Your Echo (Sherbrooke Station Book 2)
Page 22
Ace’s voice starts chanting the first verse of ‘The Raven’ in an eerie tone before a few wailing guitar notes echo and the song begins. The woman lifts her head and my own face looks back at me. I watch myself start to dance up on the screen.
I wanted to turn Ace down when he asked me to choreograph the video, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. We held auditions to find someone else to actually dance the routine, but the video’s director eventually insisted that no one could do it better than me, and I gave in to all the pleading. The video is very low budget compared to the huge project Atlas Records arranged for. The simplicity suits the song though, and even though it’s me I’m watching, I find myself getting caught up in the delicate interplay between music and motion.
When the last notes have faded and the crowd is on their feet, cheering so loud the sound rings in my ears, Shayla appears beside us again and motions for the guys to follow her up to the front. Roxanne and Kay stay seated. I follow their queue, but Shayla shakes her head and pulls on my arm.
On stage, the spotlights are so blinding I can hardly make out the faces in the audience. Shayla stands beside me on one side, the microphone back in her hand, and Ace flanks me on the other.
“Ladies and gentleman, Sherbrooke Station!” she shouts.
The guys take an awkward bow. I swear I hear Matt hiss at JP to keep his shirt on.
“And our incredible dancer, Stéphanie Cloutier-Hébert!”
My performer instincts kick in, and I make a small curtsy to deafening applause. What my instincts don’t prepare me for is the moment Ace sweeps me into his arms and kisses me hard, in full view of the entire room. I stand there, too stunned to even kiss him back. He pulls away slightly and cups my face with one hand.
“Too much?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I just have something to tell you.”
He stares at me expectantly. I lean closer and whisper directly into his ear.
“I’m not wearing any panties right now.”
Ace clicks the light off at just past two in the morning. The sheets are sweaty and my dress is still lying rumpled on the floor, but I can’t bring myself to move any farther than the few inches that separate Ace’s body from mine on the bed.
He drapes an arm over me and sets himself up to be the big spoon. I feel his cock twitch when my ass presses against him, but we’re both too tired and too sated to go for another round.
“That was a good night,” I say sleepily.
“Very good,” he agrees with a yawn. “You mesmerized everyone.”
“The only person I care about mesmerizing is you.”
He strokes the curve of my hip. “Mission accomplished.”
I’m halfway to sleep when I find myself mumbling, “Do you love me?”
Ace chuckles, clearly more awake than I am. His fingers keep tracing lazy circles over my hip and stomach.
“You don’t have to ask. You already know. You’re my paper lantern. I’ve never loved you more than I do right now,” he murmurs. “Do you love me?”
His body curves in the most perfect way around mine, like a yin and yang sign—two halves divided to form a whole. His quiet breathing matches mine.
“Stéphanie?” he repeats. “Do you love me?”
“Tellement,” I sigh. “So much.”
Save An Indie
Thank you SO much for picking up a copy of Your Echo! It means the world to me to have you as a reader.
Fun Fact: Your Echo is an indie book, meaning it was published independently by the author. Indie publishing is an awesome thing that allows more writers to get their work out into the world and more readers to find the kind of books they love.
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-Katia
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, my thanks goes to you, the reader. Four books into my writing career, and it still fills me with complete and utter awe to know that there are readers out there willing to take a shot on an indie author and devote some of their precious reading time to a few rock stars from Montreal. It’s an absolute honour to provide you with stories that I hope make your day just a little bit brighter. Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting my words be a part of your world.
As always, I am ETERNALLY INDEBTED to the bloggers and ARC readers who made the release process for this novel approximately 1000000000000000000x better than I ever could have on my own. The support and encouragement you all so generously share with not only me, but the entire romance community, is an overwhelmingly beautiful gift, and I hope you can understand even a fraction of what you mean to the authors you work with. Thank you for making the indie romance world go round.
I had the absolute pleasure of working with yet another set of amazing and talented beta readers while getting the manuscript into shape:
Lisa- Thank you for all your attentive answers to my questions and for your lightening fast turnaround. You’re a beta reading speed queen, and I appreciate all your insights on the story so much. Thanks a million!
Nicole- Writing the second book in a series for the first time was nerve wracking in more ways than one. Your encouragement and assurances that it lived up to Your Rhythm, along with your suggestions for making the story even better, were SO helpful and appreciated!
Kristin- Your typo catching was lifesaver, and your input went above and beyond in helping me get the pacing and scene-setting just right. It was a treat to read your story and get to meet your characters in return. All the best for the Deadwood gang!
Jen- Ahhhh, where do I even begin? The commitment you brought to making this story the best it could be left me extremely grateful and humbled. The depth and detail of your commentary and suggestions helped me to see this book in a new light, and to make it so much stronger. I’m also thankful for the chance to read your story in return. I think Michael and Scott are still my favourites, ha ha.
Nina- NINAAAAAA. MY GIRLLLLL. Your feedback was the highlight of my day every time it arrived, and your excitement and enthusiasm over this book and these characters boosted my own whenever it was failing. You have helped strengthen this book so much, and I am BEYOND STOKED to see where your own writing takes you.
Cat- Dude, you da real MVP. Seriously, I hope some more people from Montreal get to read this book, because your accuracy and attention to detail need to be properly appreciated! Thank you for having my Anglophone back all the time and for devoting so much time and enthusiasm to this story. Your support means the world to me and I feel SO lucky that we found each other!
Additional thanks to Eva (look, you’re in the acknowledgements again!) for the many moons of friendship we have shared, and for introducing me to that Jenn Grant song.
Finally, to my doofus. What the hell would I be without you?
About the Author
Katia Rose is not much of a Pina Colada person, but she does like getting caught in the rain. She prefers her romance served steamy with a side of smart, and is a sucker for quirky characters. A habit of jetting off to distant countries means she’s rarely in one place for very long, but she calls the frigid northland that is Canada home.
www.katiarose.com
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Also by Katia Rose
Your Rhythm
Thigh Highs
Latte Girl