“When would the tour start?”
“Again, that’s still all up in the air, but we’re developing an entire strategy involving singles, marketing, and then getting you on the road ASAP. I’d say probably in about three or four months?”
My heart sinks. That will be near the end of Tash’s pregnancy.
“You know Tash and I are having a baby soon?”
He waves a hand dismissively. “And? Musicians have kids all the time. Bring ‘em along. Or leave ‘em at home. Either way, it’s not a big deal.”
I beg to differ. This child is a huge deal. And Tash is a huge deal. This needs to work for her, too.
The other guys are still all toasting each other and ordering stronger drinks, even though it’s only two in the afternoon. I know none of them have kids, so it’s easy for them to get excited.
I need to talk to Tash.
“Do you mind if I head out for a bit?” I say. “I can meet you back here in an hour, or wherever you’re going to be. I just want to tell Tash the news in person.”
“It’s your call, man,” Max says. “But usually, my newly signed clients want to hang around and celebrate for a while.”
“I do want to celebrate. But…”
“It’s okay. I get it. Go to your woman. Call us when you’re done.”
“Thanks,” I say gratefully. I quickly tell the other guys what I’m doing and take off.
Tash should be at home. Although, by the time I get there, she might have had to leave for the afternoon school pickup.
I’m right, and when I arrive at Highgate Hill, there’s no answer at the door. It’s only then I realise Tash has never given me a spare key to her house.
And she doesn’t have one for mine either.
While I wait for them to return, I duck over to the nearest mall and have a key cut for my place, also buying a little key cap shaped like a panda as a reminder of the rice balls she made for me the day she rescued me from the paparazzi. That seems like a lifetime ago now.
It gets me thinking about the other encounters we had. It’s quite strange thinking back on when we hung out in Sydney before Rachel and I split up. I could appreciate she was a special person even then, but obviously I didn’t see her in a romantic way until later.
Still, a tiny part of me feels guilty that I did know Tash before my relationship with Rachel was over. But I would never in a million years have acted on any attraction if Rachel hadn’t left.
I head back to Tash’s and pull up just as she’s arriving with Daisy. I jump out of the car and give them both a hug.
“Hey, my gorgeous girls.”
Daisy blushes. I think she’s still getting used to having me in her life. She wouldn’t have had many older male influences apart from Tash’s dad, so I can understand it would be an adjustment.
She runs ahead, grabbing the key from Tash and unlocking the front door.
“I have something you might want to add to that keyring,” I say before we head inside. I hold out the panda key.
Tash looks down, uncomprehendingly at first. And then the light dawns. “Is this…”
I nod, smiling. “I know the place is on the market, but until it sells, I want you to feel as comfortable at my house as you do here.”
She takes the key from my hand and encloses it in her own. “Thank you.” She then rummages around in her handbag. “I actually had this made up ages ago and was trying to figure out the right time to give it to you.” She hands me a key, too.
I laugh. “Really?”
“Yes! I mean, I was initially thinking we’d keep our separate places so that Daisy could get used to everything, but I don’t want you to ever feel unwelcome.”
I pull her close. “I love you, Natasha Northwood.”
She runs her fingers through my hair and sighs. “I love you, too, Lincoln Page.”
She then presses her lips to mine, and if it weren’t for her daughter’s presence inside, I would be dragging Tash to the bedroom right now.
I grin. “And I haven’t even told you the craziest part of today.”
She points inside. “Why don’t we continue this in the living room?”
I laugh and head in. Daisy has disappeared off somewhere. I sit Tash down on the couch and take her hands. “I just came from a meeting with Max. We’ve been offered a three-album deal and a world tour.”
“Oh my God!” She squeezes my fingers so tightly the circulation is cut off. “This is it!”
“I know!” And then I turn serious. “But you know what it means…”
She thinks for a second. “Oh, right. Lots of you being away. Do you know the timing yet?”
“Not exactly. But I have to go to Sydney in two weeks for a month, and that’s just the start.” I look at her earnestly. “I will do everything I can to make this work for us. I’ll still come to as many doctor appointments as possible, and I’ll force my lawyer to put in a clause so I’m back here for the birth.”
Her eyes sparkle. “You are the sweetest person I have ever known, Lincoln Page.”
“So, you’re okay with this?”
“Of course I am! This is your dream! We both get to have our dreams!”
I finally let myself relax a little. I should have known Tash would react like this. She is one of my biggest fans.
“I’m so lucky.”
“No, I’m lucky. And to think, if I hadn’t gone to Nicky’s Bar that night, I wouldn’t have made friends with Felix and none of this would have happened.”
“I know. I guess it was meant to be.”
She blushes.
“What?”
“I…probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I saw Felix invite you to Nicky’s on Instagram and that’s why I was there.”
I gently poke her in the ribs. “Were you stalking me?”
“No! All right, maybe. I realised as soon as I arrived that I wasn’t actually going to approach you if I saw you, but then you found me. Still, I did watch you every week on Sing to Me, so yeah, I probably verged on being a stalker.”
I pull her against me again and rest my chin on her head. “I guess it just took a while for the timing to work out. I don’t want to take away from anything I had with Rachel, but in hindsight, my relationship with her was nothing compared to what I have with you.”
She kisses my chest. “That means more to me than you can possibly imagine.”
I smile and lean back on the couch, my arms still wrapped around Tash.
I don’t think things could possibly get any better.
THIRTY
Tash
Later that evening, I’m making some dinner, and Lincoln is helping me. I’ve decided to teach him how to make proper ramen. Traditional Japanese ramen is made with animal stock, but I did a little research and found a broth I could make with soy sauce, miso paste, and dried shitake mushrooms.
Lincoln is a pretty good cook himself, but never seemed to experiment with anything fancy.
He’d gone back to see the guys for a couple of hours this afternoon but said he couldn’t bear to be away from me, Daisy, and the baby.
“I told Max we can’t do any shows two weeks before the birth or four weeks after,” he tells me.