Page 34

The Big Finale

Mia

Two weeks passed in a blur of sequins, dancing, and screaming fans.

Anxiety had gripped me by the throat the entire flight to New York after Austin’s phone call, but once I stepped foot on the tarmac, my team surrounded me, each of them listing off our endless to-do’s.

And my focus shifted.

Sound checks. Choreo runs. Morning show appearances. Radio interviews. Recording sessions.

The first show went off without a hitch, everything from the lighting to the last confetti cannon perfectly orchestrated. And as if the cheers from our fans weren’t already enough of a reward, the headlines the next day were the cherry on top.

LOVE WINS: The Sunset Tour is Sensational

A Star Among Stars: Mia Shines Bright in a Sold-Out MSG Debut

From Opening Chord to Final Bow: The Sunset Tour Dazzles at the Garden

A MUST-SEE SHOW: Mia Love IS the Music Industry

MSG Has Seen Legends—Add Mia to the List After Last Night’s Performance

The Sunset Tour Takes NYC by Storm: Fans Beg for an Encore

Isabella was over the moon, frantically reading every new headline to me each morning as we ate room service in my suite. And when I told her about the song I’d kept a secret, the one Aleks had told me to release… she’d lost it.

“We’re recording this,” she’d whispered when I’d played it for her, her eyes misty. “ Now .”

And we did. In between shows and interviews, we snuck into a recording booth tucked away in Brooklyn, just me and my piano. It only took a few recordings to get what we wanted — mostly because this song was so engrained in me at the moment that I couldn’t help but sing it with my whole heart. That was why Aleks had caught me singing it in his condo. I was consumed.

On the last night at the Garden, we played it as the encore song.

We released it as a bonus track at midnight.

And by morning, it was number one on every streaming platform.

I woke to a text from Aleks, three words that made my heart gallop, my lips curling into a smile.

Aleks: Told you so.

I held onto those words as the weeks flew by. They were all I had. The night he’d come to my opening show, we’d had only moments together — a quick, staged kiss and photo op before I went on and then him guiding me to my car after the show, his hand on the small of my back.

That touch had lingered in the car, but we didn’t have a spare second to talk with Isabella and Rina there with us. They were freaking out over the show, screaming how amazing it was, showing me videos and photos posted online.

Aleks had kept his hand on my leg, but he was silent, and I’d wondered what he was thinking as he stared out the window.

Once he got me safely inside the hotel, he was all but run out by my team — who had gathered for what felt like an afterparty in my suite.

He’d squeezed my hand and told me he was proud of me.

He’d kissed my cheek and told me to get some rest.

He’d offered a weak smile and told me he’d see me soon.

And the next morning, he was on a flight back to Tampa, getting ready for his next game.

That was it.

For two weeks, that was the most time we had together.

Our texts were short, him busy with the season in full swing now and me too caught up in my head to know what to say when I did have time to get on my phone.

I didn’t tell him about Austin.

I didn’t tell anyone about Austin.

I may or may not have put some extra effort into the little photo ops Aleks and I did have, holding our kisses for longer and leaning into his touch when he walked with me in public, just to prove my ex wrong.

But truth be told, I’d forgotten about the punk and his stupid phone call.

Until the day Isabella dumped a bucket of ice-cold reality over my pretty head.

“I think it’s time.”

Isabella and I were huddled together on the bright orange velvet couch of my suite in Nashville where I was about to play another sold-out show in just a few hours. Giana and Aleks were on Isabella’s laptop screen, G in the top square and Aleks in the middle with us reflected at the bottom.

Just like it had been when we’d proposed this whole charade months ago.

“Time?” I asked.

“For the big finale. The final scene.” She clapped and shimmied. “Time to break your heart and start that healing vindication tour of feminine power and enlightenment.”

My stomach bottomed out at her words, heart stalling in my chest before it kicked back to life hard enough to crack a rib.

She was calling the breakup.

Dread curdled inside me, and I wasn’t sure if I was buzzing or completely numb as time stretched and slogged to a complete halt.

I felt like a tightrope walker who’d just glanced down for the first time, like I’d completely forgotten just how far I had to fall and how badly the crash would sting until that very moment.

Simply put, I just hadn’t expected this. Isabella called a meeting with us so casually that I thought it would just be to discuss our next publicity stunt. In fact, I’d been buzzing with anticipation. I’d hoped his schedule would allow Aleks to fly out to my next show. I’d hoped I’d have a gap in my tour to go see him in Tampa, to actually stay a night with him and talk about what happened during the hurricane.

I missed him.

God , I missed him so badly my chest ached just at the vision of him on that tiny laptop screen.

I wanted to reach through it, wanted him to pull me into that frame and into his arms. I wanted to remember what it felt like to have him wrap me up, to have his scent surrounding me, to feel his warmth and hear his content chuckle as he kissed my hair, blocking out everything else in the world. I’d slept in the shirt he gave me more nights than not, but it just wasn’t the same. It wasn’t enough.

I needed to see him.

But I didn’t want to see him for this .

“Talk me through your thoughts,” Giana said, her all-business tone snapping me back to the cruel reality I was trying to escape.

“Well, we’re about to release tickets for the second half of the tour, and then a few weeks after that, we’re announcing the European leg.” Isabella scrolled on her phone, looking over her notes that were blurry to me no matter how I tried to focus. “It just makes sense. They’re projecting we will sell out, but I want to guarantee it. I want these fans rabid. I want them dying for a front-row seat to the Mia Love Renaissance.”

Giana nodded, saying something, but I couldn’t hear her over the thrumming in my ears. My eyes snapped to Aleks, whom I swore was watching only me.

I waited for him to say something.

He seemed to be waiting for the same.

“You don’t think it’s too soon?” I asked, my voice cracking.

The silence that followed my question was deafening.

Isabella glanced at the screen, at Giana and Aleks, and then back at me. “I mean… do you want to keep it going longer while you’re on tour and he’s in season?”

Everyone looked at me then, their eyes burning holes through my already fragile shield.

I scratched my neck, one shoulder inching up noncommittally.

A glance at Aleks found him quiet and watching me like the rest of them.

I couldn’t read his expression. Usually, I was so good at that, at seeing through his fake smiles or sarcastic remarks. But he was stoic.

If anything, he looked… worried.

Worried I wanted to keep this thing going? Worried he’d have to make more flights during his busy season when he needed to be focusing on getting wins?

Worried he’d have to keep pretending with me, keep up his dry spell, keep passing on opportunities with other women?

My brain beat me up with every possibility the longer the silence stretched.

“No, of course not,” I finally said, hoping my smile and the shake of my head sold the words.

I didn’t want to admit that Austin was in my head, and since everything was about to be over anyway, I decided I didn’t need to.

An unthinkable melancholy slid through me like a bucket of snakes.

It was about to be over.

This thing I’d thought was so ridiculous, this scheme that had been laughable from the start… why did it feel like such an integral part of my life now?

Why was I holding tension in every muscle of my body at the thought of no more fake appearances, fake hugs, fake kisses…

That kiss on the elevator wasn’t fake…

But was it just to make me feel better? Was it just to smooth things over? Was it his way of saying, “ Hey, kid, last night was fun. We’re still friends. All good.” ?

My stomach roiled.

“Alright, then,” Isabella said, her brow inching up as she watched me. I had a feeling she was going to have questions for me after this, and I needed to think up answers fast.

She kept on with the plan, her and G launching into action, all while I stared at my shoes and went numb.

On the outside, I was calm.

Inside, my heart was breaking.

Aleks was silent, and that silence was confirmation of all my worst thoughts.

He didn’t want anything past what we had that night in his condo.

It was just two people stuck together, horny and emotional and bored. I knew it was great for him, just like it had been for me.

But what a fool I’d been to think it meant more to him than that.

My blood pumped loud in my ears as I dragged my gaze back up to the laptop screen, to Aleks. My heart stopped at the sight of him, at how he looked almost as numb as I felt.

Was he upset he was about to have to play the part of the bad guy?

Was he annoyed he had to deal with this when he had games to focus on?

Was he just… over it?

I swallowed, watching him, searching for any clues I could find that would tell me what he was thinking.

His eyes lifted, and I wondered if he was watching me, too. I felt that gaze like he was right there in the room with me.

“Aleks, what do you think?”

The question came from Giana, and my heart fluttered on the wings of hope as all eyes turned to him.

Say something , I silently begged.

Tell them you don’t want to do it.

Tell them we want more time.

Tell me it meant more to you, that I mean more to you.

Tell me this isn’t all in my head.

Tell me… anything .

Aleks was quiet for so long, I wondered if he’d heard the question. His jaw was set, hard as stone, his expression absolutely unreadable.

“Whatever Mia wants,” he finally said.

His voice was low, resigned.

And there it was. The answer I needed, but not the one I hoped to hear.

He was over it all. Bored. Unamused. Probably rolling his eyes internally that we even had to have a meeting about this when he had more important things to do.

Rage simmered under the sadness blanketing me, and I crossed my arms and my legs at the same time, leaning back on the couch. “Then I guess it’s settled.”

He blinked, the muscle in his jaw tightening. “I guess so.”

I laughed under my breath, turning to Isabella with new resolve. “Alright, coach,” I said, ignoring the loud crack of my heart. “What’s the plan?”