AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“This building belongs to you,” he says. “And the contractors start next week to turn it into your dream studio.”
My hands fly up to my mouth, my throat thick with emotion. “Malice.”
“Do you like it?” He runs his hands through his hair. “I wanted you to have a way to produce your music without having to rely on TL Records. You were never going to be happy with that duet clause.” He steps closer to me. “Apple, I want to make all your dreams come true.”
Tears fall down my cheeks, but I don’t make a move to swipe them away. Malice and his club have done so much for me in the short time I have known them. I’m overwhelmed and shocked that he would do this too.
“You did this for me?”
He nods. “It’ll be a fully functioning production studio before you know it. And you’ll have the last word on every detail, every piece of equipment… everything. Make this studio the one you’ve always wanted.” He swaggers over to me cupping my face. “I fucking love you.”
My heart swells, and for the first time since I left home after high school, I know I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. Not just for my career, but forme.
“I fucking love you, too.”
One year later…
“It’sa good thing Cece doesn’t believe in superstitions.”
Soul stares at his soon-to-be wife, who’s hanging streamers across the lobby of Stella and Saints Productions. He’s cradling their daughter, Harper, as she sleeps, oblivious to the celebration going on around her. I was worried when Cece gave birth to a girl because my Prez can be a hard man, but he’s a softie at heart, and Harper already has him wrapped around her tiny finger.
“I heard the two of you this morning,” I joke. “Pretty sure the whole ‘groom can’t see the bride before the wedding’ ship sailed the second you fucked her senseless.”
“How the fuck do you kno—”
“You should really consider not having the intercom app on the home screen of your cell,” I deadpan. “Especially if you’re gonna have a quickie with it in your pocket.”
Prez’s eyes widen. “So… everyone heard?”
“Yes,” Jez snaps as she reaches for her niece. “And there are some things that can’t be scrubbed from someone’s fucking brain.” She shudders.
Jez and Soul continue to bicker back and forth, waking Harper, and I take that as my cue to walk away.
I pull my cell out of my pocket to see if I’ve missed any calls. Mark is bringing Apple to the studio under the guise of a work emergency, and I know she’s gonna resist because she’s singing at Soul and Cece’s wedding later today and has enough to do.
But this couldn’t wait.
As I’m looking at my cell, a text comes through.
Mark: Ten minutes out… your wife is pissed
Me: She’ll get over it
When Apple and I quietly married in Vegas, the night of her last show at the Blue Rose, Mark was our witness. He and I have come a long way over the last year, and he’s now prospecting for Saints Purgatory MC, but we still have mountains to climb.
He hasn’t opened up to me about what he went through as a kid, but he will. The fact that we can be in the same room and enjoy one another’s company is a minor miracle in and of itself, and if Apple’s taught me anything, it’s that I’m more patient than I realized.
“They’ll be here in ten,” I call out to the group, and everyone scrambles to finish decorating.
Apple released her first album a few weeks ago, and her songMalicious Intentionshit number one on the Billboard charts so we’re throwing her this little celebration. I’ve also got a surprise for her that’ll knock her socks off, and the closer I get to revealing it, the more excited I become.
When I spot Stella in front of the building, I rush to the door to greet Apple.
“What the hell, Malice?” she snaps after getting out of the passenger seat. “Mark said there was an emergency. What’s the point of having him manage the studio if he can’t handle emergencies?”
“Told ya she was pissed,” Mark quips when he joins us on the sidewalk.
“I’m pissed because I’m singing at the wedding later. What is so dire that it couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”
