We laughed last night when we thought about how long we’ve “been together” and how long we’ve actually known each other.
We’ve known each other for quite a few years now and we both consider we’ve been together for three months. But we’ve only really been together for less than forty-eight hours.
I guess when you know you’ve found the one you know.
At least that’s the way it works for me. I’m a man who knows what he want and what I want is her and her alone.
We walk along the streets of this quaint little island. It’s picture postcard perfect and I wish there was a way you could bottle up the sea breeze and share it with the world.
But there’s one thing for sure I’m never sharing with the world.
Her.
And our relationship is our relationship.
I give my fans a lot, but my life with Hope is something special…something that’s ours and ours alone.
I bring her hand which I’m holding up to my face and kiss the back of her knuckles.
“Just like the first kiss,” she says.
“Just like the first, and like all the ones to come.”
“I can hardly wait,” she says.
So I kiss her knuckles again before wrapping her up in a hug and then spinning her around right there in the street.
I don’t even need music to dance when it comes to her. There’s music playing in my mind all the time and recently when I see her the music I think of is the best tune ever played.
Wedding bells.
CHAPTER 15
Hope
“Encore! Encore! Encore!”
I stand just off to the side of the stage and still I can feel the electricity of the crowd inside the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
Unbeknownst to me, yesterday Hendrix’s band added one more night to their U.S. tour. Fans loved the idea and tickets sold out in under seven minutes. Talk about having raving fans.
Hendrix told me it was because he wanted me to experience what it was like for me to feel the electricity of a live performance. That and he also mentioned on the drive up that he was hoping some of that music somehow made its way into my belly and gave our baby some musical talents.
I loved the idea and completely loved the show.
I can’t believe this has all happened the way it has. It so perfect…I just wish my parents were here to see it too. Partially I wish that for me of course, but more importantly I wish it for Hendrix. He’s been friends with my dad for so long and I just hate to think things will end this way.
But I guess life isn’t perfect. That’s part of growing up and becoming an adult. Life isn’t just birthday parties and cakes with your friends and field trips to the zoo.
C’est la vie.
Hendrix steps off stage his final song completed and wraps me up in a big hug. He’s sweaty and full of energy, even after performing for well over two hours.
“Incredible,” I say. “Thanks for letting me experience this in this way. I’ll never forget it.”
“You talk about it in the past tense,” he says as he tries to catch his breath. He was dancing and jumping and shaking and just about everything you could imagine for the sold out show. I definitely have even more respect for performers now than before.
“You played your last song?”
“Our last song on the set list, but you know there’s always an encore.” He winks at me and rushes back on stage and the cheers of the crowd intensify.
“Ladies and gentleman, you’re our best fans. You’re the ones who gobbled up tickets for this show in record time because you follow us so closely. We didn’t even announce the sale, but you were there to support us. Thank you.”
The crowd cheers.
“And we’re not exactly from L.A., but we’re from just down in Orange County, but even so and even with the L.A. And Orange County rivalry we consider you our hometown crowd. And just like Dorothy said, ‘There’s no place like home.’”
The crowd cheers again.
“And all these years I’ve been traveling all around the world and coming home to Southern California…or at least I thought it was home. Now I realize it was just a house. And why is that? It’s because it takes love and a family to make a house a home.”
The crowd seems confused.
“And because you’re our best fans and you’ve been following us you know that these last performances I’ve been performing a very special song during our encore performances. A song filled with hope.”
He pauses.
“Well everybody…HOPE HAS ARRIVED!”
He runs over to the side of the stage and takes me by the hand and before I know what’s happening I’m on stage. There are lights coming from everywhere and I can feel the heat on my skin. I can’t even see the crowd the lights are so bright. It’s like I’m in a dream world or something.
“I got you,” he whispers into my ear. “There’s a chair right behind you. I’ll guide you into it, just trust me.”
“Always,” I say.
He helps me into the chair.
“This chair, like my life without you, has been empty. But through the sheer power of love and hope, you’re here now and my life is as full and complete as it’s ever been. Baby, I want you in this chair where you belong. In this throne next to me as my queen. I don’t ever want to miss you again. Don’t ever want to sing encores again without you. I need you by my side for good.”
Suddenly all the lights cut but one. The crowd gives off a loud “Ooooh,” and I look as Hendrix takes a knee.
The entire stadium is quiet except for my gasp as he removes a gigantic engagement ring from a small black box.
He reaches for my finger which is shaking uncontrollably and I feel the tears stream down my cheek.
“Hope. My pride and joy. My everything. Will you marry me?”
I nod. “Yes!” I say and the crowd goes absolutely bonkers.
I feel the spotlight on me and the ring slide on my finger. I’m completely blinded by the light except for one thing.
Him.
I can just see him down there on his knee smiling up at me and I feel like I’ve never felt before. I feel like the luckiest girl to ever walk the face of the earth.
He stands up and carefully lifts me from the chair giving me a big hug and a kiss and I hear a lot of, “Awwws” from the crowd.
“Hope! Hope! Hope!” the crowd begins chanting.
“You wanna hear the song?” Hendrix yells.
“Yeah!” the crowd yells in return.
He helps me back into my seat and then whispers into my ear, “This is for you. It was always for you.”
He stands and I hear the first note played.
For the next three minutes and fifty five seconds I completely lose track of everything…time, space, balance. It’s like I’m floating on a cloud as he sings to me and I know this is a moment I’ll cherish forever and ever.
When he wraps up the song he kisses me on the back of my hand. “Just like how we always do,” he says.
“Always,” I say.
Then he stands.
“One second everybody!” Hendrix presses on his ear and apparently someone is communicating with him through that tiny earbud he wears.
“Ladies and gentleman I have even more incredible news.” He pauses. “I thought we had one special visitor, and we sure do, but now I found out that we actually have three.”
The spotlight flashes into the front row and I see my parents!
Hendrix runs to the edge of the stage and flies into the crowd and a huge group catches him. I make a note to remind him about maybe not doing that anymore now that he’s going to be a father.
The crowd surfs him over to the spotlight and he gives my dad a big hug.
“I knew you’d come old pal,” he says, not realizing his microphone is on.
The crowd goes nuts again. It’s becoming a common theme tonight.
With the help of security he brings my mom and
dad onstage and we all hug.
“Just like the first show when I left tickets for you at the box office hoping you’d show and you showed,” he says.
“We wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” my dad says. Then he turns and looks at me. “Sorry it took us awhile to come to our senses. And congratulations, sweetheart,” he says.
I hug him tight and soon my mom is back in our hug too. “Congratulations, honey,” she says.
“More! More! More!” the crowd cheers.
“You want more?” Hendrix screams.
“Yeah!” they reply.
“I’m going to be a father!”
“Ohhh!” the crowd cheers.
“One…two…three!” Hendrix says and the band bursts into the next song and my parents and I start dancing on the stage. The lights flash back on and we can barely even see each other and are trying not to trip over the chair but we don’t even care about that right now. We’re sharing the best moment of my life the way it was meant to be shared.
Together.
EPILOGUE
Hope
Two years later
“Dada,” Hannah says as she points out to blue waters of the Pacific Ocean from underneath the little tent we have for the day.
“Yay! Dada. Wave,” I say and take her little hand and wave towards her dad who’s up and riding a wave on this beautiful, sunny morning.
He rides the wave almost into shore and when he jumps down off his board he looks right at us and sees Hannah who’s still waving and waves back.
Then he looks at me and blows me a kiss.
Less than twenty seconds later he’s next to us breathing hard and dripping wet.
“Wet doggie alert,” he says twisting his hips side to side and trying his hardest to flip water everywhere.
Little Hannah holds out her hands trying to catch the droplets as she laughs hysterically and then begins stomping her feet.
“Did you catch some, pumpkin?” he says.
He puts his surfboard in the sand and scoops her up and lifts her onto his shoulders.
“Dada,” she says again.
“She’s got on SPF 50, right?”
“Sixty and it’s waterproof,” I say.
“Perfect. So I can borrow her for about ten minutes while we build a sandcastle?”
“Borrow her? I want in on this fun too,” I say.
I grab her pail and the three of us go to the water’s edge and begin constructing the world’s most lopsided sandcastle. But we don’t care what it looks like. All we care about is that we’re enjoying the day here together.
I almost get emotion when it hits me what’s happened with my life these last couple years.
I’ve traded in the small town for the beaches of California and a life by myself for my bronzed baby’s daddy.
The man who makes love to me each and every night, and lots of afternoons, and plenty of mornings to.
And we don’t just make love, we get hot and heavy plenty too.
And next year we plan on having our second child and then a few years after that Hendrix says the band should be ready to go on tour again and it will be a perfect time to take the kids so they can see and experience the world.
And what an experience he’s given me. The perfect husband. The perfect dad. The perfect life.
And next week Hannah’s grandma and grandpa will be out for a week’s visit so everyone will be here to enjoy this perfect life together.
Just the way it’s meant to be.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
Hendrix
Twenty years later
“A one. A two. A one two three!”
My eighteen-year-old son Hunter lays down a riff on his guitar so strong that is sends the crowd into a frenzy.
I look at him and smile.
And then I look to just off the side of the stage at Hope and Hannah.
I belt out the lyrics to the song without so much as a thought. They come naturally to me now.
Our band still rocks out hard but the critics say we’ve matured. I’d sure hope so after all these years. I mean I still feel like a kid, thanks to my family, but we sure do have some new songs in the lineup that reflect family life.
And why not?
Our audience has been with us from the beginning and they’ve matured right along with us. It’s the perfect fit.
Just like our family. One boy and one girl…and of course Hope, the engine who makes us all go.
I’ve got my wild schedule and she’s the one who often is shuttling the kids around everywhere all day long and still manages to put a hot meal on the table every night. I try and take us out to restaurants or order in to make life easier on her, but she insists that she loves cooking for our family.
And who am I to complain? Her food is delicious.
And after all these years she’s delicious. I still can’t keep my mouth off those lips of hers, or that beautiful body.
Her body’s only gotten more beautiful over the years. There’s just something about knowing that she had our two kids in there that really drives me wild. The fact that her body gave life to our two prides and joys.
And tonight when the kids go out and explore the city from this stop on our concert tour, I’ll explore her again and again and again just how I like.
No matter how much time I get with her, whether alone or with our family, it’s never enough.
When I made her mine forever I meant forever.
And that’s exactly how long I’m going to keep loving her.
Forever and always…I’m always hers.
A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS
Book 1: Baby Lust
Book 2: Veteran
Book 3: Built
Book 4: Bambino
Book 5: Rescued
Book 6: Leader
Book 7: Professor
Book 8: Burned
Book 9: Worldly
Book 10: Pistol
Book 11: Policed
Book 12: Driven
Book 13: Lucky 13
Book 14: Lumberjacked
Book 15: Protector
Book 16: Carpenter
Book 17: Italian Stallion
Book 18: Gardener
Book 19: Budapest Billionaire’s Virgin
Book 20: Billionaire’s Babysitter
Book 21: Cocky CFO
Book 22: Fireman’s Filthy 4th
Book 23: Mechanic
Book 24: SEAL’s Secret
Book 25: Police, Pooch, and Smooch
Book 26: Fireman’s Fake Fiancée
Book 27: Billionaire’s Virgin Ballerina
Book 28: Bitcoin Billionaire’s Babysitter
Book 29: Veterans Day Daddy
Book 30: Cowboy’s Christmas Carol
Book 31: Police Officer’s Princess
Book 32: Statham
Book 33: Bodyguard
Book 34: Greek God
Book 35: Billionaire Single Dad's Babysitter
Book 36: Mountain Man
Book 37: SEAL’s Justice
Book 38: Royal Romance
Book 39: Doctor Mountain Man’s Special Delivery
Book 40: Crocodile Dan D
Book 41: Mountain Man’s Secret Baby
Book 42: Doctor Bad Boy’s Secret Baby
Book 43: Cop’s Babysitter
Book 44: Nanny for the Cop Next Door
Book 45: Small Town SEAL’s Saving Grace
Book 46: Cop’s Fake Fiancée
Book 47: Billionaire’s Nanny
Book 48: Cowboy’s Babysitter
Book 49: Steamy
Book 50: Brother’s Best Friend
Book 51: Possessive Professor
Book 52: Firefighter’s Babysitter
Book 53: Soldier’s Secret Baby
Book 54: Ward’s Independence Day
Book 55: Doctor Next Door
Book 56: Possessive Policeman
Book 57: Coached by the MMA Fighter
Book 58: Boss’s Babysitter
>
Book 59: Virgin in New York
Book 60: Rock Star’s Baby
Rock Star's Baby: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 60) Page 5