“So, Chloe?” Gabe called out. “No pressure or anything.”

The crowd burst out laughing.

Gabe swallowed. He radiated calm but I knew him. Inside he was as wound up as I was. I knew this public declaration was hard for him. Harder than anyone could know. He’d learned young to hide his feelings to survive and now he was putting them on display for thousands of people who could potentially judge and ridicule him.

“What do you say? Would you do me the pleasure of joining me onstage?”

I put my face in my hands, terrified and overjoyed at the same time, my cheeks so flushed I could feel them throbbing with heat. After a second, I removed my hands and saw Johnnie striding up the stairs to our box.

Women reached for him as he walked past and he grinned and held out his palms to touch their fingers as he went, but he didn’t let it slow him down.

He arrived in front of our box. “Ms Kemp. I’ll be your escort for the evening.”

Faith snorted beside me and Johnnie stuck out his tongue at her, wiggling it in an indecent manner.

I nodded and stood up, my legs shaking. Johnnie’s tongue disappeared and he became the picture of a perfect gentleman. He rested a guiding hand on my waist as we navigated the stairs down to the stage, not letting me sway or trip. He helped me onstage and only let go when we arrived in front of Gabe.

Gabe gestured to a stool next to his microphone stand. “Take a seat.”

The applause was deafening as I sat down. A lifetime in Hollywood couldn’t have prepared me for this moment.

Gabe sat down on a stool next to me and adjusted his guitar. “So, ah, I wrote this one for you.”

The cheering intensified but somehow the sound of it faded and the only thing I could see or hear was him.

“When I met this young woman you see sitting before you tonight, she’d just turned twenty-one. Goes without saying she’s gorgeous, but it was her attitude that caught my attention. If you ever want someone on your side, then I’m telling you, you want Chloe Kemp. Her detractors call it ‘naïve optimism’ but that’s where they’re wrong. Chloe’s optimism is all that’s good in this world and we need more people like her to cheer us on, believe in us and give us hope when times get tough.”

I swiped at a couple of tears that escaped but didn’t take my eyes of him.

“As you may have heard, I didn’t have a whole lot of that when I was growing up. Everyone around me wanted to beat me down and see me fail. Not Chloe. Don’t let her optimism fool you. She’s tough. She almost lost her brother last year—this talented man behind the drums you see tonight—and she fought for him.”

The crowd roared in support and I let myself take my eyes off Gabe for a second to glance back at Damon. He gave me the thumbs up, like sitting behind the drums in front of a massive crowd was the most natural place for him to be, which maybe it was. I shook my head at him and he blew me a kiss, making some of the women squeal. Hang on, maybe there’d been a few guys in there, too . . .

Gabe waited for the noise to settle down. “She fought for me too. She believed I could do what I’m doing here tonight. But to do that, she had to walk away and let me figure myself out. I’ve had plenty of people give up on me in my lifetime, but not like this. This wasn’t giving up. It was the most unselfish gift I’ve ever been given. She’s trusted me with her heart these past nine months with the sort of faith that makes a man think he can do anything.”

He turned his attention to his guitar and played several bars of a song I’d never heard before. I listened, rapt, and so did the crowd.

Gabe stopped playing and looked at me. “So, I wrote this for you, Chloe. Will you do the honor of accompanying me on vocals?”

I nodded and sniffed, wiping away more stray tears. I wasn’t capable of speech and I had no idea how I was going to sing, but for Gabe I’d do anything.

He covered the microphone with his hand. “Repeat after me during the verse, but when you sing the line reverse it, so ‘you’ becomes ‘I’ and vice versa. I’ll take the chorus and bridge. Can you do that?”

I nodded again.

He uncovered the microphone and gave the audience a disarming grin. “Oh, and thanks for joining me up here, Chloe. Fuck knows what I would have done if you’d said no.”

A laugh burst forth from my mouth, joyous and happy, and he winked at me while the audience cheered.

His gray eyes turned serious. “I’ve missed you, gorgeous.”

His fingers began moving over the strings of the acoustic guitar, plucking a melody that sounded like home. He smiled at me then began singing, ignoring the crowd in front of us, focusing only on me.

Can you hear my voice?

(I can hear your voice)

Are you still there?

(I’m still here)

Since you walked away

(Since I walked away)

My heart’s been yours to keep

(Your heart is mine to keep)

And I count every single

Heartbeat

Until you’re here

In my arms

I’ll listen for your

Heartbeat

I’m not the man

(You’re not the man)

I once was

(You once were)

I can be more than that

(You can be more than that)

You taught me how

(I taught you how)

Still I count every single

Heartbeat

Until you’re here

In my arms

I’ll listen for your

Heartbeat

You said you knew

(I said I knew)

And here I am

(Here you are)

It’s true

(It’s true)

I love you

I was unable to sing after Gabe’s last words, and I sat on the stool with tears streaming down my cheeks listening to the rest of the beautiful song he’d written for me.

And I count every single

Heartbeat

Now you’re here

In my arms

I’ll listen to your

Heartbeat

With every beat, I hear what I need to know

Wherever you are, no matter how far you go

The steady rhythm

For long as I keep living

I’ll be listening to your

Heartbeat

When the crowd stood to cheer at the end, Gabe lifted the guitar over his head. “What do you think?” he asked the audience. “Too sappy?”

The cheers became a roar and he handed his guitar to one of the stagehands and hopped off his stool. He held out his hands to me.

I slipped my fingers through his and the months that had passed disappeared. It was as it always had been, as it would always be. Being with Gabe felt natural and right.

He tugged me to my feet and then his arms were around me, his lips on mine, his hands smoothing back the hair from my face.

“I . . . missed . . . you . . . so . . . much,” he whispered into my mouth.

“Me too.” Happy tears trailed down my cheeks.

“Thank you for waiting.” More kisses. “Thank you for believing in me.”

“The waiting sucked, but the believing was easy.”

He broke away and pressed his forehead to mine. “So, ah, much as I’d like to continue this I’ve kind of got a show to finish . . . ”

I shoved him gently in the stomach. “I know.”

“Will you watch the rest of the show backstage until we’re done?” he asked.

“I’ll be waiting,” I promised him.

His expression turned serious. “No more waiting.” His words were a promise too.

He kissed me fiercely one more time and when he released me, his eyes reflected all the love and all the hope I had been waiting for. “I’ll never give up on you, Chloe Kemp. I love you.”

As I walked backstage, I knew in my heart it was a promise he would keep.

Want more? Sign up to Belinda’s newsletter

If you enjoyed HEARTBEAT, sign up to Belinda’s newsletter and be kept up to date about her upcoming book releases and news.

Sign up now and receive an in-depth magazine interview with Lena Lyons – only available to Belinda’s VIP subscribers.

Heartbeat: Hollywood Hearts #4

You’ll be the first to know more about Faith’s story, WILD HEART, Book 4 in the Hollywood Hearts series, which is due for release in mid-2018.