was one of the key supporting actors in the cast. His character ultimately died in a tragic racing accident. Will and his dad had gone to see the blockbuster while Katie spent time with Gareth. It was one of the best movies he’d ever seen.
“Hell, yeah,” he said. “I may or may not have cried.”
“Stop,” Cole held up a hand. “I haven’t gotten to see it yet.”
The next song started. They collected their drinks and brought them back to the seats. Will handed Jasmine the glass of wine he’d gotten her. She smiled and mouthed the word thanks as she accepted it.
Nodding, he turned to Katie and signed, Want anything?
She shook her head and returned her attention to the stage. Her smile hadn’t dimmed all evening and she kept bouncing in her seat. Between the Sprite and junk food she’d been eating, he fully expected her to run on hyped-up energy until she crashed in a couple hours.
He hoped she made it through the meet-n-greet. From what he knew of those types of events, they would be brought into a room where the band was hanging out. If they were lucky, they’d get to take photos with them before being ushered back out. Will would love some autographs too, but he wasn’t going to complain if that didn’t happen. The band had done more than enough already.
He still couldn’t believe Lily Montgomery had been the one to arrange decorating the suite for Katie. He only knew her from what he’d seen portrayed on the drama-filled House of Archer and in the media. The woman he’d met earlier wasn’t anything like what he’d seen on television. He’d always suspected Reality TV wasn’t actually real. This just proved it.
After the concert, E.J. came into the suite. “I hope you enjoyed the show,” he said to the group. “I’m going to have you hang out here for about thirty more minutes until the stadium empties some. We’ll head to the after-party soon.”
“After-party?” Will echoed as E.J. stepped back outside. Looking at Cole, he said, “Didn’t you call it a meet-n-greet?”
Cole shrugged and said, “I don’t know any more than you do.”
“This is where we’ll be calling it a night,” Ruby said. Behind her, Jerry held Makayla as she slept. “This child could sleep through an earthquake once she finally passes out. Thanks so much for inviting us, Will.”
“And for getting these dope seats, Cole,” Jerry tacked on.
“Of course,” Will said as Cole answered, “Sure thing.”
Gareth and Althea also gathered their things to go. “Althea has to be up early for her volunteer work,” he explained to Will, “but this has been quite an experience. We can’t thank you enough for inviting us.”
“That’s my cue, too,” Frank said. “They’re my ride and I’ve got to be on site at six o’clock in the morning.”
“You sure?” Will said. “You could always ride back with us in the charter.”
“Nah. We’ll leave the late-night partying with rock stars to you younger folks.”
Gareth and Althea chuckled as they all headed out.
As promised, E.J. returned thirty minutes later. He guided them through the venue to an area most people probably never saw. It reminded Will of the walk through the stadium to the clubhouse at the ballpark. The increasing sound of thumping music told him where they were headed. E.J. approached a set of double doors and opened the one on the right.
“Have fun,” he told them.
Because Katie was once again holding Jasmine’s hand, Will paused to let them enter first. The sight of them smiling and walking hand-in-hand once again brought the moment to mind where she’d firmly denied being Katie’s mother.
What would she think if she knew he desperately wanted that very thing?
He followed them into the room. It was set up like an intimate lounge with seating for about thirty people. Servers wearing all black stood against a wall near a nondescript door that he assumed led to a kitchen or bar. The music filling the room seemed to be piped in via a sound system. So far, they were the only ones there.
Belatedly, he questioned the wisdom of bringing Katie to this thing. He had thought it would be the proverbial icing on her birthday cake to meet the band, but he wasn’t sure what rock stars did at these kinds of things. Would The Void’s members all be drunk or high or on their way toward getting into those conditions? Would they do anything else a five—make that almost six-year-old—shouldn’t see? There was still