He placed a tender kiss on her forehead. “How you feel isn’t silly. It’s how you feel. Trust me when I say that while I’m looking forward to saying our vows in front of all those people, what I’m looking forward to most is being yours and yours alone.”
“You told me once that you weren’t good at these kinds of conversations,” Reese said. “I think you lied.”
“I’ve been practicing on this beautiful woman. How am I doing?”
She giggled. “Pretty good.”
“Pretty good? Just when I thought I was starting to win you over.”
“You won me over a long time ago, Sterling.”
His eyes lit up. “That reminds me. I have a gift for you.” He released her for a moment and crossed the room. Reese hadn’t even noticed a rectangular package tied up neatly with a bow. Sterling grinned sheepishly. “Morgan may have helped wrap this and sneak it in here.”
“You didn’t need to get me anything,” Reese said. “You already got me a ring and a honeymoon and so many things.”
“Will you please let me give you a gift? It’s the last gift you’ll get as my fiancée. Stop fighting it.”
Reese sighed and took the package. It felt solid, like a book. “You just want me to open it?”
Sterling touched her hand. “First, I want to say one more thing. Kind of by way of explanation.”
“I’m a little nervous about this gift if it needs an explanation.”
Reese looked up at Sterling, who was grinning again. He put his hands on her waist. “Reese, you have been the best kind of surprise. I didn’t think I would ever get married, to be honest. I didn’t expect to fall in love. Especially not with an overzealous, stalker fan.”
She rolled her eyes. “This again? Today? You have to bring this up today?”
“It’s part of the story where we first met. Sorry, my dear, but you won’t ever live this down. Anyway, you have surprised me every step of the way. I cannot imagine life going back to the way it was before, flat and without color. Will you open your gift?”
The smile felt like it would never leave her face. She tore open the wrapping paper, realizing what was inside the moment her fingers touched the picture frame. She began to laugh, even as he pulled her close, trapping her hands between them along with the autographed photo from the night they met.
Sterling’s lips brushed her ear as he spoke. Her heart swelled with love and joy.
“I never would have believed it at the time. Reese, you were so very right, and we are completely right together.”
Epilogue
Pax took a deep breath, staring at his phone in his hand. He had pulled off the road into a parking lot to make the call. Not just because he wasn’t a fan of talking and driving. But this call had him nervous for reasons he didn’t yet want to admit. He could hardly keep his hands from shaking.
It wasn’t that he was starstruck, though he had a huge dose of admiration for Sterling James. It went both ways. They’d been introduced a few years before at a party for a playoff game where Sterling performed the halftime show. Pax had gotten Sterling tickets for several games and Sterling had returned the favor with backstage passes to several shows. Pax was a big fan of Sterling’s music, but he had another reason for his nerves.
He wanted—no, needed—Sterling to say yes. And it was a big ask.
“Paxton Shaw! How in the world are you, man?”
“You know. How’s married life? I’ll be honest—I never thought I’d be asking you that question.”
Sterling laughed. “Right? It’s amazing. Only because Reese is amazing. Guess it’s true what they say about meeting the right woman.”
Pax couldn’t find his voice for a moment and made a sound that hopefully passed as agreement. Not terror, which is what he was currently feeling at the thought of marriage. And the right woman.
“Not that you need a reason to call, but what’s up?” Sterling asked.
“You’re in Austin for Christmas, right?”
“Are you stalking me, Pax?”
Pax chuckled. “Hey, whatever you post on Instagram is fair game, man.”
“You mean whatever Reese posts on Instagram,” Sterling said. There was a muffled sound, like Sterling had put his hand over the phone. “I’m putting you on speakerphone. My wife wanted to say something.”
“Hey, Pax! I’m a big fan. Sterling swears that you can get us into a game sometime. I’d love to meet the only football star my husband actually likes.”
Pax chuckled. “He might be the only one who likes me right now. Anytime. I’d love to have you. Just let me know when our schedules match up.”
Reese squealed. “Yay! Thanks. And about your rep … I’ve seen the news this week. Can I help?”
“The team’s PR guy is handling everything.”
“You mean bungling everything? I know Lawrence. He’s a hot mess. Look, as soon as you guys get off the phone, look for a message from me. I can handle Lawrence. And I think that I can help with your current crisis.”
“I’d appreciate that. Seriously.”
“Great. Hang in there! We’ll get you straightened out.”
Pax doubted that. This week, his already bad reputation had taken a nose-dive. The kind he didn’t think he could recover from. He wasn’t even sure his career would recover. The league still hadn’t announced that his suspension, but Pax fully expected them to. Any day now. Reese might be amazing, but it would take a miracle to fix his image.
To be honest, his PR issue was the least of his worries right now. He’d already lost everything in his life that really mattered to him because of his own mistakes. Losing his career would simply be the period at the end of the sentence.
“I’m back,” Sterling said. “So, what’s up?”
“Look, I’m in Houston this week and wanted to ask for a favor. It’s a big one, or I wouldn’t ask. I know it’s Christmas week, but I wanted to see if you’d be willing to come play for a charity event on Saturday.”
Before Sterling could protest, Pax took a breath and launched into a quick description of the event for his charity, Wheels Up. Silently hoping and even praying that Sterling would say yes.
“It will benefit children and youth who need sports wheelchairs that insurance won’t provide. Plus, better accessibility for a number of families who can’t afford the upgrades. I know it’s a big ask, and that you’re probably spending time with Reese’s family. But it would be amazing to have you there.”
Sterling lowered his voice. “I love Reese’s family, but personally, I could use a little break. Let me ask my wife.”
Pax wiped his free hand on his jeans. It didn’t help. It had been an unseasonably warm week in Texas. The AC in the car was blasting, but even the back of his T-shirt was damp with sweat.
If Sterling said no, it wasn’t a huge deal. Right? The charity event would still be a success. Cilla had made sure of that with all her careful planning. She was brilliant. Not that he ever doubted that. He knew even back in high school that she would do great things.
His stomach churned. He simply had never imagined that Cilla would do those great things while in a wheelchair. And that it would be all his fault.
Whenever he thought that he had beaten back the guilt or punished himself enough, it surprised him with its weight again. He would never escape it.
Did he really think getting Sterling James to perform would help?
Shame burned his throat. Pax closed his eyes, gripping the wheel of his car with his free hand. If only he could take back that one night …
He wouldn’t have ruined Cilla’s life.
Or lost her love.
“Pax? It’s a go. Reese is excited to meet you. Maybe more excited about the kolaches from some place on the road between Austin and Katy. But anyway. Just send me the details and I’m glad to be there. It will be a pretty stripped-down acoustic vibe.”
“That’s perfect. Wow! That’s so fantastic. I can’t thank you enough!”
“No wor
ries. I know you’d do the same for me. And Reese is going to keep bugging you about helping manage you. Fair warning, you might not be able to escape her. She’s quite good.”
“Hey, anyone who can make you look good must be amazing at her job.”
Sterling laughed. “Thanks for that. Oh, one last question.”
“Shoot.”
“What’s her name?”
“Sorry?” His heart kicked up a few notches. He felt suddenly exposed. Caught.
“The woman who’s got you tied up in knots. Not that I don’t believe you’d be involved in something like this, but I get the sense there’s much more to this story. This is the kind of thing you do when you’re in love. Am I wrong?”
No. He wasn’t wrong.
Paxton loved Cilla. And that was the problem.
Because no matter what he did for her, Pax could never deserve her love.
* * *
Keep reading about Paxton’s story in Forgiving the Football Player!! That’s the next book in the Not So Bad Boys series, focused on men who need a second chance and hope for redemption.
WHAT TO READ NEXT
The Billionaire Surprise Series
The Billionaire Love Match
The Billionaire Benefactor
The Billionaire Land Baron
The Billionaire’s Masquerade Ball
The Billionaire’s Secret Heir
Sandover Island Sweet Romance Series
Sandover Beach Memories
Sandover Beach Week
Sandover Beach Melodies
Sandover Beach Christmas
Not So Bad Boy Sweet Romance Series
Managing the Rock Star
Forgiving the Football Player
Winning the Cowboy
Taming the Cowboy’s Twin
A Note From Emma
Thank you so much for reading! I always like to leave a personal note at the end of every book as a tiny reward for readers. This is where I pull back the curtain a bit and get real.
There are usually a handful of details or stories in each book that come from my own life, with varying degrees of accuracy. Here are a few from this book:
I used to dream of being a (folk) rock star. I played (and still sometimes play) a Taylor acoustic guitar, writing my own music and singing in bars, coffee shops, and opening for bands. I WANTED to love it, but usually I was miserable the entire time I was on stage.
Double Solitaire is a thing. (Triple? Not so sure how it would work.) I played this endlessly with my best friend Emily in high school. It’s fast and addictive. After writing this, I want to play it again!
Johnboy’s ashes—THAT HAPPENED. This one is pulled right from my life. And I was the person who put him in the Cool Whip. As Reese said, HIS ASHES NEVER LEFT THE LITTLE CONTAINER. He did not contaminate the Cool Whip! But I have not yet lived this down. Also, an unnamed family member threatened to shake him (the ACTUAL ashes) into the food served at my wedding. I don’t think this happened. But I cannot be sure. I am not sure where Johnboy is right now, which means he’s either well-hidden or my family got tired of the game and ruined Thanksgiving dinners.
On a more serious note, I was a little nervous about this book. I typically am pretty light on faith in my books. There are a few reasons for that, but the main one is that I think it’s VERY hard to write realistic faith. It’s not pretty. It’s often hard. Christian people disagree with each other on a lot of small points and I’ve seen some incredibly harsh reviews from people who say they are Christians.
Though sweet romance books have a happy-ever-after on the page, we all know that there is more to the story. Five minutes later, they might have a huge fight. But that wouldn’t be satisfying to readers on the page!
In the same way, our faith journeys are just that. The only happy ending is heaven, so while we’re here, there are ups and downs and hard times and good times. We mess up. We doubt. We drift. I think in writing a book with a happy ending that was ALSO a book about faith, I worried that I couldn’t write real, gritty, hard, wonderful, amazing faith.
Truth be told, I probably can’t! I do hope that the characters did grow and wrestle with faith in a realistic way. Yes, there’s a happy ending. But no, there isn’t really a tidy bow. It’s a JOURNEY.
Sterling had a journey and Reese had a journey. (Moby and Staci too!) If you could hang out with them after the pages of this book, I’d like to think they are still struggling through it. Some days it’s easier than others and maybe there are some really hard times for them. Just like it is for me.
Thank you again for reading! I really do value my readers. If you ever want to drop me a line, here’s my email. I USUALLY answer. [email protected]
I also have a reader’s group if you want to hang out on Facebook: http://emmastclair.com/readergroup
And an email list where I send weekly clean reads for you AND give you a free book: http://emmastclair.com/freebook
Acknowledgments
Thank you so much to my lovely betas: Evangeline, Courtney, Bernie, Marsha, Leslie, Judy, Janet, Lorana, and Ruth! You guys are amazing!
Managing The Rock Star (Not So Bad Boys Book 1) Page 26
