Alys
A year and a half had flown by. Ryan and I had figured out a routine pretty quickly. If he was touring and I had a break, I flew out to join them for however long I could spare. Thanks to a family connection James had kept extremely quiet, Rhiannon had joined The Brightside’s international tour. The dates were insane, spanning a year and four continents, with weeks off here and there. It kicked off so early in our relationship that Ryan and I had to get good at organising our time together. It made for some interesting dates and meant I’d seen some pretty fascinating places when there were lulls in my contracts.
The Brightside’s label had demanded their final show be played in the City of Angels. So, we’d rolled into LA in the early hours of the morning and happily crashed out in a roomy hotel bed.
I’d woken after 2PM to an empty room. It was rare for me to sleep through sound check, but given the last week, I wasn’t surprised. I’d re-joined the tour in November once production had wrapped on a new period drama. After three months on a bus with the guys, Ryan and I were ready to fly home tomorrow.
I was showered, dressed and searching for my phone when Ryan returned. The door opened and I was on my knees checking under the bed for my wayward device.
“What are you doing down there?” Ryan asked, laughter in his voice.
“I can’t find my phone.”
“You won’t find it down there.”
I mumbled an agreement and stood, smoothing out my blouse. When I turned, he stood in the middle of our room, holding my phone in one hand and the biggest bouquet of white lilies in the other. Laughter creased his blue eyes, and he wore an easy grin.
“What’s the occasion?” I asked, accepting my phone and the flowers. Absently, I slipped the phone into my pocket.
“Sorry, I didn’t know I needed a reason to buy my girlfriend flowers.”
“You don’t. They’re beautiful. Thank you.” On tiptoes, I pressed a soft kiss to his lips. His hands snaked around my waist, holding me to him.
The flowers landed on the bed, all but forgotten, as he deepened the kiss. My free hand wandered up his chest, stealing into his hair, my nails scratching at his scalp in a way that sent shivers down his spine. He nipped my lip in response and I gasped. His spicy scent filled my head while his hands clenched and unclenched against my back, resisting the desire to lift me.
When Ryan broke the kiss, we were both panting. He grinned, his eyes dark with desire. “I’d love nothing more than to tear this blouse off you, but we’re going to be late.”
And with that declaration, he dropped a final kiss on my nose and ushered me out of the building. A black SUV waited on the road outside and, compared to the night I introduced him to salsa, our roles flipped. It was me asking questions and netting nothing but patient smiles.
When the car pulled up outside the venue, my confusion deepened. Why the secrecy if we were just going to the venue early?
Aside from the odd roadie tweaking the setup here and there, the place was deserted. With a firm grip on my hand, Ryan led me down a black corridor and up a set of stairs towards a heavy safety door. Grinning over his shoulder at me, he threw the door open and pulled me inside without pausing.
As green rooms went, this one was pretty freaking big, but we’d crammed a crazy number of people into these rooms in the last few months. Tonight, there was only Emily – stopping over in LA before flying on to Sydney tomorrow – the Brightside, the Rhiannon boys and their partners Nia and Mel, and Matt and his new – technically old – girlfriend, Daphne. I’d loved watching the guys fight to better themselves, particularly since it had grown my family. We’d consoled each other through extended absences when work wouldn’t allow us to travel, bitched about the latest groupie to overstep. Best of all, they were always game to dance with me.
Despite all the space, they’d managed to squeeze themselves onto two sofas.
“About time,” Matt muttered, tapping Dan on the thigh with his beer bottle. All their heads whipped around to look at us. Grins slowly overtook their faces, which for some reason unsettled me.
“What’s up with you lot?” I asked, my voice unusually high as I considered their weirdness. Movement in the corner caught my attention. “Dad?”
My father laughed, his eyes moving from me to Ryan with a happy sheen. He opened his arms and I abandoned Ryan, launching myself towards him.
“What are you doing here? When did you get in? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
Everyone laughed, and my dad squeezed me. “I couldn’t miss this.”
I pulled back, frowning at his smiling face. Miss what? The band’s closing gig? He wasn’t exactly an alt rock fan.
“Alys,” Ryan said, amusement coating his shaky voice.
My father turned me to face my sneaky boyfriend, and I was fully prepared for his usual smirk. But it wasn’t there. In fact, Ryan hadn’t moved from his spot in the middle of the room. He watched me with a cautious glint in his eyes. Everyone had abandoned the sofas and circled us. My eyes fell on Emily questioningly. She pressed her lips together and tipped her head towards Ryan.
“What’s going on?” I asked, the quiver in my voice hard to miss.
“We had a rocky start. You were rightly cautious, but I hope by now I’ve given you enough reasons to trust me,” Ryan said, taking my hands. It wasn’t a question, but his eyes begged me to answer. I nodded and he smiled, his shoulders relaxing slightly. “It’s been an interesting year and a half, and it made something crystal clear for me, helped me make some decisions about what I want from my life.”
Was he saying what I thought he was saying? I swallowed against the emotion raising up inside me.
“And I realised that above all else, there’s one thing I never want to lose. And it’s not the music.”
My breath caught as he lowered himself to one knee. Emily handed him a blue velvet box, and he thanked her briefly, but his eyes drank me in.
“I don’t want to do any of this without you, Red.” He gestured to the venue around us, but I knew that what he really meant was the touring. “Whether you’re with me or waiting for me at home, I need to know you’ll always be there.”
He opened the box, and I forgot how to breathe. Nestled in the satin was a white-gold engagement ring decked out with a ruby and small diamonds. It was perfect.
“Will you marry me, Alys Morgan?”
I bit my lip as tears welled up and overflowed, running down my cheeks. I considered the hope shining at me from his tense face, and emotion choked me.
“It doesn’t have to be today or next year,” he promised, misreading my silence. “Emily suggested I should do this on stage, but I knew you’d hate that, so here we are.” He bit his lip, concern momentarily creasing his brow as he considered the ring. “If you don’t like the ring, I can change it.”
The room laughed, and I smiled at the stupid, loveable man. “I love it. Don’t you dare change it.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Of course it’s a yes!” I shouted, smiling so wide my cheeks hurt.
“Nothing’s ever straightforward with you,” he grumbled before grinning and climbing to his feet. He slid the ring onto my finger and engulfed me in a hug, his lips meeting mine in a watery kiss.
“Anyone else think we need to do a wedding party dance?” Nia said, her voice high with excitement.
The guys groaned, but the girls agreed without pause. I pulled back, grinning at Ryan. The suggestion set off a zing of excitement. Ryan’s eyes laughed at me, but he was nodding.
He raised his eyebrows suggestively. “It would be fitting, don’t you think?”
I laughed, thrilled. “Have I told you you’re perfect, music man?”
“Not lately.”
“Well, you are, and I love you.” I pressed a quick kiss to his lips before whispering, “Don’t ever change.”
