The Baby: A Steamy Rock Star Romance (Cruise Control Book 3)

by Sian Ceinwen

  “But your family and your friends and your life are here.”

  Lita shrugged. “It’s not forever, and it’s not like I can’t come back here and visit. A huge part of my life is my job, and, well, it’s not like that’s an issue at the moment. I just want some stability in all of this. We’ve already had two doctors for this pregnancy, and I want to know the doctor who is going to keep Mirabella safe.”

  They’d already packed for the trip to Chicago, but Lita was sure that she had to pack a whole lot more now that they would be staying possibly until the end of her pregnancy. She didn’t have many clothes that fit her anymore, though. The few pregnancy clothes that she had bought were now starting to get too tight around her bump.

  “You could buy some more maternity clothes in Chicago,” Sebastian suggested.

  “Makes sense. It’s not like I have time to go clothes shopping today anyway. I suppose I should let my family know, though,” Lita said with a heavy sigh.

  “Do you want me to talk to them with you, or do you want to do it on your own?”

  “Can you …” Lita trailed off, swallowed heavily, and started again. “Can you just be with me while I’m telling them?”

  Sebastian nodded, then walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. She felt his warmth behind her and reveled in the safe and secure feeling that she had.

  “I wish nothing was wrong with her,” Lita whispered.

  “I know, princess.”

  They stood there for a while before Lita moved over to sit on the sofa. Sebastian sat down next to her, then put his arm around her and pulled her in to him as she dialed her parents’ house.

  “Good afternoon, bella,” Lita’s mom’s voice greeted her. She sounded tense and worried.

  They had told their families and friends last week after they’d gotten the news at their appointment about the tumor’s growth. Something about other people knowing made it all the more real for Lita. Sebastian had carried the burden of most of the phone calls for her.

  “Hey, Mamma.”

  Lita wanted to tell her the news but felt herself shutting down. Moving to Chicago had seemed like a good idea when she’d thought of it, but now she had to tell her parents, it felt like another thing that just made everything more real.

  “How did your appointment go today?” her mom asked.

  She opened her mouth to speak and took a deep breath. Lita rocked back and forth a little as her feelings took her over. Sebastian stroked her arm, and the silence felt too vast; the fear that she constantly had to keep at bay about Mirabella’s safety threatened to overcome her.

  “We have to see a surgeon,” Lita choked out. Saying it was enough to force her to give way to her tears.

  “Oh, bella,” her mom said softly. “She’ll be okay.”

  Lita wanted to believe that was true, but she couldn’t believe it wholeheartedly because a huge part of her was just so terrified that she would never get to hold her baby in her arms.

  “She will be, princess,” Sebastian whispered. Then he said to her mom, “We’re going to be staying in Chicago for the rest of the pregnancy.”

  “Oh no, why?”

  “Lita needs frequent appointments, so we were going to have to relocate somewhere. I have a place in Chicago, and the surgery can be performed there if it’s needed.”

  There was silence for a moment, then her mom replied, “That makes sense. I’m so sorry; I wish I could make this better for you, bella.”

  “I know,” Lita choked out.

  Their call finished shortly after that, and her mom promised to let the rest of her family know so that they would be spared the task. Mirabella was moving around in her stomach, and they sat there quietly. Sebastian had his hand on her belly and a smile on his face as she moved.

  Lita felt the unfairness of everything hit her, that they couldn’t just be happy about having a baby on the way. She realized again that tears were streaming down her face without her knowing it. Sebastian turned her face up to his and kissed her softly as she continued to cry.

  29

  LEVEL 23.4 – A Balloon Says A Thousand Words

  Do you remember what it was like to not be puffed up like a balloon? Some puffiness in your ankles and feet is totally normal in pregnancy. This is usually soothed by keeping your feet up, going for walks, and drinking lots of water. If you get extreme swelling, it can be a sign of pre-eclampsia, and you should call your doctor.

  They took a private plane to Chicago and landed early in the evening. As they were getting into the big, black SUV that Daryl would be using to drive them to Sebastian’s apartment, Lita sent a text to Heather.

  We’re on our way.

  It had been a long time since the wedding, so it would be good to get to hang out with the band ahead of the extravaganza that would be his birthday party on Saturday.

  We’re here. We’ll see you guys soon. Can’t wait to see you.

  Lita smiled at Heather’s message as she slid into the SUV and started buckling her seat belt while Sebastian got in next to her.

  “What’s that smile for?” he asked.

  “Oh, I was just letting Heather know that we’re in Chicago.”

  “I hope you let her know I’m pissed that she’s not hanging out with us tonight.”

  “Yes, I let your lover know exactly that,” Lita grinned at him.

  Sebastian pulled out his phone to text Hayden and let him know that they were on their way, completely unaware that Hayden probably already knew since Lita had told Heather. She was so worried that he would be angry at her, and her nerves doubled as they pulled into the garage underneath his apartment building. He pulled out his phone, and Lita saw a text from Hayden on it.

  “Awesome, Hayden says he’ll see us soon.”

  Lita had told hold back laughter, because ‘soon’ would literally be the length of the elevator ride upstairs. Sebastian must have told Hayden that they were at the apartment because when the elevator doors opened, everyone was standing in front of it and yelled ‘surprise’ at him.

  “Oh my god, what?” Sebastian looked shocked.

  “I never thought we’d pull it off!” Heather announced, coming over to give him a hug. “Happy birthday, darling.”

  He accepted her hug, still looking surprised. “Uh, thanks. I thought you had a dinner to go to with your parents?”

  “Did I say it was with my parents? My bad, I meant with you and Lita,” she laughed.

  Sebastian narrowed his eyes at Lita. “Did you know about this?”

  “Maybe…” She cringed, waiting for him to get angry.

  Sebastian grinned. “Sneaky, princess.”

  The rest of the band greeted him, and he exchanged hugs with everyone. They continued into the apartment, and Sebastian stopped dead as he walked into the room.

  “What the fuck?”

  Lita looked around him and burst into laughter, along with the group behind her. There must have been thousands of balloons in the room. All of them with a picture of Sebastian’s face on it with the message, ‘Happy 30th Birthday, Sebastian!’ written underneath.

  “Are you shitting me?” Sebastian groaned and then turned around to look at them. “This has to have been done by Heather.”

  “Guilty as charged!” she announced as she snapped a picture of his face with the room behind him in it. “I’m posting this to Instagram.”

  “You’re lucky I love you, Heather Fletcher; fuck knows why I do.” He shook his head and laughed.

  They waded through piles of balloons to the dining table where Lita could see it was set out with dishes and dishes of Italian food.

  “Is this from Giovanni’s?” Sebastian asked.

  “Yes, it is,” Harrison told him. “We picked it up on our way here.”

  “Osso bucco!” Sebastian exclaimed.

  “Forgive me now?” Heather asked as she took a seat at the table.

  “Yes, lover, all is forgiven.” Sebastian grinned at her as he took a seat, and Lita sat dow
n next to him.

  “What a relief. I was worried for a second,” Heather said in a dry tone.

  “Are you sure you two have never screwed?” Blake asked. “Because I’m definitely getting the vibe that you two have had sex.”

  Lita wondered what the hell Hayden, who was one of the sweetest people she’d ever met, could see in this man. He was awful.

  Harrison was the one who responded before either Sebastian or Heather got a chance to. “Is it any of your business if they have or they haven’t?”

  “I’m just curious.” Blake shrugged.

  “Since you’re not sleeping with either of us, it doesn’t really matter, does it?” Heather asked haughtily.

  “I’m not hearing a ‘no’ from you, Heather,” Blake said with a smug grin on his face.

  “Blake,” Hayden said in a warning tone.

  Blake held his hands up. “Okay, clearly it’s a touchy subject, but everyone’s heard the rumors about you two.”

  “If you can’t tell the difference between truth and rumors, that’s on you.” Gabriel shrugged.

  “How about we just eat this food before it goes cold, instead of talking about the millions of times Sebastian and I have fucked?” Heather rolled her eyes.

  They began eating, and the food was just as amazing as it had been the night that she met Sebastian. Lita was thrilled to get a chance to taste more than just one dish this time.

  “I did promise that I would take you back to Giovanni’s,” Sebastian told her. “We’ll have plenty of time to go, now that we’re living here.”

  “I’m glad you guys are here now, but I’m sorry you had to move cities, Lita,” Ariana said with a kind smile.

  “Yeah, it sucks a bit,” Lita replied. “I love my new apartment in Seattle, but it’s more important that we’re somewhere comfortable, and I really want to know the doctor who might have to perform the surgery.”

  Lita felt herself starting to get upset; she took a deep breath as Sebastian leaned over and gave her a hug. She smiled at him and started piling some of the delicious food in front of her onto her plate.

  “That makes sense. I’d want to know my doctor too,” Ariana told her.

  “It’s not the same thing, but my sister, Vanessa, had to have my niece early because her blood pressure was too high. It was really stressful, but she’s doing fine now,” Hayden said.

  “I’m glad to hear that,” Lita said with a smile at him. “Anyway, it’s Sebastian’s birthday; we should be celebrating.”

  “Oh, you should see the birthday present that Lita made for me,” Sebastian said with a huge grin. “It’s totally epic.”

  “What is it?” Harrison asked.

  “You’ll see,” Sebastian replied with a smirk on his face.

  “Basically, ‘I know something you don’t know,’ Sebastian?” Harrison raised an eyebrow. “It’s good to have you back.”

  “I’m glad you can acknowledge how important my presence in the city of Chicago is to you,” Sebastian told him, and everyone laughed.

  “It’s vitally important. You practically keep the entire city running,” Harrison smiled.

  After they finished eating, Sebastian led everyone into his office and switched on his computer. They crowded around the screen, and Lita set the video game running. Sebastian showed them the program first.

  “Lita, this is amazing,” Heather breathed as Sebastian was running through the tutorial.

  Lita blushed and said, “Thank you.”

  “It really is,” Gabriel agreed. “I can’t believe you made this.”

  “It’s basically what I do.” Lita shrugged, feeling uncomfortable with all the compliments being thrown her way.

  By the time that Sebastian finished the game, everyone cheered, then Gabriel took a turn. He chose different options to the ones Sebastian chose, and the game was slightly different.

  When Gabriel finished, Lita couldn’t resist asking, “Do you want a turn, Hayden?”

  “Sure,” he grinned and sat down in front of the computer.

  When Hayden reached the point in the game that the cartoon Sebastian visited his apartment, Sebastian said to him, “When you’ve finished this game, we should go play pool so that I can kick your ass in real life as well.”

  “Sounds like fun, Seb.” Hayden turned to look at him with a grin.

  “Oh, Hayden,” Lita said casually. “Did you know that you can look out the window?”

  “Really?” he asked and directed the character on the screen over to the window.

  Hayden was asked whether or not he wanted to look at the view, and Lita was highly amused when he did. The screen zoomed in to a first-person view, and Hayden directed the camera around to look at the city of Chicago, with Lake Michigan in the background.

  “Very cool, Lita,” Harrison said.

  “Thanks.” She smiled and tried not to laugh as Hayden began the pool game in the game.

  “What the hell?” Sebastian asked as his character took the first shot of the game and completely missed hitting anything before the white ball flew off the pool table entirely. “That didn’t happen before.”

  “Didn’t it?” Lita asked with an innocent smile as the cartoon Hayden sunk three balls in a row.

  It didn’t take long for everyone else to realize what was happening as the Sebastian on the screen took a series of terrible turns in comparison to Hayden’s constant sinking of balls with ease.

  “This is brilliant,” Hayden told Lita while laughing so hard that he had tears coming from his eyes.

  “It’s very satisfying to see Sebastian having his ass kicked,” Blake commented with a smirk on his face.

  “Traitor,” Sebastian told Lita and narrowed his eyes at her.

  Lita blew him a kiss. “I’m just trying to make sure your ego isn’t too over-inflated.”

  “It’s a bit late for that,” Heather told her while laughing.

  Everyone cheered when Hayden won the game on the screen. Sebastian walked over to Lita and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

  He leaned his head down to her ear and whispered, “You’re lucky I love you, princess.”

  “You’re not supposed to be saying shit like that,” Lita said quietly in return.

  “It’s my birthday. Surely I can tell you I love you on my birthday?”

  Lita sighed as she watched Hayden guide the on-screen Sebastian over to Gabriel and Ariana’s apartment. She felt at peace right now, in Sebastian’s arms, and with their friends around them. Lita was glad that he’d had a good thirtieth birthday and pushed away her concerns about their complicated situation and tomorrow’s appointment with the new doctor when either of them started to encroach on her happiness.

  “Shall we go play pool now?” Sebastian asked as the final song played.

  “Okay, I’ll let you beat me at pool, but only because it’s your birthday, otherwise I’d kick your ass,” Gabriel told him with a grin on his face.

  “Sure, sure,” Sebastian said with a roll of his eyes.

  He took Lita’s hand in his, and they made their way toward the pool table. Sebastian groaned when he saw the balloons again.

  “How the hell am I going to clean this shit up?”

  “Do you regret putting my face on a balloon now, Sebastian?” Heather asked with a wicked grin.

  Sebastian laughed. “Nope, the look on your face was priceless.”

  “So was yours,” she grinned.

  “I have to make a phone call,” Blake said and walked away toward the kitchen.

  They waded through the balloons to the pool table where Sebastian and Gabriel played a game. Lita sat on a stool at the side of the room, and Hayden took a seat next to her, drinking a beer.

  “That video game was amazing,” he told her with a smile. “Was it looking out the window that made me win the pool game?”

  “Yes, it was. Sebastian wins every time unless the player does that first.”

  “Brilliant. Can I have a copy of the game?”


  Lita didn’t know what to say, she’d made the game for Sebastian, and she didn’t know if he’d want to give that away to someone else. She chose her usual route of complete honesty.

  “I don’t know. I made it for Sebastian; I’m not sure if he wants you to have a copy.” Lita cringed and waited for Hayden’s response, worried that she would have offended him.

  He smiled kindly at her. “I get that. I’ll ask Seb instead. Are you looking forward to Saturday?”

  “Yeah, it should be fun. It’s a bummer that I won’t be able to go on any of the rides, though.”

  “True, maybe we can all go back after the baby’s born or something,” Hayden offered.

  Just like that, all of her fears crashed over Lita again in a wave. She couldn’t stop herself from starting to cry.

  “Oh my god, Lita, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I shouldn’t have said it,” Hayden said and cringed.

  “It’s fine; it’s just the hormones and the stress and the worry.”

  Lita started to cry harder, and Sebastian, who was bent over the opposite side of the pool table to take a shot, noticed. He dropped his cue on the table immediately and strode over to Lita, wrapping his arms around her and holding her as she cried.

  Sebastian whispered soothing words to her in a mixture of English and Italian, which made her cry harder. It took her more than five minutes to manage to get herself under control.

  “Are you okay, princess?” Lita nodded. “Do you want me to get you a drink of water?”

  “Yes, please,” she said in a throaty voice.

  He squeezed her tightly, then walked away to get her drink. Nobody said anything, and Lita felt embarrassed as everyone sat in silence. She was struck immediately by the fact that she was sitting with Cruise Control. That she had been having a perfectly lovely conversation with Hayden Vega before she burst into uncontrollable tears.

  “I’m sorry, everyone,” Lita choked out, feeling on the verge of a second round of tears.

  Heather strode over to her and wrapped her arms around her, the way Sebastian had.

  “Don’t apologize, darling. It would be a lot for anyone to cope with. We love you and care about you.”