“The moment would’ve only been complete if you’d played ‘Shape of My Heart’ on the stereo while you were talking.”
“Would it have worked?” he asked.
“Max. All you ever needed to say to me was, ‘Courtney, come home,’ and I’d have walked through a blizzard to you, even if it meant freezing to death on the way.”
“I’d much rather you live with me than die for me.”
“That goes double for me, idiot!”
“Is that a new endearment? I don’t hate it. Just...stay. Please.”
“I will,” I promised. “I won’t leave you alone here.”
“That’s not what I mean. The hospital doesn’t scare me. Being without you? Yeah. That’s a hell I don’t want to see ever again. I love you so damn much.”
I melted. “Me, too.”
Then I kissed him. Not deeply, since he was right about the breath and the taste, but I felt like I’d die if I didn’t. Afterward, he held me as best he could, and the pleasure was indescribable. I thought I’d never be with Max like this again.
“I hear they’re letting me out tomorrow, barring any complications.”
“Never drop the C word in a hospital.”
“Are you positive you’re okay? With Eli and everything.” His lean face was soft with concern. That expression choked me up; I didn’t think I’d ever see it from Max again.
“Yeah. I held up. I’m stronger than I used to be.” There were all kinds of things to talk about later. After all, we had a future to plan. But for now, I was with the guy I loved.
Max moved his hands slowly down my back, and I felt his breath on my neck. He seemed to be smelling my hair, which sent a shiver through me. “No matter what happens, we’ll be fine.”
And we were.
EPILOGUE
Providence, RISix years later
As I walked past the front desk, the phone rang. “Gone Elijah Records, Margo speaking. How can I help you?”
Hearing that never failed to give me a thrill because it meant I’d actually done it—made my dream come true. I’d talked the name over with Max because I was worried it might bother him, but he understood that it was a gesture for the boy I’d lost, not meant to take anything away from the man I loved.
When I mentioned it, he’d said, “I’d have to be a dick to mind. I mean, I’m here with you. I get to be with you because he’s not.”
Yeah. Still crazy about Max.
Hard to believe sometimes, but the company was doing well. In the beginning, it was a shoestring affair, and I didn’t have half the equipment I needed. I worked out of a basement for a while. After I left the band, Racing Sorrow found a better keyboardist and they were the first group I signed...and last week, their second album was certified gold. Critics compared them to Imagine Dragons and they were on the cover of Billboard last month.
I didn’t waste your money, Granddad.
The receptionist listened for a few seconds and then asked with a silent lift of her brows if I was in. I shook my head. She tucked the phone into the crook of her neck and got a pen to take a message. It was late on Friday afternoon, and I was heading out for a rare weekend off. Usually I’d be in the studio even on Saturday, plus I had a box full of demos to listen to, but Max and I hadn’t taken a vacation in over a year. I was missing the hell out of him, actually, because his job required him to travel sometimes, and he’d been in Phoenix for the past week checking prototypes at a satellite facility.
But he was due home tonight. I was meeting him at the airport, and then we were flying to Myrtle Beach together. Excitement made me skip out of the office and to the parking lot. My gorgeous, cherry-red Opel GT was waiting, exquisitely restored. Max gave it to me instead of a ring the day he proposed. I got the ring later, but the car? I would never, ever part with it.
My phone rang as I was heading for the airport so I put in my earpiece. “This is Courtney, talk to me.”
Max came across the line, a smile evident in his voice. “You know how sexy it is when you’re in shot-caller mode?”
“You could tell me.”
“If I get you too excited, you might end up in a ditch. Are you almost here? We’re boarding in fifteen minutes.”
“I’m at long-term parking. Just let me get my bag...and I’m getting on the shuttle bus right now.”
“Liar, you’re locking the car.”
“You know me too well. I’ll be there soon.”
I found him waiting near the second set of doors, slightly rumpled from the first flight, but also incredibly handsome. None of the travelers passing by knew about the ink hidden beneath his jacket or the scars he’d gotten early in life—or the one he’d taken protecting me.
His lean build hadn’t changed much since college, and he wore suits beautifully. Today, he had on a dark blue pinstripe with a purple tie and charcoal-gray shirt. Very few men could pull off a vest, but he was so damn hot spinning in impatient circles, looking for me, that I couldn’t resist running at him like a defensive tackle. He caught me in his arms and spun me around, then lowered his head for a long, long kiss.
“Mmm. I missed you.” Smiling up at him, I dragged him toward security.
“You have our boarding passes?”
“Of course. Margo’s very efficient.”
“Work going okay?”
“You know it. Indie labels now account for forty percent of the market.” I teased him by producing the same statistic I always quoted when he asked.
“Yeah, yeah. Come on.” He took my hand.
It was a bit of a scramble, and we were among the last to board, but soon we were settled in the first-class cabin, waiting to take off. I asked for champagne while Max got orange juice. With his free hand, he laced our fingers together and gave a tired sigh.
“I wouldn’t do this for anyone but you,” he mumbled. “I’m tired and I want to sleep with you in my own bed.”
“Please. You know you’re dying to see everyone. It’s been, what, two years?”
He thought about it and nodded. “Sounds about right. We got together in Vegas last time.”
These days, Angus had a clinic in Hollywood while Del worked as a corporate attorney in LA. Kia was a trauma surgeon at a hospital in Baltimore while Lauren ran a security company in Toronto; she’d married Nadia’s brother, Rob, who had a syndicated TV show. Of our old crowd, so far Nadia and Ty were the only ones with kids; they had a little girl three years ago and were still in Michigan, though she taught in Ann Arbor, and he’d become an architect.