Page 100 of The Fate of Us

“Shh.” I place a finger over her lips. “I know.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Mayberry. Forever.”

She pulls me back down into a needy kiss that turns into a slow and gentle lovemaking session.

Once we are finally sated, I open up to Anna and tell her everything I should have told her from the start. And Anna tells me all about Nashville. We talk long into the night getting distracted by our naked bodies too many times to count.

When we wake up the next morning, Anna is folded into my arms, her hazel eyes boring into me. I trace a finger down her face and there is no doubt in my mind that I will be spending forever with this woman. I want to be with her for the rest of my life. She makes me a better man. She’s already helped me let go of the past even when it came back to fight me. I want a family with her. I want to hang pictures of us on the walls in our home. I want our kids running around in the back yard with Brutus as we have all my brothers over for a family barbeque. I want it all because she is the song to my soul.

28

Anna

I sitin the studio with Mason and Darnell. We want to get one last recording session in before Dee leaves for tour with his band. After everything that happened between Noah and I, a song came pouring out of me. And I think it might be the one. The perfect song. I sent Austin a snippet of it a few days ago and he went bananas over it. He didn’t think I could do better than what I wrote in Nashville but I proved him wrong.

It’s been a week since I finally gave in to Noah and moved back in. He wasn’t wrong when he said Claire would be gone soon. Two days after we had that incredible make-up sex, which like he said I would know when it happened, and I plan on picking fights with him a lot more, Claire moved out. Actually, she was escorted back to New York by a detective. Apparently she bought a second identity to cover up the money laundering and fraud she was doing through a company she worked for and used her status of being married to a huge investment banker as a cover. I knew she was fucking crazy. Not to mention her real husband, who knows if the marriage was even legal, said she was bipolar and had been off her meds.

We still haven’t found out who sent me the notes. But I have yet to receive one since Claire left. Noah said it wasn’t her but I can’t be so sure. The serial killer Noah was searching for was caught. He confessed to the murders but said he didn’t even know who I was.

I never thought my life would get this wild but I am glad it’s over. I have the two things I need in this world, my music and Noah, the song to my soul as he likes to call me. I told him he should be a poet but I like him more as a detective. Last night he broke out the handcuffs on me again. Best sex ever. Well maybe not as good as the make-up sex.

“Anna, what do you think of this?” Darnell asks me as he plays a lick on the guitar.

I shake my head. “It’s too rock ‘n’ roll. This needs to be softer; it has to build up, and then when it gets to the chorus it blows you away.”

I play the melody I came up with on the piano and Mason strums along on an acoustic. Darnell changes the sound on his electric and we come up with the vision I had for this song all along. Within hours we have it recorded and I send it off to Austin.

“You did good, coopcake,” Darnell says as he wraps an arm around my shoulders.

“I feel it. This song is magic.”

Mason smiles at me. “It’s even better than the one you performed in Nashville.”

“That song was dope, Anna. Mason showed it to me.”

I frown at Mason. “You weren’t supposed to show anyone.”

He shrugs. “Anna, that song is all over the internet.”

“What?” I shriek.

“Yeah someone posted a video to YouTube two weeks ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if your phone gets flooded with calls soon. It’s got like two million views.”

I gape at him as I feel my chest turning red. I grab hold of the necklace around my neck. The one Noah gave me and I calm down. That song was for him. “Did you ever show it to Noah?”

“Nah. I was waiting for the perfect moment. I figured maybe his bachelor party or your wedding.”

My cheeks flame. “We would have to be engaged for either of those to happen.”

Mason smirks and picks up his guitar.

I reach over to him and pull on his shoulder. “Are you not telling me something?”

Darnell laughs as he watches me and Mason. “Anna May, my brother is head over heels for you. I know he is going to marry you.”

I stutter as I try to find words. “But… he doesn’t…I can’t—”

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