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“You really got married?”
I nod, holding up my left hand with my titanium wedding band on my ring finger as proof. “I didn’t want to wait. I thought you of all people would understand.”
His mouth turns down, and his eyes get that faraway haunted look that they sometimes get when I know he’s thinking about the first time he met Jolie. “I understand.” He wraps one arm around my shoulders and pulls me in for a hug. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks, man.”
We get the rest of the band and Robbie and Jolie on a conference call where I announce the news to them. They all take it way better than I expected, and Robbie immediately starts planning press releases. Kasen and Miles tease me about being shackled to the “ol’ ball and chain,” but then offer me sincere congrats.
But it’s when Becka comes back to my house with a bunch of her stuff that I finally feel like everything in my life is exactly as it should be.
No longer do I feel lonely or lost. No, Becka found me and saved me and for that I plan to spend the rest of my life proving how grateful I am that no other man realized the gift they had in front of them.
* * *
“So, what do you think of this one?” Becka asks me as we lie in my plush California king bed. I glance at the venue she’s pulled up on her laptop screen as we plan our wedding reception. Her family was happy for us, but her mom wanted a reception as soon as possible so she could celebrate with us properly.
So now we’re trying to plan everything in less than a month. I’ve hired one of the best wedding planners I could find, but there are still a lot more decisions we have to make than I was expecting. Venue, flowers, colors, cake, guest list, sit-down dinner or just appetizers, and the list goes on.
But I’m determined to give Becka her dream wedding reception. After all, she’s already made all of my dreams come true.
“I like it, and it fits all our criteria.”
She smiles, her eyes lighting up as she scans through the slideshow of pictures showing different setups and décor that the venue can provide in-house.
“It’ll hold all our family and friends and cater the dinner. They also have a florist that they work with that is available to do all the flowers, and they just had a cancellation, which means they can fit us in for two weeks from Saturday.”
My gaze traces the lines of her face, watching her light up while she talks, and my heart feels lighter in my chest than I think it’s ever felt.
This is what true happiness feels like.
“Then let’s do it.”
She turns to me, “Are you sure? Is there anything else you want?”
I lean toward her until her lips are just a whisper from mine. “All I want is you. Everything else is just extra.”
EPILOGUE
My leg bounces in my chair while I sit listening to Trent record the same lyrics he’s been recording for the last three hours. My head rests in my hand as I lean my elbow on the arm of the chair and try not to fall asleep. We’ve been working our asses off on this new album, and the long hours and lack of sleep is finally catching up with me.
Ned, our sound tech, stops recording and turns to Decker Cross, the biggest producer in LA and the man who’s about to make this album our best yet. When Robbie told us Decker had shown an interest in working with us, I think we all thought he was fucking with us. Decker only works with Grammy-award-winning and Billboard chart-topping artists. And while we hit one of those milestones, we have yet to get a Grammy.
But that might all change with Decker in our corner.
I thought we’d made it big before, but we’ve reached another level if we’re working with the elite of the LA music scene. It’s a humbling experience.
If only I was getting better sleep and could actually keep my damn eyes open today, then it would be even better.
Turning to Robbie, I whisper, “Dude, I gotta get some caffeine in me or I’m gonna fade fast.”
He glances at Ned and Decker discussing the vocals. “There’s a coffee shop halfway down the block.” He hands me a ten-dollar bill and says, “Be back in twenty minutes, or I can’t guarantee that Decker won’t try to replace you.”
I think he’s only half kidding.
But I can barely keep my eyes open, and we’re not even halfway through this session, so I snatch the ten from his hand and make my escape. The walk is fairly quick, and the fresh air helps wake me up a bit. But then the aroma of coffee beans hits my nose the second I walk in the door, and it’s like I can already feel the caffeine jolt.
Whoever invented coffee is my god. It’s the life-sustaining force that keeps me going when we have long recording sessions like we’ve currently been doing. Making my way to the counter, I stand behind a woman with light brown hair wearing a black tank top and purple skinny jeans. But it’s not her outfit that catches my attention, but the tattoos on her shoulder and upper arm. She places her order, and it’s her voice that hits me next. The melodic rhythm of the way she talks makes me want to listen to her for hours.
