Heart of the Music (Saints & Sinners #1) (18 page)

“I’m starting to look like a whale.” She laughed it off, because she really was looking like a whale, but she was learning to love the changes since it meant she was creating a life.

Taking her by the waist, he sat her on his lap. “You’re gorgeous, baby.”

She looked him in the eye and caressed his cheek with her palm, loving the feel of his stubble on her skin. “I know you didn’t do anything with Elise.”

She knew he had more to get off his chest, and they needed this in the open. “Why did you believe it in the first place, Trish? You know that’s not me.”

Getting the words out was a bit harder than she thought, which was crazy because the man holding her knew everything about her. “Honestly, I don’t know, and don’t think I really did in the first place. I hated her when you two were dating. She always made me feel like I wasn’t good enough for you. Then we saw her at that event and she reminded me of that. Seeing the picture of the two of you just gave me a reason to run.”

“Do I make you wanna run?” he asked. She felt his whole body tighten up underneath her, and she hated it.

She took his face in both her hands and rested her forehead on his, eyes to eyes and nose to nose, as close as she could get. “No, God, no, you don’t. I love you, Jarrod. I don’t want you to ever think I don’t. Sometimes, it just feels like it’s too good to be true.”

He mimicked her hold and took her face in his hands. “I’m never going to let us end, baby, and I mean that. I love you too damn much to let you walk away from us.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for thinking the worst and reacting the way I did.” She needed to kiss him. She couldn’t hold back anymore. She pressed her lips to his, and kissed him with all the love she had for him. It didn’t take long for him to take control of the kiss, and God, it felt so good. She didn’t want him to stop. She never wanted him to stop. This was where she belonged, in his arms, in this house, and in his life.

He pulled away from her, his smile matching her own, and she knew everything would be all right.

“It's okay, baby. We’re together now, all three of us, and that’s all that matters, all that will ever matter.”

Jarrod

Playing a surprise show in Nashville was one of his favorite things to do, apart from waking up to Trish and feeling his daughter kick. Things had been so crazy for the past couple of weeks ever since Trish walked into his house and glued their lives back together. Seeing her standing in front of him that day, the previous four weeks had vanished from his memory.

Looking around the green room, he saw the guys, who were like brothers to him, sitting around playing guitars, while his mom and the woman he loved more than anything in this world chatted on the couch. Taking them all in, he knew he was doing the right thing. She was going to hate him later, but he needed the world to know that he loved her and that she belonged to him.

Sam gave him two thumbs up, and when it was time for them to hit the stage, Patricia pulled him aside “Are you okay, rock star? You seem a little out of it tonight.” God, he loved her more than life itself.

“I’ve never been better, baby. I have a surprise for you tonight.” He kissed her hard and fast with her back pressed against the wall, and when he felt his daughter kick, he knew he had never experienced anything like it in his whole life. This was what life was about, and he was going to make sure he never stopped feeling it.

They walked to the edge of the stage, hand in hand, as he had imagined doing for so long. “You gonna watch from here tonight?” he asked her as he took his mic from one of the techs.

“Where else would I be? This is where I belong.” She kissed him before one of the techs pulled him away. When he hit the stage, he was filled with the same high he got every time he was before a crowd, the high that he swore nothing could compare to, until he met Trish.

“What’s up, Nashville? Are you guys ready for one hell of a night?” he shouted into his mic, loving the reaction of the crowd who were screaming right back at him.

“Guys, let’s give them something they’ll remember.” He turned around, his back to the crowd, to look at the men who shared the stage with him, and right on cue, the music filled the venue, just as the music filled his heart.

Halfway through the show, he took off his shirt like he always did, and just as he let it drop to the stage, he looked at Trish and winked. “Nashville, we’re about to slow it down for you, but I promise it’s just for a little while. I love being here on this stage with these four guys. They’re like brothers to me. So many of the best memories in my life have happened on a stage with these guys, and if you’ll let me, I would like to share one more.” The screams filled the arena, and when he looked at the woman standing side-stage with confusion painted on her face, he smiled at her and turned his attention back to the crowd.

“Now you guys have probably heard by now that I am madly in love with someone. Someone amazing who means the world to me, and I think I speak for all of us on this stage when I say that without her, we wouldn’t be here. So tonight, I’d like to make another lasting memory. Patricia, would you come out here, please?”

The sound of the crowd cheering was almost as loud as the ringing in his ears, but when he saw her in that red sundress, the rest of the world disappeared and it was just the two of them. She looked so nervous, he couldn’t help it; he kissed her. Pulling away, he asked the crowd, “Isn’t she the most beautiful woman in the world, y’all? As you can see, we are expecting a baby, and shit, if that doesn’t make me the luckiest man in the world. Patricia Monroe, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. When I first met you almost six years ago, I knew you were it for me. You are the most beautiful person in the world, inside and out. It took us five years to get here, and I promised you once that I would wait fifty more for you, but that was a lie. I don’t want to wait fifty years. I want to spend the next fifty years showing you how much I love you. Patricia Monroe, will you marry me?”

He got down on one knee and pulled out the black box he’d been keeping in his back pocket all day. When he looked up at her and saw the tears pouring down her face and the biggest smile she’d ever given him, he knew this was the right choice.

“Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you,” she told him as he slipped the ring on her finger. He pulled himself up to his feet and spun her around, kissing her like they weren’t on a stage in front of thousands of people.

“I love you, Jarrod Banks.” Those were the sweetest words he had ever heard in his life.

“I love you, Patricia Monroe.”

The End

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, thank you to every single reader who has taken the time to read Patricia and Jarrod’s story. It means the world to me.

To my grandma who is watching me from heaven, thank you for watching over me and for guiding me down this crazy road that is life. 

To my mom, thank you for believing in me and thank you for reminding me that it’s not about the sales, it’s about the story. 

To my boys, this story would not be possible without you guys in my life. Thank you for your continued support, your unconditional friendship and your fierce love. 

Becky, we have come a long with this one. Lol. Thank you for believing in me once again, and for loving this story as much as I do. Your faith in me is truly appreciated. 

Justine, thank you for kicking my ass with this story. This story is 100 times better because of it.

Donna, thank you for always keeping me on my toes, and for making sure everything always runs smoothly. 

To my beta readers, ladies, I cannot thank you enough for riding this wave with me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

To Claire, thank you for working your magic again, and making this cover everything it could be and so much more. 

To the bloggers, THANK YOU for your support. You make this possible, and I am forever thankful.

To my family and friends who have been more than neglected, thank you for understanding and for allowing me to do what I love.

About the Au
thor

Kaithlin Shepherd was born and raised in Canada where she learned to figure skate and crafted a love affair with coffee. Growing up in a household filled by strong-headed women, she learned early on that life is what you make it. You’ve probably never met a bigger country music fan, and in the words of Brooks and Dunn, “she’s a die-hard George Strait junkie.”

Creating a world away from her own daily, she loves the feeling of creating a universe where her fans can forget about everything in their life. She loves writing alpha male characters and she doesn’t shy away from turning up the heat with scorching hot sex scenes.

For more information on Kaithlin Shepherd, visit her at:

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