Rocking Her Heart

by Melanie Shawn

  He gave her a quick kiss. “Well, I’m triple-checking that you’re on the list anyway. Plus, I’ll have my phone on me if you run into any problems.”

  She grinned. “Is focusing all of this worry on me and whether I can keep track of a laminated card on a lanyard for three hours helping you keep your mind off your stress?”

  “Abso-fucking-lutely.”

  “Then focus away, Rock Star. I’ll see you at sound check.”

  He nodded and climbed out of the car, then walked to the back door with his head held high, his back straight. He didn’t glance back at her once. Until he reached the security guard stationed at the door, at any rate. Then he stopped and pointed her out to the man, and she waved at the scowling, muscled man through the windshield. He and Jet consulted a clipboard together, and the man nodded. Jet gave her a thumbs up and she returned it, smiling.

  After Jet had disappeared inside the building, though, she took a deep breath and leaned her head back against the passenger seat. She’d been so focused on supporting him through his nervousness that she hadn’t even realized how tense she herself was until he was out of her sight.

  Now, though, everything came flooding in. She wanted tonight to go well for him. It was so important.

  Even more than the evening going off without a hitch, though, she wanted him to be happy. She needed him to be happy. That meant even more to her than her own happiness. And she hoped against hope that, whatever this night needed to be to support that happiness, that’s what it would give him.

  Chapter 31

  Jet

  The minute Jet stepped through the crew entrance to the venue, he was met by a headset-wearing PA and led through the dark, cinder block hallways to his dressing room.

  She opened the door for him and, to his surprise, the room was empty. “Where are the other guys?”

  She smiled but couldn’t meet his eyes. “They have a separate space. I was told they’ll meet you for sound check, which is at four p.m.”

  He nodded. “I’ll be there.”

  The PA closed the door behind him and Jet took a look around. Yep. There was the water he liked. The snacks he preferred. Everything just the way his rider prescribed.

  Except booze. He didn’t know if that was consideration on Barker and the guys’ part, or a dig about his past behavior, but he didn’t care. He appreciated not having to deal with resisting temptation along with all of the other tension he was feeling.

  He took a deep breath and was struck by how loud it seemed in the quiet room. The silence seemed magnified by his solitude, and he realized how little time he’d actually spent alone in the past few years. Truly on his own, with no crutches. No people to entertain him, no substances to smooth out the stress.

  Maybe depending on himself was something he needed to work on in the future. He could thank Abby for that, he reflected. She’s the one who gave him the confidence to realize that standing on his own two feet was even possible.

  Being with her brought him back to a time when he was so much more than a disappointment and a fuck-up. Back to when he was a shooting star, made of potential, burning bright alongside the only star that could ever outshine him – Abby.

  Hell, when they were together, he felt like they were those two bright kids again, with their whole lives ahead of them and the future laid out in front of them like the yellow brick road, glowing and plain to see.

  He heard the door open behind him and turned, expecting to see the PA popping her head in, possibly to give him a time check. Instead, he saw Rome.

  “Hey, man. Come on in.”

  “Hey, Jet. Good to see you, thanks for doing this.”

  “No problem.” Jet gestured toward one of the couches along a wall as he sat down on the other. “Take a load off.”

  Rome plopped down onto the leather sofa. “So, Harry contacted you? All the filming paperwork was in order.”

  “Signed, sealed, delivered,” Jet confirmed. “But I bet Harry told you that.”

  “Yeah,” Rome agreed.

  “So why are you really here? Did the guys send you in on a recon mission, to see if I was falling apart?”

  Rome squirmed in his seat, his eyes fixed on his hands. “It’s not like that.”

  “Sure it is. But I’m cool with it.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. My dad used to have this saying. ‘It’s called a track record.’ So, I get it. My track record is shit. I have a long way to go before the people in my life can trust me.”

  Rome nodded. “Wow. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard you talk like this.”

  Jet laughed, the rueful sound ringing through the small room. “Dude. That’s almost exactly what my brother said the first night I was home. Fuck, man. How big of a shithead was I?”

  Rome shrugged. “Pretty epic.”

  Jet shook his head. “That was rhetorical. But thanks for your honesty.”

  “Anytime.”

  Rome stood and moved toward the door. He stopped at the last minute, though, his hand on the knob, and turned back to Jet. “Seriously, though. You’ve changed. It’s not just talk, I can tell. I think the rest of the guys will be able to see it, too.”

  “I hope so.”

  Rome grinned. “Can I assume that there’s a reason for this change? And if so, do I get to meet her.”

  Jet threw his head back and laughed. “She’ll be at the sound check.”

  “Awesome. I look forward to meeting this miracle woman then.”

  When Jet was alone in his dressing room again, he thought about what Rome had said. Yeah. “Miracle woman” wasn’t a bad description for Abby. She’d certainly been his miracle.

  The next several hours flew by in a haze.

  He’d thought that seeing the rest of the guys would be awkward as hell, but it had been a non-issue. They’d each nodded, waved, or said, “hey,” and then they’d started sound check as usual. It felt totally normal to Jet. Just like any other show. Not weird at all. In fact, the weirdest thing about it was how not weird it was.

  Well, it was normal for the early days, anyway. Over the last five years, their interactions had been tense as hell. That wasn’t a normal he ever wanted to go back to.

  And, he couldn’t deny it. The difference was with him. He was the one that was more relaxed, more friendly, more of a team player. He had to take responsibility for the fact that he’d been the one to fuck things up.

  But it wasn’t all bad. Now that he was getting clean, changing, he was also the one that was fixing it. Cleaning up his own mess. He liked the way that made him feel.

  And the difference, he realized, was sitting right there in the third row as they ran through the set list and made adjustments, staring up at him with her wide, bright, supportive eyes.

  He was lucky as fuck. A lot of people never got the chance to turn their lives around. One OD or one corner taken too fast when he was drunk, and he wouldn’t have, either.

  Now, walking out on stage and hearing the roar of the crowd, he was filled with adrenaline and energy. God, this was so much better than any kind of substance-fueled high? How could he have forgotten that?

  He stepped up and took his place center stage and put his mouth to the mic. He took a deep breath and boomed, “Are you ready to rock, Portland?” The answering swell of cheers told him that they were.

  The lights made it tough to see individual faces in the crowd beyond the first few rows, so he was happy that he’d been able to secure his family and friends VIP passes.

  Looking down, he saw his little sister’s face shining with pride and excitement as she waited for him to start singing, and his brothers giving him thumbs ups. Well, Troy and Donovan were, anyway. Gavin just gave him a stoic nod, which was his version an epic hi-five.

  Next to Gavin and Donovan were their ladies, Gen and Ella, and next to them was his lady. Abby. It was almost beyond him, the realization that she was his. He didn’t deserve her. That wasn’t even a question. But he planned to spend the rest
of his life working to be the best man he could, until one day maybe – just maybe – he’d come close.

  The bass and drum swelled behind him, signaling the end of their first song’s intro, and his cue.

  He opened his mouth and sang. The lyrics were so familiar, and so was the melody. So was the feeling of singing his heart out to the roaring crowd, for that matter. But in a way, it all felt new. Just like his interactions with the guys, it wasn’t the experience that had changed. He had. And he was even more determined than before to never go back.

  Chapter 32

  Abby

  “Well, I think we’d better get going,” Troy said, ruffling Mila’s hair. “We don’t want to catch Santa in the act.”

  Mila rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, Troy. Just because you’re sleepy at eleven at night, don’t put that on me.”

  Everyone laughed and Troy protested, “Hey! I work construction. I’m usually up by four am. What do you want from me?”

  Abby felt like she was in the middle of a dream. Everyone she loved was together, it was Christmas, and she was backstage at one of Jet’s shows. Not only that, but she and Jet were together. Yep, an awesome dream. The best she’d ever had.

  Jet stood up from on the couch in his dressing room. He looked around at each of the faces of his friends and family. “Damn, everybody—”

  Grandmother Valentine cut him off with a stern clearing of her throat.

  He laughed and started over. “I mean, dang, everybody. This has been one of the best nights of my life. Truly. And every single one of you are the reasons. This wouldn’t have meant anything without you here with me. So, thank you. Thank you for being here tonight, and every other time I’ve needed you. You all are the best. Really.”

  “Okay,” Donovan said, giving him a hug. “I think we’d better bounce before the waterworks start.”

  Jet laughed. “Yeah, probably a good idea.”

  They all filed out, stopping to hug Jet on their way. Ella and Genevieve gave Abby quick hugs, too. Then, suddenly, they were all gone. It was only her and Jet, and the room was strangely silent after all of the festive chatter that had filled it for the last twenty minutes.

  Jet sat back on the couch and Abby plopped down next to him, snuggling up and laying her head on his shoulder. “You were amazing tonight. You know that, right?”

  He kissed the top of her head. “Thanks, babe. And, yeah. I know.”

  They laughed and she gave him a playful swat on his flat abs, then sat up. “So Rock Star, where do you want to go to celebrate?”

  He put a hand to the side of her face. “Home,” he said, his voice low and earnest. “Just home with you, Abs. That’s the happiest and the best place I can think of.”

  Her eyes filled with tears and she leaned forward to press her lips to his. When they pulled apart, she wiped at them and said, “Let’s go, then, Jet. Let’s go home.”

  They gathered up their things and, as they headed toward the door of his dressing room, he patted her ass and said, “Besides. There’s a bed at your place. And we kind of need one for the type of celebrating I have in mind.”

  Epilogue

  Christmas Morning

  Jet

  Jet opened his eyes and stretched his arms above his head, then reached down and stroked a sleeping Abby’s hair back from her forehead. She yawned and her eyes fluttered, then cast up to meet his.

  “Merry Christmas, baby,” he murmured.

  She buried her head in his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist, snuggling in closer to him. Strands of her hair tickled the sensitive skin of his neck as he ran his fingertips up and down her back.

  “Merry Christmas, Jet,” she whispered against his skin. “What time is it?”

  “It’s eleven,” he murmured, planting soft kisses on her silky hair.

  Her head whipped up lightning fast, crashing hard into his nose. He cried out and his hand flew up to his face. “Ow! Damn girl, are you trying to kill me?” he laughed through the pain.

  “Oh, shit! Jet, I’m sorry!”

  He opened his eyes. “You’re laughing, too? That’s cold, woman. You injure a man and then laugh while he’s down.”

  She put her hands on the sides of his face. “I’m sorry, Jet. Seriously. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  He wrapped her waist up between his fingers. “And yet, you’re still laughing,” he said through a smile. “What made you jump like that, anyway?”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, right! Babe, we overslept. We have to be at your family’s house in less than an hour, and we haven’t even showered. Do you even have extra clothes here? We’ve got to get moving!”

  He moved his thumbs in small circles over her waist. “We can be late.”

  “First holiday dinner with your family? I think not. That’s a terrible first impression.”

  “First impression?” he laughed. “They’ve known you since you were four feet tall. This would be a millionth impression.”

  “Well, a terrible millionth impression, then. Either way.”

  He sat up against the pillows and shrugged. “They’ll understand when they find out why we’re late.”

  Her brows drew together. “What? That we overslept?”

  He shook his head and leaned over the edge of the bed, reaching deep beneath her mattress and moving his hand around.

  He kept fishing until his fingertips touched what he was looking for, the small velvet box he’d hidden there earlier. He pulled it out and opened it, then rolled back and held it up to her, popping it open with a flourish.

  “Nope. That I asked you to marry me.”

  Her eyes opened wide, filling with tears that sparkled like diamonds. “Jet…I…are you serious? Do you mean it?” she whispered, reaching out and brushing the ring with her fingertips.

  “I’ve never meant anything more in my life.”

  Her hand raised to her mouth and he saw that it was shaking. She met his eyes. “Are you sure you’re ready to settle down? What if the band wants you back? What if you miss that rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle?”

  Jet laughed. “First of all, the band does want me back. Harry texted me last night. But not full-time. Not to tour. To do one-off reunion shows like last night. One or two a year. The rest of the time I’d be free to pursue solo projects. Maybe do something like open a music school.”

  “That’s great, Jet!”

  He kept going. “But, Abby, I bought the ring before I knew that. That lifestyle’s nothing compared to you, babe.” His voice grew hoarse. “Nothing.”

  A smile grew on her lips, slowly spreading across her face and then to her eyes. She put her hand out for him to slide the ring on, which he did.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner,” she laughed. “Abby Baxter!”

  He pulled her down to him and kissed her deeply. “No,” he said, rubbing his thumb along her jawline. “I’m the real winner, babe. Because I have you.”

  She kissed him back and then pulled away, the tears escaping her eyes and falling down her face. She leaned back, wiping them away as she rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

  “That’s so sweet, and I love you so much for it,” she said over her shoulder. Just before the she’d pulled the door completely shut behind her, she added quickly, “But I’m the winner!”

  He laid back against the pillows and smiled as he heard the water start. Holy crap, was he a lucky man. His future stretched out in front of him, and he was sharing it with Abby. There was nothing on the horizon but golden possibilities.

  He thought that, on some level, he’d always known that they were meant to be together. As time went on, though, he’d let things like fame, fortune, and debauchery come in and distract him from what he’d known deep inside.

  Somewhere along the way, he’d started to think that the fame, fortune, and debauchery were his whole life – instead of what they really were, which were the things keeping him from his true real life.

  The door to the bathroom popped open
a few inches and Abby’s head popped out. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and he could see the top of the towel she had wrapped around her. “Hey Rock Star, quick question.”

  “Shoot.”

  She extended her hand out of the door, towel held between two fingers. She dangled it for a few seconds before letting it drop to the floor. “I’m about to be naked and covered in hot water. So my question is this – what are you doing still laying in that bed?”

  Her head disappeared back into the bathroom and he jumped up and followed her in, faster than he would’ve thought was possible. As he climbed into the steaming shower behind her and drew her naked body to him, he leaned down to press his lips to her ear and whispered, “You see? Ideas like that one, brilliant girl, are why you’ll always be the valedictorian. And why I’ll always love you.”

  The End

  Playing By Heart

  We’re returning to Valentine Bay on

  Valentine’s Day 2019

  with

  Troy and Allison’s road to happily ever after in

  Playing By Heart

  Resisting Romeo

  Resisting Romeo will be coming

  January 2019

  as part of our Steamy Weekends Series

  (website only)

  OTHER TITLES BY MELANIE SHAWN

  VALENTINE BAY SERIES

  Protecting My Heart – Book 1

  Rescuing His Heart – Book 2

  THE CROSSROADS SERIES

  My First – Book 1

  My Last – Book 2

  My Only – Book 3

  My Everything – Book 4

  Tempting Love – Book 5

  Crazy Love – Book 6

  Actually Love – Book 7

  Fairytale Love – Book 8