Sawyer rolls her eyes and smiles. “Funny, I could have sworn Tom Brady had brown hair.”

Jace smirks. “Not to mention…a lot older.”

Cole’s about to respond, but the lights in the venue dim and the stage illuminates.

A minute later, some guy with glasses and a mohawk strides out and takes a seat at the piano.

He clears his throat before speaking into the microphone. “I’d like to thank everyone for coming out tonight. I also want to give a very special thank you to my manager Dylan Taylor for setting up this awesome gig.”

Sawyer, Cole, and I start cheering as Landon points to Dylan who’s standing in the front row next to Asher and the redhead.

Jace cups his hand over his mouth. “Yeah, baby!”

Landon waits for the applause to die down before addressing the crowd again. “I’m gonna perform some of my old songs tonight, but first—if it’s okay with you all—I’d really like to start off with a new one.”

The entire venue erupts in cheers.

Landon smirks. “I wrote this one with my new friend, Oakley. The dude is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met...and that’s saying something.”

Everyone laughs…except me.

Because my heart is too busy trying to pound its way out of my chest.

Landon’s fingers hover over the piano keys. “Anyway, this one is for anyone who’s ever loved someone so much it hurt.”

A soft, melodic sound fills the air, siphoning everyone’s attention.

My skin breaks out in goose bumps and I stand there utterly transfixed as Landon begins to sing.

Our love wasn't for show because I died for you in secret.

But I'd still do anything for you...if only you'd mean it.

Because you showed me things I can't see with anyone else.

Now, look at this mess you made me.

But you know damn well.

That for you I would break myself.

Just to make you whole again.

And if wishes came true, it would be me and you forever.

Because some things you just can't live without.

So I will never stop trying.

I'll never stop fighting for you and me.

I'll never stop chasing you down.

Even when you want me to walk away and leave.

I can’t move—hell, I can’t even breathe.

The melody is beautiful…but it’s the lyrics that have my chest caving in.

He wrote those words for me.

Blood rushes in my ears and everything around me ceases to exist when I notice Oakley making his way through the crowd…heading straight for me.

There’s vulnerability swirling in his eyes—no doubt because he just exposed his entire soul to the world—but there’s also an unmistakable confidence seeping from him as his strides eat up the space between us.

A moment later, he’s standing in front of me, looking at me like I’m the most important person in the room.

He’s the first to speak. “If you tell me to let you go so you can move on and be happy with someone else...I will.” His expression turns hollow, as if the thought of me being with anyone else would destroy him. “It will hurt like hell, but I can do that for you…if it’s what you really want.”

He moves closer, so close my heart stops beating altogether.

So close, the only thing I can breathe, see, and feel is him.

“But if any part of you still wants me—despite how much I’ve hurt you and how much I’ve fucked things up—then I’ll never stop fighting for you. Because I’m in love with you—”

He doesn’t get a chance to finish that sentence because I crash my mouth against his.

There are times in your life when you realize you’re stuck at a fork in the road and the decision you make will change your life forever.

I think my mom was stuck at the very same fork when she met my dad. And even though she loved her children…she chose wrong.

Because she didn’t follow her heart and choose love—which is why she spent the rest of her life searching for it.

She chose security instead.

She chose the easy road filled with less obstacles along the way.

I don't want to make the same mistakes she did.

I want to take chances, chase my dreams, and live life to the fullest.

And I want to do all those things with the man I love beside me.

Oakley isn’t perfect…but he’s perfect for me.

And the thought of pushing him out of my life for good isn’t a decision my heart can live with.

I want the hard and unconventional road—the one that won’t always be easy…but will always be worth it.

Because it leads to him.

A low, growly sound escapes Oakley as his hands find the curve of my waist and he tugs me against him. “I love you, Bianca.”

Rising on my tiptoes, I kiss him again. “I love you, too.”

So much it hurts sometimes.

His fingers trail down my neck, sending shivers along my skin. “Good. Because you’re it for me, baby girl.” His hands roam lower, and he squeezes my ass like he owns it. “There will never be anyone else. Just you.”

As much as I love hearing his sweet declarations, there’s something else I want even more right now.

Pressing myself against the very prominent bulge tenting his jeans, I flick his earlobe with my tongue. “Prove it.”

The slow, sexy smile he gives me sends a rush of heat to my core. “I mean, I had a whole speech planned but—”

He grabs my wrist and pulls me through the crowd.

We stop at the first room we come across. The bathroom.

I barely hear the lock on the door click over the frantic beating of my heart.

The second his hands are on my body and he drops to his knees, I go up in flames.

“I need you inside me right now.”

He flicks the elastic of my panties, causing them to snap against my skin. “I need to taste you first.”

The hunger in his voice makes it clear there’s no room for argument.

His gaze is so smoldering it burns as he hikes my dress up and tugs my panties down my legs.

I quickly step out of them and kick them away.

Oakley makes a low noise in his throat, sliding me closer to his mouth.

His breath gusts over my sensitive skin, teasing me.

“Oakley, please.”

He spreads me open with two of his fingers. “You want my mouth on this pretty pussy?”

I whimper, the anticipation is so good it almost aches. “Yes.”

He tilts his head to stare up at me. “Say it.”

“I want your mouth on my pussy.”

Ever so slowly, his tongue comes out for a taste.

My knees threaten to cave as he lightly grazes my clit, driving me out of my mind.

He moves idly, purposely drawing out every lick and suck like he’s trying his best to savor me.

An impatient sound rumbles in his chest as if this is killing him just as much as it’s killing me.

“Fuck this,” he grunts.

Before I can blink, he bends me over the sink and attacks my pussy like it’s the oxygen he needs to breathe.

Heat sparks within me, and I arch against him.

I’m seconds away from coming when his teeth sink into my ass and he spreads my cheeks. “Not yet.”