He held his hand out for me to take. When my palm met his, he turned our hands and placed a kiss on the top of mine. “I’m Reagan and this idiot”—he gestured toward the drummer—“is my boyfriend, Sawyer.”
I smiled, hoping my nerves didn’t turn it into a grimace. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Sawyer was a whole lot less formal than Reagan. He took my hand from Reagan’s grip and pulled me forward until I was enveloped by his strong arms in a hug.
“Welcome to the family,” he whispered in my ear.
And in that small moment, I could have burst into tears. If anyone might have thought I tricked Heath into getting me pregnant, I worried it would be one of these two. I knew Heath lived with both of them in the other half of the house. I also knew Reagan was an attorney, who most likely questioned everything. So to get such a warm welcome from them meant the world to me.
“You can let her breathe at any time now.” Heath chuckled.
Sawyer flipped him off but took a step back.
Heath led me over to one of the empty chairs. He pulled it out, gesturing for me to take a seat.
“Let’s get you something to drink,” he said, sitting on the side of me, with Sawyer and Reagan taking their seats to the right of where we were sitting.
The waiter wasted no time rushing over to take our drink order. I glanced over my shoulder at Heath.
“I thought you were going to make that hostess’s brain explode back there.”
Sawyer chuckled. “He has that effect on women, but ever since he met you, he doesn’t even acknowledge them anymore.”
Heath scoffed. “Like you didn’t have your own fan club, at least until they found out you prefer dick.”
He smiled and lifted Reagan’s hand to his lips. “With every fiber of my being.”
“Does Heath not get the same looks when it’s just the two of you out? I might be a little worried he’s losing his touch.” Reagan snickered.
“Actually, no. He usually wears a baseball cap when we go out.”
Reagan turned and narrowed his eyes at him. “Why the hell would you hide who you are?”
CHAPTER 30
Heath
Fuck, here we go.
While they both should have understood the desire to not have anyone recognize you, my reasons were very different from theirs. I opened my mouth to answer him, when Jenna spoke up.
“Actually, that’s my fault.”
Their gazes snapped to Jenna. “That doesn’t make sense,” Reagan argued. “You know Heath’s completely in love with you?”
She rested her hand on my thigh, her fingers lightly caressing the denim. Thank fuck we were sitting at the table. I had no idea how I’d explain the erection now pressing against the zipper of my jeans from the simplest touch.
“I know.” She smiled. A gleam of mischief lit her eyes. She knew exactly what she was doing. Damn tease. “But, I was afraid of the gossip sites finding out. I didn’t really want to deal with them following us around everywhere we went and trying to dig up dirt about my past.”
Sawyer nodded his head from side to side. “That I can more than understand. I guess you’re ready to face them now?”
She giggled and the sound moved through me. “Not really, but Heath made a good point. There was no way to hide when he was with all of you. At least for now they don’t know my name.”
“No, they don’t,” I said, catching Sawyer’s gaze as he stared at me. He knew it hadn’t been an accident I’d asked everyone to meet at a restaurant for dinner. Hell, not one of them would have minded going to her house or mine. I wanted to shout to the world that this sexy as hell woman beside me was carrying my daughter. Because of Jenna’s fears I kept my mouth shut, which I wouldn’t be able to do any longer. Now that she was mine, there was no way I’d be on the road again without her right next to me. Which meant it was time to stop hiding. Sawyer knew what I’d done. Hopefully, he didn’t call me on it in front of Jenna.
He narrowed his eyes for the smallest of moments, before turning back to talk with Jenna. My heart felt so full watching one of my best friends chat happily with the woman of my dreams. I knew Sawyer and Reagan would love her and there was no doubt the rest of the band would feel the same.
I’d finished half of my beer when the murmurs in the place reached a fever pitch. I didn’t need to look up to know what caused it. Mari.
Everywhere she went people flocked to her. Whether they were trying to get a picture or a story to print on their site. Sometimes it was a fan who simply wanted an autograph. Mari’s presence was guaranteed to pack the place in less than fifteen minutes.
When I glanced up, I saw her walking forward, arm in arm with Cole. Apparently he didn’t have an away game this weekend.
Mari caught sight of us and picked up the pace, practically running toward Jenna. I saw Jenna look at me nervously out of the corner of her eye. Hell, I couldn’t blame her. The Mari coming toward her was all big personality and scary determination.
She screeched and pushed me out of the way to wrap Jenna in a hug.
Cole simply stood back and shrugged. “Sorry, man. She’s been bouncing around like that since we left the house. Either she had more cups of coffee than I remember, or she’s just really excited to meet your woman.”
“Good to know.” I took Cole’s hand and pulled him into a bro hug. “No away game this week?”
“Nope. We’re home for the next three weeks.”
“Bet that’s nice.”
“That’s an understatement. You guys have to know how bad traveling sucks.”
“More than you know.” I glanced over at Jenna, who was giving me a save me face. “At some point you’re going to have to let her go, Mari.”
She glanced over her shoulder at me, refusing to let go. At least she loosened her grip. “You shut it, Heath Marshall, I’m excited not to be the only girl. Fart and poop jokes get old after a while.”
I placed my hand on my chest. “I’m offended. We do not tell fart and poop jokes. That’s for like eight-year-olds.” I glanced around at the other guys, willing them to agree, which of course they did.
“We would never,” Sawyer said in the most serious voice he could muster at the moment.
She stood and pointed a finger at him. “Don’t you even start. I lived with you long enough to know all your tricks.”
Sawyer lifted his hands and pretended to seal his mouth closed. She looked back at Jenna. “Don’t let them fool you.”
Jenna laughed. “I won’t.
“Jenna, this is Mari and her boyfriend, Cole.”
Jenna smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Sawyer smirked. “Obviously Mari’s already shown how excited she was to meet you.”
Mari smacked Sawyer in the arm before moving around the table. They chose the seats on the other side of me. I picked my beer up off the table. “Where are Monty and Jackson?”
Sawyer sighed. “Who knows? I know Jackson says Monty didn’t come home until dawn this morning and slept for a few hours before we met to play through that song you wrote on the tour.”
Jenna looked at me. “What song?”
Shit.
“Well, I wanted us to play it for you first, but since someone decided to spill”—I gave Sawyer a look—“I guess I might as well tell you now.”
“Don’t blame me,” Sawyer argued. “You never mentioned anything about keeping secrets.”
“You’re right,” I said to Sawyer before turning back to Jenna. “It’s a song I wrote after our last show when we were heading home.”
“What’s it called?” she asked, her gaze mesmerized.
“‘You See Right Through Me.’”
I took Jenna’s hand and lifted it to my lips. “I wrote it for you.” A couple of cameras went off around the room and I had no doubt we’d be seeing those pictures online tonight with some title or caption about a mystery woman.
“Ugh.” Mari rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, you get used to it
.”
I glanced down and saw that Jenna looked like a deer in headlights. “They’re going to know who I am now, won’t they?”
Reagan shook his head. “Nah, it’ll take some time for them to figure it out. But they probably will eventually. And really, as long as you’re around Mari and Cole it’s not that bad.”
“Thanks a lot.” Mari waded up her napkin and chucked it at Reagan. “So, how’s the baby?” she asked, practically bouncing out of her seat.
“She’s good. Likes abusing my insides on a regular basis, but at least I can keep food down now.”
“She?” Mari’s ass came out of her seat a bit as she clasped her hands together in front of her. “I can’t wait to go shopping for little girl clothes to give to you,” Mari squealed.
She’d been begging me since the night I flew back from the ultrasound, to tell her the sex of the baby. I refused. She had to wait for Jenna to be there. I could see the wheels turning in her head about all the things she could get for a little girl.
“We’re here.” I looked up over Cole’s shoulder and saw Jackson and Monty headed our way.
Monty had deep, dark circles under his eyes. Whatever had him all wound up was taking its toll. I knew we all hoped when the tour ended he’d calm down, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Things only seemed to be getting worse, and even though I was normally the one fixing things, I had no idea how to deal with Monty’s problems. Especially when I didn’t know what they were.
“Jenna, this is Jackson and Monty.”
Her shy smile appeared but turned into a grimace as she tried to push herself up and out of the chair. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Monty came around the table. “You don’t have to get up for us.” He bent down and gave her a brief hug. “We’ll come to you.”
These were the times when the old Monty made a reappearance. It gave me hope we’d find him in there someone. Not this crazy, completely unpredictable man who showed up more often than not.
Jackson followed Monty and walked over to where Jenna sat, bending down to give her a hug.
“I’m so happy to meet both of you.”
Jackson and Monty took the last two seats at the table. The waiter didn’t waste any time coming over to take our orders and collect the menus.
“So, Jenna.”
Jenna turned her attention to Cole.
“Did you grow up around here?”
“Nope. About forty-five minutes from here. I grew up in a suburb outside of the city.” She placed her napkin on the table. “Will you excuse me?”
I leaped from my seat to pull out hers and help her to her feet. When she turned, I caught her gaze. “Are you okay?” I knew she still got upset talking about where she grew up with her grandmother’s passing.
She leaned up on her toes and pressed a kiss to my lips. Even more flashes went off, but I didn’t give a fuck.
I sank my hand into her hair, holding her lips to mine. How much I wanted to sink my tongue between her lips and truly taste her. Not here. Not now. She pulled back a moment later. Her chest rising and falling rapidly.
“I’m fine. I’m just heading to the bathroom. Little miss seems to like sitting on my bladder.”
I chuckled at her put out tone. “Okay, I’ll see you back at the table. If anyone asks you anything, just keep walking.”
Jenna glanced around the room like she was waiting for a tiger to pounce.
“Want me to go with you?” I glanced over and saw Mari standing a little behind me.
Jenna shook her head. “You don’t have to do that.”
Mari walked over and looped her arm through Jenna’s. “After that kiss, everyone is going to want to know who you are. I’ll deal with them.” Mari winked.
Jenna’s shoulders relaxed. “Thanks.”
“Thanks, Mari,” I said, shooting her a grateful smile.
She nodded and turned Jenna in the direction of the bathrooms. When I turned to head back to the table, I noticed Sawyer’s narrowed gaze.
“Don’t start,” I said, taking my seat again.
“Well, that was one big, bold way to declare that Jenna was yours,” Reagan said, shaking his head.
“I thought she wanted to stay out of the limelight?” Sawyer asked.
I picked up my beer and took a long pull from the bottle. “We both know that’s not possible. You of all people know you can’t hid forever.”
Sawyer groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
“Hey.” Reagan glared at him. “I’m pretty sure you’re happy with the outcome of that.”
Sawyer cupped Reagan’s face. “More than you know. But we were lucky that things went so well. Everything could have gone to shit very quickly.”
“But it didn’t,” Reagan reminded him.
“Yeah, yeah, but that still doesn’t explain what Heath’s doing.”
I sat back in my chair and eyed him. “Look, at one point or another someone’s going to figure it out or the paparazzi will figure it out all on their own. Either way, I’d rather it happen on my terms. Besides, what do you think they’d say if they found out I kept my pregnant girlfriend hidden?”
Cole groaned. “They’d probably assume you were ashamed of her.”
Cole had dealt with enough of his own bad press to know exactly how shitty the gossips could be when they wanted to.
“Damn,” Reagan cursed. “I hadn’t even thought of that.”
“Exactly. If they see her out with me now, they figure she’s been home resting while we out on tour.”
“Cole has a point,” Sawyer agreed. “But you should have warned her what would happen after tonight. She looked like a deer in headlights a few minutes ago.”
I sighed. “Probably, but honestly I wasn’t thinking that far ahead. Right now, no one knows her name and until they figure that out she’s safe.”
Monty scoffed. “Right, they don’t know her name yet. At least until tomorrow morning after one of them follows you back to her place.”
“Shit, I didn’t think of that either.”
“Didn’t think of what?” Her small hands rested on my shoulders.
I stood and pulled her chair out for her. “No problems?”
Mari rolled her eyes. “A couple of people tried to ask her name, but we ignored them.”
Jenna turned to me. “What didn’t you think of?”
I rubbed my eyes with my finger and thumb. “That they’ll be able to figure out your name if they follow us back to your place tonight.”
She shrugged. “They’re going to figure it out eventually, right?”
Wait, what?
“You don’t mind if they figure out who you are?”
“It’s not like I can stop them. You told me what happened to Sawyer and Reagan.” She glanced over at them. “Sorry about that, guys, it really must’ve sucked.”
“More than you know,” Sawyer said at the same time Reagan said, “It wasn’t that bad.”
“So says the guy who chose to come out of the closet.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Reagan said and looked over at me and Jenna. “She’s got a point, though, they’re going to figure out who she is anyway. Why not under her own terms?”
“I don’t think following her home is under her own terms,” Jackson chimed in.
“Not exactly. She can also choose not to go to her place if she doesn’t want them to figure it out. It’s still her decision,” Reagan answered.
“I didn’t think about it that way,” Jackson said.
“How about we worry about that when it’s time to leave?”
I was surprised to hear the words come from Jenna’s mouth.
Mari smiled at her and raised her glass. “I think that’s a great idea. Welcome to the family.”
My heart was so full seeing the happiness on Jenna’s face. She’d been so nervous when I’d gone to pick her up, that I thought she’d change her mind, but just like I’d expected them to, the rest of them accepted her with open arms.
Di
nner passed by in a whirlwind of stories and laughter. I’d heard most of them, but I liked seeing Jenna enjoying herself so much. She didn’t often take time for herself and I’d still yet to find a way to convince her she didn’t need to work so many hours anymore. Hell, she could even quit her job if she wanted to, but I knew she wouldn’t.
After our plates were cleared, I leaned back in my seat, with a beer in one hand and rested my other along the back of her chair. Sawyer, the fucker, was recounting my days on the road, according to him, pinning for Jenna.
“Eventually, he locked himself in his trailer,” Sawyer said, the mirth clear on his face.
Jenna’s gaze snapped to mine. “You did?”
Seeing her happy, I suddenly didn’t mind being the subject of the conversation. “It’s true.”
“What were you doing the whole time?” she asked, eyes wide.
I twirled the long strands of her hair between my fingers. “I was writing the song for you.”
The mirth on her face was immediately replaced by one of love and longing. The connection we had meant I didn’t need to hear her next words to know what she wanted.
Jenna leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Can we go now?”
When I moved back, I could see the same desire I felt reflected in her eyes. I stood and pulled enough cash from my wallet to cover our bill and took Jenna’s hand, helping her up from her seat.
“We’re gonna head out.”
“Not staying for dessert?” Jackson asked.
They all knew dessert was my favorite part of the meal. I glanced over at Jenna and back at them.
“Not tonight, my friend.”
Sawyer winked at the two of us. “Have a good night then.”
Mari stood and came around to give Jenna a hug, all the while I was willing my dick to stay in control as I waited to get Jenna home and naked. They chatted for a few minutes about getting together to hang out and I noticed Sawyer chuckling out of the corner of my eye.
Fucker. I was going to kick his ass the next time we were home together.
Finally, everyone had said their goodbyes, and after promising Mari to bring Jenna when we recorded the new song in a few weeks, I led Jenna out of the restaurant and to my car. The man following us with a camera didn’t go unnoticed. Throughout our meal, I saw them coming into the restaurant and sitting at the bar, probably waiting for their opportunity to get a shot worth posting.
Cover Me (Jaded Ivory Book 3) Page 22