This Is Our Song

by Samantha Chase

  “No!” she cried but couldn’t hide her smile.

  He nodded. “It’s true. We got advanced copies, and my family is thrilled with the way you incorporated them into the story. Darcy’s a little upset because now she fears people will totally be stalking her on campus, but I think she’ll survive.”

  “Oh my goodness…”

  “They’re all here, you know. They all flew in for the concert. Zoe really had to argue with her doctor to get clearance to fly because she’s so far along in her pregnancy, but she finally got him to agree. Aidan’s a nervous wreck.”

  “I’m sure!”

  “They’re not leaving until after lunch tomorrow and I know they’d love to see you.”

  She smiled. “I’d like that a lot.”

  He nodded. “Good. Then it’s settled.” He devoured the rest of his sandwich in a few bites and then leaned back against the couch and looked at Savannah’s plate. “You’re not going to eat?”

  “I thought I was hungry,” she said, “but it turns out it wasn’t for food.”

  He grinned and sat up a little straighter. “Really?”

  She nodded.

  “I like the sound of that. A lot.”

  Standing, Savannah reached for his hand and pulled Riley to his feet. “I like the sound of your voice in my living room,” she said, looking up at him. “A lot.”

  “Well, don’t get used to it,” he teased, sweeping her up into his arms. He started to walk toward the bedroom.

  “Wait…what?”

  “Oh, didn’t I mention? You’re coming on the media tour with me. Then you’re moving in with me.”

  She laughed. “I am? When did I decide that?”

  “Just now,” he said seriously. “And you’re doing it out of the kindness of your own heart. Plus, you feel bad because I haven’t been able to sit out on my deck in my favorite spot in months.”

  “You haven’t? Why not?”

  He gently laid her down on the bed. “Because every time I look out there, all I see is you. And if I force myself to stand out there, I look out at the city and wonder where you are and what you’re doing.”

  “Oh…Riley…”

  “So you see why it’s so important for you to be there with me.”

  Solemnly, she nodded. “If that’s what I need to do…”

  Kicking off his shoes, he grinned. “Well, there is one other thing.”

  Her surprised expression was her only response.

  Pulling his shirt over his head, he said, “And really, I think it’s something that needs to be dealt with immediately.”

  Savannah pushed up on her elbows.

  His belt was the next thing to go. Then his socks.

  She licked her lips, certain she knew where this was going, and her body was humming in anticipation.

  “You look really good in my shirt,” he said and began to crawl over her on the bed, but he never actually touched her.

  She sighed his name, almost begging for his touch. And just when she thought he was finally going to kiss her, he rolled to her side facing her, the mattress bouncing beneath them. It was beyond frustrating. When he finally reached for her hand, she almost whimpered.

  “Savannah, the night we almost shared a meal together—at the beach—changed everything for me. You changed everything for me. I loved the way you enjoyed a meal. I loved the way you talked to me like I was just an ordinary man.” He squeezed her hand. “And from the moment you walked into my home, it was like you belonged there.” Releasing her hand, he stroked her cheek. “My life is crazy and chaotic, but when you’re with me, everything feels normal. Right. Marry me, Savannah. Marry me so we can live together and be together and give each other that feeling of rightness every day.”

  “Oh my gosh… I didn’t… I thought…”

  He gave her a crooked grin. “Yeah, you thought I was just bringing you in here for sex.” He paused and then his expression was serious again. “Savannah, I love you. I don’t want to live another day—another minute—without you. Say you’ll be my wife, my lover, my friend…forever.”

  All she could do was nod as Riley finally wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close.

  “Thank God,” he sighed. “I was afraid you were going to toss me out of here!”

  She pulled back and looked at him like he was crazy. “I would never do that. Ever. Now that I’ve had to live without you? I don’t ever want to deal with that again.”

  “You never will.”

  And then he finally kissed her.

  * * *

  “Any chance we can make this media tour a road trip?”

  It was four in the morning and neither had slept, but Riley didn’t mind. Savannah was naked in his arms—had been that way for hours—and it was perfect. Sleep was highly overrated. He chuckled at her question. “I don’t know. Most of it’s going to be done here in L.A. The press is coming to me for the next couple of weeks.”

  “Oh.”

  “Then we’re going to finalize the tour dates.”

  “Uh-huh,” she said and then yawned.

  “But here’s the thing,” he began and rolled to his side to face her again. “I want to marry you.”

  She smiled broadly. “I know. And you already asked and I already said yes so we’re good there.”

  He shook his head. “No, I mean I want to marry you, like, now. As soon as possible.”

  Savannah sat straight up. “Riley, we can’t. I mean… When would we even…?”

  Sitting up, he laughed at her shocked expression. “My family is really the sticking point here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, Aidan and Zoe are going to have a baby like any minute.”

  “Right.”

  “Then Quinn and Anna’s wedding will be here and we don’t want to steal their thunder.”

  “Okay.”

  He reached for her hands. “So here’s what I’m proposing: There’s no waiting period to get married in California. I can pick up the phone right now and get things rolling. We could be married this afternoon. You know, while our families are still here.”

  “Riley!” she cried. “That’s… It’s so…”

  “Yeah, I know.” He grinned. “It won’t be big or fancy or perfect, but…” He shrugged. “We don’t need it to be. It’s us. And it will be private with only our families there.” He kissed her. “Say the word and I’ll make the call.”

  “I…I don’t know,” she said nervously. “I don’t see how we could pull it off.”

  “Mick has a house on the beach. It would be perfect. And he would love to host it. No one would know until after it was done, Savannah. No chance for the paparazzi to show up or the press. Just you and me.”

  “And about a dozen family members.” She looked at him and saw the first traces of disappointment at her response. Before she could change her mind, she cupped his face and kissed him hard. “Go wake some people up!”

  His eyes went wide. “Really? You really want to?”

  “I want to be your wife more than anything, Riley Shaughnessy. Now go make the calls so we can sleep for an hour or two before we have to get up and shock our families.”

  Ten minutes later, she was back in his arms, but sleep wasn’t anywhere in sight. “I love you, Riley.”

  “Mmm…I’ll never get tired of hearing that.”

  “Good. Because I plan on saying it for at least another fifty to sixty years.”

  He hugged her close. “Say it forever and we have a deal.”

  She chuckled. “Done.”

  Epilogue

  Two months later…

  “Oh look, another tumbleweed,” Riley teased and then grimaced when Savannah elbowed him in the ribs.

  “Knock it off. I think it’s great.” They were riding on his newly design
ed tour bus and driving across the state of Texas on their way to the next stop on Riley’s tour, and Savannah was loving every minute of it.

  He chuckled as he scanned through his emails on his tablet. “Hey, look! The wedding pictures are here!”

  Savannah jumped up from her seat and practically fell into Riley’s lap in her excitement. “Yeah! Oh, I can’t wait to see them!”

  Riley opened the link and together they sighed and smiled at the first pictures.

  Two brides.

  Two grooms.

  Riley shook his head. “Didn’t see that one coming at all.”

  “Me either but it was awesome.” She turned and kissed his cheek. “I still can’t believe we pulled it off without anyone knowing.”

  “Now that the pictures are here, I’ll let my publicist know which ones we want released to the public and they’ll make the announcement.”

  They scrolled through more pictures. “Have you talked to Quinn lately? Are things better with Anna and her family?”

  On the morning of Riley and Savannah’s wedding, when he had called his family and let them know what was going to happen, Riley had expected a lot of different responses. He’d never expected his older brother to ask if he could horn in on the ceremony!

  “Yeah, they got over it pretty quick. Her folks were pretty disappointed they weren’t there to see them finally get married, but they understood. They’re still going to have a party like they’d planned.”

  “I think babies have a way of making that happen,” Savannah said, scrolling through the pictures.

  “Married and a baby on the way,” Riley said with wonder. “My brother never does things quite like the rest of us.”

  “Nothing wrong with that. Look how happy they are.” She pointed to a picture of Quinn spinning Anna around on the beach, her face looking up at the sky as she laughed. “I almost feel like we were the ones intruding.”

  “I’ll admit, I kind of felt the same way, but I think it worked out exactly right. Anna wasn’t big on having a traditional wedding, and Quinn wasn’t big on waiting. I like how we were able to help them.”

  “Me too. Plus,” she said with a grin, “we got to call dibs on godparents!”

  Riley laughed as they high-fived each other. “I don’t think Zoe’s going to get over that one quite so quick. She wanted the honor.”

  “Oh, hush. She’s Connor’s godmother and she now has her own sweet baby to spoil.”

  “Lillian Grace,” Riley said. “I must admit, I love Connor, but I think that little girl just about snagged my heart whole.”

  She hugged her husband. “I think the feeling was mutual. After all, you sang her her first song.”

  “When she wrapped her little hand around my finger, I was a goner.”

  Savannah rested her head on Riley’s shoulder as they finished looking through the pictures. “Did they send the link to Quinn and Anna too or do we need to do that?”

  Riley scrolled back and looked at the email. “They got it, too.” When he went back to the pictures, he scrolled through the masses and then stopped at the one he’d been waiting for. The sun had been going down on the beach, and he and Savannah had been dancing out on Mick’s deck while he sang to her. He stopped and pointed to it. “That’s the one.”

  She nodded. “Definitely.”

  In a matter of minutes, Riley had the email and picture sent to his publicist for release. “Are you disappointed you didn’t get a traditional wedding?”

  “No,” she said without hesitation. “Although I do wish I’d had more time to find a dress. Not that I didn’t love mine—your people were amazing—but I do think I might have liked to have a little more time to decide.”

  “Are you kidding me? I’m still getting compliments on how great you and Anna were to shop for and how I should take a couple of lessons from the two of you. My stylist tells me I am way more of a diva than two brides on a timeline!”

  “That’s awesome! I love it!” She laughed. “And it’s totally true. You definitely have a bigger and better wardrobe than I do.”

  “Sweetheart, you look good in everything you own. I particularly like it when you’re wearing something of mine, and I don’t mind sharing.”

  “Mmm…that’s nice,” she purred. “Personally, I prefer you in nothing at all.”

  “Keep talking,” he said, rising to his feet with her in his arms.

  “I think that just about covered it,” she replied, grinning when she saw they were walking back toward their mobile bedroom.

  “I hope you don’t mind if I slip into one of your favorite things then,” he said softly, laying her down.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” she said seriously, “what if we miss something exciting out on the road?”

  “Baby, the tumbleweeds can wait.” Swiftly shutting the door, Riley proceeded to ensure that his wife’s mind was fully focused on what was happening inside the bus rather than outside.

  For more Samantha Chase check out the

  Shaughnessy: Band on the Run series

  One More Kiss

  On sale February 2017

  Read on for a sneak peek at Samantha Chase’s new book in the Shaughnessy: Band on the Run series

  Prologue

  Two years ago

  The noise level backstage was almost as deafening as it had been while they took their final bow. Not that it was much of a surprise. The fans always went wild after the encore, always wanting more. But that’s how you’re supposed to leave them. It guaranteed they’d come back and see you the next time you were in town.

  Matt Reed wasn’t sure it was going to happen.

  Shaughnessy, the band he’d cofounded and played lead guitar in for over ten years, was going on hiatus. It was a good thing. A necessity. A chance to check out other creative outlets. And he was going to spend the next year exploring those options.

  Someone shoved a bottle of Jack Daniels into his hands as he made his way through the crowd to his dressing room. He readily took it, opened it, and was drinking from it before he was behind closed doors. Not that it was a shock to anyone—he was a rock star; he drank. The two seemed to go hand in hand. Only…he was getting tired of it. It was no longer fun getting drunk. It make him feel…sad. Weak.

  Alone.

  He was just about to strip off his shirt when there was a loud knock on the door behind him. “Fifteen minutes, Matty!”

  Hell, he was ready for a break—from the band and the persona. For a little while, it was going to be nice to be just Matt Reed again. Cursing, he took another pull from the bottle, downing a good portion of it before slamming the bottle down.

  So. Damn. Ready.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t love playing with Riley, Dylan, and Julian—he did. It was just that it was time to do something new. Something different. Something that put him in the spotlight and center stage. For years, Matt had dreamed of breaking out a bit, but he hadn’t found the right avenue to do it until now.

  Only a few weeks ago, Matt’s agent had presented him with the opportunity to be the lead in a new rock opera that was being written for Broadway. The timing had been perfect—Dylan was joining the lineup of one of those rock-legends tours, and Julian was getting ready to cowrite the music for his girlfriend Dena’s debut album.

  “Dena,” Matt grumbled as he searched for a clean change of clothes. “She is going to be the death of him. Doesn’t he realize she’s only using him for his connections? She has zero talent! Why is he wasting his time on something like that?” While he knew no one was there to answer him, it still helped him to vent about the situation his friend was putting himself in.

  He wasn’t stupid. Matt knew exactly why Julian was doing what he was doing. But it still seemed a bit ridiculous. “Because he’s in love,” he said with a derisive snort. “One day, he’ll realize she’s all wrong for him, but the more
we keep telling him, the more determined he is to prove us wrong.”

  None of this was new information, so he had no idea why he was even thinking about it. What he really needed to focus on was getting cleaned up and out of here. After the party, they were all going to sit down with Riley, who had been blindsided by the fact that they were all moving on to do solo projects rather than taking a short break. Matt felt bad about it—he really did—but it was time for him to put his life first, rather than the band.

  Pushing that thought aside, he quickly finished stripping and changed into clean clothes. One more party to show up at, one more night of flirting and drinking and dancing, and then he’d be able to head off and start this new chapter of his life.

  “This could finally be my turn,” he mumbled as he packed up his clothes, stuffing them into his bag. With a final look around the room, he checked his reflection and grimaced. “Time for a shower would have been nice.”

  Wishing for that time was pointless, so with nothing left to do, he grabbed the almost-empty bottle, strode across the room, and pulled open the door.

  And froze.

  Standing there was his every fantasy come to life.

  Wide, chocolate-brown eyes; long, wavy dark-brown hair; red lips; and a body that was lovingly encased in faded denim jeans and a black T-shirt. Black looked good on her. The only question he had was: Who is she? His agent Mick and their security team made sure no one got backstage. Especially when they were on a tight schedule.

  “Matt?” she asked nervously.

  Matt? That stopped him because his stage name was Matty—something he hated but the fans loved—and every groupie he’d ever met referred to him as such. If this woman was calling him Matt, he had to know her from somewhere else. Taking a closer look, he stepped back in shock.

  “Vivienne?”

  She nodded and gave a small wave as she sighed with relief. “Hey,” she said quietly, a small smile crossing her face. “How are you?”

  Holy shit! His best friend Aaron’s little sister was here and looking…hot! How was he? At the moment, he felt like he was having a stroke!