“I told you that this was going to be messy,” he said defensively. “When I drink, I don’t think clearly, Brooklyn. When I drink, I’m not thinking about anyone or anything else other than how much I want to drink. If you can’t handle that, you need to let me know right now.”
“Right now? You told me about this about twelve hours ago. Don’t I at least get a day to process what this means for us?” I was no longer bothering to hide my annoyance. “You’ve had ten years to come to terms with your addiction, Wy. Give me a few more hours.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He sighed and sank onto the edge of the bed. “Come here.” When I hesitated, he added, “We need to have a conversation about this, Brooklyn. Please come sit next to me.”
I did as he asked, keeping some space between us. It was easier to focus when he wasn’t touching me. “I don’t know how this is supposed to work. Am I allowed to ask you if you’ve been drinking? Am I allowed to ask you why you were on the phone with your sponsor for an hour last night when we were supposed to be together? Or am I just expected to pretend that part of your life doesn’t exist and just smile for the cameras?”
“You can ask me anything you want, Brooklyn. I just can’t guarantee I’ll always want to answer your question.” He looked down at his hands which he had folded together. “I’ve never told anyone but Neil the full extent of my addiction, until you. I still don’t really know how to talk about it. It’s not exactly something I’m proud to discuss with you.”
“I don’t want you to be ashamed of this, Wy.” I broke my own rule and put my hand on his arm. “You might not be proud of it, but I am proud of you. I know it had to be incredibly hard for you to admit you needed help and I’m sure it was even harder to tell me everything.”
“When you look at me, I don’t want my addiction to be the first thing you see. I don’t want you to feel like you have to ask me every day if I’ve had a drink or not.” He looked over. “This is my addiction, Brooklyn. It shouldn’t be yours.”
“It’s not. You are my addiction.” I ran my hand down his arm until I could take his hand. “I know that you won’t always want to talk to me about it. I get it. Neil will always understand your addiction better than I will. I just want you to know that you can talk to me. You don’t have to keep everything bottled inside just because you think you need to be a certain kind of man for me. I already love the man that you are right now.”
Wyatt had kept his head down, his eyes focused on his feet. I had no idea that he was crying until I saw his shoulders heave. I moved closer and put my arm around him. I expected him to pull away, but he did the opposite. Wyatt turned into me and I put my other arm around him, holding him against my chest. Something inside him had broken and I had no idea how to put him back together. I did the only thing I knew how to do – I held him. We stayed that way a long time, even after Wyatt had stopped crying. It seemed like he was afraid to move, maybe because he didn’t want to face me after being so vulnerable.
Then he said, “I love you, Brooklyn.”
“I love you, too, darling.” I loosened my grip as he pulled back.
His shoulders heaved again, this time from a heavy sigh. He put an arm around my shoulders and hugged me. “Thank you. I needed to let that out.”
“Thank you for letting me help you,” I said and I kissed him purposefully to let him know that I wasn’t any less attracted to him just because he had cried in front of me. “It feels nice to return the favor after all the wonderful things you’ve done for me.”
“You’re still thinking about that thing I did last night, aren’t you?” he joked.
“You know it.” I bit my lip suggestively. “We’ve still got this room for a few more hours if you want give me something else to remember.”
Wyatt smiled. “Can I take a raincheck? I asked Neil to meet up with me in a bit.”
“It’s a good thing I know I’m cuter than Neil or I’d be very jealous of him.” I winced. “I need to go talk to Trish anyway.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” he asked. “I’m the one she should be pissed at, not you.”
“No. You take care of yourself. I’ll be fine.” I gave him a reassuring smile.
“Alright. I’m going to take a quick shower and then I’ll drive you home.” He kissed my forehead in the tender way that only a lover can do.
While Wyatt showered, I found my coffee and took it out to the balcony. There was a comfortable large chair in the corner and I settled in just in time to catch the beautiful fall sunrise. It was chillier than it had been recently and I was glad I’d packed a sweater and boots. Wyatt stepped outside about fifteen minutes later and he looked stunning in his stylish jeans and gray sweater that matched his eyes perfectly.
“Here.” He plucked away my mug of cold coffee and handed me another one. “I called down and had them bring up fresh coffee.”
I stood and gestured for him to sit. Once he was seated, he pulled me into his lap. “I never saw sunrises like this in New York,” I said, sipping the coffee and handing it to him.
“You should see the sunrises in Hawaii.” He took a long sip from the mug. “You know, if you agree to go on tour with me, we’d see sunrises all over the world.”
“I’m still considering it,” I said. “I honestly don’t know if I could handle living in a fishbowl all the time.”
“We could get you a hat,” he joked.
I ran my fingers through his damp hair. “I wouldn’t want to steal your look.”
“I have a feeling you’d pull it off way better than I do.”
“You know, if I did agree to go on the road with you, you’d have to turn down all the groupies,” I said, trying to sound playful.
“I can live with that.” His hand was slowly massaging my thigh. “Does this mean you’re honestly thinking you might say yes?”
“It means I honestly don’t think I can be away from you for that long. Just being away from you for a few hours feels like torture.”
He nodded. “I know the feeling, love. But speaking of parting ways, I really do need to get going.”
“I can take a hint.” I jumped to my feet. “Let’s go, Hudson. Move that cute butt of yours.”
It didn’t us long to gather the few things we’d brought with us. Wyatt handled our checkout and then drove me home. It was still early, but I had him drop me off a couple houses away. He backed the car around and headed in the other direction while I continued on toward the house. I was almost to the driveway when I noticed the man holding the camera.
“Brooklyn Monroe?” He looked thrilled to see me as he aimed the camera at me. “Where’s Ryder Strong? Is he staying with you and your son? How long was he planning to keep this secret?”
“Who are you?” I demanded.
“What’s your son’s name?” he asked without answering me.
I knew I should just ignore him. It was the smart thing to do. Engaging with him would only encourage him. But he had caught me off guard and I felt the need to defend myself. “I don’t have a son. I don’t have any kids.”
“Did Ryder make you sign and NDA? Is that why you won’t admit it’s his child?” The man shoved the camera even closer.
“Go away or I will call the cops.” I turned and stomped up the driveway.
I went into the main house rather than walking around to the carriage house. I wanted to talk to Trisha right away, before someone else told her about the Jaxson rumors. The kids would already be at school and Brian would be working, so that meant I’d only have to face my sister.
“There she is,” Trisha sang out when I entered her living room. “The mother of my child!”
“You heard?” I dropped my bag and flopped onto the couch. “I’m so sorry, Trish. Wyatt is having his agent get the article taken down.”
“It’s a little late for that,” she muttered. “If they had just run the story, it would be a little funny. I hate that they put Jax’s picture out there.”
“I know
. Me too.” I glanced at her. “I just yelled at a camera guy out front.”
Her eyes widened. “Should you have done that? Won’t that just make it worse?”
“I have no idea. My business degree didn’t exactly prepare me for the celebrity life.” I hesitated. “I think I might go with Wyatt when he leaves.”
“Really?”
I nodded. “I have no idea what I’m going to do about the café, but I think I need to be with him right now.”
“You love him, don’t you?” Trisha said, not sounding surprised.
“I do.” I shrugged. “I always have.”
“You deserve to be happy, Brook. If you need help with the café, I can step in. The kids are all in school now, even Jax is in preschool. I’ve got extra time to help out.” She laughed. “It would be nice to have something to use as an excuse to avoid the parent sign-up lists at school.”
“Really?” I asked. “You don’t have to offer if you don’t really want to do it. I could guilt Tyra and Zack into taking on more responsibility.”
Trisha shook her head. “Let me do it. It was our parents’ café and it isn’t right for you to carry that burden alone. Plus, I used to help out there all the time so I know the ropes.”
“Thank you, Trish. I owe you a big one.”
“Just remember that when your song takes off and you are rich and famous. I like new cars,” she said with a grin. “Oh, and I’d like to be mentioned by name when you accept your Grammy.”
I laughed. “Deal.”
“Have you told Wyatt yet?” she asked.
“No.” I smiled, thinking about his likely reaction. “I had to make him wait for something, didn’t I?”
“How old fashioned of you,” Trisha said, rolling her eyes. “When are you going to tell him?”
“He’s coming by in a few hours. Or I guess I could just send him a text.” I didn’t know if I was making a big deal over nothing.
“No,” Trisha said firmly. “You need to tell him in person. He’s asking you to go on the road with him, Brook. That’s the equivalent of asking you to move in with him.”
“I didn’t think of it that way.” I frowned. “Maybe I should do something special?”
Trisha nodded. “That’s my girl. Put on some slutty lingerie and really surprise him.”
“Not what I was thinking, sis.” I smiled. “We just did the slutty lingerie thing last night.”
“I don’t think he’s going to be upset if you do it two nights in a row.” Trisha grinned. “Brian wouldn’t mind if I wore it every night.”
“Too much information, Trish.” I groaned. “I think I might try something different.”
“Like what?”
I smiled to myself. “Nope, not telling. Some things just need to be between a woman and her rock star baby daddy.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I left the house a little while later to check in at the café. When I told Tyra that I would be taking some time off, she immediately guessed it was because of Wyatt. She had already seen the pictures on the internet and happily encouraged me to “get mine.”
Having her support was nice. Tyra had worked at the café since I was still in high school. She’d been a few years older and had been close to my parents. She was practically family and I knew she would take good care of the place.
When I got back to the house, more nosy people had gathered with cameras. I spotted them when I was still a few houses away and I froze. I’d already handled my first encounter badly and I didn’t want to be recorded a second time acting like an idiot.
“Hey, aren’t you dating Ryder Strong?”
The question was unwelcome, but the questioner was a pleasant surprise. I turned to the car that had pulled up next to me. “No, I’m dating Wyatt Hudson and we have an adorable son.”
“Are you looking for a getaway car?” Wyatt asked through the open window.
I shook my head. “I’ve got nothing to hide. Do you?”
Wyatt put the car in park and turned off the engine. He got out of the car and joined me on the sidewalk. “We’ll face them together. Strength in numbers.”
“Any tips?” I asked as his arm went around my shoulders.
“Just smile and say hi. They are only looking for a reaction and if you don’t give them one, they’ll eventually go away.”
“It might be a little too late for that,” I admitted sheepishly.
Wyatt smirked. “Yeah, I saw the video. If it helps, you looked really hot yelling at that guy. I was proud to be your baby daddy.”
“Ryder! Brooklyn!”
We’d been spotted. I ducked my head, but Wyatt smiled right at the cameras and waved. “Welcome to Starlight,” he said.
“Ryder, who’s the girl?”
“How old is your son?”
“Are you planning to get married?”
So many questions were asked, all at the same time, that I couldn’t only decipher a few of them. None of them were questions that I wanted to answer. I did as Wyatt had suggested and smiled, but not at the cameras. I smiled at Wyatt and he slid me a wink.
“Excuse us,” Wyatt said, steering me through the crowd. “Hopefully I’ll see you all at one of my concerts.” They all laughed, clearly as charmed by Wyatt as everyone else was.
“Oh, hang on.” I pulled him toward the main house as he was about to lead us around back. “We need to go into Trish’s place first.”
“Must we?” he asked with a wry smile. “What I have in mind would be better without an audience.”
“Would you just trust me for once?” I opened the door and pushed him inside.
The entire family was gathered in the living room. Kelsey yelped when she saw us and ran across the room, throwing her arms around me. “Mom told us. I’m so excited! Will you call us every day?”
Jaxson jumped up on the couch and yelled. “Bon voyage!”
I had no idea who had taught him that phrase, but it was adorable. “Kids, you were supposed to be chill.” My scolding was weak. I was just as excited as each of them.
“But you’re leaving so soon!” Hanna whined. “You’re going to miss my recital.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Wyatt tugged on my arm. “Sorry, everyone. Could you excuse us for a second?” He pulled me out of the room without waiting for an answer. The look he gave me in the hallway was priceless. “Are you going on vacation or something?”
“You haven’t rescinded your offer, have you? Because I’ve already convinced Trish and Tyra to take over the café for me.” I gave him my most innocent expression.
“My offer? To go on tour with me?” He smiled when I nodded. “Are you saying yes?”
“I’m saying yes.” I punched his arm lightly. “Don’t make me regret this, Hudson.”
He swooped me into his arms and swung me in a circle. When he put me back on my feet, he kissed me before I could say anything.
“I promise, you won’t regret it. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you have an amazing time.” He kissed me again. “I’m so happy you’re going with me, love. Everything is so much better when I’m with you.”
“I am pretty amazing,” I agreed, laughing. “I should probably pack. I don’t even know what someone following her boyfriend on tour needs to pack. Do I need my passport?”
“Bring it. I like to have options.” Wyatt gave me yet another kiss. “I can’t believe you agreed to do this.”
“I called your bluff, Hudson,” I teased. “You’re really going to have to get rid of the groupies now.”
Trisha stepped into the hallway. “Sorry to interrupt what I’m sure is very sexy conversation, Wyatt, but my sister is leaving for the foreseeable future and my kids would like to spend a little time with her before she goes.”
“I suppose I can share her for a few hours,” Wyatt said with a sigh. “Just don’t wear her out too much. I’ve got big plans for her later.”
“Come on, Hudson. That’s my little sister you’re talking
about.” Trisha rolled her eyes. “Brook, get your but in here and deal with the kids. I can’t handle their dramatic hysterics.”
Trisha wasn’t kidding. The kids were being even more melodramatic than usual. The twins were mostly just excited about the prospect that I might became famous and that I would buy them gifts. The younger girls were worried that I was never coming back. Jaxson was afraid he wouldn’t get anymore pancakes.
“I promise I’ll bring her back,” Wyatt told Gabbie when she wouldn’t stop crying. “Cross my heart.”
She sniffled and nodded. “Okay.”
When it was time for the younger kids to go to bed, I took them upstairs and tucked them each into bed while saying goodbye. The older girls wouldn’t go to bed for another hour, but I said goodbye to them, too.
“Be good for your mom and dad, okay?” I told them. “Stay away from boys. Get good grades. Be nice to your siblings.”
“Ugh, you’re not dying, Aunt Brook,” Kelsey said. “You’re going on tour with the most famous musician in the world.”
“Yeah, I am.” I gave them each a hug and then let Wyatt steer me away. I’d say goodbye to Trisha and Brian in the morning when the kids would still be asleep.
“You still need to pack,” Wyatt reminded me when I said that I felt guilty for not staying longer with the girls. “The kids are going to be fine.”
“I’m not worried about them,” I said as I opened the door to the carriage house. “Do you realize I’ve seen those kids every day for the last two years?”
Wyatt held the door for me. “That was going to have to change eventually, Brooklyn. Unless you were planning on living with them forever.”
“Stop using logic,” I said, opening my hall closet to pull out my suitcase. “So, where are we actually headed on this tour?”
“Everywhere. We’re heading to Texas first. Then New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, California, Nevada…” Wyatt trailed off. He spotted my guitar and picked it up. “I’d suggest just packing enough for a couple weeks. We can pick you up anything you need on the road.”
“Not all of us are wealthy rock stars, Wy,” I said.
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