Crazy in Love (Blue Lake #3)(65)

He pictured her in a white wedding dress standing at the top of the stairs in her inn. A white veil framing her delicate face. A lace dress hugging her perfect frame. A loving gleam in her soft brown eyes.

I want you to be happy

Even if that means I sleep alone.

Love isn’t in the cards for us,

But it may be for you and him.

He bled into the music, letting the words cut deep.

When his chest ached so fiercely he thought he might’ve had a heart attack, Cole opened his eyes. Rachael stared, a hint of awe in her gaze and her mouth falling open in a relaxed pout. As the final verse wrung from Cole’s middle, leaving him weak and empty, he scanned the faces of the crowd. Each one had the same look of wonder as Rachael. He strummed the final lonely string and every person in the audience jolted to their feet.

He felt as if he’d been drowning. Submerged in a tar-pit of agony and fear. Now, as he came up for air and found that the songs of his heart had been well-received, he nodded in thanks.

They loved it…they loved him.

He could breathe again.

“Thank you,” he said, bowing, holding Rachael’s gaze. “That song was written for a woman named Rachael McCoy…a woman who settled into my heart, despite my better attempts to keep her out.”

A tiny squeal pitched above the stream of applause.

If the crowd thought Run to Him was a glimpse into his soul, they had no idea what kind of show they were in for tonight. Everyone—the media and fans—wanted something personal. A glimpse into the deepest, darkest part of him. He’d resisted for so long as if he had something to hide. And when it came to the way his parents left him, he did. But Rachael was different. She was good and real, unlike the other women he’d invited into his life who merely wanted something from him.

She was here.


The most naturally beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life, the woman who cared for others over herself, the one who made him feel whole, as if he didn’t need anyone else, came for him.

He wouldn’t hide when it came to her.

“You’re in for a treat,” he said, rising off the barstool and approaching the edge of the stage. “Rachael McCoy just so happens to be here tonight.”

Applause flared into chaos.

“I’d really like her to come onstage for this final song, but I doubt she’ll listen unless you help her along.” He winked and held out his hand. She cringed, hiding her face in her hands. “Rachael McCoy, would you mind joining me? Just for a moment?”

When she looked up, a tear rolled down her cheek.

“I’ll be your Rachael!” a high-pitched voice screeched from the upper deck.

“I appreciate that.” He waved, and then placed a hand over his heart. “But from here on out there’s only one woman for me.”

Rachael’s mouth fell open and she shook her head.

“Come on,” he said, the crowd chanting with him. “Don’t make me come down there and get you.”



* * *



Can’t be happening, Rachael thought. This can’t be real.

“Better get up there.” The thirty-something blonde sitting beside Rachael bumped her in the shoulder. “Or someone else will.”

Rachael grinned, nerves rattling in her stomach. “Okay,” she said more to herself than the blonde. “I’m going.”

Applause and screams rang out from all around her. Brushing her fingers against her neck, Rachael squeezed the guitar pick pendant in her palm, took a deep breath and then strode down the red carpet toward the stage. Rita caught her arm once she reached the side and helped her up the steps onto the stage.