I love you.

Mama

Trina finished reading the letters and waited for Wade to catch up.

It took well over an hour before they could talk about them. Even then, it wasn’t to go over any single piece of information, but to discuss the collective whole.

“So what now?”

Trina sat up on Wade’s balcony, overlooking the vast span of his property. The world worked below while she stretched out on a lounge chair, contemplating life.

“I’ve already tried to give back everything to Diane and Andrea. They refused. Said they wanted family more than the money. They thought, with everything that had happened, I’d find plenty of ways to spend my share of the company that would prove worthwhile. They said if it wasn’t for me, Ruslan would have never come to justice and would always be a threat for them and their own families.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“I’m not sure.”

“You have a whole lifetime to figure it out.”

“First thing I need to do is sell a few houses.”

“New York?”

“That’s the first to go. Avery wants to fly back next month and continue where she stopped.”

“You’re kidding.”

Trina didn’t like the feeling in her gut about the whole situation. “She’s battling some personal demons. I’m going to go with her.”

“You sure about that?”

“It doesn’t have the hold on me that it once did. But if you wanted to come along . . .”

“Is there a question?”

“Of course there’s a question. I’m not assuming anything. Well, other than spending all my time here at your place. Stella and the Folsoms think I’ve abandoned my place.”

“You should sell.”

She tilted her head to the side. “I’m not selling.”

“Fine, keep it. But we won’t be there very often.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, if we have a fight, I’ll sleep on the couch like any normal man, not let you leave to your own house three hours away.”

“You and I don’t fight.”

“I’m sure we will. Every couple argues.”

“We’re not like every other couple.”

He leaned back, tilted his hat until it shaded his eyes. “Are we going to fight over not arguing?”

“That’s an oxymoron.”

“You can disagree with yourself. I’m thinkin’ of takin’ a nap. You’re wearing me out all night long with your overactive sex drive,” he said as he smiled under the brim of his hat.

“I’m wearing you out?” She kicked his boots off the railing, and he jumped up and pulled her out of her chair.

“Someone is feeling much better these days.”

“Someone is. Now grab your purse, we need to go shoppin’.”

“Shopping?” She glanced at the bed in the room just beyond the porch, hoping to exercise her sex drive.

“Yup. We need some boots, and a hat. Two hats, one for here and another one all blinged out so I can take you dancin’ tonight.”

“You’re finally gonna dress me for the part?”

He lifted her hands and kissed the backs of both of them. He paused over her ring finger and gave it a hard stare. “Darlin’, when I get done dressing you, there won’t be a soul on this earth that doesn’t know you belong to me.”

Epilogue

Three Months Later

“You know, as First Wives Club meetings go, this one has to be the best.” Avery lifted her glass of champagne for a toast. “To Lori, with her newly engaged badass self.”

Lori beamed while looking at the ring Reed had finally put on her finger a month before. Wedding plans were in the works, which gave the four of them plenty of time together while they hammered out all the details.

Trina sipped the sparkling wine in celebration before scooting out of the way of one of the stagehands.

The four of them sat in the wings of the concert hall, waiting until the very last second to walk down to their front row center seats.

Since she’d met Wade, this was the first concert she’d attended. Everything inside of her buzzed with excitement. The guys in the band had welcomed her into their fold with warm hearts and big hugs. They liked how she made Wade smile, and the music he was working on was a windfall for all of them. At least that’s what the band had told her.

The roadies were finishing changing the set from the warm-up band as Wade and his guys walked through the backstage crowd.

Wade let out a whistling catcall and snagged Trina around the waist. “I’m taking this one, boys,” he teased his guys.

“It’s the hat, isn’t it?” Pure cowgirl and picked out by her own country stylist. Even Wade’s mother liked it, and that woman never approved of anything dealing with Trina.

“You can have her. I personally prefer blondes.” Luke winked at Avery.

Avery waved him off with a turn of her head. “Oh, hell no. I’m out. See ya down there,” she called as she walked away.

“Dude, she just dissed you hard,” Sebastian teased Luke.

“Don’t take it personally, Avery doesn’t like musicians.”

“Except me, she loves me.” Wade patted his own chest.

“Don’t flatter yourself. She tolerates you.”

Wade swept Trina up for a kiss. “What about you?”

“Oh, I love you, but I only tolerate so much.” She slapped his butt.

“Break a leg . . . or whatever one says before a concert,” Shannon said before following Avery’s lead.

Wade winked.

Lori patted Wade’s shoulder. “Reed said he’d see you from the floor and after the show.”

Wade kissed her cheek. “Enjoy.”

Lori walked off.

He ducked his head close to Trina’s. “I’m a little nervous,” he admitted.

“Because of me?”

“What if you don’t like it?”

Trina busted out laughing. “Not possible. Besides, I’ve been listening to you sing to me for months.”

“Still.”

“You know what they say. For stage fright, just picture the audience naked.”

His eyes traveled up and down her denim miniskirted frame. “That is not helping.”

She lifted on her tiptoes, as much as she could in a pair of boots, anyway, and kissed him. “I could say that if it bothers you, I’ll stay away from your concerts. But that would be a total lie. So deal with it.” She kissed him again. “I love you. Sing your heart out.”

“Ready, Wade?” one of the stage managers interrupted them.

Trina slipped out of his arms and blew him a kiss before she jogged out of the wings and down the back staircase to the concert floor. She smiled at the security guard stationed there and slipped through plenty of strangers before meeting her group.

Trina turned a full circle and took in the sheer mass of people. “Phenomenal, isn’t it?”

“All here to see your guy,” Avery said.

Reed walked up, double fisted with a beer in each hand. “Hey, ladies.”

A round of hellos went up as the lights in the concert hall went down.

The crowd started to rumble, and when the strings of an electric guitar hit a chord, everyone went wild.

Through the fancy lights and the smoke, Wade walked onstage and hit the first riff of his opening song.

And Trina fell in love all over again.

God, he was good. He sang of good times with old friends, and everyone around her sang right along with him.

Wade found her spot and smiled at her as he performed. She wasn’t sure if he was picturing her naked, but he didn’t seem all that nervous once the song ended.

“Hello, Nashville!”

The crowd went wild.

“How y’all doin’ tonight?”

The audience responded.

“It’s been three months since I’ve been onstage, I was goin’ through withdrawals. Thanks for joining me on this last-minute gig.”

“Anytime!” a man standing behind Trina yelled.

“Tonight’s a mighty special night for me. You see, I have someone special in the audience, watching me for the first time.”

Avery bumped Trina’s side.

Trina squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them, Wade was smiling down at her. “In fact, I wonder if y’all wouldn’t mind if I brought her up onstage for just a couple minutes so I can introduce you to her.”

Trina started shaking her head. “Oh, God. He is not . . .”

Next thing she knew, Jeb was standing in front of her with a step stool she could use.

Wade reached out his hand. “C’mon, darlin’.”

“I’m going to kill him.”

Trina’s entire body shook as she let Jeb help her to the first step, and Wade pulled her up the rest of the way.

She couldn’t look up for fear of passing out.

“Trina, honey . . .” Wade lifted his hand to the audience. “This is everyone . . . everyone, this is the love of my life, Trina.”

A rise and fall of her name rose in the room.

That was when she realized just how many eyes were on them.

She swallowed, hard. “Hi.”

Wade leaned in and talked low into his microphone. “Just picture them all naked. Totally works.”