Rock Prodigy

Chapter 31

Hastily, I stood up, tripping over the blankets as I moved to the door and flung it open, rushing down the stairs towards the garage. When I made it to the door, I could hear the light strumming of an acoustic guitar from inside and my heart squeezed at the sad sound of the instrument, needing to tell him the truth but finding that my feet were rooted to the floor, my palms suddenly damp and my mouth dry. If I walked into that room, I was going to have to explain myself, to tell him that I loved him and he was going to be wide awake the whole time.

Setting my shoulders resolutely, I stiffened my spine and grabbed the doorknob, taking a deep breath as I twisted it and opened the door, my mind barely registering anything in the room aside from Mac who was sitting on a stool with his acoustic guitar in his hands. When he looked up at me, his eyes were cold and his mouth was set in a thin line. “What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice devoid of emotion as he stopped strumming the guitar and set it on its stand beside him.

“I didn’t mean it,” I said softly and as the words left my mouth, he winced, his cheek muscles flexing as he clenched his jaw.

“I get it,” he said through gritted teeth, twisting slightly on his stool so that he was half facing away from me. “Just go to bed, Rose.”

“No,” I said firmly, feeling more nervous and terrified than I ever had before as I tried to collect every ounce of courage I had. I took a deep breath and cleared my throat, walking closer to him and stepping in front of him even though he wouldn’t look at me. “That’s not what I was going to say, Mac,” I croaked, my voice coming out hoarse and scratchy but at least it was working. “I was going to say, I didn’t mean to tell you like that.” His body went completely still as he stared at a point off to his right, still refusing to look at me until slowly, I reached out and with my badly shaking hands on either side of his face, I turned his head until his beautiful blue eyes were focused on me, the hurt in their depths making my heart ache in return. “I didn’t mean to tell you like that but I did mean what I said.” His eyes widened and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, the hurt fading from his gaze. “I love you, Mac,” I said quietly past the lump in my throat, ignoring the fear in my chest as I said the words that had been floating inside of me for so long now. “I love you,” I said again, more firmly, the words themselves giving me courage even if he was still staring at me with wide eyes, not saying anything as I stood there with my hands on his cheeks and my heart bared.

But when he still didn’t say anything, my courage fled and I was about to take a step back when suddenly he stood up and wrapped his arms tightly around me, holding me so close that I couldn’t breathe but breathing didn’t seem that important at the moment.

“I love you too, Rose,” he said in my ear, making my heart stop beating as he let out a long breath that ruffled my hair before he loosened his grip and leaned back to look down at me, a crooked smile on his face that made me feel a little dizzy.

“You do?” I whispered, feeling my eyes glaze over as his smile widened and he nodded.

“How could I not?” he asked softly, leaning forward to kiss me gently on the lips before shifting his mouth to my cheek and kissing me there too before repeating the action on my other cheek. “You’re incredible, Rose. I’ve been in love with you for ages but every time I’ve said it you’ve either been asleep or not there.”

“I told you when I was drunk once,” I said quietly, grinning up at him.

“You’ve said it before?” he asked hoarsely.

I nodded, still smiling like an idiot, wanting to hold this moment close to my heart forever to keep the shadows at bay. “I’ve said it a few times but you never heard me. You weren’t really supposed to hear me tonight, either,” I said, my eyes narrowing on him as he grinned down at me.