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But there she was.

Bea.

THIRTY-FIVE

bea

Bea’s hands trembled as she gripped onto the metal railing for the stairs. Her shoes were heavy as she went up onto the stage, the thumps with each step she took matching the thumps in her heart. She couldn’t believe she was here. Siena had been amazing, and the plans had gone off perfectly.

Jo had actually kept a damn secret for once.

Well, at least until the very end when she’d clearly told Piper what was going on, but no one had told Bunny, and that was the important part.

Stepping onto the stage, Bea held her breath. Bunny’s jaw was on the floor. Clearly when Bea had asked about singing together, it had gone straight over Bunny’s head. So had the matching outfit that was supposed to be exactly what they were wearing for the production itself. The entire production. No more costume changes to put unnecessary stress on the timing of the evening. Bea hugged Jo and Piper as they welcomed her onto the stage and then she moved to stand next to Bunny.

The first song was all four of them. They had three of those back-to-back before it was just Piper and Bunny. The hours of rehearsal they’d done together would come in handy for this. And she wasn’t bound to forget what was involved, but they hadat least eighteen minutes on stage before Bunny was going to be able to yell at her for keeping a secret off stage.

Bunny held out her elbow for Bea to take, and she moved them toward the front and center of the stage. In all their rehearsals before, Bea hadn’t stood next to Bunny. Bunny had always strategically put Piper or Jo between them, not just to mix up the groups a bit more, but to put space between the two of them.

But she was going off script.

Piper took over announcing the songs, and Bunny dropped her microphone to her side. She turned to Bea and whispered into her ear, “I promise you I’m not always this dense.”

“I think you were a bit distracted,” Bea responded with a light giggle.

“You’re definitely distracting. Perfect tits and all.” Bunny backed away on a laugh and looked at Piper. “Fucking perfect tits.”

Bea laughed and tried to step away, but Bunny kept a firm grasp on her hand. The music started up, and Bea focused on what she needed to do—the notes she needed to hit, the words she wasn’t sure she had completely memorized, the steps she wasn’t sure she was taking as they all stood together on the stage.

Bunny had the first line of music. Thank God, because the nerves that were rampaging all through Bea’s stomach and chest were almost too much to contend with. She hadn’t thought they would be this bad. But the crowd out there was at least ten times larger than what she was used to.

Bunny tugged on her hand, bringing her back around and giving her something to focus on. Smiling, Bea raised her free hand with the microphone to her lips and started in immediately on the harmony.

Their voices blended together so well, each of them listening to the other and weaving the notes and lyrics around each other. Piper and Jo on either side of them, completing the music in a way that they wouldn’t have been able to do without all of them on the stage. Bunny faced the bright lights, and Bea turned to follow suit.

She stared out at the dark faces in front of her, watching as they sang right along with them and hearing the off-tune music that they all made together. It was honestly the perfect metaphor for life. Bea drew in a large breath, pulling the air down into her belly, as the crescendo of the music rose, reaching its pinnacle.

By the end of the song, energy soared through Bea’s body exactly like it should during a performance. She was hyped and ready for the second and third songs to hit. When it was finally time for her to step off the stage, Bunny followed her closely. Piper and Jo stayed to dance together for the first time during the concert.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming tonight?” Bunny said, stopping Bea at the bottom of the stairs.

Bea spun around and shook her head as a shiver ran through her. “I wasn’t sure you’d let me.”

“Sing with us?” Bunny’s eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. “What the hell would ever make you think that?”

“The last month?” Bea answered, her shoulders squaring. “The fact that you didn’t invite me back when we were at the club.”

“Because I didn’t think you’d come back.” Bunny stepped into Bea’s space, a hand on Bea’s hip as she pulled her in and kept her close. “And I didn’t want to pressure you into doing something that you didn’t want to do.”

“Bunny…” Bea pulled her lower lip between her teeth and shook her head slowly. “Sometimes you have to fight for what you want.”

“And sometimes fighting for it is just going to push it away.” Bunny’s other hand came up against the small of Bea’s back, and she was officially wrapped up in Bunny’s arms.

“Don’t push me away,” Bea begged.

“No, I won’t make that mistake again.” Bunny moved in and pressed their lips together.

Bea tilted her face up, parting her lips, right when the song ended. She would have cursed their lack of timing if she had another choice other than getting back on the stage. Bunny didn’t pull back though. Instead, she pressed in tighter.