“It’s amazing. I haven’t been involved in musical theater in years, but I can tell you this is a class act.”

The smile on Curtis’s face told him all he needed to know about how proud he was of Clara and her aunt. Warner knew enough about the industry to know he should be proud of them.

Ed handed him his beer. “Thanks.”

“Here’s to Clara.” Ed lifted his beer up and they all tapped theirs to his.

It was then Warner noticed the man in the corner holding his cell phone at a peculiar angle. Just the right angle to take pictures. Then he recognized the man.

He swallowed hard. “Excuse me,” he said to the Kellers as calmly as he could and walked to where the man was now furiously using his thumbs to type something into his phone.

“Why are you taking pictures of me?” he asked the man who continued to type away.

“Just a job, man. Just a job.”

“Erase them.”

“Already sent.”

Warner wanted to sock the guy in the gut and throw the phone against the wall, but he was very aware that the entire Keller family was watching him.

“Are you snooping or writing her review?”

That had the man’s head snapping up. “Just a job, man.”

“So you’ve said. I hope your review is more eloquent than that. And her performance is top notch. And if you print otherwise I’ll make sure there is rebuttal against it. Her money isn’t worth you ruining the career of someone else.”

The man made an obvious gesture to push send on whatever he’d been typing and then tucked the phone into his pocket. “Like I said, it’s a job…”

Warner held his hand up to stop him and he noticed it shook with anger. “Get out of here before I have you removed.”

The corner of the man’s mouth curled upward as he gave Warner a curt nod and walked out of the lobby through the front doors.

Warner sucked in a breath and then took a long pull from his beer as Ed walked up to him.

“You okay?” He reached out and rested his hand on Warner’s shoulder.

Warner quickly evaluated his situation. Ed could very likely take him down right there in the theater literally or he could take him down by telling Clara he was no good for her. But then again, Warner knew that already in his own heart and he was sure he’d mentioned it to Clara too. But the fact was he loved her and he wanted her safe and happy and successful. How was that supposed to happen with him around?

“Seriously, man, you’re freaking me out.” Ed withdrew his hand.

“I’m fine.” He let out a breath. “My ex-stepmother has sent one of her many minions to write a bad review about Clara.”

“Why?”

“Because she can and people will listen.”

Ed took a drink from his beer and was obviously contemplating what Warner had just said. “Why is Clara a threat to her?”

“She’s not. She just happens to be the woman I love so she’ll do all she can to destroy that.”

He saw the vein rise on Ed’s temple. “Love? You’ve known her less than two weeks.”

“Yeah. I know it sounds stupid.”

“If you’re busting his chops for that I’ll punch you in the stomach, Ed Keller,” Darcy walked up behind Ed. “Warner, what can we do to stop his review?”

“Nothing. Freedom of speech.”

She nodded. “There are a lot of reviewers. Not all of them have been to the show.” There was a shimmer in her eye and a sparkle to the smile that formed on her mouth. “Let’s just see what we can offer Nashville in twenty-four hours.”

She walked away and Warner shifted his gaze back to a mortified looking Ed.

“What is she planning?”

Ed shook his head. “Patricia Little just messed with the Kellers. You don’t mess with the Kellers or the people they love.” Finally a smile broke from Ed and he reached for Warner’s shoulder. “Hold on tight. Might be a bumpy ride.”

For the rest of the show Warner sat between Ed and Madeline trying his best to keep his body still like a small child enduring the theater. Truth was that he wondered how many others Patricia had sent.

When Clara wasn’t on stage, Warner would quickly do a subtle scan of the audience to see if he could see anyone he might recognize. He didn’t.

There was no reason for Patty to mess with Clara, or him for that fact, except her disdain for him pushed her ratings and gave her a bigger paycheck. Maybe he needed a reality show.

The thought nearly made him laugh it was so funny, and the laugh would have been very out of place. It had come right as Tony was shot in the back.

He’d waited all night for this moment and now it was here. No more kissing, until tomorrow, but now there were tears in Clara’s eyes. But he had to remember those tears were Maria’s not Clara’s.

It didn’t matter though. He wanted to jump up on that stage and wrap her in his arms.

When the curtain closed and reopened he found that he’d been the first to his feet with his applause. Or he thought he was. Carlos Keller was a swift man.

As Clara took her curtain call, center stage, she looked down at him and blew him a kiss.

He already knew he’d fallen in love with her, which he also knew was a big mistake. But the crushing tightness in his chest at that moment nearly had him on his knees. It was mutual love and a mutual respect for each other that made fate intertwine their lives at that stop light.

His mother didn’t love him—nor did his grandmother or Patricia Little for that matter. That woman, on stage who had been kissing that other guy, she loved him. She respected him and she’d sleep in his arms tonight and wake in them tomorrow.

His applause grew louder until his hands had gone numb.

When the curtain closed he turned to see Madeline smiling up at him. It wasn’t just a happy smile as though she’d watched her daughter give an amazing performance. This was a happy mother smile—happy that he was there, happy that he loved her daughter.

A lump formed in his throat. He turned to follow Ed out of the aisle. And as every Keller cleared the aisle they turned back and gave him some kind of reassuring look or gesture that said Clara’s success was his success. It was a gesture a family would make.

The lump in his throat grew and landed in his stomach as a large boulder.

They were accepting him into their family. For the first time in his life he was part of something more than just him. He was part of a family and the feeling was nearly as overwhelming as the love he’d found he had for Clara.