While Max was gone, Olivia forced herself to relax. She just had to pretend that this was simply a fun outdoor concert on a beautiful night with her boyfriend, which, technically, it was. None of the rest of that stuff mattered.

“Glass of rosé for the lady, beer for me, and I couldn’t resist a cone of french fries. One for each of us.”

See, this is why she’d fallen in love with him. He not only got her french fries without her asking for them but had gotten one for each of them.

Damn it. Even french fries made her all gooey.

She took the fries in one hand and the rosé in the other as he sat down.

“Thanks. I needed this.” She smelled the hot, salty, greasy goodness of the fries and smiled.

He sat down next to her and took a sip of his beer. She took a sip of her wine. They each slowly ate their fries. She looked around the amphitheater, careful not to look right at Max.

He leaned in close to her.

“I’m so happy to be here with you right now, I hope you know that.” He looked straight at her. “I really hope you know that.”

Warmth spread through her body. She couldn’t quite trust herself to talk, so she just nodded.

“Good,” he said.

The lights onstage went up, and it seemed like every single one of the thousands of people there cheered wildly. Including both her and Max. And thank God for that—she was delighted Max was the kind of guy who would yell at a Dolly Parton concert before Dolly even came out onstage.

As soon as the opening act started, Olivia felt her whole body relax. She didn’t know if it was the music itself, or the way the whole crowd swayed back and forth as they listened, or the energy in the crowd, or Max’s hand in hers, but she felt calm and happy, and like she could—and would—conquer the world. And when Dolly finally came out onstage, there was an explosion of noise like Olivia wasn’t sure she’d ever experienced. Pure, loud, joyful screams and yells and cheers rang out and kept on ringing until Dolly started singing, and then they all shut up so they could hear her.

In the middle of “9 to 5,” Max took her hand. She turned to him and smiled so hard her face hurt.

“I love you,” he said in a low voice, but she could hear him as clear as if he’d shouted it from the stage.

“I love you, too,” she said.