Beauty from Surrender (Beauty 2)

"I'm sorry. I know I should've called first, but I was out driving and found myself in front of your place. Can I come in?"

"Of course." He opens the door wide for me and I walk into his living room. My eyes go for the couch immediately to check for a chick and then I remember that's probably not where she'd be if he had a girl over. "You don't have company tonight?"

"Nah. I have a friend coming over in a while, but it's just me for the next little bit." He gestures for me to sit on the couch and I can't help but think how his apartment looks so bachelor. None of Jack Henry's houses look like this—like a bunch of guys should be sitting around drinking beer, watching sports. "Did everything go okay with Jack leaving today?"

"Yes and no." Charlie looks at me and I can tell by his expression that he's waiting for an explanation. "I let him board his plane, if that's what you mean. He should be arriving in Sydney in a few hours."

"I was wondering if you'd let him go," he laughs. "So what is the part that didn't go okay?"

"He wants me to marry him." I wait a moment before I drop the next bomb, but Charlie saves me from saying the words.

"And he wants you to move to Australia."

"Yes. But I haven't given him an answer." I think he's waiting for the rest of the story. "I love him and I know what being apart from him feels like. It's terrible and I don't want to do it again."

"So this is you telling me you're leaving the band?"

I tell myself to be strong because I'm doing this for Jack Henry and me. "It is."

"Randy's gonna flip out."

Flip out is probably putting it gently. "I know. I hate doing this to you, but I can't stay when my heart isn't in it."

"I understand. And I'm not mad. I'd do the same thing if the situation were reversed. There's nothing I wouldn't do to have a love like what you have with Jack."

He doesn't seem disappointed or shocked. "Thank you for not making me feel like a asshat."

"I could never make you feel bad about loving Jack, but you may think I'm a huge ass after you hear the request I have for you."

What kind of request could make me think poorly of sweet Charlie? "I could never think that about you. You're too adorable for that."

"We'll see how you feel after I ask."

Now I'm a little frightened. "Okay…"

"Will you stay through the next tour so we don't have to cancel?"

That means I'd have to stay until the end of October. "That's over three months away."

"We don't have time to find a replacement for the tour, but we could start fresh with someone after we finish the tour and get back in the studio."

I don't want to do it. But I sort of owe them that after the way they took me in when I didn't have a chance in hell. "I can do that."

If Jack Henry knows I've decided to marry him, he'll want me to leave the band immediately. So I can't tell him yet. He won't care or understand my reasoning behind my obligation to help my band.

Besides…after what he did to me, he deserves to do a little ass-kissing.

Chapter Twenty-Six

I'm still in bed when I hear the annoying sound of my doorbell ringing over and over. Because of the time change, it was really late—or really early—when I arrived home. I'm jet-lagged and I prefer to lie in bed so the perpetrator will leave, but there's one problem with that idea: I can predict with one hundred percent accuracy who it is and I already know she won't go away.

Margaret McLachlan is here to see Laurelyn.

I disarm the security system and open the door to my mum's smiling face. No surprise there. "Mum. Couldn't you have waited until a little later? I've only been home a few hours."

"No. I couldn't wait or I would have. I'm here to see my future daughter-in-law. Where is she?"

I probably should've called and warned her ahead of time that Laurelyn wasn't coming with me, but I didn't want to be hassled or forced to explain the situation over the phone. "She didn't come back with me."

"What do you mean?"

I'm pretty sure I didn't stutter. "Exactly what I said—she stayed in the States."

"I don't understand. I thought things were going well with the two of you."

"They were—they are—but her career really took off and now she's a big country superstar. Her fans love her and her music. She's worked really hard to get where she is and she just isn't ready to leave it behind yet."

I see her disappointment. "You're telling me she chose her career over you?"

"Don't think poorly of her over this, Mum. I'm doing the same thing to her."

She looks shocked. "But I was so certain she'd give up all of that for you—especially after spending the whole month together."

"I'm confident she will in time, but Laurelyn needs a little longer so she can figure that out on her own. I won't have her hating or blaming me for a life she thinks she missed out on. She needs to experience it all so she can be certain of what she really wants."

"But what if she never wants to leave that life? Glitz and glamour can be very deceiving. You know that from experience." I do, and Laurelyn isn't going to love it for long because she's not that kind of person.

"Trust me, Mum…I know Laurelyn and what she really wants. Right now, she may think it's a dazzling career, but that life won't keep her satisfied. She wants a husband…and babies. Those are things she can't have if she's constantly traveling."

"So, you're going to sit around and wait on her and your life together until God only knows when?"

Yes. That's exactly what I'm going to do. "I don't really have much of a choice at this point, but I'm not worried. It isn't going to take long for her to get enough of that life because it's not all glitz and glamour. Traveling on a tour bus from city to city and sleeping in a different hotel every night isn't going to make her happy. I did it with her for a little while, and I got sick of it pretty fast, so I'm not concerned. She'll be here with me before the holidays. I'm certain of it."

"How can you be so sure?" I can see that she needs further convincing.

"I gave her a ring."

This returns the smile to my mum's face. "You asked her to marry you?"

"Sort of."

There goes the smile. "What did you say when you gave it to her?"

"I told her she needed time to experience everything that life could hold for her and when she felt like she'd had all she needed, I wanted her to come to me and I'd ask her to be my wife. I asked her to wear the ring as a reminder that I was waiting for her."