She was going strong with her studies too, and he loved seeing her excitement every time she completed a course. Studying hadn’t ever been his thing, but he knew missing out on going to college had upset her, so he was glad she’d decided to chase that dream.
With Summer’s help, Eden’s business had taken off. They’d even had to hire two extra staff members to keep up with the charities and recording artists wanting to be matched. Eden had told him she couldn’t have done it without Summer, and he’d been so fucking proud of her he hadn’t known what to do with himself.
Until he had.
Noah’s heart battered his rib cage, and he took a long sip of his beer, then cleared his throat, pushed his chair back, and stood. All eyes turned to him, and he grinned, even though tension knotted his shoulders. “I just wanted to say a few words,” he said, sounding far more formal than was normal for him. A bead of sweat trickled down his spine. What the hell was wrong with him? He regularly performed in front of crowds in excess of one hundred thousand people, but having fourteen pairs of eyes on him tonight was making him sweat.
One pair of eyes in particular. He turned to look down at Summer, who was looking back at him with her head tilted to the side, pretty lips tipped up in curiosity. He smiled at her before turning back to the table. “We are lucky sons of bitches,” he said, looking around at his bandmates, Lexie, Eden, and Drew. “We’ve experienced things that most people never will. We’ve traveled the world, performed in front of millions of fans, been nominated for and won awards.” The other members of Fractured raised their beers and grinned. Noah grinned back, then turned his gaze to Summer. “But there’s nothing in this world that makes me luckier than having you in my life, Summer.” Her eyes widened, a flush spreading across her cheeks. She darted a gaze at the others sitting at the table before looking back at him again.
“The very first time I talked to you, you rendered me speechless. I didn’t tell you then, but I knew from that moment on, nothing was ever going to be the same. That was the day I fell, and I haven’t stopped falling since.”
Summer’s eyes were bright with tears and her fingers fluttered up to cover her mouth. Noah smiled at her, reached into his back pocket, and pulled out the ring. An excited squeal came from across the table that he assumed was from Eden, but he didn’t take his eyes from Summer. She didn’t take her eyes from his either, didn’t drop her gaze to check out the ring, just kept looking at him as a tear spilled over her lower lid and traced a path down her cheek.
Noah dropped to his knee in front of her. He’d debated whether he should do this in front of everyone, or in private, but this felt right somehow, sharing this moment with his closest friends. The ones that had been beside him through thick and thin, through the years he’d had Summer and the years he’d been hollow without her.
He reached for her hand, and she let him take it. Thank God. He’d had a few nightmares over the last few weeks where he’d tried to take her hand, and she’d run away from him. He didn’t know if that was normal before you were about to propose or if it was residual anxiety over having lost her before. But it didn’t matter now, because he was holding her hand in his, and she was looking at him with so much love in her eyes that his nerves drained from him.
“Summer Mackenzie, you have been, are, and will always be, the love of my life. You drive me crazy in the best possible way. There is no one,no one,in this world I want to share my life with other than you. So, if you don’t want me to be a bitter, lonely old drummer who mutters drunkenly to random people about how much he’s always loved summer sunsets, then please, please say you’ll be my wife.”
Summer let out a watery laugh at that, then surprised him by sliding off her chair and dropping to her knees in front of him. “I told you once I wanted to love without fear, and being with you has made that a reality. I can’t imagine a life worth living that doesn’t have you in it. You say you’re lucky, but the luckiest person here today is me. You gave me a second chance. You gaveusa second chance, and I will love you every day for the rest of my life. And I doubt you’ll let me forget about you, even after that.”
“You better believe it,” he muttered, and she laughed.
“And while I’m pretty sure your friends and family wouldn’t ever let you end up a bitter, lonely old drummer muttering drunkenly to people, I’m not prepared to take that risk. So yes, Noah, I definitely, unequivocally, say yes to being your wife.”
The table erupted into cheers as he slipped the ring onto her finger, and only then did she look down at it. The soft, happy sigh she let out as she saw the sparkling oval-cut diamond housed in a rose-gold filigree setting he’d chosen for her eased the last of the tension from him.
“It’s beautiful, Noah.” Her voice was husky.
“Nowhere near as beautiful as you.”
Summer’s gaze tangled with his again, and he reached up and cupped the side of her face. “I love you, Sunshine. I hope you know, I plan to watch as many sunsets as possible with you in my arms.”
Oblivious to the excited chatter from their friends, Summer’s lips met his, and everything around Noah disappeared until all he could feel was the satin of her skin under his hands, and all he could hear was the drumbeat of his heart.
Summer was his; he was hers. And this time, neither of them was letting go.
The End
