Julie pulled herself up and kissed him. “I love you so much it’s tearing me up inside. And I need you. I know that now. But what do you get out of this?”
For the first time all night, Ryland smiled. “Don’t you know? I get you.”
He made it sound as if she was something amazing, something special. She had her doubts about that, but she couldn’t doubt the love in his eyes or the sincerity in his voice. “I can’t believe it,” she said.
“Believe what?”
“A rock star has a crush on me.”
Ryland laughed. “The worst kind of crush. The kind you never get over. Ever.”
Epilogue
The door to Ryland’s dressing room opened and a crew member stuck his head in. “Fifteen-minute warning.”
Ryland nodded. “Thanks.”
He looked down at Julie, letting his eyes sweep over her. He’d never get tired of just looking at her. She’d been hard at work on edits for her newest book while he went through his vocal warm-ups. This was his first performance since they’d gotten back from their honeymoon.
After a few months of being separated too often by his tour schedule, they’d had enough. They got married on a cool, misty morning in the spring, on the shore of the lake by his house with only their families present.
By keeping it a secret, they’d been able to enjoy relative privacy. They’d had to deal with the paparazzi way too much when the story of Julie’s kidnapping broke. Fortunately, Heath’s trial had been swift and decisive, so the clamor in the press died down with lightning speed. Amazingly, Julie’s ability to take things in stride had grown exponentially.
She looked up then, as if feeling his eyes on hers. “You’re supposed to be getting ready to go on stage, not giving me bedroom eyes.”
“Then don’t lie there looking all sexy.”
“In leggings and a hoodie? What do you want me to wear? A grandma dress?”
Ryland grinned and pounced on her. He kissed her with skilled thoroughness, knowing all the secret touches that made her melt. Then, when her eyelids were heavy and dazed, he smiled down at her. “It’s hopeless. No matter what you wear, I’m going to want to take it off you.”
“Ryland Sterling, get yourself under control and go get on stage.”
“Fine. But only if you go up to your seat in the box so I can sing all the love songs to you.”
She smiled and ran a finger down his cheek and along his jawline. “I plan to. Now go, before Tate and Elijah come looking for you.”
“I’m proud of you for being here,” he said.
She smiled. “I’m proud of me too. Thanks for always being there for me.”
“We are a team.” Ryland kissed her one more time, then forced himself out of the room. He’d never felt more alive. Energy pulsed through his veins as he put on the ear piece a crew member handed him. Tate and Elijah were already waiting backstage, ready to go out.”
“Ready, bro?” Elijah asked.
“Absolutely,” Ryland said. As much as he loved performing, he was already counting the minutes till he could get back to Julie.
The crowd roared as they ran out on stage and went straight into their first set. Between songs, he reached for the microphone and, for the first time on stage, saw his wedding band glinting in the lights. He couldn’t help what he said next.
“I know a lot of you can’t see it, but I’m wearing a wedding band.” He held his hand up and grinned as the crowd cheered. “My new wife is here tonight, listening. I just want her to know that this next song is dedicated to her. In fact, the rest of my life is dedicated to you, Julie.”
As they went into the first crashing chords of one of their most popular rock ballads, Ryland knew Julie was going to kill him later. But he knew exactly how to get her to forgive him.
***
If you loved Saved by the Rockstar, stay tuned for more titles in the
Rich and Famous Romance Series and read The Trouble with Billionaires now!
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my family, as always, for their love and support.
Thanks to my critique partners, Amy Meyer, Victorine Lieske, and Judy Corry.
I love working with all of you, staying up late with you, and podcasting with you. (Even though my phone pings a lot.) Also, thanks for another great cover, Victorine!
Special thanks to my editors Cara Seger and Arielle Bailey
And thank you for reading my book. Please consider leaving a review!
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For information about Michelle Pennington’s other titles, sign up for her newsletter, go to:
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About the Author
Michelle Pennington writes clean, heart-pounding, sigh-inducing romance across multiple genres. Her books include Young Adult, Contemporary, Regency, and Fantasy. The genre might change, but her characters will always be falling in love.
She spends her days quoting movies with her husband and making messes faster than her four kids. She also has a cat her kids call Boots, but is really Hessian Boots, the perfect Regency gentleman, complete with a snowy white cravat. She loves to make magic by stringing words together, but she also creates designer sugar cookies, sings loud in church, and kills too many house plants.
Michelle is an active contributor in the indie and clean fiction writing communities. In her effort to support other authors, she co-hosts a weekly youtube live-cast and facebook support group as one of The Writing Gals.
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Saved by the Rockstar (Rich and Famous Romance Book 1) Page 11
