Chapter 19

A Year Later

Kade leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. After months of watching the same performance over and over again, it still never changed. Her voice never failed to strike him at his very soul.

America Holden had been a pop princess, but now she was the queen of country. In the past year, her fame had skyrocketed, but she hadn't changed one bit.

"She was miserable when she first started this tour."

The hesitant voice surprised him, and he turned to see Gia approaching him. The personal assistant was fiercely loyal of Addilyn, and Kade was still certain she hated him. He knew she blamed him for all the trouble that he'd caused Addilyn.

Which was fair.

"She doesn't look miserable," he commented as he tried to smile warmly at her. It wasn't like Gia to speak to him, and he didn't want to scare her away.

"Not anymore. She's been happier ever since you and Cadence joined her on tour. Actually, that's wrong. I should say that she's been happy. You both make her so happy."

"Yeah?" The news warmed him. When Addilyn first left for her tour, he'd also been miserable. His songs were crap, and his attitude was even crappier. Christopher finally threatened to stop sending work his way if he didn't figure out a way to make it work. So with Cadence out of school and eager to spend more time with Addilyn too, he’d made arrangements for Maisy to have an extended paid vacation back home.

He was enjoying being back on the road, but couldn’t wait to have his girls back home where things were much quieter. He hadn’t done any touring since his rock band days, but this was a much better atmosphere, one that was good for Cadence. She had seen the world and learned things she couldn’t in a classroom. Addilyn had even asked him about homeschool for the next tour, but he wasn’t so sure. Maisy would have to join them on the road, and he wasn’t sure she could handle it.

Addilyn was his muse, and he was more than happy to be near her. Now he traveled with her, wrote when inspiration hit, and communicated through video chats. A few times he'd had to fly back to meet directly with the artist, but he was never gone for more than a few days.

"I wish Peter felt the same," he muttered. The producer seemed to accept the idea that Kade wasn't leaving Addilyn anytime soon, but Kade was still wary around the man.

"Do you love her?"

"Why, Gia. That's a personal question," he teased.

The small woman scowled. "I just want to make sure that you're not going to hurt her again."

Kade smiled. "You don't have to worry, Gia. I'm done fighting my feelings for Addilyn. Hurting her hurts me."

The song ended, and the crowd erupted into screams and applause. "Dallas, you have been amazing! I don't think that anyone has better fans than me. Seriously. I am so blessed, and I am so thankful for all the support. This is my last show for this tour, so now I can announce that all of the recordings from my tour are going on a special album. It's my way of saying thanks! I'm going to take a vacation and get to work on some new songs, and then I'll be back in the studio. I love you guys. Thank you so much!"

At the thought of their concert being on an album drove the crowd wild. They continued to scream and chant her name as she exited the stage. As always, she went straight into Kade's arms. Despite the sweat on her face, he couldn't wait to hold her.

"You did it, Princess," he said softly as he kissed her head. Reaching out, he took a water bottle from Gia and opened it. "Drink this."

As she guzzled it down, he led her to her dressing room and gently closed the door behind her. Normally, she kissed him silly before heading to the vanity and wiping away all her heavy make-up, but this time, she didn't seem to want to leave his arms.

"Everything okay?" he whispered as he stroked her hair.

"I'm so many different things," she admitted. "I am so elated that I pulled this off, and I'm so excited that our songs have gone over so well, but I'm also so tired. God, Kade, I could never have done this without you."

"Yes, you could have. You're the most amazing woman ever, but it's nice to hear that you like having me around."

Laughing, she let him pull her down on the bench. Different dresses were strewn about the room as she'd hastily changed. Kade learned early on that he couldn't be in her dressing room while she changed. Even after all this time sharing a bed, she still turned him on whenever she was near.

She was probably going to be the death of him.

"Your assistant asked me if I loved you," he said idly as she leaned against his chest.

She didn't stiffen or pull away. Instead, she just raised her head and stared at him curiously. "Really? What did you tell her?"

"I told her that was a personal question."

"That is a personal question."

Twirling a strand of hair around her finger, he cocked his head. "It's a question that you've never asked."

"I don't have to, Kade. I know that you love me."

"You do?"

"Of course I do. You made yours and Cadence’s lives a hundred times harder to be with me. That's love, and I know that it's not something that you experience lightly."

"Maybe I'm mooching off your success."

Addilyn snorted. "Peter's an idiot. Besides, if anything, I'm pretty sure it's the other way around. Most of the girls in the crowd tonight weren't there to see me. They're hoping to catch a glimpse of you."

"You're happy?"

"Delirious. You?"

"Oh, baby. I am happy. I've never been so sure of anything in my life. I do love you." Leaning down, he kissed her gently.

"I love you, too. Now you know what would make me even happier?"

"What?"

She gave him a mischievous grin. "Dinner. I'm starving."

"We can't have that. I tell you what. We'll get you a giant cheeseburger before making our flight."

Addilyn looked up and smiled. "And then?"

"And then we will finally be alone. I’m sending Cadence back home before Maisy realizes she’s got it made without us. Those two can do some catching up without us. I'll give you a few days to rest, and then I'm going to give you every opportunity to scream my name as loud as you want," he teased. Their nights together were often dampened by the hundreds of people that followed her around everywhere while she was on tour and with Cadence around it was even harder. Luckily she’d returned to the hotel early.

He bent his head to kiss her again, this time long and sensual. She moaned softly in his mouth, and he couldn't help but smile. The pop princess had turned out to be the love of his life, and he wouldn't have it any other way.