Sound of Heartache ("Sound of" Book 2) (30 page)

“
Aimee Bryant Lansing, will you marry me?” Brent asked, as he held the now-open box up to her. Inside the box was a large solitaire ruby engagement ring set in platinum with two rows of much smaller diamonds running on either side of it. Brent knew Aimee loved rubies because it was her birthstone, and now Brenna’s too. The ring was unique and beautiful and fit his Aimee perfectly.

Aimee’s surprisingly steady hand picked up the ring and slid it onto her finger, where she smiled down at it through the tears that continued to rain down her cheeks. She looked away from the ring and into his eyes. “A million times over, yes.” Brent felt a smile stretch his face and felt the wetness of his own tears.

“
Yes?” He said. She nodded.

“
Yes,” she whispered, and as he stood with shaking legs, she pulled him and Brenna into a tight hug. “Yes!” she cried out happily, and they all laughed through their tears.

EPILOGUE

Their wedding was very small. He and Aimee wanted it that way. Their relationship had started off very inauspiciously and it seemed to make sense to affirm it quietly among their friends and family. Brent’s parents had attended, as had the nurse who helped deliver Brenna. The entire band was there, too, of course.

Brent couldn’t help but smile at the memory of his parents meeting Brenna. They had been stunned to learn they were grandparents and hadn’t once held a grudge against Aimee for the choices she made. Despite Aimee’s nervousness, he had brought them all together the same weekend he proposed and things couldn’t have gone better. They lived less than two hours away and were so completely charmed by his girl that they were down in Point Loma every other weekend. Sometimes Brenna went and stayed with them in Orange County, giving him and Aimee some serious alone time. Brent’s mom had been infuriated to learn what Aimee’s mom had tried to do and she was working hard to build a solid relationship with Aimee. Brent loved his parents for their easy acceptance of his little family.

At Aimee’s request, Brent had secured permits for them to be married on a quiet stretch of beach. A violinist had sat off to the side, playing soft music for the small crowd. The late spring afternoon was mild and temperate and the blue skies were cloudless. It was impossible for the day to be any more perfect.

When Aimee appeared and walked barefoot across the sand toward him, hand in hand with their daughter, Brent had nearly fallen to his knees and wept. The only other time he could recall her looking so radiantly beautiful was when she had been pregnant with Brenna. Her dress was incredibly simple and the lightweight fabric fluttered in the slight breeze. He had been unable to prevent his eyes from watering, and as Aimee had drawn closer, he could see her eyes were just as shiny. Taking her slender hand in his allowed him to draw a deep breath and relax. Brenna stood to his other side and Brent had never felt more loved in his life. Feeling the weight of the simple platinum wedding band resting on his finger gave him a feeling of completion and he knew Aimee felt the same when he slid the simple eternity band next to her ruby engagement ring.

Brent had planned a small surprise, and after sliding on Aimee’s band, he turned to his daughter. He spoke of his love and commitment to her and promised to be there for her in every way possible. He slid a small band onto her right hand that was made up of small diamonds and rubies intertwined. He asked her to remember how much her parents loved her whenever she looked at it, and her simple reply had been, “I will”.

The reception was held right there on the beach, and as the hour grew later, stars began twinkling in the sky. Regan and Ellie were talking animatedly with Aimee. The three women had become close friends after the San Francisco trip. Regan had helped Aimee find a job with a pediatric practice in San Diego that was actually relatively close to their home in Point Loma. After Brent’s proposal at Thanksgiving, Aimee had given a month’s notice to her position in Las Vegas and she and Brenna had moved in with Brent just several days before Christmas. His home in Point Loma was spacious and comfortable and not too far from the water. And for Brenna, the schools were good and she was near to a dance studio, which she’d immediately joined.

A fourth woman stood talking with Regan, Ellie, and his wife. He didn’t know much about her other than she owned something called a “cupcakery” and her name was Jesse. Apparently the three women had met her when they ordered the wedding cake that had just been to be cut into. Jesse had agreed to come to the wedding to cut and serve the cake to their guests, but Brent was pretty sure the women had used it as an excuse to have the petite, curvy woman attend the wedding.

“
Are you the goddess responsible for the creation of this mountain of chocolatey goodness?” Eric asked, approaching the four women. He held a plate of the wedding cake and it was half gone. When the unsuspecting Jesse nodded her head, Eric feel to his knees at her feet kissing the back of her hand. Brent rolled his eyes at Eric’s behavior. Poor Jesse was in for it and her eyes were as wide as saucers as she stared down at Eric.

“
Eric, leave Jesse alone. She’s Aimee’s friend, you idiot. End of story.” Except it wasn’t. Brent knew Aimee felt fiercely protective toward Jesse because, according to Aimee, Jesse’s life had been shit before moving to San Diego.

“
You must agree to run away with me. Let me be your muse. Say you’ll bake for me. All day. Every day,” Eric begged loudly. By this point everyone was watching Jesse for her reaction to Eric’s antics. Even in the dim lighting, he could see that Jesse’s ears were tinted red, but a shy smile had crept across her face.

“
Tell you what big boy,” she finally said, “I own a bakery off Broadway, downtown. You can come by as often as you want and I’ll give you a cupcake each time you do.”

“
Make him pay double!” Jack called out from his table. “He can afford it!” Jesse just smiled wider and shook her head. Her choppy blond hair swung freely by her chin. Brent was way off the market, but Jesse was a cute little thing.

“
If he appreciates my baking enough to get on his knees, he can have them for free!” She called back. Eric made a show of taking both her hands in his and planting noisy kisses along the backs of her fingers. Jesse’s face glowed bright red but she looked pleased at the attention even as the other women slowly drifted away, wisely knowing if they stayed, they would get caught up in Eric’s shenanigans.

“
Eric is shameless when food is involved,” his bride commented loudly. Brent walked over to her and took her into the shelter of his arms. He would never get tired of how good it felt to have her there.

“
Uncle Eric, mama says you’re shameless!” Brenna called out, as if he hadn’t heard. The small crowd laughed and Brent’s arms tightened around Aimee.

“
Wife, have I told you how much I love you?” He asked her. She smiled at him and looped her arms around his neck. Her dark hair was wound up in messy curls and Brent couldn’t wait to bury his hands in them and pluck out all the bobby pins.

“
It’s been at least ten minutes since you said it last, my husband,” she whispered into his ear, and then licked gently along the outer shell. He shuddered and pulled her a little closer. He loved hearing her call him that.

“
Much too long,” he growled and then dipped her back, sweeping her mouth in a rough kiss.

“
Oh for God’s sake! There are kids here!” Jacob heckled at them, his stupidly muscled arm draped over the back of Jack’s chair. He could feel Aimee’s arm lift away from his neck briefly and he broke off the kiss. He pulled their bodies back into an upright position.

“
Did you just shoot him the finger?” He asked, disbelievingly. She waggled her perfectly arched eyebrows at him, and he knew she had. He laughed and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. Only his Aimee would flip someone off on her wedding day and look elegant while doing so.

“
Would you want me any other way?” She asked, and giggled slightly. Brent gave Aimee a thorough look. He remembered the first day he’d seen her in their shared Biology class, thinking how perfect she looked. He remembered the day they found out she was pregnant with Brenna and how scared they’d both been. He remembered the day Aimee’s mom had threatened him and taken Aimee away, devastating them. He remembered the day Aimee had come back to him to try to make things right. He remembered the day he knew he couldn’t live without her. In every memory, Aimee was perfect to him. He was completely, irrevocably in love with the woman standing before him.

“
No,” he finally said. “I couldn’t even begin to picture you any other way.”

THE END

Thank you for reading
Sound of Heartache
. I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading the second book in the series as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please take a moment to rate the book – it’s so easy to do – and it helps out authors tremendously! Without the support of our readers, we have nothing.

Also, a big thanks to KBC for taking time away from your husband, your children, AND your full-time job to take the time to give me feedback on what I’ve put to paper. Your opinion is invaluable to me!

If you haven’t read the book that kicked off the series, you’re missing out! Pick up
Sound of Regret
, the first book in the “Sound of” series, today. The third book in the series,
Sound of Trouble
, will be out in late 2015. And yes, it’s Jacob’s story! Keep reading for an excerpt of Jack and Ellie’s story.

SOUND OF REGRET

EXCERPT

PROLOGUE

Ellie Williams sat on the full-sized bed across from her roommate, Macy Greene. Macy had come into the living room and asked Ellie to come into in her room. Macy’s request puzzled Ellie just a little. Although they were roommates and casual friends, they didn’t spend a lot of time together. They definitely weren’t in the same social groups, Macy preferring what Ellie privately referred to as “snobs”. Their social differences hardly seemed to matter at the moment because Macy had just delivered news of the unimaginable kind.

“
Wait. You’re going to do what?” Ellie asked Macy, completely dumbfounded. Ellie was so stunned at Macy’s words that her surroundings faded into the background and she barely registered the bright sun streaming into the room or the warmth it created.

“
I’m ending it with Jack. I’m done.” Macy repeated the words slowly as if she was talking to someone who wasn’t all there. Ellie shook her head still not really comprehending.

“
But you love Jack. And he loves you. Christ, he proposed to you!” Ellie kept to herself the thought that Macy was just about the luckiest woman on the planet to have the attention of someone like Jack Tate. She watched in disbelief as Macy flung her silky black hair over her shoulders and shrugged casually. Ellie wasn’t a violent person, but her hand itched to slap the superior look off Macy’s pretty face.

“
Jack’s going nowhere,” Macy said bluntly. She left her bed, moving around the room. Her silky white shirt flowed perfectly over her skinny jeans. “The last thing I need in my life is some wannabe rocker who doesn’t amount to anything.” Macy’s words were cruel and disparaging and cut Ellie on Jack’s behalf. He was a talented musician, of that there was no doubt. But like anything in that field, success took time. Jack just hadn’t found his niche yet, but Ellie was certain he would and when it happened, Jack’s success would be monumental.

 
Ellie suddenly clued in to what was going on in a big way. “You’ve found someone else,” She accused Macy softly. And was lividly pissed off when Macy grinned at her with no remorse.

“
Yeah, I have. He’s already in the MBA program and he’s got a great future. His dad owns a huge financial investment company and he’s already got a six figure job lined up. I’m never going to have to worry about anything.” Ellie shook her head at just how shallow Macy was. She’d always known that Macy was into more materialistic things than she was but she never dreamed it went this far. She and Macy had roomed together for the past two years, almost directly after graduating high school. Ellie knew Macy’s plans for her life included having obscene amounts of money at her disposal.