He leans down and kisses me gently, and I can finally see why he did all this.
I was so freaking mad. Even after we burned down Cowan’s house and ruined his work, I was livid with him. It took a few weeks before we really started working it out, but once we did, it was like two puzzle pieces slipping into place. We seamlessly made this theater our priority, and worked so damn hard to get it ready, staffed, and prepped for this show.
And now here it is, happening in front of me, all those hours of work, all that struggle and that sadness, and all of it was worth it.
I get what Baptist was trying to do now. He wanted to prove to himself and to me that he cares about things bigger than himself. This theater is bigger, because it represents our family and our family’s future. It represents everything we love in the world—music, show business, comedy, joy and crowds and excitement. This is our world, our joy.
And we’ll share it together.
“I have something for you,” he says in my ear and takes my hand in his. There’s something small and hard in his palm and when I pull away, there’s a glittering, beautiful ring left behind. I stare down at the ring and he’s grinning as he slowly sinks to one knee.
“Yes!” I shout over the music. “YES!”
He laughs and kisses my fingers and slips the ring on. “Will you marry me?” he asks.
“I love you,” I say and he stands and kisses me for a long time as Pride rolls from one song into the next and the crowd goes insane. They’re cheering for their favorite band—but I can pretend they’re cheering for me.
Finally getting the man I love.
“Congrats!” Marie says further backstage, away from all the noise. She hugs me close and tight. “God, I’m so happy for you.” Ansell and Baptist remain up front, watching the show from the wings.
“It feels so surreal,” I admit, leaning back against the wall. “A year ago, we were basically strangers. And now we have this theater together and we’re getting married and I’m having a baby soon.”
“It’s good though, right? How fast you can fall when you find the right person?”
“It’s magic, honestly.”
“You’ve been through a lot,” she says with a sigh. “You deserve this.” She hugs me again and I lean my head against her shoulder. “What ever happened to Tony Cowan, by the way?”
I smile to myself. “His studio burned down. He lost everything. Then a bunch of the people he’s been torturing over the last decade came forward to tell their story and he’s pretty much ruined. I hear he moved to LA to try to find work, but nobody wants to get anywhere near him.”
“Poor Tony.”
“I used to love his movies. Now I hope he’s suffering.”
“You’re sick. I love it.” Marie laughs and sighs as she tilts her head back. “You know, this isn’t how I pictured it at all.”
“What do you mean?”
“Our future. I thought we’d be at Drake, doing big things.”
“Instead, we’re doing big things on our own.”
“And I’m still at Drake.” She laughs and shrugs a little. “Ah, well.”
“There’s only one thing bothering me still. Have you heard from Bella Baby in a while?”
Her face slowly falls and she shakes her head. “She married William and practically disappeared.”
“What the hell happened?”
“I don’t know. Honestly, I’ve been worried sick. Ever since I found out that she’s my half-sister, we were trying to reunite and double down on our friendship, but—” She tugs on her hair. “It’s been silence for months.”
“Shit. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sure she’s okay. Baby’s always been… well, you know.”
I laugh and we lapse into silence, enjoying the show. After a while, Baptist comes back and takes Marie’s place. She rejoins Ansell near the stage, and Baptist wraps his arms around me, hugging me close.