Sashaying up to us, Aerie greets us in an extremely bubbly manner despite looking very businesslike—her hair is in a bun and she’s wearing a purple pantsuit with pumps, but surprisingly it’s low-cut and shows a hint of cle**age. We’ve spent a great deal of time together since I came back to LA. We get along so well. She’s even shown me some of her uncle’s music collection. She hugs me and cascades kisses on each cheek, then does the same to Xander, who looks utterly shocked at her exuberant display of affection.

“Where’s Jagger?” he asks her.

She gestures toward the makeshift bar with her wineglass. “Oh, Jack caught him on our way in and they’re huddled somewhere.”

Xander’s gaze follows mine across the room. They’re leaning against the bar with their heads together, each holding a glass of beer. Xander crosses his arms and lifts his brow. “What’s going on?”

Aerie giggles. “Jack wants Jagger to help him move No Led Zeppelin’s sound track release date up.”

“But it hasn’t finished filming yet, has it?” I ask.

She shrugs. “No, but Jack’s pushing for an early sound track release around Christmas and then a rerelease when No Led Zeppelin hits theaters.”

Xander nods. “Makes sense.”

“Yes, it’s a brilliant idea, but Jagger is still working on perfecting most of the songs,” Aerie says.

“Get River to help him,” Xander suggests.

“They’ve been coconspiring, but I think they might be spending more time playing around than actually focusing,” Aerie replies, rolling her eyes.

Xander chuckles. “Sounds like I’ll need to pay them a visit.”

Now I roll my eyes.

Aerie snatches the sleeve of photos I have in my hand. “Nice,” she says with a smirk. “I like the one of Xander licking your neck.”

He snags the photo strips from her and she laughs.

“Hey, do you think I can talk to you a minute?” Aerie asks Xander.

“Sure,” he says.

“There’s something I think you should know before it’s announced,” she adds, slipping back into business mode. Then she looks at me and says, “And you and I will catch up later. And don’t forget lunch tomorrow!”

I nod my head. She’s such a type A personality. “I’m going to get another drink. I’ll leave you two to talk.”

As I walk away, I feel a pair of hands grip my waist. “You forgot something,” Xander’s deep voice says into my ear.

I turn my head and feel the tickle of his whiskers against my skin. “What?” I purr.

He gently pulls my mouth to his, and a soft brush of our lips has me tingling all the way to my toes. He runs his cheek down my neck and groans wickedly in my ear before releasing me. And for some reason, this tiny display of affection seems so much more intimate than just a simple goodbye kiss—it has me flushing.

I can feel myself smoldering as he turns back toward Aerie. I stand there and watch him as the two of them engage in conversation. When I snort to myself and break out of my lovesick trance, I continue my journey toward the bar just as Phoebe turns the corner in a knockout champagne-colored gown. She sees me instantly and waves, motioning me over. I look her up and down. She’s dressed so elegantly, she even takes my breath away.

“You look beautiful.” I say.

She’s grinning from ear to ear. “Can I tell you something?” she asks, practically jumping out of her heels.

“Of course. You know that.”

“Nix and I got married today.”

“What?” I scream. I can’t believe they got married on the same day I got engaged. I’m so happy for her and Nix. It’s all so exciting and I want to share my news, but Xander and I agreed to let this night be about the album.

“It’s crazy, I know. We haven’t known each other that long, but it seemed like the right time. Nix loves his new job and I love my new teaching position. We decided what better way to start our new lives.”

“Congratulations, Phoebe! I’m so happy for you. And love doesn’t have a meter, so don’t worry about how long you’ve known each other.”

“Thanks, Ivy.” She’s beaming.

“Come on. Let’s find some champagne to celebrate.”

The night has just begun and I already feel like a princess—but not the molded pop princess that catapulted my career. This time I’m my own person, doing what I’ve always wanted to do—singing about life as I know it and putting my own soulful twist on it.

With Xander at my side, I finally went to see my mother last week. Before that I hadn’t actually seen her in years. I’ve supported her and my sisters but had no contact with them. I’m not sure where my relationship with her will go. She told Damon about Xander and me and God knows what else—I don’t trust her, but she is my mother. In the end we worked out an arrangement giving her some time to work out her finances, but I told her I can no longer be her primary source of income. I’ll continue to support my sisters, but that’s it. Surprisingly, she agreed.

Charlotte is talking to Dahlia and I start to make my way over to them. Dahlia and I have spent a lot of time together. We talked about her miscarriage and she told me she and River are taking it one day at a time. The pregnancy was unplanned, and right now they want to enjoy each other and not stress about getting pregnant again. I was so happy to hear that, because so many couples go down that road. They are so happy together, and I know they will face what comes their way together with love—it’s so obvious how they feel about each other.

We could not have had any more fun putting my album together. Xander, River, and Dahlia all worked together. Xander took charge and managed every detail. River took care of coordinating with producers he thought would best enhance each song. And Dahlia designed my cover, using photographs she took of me—it really is a work of art. When we weren’t all working together in the studio, we were hanging out—going out to eat and even running trails together. Dahlia and I have a common bond—she doesn’t have any family, and in a way neither do I. We seem to be drawn to each other because of it.

“Ivy—there you are.” Bell appears, interrupting my thoughts.

I haven’t spent as much time with her as I have with River and Dahlia, but I’ve known her since she was ten, so I feel a connection to her as well. Tonight she seems nervous, much like Xander, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stop from laughing at the similarities between the two of them—similarities of course that neither would ever admit to.

“No more pictures, Bell,” I joke.

She laughs. “Oh God, no, I think Xander might lose it if I ask him to smile one more time.” With that we both laugh.

“What’s so funny?” he asks, putting his arm around my waist and pulling me to him.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Bell’s phone dings and I watch as she pulls it out of the pocket of her little romper. A slight rosy color blooms on her cheeks. “Who’s that? A guy? Maybe a boyfriend?” I tease.

Xander snorts. “You don’t know Bell well enough yet—she always has a boyfriend.”

She puts her hands on her hips. “I’ll have you know, brother of mine, I have not had a boyfriend since Tate.”

Xander raises his arms in surrender. “Wow, calm down. I didn’t know. But I’m just teasing you.”

She quickly slides her phone back into her pocket and gives him a giant smile before slipping a stuffed mushroom in her mouth. “Ummm . . . these are so good.”

“Hey, little sis, aren’t those your favorite?” he asks, pointing to a silver tray with scallops wrapped in bacon.

“Very funny.”

“Why don’t you try one of them for old times?” Xander asks, the tone of his voice dropping.

“No, thank you,” she says almost menacingly.

“I dare you,” he challenges.

Her gaze flits over him in an assessing manner as she reaches for the appetizer. She squishes her nose in disgust and pops it right into her mouth. I think she swallows it without even chewing. Then she covers her mouth as if to stop from gagging.

“Happy?” she says, suddenly waving her hands in the air.

“What? Are you going to throw up?” Xander asks, now with concern in his voice.

She covers her lips again and I think she’s gagging. Her next words are muffled. “I just remembered. I forgot the Bellinis. I’ll be back.”

She scurries off amid the clacking of her gold and silver heels against the floor.

I turn around and catch Xander shaking his head.

“What was that about?” I ask.

“Oh, long story, but Bell has hated scallops wrapped in bacon ever since she ate too many of them years ago and threw them all up. And here’s something else you don’t know about my sister—she can never, I mean never, back down from a dare.”

I lift a brow.

“What? She’s a bundle of nerves. She needed to calm down.”

I put my hands on his chest. “So are you. I think we all are.” The glimpse of his stubbled cheeks makes my fingers itch and I forget all about the fact that I meant to scold him. Instead I run my palms up the side of his face and look into his eyes. After a few minutes I ask, “Everything okay with Aerie?”

“She just wanted me to know who the new owner of Sound Music Magazine is before it’s announced on Monday.”

“Who?”

“No one I really give a shit about or want to talk about now. I’ll tell you later.”

I step closer and kiss the place where my hand was just resting.

He stares at me. “Fuck, you look incredible. I know I already told you this, but I can’t keep my eyes off you,” he whispers.

I can feel the heat blazing in my cheeks from the way he says it. I run my fingers up his shirt, thinking of his tattoo lying just underneath it. The tattoo he got for me. The one I love to trace with my eyes, my fingers, my tongue. I take a deep breath, then rub my hand over his stubbled jaw again.

A wicked grin crosses his lips. “Sorry. I didn’t have time to shave. Someone hijacked me before getting ready.” My pink flush turns to red instantly, I just know it. “Don’t be embarrassed. Feel free to hijack me anytime,” he says, unabashed.

With my hand still on his jaw, I rub the slight stubble one more time. “I like it when you don’t shave.”

He grins and kisses me. “I know you do.”

The rest of the evening is enchanting, spent with Xander’s family and our friends. But now it’s time to debut my new songs and I’m really nervous. But as soon as I hear his voice at the microphone introducing me, my nerves fade away and a contentment washes through me.

“Here she is, everyone—Ivy Taylor,” he announces and steps off the stage before I reach him. I know he wants this to be my moment, but I at least wanted to kiss him. He stands right in the front as I bound onstage. The music begins and I start with the buoyant opener “Rollercoaster,” then move into the slinky number “Jagged,” and then go on to the hypnotic, hitching grooves of “Pure,” which is the only song I wrote after Xander and I got back together—it’s about us.

I surprise Xander by ending my performance with a vampy cover of Prince’s “Little Red Corvette.” It seems appropriate since he started driving the car that we spent so much time in in high school. It’s the perfect song—it tells our story. When I finish, everyone applauds, but no one louder than Xander. He holds out his arm for me to join him, and his familiar gaze is full of heat. He smiles at me and my whole body goes weak. I smile back as he jumps on stage and swings me around whispering, “Congratulations, baby,” in my ear.

We spend the rest of the night talking to the guests. After almost everyone but our close friends and Xander’s family has left, I notice that the band takes the stage again. The music begins, and as I try to place it, Xander takes my hand and leads me to the dance floor. Suddenly I know the song. I smile because, oh my God, it’s “Marry Me.” River begins to sing the lyrics, “He can’t help that he likes to kiss you. And he wouldn’t mind if you changed your name to Mrs.”

• • •

No Doubt’s song, of course—Xander always said I looked like Gwen Stefani, and we even modeled our first band after them. As River sings, Xander braces his arms around me and for the second time today starts dancing with me. I bury my face in his neck and enjoy the dance. This is obviously his way of announcing our engagement. Just as the song ends, the applause starts. He lifts my left hand and turns the ring around. Looking over his shoulder, I see his mother right away. She too has tears streaming down her face. Wiping my own tears away, I take a deep breath. “Let’s go hug your mother.”

He gazes at me with those eyes so full of intensity and I know I’m home. “She’d love that,” he says.

“Ivy . . .” Charlotte throws her arms around me and hugs me tightly. “I couldn’t be any happier right now.” She holds me for the longest time and then says, “You really make him so happy.”

Jack flashes a grin and engulfs me in a huge embrace. “We couldn’t be happier for the two of you,” he says, and I swear I see a few tears in his eyes too. He slaps Xander on the shoulder and pulls him in as well, whispering something in his ear that I can’t hear, but whatever it is, it makes Xander’s mouth quirk up.

River smiles at us as he crosses the room with a bottle of champagne in his hand. Dahlia is at his side, snapping pictures. Bell trails behind with a tray of champagne flutes. They must all have known.