Page 18 of Wild Hope

Every word he spoke felt like the answer to a prayer.

“Can I guarantee you stardom or success?”he continued.“Of course not.But I do believe, all the way to the depths of my soul, that you have what it takes to make it big in this business.All I’m asking is that you take this chance, this leap of faith.”

“My family?—”

“Will still be provided for.Contract, remember?I’m sure what we’re offering will more than beat what you make at the convenience store and hotel combined.”

She narrowed her eyes, but once again, he was two steps ahead of her.

“And no, the contract has nothing to do with what happened just now.I have never mixed my professional life with my personal one, but Andi, I can’t do half measures with you.I want everything with you.To be honest, it’s why I requested those recordings to play for my partner.I wanted to be sure I wasn’t blinded by you.”

“You weren’t?”

“Andi, he literally called me twenty minutes after I sent them to him and said if I didn’t sign you to a contract, it would be the biggest mistake of my life.”

She smiled.“Wow.”

“Yeah.Wow.I know you’re scared, that you’re worried, but if you can just hang in there until tomorrow, I swear I’ll set those feelings at ease when you read the contract and hear my plans.”

“Leap of faith,” she said, repeating what he’d said earlier.

He nodded.“Will you give me a chance to prove this can work?”

Andi bit her lip, even though there was really only one answer.

Because she did trust him.

With her body.

With her heart.

And…with her future.

“Yes.”

Epilogue

One year later…

Andi stoodat the window of the high-rise apartment she and Joel shared that overlooked Central Park.It was incredible how much her life had changed in the course of twelve months.

The best thing she had ever done was say yes to Joel.

Because that one word, those three little letters had opened a world so huge, so amazing, she could never have dreamed it up on her own.

Her career, while still in its infancy, had started gaining traction and was beginning to take off.She had attracted enough attention that she’d been invited to tour with Hunter Maxwell, serving as his opening act.

Sure, her time singing at Pat’s Pub had played a part in opening that door for her, but even so, it was a career-altering opportunity, and she was so—so—grateful for it.

Just last week, she and Joel had helped Dylan move into his dorm at NYU and she was thrilled to have her baby brother living so close.She’d made the leap, moving to the Big Apple just three months after that initial visit.

If it had been up to Joel, she would have moved in with him immediately, but Andi had been hesitant to leave Dylan on his own with mom.Until her sweet brother sat her down and basically reiterated the same things Joel had been saying to her.That she needed to follow her own dreams and that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself—and Mom.He told her it was his turn to take on some of the responsibility and he had assured her he was more than ready to do it.Then he reminded her she’d been younger than him when she had taken charge of their homelife.It was the first time she’d looked at Dylan and not seen her baby brother, but the intelligent, compassionate young man he was quickly becoming.

Mom was currently still living in Baltimore.She’d joined Alcoholic Anonymous six months earlier—at her brother’s behest—and she was doing well in the program.She and Dylan were trying to convince her to move to New York, but for now, she insisted she was fine on her own and hesitant to leave her AA sponsor, who was incredible.

Andi grinned as the man who not only taught her how to hope, but who also helped make all her wildest dreams approached.She marked his progress toward her through his reflection in the window.

“Looks like some deep thinking going on over here,” Joel said as he wrapped his arm around her waist.