Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 129207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
The show goes on, and every part of it is incredible, only just as the boys are wrapping up “One Day,” Ezra brings everything to a stop. “Hold up. Hold up,” he says, glancing back toward Rock and Dylan, one hand pushing through his hair, and he grabs the neck of his guitar with the other, lifting the strap over his head. “I’m sorry. I just can’t do this right now.”
Murmurs and shocked gasps begin filling the stadium as I watch Ezra, trying to figure out what the hell is going on. If something was wrong, surely I would have sensed it, right? He’s been staring at me all night, surely I would have seen it in his eyes.
He walks over to the boys, leaving his microphone behind, and he quickly says something to them before they all nod, and not a moment later, Ezra returns to the front of the stage. “I’m sorry,” he calls through the microphone. “I’m sure many of you know that these past few months have been an insane roller coaster for me, and I thought I could wait until the end of the night, but I can’t. I have to do this now.”
Do this now? What the fuck is he talking about?
Ezra holds my stare as the stadium erupts with questions, wondering what the hell is happening, but all I can do is stare back at him, something in his eyes warning me to never look away. “Rae, baby. Get that fine ass of yours up here.”
My jaw drops. “Uhh, what?” I say, knowing damn well he can’t hear me.
“Don’t keep these fine people waiting,” he says as the crowd starts chanting my name.
Ahh fuck, fuck, fuck. Whatever this is, I’m gonna kill him.
Hardin, the head of security, shows up in front of the barricades and offers me his hand. “Sorry, Rae. I’m gonna have to lift you over,” he says, reaching for me.
He doesn’t hesitate to haul me over and set me back on my feet. “Do you have any idea what the hell is going on?” I question as he leads me to the side of the stage before offering me a boost up.
“No clue, ma’am, but take it from my experience, when it comes to Ezra, it’s best to just roll with it.”
Shit.
Shoving my foot into his hand, Hardin boosts me up onto the stage, and just as I get two feet flat on the platform, Ezra appears at my side, slipping his hand into mine. He leads me back into the center of the stage where I feel the weight of fifty thousand eyes on me.
“Switzerland,” Ezra roars through the microphone, “tell my girl how fucking beautiful she is!”
The crowd blows me away, and my cheeks flame as they scream for me. “Holy shit,” I laugh as Ezra pulls me into his side. “What the hell is going on?”
All he can do is grin at me as the crowd continues, and with every passing second, the most undeniable joy swells inside my chest.
“Okay, okay,” Ezra says, trying to settle them down. “Now, I don’t know if you guys know this, but I’ve been in love with this girl since I was sixteen years old. She’s the muse behind all of the songs like ‘Hypothetically Yours’ and ‘One Day.’ She’s been my whole fucking world since the moment I met her, and eight years ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life by leaving her behind when we went on our first tour. I wasted all those years not getting to be by her side, and I don’t know about you guys, but I’m fucking sick of waiting.”
The crowd roars, clearly down with anything that comes out of Ezra’s mouth, and when he turns to me, the rockstar show is over, and I’m faced with the sixteen-year-old boy who walked through my door back in Michigan and couldn’t take his eyes off me. Our souls connected in such a profound way that day, a connection that’s now never been stronger.
“Rae,” he says, taking my hands and having to awkwardly squish the microphone between our fingers. “I have loved you since the moment I met you. I’ve cherished you. Adored you. And at times, I have failed you. We’ve had more than our fair share of challenges thrown our way, some that have tested us in ways we could never have been prepared for, and with every one of those challenges, I have loved you more. You’re my soul, my world, and my heart. We have waited so long for something we always knew was written in the stars, and I don’t want to wait anymore. I want to marry you, Rae. I want to build a life with you and give you everything you’ve ever wanted.”
Tears fill my eyes, and he clutches my hands tighter as my heart races faster than it ever has before, and just when I thought my world couldn’t feel more right, Ezra lowers down onto one knee, and the stadium erupts into utter chaos.