it came to our relationship, the least I could do was let the photos slide.
“I’m still shocked they haven’t figured out your identity. If they were to find out your name was Luca, all hell would break loose. I could only imagine the headlines.” He fell silent for a moment before he changed the subject. “Speaking of tabloids, I called my father today.”
That surprised me. “Really . . . ?”
“Yes. I don’t know what possessed me. I guess I felt like it was time. He wants me to come to London for a visit. He seemed apologetic about what he’d done and wants to make amends.”
“That’s great, Griff.”
“Yeah. I have to tread lightly, though. I don’t want to get hurt again.”
“I understand.”
Hearing him say that broke my heart a little. I didn’t want to be the one to hurt him.
I heard someone call his name, and then he finally said, “Shit. I have to go.”
“Go. Get ready for the show. Thank you for calling.”
“I love you, Luca.”
“I love you, too.”CHAPTER 28
GRIFFINA little girl caught my attention as I walked to the stadium door. I backed up and motioned to my security that I needed a minute. They hated when I ventured into the crowd, but I couldn’t resist going over to say hello. A few dozen fans yelled from behind wooden barricades that lined the walkway between where we’d pulled up and the entrance to tonight’s venue. One little angelic face happened to look a hell of a lot like Luca.
I bent down to her level. “Hey there. What’s your name?”
She was probably only six or seven years old and really could have passed for Luca’s daughter with her long, dark hair; giant green eyes; and thick black eyelashes.
“Frankie.”
“Frankie, huh? That’s a cool name. Is it short for something?”
She nodded. “Francine.”
Her mum interrupted. “She knows every word of all your songs. Seriously, we thought of writing to you to ask you to sing the multiplication tables for her.”
I smiled. “Is that so, Frankie? You like my music, huh?”
She nodded her adorable little head rapidly.
“Do you think you can sing me something? What’s your favorite?”
“‘I Stand Still.’”
Wow. That was sort of a heavy song for a little girl. Most people assumed I’d written it for a girl I’d been hung up on, but in actuality it was written for my mum. It was a slow solo ballad, and the lyrics talked about how I didn’t realize how important she was in my life until she was gone. “Can you sing me a little bit?”
The little girl looked at her mum, who prompted her. “Go ahead, sweetheart. It’s okay.”
Frankie looked nervous, so I figured I’d help her out. “I’ll tell you what . . . how about if I start, and you can join in when you’re ready?”
She nodded.
Softly, I began to sing the first verse. By the end of the first sentence, little Frankie started to rock back and forth with the biggest smile plastered on her face. She was really freaking adorable. I could easily imagine Luca and I might have a little girl who looked a lot like her. So I just kept singing. When I got to the end of the first verse, I stopped. “You ready to join me yet?”