She nodded. “The good, the bad, the frustrating. I want it all. I don’t want to leave you on this island alone anymore. I want to save you from it.”
Jameson closed his eyes, a quiet sound escaping him. Those were words he’d ached to hear since the moment she’d walked back into his life.
Beautiful. Fearless. His.
“The day I walked into your studio,” he said, voice rough, “and saw you standing there with that stunned scowl, that’s the day my heart started beating again. And the day I met Amelia, it nearly exploded. You’ve already saved me, Daisy. I love you. I never stopped loving you.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes. “I love you, too, Jameson. Always.”
She leaned in, pressing her lips to his. His breath hitched, then deepened into a groan as he pulled her into his lap, straddling him. His hands found her waist, her shoulders, then the back of her neck, like he needed to relearn every inch.
He kissed her everywhere. On her cheeks, her jaw, her lips, committing her back to memory. When his hands slipped to the tie of her robe, she let it fall from her shoulders.
He trailed kisses down her neck, fingers soft with reverence as he undressed himself. When they were bare beneath the dim light, he hovered above her, brushing his thumb over her cheek.
“Just to be sure,” he murmured, his mouth curling, “no wine impairing your judgment?”
She laughed, breathless. “No. The wine’s long gone.”
“No romantic, soul-blistering music dedicated to you tonight?”
She smiled, catching on. “None that I recall.”
“No nostalgic art piece dug up from the grave?”
She reached up, touching his lips gently. “It’s just you, Jameson. Only you.”
And then he kissed her, slowly and deeply, like coming home.
The world fell away.
Their lovemaking wasn’t hurried; it was a tender promise.
A beginning.
Epilogue
Four Years Later
DAISY KNEW THE SILENCE WOULDN’Tlast long. Any minute now, her peace would be broken by the two people who lit up her whole world. Still, before the chaos returned, she wanted one final moment alone with the place she’d called home for nearly a decade.
The apartment echoed now. The walls were bare, the floors were empty, and her artwork was gone. Without the furniture, the tiny space somehow seemed bigger. Why was she letting it go again?
Oh, right—because it had basically become a storage unit ever since she and Amelia moved in with Jameson almost four years ago.
Has it really been that long?
It felt like yesterday. The night Daisy and Jameson had finally sealed their fate. She remembered waking up the next morning, tiptoeing back to her room after spending the night with himin the recording room. He’d left early for the venue, and she’d been buzzing with energy, eager to see him in his element again, performing for the world.
When she arrived at Wembley Stadium, she’d watched from the wings as The Kings Court played to a sea of ninety thousand fans, closing out a benefit concert people still called one of the best in history.
They’d decided to stay in England a little longer, mapping out their future and telling Amelia what she already knew in her heart.
For the next year, they split time between his Hillsborough home and her San Francisco apartment. Amelia had school, friends, and a life Daisy didn’t want to upend. So they made it work. Then came TKC’s world tour—22 months, 5 continents, 151 shows, 55 cities. And Daisy and Amelia were there for all of it.
Was it ideal? Not really. But was it worth it? Absolutely!
The final show of the tour brought them home to the Bay, the place where it all began. Family and friends filled the crowd: Sean and his wife, their parents, Anna, their entire tribe. As the last song played, one of many Jameson had written for her, he pulled Daisy on stage, handed the mic to Lenny, and dropped to one knee.
