Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
She threaded her fingers through my hair. “Well, now you know my little secret.”
I buried my head in the crook of her neck, taking in a long, slow breath. Knowing this woman was pregnant with my baby made me absolutely feral for her.
I tugged at her shirt. “Can you take this off? I want to see you.”
She slipped the shirt over her head. Tossing it aside, she unsnapped her bra, displaying her gorgeous breasts. Her nipples were three shades darker than the last time I’d seen them.
I ran my tongue over my bottom lip. “These nipples…”
“I know. They’re huge and darker.”
“I love it.” I circled my fingers over one of them before tracing the line on the skin of her stomach. “Look at you with this baby inside of you. I’ve never seen you so beautiful, and I still can’t believe this is real. I’ll never deserve this.” I ran my tongue along her nipple, then kissed down to her stomach. “This is why I needed to leave the tour. Look at everything I was missing.”
“Well, now you don’t have to leave.” She massaged my scalp.
I looked up at her. “What changed? I know it wasn’t just the chemicals in the salon…”
Nicole sat up on her elbows. “I’m fortunate that I have a job I can always go back to, clients who have stuck with me through the years. It hit me that I’ll never get this time with you again. I have no way of knowing whether this is the only pregnancy I’ll have. We’re not guaranteed anything in life. I just felt like I needed to come. Wanted to. And that means putting aside my fears about tour life.” She grinned. “I never imagined you were on your way to me.”
I rested my head on her chest and placed my hand on her stomach.
“Oh my God.” She jumped.
“What?” I lifted my head, afraid I’d hurt her.
“I think I felt our baby move.”
“Really?”
“It’s too early for you to see it move, I think. But I definitely felt something.”
“Our kid is happy we’re finally together, maybe?”
She giggled. “He just did it again. Your baby likes to kick.”
I rubbed my hand over her skin. “Maybe he’s drumming…”
CHAPTER 35
NICOLE
A couple of days later, when everyone went down to the arena for a sound check before the show, I let Atticus know I’d be heading back to the bus to take a nap. Being pregnant made me tired.
The bus was empty when I got there. It was probably the only time I’d ever been on it all by myself. I was just about to get under the covers in the back bedroom when I realized the door was still open a crack. But after I got up to lock it, I heard voices.
There was a peephole on the bedroom door, which I’d always found odd, but it was very convenient at the moment. I peeked through, and my pulse calmed when I realized it was Ronan.
His back was to me. “I only have a few minutes,” he said to someone—I couldn’t see who. “I told them I needed a break and I’d be right back.”
“You lied and came to find me? Sounds pretty desperate,” a female voice replied.
“I am desperate for you. You’re right.”
Then came the sound of lips smacking.
“Are you sure no one is coming back here?” she asked.
“Everyone is down at the sound check,” he said. “The coast is clear.”
Great. He’d brought a groupie here with him? I’d been lucky enough to make it through the tour thus far without walking into anything of that sort. Oh well. It was good while it lasted. I was just about to give them privacy and go to bed when Ronan shifted, allowing me a clear view of who he was talking to.
It was no groupie. It was Kenzie.
Kenzie.
“This is still risky,” she said.
He wrapped his arms around her. “I know. But I miss you, and I don’t have a lot of opportunities to be with you alone.”
Then they were kissing.
Holy shit.
Kenzie and Ronan.
Atticus’s niece and Ronan.
How long has this been going on?
She sighed. “It’s really frustrating that we have to hide like this.”
“I told you, I’m perfectly happy to tell him and deal with the aftermath,” Ronan said.
“And have him beat the crap out of you while you’re on tour? We can’t let that happen. It has to be after everything is over.”
My mouth dropped open.
“This is ridiculous,” he said. “We’re both fucking adults. We shouldn’t have to sneak around.”
“I know. But he doesn’t see me that way because I’m like his kid.”
“He’s got enough kids at the moment.”
She gasped. “That was bad.”
“I know. Look, I love the guy like a brother. And I’m scared shitless of him finding out, too. But I love you more, and I don’t want to have to hide it.”