Loving Dallas(82)
“Gavin works at that huge new bar downtown—the Tavern.”
I vaguely remember Dixie mentioning that that’s where she saw him. “Okay,” I say slowly. “And . . .”
“And Rock the Republic Records is hosting a Battle of the Bands there in a few weeks. First prize is twenty-five thousand dollars and a one-year recording contract.”
I sit up so fast I nearly head-butt him. “Are you serious?”
Dallas grins and nods. “Yeah. Since Capitol is probably already drawing up the paperwork to drop me like a bad habit, I’m thinking it’s time for the band to get back together and give it another shot.”
I can’t even contain my squeal of joy. “I can get y’all a fan site set up right now. We can do a Facebook promo to get people to come out and—”
“Babe, slow down.” Dallas tightens his grip before I can jump up out of his lap. “I was hoping you’d help out with that stuff. But there’s plenty of time for that. First I have to make sure Dixie is on board and that those two can put their drama aside to do this. Then maybe Leaving Amarillo will get a second chance. Think we can convince my sister to give Gavin one?”
“Well . . . you know how I feel about second chances.” I place kisses along the edge of his jawline when he reaches over to place a protective hand on my slightly protruding belly bump—something he does often and I’m not even sure he’s conscious of.
He rests his forehead on mine and I am swept away by the overwhelming love and adoration in his gaze.
“That I do, sweetheart. That I do.”
Loving Dallas Playlist
“Crazy Town,” Jason Aldean
“Ho Hey,” Lumineers
“Smoke,” A Thousand Horses
“This Town,” Clare Bowen and Charles Esten “Even if It Breaks Your Heart,” Eli Young Band “I See You,” Luke Bryan
“Texas Was You,” Jason Aldean “Springsteen,” Eric Church
“Distance,” Christina Perri featuring Jason Mraz “Dancing Away with My Heart,” Lady Antebellum “Hope You Get Lonely,” Cole Swindell “Wheels Rollin’,” Jason Aldean “Easy,” Rascal Flatts featuring Natasha Bedingfield “Make You Miss Me,” Sam Hunt “Come Over,” Kenny Chesney
“Love You Like That” Canaan Smith “It Goes Like This,” Thomas Rhett “I Walk the Line,” Johnny Cash “Save Your Breath” Josh Dorr “Let Her Go,” Passenger
“Mine Would Be You,” Blake Shelton “More than Miles,” Brantley Gilbert “Run Away with You,” Michael Ray “Crash My Party,” Luke Bryan “I Won’t Give Up,” Jana Kramer “Simple Man,” Lynyrd Skynyrd “Say You Do” Dierks Bentley
“Play It Again,” Luke Bryan
Acknowledgments
FIRST OF ALL, I OWE A HUGE THANK-YOU TO ANYONE WHO READS this book. Readers make my world go ’round and have given me the amazing gift of allowing me to live my dream. There literally are not words in existence to fully express my gratitude. Thank you for investing in the Neon Dreams series and for continuing on the band’s journey with me! Thank you for putting your faith, trust, and hard earned dollars into this series. I pray I don’t let you down. Thank you for taking a chance on me and my books! I know many of you are planning to throw your books and e-readers at me because you are ready for Gavin’s story. It’s coming, I promise!
To my friends and family, I am so thankful for each and every one of you. I am eternally grateful and indebted to you for the love, support, guidance, and listening ears you have been. Thank you for tolerating and embracing my brand of crazy. I am so grateful for each one of you. It means the world to me to have such amazing people in my corner.
Speaking of my corner, I have so much gratitude and appreciation for my editor, Amanda Bergeron, who is so very patient and understanding. She pushes me to be a better writer and she makes my characters better versions of themselves. Without my awesome agent, Kevan Lyon, this book wouldn’t be in your hands, so big hugs of love and thanks to her as well! Thank you, Dianna Garcia and Onalee Smith at HarperCollins for all that you do. Patricia Nelson and Gabrielle Keck, you both do fantastic jobs at keeping the ships running smoothly and your e-mails make me smile. To the cover design team that works on this series, thank you for being so patient with me and for all of your hard work making these books so pretty.
The ladies on my social media support team, CQ’s Road Crew, have been instrumental not only in helping to spread the word about this series but in making it better by giving me their honest feedback along the way. Thank you so much, ladies! The Backwoods Belles are also a fantastic group that works hard to share the book love and I am eternally grateful for everything that they do!
Thank you to those of you who buy books, leave reviews, love on authors, and make recommendations to your friends. I can’t even tell you how much I appreciate your love and support. You make my dreams come true—literally! Big tackle hugs of love to everyone who came out to Austin Book Fest and helped make Leaving Amarillo such a hit!
To anyone with a dream, keeping chasing it. If you catch it, chase another. And another. Unlike most things, dreams are free and unlimited. I’m a firm believer that you can never have too many.