He nods, cutting a look to Matty and shaking his head before looking back at Avery. “I’ll see you in March, then?”
My heart clenches at the way Avery’s face lights up. “Yeah, the fourth.”
“Seven o’clock. We’ll have to get lunch before.”
“I would love that.”
“Me too, honey,” he says, kissing her cheek before shaking my hand. “I’ll be in touch.”
When he’s gone, I look at Avery. “You aren’t going to tell them about Matty?”
She shakes her head. “Why? You know?”
I give her a look. “Because he’s a dick and he fucking deserves it.”
But she just smiles, her hands resting against my chest. “Yeah, but that will make me just as bad as he is, and I don’t want that. I’m to
o happy for that. He’s the one suffering. Not me. I’m blissfully in love with you, having a beautiful baby, and I’m me. Just me. You know?”
Falling for her once more, I smile, leaning my nose to hers. It’s crazy how I fall for her every single fucking day. It’s insane. But then, it’s supposed to be like this, I think. That’s what keeps loving marriages working. The man falling and the woman catching. And vice versa. Because as I lean my head into hers, my hand coming to rest on our child, she holds me, her eyes full of so much love that I’m breathless.
But still, even breathless and feeling like I’ve done twenty-seven overtimes, I whisper, “Yeah, baby, I got you.”
“Like always.”
I nod. “No, like forever.”
As the lights dim and the applause fades to silence, I move my hands down the strings of my guitar and I look out into the crowd.
The first person I see is him.
My biggest fan.
Jace.
Front row.
Center.
The biggest grin imaginable on his beautiful face.
Around him are our families. His mom, Lucy, Angie, Jayden, and Baylor. On the other side is my family, my mom and dad with Laurence. Seth wanted to come, but he had a game, like Jude, and couldn’t make it in. He made me promise that I’ll post a video on Facebook, and I still can’t believe how much has changed in the last three months. Not only has our little girl grown and is crazy active in my belly, but my relationship with my family has grown. I don’t talk to Laurence and Seth like Jace does with his family, but we talk, and that’s enough for me.
We have had years of silence between us, and we have to learn each other again. That’s fine. I’ve forgiven them all, even Matty. I know, crazy, but I couldn’t move on until I did. I needed that closure. But we don’t talk, at all, and he still hasn’t come out. I really don’t think he ever will, but that’s his problem, not mine. Me, I’m happy. And when he decides to do that, maybe we can try to have a relationship. But I’m not holding my breath, nor am I craving his love and attention.
Why do I need to when I have all these people loving me and cheering me on?
Grinning, I look down at my set list and realize I’ve got one more song. I want to say I’m nervous, but I’m not. I’m excited, ready, and all because of Jace. He’s been talking me up since the beginning of week—hell, since we knew about the showcase—and I really do believe that is the reason I’m not curled up in a ball crying. All because of his love and support, something I know I’ll have forever. Going to the mic, I look out into the audience once more, seeing that Stu is sitting at the back with lots of guys in suits, all of them with their eyes intently on me. He has been so encouraging, so great the last few months. I know that without his help my songs wouldn’t be what they are. I’m singing nothing but originals tonight, eight songs that he and I wrote together, plus one all my own. I owe him a lot, but as my gaze falls on to Jace, I know I owe everything to that incredible man.
My whole existence.
Because he changed me. I’m better because of him. I’m whole because of him.
As he holds my gaze, I say into the mic, “This is my last song.”
“What? Seriously?” Jace exclaims and I have to hold back my laughter as I shake my head, immediately taken back to the first time he watched me do a gig.
Smiling so big my face hurts, I say, “Much to my husband’s dismay, it is. But I want to thank everyone for taking the time to listen to me. I hope to work with some or all of you in my future. And well, let’s go out with a bang, yeah?” I ask, for which I’m rewarded with a round of applause. As I meet Jace’s intense, laughter-filled gaze, I smile. “When I wrote this song, I didn’t want it to be about this guy, but it was. He inspired it. Like he inspires everything in my life. Love like ours doesn’t come around often, and this song is the heartbeat of our love. So, Jace, this song is for you. I love you.”