Page 27 of Cougar

Cam picks up on my distress and comes to my rescue, holding out his hand. “Come on, Em. Let’s go dance.”

It’s amazing what you discover about people when you’re going through one of the worst times of your life. People I thought would be there for me just disappeared. Like Marcus’s bandmates, Tommy and Chaz. Tonight is the first time I’ve seen them since the funeral, though they did call once to check on Jay after she was admitted to the wellness center. I understand losing Marcus has been difficult on his bandmates, especially Andrew, and they’re coping the only way they can, but Andrew still makes an effort to check in on us when he can.

Then there’s my family and Cam, who called me almost every day to check on Jay and me. Cam and I talked for hours about everything and nothing. I started to look forward to his calls. And every night after we hung up, I slept like a baby.

“What’s your favorite memory of Marcus?” Cam asks.

“Hmm. There are so many, but I’d have to say it was the night we got married.”

“Oh come on.” He chuckles. “That’s every married woman’s go-to answer. Your husband was a rock god. You can do better than that.”

“Not the wedding itself. Before that. Before we flew to Vegas.”

Voices drifted up from the foyer as I stood at the top of the stairs, dressed in the long white sundress and jeweled sandals I’d plucked from my suitcase.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Tommy Stone, the bass player, asked.

“She’s a kid,” Chaz Vargas, the keyboardist, added.

Fear gripped my heart and my chest tightened as I waited for Marcus’s reply. I sat down on the top step, tucking my dress between my knees. Doubt settled at the bottom of my stomach like a lead weight as reality kicked in and I began to question my choices over the last week.

This wasn’t me. I wasn’t impulsive. Yet somehow I’d fallen for this handsome stranger. A beautiful man with the most captivating eyes, lips that begged to be kissed and a body that screamed sex. A talented man with a voice that could melt the panties off a nun. A smart man who knew what he wanted and wasn’t afraid to ask for it. A patient man who was willing to wait until I was his wife before taking me to bed.

“She’s a beautiful, smart young woman, and she wants to marry me,” Marcus argued.

“She’s the one?” Andrew asked, but it sounded like a statement more than a question.

“I knew it the moment I laid eyes on her,” Marcus told him. “I felt it. I’m in love.” I swear I could hear the smile in his voice.

“Then why are we standing around here wasting time? Go get your bride.” That was Andrew.

I heard the distinctive sound of them clapping each other on the back mixed with a few chuckles.

Before I could move from the step and pretend I hadn’t been listening, Marcus appeared at the bottom of the stairs with a knowing smile on his face.

Every time he smiled at me, a million butterflies would take flight in my stomach, leaving me breathless.

I felt the hot flush burning my cheeks, embarrassed that I’d been caught. I shouldn’t have been eavesdropping on such a personal moment between him and his bandmates, but I had to know that what we were feeling was real.

“Come on, beautiful.” He extended his hand. “Let’s go get married.”

* * *

“Emerson,” Chandler calls out, waving me over to the table where he sits with Andrew, Tommy, and Chaz.

Pulling out an empty chair, I sit down and cross my legs. “What’s up?”

“I’ve already had the information sent to your email, but I thought you’d want to know we had a discussion with Jayla.Jaybirdis set to release next May, with the first single, ‘Piece of Me,’ to drop the second week of February. A tour in July.”

I look over at Andrew. “You’re cutting it a little close, aren’t you?” Andrew is managing Lucas’s Wet ’n Wild tour, which kicks off next month.

“Tour ends right before the Grammys next year.”

“Perfect. Sounds good to me.”

“She chose Alex,” Andrew tells me.

Royal Mayhem needs a lead singer. Of course, Marcus wanted Alex, but since he left everything to Jay, he also left the decision up to her, too.

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