Hold Her Again

by Shannon Stacey

  Jace took his time unwrapping the box and then he grinned at her before lifting the lid. He’d always loved getting gifts, and she hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed. She heard him inhale deeply as he lifted the sheets of paper out, but she wasn’t braced for the emotion in his eyes when he turned to her.

  “You wrote me a song.”

  “I wrote us a song. It’s a duet.” She smiled. “Just for us.”

  “‘Baby, you were worth waiting for,’” he read, and then he kissed her again. This time he didn’t seem worried about how far away her parents might be, and she sighed against his lips. He was definitely worth waiting for.

  After putting the paper carefully back in the box, Jace reached into his pocket and pulled out a small white square. It took her a few seconds to realize it was a tightly folded up sheet of paper and then she laughed.

  “You wrote me a song.”

  “I did. I actually had plans to record it and box it up and put a bow on it, but when I hit the road, I just grabbed the paper.”

  Ava smoothed the folds and read the words across the top. And Forever I Choose You. She didn’t get very far through the lyrics before tears blurred her vision and she had to swipe at her eyes to keep them from falling on the paper and making the precious words run.

  “I mean every word, Ava. I love you. No matter what the choice is, I choose you, for the rest of my life.”

  This time she kissed him, and she didn’t give a damn where her parents were. Within eavesdropping distance, judging by the sniffling and shushing sounds coming from the kitchen, but Ava didn’t care.

  “I love you, Jace,” she whispered when they came up for air. “And I choose you, too. Forever.”

  Epilogue

  Six months later...

  They were waiting at the edge of the circular driveway when the party bus Jace had arranged for pulled up behind her Jeep, which she’d refused to upgrade to a shiny new model. He squeezed her hand, and Ava looked up at him with a heart about to explode from the excitement.

  The door opened and she wasn’t surprised when her mom was the first one off the bus. Ava let go of Jace’s hand to throw herself into her mother’s embrace, and then her dad was hugging them both.

  When Whitney stepped off the bus, Ava untangled herself from her parents to hug her.

  “Holy shit, Ava. This is crazy.”

  “It’s home.” But she remembered the first time she’d seen the house and, yeah, it was a little bit crazy.

  Blue, his wife and their kids were the last ones off the bus, and Jace and the driver had to help them unload what looked like an entire children’s department store into the driveway.

  After a round of handshakes and hugs, they got everything into the house and gave everybody a tour of the downstairs and the studio. Ava had added a few of her own touches here and there—pretty much everywhere—and she loved showing it off. Especially the photos from her box of dreams, which were in collage frames in the studio and the family room.

  “You go show the women that dressing room of yours,” Jace said when they were done looking at the awards on display, giving her a wink.

  “Dressing room?” Whitney repeated. “Seriously?”

  Ava laughed and led the way up the stairs. “It’s just a really big walk-in closet. Okay, a nice one. With a couch.”

  “You know life is good when you have a couch in your closet,” Kira said, and they all laughed.

  But it wasn’t the couch that got their attention when she opened the door to her closet and stepped back. It was the wedding dress, hanging on the opposite wall and waiting to be worn the next day.

  Her mom inhaled so sharply Ava was afraid she’d faint and then put her hands to her face to cover the insta-tears. “You’re getting married?”

  “Tomorrow. Surprise!”

  “How could you not tell me? Good lord, honey, I didn’t pack for a wedding. For my daughter’s wedding.”

  “I looked at a thousand dresses for y’all, and Carrie’s assistant lined them up on racks in the other room. Later, after lunch, we’ll play shopping without even leaving the house.”

  Whitney threw her arms around Ava’s neck. “Ohmigod, I knew it. Congratulations!”

  Ava laughed. “Nobody outside of Jace’s team knew anything. Well, except for the magazine photographer.”

  Whitney let her go and gave her a well, look at you look. “Magazine photographer?”

  “You wouldn’t believe how much money they’re giving us to have the exclusive photos of our wedding. It’s outrageous.” She shrugged. “According to Carrie, country music fans think Jace being reunited with his lost love from ‘Hold Her Again’ is about the most romantic thing they’ve ever heard and a big marketing win.”

  It had taken her a little while to warm up to Jace’s manager, but once she got to know her Ava learned a few things about Carrie. Business was never personal for her. Her recommendations to Jace were always in his best interests. And she helped him make a ton of money. Once Ava was able to set aside her own personal feelings and look at things in a business sense, she’d been able to forgive Carrie for her part in Jace leaving her.

  “And we wrote a song together,” she continued. “It’s going to be on Jace’s next album and we’ll do a video and everything.”

  “Honey!” Her mom put her hands to her cheeks. “That’s amazing!”

  “It’s just a one-time thing,” Ava cautioned. “I’m not launching a career or anything. It’s just kind of a fulfillment of the dream Jace and I used to have. And we’ll write together, but I don’t want the whole on-stage and touring thing. I’m happiest writing songs.”

  “You’ll tour with Jace, though?” Kira asked. “Maybe sing your duet on stage?”

  “Maybe, until we have a family.” Ava smiled and she could tell by the collective aww from the others that every bit of her joy and love showed on her face. “And then we’ll figure it out. Together.”

  * * *

  Jace watched Ava walking toward him, her gown swirling around her in a cloud of white, and his eyes teared up. With her arm tucked under Joe’s and a bouquet of wildflowers in her other hand, she looked so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her.

  But he couldn’t look away. Happiness radiated from her, mirroring his own. This was the dream, he thought. They’d been living it for the last six months, and it got better every day. Having Ava be a part of his music, writing with him and even agreeing to record their duet, was the piece he hadn’t realized he was missing and he didn’t need Carrie to tell him his career was going to reach a whole new level.

  And having Ava at his side had made the house into a home. No matter how good a day he had in the studio or what awards he was nominated for, the best part of every single day was crawling into bed with her and making love. Waking up with her. Sitting on the porch with her. Everything he did with her was his favorite thing.

  But the best was yet to come. She wasn’t showing yet, but Ava was carrying their baby down the aisle with her. Maybe he’d get that little dark-haired girl to teach to fish after all. Or a boy. Either way, the thought of him and Ava having a baby brought him so much overwhelming joy, he might have cried a little the night he told her, though she’d sworn she’d never tell anybody about that.

  They’d also agreed not to tell anybody about the baby yet because it was so early, but now that her parents were here, he was wondering if they should rethink that. Her mom would want to cry and kiss her face, and Jace thought Ava might be sad to miss out on that, even with all the video chatting they did.

  “You ain’t gonna pass out are you?”

  Jace chuckled and tore his gaze away from his bride to look over at Blue, who was standing next to him. “Hell no. I don’t wanna miss a second of this.”

  “That’s too bad. I think a picture of you s
wooning in my arms would be a big hit in one of those gossip magazines.”

  Jace shook his head and gave his attention back to Ava. They reached the fancy wooden arch laced with white flowers Carrie had told them was the perfect backdrop for an outdoor summer wedding, and he watched as Joe kissed her cheek and blinked back tears.

  Then, finally, Ava’s hand was in his and he couldn’t help himself. He leaned forward and kissed her until the justice of the peace cleared his throat and Blue thumped him on the back.

  “Jace, you ain’t supposed to do that yet.”

  “I’ve been waiting a long time for Ava to be my wife. I got a little excited.” He squeezed her hand and held her gaze a moment longer. “And we were worth waiting for.”

  * * * * *

  To read more from Shannon Stacey, visit www.shannonstacey.com.

  The men of Boston Fire are back and hotter than ever!

  Don’t miss this brand-new novel from New York Times bestselling author Shannon Stacey.

  HOT RESPONSE

  Coming May 2018 from Carina Press.

  Gavin Boudreau lives for the job, but he also believes in “work hard, play harder.” As the youngest guy in Ladder 37, he figures he’s got plenty of time before settling down becomes a priority. Soft, pretty women who aren’t looking for promises are exactly his type, and he’s comfortable with that. Working with a gorgeous EMT isn’t going to change who he is.

  The last thing Cait Tasker needs in her personal life is a firefighter whose challenges on-scene have been a thorn in her side from minute one. Her plate’s too full for a man anyway. Back in her childhood home to help her family cope with an unexpected tragedy, she’s got enough to handle without throwing a hot, testosterone-laden fireman into the mix.

  As long days on the job lead to long nights together, Gavin and Cait will discover how far temptation can take them—and what happens when the one you thought was all wrong for you turns out to be the person you can’t live without.

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to Angela James and the Carina Press team for letting me share my love of Christmas romances with readers again this year. Our holiday novellas have become something of a tradition for me, and I appreciate the work you all put into them. Happy holidays!

  About the Author

  New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Shannon Stacey lives with her husband and two sons in New England, where her two favorite activities are writing stories of happily-ever-afters and driving her UTV through the mud. You can contact Shannon through her website, shannonstacey.com, where she maintains an almost daily blog, visit her on Twitter, Twitter.com/shannonstacey, and on Facebook, Facebook.com/shannonstacey.authorpage, or email her at shannon@shannonstacey.com.

  To find out about other books by Shannon Stacey or to be alerted to new releases, sign up for her monthly newsletter at bit.ly/shannonstaceynewsletter.

  Also available from Shannon Stacey and Carina Press

  The Kowalski Series

  Exclusively Yours

  Undeniably Yours

  Yours to Keep

  All He Ever Needed

  All He Ever Desired

  All He Ever Dreamed

  Love a Little Sideways

  Taken with You

  Falling for Max

  The Boston Fire Series

  Heat Exchange

  Controlled Burn

  Fully Ignited

  Holiday Sparks

  Mistletoe and Margaritas

  Slow Summer Kisses

  Snowbound with the CEO

  A Fighting Chance

  Holiday with a Twist

  Hold Her Again

  Also available from Shannon Stacey and Harlequin

  Alone with You

  Heart of the Storm

  Coming soon from Shannon Stacey and Carina Press

  Hot Response (A Boston Fire Novel)

  Introducing the Carina Press Romance Promise!

  The Carina Press team all have one thing in common: we are romance readers with a longtime love of the genre. And we know what readers are looking for in a romance: a guarantee of a happily-ever-after (HEA) or happy-for-now (HFN). With that in mind, we’re initiating the Carina Press Romance Promise. When you see a book tagged with these words in our cover copy/book description, we’re making you, the reader, a very important promise:

  This book contains a romance central to the plot and ends in an HEA or HFN.

  Simple, right? But so important, we know!

  Look for the Carina Press Romance Promise and one-click with confidence that we understand what’s at the heart of the romance genre!

  Look for this line in Carina Press book descriptions:

  One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

  Find out more at CarinaPress.com/RomancePromise.

  Find out more at CarinaPress.com.

  TOUGH.

  DEDICATED.

  Meet the Men of Boston Fire.

  Heat things up with the Boston Fire series from New York Times bestselling author Shannon Stacey!

  HEAT EXCHANGE

  Lydia Kincaid has always been off-limits to Aiden Hunt. She’s his mentor’s daughter. His best friend’s sister. The ex-wife of a fellow firefighter. And now she’s back in Boston. When Aiden’s plan to play it cool fails, he and Lydia cross a line they can’t uncross.

  CONTROLLED BURN

  Jessica Broussard has no interest in leaving sunny San Diego or her cushy corner office for Boston to help the grandparents she’s never met. She’s unprepared for the frigid winter, the warm reception from her relatives and the hot, scruffy firefighter who lives upstairs.

  FULLY IGNITED

  When Jamie Rutherford takes a temporary assignment as lieutenant of Boston Fire’s Engine 59, she doesn’t anticipate any problems. She’s been in the fire service for a long time and, even though she’s fairly new to Boston, she knows how to make any firehouse her home. What she’s not prepared for is her reaction to firefighter Scott Kincaid.

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  Deck the halls with these holiday romances!

  From New York Times bestselling author Shannon Stacey

  MISTLETOE & MARGARITAS

  SNOWBOUND WITH THE CEO

  HER HOLIDAY MAN

  HOLIDAY WITH A TWIST

  HOLD HER AGAIN

  From New York Times bestselling author Jaci Burton

  ALL SHE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS

  A RARE GIFT

  THE BEST THING

  More holiday reads...

  MINE UNDER THE MISTLETOE by Kat Latham

  THIS TIME NEXT YEAR by Alison Kent

  CHRISTMAS CURVEBALL by Shari Mikels

  TINSEL MY HEART by Christi Barth

  HOLIDAY HOUSE CALL by Jen Doyle

  Doesn’t your Christmas deserve a happily-ever-after? Wrap up these romances today!

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  We think you have a good book in you!

  Do you write in the below genres? Harlequin’s Carina Press wants to see your manuscript.

  • Contemporary Romance

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  ISBN-13: 9781488079191

  Hold Her Again

  Copyright © 2017 by Shannon Stacey

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.