by Sian Ceinwen
Miss Swanson,
My name is Cooper Powell, and I am the manager of Cruise Control. I’m hoping to get in contact with you because you come very highly recommended. In the world of specialist security, I’m told that you’re the best, and we require the best.
Could you please get in contact to discuss further at your earliest convenience? This matter is time-critical.
Cooper
Earliest convenience? Time-critical? Sounded just like every other email she was sent asking for her services. Cooper had left a contact number at the bottom of the email, but she would have to wait to call him back. Time-critical or not, Cruise Control was an American band, and she was certain he wouldn’t appreciate a phone call from Australia at two in the morning.
Tatiana waited until after midnight to call him. She had spent the afternoon brushing up on Cruise Control. She knew that they were from Chicago, and they were also starting a world tour very soon. Assuming that Cooper was in Chicago as well, it should be a decent enough time in the morning for a phone call.
“Cooper.” A terse voice answered her phone call.
“Hi, Cooper, my name is Tatiana Swanson. I received an email from you.”
“Excellent, Miss Swanson. Are you willing to work for us?”
Tatiana couldn’t resist laughing. “I don’t generally take contracts without a little more information than that, Mr. Powell.”
“My contact told me that you weren’t in the middle of any job at the moment and should be free. How soon could you get to Chicago to discuss the matter?”
Tatiana rolled her eyes; he’d probably spoken to Brendan. It was nice to be respected in your industry, but she wished her friend wouldn’t give out details about her work status the way he often did when prospective clients asked about her.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Powell, I’m in Australia at the moment, and I’m not sure that you’re someone I want to work with. I prefer to work for clients who are a little less pushy.”
“You wouldn’t be working with me, you’d be working with Hayden Vega; he has a stalker,” Cooper told her tersely.
“Interesting.” Tatiana’s eyes flickered to the screen of her laptop, and she clicked on the browser tab that was still open to an article about Cruise Control. “He’s the drummer, right?”
“That’s correct. We’re very concerned about the fact that this has happened right before the tour. There was an incident of great concern at the end of January, and we want to have the best security available with all the variables of being on tour.”
Tatiana’s mind had started racing as she began to think out logistics, all the checks, and plans that she would need to make.
“My fee is large, and it gets larger the more complicated or dangerous the contract is. Do you have a length of time over which you would be expecting to need my services?”
“Money is of no concern. The timeframe is uncertain; it depends on them finding this person,” he informed her.
Tatiana’s longest contract to date had been over a year long. Her shortest was two hours. She had no qualms about the uncertainty of what the length would be, but she did have certain rules for her clients and always met them before agreeing to work for them.
“I can be in Chicago in two days’ time. I’ll want to meet Hayden before I agree to work for him, and I’ll have a contract to be signed if we decide to proceed. I’ll send it through today, so you can have it checked by a lawyer before I arrive. I’ll need as much information about the situation as you have available, including any police reports and such. Do you have any questions?”
“No. I look forward to working with you, Miss Swanson.”
“It’s not a foregone conclusion, Mr. Powell. I have passed on many contracts during my time in business. I’ll see you in Chicago, and we’ll proceed from there.”
Tatiana ended the call, then dropped the phone on the desk and pulled up a website to book a flight back to the US. It looked like her holiday in Australia was being cut short. She Googled Hayden Vega and was greeted with a row of pictures of an incredibly handsome man with brown hair and eyes.
She clicked on the news articles and looked through ones about him out on the town with his boyfriend, scrolling through until she found one from a gossip site about a car crash in January. They said that Hayden was driving under the influence, but Tatiana had learned in her time that things were rarely what they seemed in her clients’ worlds.
Sneak Peek For Sebastian’s Baby - Available November 18th 2021
I’m sitting in the VIP area of Club Delirium with Gabriel and Ariana. There’s a lot of hot women here tonight, and I think that I’ll take someone to a hotel later because I feel like getting laid.
“Hi, Hayden,” Ariana says with a smile at our friend as he approaches us.
“Hey, guys.” He smiles back at us. “Where’s Harrison and Heather?”
“Not here yet,” I tell him. “I’ll find out where they are.”
I pull my phone out of my pocket and send a text to Heather.
How long will it be until I can see your gorgeous ass, lover?
It isn’t long before she replies to me.
My gorgeous ass is about 15 minutes away, darling.
“Heather says they’re about fifteen minutes away,” I inform the rest of the group.
I take a sip of my whisky as I look around the VIP. There’s a hot brunette in the corner that keeps checking me out. She might be all right for later. I’m feeling bored, though; there’s plenty of attractive women here, but no one really excites me, which is a shame.
I perk up when the last of our friends finally arrive. t-shirt, and his wet hair is combed back from his forehead. Heather looks stunning, of course. She’s tall, blonde, has an amazing figure, and is basically the hottest woman in this club. She’s wearing a short, tight dress, has legs for days, and is, you know, married to Harrison.
“Hi, darlings,” Heather greets us.
She hugs Hayden and Gabriel, kisses Ariana’s cheek before hugging her, then drops down on the banquette next to me. Heather wraps her arms around me, and she smells amazing, like vanilla and honey. She kisses me on the cheek before she lets me go.
“You took your time getting here, lover,” I drawl at her.
“Yeah, well, we were…busy.” Heather shrugs and glances at Harrison, who turns slightly red.
Okay, they’re totally late because they were fucking, and we all know it.
“Did you guys see the email from Stephanie about tomorrow?” Hayden asks us.
We just released a new album, and every time we do, we run a competition on our website to meet us. We’re going out tomorrow with the fan who won, and a friend of hers. Our manager’s receptionist has been organizing the flight details and everything else with the winner, all we have to do is turn up.
“I haven’t seen it,” Gabriel shrugs.
“The winner’s someone named Lita Ciccone, and we have to meet her in the lobby of her hotel at seven,” I recite from memory.
“Ciccone, huh? Cousin of yours, Seb?” Gabriel grins at me.
I laugh. “Nope, no Ciccones in my family. Not all Italians are related, you know.”
“We should take them to Giovanni’s for dinner. I haven’t been there in ages,” Harrison says.
“Ooh, if you do, can you bring me home some arancini?” Heather asks.
“Of course, angel.”
Harrison smiles at her, and she gives him a kiss that’s a little too passionate for polite company, but we’re all used to it, and nobody’s ever really called us polite company. I’m looking around the club again and still can’t find anybody worth taking to a hotel tonight, which is disappointing.
“What are you doing tomorrow night, Heather?” Ariana asks her.
“Nothing. Want to come over to my place, and we can watch movies together?”
“Sounds brilliant.” Ariana smiles at her.
“Are you two going to get into silky pajamas and have a pillow fight or somethin
g?” I raise an eyebrow at them.
Ariana rolls her eyes, but Heather just laughs. “Of course, how did you guess? Want to join us?”
“Maybe. It depends on how hot the fans are tomorrow, I guess.” I wink at Heather.
“Well, that went without saying, I thought,” Heather says in a dry tone.
“Tell me more about these silky pajamas you’ll be wearing, though, lover. Because I bet these guys could handle the fans without me…” I trail off and smile suggestively at Heather, causing her to laugh again.
“Do we have any fixed plans?” Hayden asks, completely ignoring my comment.
“I don’t see any reason to have a set plan in place. Let’s ask them what they want to do. Wherever they want to go, we’ll be able to get in easily enough,” Gabriel shrugs.
I’ve tuned out the conversation; I don’t care about what we do tomorrow; I care about who I do tonight. I’ve started scanning the main nightclub’s floor now, unsatisfied with the options in the VIP area.
There’s a hot, blonde woman dancing with a couple of women that I assume are her friends in the middle of the dance floor. She’s got a skin-tight, red dress on, and I’m satisfied that I’ve finally found someone here with whom I might like to spend the evening.
I continue talking with my friends but keep my eyes on the blonde woman as I do. After about twenty minutes, she makes her way to the bar, and I see my opportunity.
“I’m going to get another drink,” I tell my friends after I drain the last of my whisky. “Then, I think I might find someone to dance with.”
“Have fun,” Gabriel tells me.
They’re all kind of used to me ditching them on nights out like this. Sometimes, I’ll bring the women back to meet them if she’s a fan or if I’m not ready to leave. I’ll see how I feel after I’ve met her.
I leave the VIP and head swiftly to the bar. I can see that there’s a line for drinks, but I don’t care. She’s standing at the bar and watching as the bartender makes her drinks. I push past the people nearby to stand next to her.
“Hey gorgeous,” I lean over to say in her ear.
She turns to glare at me. As soon as she sees me and realizes who I am, her expression clears, and her eyes widen in shock.
“Um, hi,” she says.
I give her a slow smile and ask, “What’s your name?”
“Daena.”
“Hi, Daena. I’m Sebastian.” I hold my hand out to shake hers.
She reaches her hand out and returns my handshake, but as soon as her hand is in mine, I lift it to my lips and kiss it. Her mouth opens a little as she gasps in shock. I see her chest begin to rise and fall rapidly as she breathes faster. The bartender interrupts us to ask her for payment for her drinks.
“I’ve got it,” I say, pulling my wallet out of my pocket. “Can you add a glass of Glenfiddich to it, though?”
“Sure,” the bartender says and turns to grab the whisky for me.
“Three drinks. Are you here with some friends tonight?” I ask Daena.
“Yeah, I am.”
“That’s cool, me too. Want to dance with me after we finish our drinks?” I run my eyes from her head to her toes, taking in her curves, and can’t wait to get her back to a hotel.
“Sounds like fun,” she tells me, and she’s breathless when she does.
Excellent. Might as well have some fun tonight because we’ve got that fan thing tomorrow. It’s always hit and miss with fans, even though they’re almost always willing to sleep with me if I want to do it. Despite my jokes earlier, I wouldn’t really ditch their night out to get laid.
I pick up my whisky and one of Daena’s drinks while she carries the other two, and I follow her back to her friends. As I do, we pass Heather and Ariana, who are heading to the bar. I smile at them and wink before I return my eyes to the ass of the woman in the red dress.
Acknowledgments
This book wouldn’t be what it is if it weren’t for the people that supported me along the way.
Beate – How in the blue fucking hell would I have done this without you? You’re the reason I got 1.1% and you know it…wait, I’m the reason I got 1.1%, otherwise it would’ve been lower. Next time, we’ll get a better score. ;)
Kit – I cannot thank you enough for the time you took to read through my work and explain things that needed explaining to me. I hope that I did Lita justice. She’s pretty amazing, and so are you. Don’t ever forget that. <3
Daena – I almost dedicated this book to you because you’re probably as in love with Sebastian as I am. We made a deal, though…you get Hayden, I get Sebastian. I may regret this when it comes time to write The Stalker but, for now, I don’t care because Sebastian Fox is all mine!
Mum – I can’t believe this one ended up being your favourite book. It’s pretty damn cute, though. I love Lita and Sebastian, and I’m glad you love my books as much as you do.
Ally – I know why you didn’t read this, and that’s okay. You’re still one of my best friends, so if I didn’t understand why this book was impossible for you to read, I’d be a terrible friend. I’m writing this acknowledgement so it’ll be here for whenever you’re ready to read this book. I love you.
Kathy – This year has been completely fucking shit. I wish I could make it better. If you got a tiny bit of enjoyment out of reading this book about hot Italians getting it on, I hope that helped a little.
Maddy – It feels like forever ago that you first read this book, so it’s weird to be writing an acknowledgement now. I’m so glad that you’re always happy to read my books and give your expert rock star romance opinion.
All my advance readers – Thank you all for taking the time to read my work, give your feedback, and encouraging me to keep writing.
Kits Farmer – Your edit was amazing. You spent hours and hours on Zoom talking about my books and writing. Thank you so much for everything, you made the experience so wonderful and you got it.
Mark and Lorna Reid – I did it!!! I got this book to you by the deadline and it wasn’t stupidly close to the publishing date. Look out, the Gabriel’s Album manuscript will be even earlier…I, um, must get back to writing that, soon!
Damien – This one took longer. As always, I couldn’t do any of this without your amazing support. Thank you so much for everything you do for me and the boys. We love you so much!
My readers – If you’re reading this, thank you. I hope you enjoyed reading this book. Sebastian and Lita’s story is so beautiful and wonderful, it’s heartwarming and funny. If you loved them half as much as I do, I know you loved them a lot. Thank you for taking the time to read my work.
About the Author
Siân Ceinwen lives in Western Australia with her husband and two sons. She grew up with a love of telling or writing stories for her friends to read and enjoy.
The Baby is the third in four stories about the members of Cruise Control.
If you enjoyed this, please share it with your friends, and please write a review on Amazon or Goodreads.
It would really be appreciated, as this helps more people to discover the book. Reviews assist with the algorithms used by these platforms to display books, so every little bit helps indie authors to get noticed.
You can also join Siân on Facebook or Twitter for all the latest news on the Cruise Control series of novels.
Were you wondering what Gabriel was thinking and feeling the night that he met Ariana? If you’re interested in receiving “The First Song”, which is the first chapter of The Album, from Gabriel’s point of view, you can get a copy of that by subscribing to Sian Ceinwen’s newsletter here.
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