“Yeah, thanks.”
She smirked as she passed me a glass of water with ice.
“You know how much I love you?” I hadn’t said it when I had her pinned against the door, but I needed her to know, without a doubt, because I knew how long and lonely nights apart could get.
She leaned over the island, flashing all kinds of cleavage, before kissing me. “I do.”
Before she could sneak away, I gripped her chin before my thumb and forefinger. “Practice saying those words because I intend to hear them again real soon.”
She smiled. “Is that so? Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself?”
My heart sank. Was she trying to tell me she wasn’t ready to take the next step in our relationship? “I don’t know, am I?’
She shrugged, looking cute and coy, as she pushed off the counter. “I guess only time will tell.”
I grabbed her wrist before she could escape, hauling her back against my chest. I lowered my head, whispering in her ear, “It’s okay, I’m not ready to propose.”
She frowned before tipping her head back to look at me. “You’re not?”
I shook my head. “We’ve got a long way to go, you and me.”
Epilogue
Codie
I felt like Mav had barely been home a week when he had to head back out on the road to open for Tori, but I was trying to be the supportive girlfriend and refrain from whining.
It had been six months since my birthday party, and even though we’d been apart for most of it, our relationship felt solid. And he assured me he was growing more confident in his sobriety every day. He’d even been awarded his one-year chip yesterday, and I’d been in town for his concert, so we’d been able to celebrate his accomplishment properly. With multiple orgasms.
“It’s almost show time.” Amanda squeezed my arm, practically squealing with excitement.
I couldn’t blame her for feeding off the energy of the other concert goers. Mav would be opening in just a few minutes, and with his shocking rise to fame the past two years, fans were almost as excited to see him as they were to see the opening act.
Luc was already talking about Mav headlining his own worldwide tour next year. I was happy for him, but damn, I’d give just about anything for a few months holed up somewhere with my man all to myself.
Lights flashed, fans roared, and my heart raced when Mav finally took the stage. Sometimes, it was still hard to believe this was the same insecure kid I used to know. Now he rocked the stage. Played to the fans. Charmed reporters. Dominated the country charts. And owned my heart.
Amanda fanned her face when he started to speak. “I know I’m not supposed to think this, but your man must be wicked between the sheets.”
I gave her the stink-eye, before turning my attention to Mav, who was firing up the crowd.
“I’m gonna let y’all in on a little secret,” he said into the mic. “I celebrated a milestone yesterday… one year of sobriety!” He pumped his fist in the air when the crowd roared.
I loved that Mav found the courage to shine a spotlight on his alcoholism and talked about it publicly. He said it held him accountable and if it helped other people, who were also battling the bottle, he was all about setting an example of what sobriety could look like.
“But I couldn’t have done this without the love of my life, y’all!” He crooked his finger at me, “Come on up here, beautiful.”
“Oh hell, no,” I muttered, while Amanda giggled and pushed me towards the stage.
People parted for me, applauding, and screaming, while Mav met me at the stairs leading to the stage and offered me his hand.
“I’m going to get even for this later,” I whispered in his ear, making him laugh, as he led me to center stage.
“For those of you who don’t know,thisis Codie.” He raised our joined hands, revealing his tattoo. “I fell in love with this girl when I was a young, dumb teenager, y’all. And I had to let her go because I couldn’t control my addiction.”
I was shocked that he had the nerve to stand on a stage, in front of sixty thousand people and bare his soul. He’d come a long way, and I couldn’t have been prouder of him. People asked me about him, and our relationship, all the time now. And instead of trying to hedge questions, or getting pissed off, I smiled and told them the truth: that life had never been better… for either one of us.
Mav was my person. And I was his. And it only took us sixteen years to admit it.
