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And now he had it all.
Epilogue
Cassie put down her latest notebook and watched Zac laughing with Tex and Noah. Connor was at the other end of the living room, FaceTiming Lexie and little Amelia, now six months old and the spitting image of her beautiful mom.
The rest of them had already said hello to mother and baby and spent far too long trying to make Amelia laugh. There was nothing quite like seeing three hulking rock stars trying to outdo each other pulling funny faces for the benefit of a very unimpressed baby. But it had been nice to see her and Lexie after being on the road for three weeks.
It hadn’t been three weeks for Connor, of course. He’d flown back home twice on the record label jet to see his family, and he called them every day. Sometimes more than once. It was lovely to see how smitten he was. She hadn’t known him before he’d met Lexie, but Zac had told her about the lead singer’s difficult youth and how meeting Lexie and marrying her had made such a difference to him.
Cassie’s eyes went to Tex. There was another man who was looking forward to a big change. Eden had announced her pregnancy and engagement not long after Lexie’s baby shower. The big, long-haired, tattooed guitarist had almost looked like he was going to shed tears of joy when they’d announced the news to everyone. Cassie couldn’t have been happier for them both.
And in a few short weeks, Summer and Noah were getting married. The two high school sweethearts were so blissfully excited, it was beautiful to see. Noah was bouncing off the walls even more than normal, while Summer seemed to be compensating by becoming almost Zen-like in her calmness. It might be because this would be her second marriage. But Cassie was inclined to think it had more to do with the deep happiness that glowed like the sun from Summer’s eyes every time she looked at her husband-to-be. There was no fear or uncertainty in her at all. And no one who saw them together could doubt they were meant to be.
Cassie let out a deep sigh of contentment. Being able to go on the road with Zac and the others was amazing. Now that she was doing her songwriting full-time, she could mostly do that whenever she wanted. She only had to stay home occasionally, if she was needed in the recording studio. Over the past nine months, Talia had bought the recording rights to three more of Cassie’s songs, and the two of them had become friends. In fact, once they got back from this mini East Coast tour, she and Talia were going to try writing an entire album together.
And Zac… A smile spread across Cassie’s face as her eyes found him again. Being with Zac was incredible. She counted her blessings every single day that he’d been in that hallway at exactly the right time for her to run into.
Cassie’s heart filled with love as she watched him. He was both the same and different from the man she used to sit here with all those months ago. He seemed lighter somehow, unencumbered by the weight of his past. With Fractured taking longer breaks between touring and recording, he could work with Crossfire without the pressure he’d been putting on all of them before. He was having fun with it. And she loved seeing his happiness. She loved being a part of it.
Connor finally said goodbye to his wife and daughter, then stood and stretched. “Hitting the sack,” he said as he strolled toward the sleeping area.
“Yeah, right behind you,” said Tex, and Noah nodded in agreement.
Zac caught her gaze. “I’m not tired yet. Fancy staying up for a while for old times’ sake? I’ve been working on a song I’d like to get your thoughts on.”
Cassie nodded and gave him a smile. She was a little tired, but not enough to say no to some one-on-one time with him. She didn’t think she’d ever be that tired. Memories of what they’d done together on this bus during their first tour flitted through her mind and she pressed her thighs together. Since Lexie and Connor weren’t using the rear bedroom this time, she and Zac had commandeered it. But the thought of reenacting what they’d done out in the living room previously was particularly appealing.
Once everyone had cleared out, he ushered her over to where he was sitting at the kitchen table. She walked toward him with a seductive swing of her hips and bit her lip as his eyes flared brightly.
She considered dropping to her knees when she reached him, but he didn’t give her the chance. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down on his lap. She let out a laugh, which ended abruptly when his mouth landed on hers. As always, she lost herself in the taste and feel of him. She reached her hands up under his T-shirt, but when she tried to tug it up, he pulled back.
“I really do have a song I want you to look at,” he said.
A little surprised, she blew out a breath and tried to refocus on his words. “Sorry. Being with you like this brings back a lot of memories.”
“Me too, angel. And we’ll definitely get to that.” He drifted his lips down her neck and she shivered. “But first, what do you think of this?”
From somewhere next to him, he pulled out another notebook and placed it on the table, opening it to near the back.
Her eyebrows shot up. It was her old notebook. The one she’d left with him when she’d walked out. He’d hung on to it, telling her he wanted it as a souvenir of how they’d first gotten together. At the time, she’d thought it was touchingly sentimental on his part. But apparently, he’d been carrying it around and writing in it himself.
She quirked a brow at him, but he just smiled and drew her attention to the book by tapping his finger on the page. She looked down at the lyrics written in his neat handwriting and started reading.
Cassie smiled. The words were beautiful. The lyrics spoke about the transformative power of love and how fate can bring two lost souls together when they least expect it. She could hear in her head how the words would sound set to music as her eyes ran over them.
“Zac, this is beautiful.” She twisted toward him and linked her arms behind his neck. “What was your inspiration?” She gave him a coy smile.
He grinned back. “It just came to me.”
“Hmm, okay. Who’s going to sing it, then?”
He shrugged. “Haven’t thought that far ahead.”
Cassie cocked her head to the side, wondering why he was being so evasive, considering he’d been so keen to get her thoughts. “Do you at least have a name for it?”
“That’s the one thing I’m sure of,” he said.
She waited for a few seconds, then let out a little laugh. “Okay. What’s it called?”
