by Jenna Jacob
Our bubble of bliss was shattered when a mechanical voice from the bedroom announced, Front door open.
“Shit,” Darren grumbled as he pulled from me.
“Tori?” my dad called, voice sounding far away. “We’re back, baby girl.”
“Shit,” I seconded, lifting my heavy eyelids and sending Darren a disgruntled frown.
“You stay here and recoup.” He grinned.
Sliding out from under me, he gently rolled me onto my back and eased me to where he’d been lying.
“I’ll fix Dustin a snack. Come on down when—”
“When I can walk?” I teased.
“Something like that.” He laughed.
He kissed me quickly, then stood and grabbed a towel from the rack beside the tub. I sighed in appreciation of the view he was giving me. He had such a sexy, tight ass and long, sturdy legs, and the masculine V of his narrow waist and broad shoulders made my pulse start racing all over again. Darren Ash was a work of art in more ways than one… more than a million, and he was in love with me.
My heart fluttered while butterflies dipped and swooped in my belly.
Towel tucked around his waist, Darren strode toward the bedroom. Pausing, he flipped a switch on the wall and soft, soothing music filled the air. I purred and smiled.
“Take your time. You deserve it.” He winked and disappeared into the other room.
In the distance, I heard Dustin calling my name, but for the first time in my life, I didn’t jump up and rush to him. I didn’t even move. Not only did he have his papa to help tend to his needs, but he also had his daddy.
“Mommy’s taking a bath. I’ll be down in a second so we can find some fun things to do,” Darren called to him.
My heart swelled and I closed my eyes, laid my head back, and simply breathed.
God, I could get used to this…way too easily.
The same brain cells that had been put to sleep while Darren drowned me in carnal delight were now awake and churning. As I replayed our earlier argument, my stomach twisted when I realized that nothing had been solved.
“Shit,” I spat softly.
The paparazzi’s incessant stalking, Dustin seeing bimbos flash their tits and maul his daddy, none of it was going to stop. And it certainly wasn’t magically going away. The fact that I was helpless and incapable of protecting or shielding my child from any of it sent a shot of adrenaline spiking.
In the midst of my soaring angst and dread, I suddenly remembered all the tabloids clogging the racks at the grocery store. I couldn’t count the number of times the image gracing the front of them was of a famous celebrity and their child or children. I now understood why the parents were rarely looking at the camera.
Darren’s voice swirled through me. I can’t promise that the paparazzi won’t snap photos of you and Dustin any chance they get. Or that he’s never going to see women throwing themselves at me like he did today. All I can do is promise that when it happens, we’ll sit him down and explain that kind of behavior isn’t okay.
While it wasn’t an ideal solution, it might be the only one available for us now. As Dustin got older and his awareness matured, I knew we’d have to sit him down and have more in-depth conversations to keep him grounded. Coach him and guide him. Basically, what I’d been doing now, when he didn’t understand the world around him.
Hope and determination blossomed, shoving my worries away.
Though I had the sneaking suspicion Darren and I would be spending our alone time playing with the naughty jets, I hated leaving the spa tub. But Dustin’s giggles had piqued my curiosity. I wanted to see what Darren was doing with him.
Dried and dressed, I padded down the stairs and had to slap a hand over my mouth to keep from howling.
Darren was down on all fours. Dustin was on his back, pudgy fingers clutching the back of Darren’s shirt, and kicking his little legs.
“Faster, horsie,” Dustin demanded.
Darren crawled across the carpet before rearing back on his knees, sending Dustin into a fit of giggles.
I eyed Dad, sitting across the room, grinning like a loon. When he noticed me, he chuckled. “They’re playing horsie.”
“I see that.”
Instantly, Darren lifted his head and shot me a crooked grin. “What? You never played horsie as a kid?”
Before I could tell him no, Dad piped up. “We played airplane when Tori was little.”
“What’s airplane?” Darren asked.
“You never played airplane?” I gaped.
“Airplane. Airplane,” Dustin chanted as he climbed off Darren’s back.
“Daddy doesn’t know how to play airplane. Should we show him?”
Dustin nodded emphatically.
I lay on my back, drew my knees to my chest, and flattened my feet. Dustin rushed over and placed his round little tummy on my arches before reaching for my hands. Clasping his wrists, I extended my legs and lifted them into the air. Giggles pealed off his lips as I rocked back and forth, flying him up high.
“Well, I’ll be…” Darren grinned.
When Dustin found out he could go higher due to Darren’s much longer legs, I feared the man might not be able to walk for a week. Not because of our extracurricular activities upstairs but from bench-pressing our son.
The afternoon flew by with a flurry of horsie and airplane rides and blanket tents shrouding the dining room table. I knew I didn’t have to worry about Dustin waking up during the night in a strange house. We‘d worn him out with all the silly fun. And when he tugged the moon book from the backpack I’d brought to the family room, I knew he’d hit his wall.
Before I could curl up with him to read, Darren plucked him off the floor, snuggled him on his lap, and opened the book. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and leaned against the quartz-topped counter, listening and watching. When the story was done, Dustin cupped Darren’s cheeks in his fat little hands and peered up at him.
“I wuv you, Daddy.”
Tears instantly filled my eyes as I watched Darren’s nostrils flare and his jaw clench, not in anger but in a burst of overwhelming pride and emotion.
“I love you, too, little man,” he choked out in a hoarse voice as he bent and pressed a kiss on the top of our son’s dark hair. He glanced up at me, and I quickly swiped a tear of happiness from my cheek. “And you.”
“I love you right back,” I said with a watery smile.
“Hungry,” Dustin groaned.
I glanced at the clock and blinked. It was well after six.
“Me, too.” Darren nodded, patting his stomach.
As if on cue, mine growled and I realized I hadn’t eaten a thing other than a couple of nibbles on a cheeseburger.
“I think we should order some pizza.”
“Pizza?” Dustin’s eyes grew wide and his voice teemed with awe.
Darren shot me a quizzical look. “You don’t usually eat pizza?”
A ghost of a smile spread over my lips and I shook my head. “It’s expensive.”
Sadness filled his face, but he quickly banked it.
“Not tonight. It’s free.” He plucked out his cell phone. “What do you want on yours?”
“Cheese.” Dustin grinned.
“Anything but anchovies.”
“What about Ed? What would he like?”
“To live out my life here surrounded by all this peace and beauty,” Dad replied, wistfully as he descended the stairs.
“Pizza, Papa!” Dustin squealed.
“No way.” Dad grinned as Dustin nodded excitedly.
“Honestly.” I waved my hand. “Order whatever…we’re not picky.”
“All right.” Darren started to press a button on his phone when the doorbell rang.
“Sit tight,” Dad instructed as Darren began lifting Dustin off his lap. “I’ll get it.”
Darren’s parents, Walter and Susan, entered along with a pretty, early-fiftysomething woman with blonde hair cut in a carefree bob, wearing a ba
shful smile. The minute Dad clapped eyes on her, a wolfish smile—one I’d never seen adorn his face—stretched wide.
“Miss Gail, it’s a pleasure seeing you again,” he drawled, taking her hand and pressing a chaste kiss to the top of it. “To what do I owe this honor?”
Holy shit. My dad is flirting? What. The…
“We just stopped by to see if you kids, and of course, Ed, would like to join us for dinner,” Susan announced, darting a covert glance between Dad and Miss Gail.
Eyes nearly bugging out of my head, I turned to find Darren fighting back a laugh as he stood and strode across the room. Dustin was right on his heels.
“Grammy…Grampsy.” My son grinned with glee as he wrapped an arm around each of their legs.
Susan bent and swept him off the floor and wiggled her nose under his chin as she kissed his neck. Dustin giggled wildly and hugged her fiercely.
Wow, after just one afternoon, he’d completely bonded with Darren’s folks.
Happiness and contentment warmed me.
“Aunt Gail,” Darren crooned, wrapping the woman in a hug and kissing her cheek. He released her and held out his hand to me. When I joined him, he slid an arm around my waist. “I know you’ve met Dustin and Ed; now I’d like to introduce you to Tori.”
At the mention of Dad’s name, a blush crawled up her cheeks as we greeted one another.
“We had a nice long visit this afternoon,” Dad preened. “That’s quite an aunt you have here, son.”
“She’s an angel and also my favorite aunt.”
“Hush,” Gail admonished. “I’m your only aunt.”
“That’s why you’re my favorite.”
“So, what do you say?” Walter asked. “You up for dinner?”
Darren glanced over at Dustin. “Can’t tonight. I promised my man pizza. But I haven’t ordered yet. You guys want to join us instead?”
The hope beaming off my dad’s face was all but blinding.
“I think pizza sounds delicious.” Susan arched her brows at Gail.
“Oh, I love pizza,” she replied all too eagerly.
“Pizza it is.” Walter chuckled, clearly on board with Susan’s matchmaking schemes.
Ironically, I was, too, not that I’d seen this kind of light in my dad’s eyes.
“Excellent.” Darren winked at me.
After deciding on a bunch of various toppings, he pressed a button on his cell and drew it to his ear. “Hey, Gary. Yeah, just got here a little while ago. Yes, our tour ended last week and I’m home for some much-needed R and R, but we’re all starving out here.”
“That’s Gary DeLuca. He and Darren went to school together,” Susan whispered to me. “He owns a pizza place in Tulsa.”
“Ah.” I nodded.
“Don’t worry. Darren always gives Gary’s delivery drivers a hefty tip, ensuring they stay tight-lipped when he comes home.”
I cocked my head, wondering how she knew all the attention was a hot button for me.
“Oh, honey, we’ve lived through more shi…” She glanced at Dustin, still in her arms, and cringed. When she nodded toward the couch, I followed her across the room and sat down beside her. “We lived through more stuff than you can imagine. It got so bad once that Walter grabbed his shotgun and blew the tires out of a news van.”
“He shot out the tires?” I asked, choking on a laugh.
“Front and back. Word must have gotten out, because after that, the paparazzi’s pretty much left us alone. They like to push. But once you push back, and you have to push hard, they tend to leave you alone. Remember that, and you’ll do just fine.”
I really liked this woman. She was fiery, a little sneaky, and so down-to-earth. A part of me wished she’d been my mom.
“Gary is putting a rush on our order. Dinner should be here in about thirty minutes.”
“I should set the table,” I said, standing.
“I’ll help. You haven’t had time to take inventory of that huge kitchen yet.”
Susan stood and handed Dustin off to Darren, kissing both their cheeks, then looped her arm in mine as we strolled off.
In the kitchen, Dad twisted off the cap of a beer and handed it to Gail before reaching for his own.
“In a couple of hours, we’ll step out on the back porch and check out the Big Dipper,” he said to Gail with a wink. “Or maybe Perseus and Andromeda.”
“Luckily, there aren’t any sea monsters here,” Gail replied in a soft, flirtatious voice before she turned and sashayed away. Like a lovesick puppy dog, Dad grabbed his beer and took off after her.
I simply stood there shaking my head.
“Must be something in the water.” Susan smirked.
“Or the beer.” I laughed.
She sobered and dragged a strand of hair behind my ear, just like Darren always did. “I see why my son is head over heels in love with you. You’re damn good for him, Tori. He’s needed you for a very long time.”
I peered out into the family room, watching Walter, Darren, and Dustin sitting on the couch, father and son, and father and son, and smiled.
“I’ve needed him for just as long.”
Chapter Thirteen
Darren
After taking advantage of some precious time alone while Ed and Dustin were sleeping down the hall, and damn near busting the box springs on the bed—like we’d done every night for the past three weeks—Tori and I sat snuggled under a blanket on the deck off the master bedroom, staring at the stars.
The feel of her warm body wrapped in my arms with her head resting on my chest brought me a wealth of peace.
The trauma of all the media attention I’d put her through had long since bled from her system. Tori was finally at ease with me, my folks, and the lazy routine of the Oklahoma prairie. But what thrilled me most was discovering all the shimmering facets…the parts of her I’d never had the chance to learn until now.
She was quick to laugh or let her sassy tongue fly, but most of all, Tori was oh so easy to love. That crazy connection that had locked us together so long ago was growing deeper, stronger…indestructible.
“I can hear the wheels in your brain turning, Darren. What’s wrong?”
“Wrong? Not a damn thing. I’m sitting here all toasty warm and sated, holding the woman of my dreams in my arms. My life is damn near perfect.”
“Mine is, too, thanks to you.”
I wanted to remind her that I was the one who’d shown up on her doorstep and destroyed her happy, anonymous life. I knew she wasn’t talking about the bullshit that drove us here, but about us, and it made me fucking deliriously happy. I wanted to howl at the moon.
“Are you saying you don’t mind being with me twenty-four seven for another five long months, instead of two?”
She cocked her head and pursed her lips, pretending to ponder my question. Then a grin speared her lips. “I think if Quinn hadn’t agreed to push the next tour back and shorten the rest to six months instead of nine, I would have flown to Chicago to have a come-to-jesus meeting with him.”
I tossed my head back and laughed. “I’d pay to see that. You haven’t met Quinn yet, beautiful. He can be very…persuasive. Ask Sofia and Burk.”
“I will when I meet them.”
“Oh, you will. When I talked to Burk the other day, he told me they were closing down the house in Maui and packing up to head to the mainland again.”
“I bet it’s gorgeous there,” she said wistfully.
“I can call him and tell him to leave the place open. We can throw some clothes in a suitcase, hop a private jet, and be there in the morning if you want.”
“Just like that?”
Her stunned expression made me grin. “Yeah, baby…just like that.”
Tori remained silent as she skimmed a gaze over the honey-colored fields, illuminated beneath the full moon.
“I think I’d rather stay here. It’s…peaceful.”
“Don’t get too comfortable here,” I warned.
He
r body tensed as she looked up at me. The apprehension lining her face disturbed me. “Why? Are we going somewhere?”
“Unless you like sleet, ice, and snow, yeah. Winter will be here before you know it.”
“Where do you go?”
“We will head down to my place in Florida if you want.”
Tori’s body softened, confirming my fears.
“What about Christmas? Don’t you spend it with your folks?”
“Always. They’ll fly down before Thanksgiving and stay until after the New Year. I have a sneaking suspicion Aunt Gail will be joining us this year.”
A soft chuckle bubbled from the back of her throat. “I hope she does. I’ve never seen Dad this happy before.”
“It warms my heart to see Aunt Gail smile again. When Uncle Frank died, a part of her died, too.”
“What happened?”
“About ten years ago, a drunk driver hit and killed him when he was driving home from work one day.”
“Oh, no. I’m so sorry.”
“It was horrible. I was in New Jersey with the band. We were only a month into our very first tour when Dad called. Quinn rearranged a couple of our concerts and I flew home.” I hugged Tori tighter, pushing down the morose thought of ever losing her. “Anyway, Ed’s put a light back in her eyes. I’m forever grateful to him.”
“Is there room for all of us at your place in Florida?” She murmured something under her breath and shook her head. “That was a stupid question. Of course there is.”
I laughed. “Yeah, beautiful. There’s more than enough room. Though you and I will definitely be bunking together.”
“Good.” She snuggled in closer as silent laughter shook her body.
“What?”
“I was just thinking about when Dad caught me sneaking out of your bedroom that morning…what was it, the third day or something?”
“Second or third, yeah.” I grinned at the memory.
She’d tiptoed out of my room as the sun started to rise, and I heard her gasp. Unsure what the hell was happening, I’d jumped out of bed as naked as the day I’d been born to find Ed—brows arched and taking in the sight of his baby girl dressed in one of my concert tees—taking the walk of shame. He’d flashed her a knowing grin, then told her to go back to my room…that Dustin needed to know his parents were together, not sleeping in separate beds. I couldn’t move Tori into my room fast enough.