Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“They make up an entire band,” I whisper to Chase, who just nods, his gaze pinned to what’s happening before us, but he reaches for my hand and holds on tightly.
“For those who aren’t part of the crazy Montgomery clan,” Leo says into the mic, “I’ll give you a little backstory. Meg and I grew up together as foster siblings, and way back when the Earth was cooling, we were in a band together. Then we went our separate ways for a while, and, well, blah blah blah…”
“He got famous,” Meg says into the mic. “I became a nurse. We both married into the Montgomery family.”
“What are the odds, right?” Leo asks, making us chuckle. “We still like to jam together, and I’d say that music is a big part of our entire, big, loud family. We do monthly dinners as a family, and we usually jam at those.”
“So, why break tradition, right?” Sidney asks, speaking for the first time.
“If it’s okay with you,” Leo continues after smiling at Sidney, “we’d like to play a few songs. Meg’s going to join us on the first one, but then she’s going to be a party pooper and ditch us.”
“Trust me, you’ll thank me,” Meg says with a grin.
“Let me introduce the band,” Leo says, turning to look at the others. “We have Sidney Sterling on vocals and guitar.”
“Holy shit,” I whisper, making Chase smile.
“Keaton Williams on the keys,” Meg adds, over the applause.
“Hudson Williams on the sticks,” Leo says, and Hudson does a quick drum solo.
“Then we have Brax Adler on the guitar and vocals,” Sidney puts in, pointing to the man across the stage.
“I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.” This comes from Ryan, who’s sitting behind me. “Is this even real right now?”
“What, like you couldn’t afford to hire them for a house party?” Brady points out with a snicker, earning the bird from his brother.
“Boys,” Joy warns them with a sigh.
“Just wait,” Erin says, her face bright with pride and excitement. She and Rem are sitting at our table, closest to the stage. “Just wait for it.”
“So, this song that we’re going to sing is a sentimental one,” Meg says and smiles down at Erin. “Leo and I have sung this song a hundred times together, usually at weddings. We sang it at Jules and Nate’s wedding, and maybe every other wedding in the family, now that I think about it.”
There are nods and applause throughout the room, and then Brax starts to pluck the strings on his guitar in a sweet intro that already has tears springing to my eyes, and they haven’t even started singing yet.
“It’s called ‘Marry Me,’” Meg says, and then she starts to sing the romantic lyrics. When the verse changes, Leo takes over, and his gritty voice sounds natural singing the ballad. When they join together in the chorus, I have to take a long, deep breath as emotion slams into me so unexpectedly.
The song is just so pretty, and here in this beautiful space, it feels like a fairytale.
Chase squeezes my hand in his and brings it to his lips, but I can’t take my eyes off Meg and Leo, who both look down at Erin and Remington, their voices melting together so effortlessly.
And when the last notes drift away, Erin jumps up and runs onstage, pulling them both in for a big hug as she wipes at tears of her own.
In fact, as I look around the room, taking in superstars and athletes, it occurs to me that there aren’t many dry eyes in the whole place.
“Thank you,” Erin says. “Thank you for that.”
“I love you, my baby,” Meg says, holding her daughter’s face in her hands. “Now, these guys are going to play for a while, unless there are any objections.”
There’s laughter all around, and then Meg leaves the stage, returning to her husband, and Sidney says into the mic, “Who wants to hear some more music?”
The applause erupts, and the band starts playing a Nash song that I’ve listened to my whole life. And then, still to my utter astonishment, because I’m quite sure I’m dreaming, Leo Nash himself starts to sing.
“I love this song,” I mutter, dancing in my seat.
“He wrote it for my aunt Sam,” Erin says. “The song ‘Sunshine’ is for her.”
“You have a swoony family, Erin.”
“Don’t I know it.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHASE
“Oh, my.” We all turn and find Mom standing on the threshold of the big family room in my parents’ house. This is where all the guys are getting ready for the wedding. All of my brothers and my dad are here. Erin’s dad decided to get ready with his family up at the resort, which was probably for the best, given how many of them there are and how small Mom and Dad’s house is.