by Nomi Summers
He could see the stage set up on one of the greens, and he could hear the crowd rumbling in anticipation. Avery probably thought he wasn’t coming, and he had no way to reach her. He had tried calling the resort but the line was busy. He had to get up to the stage, and quickly.
When he finally reached the back of the stage, he saw three figures standing in jeans and black leather jackets. He let out a sigh of relief. He’d only come up with this plan last night, but even on such short notice, the guys hadn’t let him down.
“You guys made it!” he said, leaning in for a group hug.
“You made it. We thought we’d have to go on without ya,” Sulley said with a grin.
“Did anyone get a chance to talk to James?” Shane asked, glancing again at his watch.
“No, but I called Lori. She’s holding the jet for us until six. That will put us in New York by eight, then we’ll go live on The Aftershow at ten. We’re cutting it close, but it will all work out.” Axel gave him a wink.
“I appreciate you guys coming, but you should know, James said if I put on this concert the label is dropping me. I can go on by myself and just do acoustics like I’d planned. You guys shouldn’t take the heat for this.”
“If you go down, we all go down together,” Sulley said.
“There’s no Distant Union without you, Shane. If they drop you, they’re dropping all of us,” Jax added.
Shane smiled, and the band hugged once more.
“I hate to break this up, but I need you guys on stage,” the stagehand called out to them.
And in unison, Distant Union headed for side stage, ready to put on the best concert ever to come to Arbor Shores.
Avery started to make her way through the crowd but it was standing room only, and she could barely see the stage over the sea of people before her.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for the one and only, Shane Knox, and his band, Distant Union!” She stopped dead in her tracks. Was she hearing things?
She still couldn’t see the stage, but the crowd was going wild. Did this mean Shane was here? Hopefully the MC checked for Shane before he announced his presence, because as far as she knew, Shane hadn’t showed.
“How are you doing this afternoon, Arbor Shores? Happy Fourth of July!” She closed her eyes and exhaled for the first time all day at the sound of Shane’s voice. Thank goodness. She’d never felt such a sense of relief in all of her life. She took a minute to take in the sound of his guitar as he started to strum.
“Folks,” he talked to the crowd as he strummed a single cord. “I’d like to dedicate this first song to the woman who made all of this possible. And I’d like to thank the Cooke family for having me here today. Is this resort beautiful, or what?” The crowd erupted.
He continued to strum. “For those of you who don’t know, I was born and raised here in Arbor Shores, and I spent many a summer here at the resort with the Cooke family. Dax, my best friend, Meredith and her late husband, Sal, who were like parents to me, but mostly, the one girl I’ve never been able to get over. The one I let get away long ago. The only girl I’ve ever truly loved, Miss Avery Cooke.”
The crowd erupted again, and Avery could feel heat rushing to her cheeks.
“If I can have Avery come up here on stage, I’d like to dedicate this first song to her. Anyone see Avery Cooke out there?” He stood up off the stool and scanned the audience.
“Here she is!” Rylee yelled out, and the crowd parted as they all turned to watch her next move. Should she go up there? What was he doing?
“Go up there, girl! What are you waitin’ for?” A woman put her hand on Avery’s back and gave her a gentle nudge toward the stage.
Avery could see Shane now, standing on the stage in his black T-shirt and faded blue jeans, his guitar strapped across his chest. They locked eyes and Shane held out his hand to motion he was waiting for her to join him. She made her way to the stage, and he walked over to meet her by the stairs. As she approached the top, he took her hand and guided her over to the stool. He motioned for her to take a seat as he stood and adjusted the microphone.
“I’m going to play a special song for you, folks. This is one you’ve never heard before, because I just wrote it for this special girl right here.”
The crowd went wild. Shane’s voice echoed through the mic and out through the speakers. Avery looked up into his eyes, and he turned to face her as he sang.
Time slipped away with every lyric. She heard some of the words, but there was an unspoken language going on between their eyes. For once, there was no more guessing if he loved her, there was no more guessing if he was the one, there was no more wondering if she could trust him. His eyes said it all, and in that moment, something inside told her he’d never leave her again.
As the song came to an end, Shane sang the final verse.
You captured my heart a long time ago ...
Avery, girl, I promise, this time …
I will never, ever let you go ...
The crowd erupted as he put down his guitar and helped her to her feet. He pulled her close and cupped her face in both hands. “Avery Cooke, I love you, and I promise I will never leave your side.”
Avery nodded her head in approval, as if to give him permission, and Shane leaned his head down and placed his lips on hers. The crowd rose to their feet and continued to clap and cheer. Shane wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. He raised her up and swung her around, ending the moment with a long embrace as he whispered in her ear, “Tell me you’ll give me another chance to show you what you mean to me? Tell me you feel it, too?” He pulled back and looked into her eyes, awaiting her response.
Avery swallowed hard. She’d never been so happy as she was in this moment. There was nothing she wanted more than to have Shane back in her life forever, and he’d just declared his love to her in front of thousands of people.
“I do, Shane. I never stopped. Not even for a minute.”
The concert was a great success. Shane’s energy was on fire as soon as he’d gotten his girl back. He looked over and Avery was standing off to the side of the stage now, watching the show with his brothers. Everything had come full circle. His father’s heart attack was tragic, but it had somehow brought him back together with his family, even if they still had some work to do. It even brought Avery and Hunter together. Being on stage with his band—playing what they wanted to play instead of what they were told to play—he’d never felt more alive. He decided in that moment, from then on, he’d only play music on his own terms. Not because he was contracted to. He had a feeling his band felt the same way.
Shane wasn’t sure what the future held for his career, but at least he’d found a way to put on the concert, make it to The Aftershow, and most importantly, get the girl.
One thing he was certain of as he looked out over the crowd on this beautiful summer day, Shane Knox was staying in Arbor Shores for good.
He would never leave his Avery again.
Epilogue
Hunter Knox watched his brother on stage in admiration. He’d always looked up to Shane, but he’d never told him that. That’s why he’d always had a love-hate relationship with his brother. On one hand, he wanted to impress his father and make Carter happy. Hunter loved that he was his father’s favorite. On the other hand, he wished he’d had the opportunity to travel and enjoy his youth, and he didn’t feel he had any of the talents Shane possessed.
With his father’s health on the line, he wasn’t sure what the future would hold. Carter had a long road of recovery ahead of him, and Hunter would probably need to step up even more in the family business to take some of the burden off of his father, but he didn’t mind. He loved Knox Enterprises just as much as his father did, if not more. Still, he hoped his brother would stick around for a while. Though from the looks of Shane and Avery, he doubted his big brother would be going anywhere.
Hunter watched as Shane pulled Avery back out on stage before the last song, and go
t down on one knee in front of the crowd and proposed. She was quick to say yes, and they embraced before looking at each other with love in their eyes and sealing their engagement with a kiss.
Would he ever feel that way about someone? And would anyone ever feel that kind of love for him? That was something else Shane had that Hunter didn’t, and he longed for it. Hunter sure had the looks, as did all of the Knox boys, and women came onto him all the time. Sure, he’d dated here and there, but work was always his number one priority. He always had something to prove to his father—he lived to make Carter proud. For that reason, relationships fizzled as quickly as they started. No woman had ever been able to hold his attention.
But now, watching Shane and Avery, Hunter was beginning to think he was ready for more.
Was it time for him to finally find a love of his own? And if he did fall in love, would he be able to balance a relationship with the demands of his career?
Couldn’t he find some way to have it all?
Discover if Hunter finds true love. Read Book Two of the Knox Brothers of Arbor Shores series, Captivating the Heart of the Billionaire.
About the Author
Nomi Summers is a clean contemporary romance author with a flair for taming bad boy heroes readers swoon over.
When she's not dreaming up her next small town romance, you'll find her at the beach devouring the latest new release on her Kindle. Her other guilty pleasures include getting lost in mindless reality TV and spending far too much time talking to her dogs, as she's convinced they understand every other word!
Nomi's living her own "happily ever after" with her loving husband and their two fur babies in Tampa Bay, Florida. However, a piece of her heart will always belong in Michigan where she's originally from—the inspiration behind the settings in her novels.
www.nomisummers.com
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~Nomi xoxo
