“I say we enjoy ourselves while we can.” His fingers crept beneath my long blonde hair to rub my neck. Guitarists’ hands were wonderful things. So much strength and dexterity. Not to mention the creativity.
I raised a brow. “Are you talking about the bathroom again?”
“The way I figure it, this suite has four rooms,” he said, voice low and husky. Sexy as fuck. My panties grew damper with every word he whispered. “The bedroom, bathroom, dining room, and this formal parlor or whatever the hell the butler called it. Now, given how much we’re paying per night, it would be wrong of us to not make the most of the place.”
“Oh.”
“Four rooms is well within our abilities.”
“I’d hope so. I only turned twenty-eight yesterday.”
“Exactly,” he said as Led Zeppelin changed to The Rolling Stones. “And we just renewed our membership in the mile high club yesterday for your birthday.”
I gave him a distinctly cat-got-the-cream sort of smile.
“Now here we are. It’s the city of love, baby. So let’s go make it.”
“Oh my God.” I laughed. “You better play exceptionally well here, because you’re getting so much mileage out of this city of love thing.”
My husband nipped me on the neck, making me jump. Just a little.
“No biting,” announced a small voice. “Don’t, Uncle Davie.”
“Shit. Tommy.” David swallowed. “Didn’t see you there, buddy.”
The child with the mop of wild blond hair stared up at us with a horrified expression. “You sweared!”
“Busted,” I muttered.
Tommy lifted his arms in a silent demand to be picked up, and David did as asked. Once the boy was settled on my husband’s hip, he pursed his lips, thinking deep thoughts. “Want cookies.”
David bit back a smile. “Do you now?”
Tommy just blinked, the picture of innocence.
“We’re all out of cookies, sorry,” I answered. “How about an apple?”
“No.”
“Some berries?”
The small child screwed his nose up in disgust. “No-o-o.”
“No to apples and berries, huh? Well, what about a nice yummy turnip?”
“Yuck.”
I tapped a finger against my chin in contemplation. “What would you say to a lovely big cabbage, then?”
He shook his small head fiercely, and David cracked a smile.
“Broccoli? Asparagus? Onion?”
Tommy giggled. “No, Aunty Ev. No!”
“Are you threatening my child with vegetables again?” Mal tickled his son, making him wriggle like a worm. “That’s just sick and wrong. How could you, Child Bride?”
“Chide bwide,” repeated Tommy dutifully.
“How long are you going to continue with that?” I took a sip of my drink. “I’m heading toward thirty, for heaven’s sake.”
Mal just winked.
David had no sooner handed the boy over than Tommy squirmed to be set down. Little legs pumping, he was off and running. Mal shook his head. “They never stop. And that’s why he will be an only child.”
“Yeah?” asked David.
Mal shook his head. “Oh, yeah. Phew. One and done.”
Pale arms wrapped around Mal’s middle as his redheaded wife Anne joined the conversation. “I didn’t know you felt that way.”
“But we discussed this,” said Mal. “I know we did.”
“Was this like the time we discussed turning one of the bedrooms into a giant ball pit? Or was I actually awake when this conversation happened?”
He shrugged. “Maybe not, now that you mention it. Tommy was around six months old, and he had one of those diaper explosions where it went right up the back. Never been so traumatized in all my life.”
“I thought one more might be nice.” Anne rested her head against his arm. “Maybe you could think about it.”
“We do make pretty babies.”
“This is true.”
“And you get incredibly horny when you’re pregnant. Once you stop puking, that is.”
“That’s not my fault,” said Anne. “There’s a lot of hormones going on. They stir things up in me, in both cases.”
Mal grinned. “Then the tit fairy visits. I love it when that happens. They get so sensitive.”
Anne looked to heaven, but there was no help forthcoming.
“But enough about you,” said Mal. “Really, the world deserves, nay needs, more of my DNA. Think of it, a legion of ridiculously good looking drumming artistes.”
David snorted.
“Shut up, Davie,” griped Mal. “Petty jealousy is beneath you, bro.”
“Hold on. A legion?” Anne’s brows rose. “I was just thinking of a sibling for Tommy.”
“Only one? How could you be so selfish, Pumpkin?”
A little line appeared between Anne’s brows as she stared at her husband in wonder or maybe bewilderment. Possibly both.
“If we had three then they could start a band and be like Hansen or the Jonas Brothers.”
“Oh, that’s definitely worth considering,” I added. Because encouraging the lunatic drummer sometimes was just an honor and a privilege.
“Thought they were all going to be drummers?” David tucked a strand of long hair behind his ear. “How’s that going to work?”
“Awesomely,” said Mal.
Anne held back laughter.
“No, Tommy. Please don’t put that up your nose. Thank you, son. I appreciate your restraint.” Mal gave his wife a look. “Definitely gets that from your side of the family, Pumpkin.”
“While it’s been great to share all of this deeply personal information with our nearest and dearest,” said Anne, “why don’t we revisit this topic once the tour is over and we’ve had a chance to catch our breath?”
Mal pressed a kiss to her lips.
Just then, the string quartet started playing Jackson by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. One of my all-time favorite songs and kind of relevant to how we’d started. Because we sure had gotten married in a fever. A drunken one. Next a stupendous croquembouche decorated with bright fresh flowers and golden lines of delicate spun sugar was wheeled in with much pomp and pageantry. Everyone started clapping.
“Cake,” yelled Tommy.
“Wow. Who did this?” I asked, my face hurting from smiling so hard.
Jimmy sketched me a bow from across the room, and I blew him a kiss. Best brother-in-law ever.
David slipped his hands beneath my hair, placing a white gold diamond solitaire pendant around my neck. “Happy anniversary, baby.”
“Oh my, God. It’s beautiful.” I wound my arms around his neck and held on tight. “Thank you.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I said, getting teary. “Everything is absolutely perfect.”
He gave me a devil may care grin. “And it’s going to stay that way.”
Chapter One
Everything was about as far from perfect as it could get. Life-altering things have a habit of happening to me on bathroom floors. Approximately seven years and eight and a bit months ago I woke up in Vegas hungover and married to a rock star. Now this was happening…