“I’m not refunding it.” He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her. “Whenever I don’t have to be working, I’ll be with you.” He kissed her again. “Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, it doesn’t matter.” He kissed her again, then pressed his forehead to hers. “I was stupid not to think of it before. And I was really stupid not to come after you seven years ago. I wasted that time when I could have been with you. I’m not doing that again.”
Giselle’s eyes closed, and tears spilled out. Tears of love, of joy, of gratitude…so many emotions.
“Baby, I’m so sorry—” he started, but Giselle lifted her fingers to his mouth and tipped her head back to look into his eyes.
“We agreed no more apologies.” She let her hand slide from his lips and caress his jaw. “There won’t be any need for them anymore, because I won’t be walking away from you again. I will never, ever be putting my career before you again.”
Confusion and a little worry crept into his eyes. “Did you talk to Chad?”
“I did.”
“What did he say? What about the offers?” A sick look washed his features, and Giselle swore he paled two shades. “Holy shit. Did I… Did I lose those deals for you?” He grimaced as if he were in actual pain, then gripped her arms hard with a rock-solid determination. “You give me names and phone numbers, Giselle. I swear to God, I’ll have those deals back within twenty-four hours.”
“Troy—”
“I’m not the worthless boy you left. I know people now. Powerful people. People who like me. People who owe me. And since I never call in favors, I promise, there are a hell of a lot of huge ones hanging out there that I will pull on in a heartbeat for you.” He gave her a little shake, and a lick of panic edged his eyes. “I can fix this, Ellie. Please, please let me fix this.”
She took his face in both hands and held his gaze. “You were never worthless to me. Not ever. I deeply appreciate the offer, and maybe someday I’ll use it, but not today. And not in the near future.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t need it. The offers were still waiting when I called Chad.”
All his air exited his lungs. Relief washed over his face first, then anticipation and excitement. “So? What was the best final offer?”
“Oh, that,” she said with a sigh and throwaway attitude, leaning into him and wrapping her arms around his waist. She glanced up at the ceiling for a second. “Let’s see… Bud and AEG offered a headliner North American tour with over a hundred stops to be followed by a world tour in eight countries and another sixty concerts funded by Pepsi and Live Nation.” She huffed a distracted laugh. The offers still felt surreal, but her decision about them didn’t. That felt perfectly right. “I didn’t even know there were that many countries in Europe big enough to care about me to have a concert.”
He bent to meet her eyes, gripping her arms again. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Then louder. “Are you fucking kidding me?” He slipped his arms around her waist and spun her around. “Oh, baby, that’s amazing.” He put her down, his face bright with true joy for her. “Where do you go first? When? You’ll have to give me all the dates so I can work my schedule around them. Shit, we’re going to rack up so many frequent flier miles—”
“Um, no,” she said, a little nervous after his show of excitement. “We won’t.”
His smile dropped. Confusion clouded his expression. Dread crawled in. “Why not?”
“Because…” She bit the inside of her cheek. “I turned it down.”
Oh God, hearing the words out loud shot a wave of sickness through her belly. But it cleared in three seconds flat, replaced by reassurance and strength and calm.
He straightened, dropped her arms, and put a hand to his forehead as if it was helping him think. “You…what? No! No, no, no!” He turned and paced away, swung around and paced back. “Call him. Call them.” He yelled at the room. “Someone get me a phone.” Then to Giselle. “You call whoever you need to call and tell them you’ve reconsidered. You can’t turn this down. This is your dream, El. You’ve worked your whole life for this. You’ve given up everything for this. Phone, someone, please!” He turned in a circle, raking both hands into this hair. “I think I’m going to puke.”
Giselle fisted his tee and dragged him to face her. “Troy.” She lifted her hands to his face and ignored the woman who stood uncertainly nearby with a phone in her hand. “Listen very closely to what I’m going to say. I. Don’t. Want. The. Deals. And I’m relentless, remember? Nothing you can do or say is going to make me take them.”
His hands flew out to the side. “Why the hell not?”
In her peripheral vision, she saw Wes herd the crew away from them, giving a small measure of privacy, which, while appreciated, wasn’t required. Giselle would have stood on stage and said this in front of thousands.
“Because you were right,” she said, smiling when his eyes squeezed closed. “About so many things. I have been letting my career just happen to me. I have been letting my career control my life instead of living my life and controlling my career. And I’m not happy.
“These crazy-ass tours require a two-year commitment. Two years of my life. Two years away from you. And I won’t do it.”
The air whooshed out of his lungs, and his expression registered pain and love and a handful of other emotions she couldn’t define. “Oh my God, El. We can work it out. I promise, I—”
“Troy.” She let her hands slide down his hard chest. “It’s not what I want anymore. Maybe two weeks ago, but not now.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressed her body against his, and looked up into those deep brown eyes. “Now, I want a home, a family, friends. I want more walks on the beach, more sunny days watching the ocean, more surfing lessons. And you know me. I wouldn’t be standing here if it weren’t true. I love you. I want you.”
He enveloped her in his arms, kissed her hair, and whispered, “I love you so damn much.” He pulled back just enough to kiss her lips, softly, slowly. Then he pressed her forehead to hers. “And when you decide what you want to do, no matter what it is, even if it’s that crazy-ass two-year world tour, I’ll be there. From here on out, I’m all in, all the time.”
She smiled, with so much love in her heart it overflowed. “That makes two of us.”
Troy jogged from the limo to the rear stage door, praying Giselle’s show didn’t end early. He hadn’t seen her perform these new songs live yet, even though he’d heard her sing them a thousand times. Even though he could sing them all word for word himself.