by Karen Booth
"And that's what I adore about you." I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "No worries. You'll get it."
"Let's try this again," Liam said. "Action!"
This time, Angie was unguarded. She didn't merely flip through my hair, she dug her fingers in at my nape, clutching the back of my neck. It made it hard to focus on my job, especially the part where I remembered the lyrics. She huffed hot air against my ear, rubbing her leg against mine, making me wonder if she was going to climb me like a tree. I could definitely be up for that.
When the song got to the slower instrumental part, she ran a finger along my jaw and I followed her cue, which meant following her hand. Our gazes locked on each other. I went back to faking my way through the lyrics, her impossibly blue eyes searching for answers, or at least that was what I wanted to believe. All I could hope to convey with that single look was that there might not be answers to everything right now, but we could find them together.
The song came to an end and Liam lunged out from behind the camera. "Yes! Yes! That's exactly what I wanted. I loved the intensity, Angie and Graham. You two are naturals at this."
A flush of red again colored her cheeks, which made me lose all sense of time and place. "My mum will be so proud."
"That really was great," Liam said. "Since it's so late in the afternoon, we're going to set up for the shots back in the alley. It's time we capture a kiss."
Chapter Sixteen
Angie
"Talk to me, Ang," Chris said, knocking back a beer as he perched in one of the director's chairs. "What in the hell is going on with you and Graham? For the record, he's driving us all barmy."
I glanced over at Graham, who was arguing with Liam. "That thing this morning at the hotel was wretched. I'm still reeling from that."
"I understand, but you know that Graham would never wish for something like that to happen. And not because he was worried about getting found out. He simply wouldn't want you to get hurt." Chris ran his hand through his unbelievable hair. Somewhere in the world was an incredibly lucky girl who had no idea what was in store for her with Christopher Penman. "Graham's not capable of being anything but entirely truthful."
"Yes. I know." I did know that, with every fiber of my being. He'd never lied to me. Not once. "So I guess it's just my job to get over all of this?" I waved my hand in the air. "I'm just supposed to live with the whole rock star thing?"
"If you want Graham, for now, then yes." He leaned forward and rested his hand on my knee. "I can guarantee you one thing. Your life will never be dull. And remember, this could all be gone in a month or a year. Don't base your future around something that might very well be temporary. There will come a day when nobody cares about Banks Forest. Screaming girls and limos are not lasting things. But true love is."
I found it nearly impossible to breathe. Holy shit. Chris was right. He was really fucking right. I’d been so focused on the things I didn't want to deal with that I hadn’t realized they weren’t permanent. I’d been treating the realities of Graham’s career like they were a life sentence. I would miss out on the most amazing man I'd ever met, just because I was faulting him for pursuing his dreams and ways that might make life crazy. Crazy could also be wonderful if I'd just relax and stop trying to plan every damn thing.
The truth was that I didn’t know what the future held. Nobody did. Somebody you love falls ill, you get a dream job, you find a way to forgive someone who’s hurt you. The future was going to be anything but what I expected, and it would mean nothing if I didn’t have the only man I’d ever loved along for the ride. If I didn’t have Graham.
"Alright everyone," Liam shouted. "We're ready to start out in the alleyway. Graham and Angie are up first, but I want Chris and Gigi out there as well so they can see where we're going with all of this."
Chris hopped out of his seat. "Great. I can't wait to kiss Gigi so Terence can be pissed off at me forever." He pulled me into a hug. "I know you'll do the right thing. Together or apart, I just want you two to be happy."
The alley was no different than any you might find in London—brick walls, rubbish bins with dodgy smells, and car horns in the distance, not the place for a proper kiss or for love to bloom, for that matter. In fact, for Graham and I, it was more like the place that love had fallen apart, like the alley back in Liverpool. That night belonged where it was—in the past. Today, we could write a new history. This alley story would end with a kiss. And Graham would hopefully know how I felt after it was done.
Thunder boomed overhead and Liam looked skyward. "Now, Angie. You're a photographer. The light is perfect right now and it's going to be gone in a few minutes if we don't get this shot. Especially if this storm rolls in. I need you to get this right on the first take. I need you to listen to me." He turned to me and gripped my shoulders as if he was going to shake these directions into me. "I want you to think to yourself, this man is the love of my life and I might lose him forever if this isn't the best kiss ever."
Lose him forever. Not if I could help it. I nodded eagerly. "I've got it. I'm ready."
"Action!"
I peered into Graham's warm eyes, setting aside every stupid thing in my head, the things that weren't going to go away. Chris was right. That stuff was temporary. All that mattered was the man standing before me and I wanted him—I loved him—more than my brain would ever fully understand, but my heart knew the reasons and that was enough.
Resting my forearms on his shoulders, I rose to my tiptoes and raked my fingers into his hair. His arms wrapped around my waist. My eyes fluttered shut. We fell into a kiss as if we weren't meant for anything but exactly that, breathing be damned. My insides were turning to a quivering, melty mess. Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes. After everything, after the ridiculous things I'd been willing to let stand in our way, he wanted to kiss me back. He didn't hesitate. He wanted me, too.
"Cut!" Liam shouted.
Breathless, I reluctantly cut myself loose from the kiss, only to see tiny raindrops land on Graham's nose. "It's starting to rain," I muttered.
One of the production assistants frantically threw a jacket over the camera. "Everyone inside!"
I scanned Graham's face, wanting nothing more than to sink back into that kiss. From everything in his eyes, I could see that was all she wanted, too.
"Back inside?" Graham asked.
I shook my head, not letting go of him. I wasn't about to let him go. We were going to rewrite the memory of the night when everything went wrong, dammit. That could be enough to let us move forward. Not because I wanted to give him a free pass. It was because I wanted to forgive him, once and for all. "No. I don't want to go back inside. I want to be out here. In the rain. With you."
The production assistant ran up to us. "You have to get inside now. Your makeup will be ruined. Your hair, too." He frantically hopped from foot to foot, his arms wrapped around his waist.
Graham didn't move, thank God. He kept his eyes glued to me. "Tell Liam and Reggie that we're done for the day. I've had enough. I'm bloody exhausted and so is the rest of the band."
"But we have an entire day of shots to finish tomorrow."
"Precisely. An entire day." A thick lock of Graham's hair fell down onto his forehead in a twist, dripping water down his cheek. "Now sod off so I can kiss her without a blooming camera on us."
I smiled so wide that rain water dripped into my mouth. "Yeah. We need a kiss with no cameras."
The production assistant grunted in frustration and left us. Alone. In the alley. The rain was getting heavier, the wind picking up.
I peppered his face with kisses, warm rainwater coating his face, my lips, our hair. "I love you, Graham. That's all there is to it. I love you and I don't want to lose you."
"You're sure?" He kissed my nose, clutching the back of my head. "Things haven't changed since our conversation this morning. My life is insane."
"I know. And we'll have to learn to compromise. I'll have to come see the band on weekends o
r try to coordinate out of town assignments. Anything. I just want us to be together. It's the only thing that makes any sense."
"Finally, you see things my way." He smiled, his eyes gleaming through the rain.
"You know, I think the reason I had such a hard time getting over you was because I didn't want to. Deep down in my heart, I didn't want to get over you. I wanted us to figure out a way through this. But that seemed so impossible. Now I realize that the obstacles don't have to be problems if we decide that they aren't."
He clasped his hands on both sides of my head and kissed me so hard I thought I saw stars. "You have just made me the happiest man on earth."
"Good. Now let's go to the hotel and fall into bed and order room service."
"Sounds bloody perfect to me. Let me go tell Reg we're ready to go." He reached for the warehouse door, but I stopped him with my hand.
"No. Graham. Let's walk." I looked up at the sky and let the drops ruin my aqua eyeshadow. I was beyond caring at this point. I was too giddy in love.
"In the rain?"
I smiled. "Yes. It's not that far."
"We could buy umbrellas, I suppose."
"Bloody hell, Graham. I'm trying to have fun. We're not buying blooming umbrellas. You and I are walking to the hotel and we're going to get soaked and we're not going to care about anything other than just being together, the two of us. Nobody else."
The look on his face said he was already on board with my ridiculous idea. "But Ang, you hate the rain."
"And your point would be what?"
"I have to say I love this side of you."
"Good. Because I love every side of you."
Chapter Seventeen
Angie
Fewer than thirty-six hours after the rainy kiss in the alley, I settled into the ridiculously plush and roomy leather seat next to Graham. "I've never been on a private plane before. It's nice." Hopefully Music Maker would be excited I'd saved them the expense of return airfare by getting a refund on my ticket. Plus, I was going to capture photos of the planet's biggest band as they jetted across the Atlantic. Really, it wasn't a half bad deal for them.
"Get used to it. This is your new life, Mrs. Whiting." Graham leaned on the armrest, kissing me softly.
"I don't think you get to call me that until it's official." My cheeks hurt from smiling so much, but I didn't care. I did it anyway. For him.
Graham took my left hand and fiddled with the massive diamond on my finger. "According to my credit card statement, we're officially getting married. I'm sure of it. That means I'm calling you Mrs. Whiting until someone more important tells me not to."
I laughed quietly, admiring the ring, which was such a surreal sight—a skinny gold band and a very large, round diamond. Unlike most girls, I'd never given much thought to the trappings of getting married. I'd never spent hours wondering what sort of dress I'd wear. I'd really only ever thought about marriage as a state of being. Perhaps it was because my parents had never made a big deal about it. They were married. They loved each other. That was enough for them, and it would be enough for Graham and me, too.
Still, Graham had insisted that we weren't leaving for home without a ring. I'd known he was truly serious when he said he wanted to get up early on our second day in New York so we could be there right when Tiffany & Co. opened for business. It was a quick affair. I wanted something simple and the clerk found us exactly that. That was all there was to it. A photographer was outside waiting for us when we left the store and Graham berated himself for having had the limo wait for us outside, rather than having it circle the block endlessly. It didn't really matter to me. For once, I was resigned to just being happy.
Immediately after, we'd gone back down to the warehouse to reshoot the kiss in the alley. We still couldn't believe Liam hadn't been happy with that kiss. That kiss was bloody perfect. Graham asked him for a copy of the original so we could show it on a screen at the wedding. In the end, Chris talked Liam out of the kiss between him and Gigi. I was pretty sure Liam was tired of everyone arguing with him.
Chris plopped down in one of the seats across from us. "Hold on a minute. If I'm going to be around Angie, I need to find my sunglasses." He rooted around inside the pocket of his leather jacket, pulling out silvery aviators and putting them on. "Much better. That ring. It's blinding."
"Just you watch," Graham said. "Whenever Chris gets married, he's going to buy a bigger ring. Mark my words."
"That's not happening for a long time," Chris answered. "I'm playing the field for the forseeable future."
"Why's that?" I asked. "Too much fun being single?"
"Honestly? I can't imagine the crap my sisters will give the future Mrs. Penman. It's easier this way. For now."
"You'll change your mind when the right girl comes along," Graham said.
"I'm sure I will," Chris replied, nabbing a blanket from the seat next to him and settling in.
Graham turned to me. "We need to head to Stourbridge straight away when we get back to London. I figure we'll run by my place for clothes and your place for the same and then we'll hop in the car and get on the road."
"You're really that anxious to get that done?"
"I only have a month at home. And yes, I don't want you walking around with that ring on your finger unless I know for certain that I have your parents' blessing. Call me old-fashioned, but that's the way I was raised. I want to get the okay from mine as well."
"You realize that my dad won't really be able to offer his blessing, right?"
"But you feel like he understands what you're saying when you talk to him, right?"
I nodded. "Oh. Definitely. I can see it in his eyes. He understands."
"Perfect. We'll find a way to communicate about it. That's all I need."
It would be interesting to see how my mother would react to all of this—she hadn't been Graham's biggest fan over the last year, but she was always supportive of me. She'd have to see that we'd made peace with the past and decided that whatever our history was, it was only the future that mattered. All Graham and I needed was now.
Reggie emerged from the back of the plane and stood in the aisle with his hand on the back of Chris's seat. "I've just been on the phone with management."
Chris shook his head in disbelief. "I'll never get used to that idea. Before you know it, everyone will be walking around with a telephone in their pocket."
"Yeah, well, it's helpful to me." Reggie rubbed his forehead, looking completely exhausted. "It turns out that Swash and Buckle's new single has gone to number two in Japan. That's right behind you lot. It looks like they're going to be on the dates in Southeast Asia."
Graham's jaw literally dropped. "You have got to be kidding me. I have to deal with Ridley Archer? For how long?"
"Ten shows over two weeks," Reggie answered. "It's not the end of the world. The promoters are moving some of these dates into much larger venues. We're talking massive arenas."
"Just don't tell Archer that part. He'll get a big head," Graham said. Poor thing. Two weeks with his nemesis. It was more than a little amusing, even though I knew I’d get to hear all about it over the phone.
"What are you complaining about?" Chris pointed at Graham. "You got Angie. Whatever Ridley Archer could ever say to you, you'll always have him beat at that."
"True. That is true. And now I'm glad that Angie won't be visiting us on that tour. That would just cause problems."
I wasn't about to point out that I was not a trophy. Ridley would always be a thorn in Graham's side, even if I wasn't an issue. Those two would always have something to argue about. I pulled my camera bag out from under the seat. "I guess I should take some pictures before everyone starts nodding off. It's getting late." Indeed, Chris had reclined his seat and was stretching his long legs out into the aisle. Terence was busy working on a song, for Gigi, who was supposed to be traveling to London to be with him next week. Her parents had pitched a fit when she'd said she wanted to go on the road with the ban
d. Nigel had his nose in a magazine, but he didn't look long for this world.
Graham got out his copy of Ender's Game to read. "Okay, love."
"What? No argument about privacy and me working too much?"
He shrugged. "This is part of compromise, right? You work and I read. Sounds like I'm getting a great deal right now."
I laughed quietly and snapped his picture several times. He was looking at me right through the lens and only me, telling me that I was the only girl in the world for him. And there I was on an airplane, flying high above the Atlantic, just as high from being in love with Graham.
THE END
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If you want to read more about Christopher from Save a Prayer, with cameos from Angie, Graham, and all of Banks Forest, read Bring Me Back and the sequel Back Forever.
“Fast-paced, sexy, and altogether irresistible. A flat-out fabulous read!”-NYTimes bestselling author Celia Rivenbark
Also by Karen Booth
Bring Me Back - excerpt at the back of this book
Back Forever, the sequel to Bring Me Back
Hiding in the Spotlight
Rock Starred
The KISS Principle
London Calling with Karen Stivali
That Night with the CEO - Harlequin Desire
Pregnant by the Rival CEO - Harlequin Desire
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About the Author
Karen Booth is a Midwestern girl transplanted in the South, raised on ‘80s music, Judy Blume, and the films of John Hughes. An early preoccupation with rock ’n’ roll led her to spend her twenties working her way from intern to executive in the music industry. Now she’s a married mom of two and instead of staying up late in rock clubs, she gets up before dawn to write sexy contemporary romance.