Love Hard (Anything But Mine Book 2)
Page 36
He closed his eyes and began to sing the opening chorus again, this time without accompaniment of his guitar, so he could continue to hold Meg’s hand.
The world stopped turning when I met you
For just a moment I was lost in time
I knew right then that I had to have you
I knew right then I had to make you mine.
As he finished the last line of the chorus, he felt a slight movement in his hand and his eyes flew open. “Meg?” He closed his hand over hers, and felt her move again. “Meg, baby?”
Her eyes fluttered, and her voice was weak, but she managed to get one word out. “Sky?”
EPILOGUE
Meg climbed the stairs from the basement after finishing her physical therapy session in the log cabin’s home gym. In the year after the shooting, she had regained most of her fine motor skills and range of motion in her arm, although she continued to suffer from occasional migraines as a result of her head injury.
When she reached the top of the stairs, she stopped and took in the chaotic scene. Quint was running around the living room in just a diaper while their au pair, Ruby, tried to catch him, and Sky was giving a bottle to their three month old daughter Daisy. I’ve got to be the luckiest girl on the face of this earth, she thought, as she caught the eye of her husband and grinned.
Meg closed and latched the basement door. She approached Sky, leaned in and gave him a deep kiss on the lips. “I can finish feeding her, if you want,” she offered.
“Nope. I’ve got it,” he replied. “Just make yourself a cup of coffee, and relax. Or, better yet,” he said, dropping his voice. “You can go and change into something more comfortable, and I’ll meet you in the bedroom for a ‘nap’.”
Her breath was hot as she nibbled on his ear. “Oh yeah, I’ve got a craving for…I don’t know…maybe a luau?”
“Don’t you know it’s dangerous to get me all turned on while I’m holding our daughter?”
Meg held her hands up in mock surrender. “Okay, I give up. I’ll stop.”
“Oh, baby, don’t you dare stop,” he teased. He called out, “Ruby? Can you put Quint in his play yard, and take over feeding Daisy? Meg and I need a little alone time.”
He dragged Meg into their bedroom, and began peeling off his clothes. He watched while she undressed, before scooping her up and laying her down on the bed. “I like this,” he said. “It’s so different with us this time around,” he said, as his mouth began to make its way from her neck to her breasts.
“Sure is,” Meg said, breathless with desire. “I’m keeping in mind some advice my aunt gave me right after the whole Larissa thing.”
Sky picked his head up and looked Meg in the eyes. “What’s that?”
“While it’s important to be a mother, it’s just as important to be a wife.”
His eyes grew wide. “That’s good advice. Let me share something I’ve been trying to keep in mind,” he said, as he teased her nipples with his tongue.
“Mmm?”
“My brilliant wife taught me that while it’s important to work hard and play hard, it’s even more important to love hard. And right now I’m gonna show you just how hard I can love you.”
She wrapped her legs around his waist, looked him in the eyes, and grinned. “Can’t wait.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Love Hard would never have come to fruition without the love and support of my husband, mother, sister Andrea, sister-in-law Joanne, dear friends Pat and Laura, and editor Eliza. I appreciate your constructive criticism and honest feedback more than you know.
I’m particularly grateful to the wonderful people of the city of Nashville, who made my research trip there fun and enjoyable. My sister, who is also a country music fan, accompanied me on the trip, and we were both impressed with all that there was to do and see. From the cab drivers who drove us around neighborhoods and answered all our questions, to the terrific staff at Kayne Prime who served up a nice tour of the restaurant in addition to one of the best steak dinners I’ve ever had, each person we came into contact with was beyond gracious and helpful. We’ll definitely be back!
Contemporary country music was the main source of inspiration for this novel. As I do with each of my stories, I created a playlist for Love Hard, which I’ve included here (it’s also on my Spotify account). I’ll never forget the first time I met the guys of Florida Georgia Line backstage at one of their concerts. When I got home that night, I stayed up until two o’clock in the morning writing the outline for Love Hard. Songs by artists Chase Rice, FGL, Green River Ordinance, and Luke Bryan inspired many of the scenes, and I’m grateful to each of them for helping conjure up images in my head that made their way into this book. Special thanks to Chase Rice, who was a gentleman and generous with his time when I was able to go backstage to meet him after a show in October 2016. Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention two blogs I read regularly – Womanista and The Vogue Trip – for some background information on life in Nashville and what it’s like to be the wife of a country music superstar.
Finally, thank you to all of you, my wonderful readers, who inspire me to keep writing. I appreciate each and every one of you!
PLAYLIST
For each book I write, I create a playlist. Music is such a strong source of inspiration for me, and many of the songs on the Love Hard playlist inspired actual scenes in the book. This playlist is up on my Spotify account but – spoiler alert – playing the songs in the order listed reveals the story of Sky and Meg.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Barbara Justice was born in New York City, was raised both in the city and in the Hamptons, and continues to call both places home. She has degrees in both communications/journalism and law, and in addition to writing, she is an amateur chef, knitter and jewelry maker.
The Hamptons, and the small businesses that thrive there, serve as a source of inspiration for her. She strongly believes in supporting Hamptons businesses by “eating local” and “drinking local”, and supports the farmers, the Peconic Land Trust, and the Long Island Farm Bureau in their efforts to preserve the environment and open space on the east end of Long Island.
Music is also a strong source of inspiration, and her taste in music runs from classic rock to new country, and just about everything in between. Visit her website, www.barbarajusticebooks.com, for links to her social media and to her Spotify account for the Love Hard and Anything But Mine playlists.