Love Song (Rocked by Love #2) (17 page)

Jett crossed to him and
touched his arm. "Luke, do you have anything you want to say directly to
Audrey, in case she's listening?"

He must have learned that
Audrey had left. Luke checked his emotions. "Yeah." He cleared his
throat and took a breath, and then began singing the old love song he now
thought of as Audrey's song. Hopefully, wherever she was, she was watching.

When he finished, he
looked straight into the camera and imagined staring into Audrey's captivating
eyes. "I'm not letting go, Audrey. We need each other. Come back to
me."

Waves of applause washed
over him. The show ended, and Jett clapped him on the back.

He'd done all he could
do.

Luke headed backstage
while the rest of the band chatted with Jett. When he reached the hallway, Owen
waited by the green room. "I can't believe they cut three minutes of my
band's air time for that drivel."

Luke raised an eyebrow at
him and walked past. He finally saw Owen for what he was—petty and pathetic and
not worth his time.

"What,
no comment?" Owen followed him. "You pussy. A little red paint on an
old dress and window is enough to send you and your little woman into a
tailspin?"

The words
sunk in fast. The damaged dress hadn't hit the news. Anger flowed faster than
lava. Luke whipped around ready to rage at Owen. "What the fuck? You sent
the dress? You did the spray paint?"

Owen smirked
and raised his chin a little higher. "Consider it payback for embarrassing
me at the launch party. Pretty good prank, huh?"

In the span of a second,
Luke had Owen pressed up against the wall. "You brought that fucking
embarrassment upon yourself. That doesn't justify what you did to my
girlfriend. You fucking scared her. That isn't a prank. That was way beyond a
fucking prank."

Owen fought against the hold.
"Messing with you is too easy. Those girls posting all the hater comments
gave me the idea. And the way you've been acting over her... I figured I'd mess
with Audrey because she's such a touchy subject with you."

All the fury
he'd tamped down for the sake of Audrey busted free of his worn out control.
Luke grabbed Owen by the throat and slammed the back of his head against the
wall so hard it left a dent. "I could put you in the hospital for six
months. But unlike you, I'm not a sadistic asshole. You hate me. I hate you.
But I never extended that hatred to your family or friends. You're going to
jail, fuck-face."

"Whatever."
Owen pushed him off by shoving his hands into Luke's chest.

Luke's
reflexes were faster than ever. He landed a right cross squarely into Owen's
jaw. The singer stumbled backward and slumped down. Luke went after him, ready
to pound him into the concrete floor.

"You got in a solid
shot, now rein it in." Landry's Texas drawl pulled him back to the reality
of his surroundings.

He loomed over Owen, boot
resting on his stomach, but kept his fists to himself. "You fucking
bastard. You went too far. She thought someone was deranged enough to try to
kill her."

Vanessa stepped into his
view. "Owen? Is this true? You did those things to Audrey?"

Zander pulled Luke away.
"Let's go. We're done here."

"I can't let him get
away with this."

"He won't. We all
heard him." Face grim, Zander jerked his thumb over his shoulder,
indicating his band mates, Jett, studio employees, Wild Intention, and members
of Swindle Ox.

Vanessa stalked to Owen,
still on the floor. "What were you thinking? Do you know how many shows
I've been in with her? How much she's supported me? You worked with her too.
And you'd do this to her?"

Owen opened his mouth to
speak, but she rolled right over him. "You're going to apologize.
Publicly. Or we're through. Hell, we're through anyway. But you're still going
to apologize for this and accept responsibility."

Jayne's hand on his arm
drew Luke's attention away from the arguing couple. "Audrey needs you. You
have to go to her. We'll handle this. Go get your girl."

He walked away from Owen.
Getting to Audrey, getting her to listen, mattered more than anything else.

In
the quiet of her apartment, Audrey lay across the bed watching the video clip
Jayne had sent her. Luke's impassioned plea brought tears to her eyes. His song
caused the tears to fall fast.

As sweet and heartfelt
and moving as it was, it might not do any good. He couldn't control the fans,
and whoever had sent her the sliced dress was still out there somewhere.
Reasoning didn't work with some people.

She rolled onto her back
and watched the video again. She missed him. Had she made a mistake in ending
things? Fear had pushed in, demanding she break off all ties. As badly as her
heart ached, Luke's probably hurt just the same. She was making them both
miserable because she didn't want to spend her life worrying about crazy fans,
or bodily harm, or targeted attacks.

Being alone meant no
drama but also no love. The ache in her soul intensified.

She pushed off the bed
and stared out at the romantic view of the city at sunset. Glittering lights
dotted buildings against streaks of pink and orange.

Along with her design
space, her apartment lease would be up soon. Maybe finding new digs for both
places, far away from everyone and everything familiar, would be smart. Maybe
something in a gated community that would keep away knife-wielding maniacs.

Her gut said New York
wasn't the right spot anymore.

L.A. felt right.

She pushed that idea from
her mind. L.A. would be too close to Luke. She couldn't do that to herself. No
matter how much she liked Irisa and Jayne. No matter how happy she'd been
there.

Happy.

Luke made her happy. Why
wasn't she taking the risk? Being with him, no matter how long they had
together, was better than not being with him at all, and was better than this
constant ache in her soul. She felt like half of her heart was missing.

The guys had security
guards when they needed them. Would life be so bad with one around full time?
Didn't she owe it to Luke and to herself to at least try?

A knock sounded at the
door.

Rubbing her arms, she
crossed her small apartment and peered through the peephole.

Luke stood on the other
side of the door. He knocked again. "Audrey, I know you're in there."

Tears pierced her eyes
and her heartbeat galloped, pushing her to go to him. This was her chance. She
flipped the locks and flung the door open. "Hi."

He looked worn out,
exhausted, but his eyes sparked with fire. "I need to talk to you."

"I do, too."
She stepped back for for him to pass.

"Let me go
first." He stood in the center of the living room, so big and so right in
her space. "Owen was the one who sent the dress and did the spray
paint."

The shock was
overwhelming. Vanessa's attentive boyfriend hadn't seemed capable of such
deeds, but then again, he'd done some pretty bad things to Luke over the years.
"Are you serious? But why? How did you find out?"

"He did
it to get back at me." His features tightened into an angry mask.
"Fucking bastard went too far. He actually bragged to me after the show
tonight." Unconsciously, he rolled his wrist and she noticed the swollen
knuckles.

This time she
wasn't upset Luke had taken matters into his own hands. He'd defended her. But
hadn't he been doing that all along? Her knees wanted to give out. Part from
relief knowing her stalker was done, and part for Luke's terrible turmoil.
"I... I don't know what to say."

"I do. Come back to
me. I know some of the fans aren't happy about our relationship, but I'm hoping
that what I said on the air tonight will help. Also you've recently gotten a
fan club of your own. Look." He held out his phone and she read down the
screen.

A group called Audrey's
Army had set up a site to shame the haters, comment by comment. "They're
defending me."

"The girls we met in
L.A. started this for you. Lots more have joined in. Most of our fans are cool,
and now they're coming out of the woodwork to lend their support."

"Wow." She
swallowed hard to fight back tears.

"That's not
all." He brought up Owen's personal web page. A public apology to her
filled his screen. "Our fans are sharing it, and a few of the rock news
sites are carrying it, too. That asshole's already getting a lot of heat for
what he did. And, just so you know, I held my temper when I found out. Sort of.
After what he put you—put us—through, I had to get in at least one punch."

"Luke." She
reached for him, then dropped her hands to her sides. "I'm sorry I got so
scared."

He slipped his phone into
his pocket. "There's nothing wrong with being scared. It was a scary
situation."

She moved closer, needing
to feel his heat, his presence, his solid and steady support. "I want to
try again. I love you. I realized that nothing is guaranteed. I don't want to
give you up because of something that might happen. I'd rather enjoy every
single day that we do have together, however long that will be."

"Sunshine." His
eyes closed for a moment. When they opened, they were shiny. He gripped her
hands. "I love you. I'll take every single day, too."

He tugged her toward him.
His arms banded around her and his hands tangled in her hair. Holding tight,
she tucked her face into his chest and breathed him in. She had him back and
she was never letting go. They stayed wrapped together for a long moment.

Luke eased
back enough to trail his roughened fingers over the outline of her face.
"I can't wait to get you home."

She nodded.
"Home. As in Hermosa Beach?"

"Absolutely. And
here I was thinking I'd have to convince you to move your operation to the west
coast."

"We can look for a
studio."

"Already found a
great space, and it's a sweet commute." He slid his hand into her hair
again. "My place. The entire bottom level is yours. The contractor can
meet with us whenever you're ready."

Excitement spun through
her happiness, making her giddy. She peppered his beard with kisses. "I
can't believe you did that for me."

"The idea came to me
every time I saw you there. It would be perfect for your studio. I want you to
be happy."

"You make me
happy."

He drew away even further
and reached into his pocket and then held out a ring. "And you make me
complete."

Her heartbeat pounded and
her knees weakened. The pink heart-shaped diamond set in rose gold was
delicate, elegant, and perfect. "Luke, it's beautiful."

"I bought this while
we were in California. Remember the day when I went to the music store with the
guys while you went shopping with Irisa and Jayne? Well, this was the real
destination. I was going to wait until the anniversary of the first day we met
to propose, but tonight seems like the perfect time." He grasped her left
hand. "The first time I saw you, something clicked inside me, like the
entire world had suddenly come into focus. Like I'd been waiting for you to
complete what was missing in me. Will you marry me and officially become my
other half?"

"Yes." She held
his gaze while he slipped the ring in place, then she linked their fingers
together. "When we met, my heart recognized you as mine. It took the rest
of me a little while to catch up, but I want to spend the rest of my life
showing you how much I love you."

He lowered his face to
hers. Their lips met, sealing their promise of forever.

Luke
lounged on his beach chair and stared at the sunlight rippling over the water.
He squinted to the horizon where the ocean met the sky. Waves crashing on the
shore in the steady ebb and flow pattern soothed him to near sleeping.

Tired. But he couldn't
complain because the reason for his lack of sleep was so tempting when curled
up around him in bed.

And every time he looked
at her, his heart overflowed.

To his left, Zander
manned the grill. Somehow, even though they were at Luke's home, Zander had
wrangled grill privileges. Luke didn't care too much—the guy knew how to grill.
To his right, Landry and Brendan wrestled with Zander and Irisa's dogs in the
yard.

The Fury may have been
taking a break, but Furious Records had received countless emails and messages
from hopefuls and bands needing a new direction. Still, Luke didn't think it
would be too long before the guys began making noises about getting back into
the studio. Music was in their blood, too strong to ignore.

Twice in the past week,
he'd seen Landry scratch new lyrics onto napkins and scraps of paper, and on
one occasion, Audrey's sketchbook.

But this time, things
would be better. They'd dictate their schedule. They'd make sure all needs were
being met. And after all that had happened, they had a better understanding of
themselves too.

He was damn lucky for all
that he had.

Laughter
drifted from the house. The sliding glass door opened, and Irisa, Jayne, and
Audrey emerged. Luke met his new fiancée's gaze and grinned. The barbecue to
celebrate Audrey's official move to California was underway.

He glanced up
to the top level of the house and the master bedroom's balcony. Waking up with
Audrey and going to sleep beside her made him alternately grateful and filled
with excitement for the future. His other half—his better half—was with him.
For good.

Her furniture had arrived
the week before and now, little touches of hers wound throughout the house.
Mirrors, area rugs, vases, framed pictures, and lots of throw pillows. Instead
of
his
, it blended with
hers
, and had become
theirs
. She'd
brightened his home the same way she brightened his life.

And every day, he thanked
fate for being about to bask in her sunshine.

As their friends
celebrated behind them, Audrey slid onto his lap and linked their fingers
together. "The girls love my studio."

The renovations to the
lower level of the house to match Audrey's design space needs hadn't taken as
long as anticipated. She had a warm, inviting, functional space. And plenty of
incoming orders to keep both her and Renee busy. Audrey's assistant remained in
New York, managing the second location of Audrey Pierce Designs.

Messages of support
continued to flow in like a tidal wave, obliterating the negative comments,
along with several musicians and fans reaching out to both him and her with
their own stories of being bullied. Luke was proud of her for the caring and
compassionate way she responded to each message, and for the work she was doing
with the anti-bullying program. She'd dressed musicians from every genre for a
few of the program's public service announcements and her
Spread Love
t-shirts to benefit the campaign were a nationwide sensation. Luke's love for
her gentle, strong spirit grew every day.

"I'm glad you're
officially moved in. Now, there's one other thing we need to make
official." He rubbed his thumb over the band of her engagement ring.

She kissed his cheek.
"I can't wait to marry you. Ready to pick a date?"

"There's only one
date I can think of as being perfect for our wedding."

Her smile warmed,
brightening the day even more, as she linked her arms around his neck.
"The first day we met."

"That's the
one." He wrapped his arms around her and brought her even closer until his
heart lined up with hers.

They'd come full circle
and he couldn't wait to see what life had in store.

"I love you."
His heart swelled with how much.

Her hands guided his head
down until his lips hovered a breath away from hers. "I love you,
too."

Their lips met, soft and
warm and perfect together.

As gulls cried overhead
and waves crashed on the shore and sparkling sunlight danced over the sea, Luke
drew Audrey against his side. True happiness and peace flowed between them.

No matter how long and
winding the road had been, he'd finally won Audrey, and that was all that
mattered.