“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I’m sorry,” I told him. And I was.
I hated that my brain couldn’t allow me to enjoy a moment like this with him.
“What is it, babe?”
“I can’t get beyond the idea of money and how we’re going to survive over those six months without a steady income. I have some savings, and I’m assuming I’d cancel my lease so I’d be saving by not paying rent. But we won’t have any cash coming in. You said that they don’t even pay for the hotel stays on this tour. It’s your responsibility. How…”
“Babe,” he said. He stopped my incessant rambling by placing a finger against my lips. “I know you’re not used to it, but you won’t have to worry about money. OK?”
“But how? Neither of us will have a real paying job. Didn’t the scout say that each gig you’ll only get like a thousand dollars?”
He caressed my face and kissed the tip of my nose.
“Mare, you forget what type of company I’ve worked for and grown up around. I may not have enjoyed being employed by them, but if my father and PFA taught me anything, it’s how to invest. I have about four million in my portfolio. That doesn’t include some kind of trust my father said is waiting for me when I turn 30.”
Um, well, yeah, that changed things.
“Can I get back to giving you some ideas for your next book?” he asked.
Chase was never flashy about his money. It didn’t surprise me to not know about any of this.
“I can’t wait,” I told him as I pulled his shirt over his head.
His muscled torso was at eye level, and my hands went to it on their own accord. As I ran my fingers along the rippled plane of his abs, he lowered his body over mine. His mouth hovered over mine as our breaths mingled.
Just as he was about to put his lips on mine, he stopped.
“Maryellen,” he whispered against me. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“I love that you trust me with your dreams,” he went on to say. “I can’t wait to see you bring your dreams to life by my side.”
My life was in his hands. And his heart.
I never felt safer.
Epilogue
Maryellen
I held Harper’s and my flowers as she looked into Gage’s eyes and said her vows. I was trying hard to keep a straight face at such a serious part of the ceremony, but Chase kept making silly faces at me from across the man-made altar on the grassy field.
The venue they ultimately chose was a beautiful farm in upstate New York, not too far from the city. And the weather cooperated perfectly with a picture-perfect blue sky.
I made the mistake of glancing across at my boyfriend again, only for him to mouth the wordsyou look fucking hot.
He was making my job as maid of honor difficult, but I played along.
So do you, I mouthed back.
And he did in his black tux. It hugged his body, accentuating all the best parts. And of course, he had that perfect scruff I loved so much.
I studied Harper’s attention to detail, amazed to see how it all came together. From the wisteria flowers that hung from the altar to the lanterns that lit the aisle. She did an amazing job with this wedding.
Gage had helped get me back to the city over the past year to continue with the planning. He would send the company jet to pick me up if Chase and I were too far away to bring me back for appointments with Harper.
