Once Upon a Sure Thing (Page 40)

I startle. She’s calling me on a holiday? I grab the phone as I fling open my bureau drawers. “Hey, Angie. Happy New Year.”

“It will be if you can say yes to a huge new opportunity.”

“Tell me what it is.”

As I hunt through my closet, I nearly drop my phone when she makes me an offer—an offer that’s going to do more for my future than a band would ever have done.

Just so I’m clear, I ask her, “You want me to be the voice for the lead singer in Girls Rule?”

Chloe shrieks, and I can barely hear Angie, but I make out enough. “Butler Press is owned by the same media conglomerate. The lead actress on the show has some vocal problems, and while she can still act on camera and do the speaking bits, she can’t handle the singing. So when they were looking for a voice actress to record the songs, I thought of you immediately. We need someone who sounds like a teenager and has a gorgeous singing voice. That’s you.”

And as Chloe bounces on her toes, I say yes to being the voice of the lead singer in an all-girls band on TV.

I don’t regret that I’m not being hired to be sexy, or to read a romance novel. They don’t need my vocal gymnastics.

I’ve won a job by being who I am.

* * *

A little later, we’re at Campbell’s toasting the New Year with the whole crew. Jackson is here with a Diet Coke, and I congratulate him on winning the scholarship.

“It’s a dream come true,” he says.

Sam passes out cinnamon eggnog, and Roxy chats with Mackenzie over cookies. Chloe plays Bananagrams with Kyle, and this is officially the best life ever. Miller slides up next to me, wraps an arm around me, and kisses my cheek. “Nice ring, future Mrs. Hart.”

I laugh. “Am I taking your stage name rather than your real name?”

“Ally Zimmerman, Ally Hart. All I care is that you’re mine.”

“I’m yours,” I whisper. “In fact, maybe we can convince Chloe to stay the night here, and you can take me to your place and use that ribbon you like so much.”

He growls in my ear. “Happy New Year to me.”

We kiss again, and I’m so glad we sang together once upon a time, and I’m so glad it didn’t work out. It’s better this way.

As the clock ticks closer to midnight, there’s a knock on the door.

“Who’s that?” Campbell asks as he strides to the door. “Everyone’s here.”

“Everyone’s not here,” a familiar voice shouts from the other side, “until you open the door.”

When Campbell unlocks the door, Miles strides in, a grin on his face, his son’s hand in his.

Campbell brings in Miles for a bro hug. “Good to see you, Dodgeball. What are you doing here?” When he lets go, he scoops up Ben and ruffles his hair.

Roxy gives a little wave, smiling. “Yeah, I thought you were in London?”

“I was, but I have a reason to be back.” Miles parks his hands on his hips and pins his gaze to Campbell’s. “You didn’t invite me to the party.”

“You were across an ocean,” Campbell says, as if he’s trying to sort out what his little brother is talking about.

Miles laughs. “I didn’t mean this party.”

Miller strides over to his brother, saying hi and clapping him on the back. “What party, then?”

Miles points to his brothers. “I hear you’re getting the band back together. Did you forget someone?”

My jaw drops.

Every jaw drops.

“Are you serious?” Miller asks, wonder in his voice.

Miles grins. “I want in.”

The guys tumble together for a brotherly hug, and when they let go, Miller strides up to me. “And I have you to thank.”

Seems like all the Heartbreakers are getting back together, and I can’t wait to see their first show.

As I glance around at my family, I catch a look between Roxy and the youngest Heartbreaker, one where she smiles at him and he can’t seem to take his eyes off of her. I wonder if this next phase of Miles’s life is about to get a lot more interesting and complicated.

Something complicated doesn’t have to be bad though—like how friends can be lovers, no matter what anyone says.

I turn my gaze back to Miller, and he drops a kiss to my lips.

Technically, nothing in life is a guarantee, but the way I feel when my fiancé kisses me once more tells me otherwise.

We feel like the surest of sure things.

THE END