Then Rob was standing in the wings, too, his guitar at his side, giving her a V for victory. And she felt it—that victory, the audience’s applause and cheers filling her. She’d opened her heart to them, and they’d reflected that love right back at her.

She stood up, thanked the crowd and, smiling and waving, walked off stage. In the wings, she squeezed Rob’s hand before landing in her husband’s arms.

“You are incredible,” Ezra whispered to her, under the sound of the applause.

And they kissed until the applause faded into nothing.

69

They stayed to watch Rob perform, and then they all celebrated together with pizza and mixed drinks. Emily had been worried about what would happen between Ezra and Rob when the two of them actually met, but after they shook each other’s hands, they mostly talked to other people. Though she could see both of their eyes darting around the room every few minutes to look for her, to make sure she was okay.

Rob’s manager had flown in for the show—Ira, a tall guy with a shaved head, dressed in black jeans and a button-down. While everyone else was getting food, Rob and Ira chatted in a corner of the room. Emily looked over, wondering what it was that they were talking so intensely about. Then Rob caught her eye and waved her over.

“I was really impressed tonight,” Ira told her.

“Thank you.” Emily wiped her mouth to make sure she didn’t have any tomato sauce on her lips. “It was nice of you to come see Rob’s show. I know managers don’t do that so often.”

“Well,” Ira said, “when my hot new artist tells me he’s found another hot new artist, and his tour manager agrees, that’s something I’ve got to check out for myself.”

Emily was speechless for a moment. “You came for me?” she said.

Ira handed her his card. “Let’s talk tomorrow,” he said. “Rob just assured me it’d be cool if I worked with both of you.”

Then he walked away to refill his drink.

“Sonny and Cher,” Rob said to her. “Johnny and June Carter Cash.” He clinked his empty glass with her club soda, then followed Ira to the makeshift bar.

Emily was stunned.

“What was that about?” Ezra asked as he came up next to her, sliding his hand around her waist.

“Something we need to talk about later,” she said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

A manager was interested in her!

Emily looked down. What if she was pregnant? She took a deep breath.