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)
“Nickel!” my son shouted at Nicole.
Christian used to mispronounce Nicole’s name like the coin, and now he did it on purpose to be funny because we’d corrected him so much.
She kissed him on the cheek. “Penny! I’m so excited you’re here.”
Nickel and penny. Even if it seemed dumb, he got a kick out of it. It didn’t take much to amuse my sweet kid.
“Who else are we waiting on?” Emily asked as she arranged some fruit.
Nicole poured Sprite into the punch bowl. “My mom is in town. She’s coming in a few and then Tina and the boys. That’s it.”
“I’d better go start the grill now,” I said. “By the time the rest of them get here, we can start eating.” I put my son down. “Actually, I want to show my little guy something first. I have a surprise for you, Bubba.”
He looked up at me and smiled. “A surprise?”
“Yup. Come on. Let’s go.”
Almost everyone followed us to Christian’s room to see his reaction.
His eyes filled with wonder as he got a look at what I’d done. He squealed. “I love it, Daddy!”
Christian explored his newly decorated bedroom, taking in the life-sized superheroes-in-action poses stuck to his walls. Nicole had found a new Marvel comforter to match. Everyone laughed as Christian ran from wall to wall in excitement. It warmed my heart that my son wasn’t spoiled. He had no idea his father was a millionaire, and he appreciated every little thing anyone gave him, big or small.
Giselle appeared by my side. “Thank you for doing this for him.”
I turned to her. “Thank you for taking such good care of him. I want him to feel comfortable here. I can’t compete with Mommy’s place. It’s not easy for him to be away from you. He misses you so much. Just hoping this takes the edge off a little.”
After the novelty of Christian’s room wore off, everyone dispersed, and I went outside to start grilling the food.
A little while later, Nicole’s mom arrived, along with my sister and nephews.
After two straight hours of grilling, I was the last to enjoy a plate of food. Everyone else had moved on to dessert.
I’d just gotten up to serve myself a piece of the delicious coconut cake Nicole’s mom had made when Tristan clanked a spoon against his beer bottle.
“Could I kindly have everyone’s attention, please?”
About damn time for this announcement he’d been teasing. I put down the knife and opted to cut a slice after Tristan spoke.
He cleared his throat and repeated, “May I have your attention?”
When everything went quiet, he began to speak.
“We’re at the beginning of an exciting year off for Delirious Jones, one that has been hard-earned and a long time coming. Now that our lives look a bit different, we have to prioritize what’s important. This year will go by fast. And when the group reconvenes, things will be different than before. That might mean shorter tours or even no tours, depending on what we collectively decide. For the past several years, we’ve been busting our asses, and we deserve to slow down a bit and enjoy the most important parts of our lives: our families and loved ones.”
He paused. I still had no idea where this was going.
“One of the biggest complications we’ve faced has been the bicoastal nature of our group. While Ronan and I have been firmly based in L.A. when we aren’t touring, Atticus has had to divide his time between L.A. and New York to make things work for his family. He’s recently made the smart move to relocate to New York, which means he’ll have to travel out to L.A. a fair amount for recordings and other band business.” He pointed his thumb over at Ronan. “This guy and I have discussed it, and we feel it will be in the band’s best interest…if we also both relocate to New York.”
I heard a collective series of gasps. One of them probably came from me.
Holy crap. Definitely hadn’t seen this coming.
Tristan smiled. “Emily and I are not only here visiting, we’re house hunting.”
“Are you serious?” I finally managed to say.
He nodded. “Moving our operations to the East Coast will make things easier for everyone.” He turned to Ronan. “I’ll let Ronan speak for himself regarding his plans, though.”
Ronan stood and cleared his throat as Kenzie blew him a kiss. “As you know, Kenzie and I will be taking a trip this year, but what we haven’t told you is that we’ll be traveling around the country in a van—and living in it. My girl has always wanted to experience more of America, and what better way to do that than together? We also plan to film a lot of it, documentary style.” He smiled over at her. “Don’t worry. It’s a damn nice van with many amenities. But after we come back at the end of the year, we, too, will be moving to New York, not only to be closer to Tina and the boys, but to you guys.”