by M. A. Foster
Tears are sliding down my cheeks and a smile is permanently etched on my face. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Z. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Jay.” He presses a gentle kiss to my lips and slides the ring onto my finger.
Just after the most beautiful proposal, the collective sound of everyone’s cell phones all chirping at once has Zach and me looking through the glass doors. Then Zach’s phone chirps.
He pulls his phone from his pocket and swipes his finger across the screen. I watch as his eyes bulge before he passes his phone to me.
JAYBIRD IS OFF THE MARKET.
Jayla King, 18, whom we’ve all come to know as Jaybird, is off the market. A source tells us that the rising star married her longtime boyfriend, Zach Easton, 19, while vacationing in St. Thomas. The couple exchanged their “I dos” in a private ceremony on the secluded beach near King’s villa. The source claims the two seemed happy and very much in love.
“Jaylaaaaa!” My mom’s voice rings out from inside. Shit.
Zach smirks. “Let me rephrase the question. Will you marry me… again?”
To my beautiful Jaybird,
This is the hardest letter to write because it’s my last. Today is your wedding day and as you stand before the mirror in your white gown (it better be white), know that I’m standing behind you with the biggest smile on my face. (Okay, I’m probably scowling a little, but on the inside I’m smiling.)
After today, you’re not just my little girl anymore. You’re someone’s wife. Someone’s better half. And one day, you’ll become someone’s mother. These are the thoughts that are weighing heavily on my heart because your husband and future children are so lucky to have you.
I thank God every day for giving you to me and letting me be your dad to nurture and love. I do love you, my little Jaybird, with all of my heart and soul. I loved you before you were born.
Today as you walk down the aisle toward the lucky man whom you’ve decided is worthy of your hand, I’ll be walking beside you. Still scowling, but I’ll be proud. No matter what, I’m always proud of you.
I love you always and forever, my beautiful sweet girl.
Daddy
Mom gave me this letter a week before my wedding and I’m thankful she did because it was like having to say goodbye all over again. It took me nearly the entire week to recover.
To the man who my daughter deems worthy enough to marry. And if you’re still in one piece, it means that Bass approves.
If Zach is reading this letter, then this goes to show how well I know my little girl and that she followed her heart.
I’m sorry we never got to meet in person, but I’ve seen you, you know? I had to see the boy who had my daughter writing love songs since she was six years old. I went to one of your football games once, and I’ll admit you’re a talented young man with a promising future.
Today you need to be thanking God for giving you this unique and precious gift. I’ve done my job, as her father, to prepare her for life’s ups and downs. Now it’s your job, as her husband, to stand beside her and face those ups and downs as a couple. A team. A united front.
Promise to love her. Respect her. And to worship her every day. Make every single day count. Because every single day—every single second of the day—is precious time.
Take care of our girl, Zach.
Marcus King
Five Years Later…
WHEN MY DAD passed, he placed the world at my feet and shoes too big to fill. I’d struggled with who I was and who I wanted to become. I was born with a talent; a gift. Something aspiring musicians paid money for, had come naturally to me. I put so much pressure on myself to do what I thought was expected of me. When really, the choice had always been mine.
“Mommy,” my babies call from the other side of the bathroom door. Twins, Alex and Bella are three and a half and my little mini-mes. Mackenzie Grace is eighteen months, a spitting image of Zach, and a daddy’s girl. She reminds me so much of Zoe.
“Babe,” Zach calls out as the door knob wiggles. “Why is the door locked?”
“Give me a minute, Z,” I reply, biting down on my lower lip as the little pink lines appear in the window of the little plastic stick. Jesus, it hasn’t even been a whole three minutes.
“You okay?” he asks.
“I’m fine,” I lie.
I’m pregnant.
Again.
After the news spread that Zach and I eloped, my mom, Liz, Mimi, and Grandma Kate put together a real wedding for Zach and me. My only request was that they use my favorite flowers and for the wedding to take place before I left for the tour. Zach’s only request was that he got to pick our song.
Yeah, that shocked me, too.
And they pulled it off. Zach and I were married on Saturday, June twenty-fourth at the Heritage Bay Beach and Country Club.
Zach chose “My Girl” as our wedding song.
On July Fourth, Royal Mayhem kicked off their Project Mayhem tour at the Gulf Coast University football stadium. Which was also where Zach had accepted a football scholarship. He made the formal announcement during our graduation party shortly after the news of our marriage had been blasted all over social media. Cole also announced he’d accepted a scholarship.
The Project Mayhem class joined the tour as the opening act for Royal Mayhem. The tour only lasted three months, but it was tough being newly married and away from my husband.
Shortly after Zach and I celebrated our one-year anniversary, I found out I was pregnant and, eight months later, I gave birth to Alexander Michael and Annabella Elizabeth.
Our families were thrilled. Except my mom, of course. She needed to warm up to the idea that her baby was having a baby. Or in my case babies.
I knew the odds were stacked against Zach and me from the beginning, married so young. He was in college and busy with football, but we fought hard to make it work. That’s what we do. We make it work.
Mike and Liz were a good example. They had been together since they were in middle school. Sure, they’ve encountered a few bumps and scrapes along the way, but their love for each other was what helped them push through the rough times. If I learned anything from them, it’s that relationships aren’t always perfect. People make mistakes and it takes more than love to make a marriage work. Patience, understanding, compromise, sacrifice, and, in Mike and Liz’s case, forgiveness.
But what worked for Zach and me was balance.
Patience was something I didn’t have a lot of, but once I found a balance between mine and Zach’s chaotic lives, patience was easier to come by.
As far as my career, music is in my blood and will always be an important part of my life. I wouldn’t trade a second of my childhood for anything. But life on the road isn’t for me.
I still write music because it’s what I love. I’ve taken over the Mayhem Foundation and I volunteer a couple of days a week in the Project Mayhem class at Heritage Bay Academy.
In the last five years, with help from my mom, Liz, Mimi, and Grandma Kate—because of their involvement with several charities and experience in organizing fundraisers—along with family, friends, and Zach’s football connections, the Mayhem Foundation has raised enough money to extend the program and fund four more schools.
My involvement with the foundation and the ability to see the projects through from the beginning keeps me connected to my dad. It still breaks my heart that he isn’t here to see how far we’ve taken his dream. But I know in my heart and down to my core that my dad is proud. I’ll always be proud of you, Jaybird.
Zach graduated from Gulf Coast University and was snatched up by the Heritage Bay Storm.
Alex moved to LA and works alongside his father-in-law, Chandler, at King Records. Alex and I are equal partners of King Records, so all major business decisions still have to be discussed with me, but for the most part I leave it to Alex.
Evangeline retired, her words, from modeling to stay home with their two-year-old son, Alex, and is expecting the
ir second child, a girl, any day. I’m not allowed to call her Weenie anymore. Zach put his foot down after the twins started calling her Aunt Weenie.
“Babe,” Zach calls again, knocking harder on the door. “We’re gonna be late.”
Opening the door, I come face to face with my gorgeous husband and his mini-me, Mackenzie, perched on his hip. “Hi, Z.”
He circles my waist with his free hand and he tugs me to his chest. “What are you up to in here? Why was the door locked?”
“Um…”
“Here, Daddy,” a little voice says below me. I look down to see Bella holding up the pregnancy test to Zach. The little stinker ratted me out.
Zach takes the stick from Bella, looks at the results, then a smile curls up one side of his mouth. “Really?”
I smirk. “Are you freaking out?”
He shakes his head but says, “A little.” Then he presses his lips gently against mine. “Are you okay?”
I nod. “Are you?”
He nods and drops his forehead to mine. “I love you so much, Jay.”
I slide my hand down over the curve of his perfect ass and squeeze. “I love you, too, Z.”
“Should we tell them?” he asks, nodding to the twins.
“Not yet. Remember when we brought Mackenzie home from the hospital? Bella cried for three days.”
Zach rolls his eyes. “How did we end up with such a drama queen?”
“Your mother,” we both say at the same time and share a laugh.
Do I have any regrets? Not a single one.
If I knew that all of the heartache, grief, and pain I’d suffered throughout the years, would lead me to my beautiful family, I’d suffer through it all over again. This might not be the normal I’d wished for; but it’s so much more.
This is meant to be.
My destiny.
My karma.
My fate.
My happily ever after.
The End
Thank you to all the readers out there who have taken a chance on me.
Thank you to my family, especially my husband, for keeping me caffeinated and hydrated while I’m writing.
Thank you to my boys, Matt and Ryan. Mommy loves you.
Thank you Martha Sweeney for your encouragement and for always taking the time to answer my questions. You’re the best!
Thank you Becky, Donna, Carrie, Kristen, Mandy, Crystal, and Kolleen, at Hot Tree Editing.
Thank you Robin Harper at Wicked By Design for an amazing book cover. You pretty much nailed it on the first try.
Thank you Jessi Gibson, my writing coach, for your encouragement and praise. You’ve become a valued friend.
Thank you Kim Ingram Deister at The Story Tender for the final editing and proofing. You’re my unicorn.
Thank you Nicole at Indie Sage PR.
Thank you Belinda Boring at The BookishSnob Designs for the fantastic teasers and my adorable author logo. You are an amazing lady.
Thank you Angela at Fictional Formats for working your magic and for coming to my rescue more than once.
Thank you Lisa, my book girlfriend, who introduced me to Christian Grey, which led me to Amazon One-Click and in turn, forced me to get a real job to support my reading habit.
Thank you to my bitches. You know who you are. I love you girls with all my heart. Thank you for being patient with me and not writing me off as your friend, when I’ve been too busy trying to meet deadlines.
Thank you Amy for your input on Zach and Jay’s story.
Thank you to my new author friend, Louise Evans for the additional teasers and for always including me.
And last, but not least, thank you Louise Rogers-Thomas for being the best damn PA, I could ever wish for. You make my world go around.
M.A Foster was born and raised in Tampa, Florida and currently resides in Land O’Lakes, Florida where she is suffering from empty nest syndrome with her husband and her crazy dog, Rocky.
When she’s not reading or writing, she’s searching for chocolate.
You can connect with her at one of the following:
EMAIL ~ WEBSITE ~ FACEBOOK ~ TWITTER
GOODREADS ~ PINTEREST ~ INSTAGRAM
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