Jordyn's Army, page 49
Except in a way I had been snooping.
The email hadn’t been open on his computer. Just the list of emails in his box. If it hadn’t been for the subject line I would’ve ignored it. I swallowed hard and nodded.
“Good.” Sawyer bent down and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “Then let’s go practice so you can get some answers.”
I followed him back over to the center of the stage, where they had my mic set up and ready to go. The rest of the guys were in position.
“Got the set list?” Heath asked, walking over with a piece of paper.
“Thanks.” I took it from him and set it on the stool next to me.
I tried to take Sawyer’s advice and push it all to the back of my mind while I sang each song, doing my best to stay on pitch. Wasn’t easy with the tears trying to win and clog my voice.
Three songs in and Monty set down his bass before we could move onto song number four.
“One of your strings is off.”
Jackson nodded. “That’s what I thought, but I tuned it right before we started.”
Monty held out a hand to Jackson. “Let me see it.”
It would take Monty a good ten minutes to tune Jackson’s guitar and I really wanted a few minutes alone. Sawyer had his phone to his ear, so I went over to Heath.
“I’m gonna grab a cup of coffee while they're at it. Want anything?”
“Nah, I’m good.”
“I’ll be back in a few. Text me if anyone wants anything.”
He smiled and nodded. “You got it.”
I hurried down the side set of stairs and quickly made my way out of the venue and down the street to the coffee shop on the corner. They had coffee at the venue, but this gave me a chance to get away.
After placing my order, I stepped to the side to wait when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a text from Sawyer.
Sawyer: Jackson tripped and hurt his ankle. Cutting practice short.
The barista called my name. I grabbed my coffee and set it right back down to answer Sawyer.
Me: OMG is he okay? I’ll be right back.
My phone buzzed right away.
Sawyer: He’s okay. Heading to hospital to get checked out just in case. You can meet us there if you want.
Me: Think anyone would mind if I went home?
Sawyer: Not in the least. Probably won’t let us all back anyway. Head home and TALK TO COLE.
His shouty caps weren’t going to get him anywhere. Even without me looking through Cole’s email, I didn’t think I could handle knowing he was leaving, the night before we were playing. When I talked to him, it would be after the charity concert was over. Until then, I needed to suck it up and focus on what was important and that was raising as much money as we could for those families.
4
Cole
Exhausted, I pulled into the garage. Mari would already be at venue for the night’s concert. Hopefully she’d gotten to rest beforehand. Something was bothering her and I didn’t have a clue as to what. I didn’t want to push before the show, knowing we’d have plenty of time afterward to talk about it.
I dropped my bag by the door and went to the office. With a little less than an hour before I had to leave to make it to the venue in time to see Jaded Ivory play, I wanted to finish up a few things.
I opened my laptop, hoping to go through the list of starters we’d worked out the day before. The moment the screen came to life and I saw the email from David Carson, I knew why Mari had been distant the night before.
She had to think I planned on taking a job across country without telling her.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. I’d only met with Hillview’s Athletic Director to see what kind of deal they were offering and take it back to Harrison, hoping they’d either match it or come really close to it.
And they had.
Apparently being the youngest coach in college football with the highest career wins as an offensive coach came with perks.
Shit.
I planned getting to the venue right around the time she went on stage, but we needed to talk. I didn’t want her worrying for another moment that I’d leave her here for a job across the country.
Mari was getting ready to take the stage in less than an hour. There was still plenty of time for me to get over there and talk to her before she went on. She needed to know the truth.
That’s when it hit me. The grand gesture.
Sawyer had said it wasn’t about what I did, but what I said. Well, tonight, I’d test that theory.
I sent a quick text to Jenna, Allana, and Reagan on the way, hoping one of them would be able to help me pull this crazy ass idea off. The traffic was worse than I thought it would be. Knowing I’d be short on time, I grabbed the small box from the glove compartment and shoved it in my pocket. Thankfully, I hadn't gotten a chance to hide it somewhere in the house when I'd picked it up the day before.
An accident had shut the freeway down to one lane. Somehow I still managed to pull into the VIP lot in time to hear the crowd start chanting her name.
I jumped out of the car and slammed the door shut. Racing across the parking lot, I prayed like hell my knee wouldn’t act up. The door flew open just as I skidded to a stop in front of it. Reagan stood on the other side. In his hand he held a single peach rose. Mari’s favorite.
“I’m not sure what all this is about, but you owe Allana.”
I took the rose from him. “If this works, I’ll owe her everything. Where are Allana and Jenna?”
He gestured behind him. “Watching the show from backstage, where we expected you to be a while ago until we started getting random texts about peach roses.”
I stepped through the door and started down the concrete hall. “I know. An accident on the freeway shut it down to one lane.”
Reagan winced. “Hell, it’s a miracle you made it with only one lane. I don’t even want to think about the speeds you had to travel to get here that quick.”
I shook my head. “You don’t want to know.”
“Nope, but I do want to know what this is all about.”
“Let’s find Allana and Jenna first, then I can tell you all at the same time.”
Mari’s voice grew louder the closer we got to the backstage area of the venue. My heart thundered in my chest. I wanted her to say yes more than I wanted my next breath. Yesterday there was no doubt in my mind that she’d say yes whenever I decided to ask. The email she saw could have changed everything.
“Cole, where have you been?” Jenna asked as we rounded the corner and came into their line of sight.
Allana’s head snapped in my direction. “And I hope you’re gonna tell us why I had to race through downtown trying to find that rose for you.”
The song ended and Mari’s voice drifted toward me, settling the fear of rejection that was trying to take hold. Notes from the keyboard filled the arena and they moved into the next song on their set list. If I remembered the list correctly, there were two more songs before the one I wanted.
“I am.” I smiled and reached into my pocket, taking out the box, opening it to face them.
Allana’s hand flew to cover her mouth as tears welled in her eyes. Jenna placed her hand under mine, holding it steady. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized they were trembling.
“It’s beautiful,” Jenna whispered.
“Thank you. I just hope she says yes.”
Reagan dropped a hand onto my shoulder and squeezed. “I’m so happy for you guys, but why wouldn’t she say yes and why the hell didn’t you already have the rose before today.”
“’Cause I didn’t plan on proposing today.”
Reagan gave his head a little shake. “Okay, now I’m confused.”
“The other day I had lunch with Sawyer about planning some elaborate flash mob proposal once this charity concert was over.”
“You know Mari wouldn’t care about all of that?” Jenna asked.
I shrugged. “I know, but I still wanted to do it for her.”
“Okay, then what changed your mind?”
“An email she saw on my computer from Hillview." I explained to them about getting the emails and how I was pretty sure Mari thought I was taking the job. I told them how the email made it look like I was serious.
“Were you actually considering the job?” Reagan asked.
“No, but knowing their terms helped me get more things from Harrison to keep me.”
Reagan smirked. “I like it.”
“Me too. But I don’t want Mari thinking for another moment that I’d move thousands of miles away without her. Sawyer’s right, it’s not about the grand gesture.” I held up the rose. “It’s about the simple things and what I want to say.”
Jenna placed a hand on my arm. “You know she’ll say yes, right?”
“I’m a little nervous after the last two days, she’ll say no, but then she’ll at least know I’m not leaving.”
The song before the one I was waiting for slowly came to an end. I knew this was the place in the list where Mari would introduce the band.
“I guess it’s now or never,” I said, taking a step forward.
“You can do it.” Allana gave me a little push from behind.
I listened as Mari introduced all of the boys first. Right before she introduced herself, I stepped out onto the stage. The rest of the band members' heads snapped in my direction. With her back to me, she still hadn’t realized I was there, but a buzz tore through the crowd pretty quickly, getting louder with each step that brought me closer to Mari.
“And I’m Mari Cosmann.”
“I hope not forever.” At the sound of my voice she whipped around, eyes wide, the microphone forgotten in her hand.
“What are you doing here?” she asked only loud enough for me to hear.
“I need to ask you a question.” I took the mic from her hand and placed it into the stand right next to us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sawyer smile and nod in approval.
She glanced out at the crowd and back at me, her brows drawn together. No doubt she wondered what could be so important I’d interrupted her concert. Hopefully, she didn’t think it was to tell her about the new job, which was ridiculous. I’D never interrupt her for something so trivial. “Right now?”
“Right now.” I lifted the rose to her and as she wrapped her hand around the stem and took it from me, I made sure to brush my fingers over hers. “Years ago, you took a risk on a man who’d lost everything and was trying to fight his way back to the top. A man who’d once helped put you in the same position, at least until you found the family that surrounds you on stage every night.” I glanced around at each of them, trying to convey my thanks for helping to save and nurture the woman who stole my heart.
“The man I took a risk on was not the same boy I’d met years before.” She placed her hand over my heart, the audience behind her forgotten for the moment.
I covered her hand with mine. “No, he wasn’t. He’d learned a lot since then. And every day since the moment you said I love you.” Her eyes began to shimmer. “Now, I’m asking you to take one more risk on me. One more leap of faith. Another bird for your shoulder of firsts.”
I took a small step back and lowered down onto one knee, pulling the box from my pocket.
Mari’s hand flew to her chest. “Cole,” she breathed.
“Mari, I love you more than life itself. You are my rock, my world, my everything. You believe in me when I don’t believe in myself. And I know I never would have made it as far in my life if a beautiful girl hadn’t thrown her drink in my face that first night.” A blush raced up Mari’s cheeks, something most people didn’t see often.
“Mari Cosmann, will you marry me?” I opened the box to show her the ring. Even Sawyer hadn’t seen it yet. A teal-colored, oval cut sapphire sat surrounded by a row of diamonds in a platinum band. The stone the exact color of her eyes. There were no other rings worthy of Mari.
Her eyes widened and darted up to meet mine. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered reverently.
Silence fell over the crowd as we all waited to hear her answer.
“Just like you. What do you say, will you take one more risk on me?”
Her eyes met mine and I saw the answer in them before the word even left her lips.
“Yes.” She dropped down in front of me, throwing her arms around my neck.
Cheers filled the arena, but the sound was drowned out by the woman in my arms repeating, “Yes, yes, yes.”
I took her hand from my shoulder and slipped the ring onto her finger. She stared at it for the briefest of moments before her brows drew together. “What about the job offer from Hillview?” she whispered.
I shook my head. “They offered, but I never had any intention of taking it. I only used their offer as leverage to get more out of Harrison.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Really? I would never keep something like that from you. With our schedules being so hectic, I never got the chance to tell you what happened. I can promise you if I had been considering it, I would have made the time for us to talk.”
She leaned forward, capturing my lips with hers. I sank one hand in her hair and wrapped the other around her waist, holding her tight to me.
It wasn’t until I felt a tap on my shoulder that I remembered where we were—sitting in the middle of the stage during a charity concert. If possible Mari’s face flushed an even deeper shade of pink. The paparazzi were going to have a field day with this, but that was nothing new for us. We’d been their favorite couple to follow for a while. Even with all of the crazy from everyone else, they always came back to us in the end.
Taking Mari’s hands in mine, I stood, helping her to her feet. “Go finish your concert and we can celebrate later,” I said against her lips.
She smiled and turned back to the crowd, as I walked off the stage, Heath, Jackson, and Monty all smiling and giving me a thumbs-up.
Sawyer sat in the back and bowed over his drum kit. “You did good,” he mouthed just before I stepped off the stage.
“Let’s try this again,” she called into the mic. “I’m Mari Cosmann, soon to be Mari Wallace, and we’re Jaded Ivory.”
You can find the beginning of Mari and Cole’s story in Rock Me.
https://www.rebeccabrooke.com/jaded-ivory
About Rebecca Brooke
Rebecca Brooke grew up in the shore towns of South Jersey. She loves to hit the beach, but always with her kindle on hand. She is married to the most wonderful man, who puts up with all of her craziness. Together they have two beautiful children who keep her on her toes. When she isn’t writing or reading (which is very rarely) she loves to bake and binge watch Netflix.
www.rebeccabrooke.com
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Acknowledgments
We’d like to thank the following people for their contributions:
Jordyn Preston
Beverly Preston
Caylee Preston
Reggie & Melissa Deanching
Cody Smith
MadHat Studios
Buoni Amici Press
Tempi Lark
Ultra Editing
CJG Consulting, LLC
All the bloggers, readers, and authors who helped us spread the word.
Heidi McLaughlin, Jordyn's Army
