by Marci Fawn
“Nate, I’ve missed you so much!” I cry out. “Where have you been?”
“I’ve just done an interview.” He blows over my question completely. “I’ve got my side of the story across. Everything is going to be all right.”
He runs over to Lola and Tonya, enveloping them in hugs too, and I listen as he says his words of thanks—especially to Lola, who he knows has risked her own reputation for his again—and I can’t help but smile. Everything feels right with the world again.
“Come on!” Nate turns to us all and grins widely. “Let’s go out for dinner—my treat. I think we all have a lot of catching up to do.”
Lola bites her lip anxiously. “Can I…invite Ben?” She looks to Nate. I know he hasn’t met Ben yet, but he wants to, so I know he’s going to say yes before he nods himself.
“Of course!” he replies happily. “The more the merrier tonight. It wouldn’t be a celebration without him.”
32
Nate
At dinner, I tell the girls and Ben about what I’ve been organizing—a charity event to raise money for abuse victims. I feel like it’s the perfect way for us all to get some closure on the horrible events that have plagued us recently, plus it’ll give us all the opportunity to give something back. It gives us a way to get back to our careers, too, and to think about the future.
I don’t mention that Jem’s mom has been helping me with everything—that’s a surprise that I intend to leave for the night as a treat for Jem—but I’m glad she’s been there. Not only has she been extremely helpful and useful in all of her ideas, but it’s also given her some of the spark that I’m sure she used to have before she lost her husband. It’s given her a purpose, a way to help her daughter, and that’s exactly what she needed. She’s currently staying in a hotel nearby, waiting for the occasion to reveal herself. I know she’s very excited about that, and I can’t wait either.
Luckily, all the girls can’t wait to perform at the party, just like I assumed they would, so that’s very exciting too. I’ve got some of the biggest names on board already, so it’s promising to be a really good night—one that I hope will raise a whole lot of money.
As they scatter off to the bathroom, giggling in the way that girls do, I turn to face Ben, who has so far given me a very good impression of himself.
“So, Ben.” I turn on the stern tone, giving him a smile so he knows I’m not too serious. “How are things going with Lola?”
“Really well.” He grins. “She’s literally the love of my life, and I’m so glad to have her back.” He’s mooning, excited to discuss her. “Look.” He turns to face me. “I know you’re really protective of Lola, especially after everything that’s happened, but you should know that I would never do anything to hurt her. She really is the girl I love most in the world, and I wouldn’t do anything to wreck that.”
“I know,” I reply kindly. “I can tell you love her, and she’s in love with you too. I’ve never seen her so happy.”
He tugs a box out of his pocket and gives me a glimpse of the diamond inside. “I’m going to propose,” he whispers quickly. “Tomorrow night. I’ve got this whole amazing plan. She doesn’t know about it yet. I think she’ll be really surprised.”
“Oh wow!” I gasp in amazement. “That’s amazing news.” My heart races with the excitement of it all, but before I can say more the girls return and we have to keep our mouths zipped shut.
By the time the party comes around, I’m stressed out to high hell, but also very excited. All the acts are ready, prepared for an amazing night, and I can’t wait to see it all unfold. But on top of that, I’m also eager for Jem to see her mother again, to see what I’ve done for her. She’s very excited too, and can’t wait to see her daughter, and I’m hopeful that the reunion will be a happy one, one that leads to a more positive future.
But before that happens, Lola bursts into the concert hall, squealing with excitement. “Ben proposed!” she screams at me, flashing her ring in my direction. “We’re getting married. He asked me the other day in the most romantic way possible!” She flings her arms around me in excitement as Ben walks in slowly behind her. His face is filled with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen, but he’s much calmer in his approach. “Where’s Jem? I need to tell her. I want to tell her all the details about it!”
“She’s backstage.” I point her in the right direction. “You need to get back there anyway to get ready yourself!”
“Ooh, I can’t wait,” she pants. “This will be the first time Ben sees me singing live. It’s gonna be awesome.” She races away, leaving us both behind.
“Come on, Ben.” I grab him by the arm, not wanting to feel like a spare part. “Come and give me a hand.”
Ben helps me with the heavy lifting, giving me an opportunity to get to know him a little better. He really does seem like a sweet, genuine guy who will do anything for Lola. He has dreams of being a writer, which is great news for their relationship because it means that they’ll always be able to travel together. If anyone can make this work, it’s them.
Just before the concert is going to start, Jem races to my side, squealing excitedly. “Oh, my God, Nate. You’ll never guess what happened!” I shake my head, a million possibilities floating through my mind. I’ve been so focused on this concert and everything that could go wrong that all I can picture is acts getting sick and pulling out. “It’s Tonya.”
“Is she okay?” I panic, instantly wondering how I’m going to fill her slot.
“She’s fine, look.” She points toward Tonya, who is happily chatting with, and possibly flirting with, a guy I don’t recognize. “That’s Simon, my cousin.” Jem grins at me. “I invited him tonight because he moved here recently, but I never thought he’d come. I…I just—” she can barely get her words out. She’s that excited. “I introduced him to Tonya and there were fireworks right away!”
“What do you mean?” I laugh, wondering if Jem is finding meaning where there isn’t any. She might want Tonya to find someone so she isn’t the only one who’s single. But the more I watch her with Simon, the more I can see that Jem is right. There really is something there, something huge.
“Trust me, they will be together before the night is over.” She giggles excitedly. “They are meant to be. I can just feel it in my bones.”
“Are you happy with that?” I ask, just wanting to check that everything is fine. I’m sure it will be, but I know that girls are complex and sometimes when family is involved, it can get very difficult.
“Very. I would love for them to be together.” She nods decidedly. “Simon is a really good guy, and very level-headed. I think he would be the perfect partner for Tonya—she needs someone like that. And the chemistry between them is electric!”
I lay a small kiss on her nose. “Right. Come on, then, my little matchmaker. Let’s get ready. You still need to rehearse.”
“I’ll be fine,” she insists, grinning happily at me. “I know exactly what I’m doing. I’ve been rehearsing for days.” She’s been very excited about this concert ever since I mentioned it. She couldn’t believe that I would be so thoughtful, that I would even think about doing it, so she really has been practicing every single day, trying to get her gig right.
“You’re going to be amazing.” I smile. “The crowd is going to love your new stuff.” She’s actually been writing new songs just for tonight, and I can’t wait for the world to get to hear them. Especially since her mom’s going to be in the crowd, too. She intends to slip into the audience to see her daughter perform, but she isn’t going to be seen until afterwards, when we’re just partying—just in case Jem does freak out. I’m sure she won’t, but I have to be prepared for any outcome.
“Thanks, babe. Right. I’m going to get ready—at least there’s no cat suit this time!” We both laugh, remembering that time on the cruise, when we were just finding our way back together.
“That seems like a million years ago now.” She smiles dreamily. “Anyway, se
e you in a bit.” Then she races away.
33
Jem
As I step down from the stage, I feel unbelievably exhilarated. That went absolutely amazingly, and I’m over the moon about it—and so glad that I’ve been given the chance to give something to such a good cause. Luckily Nate is there to greet me, because I almost collapse into his arms, my legs giving way at the mere sight of him.
“Oh, my God, Jem. That was amazing,” he cries out excitedly. “You did such a good job. They loved your new stuff!”
“Thank you!” I smile up at him. “I’m so happy.” He gives me a look, one that I can’t quite decipher. “Are you okay, Nate?” I ask, feeling a little panicked. “What’s going on?”
“I have…I have another surprise for you.” He sounds way too anxious for this to be something normal, which makes my heart rate kick up a notch. After all the awful things that we’ve been through recently, I can’t stop my brain from instantly thinking a million and one terrible things.
But then he steps aside, and my mother moves out from behind him. At that moment, my heart leaps into my throat, while my body freezes in utter shock. This is a woman that I’m not sure I expected to ever see again. We’ve drifted so far apart that I wasn’t sure we would ever be able to find our way back.
“Mom?” I gasp, trying to process what I’m seeing. Is it really her? Am I somehow dreaming? I reach forward, touching her, proving to myself that I’m not imagining things. There’s a smile on her face but an anxiety in her eyes, which shows me that she’s just as freaked out about this meeting as I am, and that’s despite the fact that she clearly knew it was going to happen. “Are you okay? How are you here?”
“I went to see her,” Nate admits, blindsiding me. “While I was away. When I went into hiding, I decided to do something productive with my time. I knew you wanted to see your mom again, and I was sure that you were too proud and too scared to make the first step. I hope…I hope you don’t mind.”
“I did call you,” I tell her. “Before all of the stuff about the abuse went public. I didn’t want you to hear it first in the papers.”
“Nate told me.” She holds my cheeks in her hands, staring sadly at me. “I’m so sorry that you had to go through all of that alone. I should have been there, and I let your dad’s illness take me away from everything else.”
“It’s okay, Mom,” I say, really meaning it. “You had to be with dad. I totally understand that. And it wouldn’t have made any difference anyway.”
“I don’t deserve your forgiveness,” she replies. “But I’m so glad that I have it. You’re so strong, and so brave. Nothing like me. You get that from your dad.”
My heart melts at her words, and I think about the man that we both loved so much. I pull her in for a hug, washing all of the past away. I’ve been doing a whole lot of putting things behind me recently, starting fresh, and I certainly want to extend that to my mom. I’m sure she was depressed when she lost her husband, and I wasn’t exactly there for her either. We’ve both done wrong, but that no longer matters. If I can put this behind me, and really start a new mother-and-daughter bond with her, then all the pieces of my life will have truly fallen into place.
“Let’s just start again, Mom,” I say to her. “Let’s just completely start over and forget everything from the past. I don’t want to dredge it up and go over it a million times. Let’s put it behind us.”
“Are you sure?” She looks completely stunned. “I’m sure that I have a lot to answer for…”
“No.” I shake my head emphatically. “You have nothing. I just want you in my life again.”
She bites her lip and looks at Nate, who nods happily at her. His expression is one of sheer joy at the sight of his well-thought-out plan coming together. “Nate has been helping me look at houses here,” she says a little coyly. “I thought if you wanted to see me again, to really have me around, then I might just sell the cottage and come and live closer to you, so we can really be a family.”
“What?” I grip my chest in shock. “You’d sell the family home?” There was a time that she wouldn’t even go outside. Now she’s talking about uprooting her entire life for me.
“It only holds sad memories for me now anyway,” she answers honestly. “I feel like I really need a fresh start with my life, to get out of the dark hole that I’ve been living in for the majority of my life. There couldn’t be a better time than this.”
“I would love that, oh, my God, Mom. I can’t believe any of this.” As I pull her in for another hug, tears roll down my cheeks. How did Nate think to do this? What made him decide to take such a massive step—especially when he had no idea how I was going to react? As I gaze into his eyes over my mom’s shoulders, I feel a rush of love like no other. Who would have known that the damn cruise ship would have changed my life forever? Not only did it bring him back to me, it also gave me two of the best friends I could have ever asked for, it caused me to put the past behind me, and it finally helped my family make the first step towards repairing itself.
“Did you see me sing, Mom?” She used to watch me all the time when I was younger, but of course that was just another thing that had to be stopped when dad got sick. He needed her, and she had to be there for him.
“Darling, you were absolutely phenomenal.” She pulls back to look at me. “I’m so proud of you and your success. And the woman that you’ve become.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Suddenly a slightly horrifying thought hits me. “I can’t believe that you two spent an extended period of time together without me.” I flick my finger between Mom and Nate. “What did you even talk about?”
“Mostly you,” Nate admits. “Then I had to remind your mom that she met me once a long time ago.”
“I honestly don’t remember,” she jumps in. “I was so involved with my troubles back then.”
“Then she helped me organize tonight.”
“Oh, my God, Mom!” I screech. “You did such an amazing job. I wondered how Nate seemed to do all of this by himself. It made no sense.”
“I might start doing it as a job. Who knows!” She gives a musical laugh—a welcome sound for someone who has spent the majority of her life being sad.
“You should, Mom. I’ll help you!” Thousands of plans whir through my mind, all of which I intend to put into place as soon as I can. I know now that I can make up for not helping my mom with Dad by assisting her in finally getting her life back now. I have a lot of contacts and resources, so if party planning is what she wants to do, I can certainly make sure that happens. “Have you met my friends yet?” I ask curiously, but she shakes her head. “Come on. I’ll take you backstage to see them now. Nate has lots to do anyway.”
I smile widely at him, and place a quick kiss on his lips. “Thank you,” I whisper into his ear. “You have no idea what this means to me. I love you.”
“Anything for you.” He strokes my cheeks lightly. “And I love you too.”
“Now, Mom,” I say loudly in a teasing tone while I link my arm in hers. “Tell me what you really think of Nate…”
34
Nate
As the night progresses, I realize that I was wrong to worry. I should have spent more time enjoying the concert than freaking out. I should have trusted that everyone was going to do the best job possible, because that’s exactly what they have done. I even do a little bit of singing myself—I hadn’t planned to, necessarily, but the crowd calls out for it, so I get up to do three of my most famous songs just to please the happy audience.
After that, I give a little speech before the real partying begins, just to sum the evening up. “Thank you everyone for coming,” I say to the screaming, cheering crowd. “All the acts have been amazing, so thank you to everyone who performed.” More yelling. “On top of that, we’ve raised a very cool forty-five thousand dollars, which is much more than I was expecting. That money will all be going to help victims of abuse, so you have all done something amazing here.”
&nbs
p; I wait for a second for the cheering to stop. After a while, people seem to notice that there is more to come, because an odd hush falls over the crowd. “I just have one more thing to do before we can get to the real fun.” I smile at everyone as chuckles pepper the crowd. “Will Jemima Rockwell join me onstage?”
A spotlight shines on her, and she gives her mom a confused look. Her mom simply shrugs innocently, as if she has no idea of what’s to come. The crowd parts as she walks, and I take a second to examine the stunner that’s practically floating toward me. She’s in a gorgeous black dress, but everything else about her is very natural, very Jem. Gone is the crazy updo and the heavy makeup Kim insisted on while she was trying to create the sexier version of her—which was crazy. She’s so much more attractive when she’s just being herself. Now she has her hair hanging loose, and a flicker of mascara on her eyelashes, making her a vision of beauty.
She walks up the steps, giving me a look, begging me to tell her what’s going on, but I simply smile. She’s probably expecting some sort of extra congratulations. I’m sure that she has no idea what I really have planned. As she stands next to me, I take her hands in mine and gaze into her eyes for a few short seconds before dropping to my knee and tugging the ring out of my pocket.
As the realization hits her, she gasps loudly and slaps her hands across her mouth. She glances at her mom, who grins widely at her—I asked her permission for this, and she helped me plan it, so I know for a fact that she’s on board.
“Jemima Rockwell,” I start, dragging her attention back to me. “You are the love of my life. I love you now more than I ever have, and that only increases with each day that passes.” Tears shine in her eyes, which makes it difficult not to get choked up myself. “I know that our road hasn’t been an easy one, but I feel like everything we’ve faced has just made us stronger. It’s built us up so we can face anything.” The crowd is hushed in anticipation. “I want to spend the rest of my life making you the happiest woman alive. Will you do me the honor of agreeing to be my wife?”