Never Over You

by Ryleigh Andrews

  After setting the table in the breakfast nook, she sat down at the island to wait for their guests.

  She heard Ethan coming down the stairs just as the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” he called out. Mia guessed it was Allie. She’d never been late to anything—ever—and that’s why she was very surprised to hear the Luke’s voice.

  What?

  With a quick glance at her phone, Mia saw that Allie still had three minutes until she was officially late. “Come on, Allie. Don’t be late!”

  “It’s no big deal if she is, suga,” Ethan said, walking into the kitchen with Luke.

  “She’s never late and I have a bet going on with myself. If she is late, I have to run five miles instead of three tonight. If she’s on time, I can eat an extra piece of baked French toast. And I’m hungry and I was so counting on her!”

  Luke went to her and kissed the crown of her head. His scent immediately distracted her.

  “You smell different!”

  “What are you talking about?” he said, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

  “You have used the same cologne for the past twelve years. I know it. I got it for you,” she paused, realization dawning on her. “This is for Allie!”

  He glared at her then pointedly looked at his watch. “Allie’s late. Looks like that extra piece of French toast is up for grabs!”

  “Seriously?” Mia exclaimed, looking at her phone. “In the six years I’ve known her, she has never been late. Not once! It’s always been me. God! This is so not fair!”

  “Mia, just eat,” Ethan ordered.

  “Nooo … I still have baby weight to lose.”

  “No, you don’t,” he said with a frustrated shake of his head. Her accelerated weight loss journey didn’t make sense to him.

  “Yes, I do. I still have ten pounds to go.”

  Her husband rolled his eyes at her as he fixed his coffee. “Mia, you look beautiful.”

  “Please don’t go back to being skin and bones again,” Luke added.

  “I was not skin and bones,” she said defensively. “There was a lot of muscle on this body.”

  “Very true,” Ethan agreed with a wink. “Though I do love how you look …” He leaned down and whispered the rest, “and feel now.”

  Those words of his made her ache for him to finish what he’d started earlier.

  “Stop stressing about it, Mia,” her husband added.

  “A half piece then.” Her way of conceding. “Plus the five miles tonight.”

  Luke

  It was fifteen minutes later when a haggard looking Allie finally arrived. Mia had been placing the food on the table when Allie came through the mud room door.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Mia asked, trying to be stern but failing miserably. God, he loved his adorable best friend, Luke thought, trying not to laugh. “This is the first time you’ve been late. Ever!”

  Allie glanced around the room before she addressed Mia. She didn’t look well. Her eyes looked haunted which threw off her usual confident demeanor. There was none of that right now.

  “Fashionably late?” Allie offered. Mia rolled her eyes hard at her before crossing the room and wrapping Allie in her arms. “Sorry. Bad morning,” Allie added, hugging Mia back.

  “Wanna talk about it?” she asked quietly.

  Allie met Luke’s eyes and he was shocked at the pain he saw there. “No. It’s all right. I’m starving and it smells so good in here,” she said, disengaging from Mia’s arms.

  Luke saw the indecision on Mia’s face. She must have seen that look in Allie’s eyes too and it set off her friend-in-trouble alarm. “Allie,” Mia called out again. The other woman gave a swift shake of her head, so much said in that single gesture. He wished he knew how to decipher their silent communication.

  Turning away from Mia, Allie placed her bag on a stool and went about making herself an espresso. Mia gave Allie the space she seemed to need and pulled the covers off the food and with that Luke’s stomach led his body.

  The foursome gathered around the table and dug into the wonderful food Mia had prepared. Breakfast wasn’t a quiet affair, though no one discussed the reason why they were all there. There was always lots of laughter when Mia and Ethan were at the table. She loved to tease her husband … as well as her best friend, but Luke and Ethan teased her right back.

  Luke had been worried for a while about them, but the two had worked through their problems and seemed so much happier.

  As they should be.

  “So, what’s the word, Luke? Got my nanny in that pile of papers?” Mia asked, gesturing to the stack of folders next to him.

  “I think so,” he said, handing her the files. “My favorite is on top.”

  Mia went for the top file first and as she looked it over, a smile flirted with her mouth. He knew why too. He knew what his best friend wanted. “Bring these five in,” she said, sliding the files to Ethan. “Now … my studio, tell me it’s gonna start soon. Please?”

  “Monday,” Allie answered with a grin.

  “Shut up! Really?” Mia asked, joyous surprise covering her face. It had been awhile since he had seen that big smile of hers.

  “Yes, expect a lot of noise next week.”

  “Oh my God! That’s awesome news! What about leads on the PA?”

  “Still working on that. I haven’t found any candidates that could put up with you.”

  “Hey!”

  “You are very demanding.”

  “Well, I have a very demanding job with lots of demands,” Mia explained … or tried to.

  “That sounds like crap,” Luke said.

  “Bite me!”

  “God, more demands!”

  “Luke, stop!” Mia exclaimed, trying not to laugh.

  “I never realized just how demanding you are.”

  Mia looked over at her husband, a questioning look on her face.

  What the hell was with all this silent communication today?

  Ethan nodded his head at Mia, the silent question being answered. Mia smiled and nodded her head. Luke wondered what his best friends were up to. He looked to Allie and she was curious as well.

  “The two of you know so much about me and Ethan,” Mia began and instantly had Luke on alert. “I wonder sometimes if between the two of you, you know me better than I do. And I’m pretty sure Ethan would probably say the same thing. Over the years, you two have become irreplaceable in my life. Your friendship was one of the things that got me through some very hard times. I trust you both with my life and of the ones I love. And it’s for that reason that Ethan and I would like for you two to be Pierce and Rory’s godparents.”

  “Seriously?” he asked, completely shocked at this request. He glanced over at Allie who seemed to have the same reaction.

  “There’s no one else I could see in the part but you two,” Ethan said.

  “I’d be honored,” Allie spoke happily, her beautiful hazel eyes just a little glassy.

  “I’ll do this,” Luke stated, turning his attention on Mia because he had a request of his own … just for her. “But don’t go dying on us, okay?”

  Swallowing her tears, Mia nodded. He knew she was thinking of the times Death had knocked on her door. Too many times. He could see that it still haunted her. And that had been his intent—he did not want to lose his best friends.

  “Godfather … I like the sound of that.”

  The women rolled their eyes and laughed at him. He didn’t care. He was so damn happy about this. He loved those boys so much and wondered if this is what Mia felt for Kaitlyn. It didn’t matter that they were not his blood family, they were family regardless.

  Ethan

  September 2012

  Returning home from a long practice, all Ethan wanted to do was crawl into bed with his wife, sex completely optional … okay, completely mandatory.

  In the kitchen, he found Bridgette, their nanny, feeding the boys. She had been a find. He and Mia had loved the tall, blonde nanny imme
diately. They just clicked with her. Her values were the same as theirs when it came to raising children. But most importantly, the boys seemed to bond with her the moment she held them.

  After a gaggle of “dadas,” Ethan kissed his boys and set out to find his wife. Opening the double doors to their master suite, Ethan heard her lyrical voice coming from the bathroom. With the construction of the studio and having Bridge around, Mia was completely different from when they’d started this whole process. A smile came to his face. He loved that his wife sang in the shower. He hoped to use that to his advantage and join her.

  But when he entered the bathroom, she wasn’t in the shower, but standing in front of the bathroom counter, phone sitting atop of it, clad only in a fluffy towel, singing.

  This is the end of something wonderful.

  The end … of me and you.

  This is you breakin’ me in two.

  The end … of me loving you.

  The way she sang the lyrics—slow and so full of pain—pulled at his heart. Who was she singing this to?

  “Okay … work with that,” she said to whoever was on the other line. “I need to get ready before Ethan gets home … yeah,” she said with a laugh. “Talk to you later.”

  She looked up into the mirror and her eyes locked onto him and she smiled. “Hi.”

  “Hi, suga. Who were you singing to on the phone?” Ethan asked, standing in the doorway.

  “Marty. I had an idea while I was in the shower,” she said, smiling at him matter-of-factly, like it was no big deal to find your wife singing an emotional song over the phone, in only her towel. She made her way across the bathroom to their closet where she started to pull out clothes.

  “Oh,” he said. He didn’t know what else he could say. Being around for the creative process for her music was strange. Like randomly singing naked on the phone or zoning out as ideas came to her. He had never seen her write the music, just the recording part. It was a bit of an adjustment.

  Following her to the closet, he leaned back against the wall and watched her get dressed. Things were different than they’d been a year ago. Then she was pregnant with the boys, told to take it easy. He’d loved being able to take care of her. And if he was being honest, part of him missed that. Now, he kind of felt out of sorts. And again, if he was being honest, this made him nervous. He knew he could trust her, but it was just that music and touring and her being away from him equaled bad news.

  And instead of dwelling on it, he was going to take advantage of opportunities—like right now. His gorgeous wife was dressing and he didn’t want clothes covering her up.

  “Stop,” he ordered, walking further into the room to her. She did as he said and when he got to her, he pushed off the skirt and panties before he knelt in front of her.

  “Ethan?” she said, her breathy voice hitting his ears like a song.

  His hands slid up her legs, over her toned thighs to her ass and pulled her to him, nuzzling his face between her legs. She wobbled slightly as his tongue explored her. Her hands gripped his shoulders as she tried to steady herself. He loved making her lose control. Her breaths were long and loud, her fingers dug into his flesh. She was his to do what he pleased, but the closet wasn’t the room for what he wanted to do to her. Moving his head to the side, he put her over his shoulder and stood up.

  She yanked at his shirt, pulling it up as he carried her to the seating area of their bedroom. Her warm lips found his back and she kissed him hard, giving him a little nip to punctuate her need. He looked for the sofa and then unceremoniously deposited her there.

  “Hey!” she protested, but his lips quieted any additional outcry. When his mouth left hers to search out her long neck, she inhaled sharply.

  “So, are you going to make love to me?” she asked breathlessly.

  His tongue traced a course from her neck to the tip of her hardened nipple before he looked up at her half-closed eyes. “I haven’t decided yet,” he replied, flicking his tongue against the bud.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, her fingers threading through his hair, holding his head firmly in place.

  He lifted his gaze back to those desire-filled chocolate eyes of hers and held them as he spoke. “I haven’t decided whether I’m going to make love to you … or fuck you.”

  The smile that slowly came to her face made his already hard cock pulse with its need for her. His decision had been made and her growing smile told him she knew too.

  She joyously yelled as he yanked her down to him. Her hands worked at removing his pants while her lips teased his ear. “You’re gonna fuck me,” she stated, pushing his pants down over his hips.

  Peeling off his shirt, he stepped out of his pants and returned to her legs, spread and ready for him. With a quick kiss to her lips, he pushed inside of her with ease. “Yes, suga. I am.”

  Luke

  November 2012

  Leaning back on the black leather sofa situated across from the control panel in Mia’s new studio, Luke listened to one of Last Star’s newest songs off their upcoming album Try It One More Time.

  Mia sat in a chair facing him, her stare full on as he listened to song after song. But it was this song—“So Long”—that he asked her to play again. It was the theme song for the entire record—hell, for her journey with Ethan

  Locked up in my own prison for too many years.

  Slowly dying from all these fears.

  You came along

  And it was like so long, so long

  To all those tears.

  As the song ended and silence filled the room, Luke realized that he’d never done this with her before—be a part of her creative process.

  “You know … this is the first time I’ve been in the studio with you.”

  “Really?” she said, not believing him.

  “I’ve been to all kinds of shows, but I can’t say that I ever stepped inside the studio with you. I’m glad I am now. You fit here … a second home.”

  “Dude … I don’t know what all these buttons do. I leave that to Todd and Clark.”

  “Still … you belong here.”

  “Yeah … I do. Here and on stage.”

  “I like the music you create.”

  “Just like?”

  “Well, it’s all girly and stuff …”

  Her mouth dropped open at his jest. “Don’t ever let the guys hear you say that. They’ll first kick your ass then leave the band.”

  “You know I’m just teasing you, right?”

  “Yes, jeez,” she said, spinning around in her chair. As she did that she asked him what he thought of the songs.

  “I am loving what I’m hearing so far.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I was thinking of something else you’ve never done with me.”

  He leaned forward, very interested in what she had to say. “And what’s that?”

  “Go to an awards show with me. I have one in Europe in a couple of weeks.”

  Hmm … this could be fun. Being a part of that with her. Seeing how that side of her life was. “What about Ethan?”

  “Game against Denver. Come with me. I want you there. I can introduce you to some hot women …”

  He looked up at the door and saw Allie—the one he wanted. The one who vexed him, perplexed him. But maybe getting her jealous would be what he needed for her to let her goddamn guard down.

  “I’d love to come, Mia.”

  Mia jumped out of her chair in her excitement and smiled wide at Allie. “Did you hear that, Allie? Luke’s coming with us!”

  “I’ll add him to the list.”

  “Thanks!” Mia said, plopping down on the sofa. Luke got up to look around the room and Allie sat in his now unoccupied seat by Mia and opened up her notebook.

  “Tommy D wants to hear some of the new tracks. What do you want to send?”

  “Uh, send ‘So Long’ and ‘For You.’ I’m liking those as our first two singles.”

  “Me too!”
Allie agreed.

  “This is such a love album … awww!” Luke teased, peeking into the recording space, guitars all over the place.

  “Oh, hush!” Mia said.

  “All your fans who are expecting angst will be all confused. ‘Why am I feeling all happy?’” he said, imitating the confusion.

  Mia rolled her eyes, but Allie laughed along with Luke.

  He turned around and leaned up against the counter and studied the two beautiful women in front of him. These two women may have looked like complete opposites, and in many ways they were, but it was the ways they weren’t—their vulnerable hearts, their passion for sex—that had drawn Luke to them. Allie had been the first woman who had surpassed Mia in that regard—hell, in every regard.

  He needed to get his mind off of this or he’d be in one hell of a mood. Looking at anything but them, his eye caught a small pink pile of fabric off in the corner. “What the heck?” Luke exclaimed. He stood up and walked over to what he saw and be damned, it was what he thought.

  “What is it, Luke?” Mia asked.

  Bending down, he picked it up and held it in the air for both women to see. “Uh, Mia, want to explain these?”

  Her already huge eyes got even bigger in shock as they took in the pink panties he held in the air. They were quite nice. Silky. Allie barely held in her laughter, biting her lip and putting her hand to her mouth. Mia jumped out of her seat and snatched the panties from him. “It’s my house and I can have sex wherever I want!” she said, snatching the panties from him.

  “They have sex everywhere,” Allie added. “One time I caught them in the kitchen!”

  Mia let out an exaggerated gasp. “I thought you were on my side!”

  “I’m on the side of funny,” Allie added with a chuckle.

  “Still the same, huh, Mia?” he asked. Lost panties had been a common occurrence when he’d dated her. They used to have sex all over—whenever/wherever passion called, they pretty much did it.

  “Ow!” he exclaimed as Mia elbowed him in the stomach.