Insistent

by Kaylee Ryan

  “Damn right, you do.” I lean over her, careful not to crush her, and press my lips to hers. “I love you, too. Now, you get ready for bed. I’ll go grab us some food.” I kiss her one more time and head to the kitchen.

  “Gavin!” she yells. I turn to look at her. “You’re naked,” she says, her cheeks heating as she points to my nakedness that’s now saluting her from our little game.

  “And I expect you to be when I get back. I need you close, nothing between us tonight.” With that, I turn and leave her.

  I make us a couple of lunchmeat sandwiches, grab a bag of chips, and two bottles of water, and head back to the room. Cass is in bed, a sheet pulled up over her naked breasts, and her blonde curls are in a wet knot on top of her head. I set the food in the middle of the bed, then crawl in beside her. I know I’m grinning like a fool, but I couldn’t give a fuck less. I have a lifetime of midnight snacks with her. I didn’t plan to propose this way. I wanted to use the video to make it special for her, but the words presented themselves, and even though I didn’t plan it, I want it more than anything. Want her. I’ll just plan something special when I give Cass her ring. The one that I’m going out tomorrow to purchase. My girl needs a symbol of my love for her. Sooner rather than later.

  I wake to Gavin sitting on the edge of the bed. “Hey,” I say groggily.

  “Hey, beautiful.” He leans in and presses a kiss to my forehead.

  “What time is it?”

  “Just after eight.”

  “Why are you up and dressed?”

  “Kace called early. We’re going to meet with Shattered Heart, and all the wives and kids are going to Stacy’s. She’s pretty shaken about yesterday.”

  “Let me get ready and I’ll go in with you.”

  “Actually, we’re just going to jam with them today, get a feel for their talent and how they vibe with each other. I was going to drop you off at Cole and Stacy’s on my way.”

  “Okay, yeah. I can do that. Are you sure they won’t mind?” I ask.

  He pulls his phone out of his pocket and taps the screen. It’s a text from Logan. I lean in closer to see the screen.

  Logan: Bring Cassidy to us. We are going to rally around Stacy today.

  I smile. “I’ll get ready.” I throw the sheet off me, exposing my naked body to him.

  “I’ll be downstairs.” His eyes roam over me. “I can’t stay here and us not be late.” He smacks my ass as he stands and strolls out the door.

  I jump out of bed and rush to the bathroom. While the shower is heating, I brush my teeth. I have to take another quick one because curly hair is not my friend when I go to bed with it wet and tied in a knot on the top of my head.

  I race through putting product in my hair and pull out my hairdryer and diffuser from under the sink. I get the dampness out of my hair and decide to let it air-dry the rest of the way. After throwing on some shorts, a tank, and flip-flops, I find Gavin in the kitchen.

  “Ready?” he asks, raking his eyes over me.

  “Yep. Maybe we should stop and get breakfast. Some muffins or something?”

  “We can do that,” he says, reaching for my hand. Grabbing my purse and phone from the counter, I take his offered hand and let him lead me out to his truck.

  When we get to Cole and Stacy’s, Gavin carries in the box of muffins, even though I tell him I can get it.

  “I know you can,” he says as we reach the front steps. “I can also do it for you. Get used to it, Cass.” He leans in and presses his lips to mine, and that’s how Lauren finds us with Zach on her hip.

  “Good morning, you two.” She smiles.

  Gavin hands her the muffins that I couldn’t carry and takes Zach from her arms. “Hey, buddy,” he says, offering the baby his finger.

  I watch them, and my heart swells. This incredible man is mine, all mine. I can’t believe this is where we are, from months and months of denying and fighting it, to moving in together, to buying a house, and now getting married. I feel like if I blink, I’ll miss something that’s important.

  I don’t want to blink.

  His pocket vibrates and he groans. “I gotta go, bud, but I’ll be back later to get my girl,” he tells Zach. He turns to me and nods toward the adorable little boy in his arms, and I reach for him. Lauren left us here in the foyer to take the muffins into the kitchen. “We need one of those,” he says, kissing me quickly. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Love you.” He gives my hip a gentle squeeze.

  “Love you, too. Be safe,” I add, because yesterday is still at the forefront of my mind.

  “You know it. We have a wedding to plan,” he says, and there is a loud gasp from behind me. He winks and strolls out the front door.

  I hadn’t decided if I was going to tell them. Not because I thought they wouldn’t be on board, but I wanted it for me, just for a while, and with everything going on with Stacy and Jones, I didn’t want to take away from that. I’m here for her, to support her—not steal the show. Slowly I turn and see Stacy with a huge-ass smile on her face.

  “Did I hear that right?”

  I nod. “I’m sorry. I know you have a lot going on. I was going to wait to say something.”

  “What?” she screeches. “This is awesome. This is exactly what I need. Jones is a bastard, and I know he’s behind bars again, where he belongs. We have to keep living, and this is living at its best. Not to mention that we’ve been rallying for the two of you for months now.” She smirks.

  Zach coos and I look down at him. “You hear that, little man? They were all voting against me,” I coo right back.

  “The opposite,” Stacy says. “We wanted you with him. We’ve seen it. Once we put the idea in our husbands’ heads, they were on board to help us make it happen.” She claps her hands. “Come on, we have to tell the others.” She skips off into the living room, moving much faster than I would have thought for a woman who just gave birth three weeks ago, but you can’t even tell she was pregnant. She’s one of those. So far, so are Lauren and Logan, too. These ladies are like superheroes.

  I follow after her, then settle onto the couch with Zach. Looking over at Stacy, I see she’s practically bouncing in her seat. “Should you be bouncing around like that?” I tease her.

  She sticks her tongue out at me. “Speak,” she orders and laughs. I must hesitate too long for her. “Cassidy has something to tell us.” She grins.

  “Gavin and I are buying the house,” I tell them. I’m sure they already know this, but I’m messing with Stacy.

  “That’s what we heard,” Lauren pipes up. “Did they accept your offer?”

  “They did,” Stacy answers for me. “They move in next week.”

  I gape at her, but then I remember our men chat more than women, and of course they tell their wives. Gavin got the call the day we put our offer in that we could close next week. I guess when you pay cash, that changes the game. You don’t have to wait for inspections or appraisals. Gavin did schedule an inspection though, but informed me and the realtor that regardless of what was discovered, we would still buy the house. I believe his exact words were, “I don’t care if we have to tear the damn thing down, we’re buying it.” What he didn’t say was that he wanted to live there. The house is amazing, but even more important is its location to his family. His band of brothers.

  “And,” Stacy prompts me.

  “Anndd,” I drag out the word. “Oh, yeah, we’re getting married.” I shrug like it’s no big deal. Shrieks surround me, babies startle, and I’m engulfed in hugs. Well, as much as they can with baby Zach in my arms.

  “Congratulations,” Logan says.

  “When did this happen?” Lauren asks.

  “We need details,” Stacy says, finally settling into her seat.

  I smile at my friends. I’ve been so wrapped up in caring for Mom and worrying about letting her down and avoiding Gavin, that I missed the fact that we are indeed friends. I tell them about last night, the shower, all of it. “Life’s short,” I say final
ly.

  “Wow.” Lauren grins. “Gav has good taste.”

  “Yes. Yes, he does,” I agree.

  “So, when is this going down?” Stacy asks.

  “Yeah, what can we do to help?” Logan asks.

  My eyes fill with tears. “I’m not sure, to be honest. I’ve never really thought about it.”

  “Well, let me tell you,” Lauren says, taking a drink of her water bottle before she continues, “these guys, they love hard and fast, and he’s going to want your name changed sooner rather than later.” Stacy and Logan agree with her.

  “I guess I need to talk to Gavin, so we can figure it out.”

  Stacy laughs. “Trust me, he’s going to tell you that he doesn’t care what you want, just that he wants it soon.”

  “That’s basically what we all got,” Stacy says. “You remember that, right? You’ve been there through it all. Now you’re on the receiving end.” She smirks.

  “Well, if you are planning something big, for the sake of full disclosure, I guess I need to tell you I’m pregnant,” Logan blurts.

  This time the congratulations and hugs are hers. I can’t help but feel excitement bubble up inside. That’s going to be me, very soon if Gavin has his way. To be honest, I want it, too. Even though Mom might not know it’s her grandchild, I’d love for her to be around to meet him or her.

  “So, what are you thinking?” Lauren asks.

  “Honestly, I don’t really care, but I would like for my mom to be there. She might not know I’m her daughter, but there is a part of me that hopes deep down she knows.” I stop before I start bawling my eyes out.

  “We’ll make it happen,” Logan assures me. “You think about it, decide for sure what you want, and we’ll make it happen.”

  “Now.” Stacy claps her hands. “Let’s eat those muffins your man brought in this morning.”

  “What?” Lauren laughs. “You’ve been hiding muffins?”

  “Not me.” I point to Stacy. “She needed the latest.” I laugh.

  “Damn right.” Her face grows serious. “Thank you, I needed this today. I need time with my girls.”

  We move to the kitchen and put a dent in the box of muffins. The whole time I’m holding a slumbering baby boy in my arms. I’m excited for this next adventure, and Gavin’s not going to get a fight from me. I’m ready to marry him, to have his babies. Each day we’re reminded that we don’t know how much time we have, so living it is all we can do. I plan to do just that, as Cassidy McIntosh.

  As soon as I dropped Cass off at Cole and Stacy’s, I headed to meet the guys, just not at the studio. Instead, I met them at the jewelers. I need to buy Cass a ring, and my brothers who have been there before offered to come along for the ride when I asked them who they used.

  When I pull into the lot, the three of them are standing out front. “How long have you been waiting?” I ask them.

  “Not long. We rode together. We must have just missed you at the house,” Cole says.

  “You ready for this?” Tristan asks.

  “Yes.”

  “No second thoughts?” Kacen asks.

  “What the…?” I whip my head around to tell him what he can do with his second thoughts to find him laughing. “Nice.” I chuckle.

  “Let’s get your girl a ring,” Cole says, knocking on the door.

  The store doesn’t open until eleven, but one of the guys made a call, and here we are, an hour before opening. We’ll have the place to ourselves. I’m not worried about finding a ring as I’ll know when I see it. At least I hope I will.

  “Gentlemen,” an older man greets us.

  “Thanks for opening up early,” I say, shaking his offered hand. “Gavin,” I add, remembering my manners.

  “The groom I presume.” He chuckles.

  “Yes, sir,” I say proudly. Damn right is what I wanted to say, but I hold my tongue and try to keep it professional.

  “Do you know what you are looking for? Ideas?” he asks.

  “No, I was hoping to just take a look around. I’m hoping that something pops out to me.”

  “It usually does. I have a selection that we don’t keep in the cases. Highest quality of stones with color and clarity. If you want to follow me to the back, I’d be happy to show you.”

  With a nod, the four of us follow him to a conference room. Taking a seat around the table, he scoots a black display case toward me. My palms are sweating; this is finally happening. I’m not nervous, but I am excited as fuck that she’s mine. That she’s going to be my wife.

  My eyes scan the display. There must be a hundred rings, and I give each one my full attention, trying to envision it on Cass’s hand. The guys are silent beside me, letting me do my thing. When I get about halfway through, I see it. “This one.” I point to the ring.

  “Ah,” he says, pulling the ring out of the case and handing it to me. “This is an excellent choice. It’s simple, yet stunning at the same time. What you’re looking at is a three-carat center stone princess cut. Round diamonds in a total half carat per side and up the band.” He rattles on about the cut and color, clarity, but I tune him out. This is the one. I can’t wait to see this on her hand every day for the rest of our lives. “A total of four carats,” he says, tugging me out of my thoughts.

  “I’ll take it.” Reaching into my pocket, I pull out a small silver band that Cass wears on the opposite hand, but same finger. “This is her size.”

  “Nice.” Cole nods, impressed.

  “I swiped it from the nightstand this morning. She was in such a rush to get to your place, she didn’t mention not being able to find it.” That was all a part of my plan. It’s the reason I snuck out of bed to get ready. I wanted her to be rushing; she hates to keep people waiting. It was my hope that she wouldn’t notice and if she did, she wouldn’t stop to look for it, assuming it fell onto the floor. My plan worked and here we are.

  “Six,” he says, handing it back to me. “This is also a six, so you can take it with you today,” he informs me. “If you want.”

  I nod. “I want.” I thought I would have to wait, but the stars seem to be aligning in my favor. I hand him my black Am Ex, and he runs the transaction. I didn’t ask how much it costs and I don’t care. It’s perfect, and I can’t wait to slide it on her finger.

  “So, where to now?” Tristan asks once we leave the jewelry store. I have one hand in my pocket, clutching the small velvet box in my hand.

  “Shattered Heart is meeting us at the studio,” Kacen reminds him.

  “Damn, I thought that was just a ploy.”

  “It was in a way, but we still have to meet with them. Just a quick jam session.”

  “Meet you guys there,” I say, heading toward my truck.

  “I’ll ride with you,” Tristan says, climbing in the passenger seat. Cole and Kacen climb in Cole’s truck. “How are you going to do it?” he asks once we’re on the road and headed to the label.

  “Not sure. I mean, I already asked her and she said yes, but I have this video.” I grab my phone and unlock it. “It’s the last video I recorded,” I say, handing him my phone. Tristan taps on the screen and then I hear my voice and that of Margaret’s fill the car.

  “Damn,” Tristan mutters once the video ends.

  “Yeah, I want to show her that.” I nod toward my phone before looking back at the road. “Then give her the ring.”

  “Expect tears, brother,” he warns.

  “Yeah,” I agree. I hate to see her cry, but I know they will be sad and happy tears combined. She needs to see the video. She’s no longer fighting this love that we have, but I know she doubts herself at times. I’m hoping this will end that. That she can know that her mom is with her, even when she’s not, and she can let herself live in the moment.

  Three hours later, we’re shaking hands with Brian, Alan, Scott, and Eric. Shattered Heart has a handshake deal to sign with Soul Records. They are crazy talented and remind me a lot of us in the early days.

  “Our attor
ney will send over a contract next week. Take your time, have yours look it over. If you don’t have one, feel free to reach out to ours. He’s fair and will explain anything you’re not sure about. No hidden agendas,” Kacen tells them. “We just want to make music. It’s in our blood. We have wives and families and touring is not what we want right now, but we can help others reach that goal.”

  “Go, enjoy Nashville for a night. You have your flight info for tomorrow?” I ask, because I know that Cass will ask me and I need her full attention.

  “Yeah. Cassidy—” Brian starts, but I interrupt him.

  “My fiancée,” I say, smiling.

  “—she made sure we had what we needed,” he finishes.

  “Great. You’ll have the contract next week. Stay out of trouble, and don’t worry about a manager. That’s something we can do for you. Feel free to seek out advice from our attorneys if you don’t have your own throughout the process,” Kacen reminds them.

  “Thank you,” Eric says.

  “We won’t disappoint you,” Scott adds.

  “We can’t thank you enough,” Alan chimes in.

  “We look forward to it,” Brain says. He reminds me a lot of Kace.

  He founded the band and is somewhat the leader, just like us. I have a really good feeling about this. They’re great guys, but I’m ready for them to be gone. I have a girl to go see. Once they finally walk out the door, I rush to lock up behind them, making the guys laugh.

  “Dinner at my place,” Cole says, reading his phone. “Our wives have it under control is what I’m told.” He smiles.

  Wives. She’s not mine yet, but she will be and having him refer to her as so does something to me. The sweaty palms are back, but again it has nothing to do with nerves; it’s pure adrenaline. I hope she doesn’t make me wait long. I can’t wait for her to be mine, legally. She’s already mine, but not in the eyes of the law. We’re about to change that.

  When we get to Cole’s and walk through the front door, we hear feminine laughter along with that of the kids. Like lost puppies, we follow the sound, and we find all four women, and all three kids, sitting in the living room with pizza boxes spread out. Drew is dancing to the music that plays in the background. They’re cheering him on and he’s eating it up. Can’t say I blame him. Kace scoops him up in his arms and tickles him before they settle on the loveseat next to Logan. Kace kisses her hello and Drew mimics his dad.