chanting now. It was a steady, deafening chorus.
“SAY YES! SAY YES! SAY YES!”
Kelly tugged at my hand, and I stood in front of her, my heart in my hands as I waited for her response. She threw her arms around me, pulling me closer to her. “Yes. I can’t believe you did this, but yes. A million times yes.”
“Yes?”
She grinned, and it lit up my being. “Yes!”
My arms wrapped around her waist, and I lifted her off her feet, spinning her around. Her soft hands found my cheeks, and she lowered her lips to mine, kissing me so hard and so deeply that my breath left me.
I clung to her, knowing that as long as she was there, I had everything in the world that I was always too afraid to even hope for. Kelly’s lips parted beneath mine, and I kissed her with every fucking thing I had.
Epilogue
Kelly
Three months later
It was late March, and we were back in Los Angeles. Finally. The tour was over, a whirlwind of private planes and expensive champagne that I couldn’t drink, fancy hotel rooms and insane crowds. It went better than anyone had expected, and Destitute was rocking the charts worldwide.
The fact that both Larsens were now officially off the market had brought out the female fans by the hordes, and toward the end, even Nick was wary of stepping out of the hotel. It was kind of funny, actually. But he didn’t think so.
I looked around the empty room, trying to imagine what it was going to look like when it was done. “Do you think we should paint it taupe or gray?”
Caleb’s brow scrunched up. “Gray or what?”
“Taupe.” I laughed, showing him the swatches of paint colors I was holding. He grabbed my wrist and tugged me closer. My tiny baby bump nudged at his hard stomach.
“Whatever you want.” His arms came around me, and he rested his head on my shoulder and pressed a kiss to my neck.
“You can’t keep saying that,” I complained, swatting his arm.
I could feel him smile against my neck. “Everything I’ve read said that I’d better keep saying just that.”
“Then stop reading,” I joked, peering down at the swatches I was holding. “But I think gray. What do you think?”
“Gray it is,” Caleb agreed. Sighing, I smiled and released him. He’d been absolutely amazing since I’d told him that I was pregnant and even more so since we’d gotten engaged. My ring caught on the sunlight dancing in through the window, and the sight took my breath away for a second.
We’d gotten around to getting me a ring while we’d been in France. Intricate and delicate woven threads of platinum surrounded a brilliant cut diamond. The threads were designed to look almost like leaves that the stone was nestled in. I loved it.
Thinking back on Caleb’s proposal, both the public one at that show and the one in Paris once he had the ring when it’d only been the two of us and the glowing lights of the Eiffel Tower at midnight, brought a similarly bright glow to my heart.
I’d never been more surprised or overwhelmed in my life than I’d been up on that stage when he’d dropped to his knee. And I hadn’t been the only one blindsided. Everyone had been taken by surprise, and the move had sent tongues wagging in the industry.
Some people were even convinced that it was just another publicity stunt, same as they thought when Jared proposed to Alicia. We let them think what they wanted. Alicia had issued an official statement from the band saying that they were ecstatic about Caleb’s impending nuptials, though I personally thought she was the only ecstatic one.
Maybe Jared too. He seemed genuinely happy for his brother, and the two had been getting along much better since it’d happened. The other guys had welcomed me into the fold as much as they had with Alicia, and while Matt was thrilled for both brothers, Nick and Dom were more reserved.
Dom, however, had surprised me when he’d found out about the pregnancy. He’d ordered a bunch of prenatal vitamins and made sure that the hotels, dressing rooms, and planes were stocked with healthy goodies. When I’d asked about it, he’d grunted something about every baby deserving the best possible start and left it at that.
Jared and Caleb both thought that it was just his hunt for perfection. They claimed he was the same with every new song, nurturing to the point of nausea, but