"Dude, that's awesome!" Aaron said and then looked at Vivienne expectantly.

She noticed Matt watching her. "I heard."

"You did? When?"

"My call finished quicker than I expected and I came out here to let you know, but you were on the phone. I heard you tell him you'd do it, that you were going to meet him on Saturday." A small sob escaped, and she cursed her weakness. "I can't believe you would just do that without talking to me first! You've been doing nothing but telling me how you were ready to slow down, put down roots, and then at the first opportunity, you're out the door!"

His gaze never wavered, nor did he say anything.

"Maybe I should go," Aaron murmured, coming to his feet.

"No," Vivienne snapped. "Stay. I think we should all be here for this. Don't you, Matt?" Then he grinned, and Vivienne wanted to slug him.

"You are one hundred percent right," he finally said.

Vivienne's eyes went wide. "I...I am?"

Matt nodded. "I should have talked to you about it first. I was completely overwhelmed and spoke without thinking. But Riley had already said I should talk to you first. He knows if you're not on board, then I'm not going."

She let out a huff of agitation and then groaned. "Dammit, that's not how this is supposed to be!" Pacing in front of the sofa, she went on. "I don't want it to be like you have to ask my permission, but I would just like to know what you're thinking of doing, especially if it means that you're leaving me!"

Matt jumped to his feet. "But I'm not leaving you," he argued, even though he was smiling. "I want you to come with me. I want us to get our feet wet with this whole thing. I thought it would be a great way for us each to see if this is where we see our lives-on the road sometimes. Ten shows aren't much, and we can pick and choose when it works with your schedule and it's a place you want to see. I know I can handle it, but that was when it was just me. You've never done this before and I'm excited to share it with you."

In the blink of an eye, he had her in his arms, holding her close. "You know I loved playing onstage with Riley last week, and I'll admit I had hoped he'd want to do something, but I didn't expect it this soon. But I also meant what I said to you-I want to be here with you, make a life here with you. I've spent this last month learning all about your world-cooking and writing and blogging-and now I'd like you to learn a little bit about my world."

"Oh, Matt," she sighed.

Behind them, Aaron stood and went to finish putting their dinner out. "Can we finish talking about this while we eat? I'm starving."

"Sounds good to me," Matt said.

"Me, too."

The three of them sat, and after they started eating, Matt went back to his story, telling them about the kid at the liquor store and then his trip to the florist.

"Oh my God," Vivienne gasped. "I've been going there for years and never put two and two together!" She glanced at her brother anxiously. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

He shrugged. "I didn't know he owned the place. Anytime I saw your dad, it was at the home improvement store or the supermarket. I never talked to him or asked about where he worked."

Matt reached out and squeezed Vivienne's hand. "It's okay. Really."

"So what happened?" she asked cautiously. "Did you talk to him?"

Nodding, Matt shared the whole story with them. "I was a little bit pissed how he used Carly to get me to stay, but I'm glad he did. She's amazing. Cute as a button. When she came back, she had the dog with her and put him in my arms and said he was my puppy too. That we could share him." Just the thought of it choked him up all over again. He gave Vivienne a lopsided grin. "I guess I finally got my dog."

Tears rolled down her cheeks before she could stop them. "And what about you and your dad? Where did you leave things?"

He took a forkful of shrimp before he answered. "We both know there's a lot of damage we have to work through. I'm not delusional-and neither is he. We're never going to be best friends, but we know we'd both like to try and maybe build something from here."

Aaron started to chuckle, and both Matt and Vivienne looked at him like he was crazy. "What could you possibly find funny in all of this?" Vivienne asked.

"You have a sister!" Aaron finally said. "I think this is karma at its best right here! Someday, you are going to want to kick some guy's ass for even thinking of touching her!" He burst out laughing again. "And I'm going to be right there beside you, reminding you of this moment."

Matt groaned, his head falling back. "Great. Just great."

Vivienne couldn't help but laugh too. "So...how do you feel about all of that? I mean, it's huge. You have a sister. You talked to your father. You're going on tour with Riley. This is quite the day for someone who's been hiding out for nearly two months."

He straightened in his seat and smiled at her. First, he motioned toward the champagne. "I bought it so we could celebrate. Of course, at the time, I thought we were just celebrating the tour." He reached over and picked up the bouquet of lilies and handed them to her. "I realized I never bought you anything. In all this time, you've been constantly giving to me, and I haven't done anything for you. And for that, I'm truly sorry." His hand caressed her cheek. "I love you, and I promise to stop being such a self-centered idiot from here on out."

"I'll drink to that," Aaron teased, and Matt shot him a look.

"As for the rest of it, I feel...hopeful. I have their number, and they have mine and..." He shrugged. "We're just going to take it one day at a time. It's crazy and scary and stupid and wonderful," he said with a nervous laugh, "and it's my life. And believe it or not, I wouldn't change a thing."

"I'm so proud of you," she said, gazing into his eyes and feeling more love than she'd ever thought possible. "I'm sorry I doubted you and that I acted like a brat earlier."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Viv. Ever." He kissed her hand. "But if you don't want me to go on this tour with Riley, I won't. If it's too soon for you, for us, then I'm totally fine with it. You mean more to me than a damn tour."

She considered him for a moment and knew he was telling the truth. "Can I let you in on a little secret?"

Matt looked at her and then at Aaron. "Now?"

She swatted at him playfully. "I always wondered what the life of a rock star is like. I think this tour with Riley would be the perfect time to find out."

"Really?" he asked excitedly. "You mean it?"

She nodded vigorously. "I do. I really do."

Hauling her into his lap, Matt kissed her with everything he had-all the love, all the wonder, all the excitement he was feeling-and she met him with the same intensity.

"I think that's my cue to leave," Aaron said as he gathered several of the takeout containers and made his way to the door. "I'll talk to you both tomorrow."

But neither of them were listening.

And it was a long time before either of them even noticed he was gone.

Epilogue.

The noise level backstage was almost as deafening as it had been while they took their final bow. Not that it was much of a surprise. The fans always went wild after the encore, always wanting more. But that's how you're supposed to leave them. It guarantees they'll come back and see you the next time you're in town.

Matt Reed wasn't sure that was going to happen.

At least not anytime soon.

Riley walked up beside him and clapped him on the back, smiling wide. "Well? How do you feel?"

"I feel like I'm ready for a vacation. Don't get me wrong. This was great, and I had an amazing time, but-"

"Say no more," Riley interrupted. "I know exactly how you feel. It's a completely different world when you know there's someone waiting for you at home at the end of the night."

"Exactly."

If anyone had told Matt there would come a day when he would be looking forward to going home-or simply back to his hotel room-after a show, he would have told them they were crazy. There was no way the life of the party, Matty Reed, wasn't going to stay out until the sun was up.

That was the old Matt.

The new Matt just wanted a shower, something to eat, and to crawl into bed beside Vivienne and hold her all night long.

As if he had conjured her up in his mind, Matt looked up and saw Vivienne walking toward him. "There you are!" she said, smiling. "Great show tonight." She leaned in and kissed him before looking at Riley. "Savannah said to tell you she'd meet you back at the hotel."

Riley frowned. "Is she okay? Is everything all right?"

Vivienne looked as if she had a secret, but Matt kept that observation to himself.

"She just wasn't feeling well. Nothing serious. Your driver took her to the hotel and he'll be back here to get you in a little while."

"Oh...okay." For a minute nobody spoke. "I...guess I'll go grab a shower and wait for the car."

"Dude, are you all right?" Matt asked. "Vivienne says she's fine. Why do you look so worried?"

Riley shrugged. "I don't know. She's just been a little...off lately. This tour ending tonight is like a huge weight being lifted off of me. We are so ready for a break, and I can't wait to get on the plane tomorrow and fly home." He chuckled. "I can't wait to live with my wife like a normal couple for a few months. We haven't had a chance to do that, and as lame as it sounds, I'm really looking forward to being home, making dinners, and watching TV in our own space."

"Nothing wrong with that," Matt said.

"There you two are!" They both turned and saw their manager Mick walking toward them, grinning like the Cheshire cat. "It's a mob scene back here," he commented.

"What's up?" Riley asked, looking more than a little distracted.

"Great show tonight, boys! The fans loved it!"

Matt could remember a time when they all used to wait after the show and hang on Mick's praises, but right now, all he wanted to do was get his stuff together and leave. "What's up, Mick?"

"I have news. I was able to talk to Dylan today, and he sounds good. Really good."

Matt and Riley looked at one another and smiled. "That's great," Riley commented. "And how is he feeling?"

Mick made a bit of a face. "He's having a hard time-detox is never easy-but he's got a good attitude, and I think he's going to come out of this thing and be okay."

"I hope so," Matt said, hating like hell to think of his friend and bandmate suffering. "It hasn't been that long though. He still has a long road ahead of him. I hope he realizes that."

"He does," Mick said, shaking his head. "We're already trying to line up some ways for him to give back to the community when he's ready. He's going to need to do a lot more than get onstage to get back in the public's good graces."

"Seriously?" Riley sighed. "Already? Can't you just let the guy get healthy first?"

Frowning, Mick looked at the both of them. "Believe it or not, I'm doing this for you."

Matt's eyes went wide. "Us?"

"Yeah. You saw the way the fans responded to the two of you teaming up on these ten shows! That tells me they're anxious to see Shaughnessy get back together. That's not going to happen unless Dylan's image is cleaned up. I'm just paving the way for it to happen."

"You're a piece of work, Mick," Riley murmured.

"Look, you two let me worry about that while you get some much needed R & R," Mick said, clapping them both on the back. "We'll stay in touch, but I promise to give you at least a month before I start calling."

"Thank God for small favors," Vivienne mumbled, and Matt had to look away to stop from laughing.

Mick smiled at her. "Always a pleasure to see you, Vivienne." Taking one of her hands in his, he kissed it. "Take care of our boy here."

Vivienne smiled but only Matt could see that it didn't fully reach her eyes. He squeezed her hand and they all wished Mick a good night. "Come on, let's go back to the rooms and get cleaned up."

They said their good-byes as they each made their way into their own dressing rooms and promised to touch base in a few days. Matt shut the door and looked at Vivienne, who was checking her makeup in the large mirror. It didn't matter how many times a day he saw her; she always managed to take his breath away.

"I know he's your manager, but the sight of him annoys me."

Matt chuckled. "No worries. We all feel that way about him at one time or another. I don't expect you to be best friends with him. And if it's any consolation, he doesn't seem to notice."

She met his reflection in the mirror and smiled, and Matt felt that familiar tug of arousal.

Reaching behind him, he quietly locked the door and walked up behind her. His hands immediately went to her hips as he nuzzled her neck.

"Mmm," she purred. "That feels good."

"You think so?" he asked, breathing in her sweet scent, watching their reflection in the mirror.

"I do." She wiggled her bottom against him and grinned when she felt his reaction to her.

"Do you remember the first time you were in my dressing room?"

Her eyes went wide. "Do you?" she teased and then let out a squeal of delight when he gently bit her.

"I remember," he growled playfully. "I opened that door to you, and you were so damn beautiful and sexy and everything I had ever fantasized about." His hands roamed up her sides, over her ribs, and rested on the swell of her breasts. "Faded blue jeans, a tight black T-shirt..."

Her blush heated her skin, and she looked away for a minute. "Matt, you've told me this before."

"I know," he said, his voice a low rumble. Slowly, he spun her around and waited until she looked up at him. "Do you know what I wanted to do to you that night? Right there in that dressing room?"

Her blush deepened, and he knew she was thinking exactly what he was thinking.

"How about I show you?" he suggested, lowering his head to kiss and nip at the sensitive skin on her neck.

Vivienne's head fell back as she sighed. "What if...what if someone comes in?"