“Willow. You’re a hard girl to get hold of.” Her dad’s voice grated over the phone line, and she was relieved she couldn’t see his face.
“We aren’t meant to be talking directly to each other.”
“Oh, I know. I just wondered if our messages were getting muddled when we talked through lawyers.”
Willow sighed as she glanced out of the window. “What do you want?”
“You need to drop this action by Friday, or I’ll be changing track in how I make this problem go away.”
“All you need is a fake evil laugh at the end of the sentence, Dad. Are you trying to be threatening?” she said, her voice sounding way more confident than she actually felt.
“It’s not a threat, Willow. I want our status quo back. You’re out of control. Getting knocked up. Flying around the world on a whim. Dropping responsibilities. Come back. I’ll manage you, and our life goes on. We can put this stupidity behind us once you’ve covered my lawyers’ fees. But if you don’t, then I need to try something different.”
“I will vigorously defend myself against any conservatorship move, and we have already moved pre-emptively to block that.”
Darrin began to laugh. “We’ll see.”
“Whatever this stunt is proves to me that neither of you actually have a heart to break when it comes to me. You might be able to control Mom, but you can’t control me.”
“You’re breaking your mom’s heart, you should know that. She’s terrified for you over there alone.”
“We’re family, Willow,” her mom added. “Just come home like Dad said.”
Alone. Family.
“I don’t have family,” she said quietly.
But then, she looked up at the people in the room. At Chaya and Iz laughing with Nan. At Cerys and Zoe signing something that had the pair of them laughing so hard she wanted to join them. Back to Nan, who was sneaking a canapé from the buffet table.
And her thoughts drifted to Ben who’d accompanied Luke home when she was in the hospital. And Alex who Luke had told her had challenged him to make sure she was looked after. And to Matt and Jase who had sent her flowers after her cyst burst.
Of course, there was Luke. Who loved her.
“Let me correct that,” Willow said. “I have family. It’s just that my definition of what family is is quite different from yours. I’ll see you in court, Dad.”
Ending the call, she took a deep breath. And another.
No. She couldn’t let them ruin the band’s day. She’d tell Luke about the call later.
A text appeared on her phone.
Five minutes out. Simon.
Willow took another breath, then thought of her happiest moments with Luke. Standing on the balcony in Mallorca. Driving down to Brighton. The way he made love to her and tickled her and shared his journey with her.
Her fake smile became real, and she hurried to her purse where her shoes were. “They are on the way,” she shouted as she fastened the buckle on her black heels.
When the door opened, Jase was the first one through. Nan yelled surprise, and he grabbed her, giving her a twirl. “Put me down before you give me a heart attack,” she moaned good-naturedly.
Alex and Ben came in next. “What the fuck?” Alex said.
Ben looked to Chaya, quickly checking out the way her dress clung to her curves before asking, “Who organised this?”
“Willow,” Chaya said, pointing in her direction as she walked to Ben and gave him a hug that just skirted the edge of being friendly. And she didn’t miss the way Ben’s hand veered towards Chaya’s ass before he caught himself and returned it platonically to her shoulder.
“You did this?” Luke asked, walking up to her and pulling her into a kiss that could have gotten her pregnant if she wasn’t knocked up already.
She nudged his chest gently, suddenly aware that all eyes were on them. “I did. I thought you deserved a celebration for releasing your album today, and I knew you’d be hungry.”
His eyes were intensely focused on hers. “You planned this. Before I told you I loved you.”
“I did.”
“You knew.”
“I hoped.”
Luke grinned and kissed her again. “Well. Let’s celebrate, then. And, flower, unless it makes you really uncomfortable, I’m going to kiss you like I mean it, whenever I feel like. Cool?”
Willow smiled back. “Cool.”
Four hours later, Luke helped her into the apartment, because after four hours in heels, she was done.
“Have I told you that you are the best girlfriend?” Luke said, leading her into the bedroom.
“Maybe once or twice.”
“That was a really cool thing you did tonight. It’s something I think we’ll all remember.”
“You’re welcome. And I think my feet are going to remember it for a long while, too.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and tried to angle herself so she could reach the buckle of her shoes without her bump getting in the way.
“Here,” Luke said, dropping to his knees. “Let me do that for you.” He reached for a foot and carefully undid the buckle and slid the strappy shoes off her feet. Lines were left behind in her skin.
“Jeez. It looks like we’re at the swollen feet stage of pregnancy.” Willow reached forward to massage them gently.
“Hey.” Luke batted her hand away. “I said I’d do that for you.” He lifted her foot, gripped it firmly, and ran both thumbs along the arch.
“Oh, God. That feels good.”
Luke looked up at her and grinned. “Steady, flower. My dick’s a bit confused because you normally make those kinds of noises when we’re fucking.”
“No confusion,” she said, putting her hands in the air. “I’ve been on my feet for most of the day. I need some sleep. Fucking can resume tomorrow.”
“I have an idea,” Luke said, quickly removing her other shoe.
He stood and tugged her to her feet, before going to his drawer and grabbing a super soft navy T-shirt with a faded white logo on it. Gently, he tugged on the tie of the halter, then shimmied the dress down over her strapless bra and panties.
“Hey, Cletus,” he said, placing a kiss on her tummy, a move that made her melt.
Carefully, he undid her bra, removed her panties, and then lowered his T-shirt over her head. “Go wash your face and do whatever else it is you do in there while I just organise a couple of things.”
Willow did as he said, and when she returned to the bedroom, she was shocked to find candles lit on most surfaces and soft, ambient music playing. He wore a pair of athletic shorts that sat low on his hips. She liked him best when she could see his tattoos and the low V beneath his hips.
“Quit it with the sexy eyes, flower. You’re tired, and I’m respecting that. But don’t look at me like I’m one of Nan’s fairy cakes, or I’ll ask you to come take a bite.”
“So, what’s all this?”
“This is operation pamper my girlfriend. Go lie down. Can I use that oil you have in the bathroom, the stuff that makes your skin all super smooth and shiny?”
“Sure.”
When he returned with the bottle and a towel, he crawled to the foot of the bed. “Close your eyes. Fall asleep if you want.”