I’m finally comfortable enough to ask the question. “Why do you live in Luna Harbor? You could live in Los Angeles, or…where do you live?”
He’s changing Keagh’s diaper when he stops and looks at me. “I’d never live there. Ever.”
I laugh because Keaghan pees at that precise moment, showering Fish’s t-shirt.
“You little demon. I thought we promised to be nice to each other.” He glares at me. “You stop laughing at me.”
“I’ll finish changing him while you go and change.”
“Nah, I’ll do that later.” He takes off his shirt. “Okay, so why don’t I live in LA?” He fastens the diaper. “I used to own a house there. Back then, I was the only idiot who didn’t care if the property was under his name. A fan broke into the place. The police arrested her. Since I kept ignoring her, she set my house on fire.”
“That’s…”
“Crazy. All our houses are owned by our companies. I live in Seattle when we’re not on tour or working on a mi—” He goes quiet.
“As some dangerous superhero?”
He smirks. “What did you call me?”
“A superhero.” I touch his wound. “We need to check it. I forgot to change the bandage this morning.”
He winks at me. “That’s just an excuse to touch me.”
I glare at him. “Stop hitting on me. Finish with the baby so that I can feed him. After he goes to bed, I’m heading home.”
“You’re not staying with me?”
“I haven’t slept in my bed—”
“Since you moved from New York. That bed you’re sleeping in isn’t as comfortable as mine. Plus, I have a bathroom close by. It must be tedious to leave the apartment twice every night.”
“You don’t have a bed in the guest room.”
“You can use mine, and we can demolish your Great Wall of China.”
“As tempting as that sounds—”
“You don’t want to miss our epic nights, Nat,” he says suggestively, handing me Keaghan.
“Stop calling me Nat, that’s just for my friends.
“I thought we were friends,” he says, pretending to be wounded.
“We…you’re exasperating.”
I sigh. “When I mean my friends, I’m talking about Amber, Tracy, and Christina. Everyone else calls me Nathalie.”
“Your grandfather called you Natie.”
I smile, recalling my amazing grampa. I wish he had met Fisher and Keaghan. “He did. Why did you name Keaghan after my grandfather?”
“He sounds like a great man. My son should be named after someone extraordinary.”
“He was, and thank you.”
He marches toward the door. “Let’s feed him so we can go to bed. We only get three hours before we have to do this all over again.”
“I shouldn’t stay.”
His blue eyes stare at me pleadingly. “Please?”
“You’re hard to resist.”
“And you’re…” He snaps his mouth shut.
“What were you going to say?”
“Probably something stupid. Let’s wait a few weeks before I say it, okay? I want us to be ready.”
I swallow hard and nod, curious about this change of attitude.
He has no inhibitions. He’s been hitting on me since the moment we met. What is it?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Fisher
Live a simple life.
I doubt that my current situation can be described as simple.
Babies are anything but easy.
Keaghan might be a calm baby, but there’s nothing simple about waking up every two minutes to change his diaper, feed him, and play with Jimmy the giraffe, the small plush animal Nathalie bought for him the day after Lang confirmed he’s mine. I doubt that after a week, he’s so attached to the toy, he can call Jimmy his favorite. Is that possible? Nope, but Nat swears it is his most favorite toy.
“You know what we should buy?” I ask Nathalie, who’s studying for tomorrow’s quiz. Aspen Hawkins is taking her under her wing and making her study too.
She cocks an eyebrow but doesn’t turn to look at me. “A sign that says do not interrupt? I should go home.”
“As I told you before, what better way to study children than living with one?”
“You always find a solution for everything, don’t you?” She finally looks up from her book. “Is he still ignoring the gym?”
“If you can call this weird arch with hanging toys a gym, yes. He doesn’t find it as fascinating as the dancing giraffe.”
“Jimmy sings and plays music.”
“It’s called acapella,” I correct her, clearing my throat. “Our Jimmy is a one-man show—if we don’t include me. Though, his voice is getting tired. I have to go back to doing vocal exercises.”
Her eyes glint. “Talking about the giraffe as if it’s a person sounds weird—the voice is all you. So, you were in an acapella group during college?”
“Nope. I went to Julliard. We didn’t have much time to goof around. We were either studying, practicing for whatever class we were taking, training, practicing for our band, or working.”
“Did you ever sleep?”
“No. I could go days without sleep. I was never as tired as I am with this little demon. It’s ironic, isn’t it? The child is sucking my energy. I told you when he came, he’s going to kill me slowly.”
She chuckles. “You’re wrong. The reason you’re tired is because caring for him takes an emotional toll,” she explains. “You weren’t in charge of someone else’s well-being during college. That’s why I insist that you keep at least your workout routine. It helps you release endorphins.”
“You know how else I can release them?”
“Stop!”
“This coupledom business isn’t working well for me. The big wall is still in our bed. You made me order a bed for the guest room…”
She closes the book and moves closer to us. “Hey, little man, can you tell your dad that he’s being too forward in front of the baby?”
“I’m teaching him life skills.”
She smiles, crawling closer to me and kissing me. “Flirting isn’t a life skill.”
“It’s gotten me and my bandmates out of many useless fights. Plus, it got me you.”
“You think you’re so suave, but you didn’t get the girl with your nonsense.”
She grabs the giraffe, dances it, and says with a squeaky voice, “You’re wrong. Nat is here just for the food and the cute baby.”
I grab Nat by the waist, pull her closer to me, and devour her mouth. I love how she molds closer to my body and lets me take charge of our kisses. We have this strange connection that I don’t understand, but I hold onto it like a lifeline.
“You’re a liar,” I say as we break the kiss. “You’re here because you like me.”
Her tender eyes stare at me with what I believe might be love. Or at least I hope she’s starting to feel the same way I feel for her. Nathalie Brennan craves the same things I do. Love, a place to belong, and feel to understood. Every day since she agreed to be with me, I pray that I can give her everything she needs.