JOANNA

The video Gabriel posted went viral. People are buzzing with excitement as they try to guess the identity of the mysterious woman he's fallen in love with. I've been refreshing his social media accounts, but he's been quiet since then.

And I still haven't replied to his text.

Everything in me wants to reach out, though, I swear.

The thing is that I've never been so scared in my life. Even though I asked Maria to keep Gabe's or the Band's updates to herself, one night months ago, she called me to say that Nora was really sick. She wasn't faking it.

Preeclampsia, she had explained. Something I had never heard about, but that scared the heck out of me when I googled it. The baby's and Nora's lives were really at risk. It still made little sense why she refused to take the test, but it raised her chances of manipulating Gabe to feel sorry for her.

Which he really is, according to Maria.

He's scared that if he pushes her to do the DNA test and something bad happens to any of them, he won't be able to live with himself. He couldn't help but entertain the thought that maybe, just maybe, this baby is his.

In my mind, they already feel like a family, tied together by a strong bond. I can feel the sparks of love igniting between them as they laugh and connect during their time together. I can see him kissing her and loving her with no second thoughts about me. After all, I have seen firsthand with my father and then Jaxon how quickly men can move on and break a woman's heart.

But then, Gabe surprised me with that song and made me question everything I thought I knew.

It's Friday evening, and Maria will be at my place any time now. My book signing is tomorrow, but instead of feeling excited, I'm a ball of stress thinking about Gabe. Hence, her coming here so I don't go crazy by myself.

The sound of the bell ringing makes me jump off the couch, my feet hitting the cold floor as I hurry to the door. "Have you talked to him?" I say the moment I swing the door open.

"As far as I know, you have his number." She rolls her eyes, heading to the kitchen.

"What... What are you doing?" I frown when I see her getting a bottle of wine from the cabinet and two glasses.

"Sit." She motions for the chair in front of her, the clink of the glasses ringing against the table as she fills them almost to the top with some deep red wine.

"I have the book signing tomorrow." I shake my head. "The last thing I need is to wake up with a hangover."

"Trust me." She hands me a glass. "You're going to need it."

"What do you mean?"

"Josh showed up at my place last night." She gulps her wine.

"What?" My eyes widen. "What did he want?"

"To talk." She rolls her eyes, but I notice she's a little flushed. And not because of the wine.

"Oh, my God! You guys had sex again!" I gasp, a little grin playing on my lips.

"Well, there's also that..." She shakes her head. "But that's not the point."

"I don't get it."

She takes a sit by my side. "Josh said that Nora laced Gabe's drink at some point during their last tour."

"What?" I gasp, clutching my hand to my chest.

"I know." She takes a long sip of her wine. "He said that she's their late stage manager's sister and that she has been following them around for years."

"You're saying that she and Gabe have never really slept together?" I ask, completely at a loss.

"I wish." She scoffs. "Josh said that they had hooked up a few times over the years, but it was never something serious."

"They seemed to have some history from the little that I saw them together," I murmur, remembering the way she looked at Gabe that day she showed up at their parents' house.

"Yeah..." She sighs. "But Josh said she got a little crazy after her brother died. It had been months since they last saw her. Then showed up at the beginning of the tour and was fixated on Gabe. Turns out he wanted nothing to do with her, so she decided to drug him..."

"Jesus." I take a sip of my wine. "That's..."

"Insane, right?" She shakes her head. "One of the doctors that examined her said she was dealing with a lot of mental health issues. Some of which started way before she got pregnant."

"Gabe never said anything..." I whisper, my heart squeezing in my chest.

"You didn't really give him a chance to talk, Jo..." She gives me a sad smile. "I mean, you're allowed to your feelings, but..."

"I was scared..." I whisper, my eyes filling with tears. "I am scared. After everything that happened with my father and Jaxon..."

"I know, honey." She reaches for my hand, squeezing it slightly. "But Gabe never cheated on you. To be honest, I don't think he'd ever do that. It's not his style."

"But he lied to me..." I swallow past the lump in my throat.

"He omitted things from you." She raises her eyebrows. "It doesn't mean he wouldn't open up at some point."

"God!" I close my eyes tightly. "I hate when you start reasoning with me like a lawyer..."

"You know I'm right." She chuckles softly. "Just call him, Jo. A trusted source told me he's miserable without you."

Right. I know her trusted source well—a certain lead singer who is too attractive for his own good.

"What's Josh doing here, anyway?" I narrow my eyes at her.

She smirks, her gaze full of mischief. "Maybe I'm great in bed."

A reluctant chuckle leaves my lips. "Jesus."

*****

There are so many emotions running through me right now that I am having a hard time keeping them in check.

My new book is finally out in the world and now it's time to celebrate.

Looking around the bookstore, I am taken aback to see that the number of people here for the book signing is twice as much as I had expected. Earlier, the manager called me to let me know they had made an error in their scheduling, and people from the following event had already started coming in. He's apologized profoundly, but I have nothing to complain about. The more people, the better. Especially when they all seem to be buzzing around my new novel.

Walking around, I feel a little overwhelmed as I greet some people and thank them for coming. Maria, being her extra self, had some champagne floating around and even got one of her friends, who is a professional photographer, to snap some pictures of the event.

"It's time for the first chapter reading." My agent touches my shoulder, bringing my attention to her.

"Are you sure you don't want to do this for me?" I bite my lower lip. "I feel like I forgot how to read."

"Come on." She smiles. "You're going to be great."

Taking a deep breath, I walk to the center of the room, get the mic they provided for me, and start reading the first chapter of my book:

Sometimes, everything a girl wants is some good old passionate casual sex. No strings attached. No feelings. Just sex.

Little did I know that when I looked into the eyes of the man standing in front of me for the first time, I was going to have my world rocked in his bed, and my heart broken in his office in the months that followed...

For the last couple of hours, I feel like I'm on cloud nine, answering questions and taking pictures as I sign copy after copy of my new novel. Readers are often unaware of the profound influence they have on our careers. I would be nowhere if it weren't for them. Interacting with them and getting to know them better has left me in awe.

"I loved your last book," a young woman in front of me says as I sign her copy. "I can't wait to read this one."

"Thank you." I smile, standing up to take a picture with her. "That means a lot to me."

Once I sit back in my seat, I see a commotion across the room. Before I have time to figure out what is happening, someone slides a book in front of me.

"Can I get my copy signed?"

I freeze. It's been too long since I heard this voice.

In disbelief, my eyes widen when I see Gabe standing right before me. Even with his ball cap pulled low over his eyes, I'd recognize his face anywhere.

As my eyes flutter, I wonder if I'm seeing things.

"What... What are you doing here?" I mumble.

"The song we wrote for your book..." He smiles, his eyes lighting up when I gasp.

"If we could all have your attention." I hear Josh's voice and turn to see him and the rest of the band standing on an improvised stage at the far end of the bookstore.

The sudden, high-pitched screams from all the women in the store make me jump to my feet in surprise. "What? How?

Gabe chuckles as he points out to Maria, who is approaching us with a light spring in her step. "Our favorite chatterbox might have something to do with it," he says.

"You lovebirds can talk later." She grabs Gabe's hand. "If we don't get this performance started in two minutes, these women will tear down this place."

"Wait! What?" I stare at her as she grabs my hand too and drags us to where the band is.

"I'll talk to you soon." Gabe winks at me right before hopping on stage.

"Thank you all for being here today," Josh says. "Today is a special day for our good friend Jo, so to celebrate her recent novel, we put a song together to go with her book."

The women's cheering reverberates through the air as they shout his name. I take a quick look around the room, and my eyes widen at the sheer number of people now filling it.

However, it's when I see a group of bodyguards by the entrance that the magnitude of what these guys are doing for me finally sinks in.

They have sold millions of albums worldwide and are renowned for their iconic songs. Their concerts have filled stadiums around the globe. They don't do small gigs like this. Their presence here today requires the kind of logistics that I can't even fully comprehend.

This is way out of my league.

But here they are doing this for me.

He is doing this for me.

Gabe.

Grabbing the mic from Josh's hands, he adjusts it on the stand in front of him. A man I don't recognize hands him his guitar, and he lets a soft smile, erupting another round of cheering from the crowd.

"Well..." he says, pulling me away from my thoughts. "You guys know I don't normally sing. But this new song is one I hold close to my heart."

I need to intertwine my arms with Maria's for support when the crowd roars. God, my head is spinning. I look around the room and when Gabe's eyes meet mine, a huge grin spreads over his face.

Then he starts singing,

In this mass of people

When our gazes meet

You don't need to say a word

I know what you need

But when our lips touch

I catch the whisper of a melody in the air

I can see past the walls you've built

And it fills you with fear

Because you know

You know this feeling is rare

You know it's difficult to find

Someone who gets you

When you're trying so hard to hide...

The sound of the music washes over the audience as they watch Gabe on stage with the band. He's perfect and I just can't take my eye off him. Obviously, I've been to their shows before, but today the energy in the room feels different. He's singing our song. The one we wrote for my characters.

But he's also singing for me.

He's telling me, in the most sincere and heartfelt way he can, how much he loves me and wants to be with me.

He's making me question all of the decisions I've made so far.

______

A/N: Okay, but who else is screaming right now???

On a different note... Who could play the role of Gabe if this was a movie? Drop the names of all the hot celebrities you know here so we can daydream together! LOL

I love you guys!!!! <3

XOXO

Celeste