All I Need (12 page)
He didn’t even notice that I’d called him Jubb. No spanking for me tonight I guess.
Something is majorly wrong and I have no idea what it is, or what I can do about it.
T
his is it. The moment I’ve been simultaneously dreading and anticipating in equal measure.
I fucking love this girl. Hell, she’s the girl that taught me what love was. And I will love her forever.
She does this thing sometimes, when she’s lying in my arms at night. She’ll start asking these ridiculous “Would you still love me if…” questions.
If I gained three hundred pounds?
Yes.
If I hit my head and got amnesia and you had to convince me to love you all over again?
Yes.
If I decided I wanted to move to Alaska and study salmon migration patterns instead of be a musician?
Yes.
The truth is, there isn’t a question she can ask, a decision she could make that would make me not love her. There isn’t an adventure she could want to go on that I wouldn’t want to by her side for.
For a while, I wondered if our relationship would be too much with all the added pressure of getting signed, getting a record deal, being on the road constantly. But it wasn’t—for either of us. If anything, being able to hold her every night was the one thing that kept me anchored and stable when the rest of our lives seemed so insane and surreal.
The song ends, the crowd applauds so loud it pounds in my head as loud as Dax’s drums. My eyes meet Everly’s mom’s gaze and I nod at her. She knows what I’m about to do. I called and told her the day I bought the ring. The gray-haired man with a protective arm around her gives me an encouraging nod and I swallow my fear. My legs are shaking as set my guitar on the stand and walk toward Everly in front of more people than I care to count.
A band from Amarillo waits in the wings and I can see the front man asking around already about why we haven’t left the stage yet. The fiddle player is female and she’s shushing him and smiling like she knows exactly what’s about to happen. I wish she could tell me what Ev’s answer will be.
Either way, I’m doing this now, here, for her. For us. Because this girl is the rest of my life and I need her to know it.
Everly thanks the crowd and turns to welcome the next act onstage. But she stops short when she slams into the solid wall that is me.
“Jubb? What the hell are you—”
“That’s two, Ev,” I tell her with a wink. She thinks I missed the first one at soundcheck. I didn’t. I’d just realized the ring box was bulging in my pocket and I didn’t want her to see.
She looks as panicked as I feel, but a little relieved, too. “Now’s hardly the time to—”
“Has to be now. I can’t wait any longer.” I take her small delicate hand in my huge calloused one. “I left you on stage once and I have never forgiven myself. I want you to know, I will never, ever, leave you again.”
Her eyes widen when I lean in and whisper “I will love you if you gain three hundred pounds. I will still love you if you get amnesia and forget me. And if you want to quit this whole music thing right now, buy me a parka and let’s get packing for Alaska.”
My heart plummets as I drop to one knee and retrieve the ring.
“Everly Willow Abbott, I know what love is because of you. I know what passion is because of you. And I know what my future is because of you. Marry me. Marry me and live this life with me. You are my love song. Let me be yours.”
When I look up into her face, tears are streaming down it. Stage lights make the streaks beneath her eyes gleam and all I can think is
she’s going to say no.
No way some ragtag loser like me deserves this beautiful, talented woman.
But she nods. And holds out her finger for me to slip the ring on.
Once it’s in place, where it will fucking
stay
, I stand and kiss her and she whispers words in my ear that make me grin like a crazed maniac.
“Thank you for my happily ever after…
Jubby
.”
That’s three.
God, I can’t wait for our honeymoon.
Want to know the name of that band waiting in the wings when Jubb proposes?
Check out
Leaving Amarillo
by Caisey Quinn!
Some promises are made to be broken...
Music is my everything. After my parents died when I was a kid, moving into my grandparents’ ramshackle house on a dirt road in Amarillo seemed like a nightmare. Until I stumbled upon my grandfather’s shed full of instruments. My soul lives between the strings of Oz, my secondhand fiddle, and it soars when I play. In Houston, I'm a typical college student on my way to becoming a classically trained violinist headed straight for the orchestra pit. But on the road with my band, Leaving Amarillo, I'm free.
We have one shot to make it, and I have one shot to live the life I was meant to. Leaving Amarillo got into Austin Music Fest and everything is riding on this next week. This is our moment. There’s only one problem. I have a secret...One that could destroy everyone I care about.
His name is Gavin Garrison and he's our drummer. He's also my brother's best friend, the one who promised he'd never lay a hand on me. He’s the one person I can’t have, and yet he’s the only one I want.
One week.
One hotel room.
I don't know if I can do this.
I just know that I have to.
Pre-Order
Leaving Amarillo
Now
Big huge hugs of love to Marilyn, Rhonda, & Lexi for allowing me, Everly, and Jubb to be a part of the Abbott Springs family!
Want more hot winter nights in Abbott Springs? Check out the other Abbott Springs Romances, available separately or in the
ALL I EVER WANTED
anthology!
All About Us
by Marilyn Brant—All Sami Abbott ever wanted was permission to be herself. At home, she aims to be the perfect daughter but never measures up. At college, she’s the bold girl who had a one-night stand with sexy musician, Alex Hamilton. When he arrives unexpectedly in Abbott Springs, her worlds collide and she must reconcile the girl she tries to be with the person she really is.
All I Need
by Caisey Quinn–All pink-haired rocker chick Everly Abbott thought she wanted was acceptance in her straight-laced hometown. But her best friend and bandmate Justin Cohen is about to show her that what she thinks she wants isn’t necessarily what she needs.
All for Love
by Rhonda Helms–All Maya Monterey ever wanted was to belong. Happiest with the Abbott family, Maya’s been secretly in love with sexy pastry chef Oliver Abbott for years. With a flirty new look, she’ll pull out all the stops to get him to notice her. And if her plan fails, she’ll walk away from the only home she’s ever known–and Oliver–for good.
All or Nothing
by Lexi Ryan—After years of placing the wrong bets, all Aubree Baxter wanted was someone to take a chance on her. Golden boy Kennedy Hale plays it safe in life and love, but to keep Bree in Abbott Springs, he’ll have to go all in.
Caisey Quinn lives in a suburb outside of Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and other assorted animals. She wears cowgirl boots most of the time, even to church. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie Ryans series and writes New and Young Adult books about country girls finding love in unexpected places. She can be found
online
or on
Twitter
where she spends entirely too much time chatting with readers, writers, and anyone who’s willing.
All I Need
, Copyright © 2014 by Caisey Quinn
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher of this book, excepting brief quotations used in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, businesses or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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