“No, not yet.”
His warm breath tickled her ear and Kylie shivered. “Trace, are we in a bar?”
The vibration of his dark laughter rattled her a little. “Relax, it’s not even open right now. No one’s going to be drinking.”
They took several more steps before he removed the blindfold from her eyes. It took a few seconds for her to adjust to the darkness in The Rum Room. The stage was the only thing with any real light on it. The lights around the island bar in the middle of the room were too dim to be of much help.
She turned in his arms. “What’s going on? How did we get in here?”
Trace shrugged. “Eh, I know the owner.” He winked and led her over to the middle of the dance floor. “I believe I owe you a dance.”
Kylie heard the shuffle of instruments being moved on stage, but she couldn’t look away from the man wrapping her in his arms.
A song began to play, one that she had both loved and hated at one time or another.
“Dance with me?” Trace held his hand out and waited for her to accept.
Kylie’s eyes filled with tears. She nodded and stepped forward as a singer she recognized as a regular at The Rum Room’s open mic night began singing about a woman who loved him unconditionally like Jesus did. He was the same one who’d been singing the night Trace had walked away from her two years ago.
Her own heart faltered in her chest as she listened to his strong, steady one.
“Trace,” she whispered, looking up at him as they swayed. “Please tell me you didn’t bring me here to tell me you’re going back into rehab and I’m not allowed to wait for you.”
The last year of her life had been amazing. They’d lived together on his farm in Georgia, had written an album full of songs, while offers poured in from record labels and television networks.
Things were going so well…it was almost too good to be true.
Her entire body tensed as she waited for him to answer.
He swallowed hard and stared down at her. “No, baby. I brought you here because I needed a do-over. I wanted to do this right.”
Her gaze lifted warily as he kissed her on the forehead.
“I brought you here because you changed my life forever in this room. And then I hurt you here, and I want to fix that. That look you get, that panic-stricken fear that fills your eyes sometimes… It kills me.”
“Trace, I just… I love you so much, and the thought of—”
“Breathe, pretty girl.” He winked and smiled at her, that slow, intense grin she knew he only gave to her.
She nodded and forced the best smile she could. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to freak out.”
“It’s okay.” He spun her in a circle and dipped her Hollywood movie-style until she giggled. “There. That’s better.”
She shook her head. “So, um, you gonna tell me what we’re doing here?”
The song ended and silence surrounded them. Her skin prickled as she focused on breathing normally. Trace’s eyes were so bright in the glare from the lights of the stage that he appeared possessed by something ethereal.
“We’re here because you believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.” His voice was thick with emotion. “You loved me when…God.” He paused to run a hand through his dark hair. “When I couldn’t stand the damn sight of myself.”
“Trace,” Kylie said gently. She reached for him, but he backed up and her heart seized in her chest.
“I need to say this. All of it. I need you to hear me.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. “Okay.”
“Seeing you up on that stage that first night, hearing my song, your way…” He took a deep breath. “You brought my world into focus. The mess, the pain. You made me see the things I’d tried to blur out, to drink away.”
She wiped the tears that had begun to fall as he continued.
“You said you were broken, Kylie. That I made you feel alive… But you really did bring me back to life that night. Seeing you on stage, lit up and so in love with music, with the gift of it, changed me.”
He let out a small laugh. “And you scared me to death. Because with that beautiful, amazing girl damn near glowing on stage next to me, my every weakness came to light.”
“You were never weak,” she whispered.
“Yeah I was.” He reached out and wiped a tear that had fallen to her lips. “But you loving me, believing in me, having the kind of faith in me that no one had ever had… It gave me the strength to get help. You thought I was better than I was, so I wanted to be that for you.”
“I will always love you, Trace. No matter what. Whatever you brought me here to tell me, it’s okay. We’ll be okay.” She pressed her lips to his and drank in his warmth.