TWENTY-FOUR
H
e was in the middle of hugging a teenage fan goodbye when he saw her.
Audrey, in a dress he had never seen before, was allowed up the stage and asked to wait for her turn. They caught each other’s eye, and the shy little smile that lit up her face was a hook to his soul.
Heart hammering against his ribs, he sat back in his chair and watched Audrey walk toward his table. If he had ever half-mocked those movie moments where a man—slack-jawed and all—watches a beautiful woman approach him in slow motion, this was the perfect time to apologize.
Who’s laughing now, Pio? the universe seemed to ask.
Not him, that’s for sure.
He glanced at the front of the stage and caught a glimpse of Vivien, waving giddily at him. Audrey’s little sister was holding her phone up in the air, a
