Page 105 of One More Made Up Love Song
“How aboutanassistant that does whatever we need?”
I squeeze her hand. “Good plan. We can start looking as soon as we’re back in Nashville.”
She holds my gaze. “I love you.”
I kiss her one more time. “I love you too.”
“When did you know?” she asks, her mouth still close to mine. “That you loved me?”
I think back over the last couple of weeks. It feels like so much more time has passed since I kissed Ivy outside of Margot’s beach house, but that probably has everything to do with the intensity of what I’m feeling.
Then again, those feelings have probably been building for years. I just didn’t recognize them until now.
“I don’t think I can pinpoint a single moment,” I say. “It feels more like I just…woke up. Like the feelings were already there, but the room was dark so I couldn’t see them. Then the light turned on and…there you were.”
“Cool, cool,” she says, her tone glib. “So instead of suffering in silence forfour years,I could have just turned on the light. So good to know.”
I smirk. “Had you just kissed me, Conway, we could have started this so much sooner.”
“Don’t you dare pin this on me,” she says, laughter in her tone. “You’re the clueless one.”
I lift our clasped hands and tug them to my mouth,kissing the back of her palm. “True. And I’ll never stop trying to make it up to you.”
“Good,” she says. “Because the number of times I had to listen to you profess your fake love to me and ignore your marriage proposals when I remembered your dinner order was the worst kind of torture. You definitely owe me.”
I groan. “I’m really the worst, aren’t I? I asked you to marry me all the time.”
“You did,” she says. “And my heart broke a little every time.”
I lean over and cradle her face in my hands, pressing a long kiss to her lips. “I’m sorry I was such an idiot. I’m sorry it took me so long to catch up.”
I hold her gaze. I could almost ask her to marry me right now. That’s how sure I am of this—of her. But I settle for making a promise I know I’ll be able to keep.
“The next time I ask you,” I say, “I promise I’ll be asking for real.”
EPILOGUE
Ivy
The energyat the Nashville show iselectric.
Freddie is on fire—he usually is when he’s back on stage after a long break—and the fans are giving him some serious love. In a private box on the other side of the stadium, my parents are watching the concert with Carina and a collection of aunts and uncles who were thrilled to receive VIP invitations to the show.
We all had dinner at Freddie’s house last night, and he kept telling me how exciting it was to have so much family in his house.Family.
I’ll never get tired of thinking of him that way.
Freddie’s tour manager steps up beside me backstage, his arms folded over his chest just below the end of his bolo tie. “I’m just saying,” he says in his usual dry tone. “I’m glad you’ll still be with us when we hit the road next week.”
I look up and smile. “Thanks, Seth.”
“Also, Eric is doing fine, but could you please tell him hedoesn’t have to respond to every one of my texts with ‘Yes, sir, thank you, sir?’”
I stifle a grin. Freddie’s new assistant is incredibly competent and so nice. But he’s a little eager to please.
“A thumbs up would do just fine,” Seth continues.
“I’ll see if I can find a time to mention…” My words trail off because Adam, Leo, and Jace appear on the other side of Seth.
