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I blink and find my voice. “What are you doing here?”
“Came to hear you sing.” She offers me a shy smile that has my heart racing.
I shake my head. “Why? What about Dasher Valley and the Dash?”
“Dasher Valley’ll be there when I get back.” She shrugs. “I had some things I wanted to say to you, and I didn’t want to wait.”
I nod and take a step toward her.
She walks my way. “First of all, I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apo—”
“No, wait.” She cracks a grin, talking over me. “Me first, please.”
“Okay.” I reach for her hand, the need to touch her overwhelming me.
“I’ve been selfish and my priorities have been all wrong—for, like, the last five years. I never should have made you choose between a career in music and me. I should have been looking for a way to make both work. I got so in my head about my parents and the way they handled their lives in the spotlight that I was blinded by their mistakes and the tragedy surrounding their deaths. But that wasn’t fair to you. You’re not them.”
She squeezes my hand and looks at our intertwined fingers and then up into my eyes.
“I realized after you left that I don’t want you to leave and not know when I’m going to see you again.” She sucks in a breath and continues. “I don’t want you to go and not know if you’re going to call me. I want to be the first one you call. I want to know your schedule and work around it and with it.
“I’ve been searching for a home my whole life, and I failed to realize that I’ve already found it. My home is you. It’s where you are. At least, that’s where I want it to be.”
My heart is hammering so hard, I’m afraid it’s going to drill itself right out of my chest. I reach up and cup her cheeks, savoring the feel of her hair between my fingers. Her eyelids flutter closed behind her glasses. I wait until she blinks them open.
“Thanks for being here for me.” I stroke her cheek with the inside of my thumb. “I wrote a song for you.”
She smiles. “Heard it. Loved it.”
“I said a lot of things in it, but there’s something I left out.”
“Oh yeah?” She arches her brows. “What’s that?”
“I love you, Beth Collins.”
She sucks in a deep breath and blows it out. She blinks and smiles the softest, most delicious smile up at me. “I love you, Gabe McKenzie.”
We’re standing close, the two of us amid the swarm of venue workers bustling back and forth. The beat of my heart sounds like love, love, love in my ears. I stand very still, and slowly, Beth reaches up and runs her fingers along my jawline. She takes her time, eyes locked on mine as she rises up on her tiptoes again and raises her chin, pressing her lips to mine.
The kiss stirs something deep in my soul. Something that I buried five years ago when Beth didn’t answer my calls and texts. Something I’ve only tapped into when I’m writing a song for her. A deep feeling of being known and seen. She knows me. She wants me. She’s choosing this.
I let her lead. She runs her hands over my cheeks, down onto my shoulders, and over my arms. She grabs for my hands and squeezes them, bringing them up to her hips and placing them there, stepping closer to my chest. I wrap her into me, dizzy at the vanilla-and-ginger scent of her and the way she fits so dang perfectly right here, in my arms.
Chapter 34
Beth
This.
This is what I’ve been missing out on for the last five years? Gabe and me. Me and Gabe. Kisses like this. It’s magic, being in his arms. It’s safe and warm and familiar and new. I want to stay here forever. I’m home.
I can tell he’s holding back, letting me set the pace. I both love him for it and want him to drag me to his dressing room and kiss me until I’m seeing stars.
The way Gabe holds me close makes me feel like I can take a breath and just be. I don’t remember the last time I wasn’t pushing myself, or feeling pushed by others, to do more and think bigger. Something about Gabe makes me feel settled. Content.
He eases me away but keeps a firm hold on my waist. He gazes at me for a beat, and the smile that breaks over Gabe’s face is like the sun has risen on my darkest night. I can’t help but smile back.
