EPILOGUE
Presley
But I won’t stop
I won’t fall
I did that all before
No, I won’t stop
I won’t fall
Because
When nothing else matters
It matters the most.
Every single person in the coliseum is singing along with Kace as he belts out his two-hit wonder. Including me.
I look over at my friend Phyllis, who is singing along too, a happy smile on her face as she leans back in Stephen’s arms, their fingers linked together.
Happiness.
Pure happiness floods through me.
Not just for them but for me too.
Placing my hands over my belly, I smile at the tiny secret deep inside me, still marveling at the idea. There’s a little bit of worry, yes. But it’s overshadowed with complete and utter bliss.
Today is another anniversary.
A year ago today, Valentine’s Day was very different. I watched the drama unfold on that screen, and the following day, true to his word, he was in Knoxville again.
We took it slow.
We talked and got to know each other again.
We took long walks by the river and spoke on the phone every night when he was on tour.
It was a month before we kissed. Another month before we made love.
We’ve fucked like bunnies since then.
I press my hands on my belly again. And this is the result.
The last lines of the song echo through the cavernous building, and the screaming of the fans come even louder and more intense.
A very sweaty Kace runs toward me and sweeps me up into his arms. My toes curl when his lips find mine, but I’m not swept back into the past. I’m firmly in the present.
The fans scream for an encore, but I can tell Kace is torn about leaving me. I push against him. “Go, Mr. Rock Star. We have all night.”
When the show is officially over, I get another sweaty kiss and he drags me to his dressing room so he can shower and change.
I wave to Phyllis over my shoulder, but she and Stephen are kissing and she doesn’t see.
I wonder if he’ll propose to her tonight. The first moment they set eyes on each other, I could practically feel the sparks coming off them like an electrical storm. I’m happy for her. Them. I’m happy for us all.
Kace has brought up marriage, tiptoeing around it like the subject itself is a hungry bear.
There is no rush.
I don’t need the pressure of the wedding. Or the press of a wedding either.
I’m happy with things just like they are.
“Ready?”
I smile up at Kace, who is smelling good again, his hair still wet at the ends. I link my fingers through his. “Ready.”
And I am. I’m ready for anything.
Dinner is nice, and I’m starving so I eat it all. I’m going to be one of those pregnant women who gain seventy pounds, I know.
“Want to take a walk?”
I look out over the river and nod, linking my fingers through his. His palms are sweaty, but so are mine, even on this cool February evening.
When we’re under the bridge, Kace surprises me by turning and pressing me against the column, his lips finding mine in a kiss so urgent and hungry, it steals the breath from my lungs.
“Presley…” He presses his forehead to mine. “I love you, and I can’t wait anymore.”
My heart begins to pound as he begins to sink to one knee. Then a camera flashes and someone screams,” It’s Kace Rymer,” and the moment is spoiled.
I grin at him. “Let’s go home. Can you wait that long?”
But I’m the one who grows impatient as I wait for him to sign autographs. At first he refused, but I urged him to not disappoint his fans. Now I wait, watching my man being the rock star his destiny intended.
When he breaks free, it doesn’t take long for us to be back in his car and back to my apartment. Our apartment. I smile at the guitar sitting next to the couch.
We’re barely in the door when he’s pulling me to him. “Presley, I…” He looks so nervous it makes me smile as I gaze into his beautiful blue eyes.
I can’t let him worry another moment. “Yes.”
He blows out a long breath and a smile explodes across his face. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“You didn’t even let me ask.”
I laugh. “You didn’t have to. Your face said it all.”
Digging into his pocket, he pulls out a ring. It’s not the other ring, and it surprises me. It delights me. It’s the most stunning thing I’ve ever seen.
“I tossed the other ring in the river after you gave it back to me.”
I gape at him. “You did?”
“Yeah. I knew that, even if I was lucky enough to win you back, I would want everything between us to be fresh and new.”
I think of the baby growing inside me as he slips the emerald cut diamond on my hand. He or she is about as fresh and new as anything can get.
Kace leans down and kisses me, but I don’t deepen the kiss. I have a question of my own.
“I wonder…”
He grins and pulls me to him. “Yes?”
Twisting away, I go to the table and pick up a little box of my own. “I wonder… how the great Kace Rymer feels about this.”
His brow is furrowed as he unwraps the box. He blinks several times as he pulls the pregnancy test out. He looks at me. He looks down at the stick. He looks at me again. “We’re having a baby?”
“Yes.”
Tears fill his eyes, and he falls to his knees, pressing his face to my belly. “Close your eyes, little one. I’m about to do something to your mommy that you should never see.”
And he does.
Kace takes off my clothes like he’s unwrapping the most delicate of presents. Kissing each inch of flesh he exposes, I relish each touch, unable to believe this is happening for us.
As Kace slips inside my body, connecting us in the most primal way possible, I gaze into his eyes as he begins to move. He’s so careful. Too careful, and I tighten my legs around his hips, and force him into me harder.
“More. I need more. I promise I won’t break.”
My ring winks at me as I hold his beautiful face in my hands. He slides in and out of me, harder and deeper with each stroke.
“I love you,” he says as I begin to tighten around him, the overwhelming emotions I’m feeling making everything that much more glorious. My vision goes white and my entire body quivers as I tumble toward the edge of ecstasy.
He follows, growling my name and declarations of his love as he spills into me. When he collapses on me, he pushes back up, a panicked look on his face. His, “Sorry, little guy,” makes me laugh.
Later, as his finger traces a circle on my belly, I pull his face to mine.
“I love you too, Kace. And I’ll prove it to you the rest of my life. Nothing will separate us again. I’ll never stop fighting for us. I promise.”
And I won’t. I’ll believe him. I’ll trust him. And I’ll give him every reason to trust me as well.
He pushes my hair back from my face. “I promise too.”
THE END
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