Page 109 of Mine to Take

Maverick shakes his head as a smile simmers at the corners of his lips. “That guy is such a caveman.”

Maybe that’s true.

But what girl wouldn’t want to be whisked away like that?

A few more couples and groups of people make their way to the stage. Some are pretty amazing, although not nearly as good as Juliette or Carina. Juliette knows how to project her voice, and Carina can captivate and command the crowd with sexy moves.

The man who owns the bar and kicked off karaoke returns with the microphone. “Last song of the night. Who’s it going to be?”

It’s a surprise when Maverick pops to his feet and drags me up with him. “Come on, sunshine.”

“What?” I squeak, unable to believe he didn’t discuss the situation with me first.

He pulls me closer before pressing his lips against mine. “Let’s sing together. You and me.”

I groan, indecision spiraling through me. I’ve been to a couple of bars and watched karaoke, but not once have I ever been tempted to do it myself. I’ve always been way too shy. The idea of getting up there in front of all these people and embarrassing myself is almost paralyzing.

“It’ll be fun,” Maverick says, interrupting the whirl of my thoughts. “I promise.”

I search his mahogany-colored eyes for a long, silent heartbeat before reluctantly giving in. “All right.”

He flashes a grin before pulling me to the stage where Sully waits. “First time up here, McKinnon.”

Maverick glances at me before winking. “Guess I was waiting to find the perfect partner first.”

That’s all it takes for my heart to skip a painful beat.

“Have something in mind?” Sully asks. “I’ll cue it up.”

Maverick’s gaze turns speculative as it slides back to me. “Actually, I do.” He leans closer to the bar owner before murmuring something I can’t quite catch.

Sully glances at me with twinkling eyes before spinning away. After a minute or two, he shoots a look over his shoulder. “All set.”

“This won’t go well if you don’t tell me what we’re about to sing.”

“As soon as you hear the first few notes, I promise you’ll know. And if you don’t, or freeze up, I’ll do the heavy lifting and carry us. Sound good?”

I suck in an unsteady breath, holding it captive in my lungs before forcing it out again. “Okay.”

My gaze reluctantly scans the crowd, who have quieted and are watching us with interest. The realization that every eye in the house is staring at us is nerve racking. It’s tempting to toss the microphone to Sully and race off the stage and out the door into the cool night air.

As soon as the guitar riff opens with the pulsating beat, recognition slams into me.

It’s the one I played on repeat during chemo. The positive and upbeat melody never failed to make me feel invincible. As if I could fight my way through whatever obstacles stood in my path.

It was my own personal anthem that helped me battle leukemia.

As silly as it sounds, once I was officially in remission, I emailed Natasha Beddingfield and shared with her just how meaningful “Pocketful of Sunshine” was to me.

Maverick’s lips quirk as he croons the first verse.

I blink, surprised to find that, like his sister, his vocals are impressive.

When I continue to stare, he raises his brows.

I force out the second verse as we harmonize together. I’ve sung this song more than a thousand times and listened to it on repeat for hours. It’s not necessary to look at the screen. With my gaze locked on Maverick’s, I belt out the lyrics, giving every ounce of energy that I have to them.

Midway through, I realize that I’m smiling so hard that my cheeks hurt. When I sing the chorus for a final time, Maverick repeats it. I throw my hands up and close my eyes as the last notes vibrate in the air. Thunderous applause breaks out as Maverick sweeps me off my feet and spins us in a tight circle. Pure joy bursts inside me like an overinflated balloon as my laughter rings throughout the space.

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