Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(178)

Kellan laughed and shook his head. “You’re not a groupie if I invite you to come with us.” Ducking down, he met my eye. “When are you ever going to have another chance like this, Kiera? You have the rest of your life to find a job…or never find one. That would be fine with me.” I twisted my lips. “My parents will be so proud.” Kellan shrugged. “Blame it on me. They hate me anyway.” Smiling, I shook my head. “They don’t hate you…that much.” Kellan gave me a soft kiss, then sighed. “I don’t care what you do, Kiera, I just want you with me.” He pulled back. “And besides, don’t you want to be a writer? Aren’t you writing a book about us, about our life together?”

I raised an eyebrow at him, not realizing that he knew that. I hadn’t been hiding it…I just hadn’t been ready to show him yet. He grinned and smiled, then shrugged. “Jenny mentioned it…and I’d love to read it, when you’re done.”

Biting my lip, I wrinkled my nose. Parts of it were painful for me, they’d be especially painful to Kellan. But…open and honest, that was our policy. I nodded. “When it’s ready.”

Smiling, he dipped me. I laughed as he pulled me back up. “Well, writing is something that can be done anywhere, and to be the best writer you can be, you’ll need to do a lot of research.” He shrugged.

“What better research could you have than traveling across the nation with me… and Griffin?”

I cringed at that, then chuckled. Squeezing me tight, Kellan rested his head against mine again. “You could come back as often as you wanted, Kiera, to visit Anna…your friends, but I’d like us to do this together this time.”

Tightening my arms around his neck, I gave him a soft kiss. “Okay, let’s do it.”

504



His lips spread into a grin underneath mine, but then he frowned.

“There’s only one problem, though.”

I frowned. “What’s that?”

Sighing, he hung his head. “They don’t let girlfriends tour on the bus with the band anymore…”

“Oh…” My body sagged as the exciting and scary prospect of life on a tour bus with a bunch of rowdy boys popped. It seemed like a strange rule to me, but, maybe that was another record label thing…to protect their assets, or something. Was I going to have to follow them around in Griffin’s Vanagon?

Just as I was wondering why Kellan had suggested a plan that couldn’t happen, he started chuckling. Watching his lips twist into an impish grin, I frowned. What was he up to now?

Shrugging, he added, “They only let the wives come with.” My jaw dropped to my chest. Kellan lifted my chin with his finger, smirking as he closed my mouth. “Wife?” I whispered. Was he serious?

Was he really proposing to me?

Grinning, he ran his finger along my jaw. “We’ve gone about as slow as I can go, Kiera. I love you. I’m sure that I want my life to always have you in it.” Shrugging, he shook his head. “Are you sure about me?” Staring into the deep azure eyes that could carry me away for hours, I nodded. “Yes, I’m sure,” I whispered, no doubt about my statement in my body.

He grinned then kissed me. I tried to deepen the kiss, but he pulled back. Removing my hands from around his neck, he grabbed my right one. I furrowed my brow as I watched him remove the promise ring encircling one of my fingers. Smiling wider than I’d ever seen him, he slipped the ring onto my left finger. Then he mimicked the action with his own ring.

505



Lifting my left hand with his left hand, he beamed at me. “There, now we’re married.”

Tears in my eyes, I shook my head at him. “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work like that, Kellan.”

He shrugged. “Semantics.” Smiling softly, he placed my left hand over his heart, and his left hand over my heart. “We’re married…you’re my wife.” He nodded, staring at me intently.

The tears streaming down my cheeks now, I nodded back. “And you’re my husband…”

Exhaling with relief, he grabbed my face, sealing the deal with a heart-stopping kiss. I knew that our marriage wasn’t legitimate, but that was all a legal technicality that we could change whenever we wanted. In our hearts, we were married, and in the end, that’s the part of a marriage that mattered the most.

After we finally pulled apart, both of us crying at this point, I waved Denny and Abby over. I had to tell somebody that I’d just gotten married. Abby teared up when I showed her our “wedding” rings, and hugged us both. Denny shook his head, containing an amused smile since he knew our “marriage” was symbolic, at best. But then he gave Kellan a hug.

“Congratulations, mate.” Clapping him on the back, he laughed a little. “I’m glad I could be here for it.”

Kellan laughed and looked at the ground. “Yeah, me too. It seems…” he looked back up at Denny, “appropriate.”

Smiling, Denny nodded. Then he gave me a hug. I had to wipe my face on a napkin Abby handed me, I was crying so hard. In my ear, he whispered, “I’ll admit, I’m surprised you guys made it,” he pulled back to look at me, “but I’m happy that you did.”

“Thank you…so much.”