Lexi and Jack jumped to their feet and started clapping and cheering with the rest of the crowd. The lights careened around the room, dropping onto the stage briefly before flashing out toward the audience. After a couple of minutes, the lights returned to center stage, and she stared up at Kellan Kyle, who was no more than thirty feet away from her. Holy shit! He was about a thousand times more attractive in real life than he was on TV.

If she thought the crowd had been loud before, it was nothing compared to what it was now that the audience realized the guys were onstage. Kellan took the microphone in his hand like he owned it, the stage, and the audience. And he did.

“Good evening, Atlanta!”

The crowd managed to get louder, and Lexi just cheered along with them. When he raised his hand, she silenced and heard the cheers die down marginally. Kellan introduced the band, and then they moved right into their first song. Mesmerized, she watched his fingers fly across the guitar, and then his voice broke through the speakers.

Her heart fluttered. That, right there, was the sexiest singing voice she had ever heard. They were so much better live. She wasn’t even sure she was going to be able to articulate this experience when it was all said and done.

She felt Jack’s eyes on her, and she turned to face him with the biggest smile on her face. He wasn’t even watching the show as the D-Bags were killing it onstage. Lexi threw her arms around him and hugged him close. Jack hesitated with his hands out to his sides, like he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. She wondered if Ramsey’s warning was ringing in his ears. But then, his arms were around her waist, and something clicked together like a puzzle piece.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“You’re welcome, Lex,” he said, his voice strained. He released her quickly with a faint smile before returning his attention to the stage as their favorite band played.

She tried not to give it any thought. Her heart hammered away to the tune of the music and the sway of Kellan’s vocals. They played through their set with the crowd singing along to almost all of the songs.

The first chord to the second to last song struck her to her core. They were going to play “Good-bye.” Oh my God! She thought she might faint. She thought she literally might faint. This was her favorite, Jack’s favorite, song. The band was good, but the way Kellan sang those lyrics made them great. It felt like he was singing directly to her, calling out to her, begging for her to feel. It was so emotional, and watching Kellan sing the lyrics brought tears to her eyes. She wet her lips and tried to hold back the tears that threatened to unleash. Breathing deeply, she sniffled and felt her throat tighten. She didn’t even know where these feeling were coming from or what her mind was remembering that made her want to cry, but Kellan managed to draw it out of her.

She felt Jack’s hand brush against her own, and then he was holding her hand, sharing her pain, allowing her to feel. She took another shuddering breath as the Good-bye song came to a close. She swallowed hard, wishing that all of these emotions could all just pass over her. Jack squeezed her hand again, and it felt like strength. She let it envelop her as the D-Bags moved into their final song.

They closed their set to deafening cheers, and Lexi watched Kellan’s amazing body leave the stage. The lights flickered back on as the stage crew worked on the setup for Sienna’s act, and Lexi hastily dropped Jack’s hand. In the light, everything came crashing back on her.

“Good-bye” song. Saying good-bye. Second…third…fourth…fifth chances. The ring. The wedding. Ramsey. She loved Ramsey.

She hadn’t even done anything with Jack. It might have been the most platonic moment they had ever lived through together, but still, a heat had pressed against the boundaries. She was sure the concert had something to do with it, but it was still there.

Jack and Lexi cheered through Sienna’s set even though neither of them was really all that interested in her. They only stayed for the end of the show to see the duet she sang with Kellan. It was unbelievably hot and catchy. Lexi heard it every time she turned on the radio. The tension between Sienna and Kellan onstage was palpable, and Lexi was starting to believe the rumors. She wouldn’t blame anyone for wanting to get with Kellan Kyle.

The concert ended in a haze. Lexi was shocked to see it was almost midnight. She felt like they had just gotten here, and then already, it was done. The crowd pressed against her on all sides, and she had to latch on to Jack’s shirt to not lose him. They made it up to the front, but she yanked on his shirt to get him to stop.

“Restroom,” she said, motioning in that direction.

He nodded and followed her in that direction. There was a pretty long line for the women’s restroom, but it was moving quickly. She did her business, washed her hands, and then ran them back through her unruly hair. She pulled the long tresses into a high ponytail to keep the strands off her neck, and then she turned to exit.

She passed the person washing her hands next to her, and she wondered why the girl looked familiar. Before she made it to the exit where a line of women waited to use the restroom, she realized who it was. Her heart beat furiously in her chest, and she felt her fingers tingling with anticipation. Should she say something? What point would there be?

But still…

“Stella?” Lexi asked in disbelief.

She couldn’t be sure that was who was standing before her. She hadn’t seen or heard from Stella since the night that Jack had slept with her in New York…the day he had left Lexi.

The girl turned around, her big green eyes wide with confusion. Then, they landed on Lexi’s face, and they widened even further with alarm.

“Lexi?” she asked like she didn’t believe it herself.

Stella was four or five inches taller than Lexi with platinum-blonde hair cut short, framing her angular face. Lexi noticed with self-satisfaction that it looked like Stella had gained some weight.

“What are you doing here?” Stella asked. “I mean, not the concert…Atlanta.”

“I’m from Atlanta.”

“Oh, right,” she said awkwardly. “I forgot.”

“What are you doing here?”

“My husband got relocated to Atlanta for his company,” she said softly.

Then, Lexi noticed the glittering ring on Stella’s finger. Lexi felt sick.

It wasn’t fair. It was stupid. This girl had ruined everything…and she still had married someone before Lexi. How could the universe allow this to happen? It just didn’t make sense!

“Congrats,” Lexi said through gritted teeth.

“Lexi,” she said, biting her lip, “I’m really sorry.”

“Really?”

“I never got to tell you, but I am really sorry about what I did. Jack was drunk, and I was so jealous of you two. You were perfect, and I…I was a thief. I wanted what you had, so I took it. I shouldn’t have seduced him that night. He said no like five thousand times—”

“Wait…what?” Lexi asked, scrunching her eyebrows together. Her body shivered at those words. “He said no?”

“Of course he did. Didn’t he tell you?”

“No,” she breathed. “No, he didn’t.”

“Now that I’m with the man I love, I can’t help but think back to that night and how stupid I was. If someone had done that to my husband, I would hunt her down and kill her. You have every right to hate me,” she murmured.

Lexi shook her head in a daze. Jack hadn’t wanted to sleep with Stella. It hadn’t just been some fluke. Stella had gone after him that night.

Lexi couldn’t process this. She couldn’t erase more than three years of assumptions in the blink of an eye.