Aimee and the Heartthrob (21 page)

Thank
you
, she mouthed to her brother, then turned back to the stage. “Miles!” she called out. “Are you crazy?”

“I am.” He laughed and pointed at her. “About you.”

The crowd cheered. More popping flashes, making it feel like she was in a dream.

“This girl,” he said into the mike. “I’ve known her for five years, but in the last two weeks, she’s completely changed my life. She inspires me, she makes me better at everything, she humbles me and challenges me and completely kicks my ass. I’ve written three songs about her, and I know there’ll be more, because she’s everything. You’re everything, Aimee.”

She was at the front row now, looking up at him while he gazed down, dazzling her under the bright lights.

He held out a hand, and before she could reach for it, two huge security guys had her on each side and hoisted her up onto the stage. The spotlights were even more blinding, but they faded the second he took her in his arms.

She heard the screams of the crowd, the heat of the lights, but she only felt Miles, his iron-strong arms around her, his mouth covering hers, the smell and taste she’d missed so much that it hurt to breathe without it. His fingers were in her hair and she threw her arms around him, cameras or no cameras.

Cameras?

“Miles…” She pulled back, reaching up to whisper in his ear, though her voice shot out of the speakers. “What happened to ‘no more drama’?”

He laughed and held her against him. “Like I said, I want the world to know I’m officially off the market.” He took her face between his hands. “And that I’m so completely in love with you.”

Her knees and spine turned to jelly. “I love you, too.”

He grinned and pulled her in for another kiss. The world spun out of control again. But this time, Miles held them together, and she’d never felt on such solid ground.

“I love you,” he whispered. “I love you, Ames.”

She held onto him tight and pressed her face against the side of his neck, because she knew she was crying.

“Uh, fellas…?” Miles called over his shoulder. “A little help?”

“I think we can do our next number without you,” Trevin said. “What do you think, folks? Should we give the lovebirds a minute?” The crowd went wild in reply, and—with Aimee’s face tucked against his neck—Miles led her offstage.

The second they were in the wings, he kissed her again, so deeply that Aimee forgot she needed to breathe. “I’m sorry,” he whispered over her mouth.

“I heard you the first twenty times,” she said with a laugh, even as Miles ran his thumbs across her cheeks, wiping away the tears.

“I’m sorry for this, too—all of this.” He pointed out to the stage where Seconds to Juliet was jamming without him. “But it was the only thing I could think of, this…spectacle.”

She laced her fingers behind his neck. “The only thing you could think of was to have Ryder and his stripper friend kidnap me from the hotel, dump me off in BFE, and you announce—on camera—that you love me?”

“Sorry.” He ran his hands up her arms, looking delicious enough to eat.

Aimee leaned into him. “Oh, baby. Don’t ever be sorry for that.”

“Well, at least you already knew how to pose with me for the paparazzi.” He gave her a knowing look. “You were a pro out there.”

“Shit, Miles. About that blog.” She dug her fingers into his shoulders so he couldn’t get away. “I’m so sorry, I swear, it was—”

“I know,” he said with a laugh, touching his forehead to hers. “I should’ve let you explain instead of being a jerk. I have this temper thing.”

“So I’ve heard.” She cupped his face and peered into his eyes, loving the boy he was, as well as the man he was trying so hard to become. “You look tired.”

“I haven’t slept well for a while.”

She sighed. “Neither have I.”

“Lester gave me a new curfew—bloody strict.” He grinned. “Gonna be so damn fun breaking it with you tonight.” He went to kiss her but stopped. “Ames, the tour extension is true. I can’t come home like we planned. I’m so sorry, babes, it’s out of my hands.” He ran a thumb across her cheek and looked into her eyes. “Please tell me you’re okay with it. The long-distance thing will suck, but we love each other, we’ll make it work.”

Aimee lifted onto her toes and kissed him. “I agree,” she whispered. “I’m prepared to beat all the odds with you.”

Miles smiled and nearly crushed her in a bear hug. “Nick called your aunt. You’re staying right here with me.”

“Until the end of my jail sentence?”

“I actually went to Mum and we called your parents to see if you could stay the whole summer. No dice.” He lifted a sheepish grin. “Apparently, I was a bit overly enthusiastic when I told them how desperately I needed you with me.”

“Hmm, and that caused them to worry?”

“I might’ve gone overboard.” He gave her a squeeze. “Looks like I have to get back out there. Will you stay? And be at the concert tonight?”

Aimee smiled dreamily at him, at her happy ending come true. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Miles’s arms went slack around her, like he was about to leave, but then his hand slid into her back pocket, making her jump in surprise, then giggle against his chest. “What are you doing?”

“I do love your sexy little dresses, but you rockin’ jeans is pretty amazing, too.” He stepped back, put an arm around the back of her shoulders, pulled her into his side, then stretched out his free arm in front of them, a phone in his hand, the one she’d been using to talk to him a few minutes ago. “Say cheese,” he said, and snapped a picture.

“What are you—”

“One more.” He pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. Another click of the camera app. “Backstage selfies,” he said, while typing one-handed. “We’re together in these, and I tagged you, so there’s no going back.”

“No going back,” she agreed with a sappy, girly smile.

One more kiss on her cheek, right on the spot he said he missed. “See you in the wings later. I’ll be the one with the guitar, hoping to
run into you
in the dark.” He grinned and sent her a look that made her stomach quiver with excitement.

“Can’t wait.” She grinned and pressed a hand over her dancing, throbbing heart as she watched the most beautiful boy in the world walk into the spotlight, grab a mike and say, “Who wants to hear my new song? But I’ll need a piano.”

Epilogue

Aimee was getting ready to head out when her cell chirped and the FaceTime icon fluttered…as did her heart. Miles wasn’t due to call for another two hours. After her three weeks with S2J, their schedule over the summer had been incredibly consistent, though it wasn’t odd for him to give her one or two extra calls during the day, or send tulips, or a singing telegram of Prince songs.

This long-distance thing truly did suck, but it wouldn’t last forever.

She’d been home for almost a month and it still wasn’t easy to not see him. Though they video-chatted every morning and every night like clockwork, it wasn’t the same. She filled the time by staying busy, catching up on her vlogging and reviews, and following S2J on every social media portal.

Surprisingly enough, their hardcore fans hadn’t turned on Miles like LJ thought, not even the Miles High Club. In fact, those two backstage selfies went viral, and
#Aimiles
was now a thing. Seemed like everyone was genuinely happy for them.

She tapped her phone and saw his smiling face in return. “Hi, heartthrob.”

“Hey, you gorgeous stalker. How are you?”

“Awesome. Heading to the library.”

“Checking out or returning?”

“Returning.”

“I finished
Tuck Everlasting
this morning. You’re right, I loved it, and the brother does remind me of Nate.”

She laughed. “I told you!”

Miles sighed and gave her a smile that always made her want to grab his cheeks and kiss him. “I miss you so much, Ames.”

“Miss you, too.”

“I wish you were here, sitting on my lap, bossing me around in that little yellow dress. Is that what you’re wearing now?”

“Miles, are we about to have FaceTime sex? Because my grandma’s in the next room.”

He laughed and rolled his eyes. “Okay, I’ll control myself.”

Aimee grabbed her backpack with her free hand. “Where are you guys?”

“Milwaukee.” He glanced over his shoulder. “It’s been a blur, but we’re having a blast. Ryder’s even mellowed out. I think there might be a girl involved.”

“Like someone steady? That doesn’t sound like our Ryder.”

“Right? Something’s definitely up with him, though. Damn, I wish I could see you.”

“I know. I’d give anything for that.”

“Anything?”

“Well, I wouldn’t go so far as hiring a stripper to kidnap you.”

He laughed his beautiful, musical laugh. “Ah, that’s where you draw the line. Nice to know. Well, I gotta jam. I’m on my way to a very special personal appearance, and I’m running late. Aimee, what’s that sound?”

She stared into his pixilated blue eyes. “What sound?”

“Wasn’t that a knock on your front door?”

“I didn’t hear a—” A loud, rhythmic knock cut her off.

“Don’t you think you should answer?”

Even though she knew it couldn’t be possible, Aimee ran to the door and threw it open.

“Hey,” Miles said—the living, breathing, six-foot-tall, broad-shouldered, sexiest guy on the planet, heartthrob of heartthrobs, boy who was in love with her, Miles. He lowered his phone and grinned. “Surprise.”

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Acknowledgments

I can’t even tell you guys—you fabulous readers!—how amazingly fun it was to research and write this story. My boy-band fandom isn’t even a guilty pleasure, but I’ve been waving this flag freely since I was sixteen. For the past eight months, I’ve told anyone who would listen that I was BORN to write this book, and that my previous nine novels have all been in preparation for this one glorious story! Therefore, I have many peeps to thank. First and always, thank you to my editor, Stacy Abrams, for being so supportive and brilliant and creative and pretty. Thanks to Sue, Ginger, Nancy, Kelly, Lindsay & Lexie (LLL lunch ladies!), Annie, Teri, Rachel, Cindi, Leah, Lydia, Rachel, Susan, Molly, and everyone who helped feed my raging boy-band appetite. Much fan gratitude for the inspiration from NKOTB, BSB, McFly, 1D. “Hey, Nick! See me in the tenth row? Marry me!” A very, very special thanks to the four other Backstage Pass authors: Lisa Burstein, Emmy Curtis, Rebekah Purdy, and Erin Butler. This project has been the hugest joy ever, and it’s almost like the end of an era to think that my part is over. We’ve been through so much and exchanged thousands of emails, and I’m going to miss our daily communication, epically. Thank you for inviting me to join this project; I hope I did our boys justice. Lastly, to my dear friend Nathan, whose creativity inspired the “On the Piano” scene. Yeah, I pretty much plucked that from my real life because the night you played “The Piano Song” for me was probably the dreamiest moment of my young life. Thank you for allowing me to share that personal moment between us with the world. And hopefully someday one of us will find that tape!

“Every time we’re down, you can make it right,

And that makes you larger than life.”

—Backstreet Boys

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author
Ophelia London
was born and raised among the redwood trees in beautiful northern California. Once she was fully educated, she decided to settle in Florida, but her car broke down in Texas and she’s lived in Dallas ever since. A cupcake and treadmill aficionado (obviously those things are connected), she spends her time watching arthouse movies and impossibly trashy TV, while living vicariously through the characters in the books she writes. Ophelia is the author of SOMEDAY MAYBE; DEFINITELY, MAYBE IN LOVE; ABBY ROAD; CROSSING ABBY ROAD; the Perfect Kisses series including: FALLING FOR HER SOLDIER, PLAYING AT LOVE, SPEAKING OF LOVE, and MAKING WAVES; and the upcoming Sugar City series for Entangled’s Bliss line. Visit her at
http://www.ophelialondon.com
. But don’t call when The Vampire Diaries is on.

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Also by Ophelia London

for New Adult readers

Definitely, Maybe in Love

Someday Maybe

Abby Road

Crossing Abby Road

for Adult readers

The Perfect Kisses series

Playing at Love

Speaking of Love

Falling for Her Soldier

Making Waves: a Perfect Kisses novella

Love Bites: a Sugar City novella