Her mom had finally died. And on that rainy day in June so long ago, Tatum had decided she was going to become the star she'd always dreamed of, the celebrity who was so incredible that everyone would love her. That everyone would see how special she was.
And she'd done it.
She had money. She had success. She was a star. She didn't need anyone or anything, especially not Brody. But even as Tatum told herself that, she stumbled, panic starting to close in around her.
Emotion caught in her throat, filling her eyes with the tears she worked so hard to keep at bay every moment of every day. The loneliness, the fear, the isolation—they were all lies and illusions. She had what she needed. She was enough, all on her own.
She spun away from the wings, away from Donny and Nora. She focused on her fans, on the people who filled her soul and kept her going.
Still singing, she moved to the edge of the stage and bent down, holding out her hand for a high-five. A woman in her forties with red hair screamed and high-fived her, making Tatum smile. She moved along, holding out her hand to her fans.
Two adorable young men, early twenties, stopped holding hands long enough to high-five her. "We love you, Tatum!" One of them yelled.
"I love you, too!" she shouted back.
The next in line were three girls that looked like they were in college, screaming and shouting and jumping up and down, filming her as she high-fived them.
Next up, a man in a cowboy hat with his head down.
In Brody's seat.
At that moment, he raised his head and met her gaze, dark brown eyes that she'd never forget.
Brody.
Tatum was so shocked she forgot the words for a second, the music thundering on without her. She caught up almost immediately, and she knew that no one except Donny would notice, but she couldn’t take her gaze off Brody.
He looked the same. And different. A beard. Muscles. Heavier. Fancier.
Still singing, she held out her hand to him for a high-five, her heart pounding.
He reached up and caught her hand. It was a split second of skin brushing over skin, but it was the touch of a man she'd never forgotten. Her entire body seemed to come alive at his touch, and suddenly, her spirit was back.
She leapt back to her feet and took off across the stage, her voice richer and stronger than it had been in years. The music became a part of her, filling every cell of her body with its magic.
For the rest of the concert, she sang to the crowd, but she was singing to him.
Tatum was aware of Brody every second, his face always in her peripheral vision, afraid that if she took her gaze off him, he'd disappear into the night and be gone again, for another fifteen years.
She finished her set, the concert, but she didn't leave the stage. She turned to her band. "One more. Do you guys know Under the Bridge?" It was an earlier song. One that had never been released as a single. One that no one cared about. Only her die-hard fans knew it. Her label hadn't let her perform it on tour, because no one cared.
But Brody would know what it was about.
Her band nodded. Her drummer, Victoria Rose, tossed her black hair and started the beat. Her bass player, Ace, joined in. And then the others started in.
She grinned. Of course they knew it. Victoria and Ace would know it because they'd been with her from the start. The rest of the band was paid well enough to make sure they knew every single one of her songs.
Tatum spun around and raised her hands over her head, trying to galvanize the crowd for the song. A few of her superfans started screaming. They knew they were about to get a treat that no one had ever had.
Others were cheering just on principle.
But there were a few boos, too. People annoyed that she wasn't finishing with their favorite song.
Well, too bad. Because it was her favorite song.
She walked over and held out her hand to Brody. His brows shot up, and a slow smile curved the edge of his mouth. He shook his head. He was as famous as she was, but he stayed off the radar. No way would he want to be on stage in front of everyone.
The music played on, and she started to sing the first verse.
* * *
The day my life began.
Was the day I found the bridge.
The laughter. The joy.
The freedom beneath that bridge.
* * *
Brody's face became shuttered, but she held out her hand. "Brody Hart's in the audience," she shouted to the crowd. "Let's give him a little encouragement. Come on up, Brody. Sing with me."
They'd sung the song together so many times. Written it together. Laughed over its silliness together. Cried over its power together.
The crowd began to chant Brody's name, and she could hear the women screaming for the legendary bachelor that no woman had ever been able to snag.
Tatum went down on one knee and held out her hand. "Sing with me, Brody." The music raged forward, not waiting for either one of them.
He met her gaze, searching her face. Suddenly, he stood up, braced his hands on the stage, and vaulted up beside her.
The crowd went wild, screaming for both of them. The lights blazed down on him, lighting up the handsome face that she'd followed in the papers for so long. One of the techs ran on stage and handed her a microphone.
She grabbed it and held it toward Brody.
Instead of taking it from her, Brody wrapped his hand around hers and leaned in, his beautiful voice joining her in the words they'd created together. As they had so long ago, their voices blended perfectly, entwined like invisible lovers.
The music surged through the stadium, growing in power as they sang together. She couldn't take her gaze off his, lost in the tumultuous brown eyes that had kept her company in her dreams for so many years.
They got to the silly part, the part that had sent them into hysterics as teenagers. She stalked away from him, acting it out as they once had, turning playful curses into music filled with heart.
He followed her, grabbed her wrist, and yanked her against his body, teasing her with the lyrics that started making her laugh again. The crowd roared with laughter, cheers, and whistles, and she knew her fans were, for the first time ever, experiencing the song the way it was meant to be sung.
She knew now why no one had ever liked it.
Because without Brody, it wasn't complete.
He twirled her around and dipped her, pretending to nuzzle her throat, and the crowd screamed again as she laughed.
He tossed her back to her feet, and they leaned in toward each other, their voices reaching up to the crazy heights of wild, teenage freedom as they carried the final notes of the song together until they faded into the night.
When the song ended, the place went wild.
Tatum raised Brody's hand in victory. "Let's hear it for Brody Hart! Who says tech geeks can't sing, right?"
He tipped his hat to the crowd, then leaned in. "I'll see you backstage later," he said, his lips brushing against her ear as he shouted to be heard over the screaming.
He was coming backstage. She nodded, her heart leaping as he waved to the crowd one more time, then hopped off the stage back into the crowd. People surged around him, and she quickly lost sight of him in the light and the crowd.
Joy leaping in her heart, she raised her arms to the crowd. "One more. You guys want one more?"
The place went nuts, and her heart soared as she sang the song they'd come there to hear.