It was a little like an out-of-body experience for Charlotte. All of her time with Julian had been fairly off the radar, and to be thrust into the spotlight and walking a red carpet had been beyond intimidating.
But she was kind of loving every minute of it.
Just like she was loving every minute of their life together.
A life they were moving to North Carolina as soon as Shaughnessy’s album and world tour were completed. Julian had been anxious to do it all now, but she had argued it would be better to stay grounded where they were for the time being so he could be close to the studio and the guys. She would also be able to keep working while he was on tour.
The discussion hadn’t gone quite the way she had envisioned, and they’d compromised—they would stay put in Malibu while the album was being finished and she would keep working, but he wanted her to resign sooner so she could see the world with him.
How could she say no?
And to sweeten the deal, the name of the tour and the album was Pay It Forward. A percentage of the tour revenue and record sales were being donated to a foundation whose goal was to end homelessness.
So for the first time in her life, Charlotte Clark was going to see not only the country but the world. Julian had opened her eyes to the fact that it was time for her to live a little for herself—that there was no crime in her doing so. It didn’t take away from the work she did to help those less fortunate; if anything, it invigorated her. She knew she’d spent far too long working tirelessly and realized how much more effective she could be if she allowed herself some time to recharge once in a while.
Amazing what the love of a good man could do. And one of the things he did to show he loved her was to be concerned for her mental and physical well-being. He never asked her to stop working, just to take some time for herself once in a while.
This had been a year of many firsts for her and she was thankful for all of them—especially for the man who was making so many of her dreams come true.
* * *
“I’m nervous. Is anyone else nervous?”
Julian threw one of his drumsticks at Riley and told him to shut up. The man was practically bouncing on his toes in excitement, and he knew their front man had never been nervous a day in his life.
They’d worked hard, the four of them. They’d spent every day in the studio for almost two months straight and the album was nearing completion. They were fortunate that they were four strong composers who knew one another so well that they had the same vision for their newest musical collaboration.
Julian sat on the sofa and let his head fall back and closed his eyes. He was in the zone. He was ready. It was funny how he didn’t realize just how much he’d missed this and needed this until he had it back. The thought of never doing this would have been like losing a limb, and he was grateful that he’d finally got himself together and out of his funk before it was too late.
Lifting his head, he scanned the room and looked at his friends.
Matty Reed. Once a cocky and arrogant little punk who thought he had more talent than the four of them put together. He’d learned a hard lesson with his Broadway flop, but that lesson had helped him finally mature and had led him to Vivienne. Despite Matt’s turbulent upbringing, it was nice to see a smile on his face almost all the time. He was calmer now, more thoughtful, and finally at peace with his past and his family and ready to start one of his own.
Dylan Anders. It was a wonder he was still alive. Julian could look back and think of the things Dylan used to do, and all he could say was that his friend had one hell of a guardian angel. The funny thing was how even at his worst, Julian had always considered him one of the most gifted musicians he had ever encountered. But then when he started jamming with a sober Dylan? Man, this clean and sober version was brilliant. And now he was going to have a kid of his own. Julian could only hope the kid inherited some of his father’s musical gifts.
“Why isn’t the clock moving?” Riley called out to no one in particular.
Riley Shaughnessy. The reason any of them were even here. A scrappy kid from a large family, with a big personality and a voice like an angel.
Yeah, he’d said it.
No one could sing like Riley, and when he sang a capella? The man was capable of giving even the biggest music cynic chills. Riley had formed this band so many years ago and they had all given him grief about naming it after himself. Turned out it really worked for them because Riley was the heart of this band. None of them could do it on their own, and without him at the helm, it wasn’t even worth doing. It had been tough watching him struggle to do this whole thing on his own, but Julian felt it had been a great experience for Riley. It had strengthened him and given him a confidence he didn’t have before.
And then there was himself.
He was all of them rolled into one. Except with a heaping pile of attitude and stubbornness thrown in. Most of his life Julian had told himself he was a loner—that he would be okay and even happy on his own. But it was a lie. Without these men, he would be miserable. They completed him and brought out the best in him as a musician.
He firmly believed his heart was split equally in two—one half belonged to Shaughnessy and the other to Charlotte.
And he was happy to give it to each of them.
The door to the dressing room swung open and Mick walked in with a couple of bodyguards behind him.
“Let’s do this!”
No one said a word as they walked the winding hallways that led to the backstage area. It was dimly lit and loud, and there seemed to be people everywhere. It was familiar and intimidating all at the same time.
Nervously, Julian twirled one of his sticks in his right hand and waited for their cue. The stage manager led them out behind the curtain, where all of their places had been marked. Stepping behind the drum kit he loved, Julian caressed the wood and smiled. In front of him to his left was Dylan. He was flexing and stretching his fingers as one of the stage crew adjusted his guitar strap for him. To his right, Matt was putting his ear piece in and listening to something Mick was telling him.
And out in front behind the microphone stood the band’s namesake.
They were back.
No more running.
No more hiding.
And as the curtain rose and the crowd went wild, Julian counted them in and let the music take them.
For more Samantha Chase check out
The Montgomery Brothers series
Suddenly Mine
On sale January 2019
Read on for a sneak peek at the next book
in the Montgomery Brothers series
Suddenly Mine
Prologue
As far as cocktail parties went, this one was in pure Montgomery fashion. In a room filled with family, there was a lot of laughter, but there was also a lot of business talk.
Monica Montgomery rolled her eyes at that one. It didn’t matter how many parties she’d attended—and hosted—she still never understood the appeal of talking business when you were celebrating something wonderful! In this case, her niece Megan’s engagement to Alex Rebat. Looking across the room, she saw them laughing and smiling as they spoke to the people around them, and it made her heart swell with pride.
“We did that,” a giddy voice said from beside her.
Smiling, Monica looked at her sister-in-law Eliza and agreed. “We sure did. Now I can see why my husband loves playing matchmaker. It’s a wonderful feeling to see the joy on the faces of a couple in love.”
“And Megan and Alex certainly are,” Eliza said with a happy sigh. “My baby girl is all grown up and I’ve never seen her look happier.” She paused. “I only wish I could say the same for my sons.”
Unfortunately, Monica was stumped on what to do with her wayward nephews. Neither Carter nor Christian seemed to have any interest in settling down. A
nd that wasn’t acceptable. There was a whole new generation of Montgomerys coming up in this world and she hoped her nephews would want to contribute to that.
“I have to admit,” she began carefully, “Christian seems a little less…intense these days.”
Beside her, Eliza nodded. “Believe it or not, he was dating someone.”
“Really?” Monica asked excitedly.
“Pfft, don’t get your hopes up. That relationship ended already, but it was nice to know that he was finally showing an interest in dating again.”
“Any idea what finally changed his mind?”
Eliza shrugged. “Not a clue. My son doesn’t share anything about his personal life, and for that I blame my husband.”
This was new information. “Why? What does Joseph have to do with this?”
For a moment, Eliza looked extremely uncomfortable, managing to look everywhere except at Monica.
“Eliza?” Monica prompted.
With a weary shrug, Eliza responded, “Let’s say that my husband managed to interfere in a relationship Christian was involved in when he lived in London. Neither of them will say much about it and it was obviously ages ago, but…” Another sigh. “It’s come up several times, and if I had to take a guess, I’d say my husband was a little less than compassionate.”
“Oh no.” Monica scanned the room and spotted Christian talking intently with his father. “Do you think we should go over there and break that up? After all, maybe they both need a reminder that this is a ballroom, not a conference room.”
Eliza laughed softly. “It doesn’t seem to matter.”
“What about Carter? How’s he doing these days? Dating anyone?”
“Carter seems to date a lot, but we never meet the girl and he only goes out with them once or twice.” Shaking her head, she turned to Monica. “Here’s the thing. I know exactly who Carter’s going to marry, he just doesn’t know it yet.”
That was both cryptic and intriguing. “Really? And when did this happen?”
“When Carter was in the fourth grade.”
Luckily, she hadn’t taken a sip of her champagne or she would have been choking on it. “Um…excuse me?”
Nodding, Eliza explained. “I knew the moment my son had met his match, and they’ve known each other almost their entire lives. If I had my way, they’d be together right now.”
“So why aren’t they?”
“Neither of them is ready, but…soon.” She sighed. “I hope she’s still single.”
“You don’t know?”
“I’ve sort of lost track.”
There was no way Monica was going to remind Eliza that there was a real possibility of the girl being unavailable. The last thing Monica wanted was to bring the mood down—after all, that would make her no better than her brother-in-law. Looking around the room, she spotted her husband. She was going to have a conversation with him later on in hopes of having him straighten his brother out and getting him to lay off of Christian.
Deciding to change the subject—sort of—Monica took a sip of her champagne and smiled at Eliza. “So, what are you doing with yourself these days? Anything exciting?”
“I’ve been working with Joseph’s head of human resources lately and helping them with some new health incentives for employees.”
“Really? I haven’t heard anything about that,” Monica said, intrigued. “Is this something that is only going to take place in New York, or do you think it will go company-wide?”
“I’m hoping for company-wide. It would have a corporate wellness nurse come to the office several times a month and do things like flu shots, blood pressure checks, and offer sessions on nutrition. It’s in the beginning stages, but I’d like to think we can turn it into something all employees can benefit from.”
“Color me impressed, Eliza,” Monica said with a smile. “I had no idea you were doing any corporate work.”
“Every once in a while, I like to get involved in something. This particular idea wasn’t something I came up with myself. It was something I heard about while I was at my doctor’s office. You know I had gone to school to become a nurse, but once we started having kids, I stopped working. Believe it or not, I’ve often toyed with the idea of going back to school and becoming an RN.”
“I didn’t realize that! That would be an awful lot of work, wouldn’t it?”
Eliza agreed. “It would, and as much as I think I’d enjoy it, I enjoy our lives the way they are right now.”
“I understand.”
“Anyway, I mentioned the idea of the wellness program to Joseph and he liked it. We talked about it and he asked me to work with human resources to get it started.”
“I’ll have to ask William about it. It sounds wonderful!”
“Did I hear my name?”
Monica turned and smiled as her husband leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “It’s like you have some sort of radar, William,” she teased.
“Sometimes I do,” he teased in return. “What are you two lovely ladies talking about?”
Monica told him about the corporate wellness program. “Don’t you think it’s a wonderful idea?”
“Absolutely! We’ve been talking about it and were trying to figure out where to go with it next.”
And then inspiration hit. With a sly look at Eliza, Monica turned to her husband. “I think it would be beneficial to go to San Diego next!”
Both William and Eliza looked at her in mild confusion.
“You do?” they said in unison.
“I do,” she replied. “Just like it worked well to have Megan go and work with Christian’s office because it’s smaller, it might be nice to do the same with this program.”
“Well, I suppose—” William said, but Monica was on a roll.
“And considering how Eliza has been working so diligently with Joseph’s office, I think it would be a wonderful idea for her to share what she’s done with Christian’s human resources people.”
“That does sound—”
“And,” she barreled on, “I think I’d like to go with her and learn a little about it myself, and then I can talk to the people in your office, William. What do you think?”
“I…I, um…”
“I bet Eliza and I could go to San Diego directly from here and spend a week and get the ball rolling.” She looked anxiously at Eliza for confirmation. “Don’t you think?”
Eliza’s expression was mildly confused, but she rolled with it. “I agree. I think the sooner we get things going, the better.” She smiled at William. “And I know Monica will be a fantastic asset.”
William looked between the two of them, his eyes narrowing. “I guess I’ll tell Robert and Joseph what’s going on.”
“That would be wonderful, sweetheart,” Monica said, squeezing her husband’s arm. “I think this is going to be a wonderful thing for the company, and you know Eliza and I will do everything we can to make it succeed!”
“I know you will,” he said sweetly. Then he kissed her again before going off to speak to his brothers.
It wasn’t until he was across the room that Eliza stepped directly in front of Monica. “What was that all about?”
The wide-eyed expression on her sister-in-law’s face was priceless. But Monica knew as soon as she explained herself—and her plan—Eliza would be on board.
Hooking her arm through Eliza’s, she guided her toward the bar to freshen their drinks. “Just imagine all the possibilities a week in San Diego observing your son could do. Now that he’s open to dating again, we just might find the perfect woman for him.”
It took a minute, but Eliza’s smile came slow and equally sly. “Why, Monica, you’re a bit of a genius.”
“Guilty as charged,” she said with a grin. Raising her glass, she added, “Here’s to a successful search!”
&
nbsp; Chapter 1
“Don’t these people have jobs?” Christian Montgomery murmured to himself as he sipped his morning coffee.
For a while now, he had taken to having his coffee out on his deck before going into work. It was a chance to breathe in the fresh air and have some peace before the craziness of his day. People-watching had become his favorite hobby, and as odd as it sounded, he found it relaxing and therapeutic.
Scanning the sand, he smiled at the small circle of people doing yoga off to his left. Every day they were out there stretching and holding their poses, and it was almost hypnotic to watch. At times, he even found himself deep breathing along with them, as he imagined they were doing.
Not far from them was a trio of fishermen. Not once had Christian ever seen them catch anything, but they were out there religiously every morning—rain or shine. That was one hobby he had never had an interest in. It looked boring. Those guys were there before Christian came out on his deck, and he imagined they stayed out there long after he left for work. He could only hope they caught some fish.
Then there were the surfers. A slow smile crept across his face as he scanned the water. They were also hypnotic to watch but offered a bit more excitement. There was no way he could even imagine himself doing what those people did, but it was cool as hell to watch. Some of them were amazing at it, while others sort of…well, they tried.
Which reminded him…
“Oh, this is glorious! I could totally get used to this!”
Great. His mother was awake and encroaching on his peaceful time.
Looking out at the waves crashing on the shore, he took another sip of his coffee before turning to look at his mother. “You’re up early.”
She took a long sip of her own steaming coffee before answering. “Well, as much as I complain about your father’s snoring, it appears I can’t sleep without him.” With a serene smile, she added, “Besides, I was hoping to have a few minutes with you before you left for the office.”
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