Glancing up from the menu at the giant table they were seated around, Sophie smiled at what she saw, realizing it had happened without a word said. All eight of them were seated, with Sophie next to Brian and Charlie next to Dane. But Grace sat on the other side of Sophie, and Emily sat next to Grace—meaning all four guys were on one side of the big table with all the women on the other. She wanted to ask Brian if that was typical but figured she’d find out soon enough. She got it, though. Either the men wanted some time to chat or the women were taking Sophie under their wing.
It didn’t matter the reason. It only helped her feel more accepted—a feeling hard to come by in the modeling community.
The four men were like brothers. She’d heard Brian say that over and over. That meant these four women would become the sisters she’d never had. And this would work out perfectly, because as much as she’d wanted to get to know these other woman, they wanted to get to know her as well. And if this band of brothers and sisters remained kind and loving, they could avoid being a dysfunctional family. Although she hadn’t known these people for long, she got the feeling they weren’t.
After a few minutes, they’d all placed their orders with the waiter and drinks were on the way. Clay asked, “So Brian, you never did tell me why the hell you guys decided on Colorado Springs.”
“Manitou Springs.”
“Same diff.”
“Dude, after Sam moved to Pueblo West, I didn’t think we would even need to discuss it.”
“Yeah, you do. Because you’re my writing partner. You’re the guy I can call who comes over at a moment’s notice. Now it’s gonna take you how much longer to get here?”
“Sorry to ruin your life, man.”
After everyone’s laughter died down, Emily said, “Don’t listen to him, Brian. He has plenty to occupy him at home.”
Clay kissed the air at her while Brian said, “And it’s not that bad, Clay. The Springs isn’t that far away.”
Feeling comfortable, Sophie said, “It’s actually all my fault, guys. When I visited Brian last summer, I fell in love with the view of the mountains. But that was from the Denver airport—and that’s actually so far away from them. I wanted to be closer.”
Dane said, “I get that.”
“Aw, baby,” Charlie said. “And then I take you away from them when I’m in school.”
“You hear me complaining?”
Brian asked, “Clay, how long does it take you to get to DIA from Highlands Ranch?”
“I don’t know. Half hour, maybe?”
The waiter started placing drinks in front of each person. Emily picked up her glass of water and said, “It’s actually a little longer than that.”
Brian nodded at her. “Spoken like a good PA. And what about you, Dane? How long does it take you to get to the airport?”
“If the weather and traffic are good, about an hour.”
“Exactly. You’re making my point for me. It takes us less than half an hour to get from our house to the airport in the Springs.”
Sophie added, “Right now, I’m not sure how often I will need to go to modeling gigs, so I wanted to be close to the airport.”
Clay picked up what looked like a mimosa. “Don’t you have to catch a connecting flight to DIA anyway?”
Brian put an arm over Sophie’s shoulders as the waiter left. “C’mon, Clay. You know what it’s like. You find the woman of your dreams, you want to spend every waking moment with her. You don’t want to spend it in a fucking car on the way to the airport.”
Clay winked at Emily when he said, “That’s fair.”
Sophie rested her head on Brian’s shoulder. “So I don’t know how often I’ll need to be flying to New York or—”
“Or London or France or Sydney or L.A.”
“Exactly. We’ve considered all our options from multiple angles.”
After taking a big gulp of his drink, Clay set the goblet down. “Brian always was more of a planner than me.”
Everyone laughed again and Charlie looked at Sophie. “So you’re definitely planning on continuing with modeling?”
“For now. But, honestly, I’m not sure about the future. I worked so hard to get to where I am today, so it seems like a shame to stop. But I really don’t know if it’s what I want to do anymore. I’m playing with some other ideas, but nothing is really solidified yet.”
The guys began chatting amongst themselves while Emily said to the women, “I don’t know if you ladies know this, but Sophie was actually studying to be a lawyer before she became a model.”
Charlie raised her dark brown eyebrows. “I had no idea.”
Grace took a sip of orange juice. “Really? That’s impressive.”
“Maybe—but that time in school told me I definitely do not want to be a lawyer.”
“I hear you,” Charlie said, picking up her coffee mug. “Before I met Dane, I was a physical therapist for years. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a doctor, but as an adult, I was riddled with self-doubt. Dane managed to change my mind.” Bringing her cup to her lips, she winked at her boyfriend who caught it and winked back.
Everyone here was so cute, so in love, and it filled Sophie’s heart. All these people cared about each other and loved each other deeply.
And it hit her hard. She was happy to be here.
She was actually happy.
As she settled into the crook of Brian’s arm, she simply absorbed the emotions and the words, relishing each moment. Emily said, “Education is never wasted. I have an MBA and I could make the argument that I’m not really using it as Clay’s PA, but I am. Maybe not in the way I’d intended, but I’m all the better for those years spent in school.”
“I totally agree,” Grace said. “My first couple of years, I was going to CSU-Pueblo, trying to figure out what I wanted to major in, because my parents were going to pay my tuition and stuff. But after Sam and I got married, he encouraged me to rethink everything. He knew I really wanted to major in something involving acting. So now I’m studying filmmaking at UCCS. Even though I wasn’t focusing on anything in particular those first couple of years, I learned a lot—so I agree with Emily completely.”
“Wait a sec,” Emily said, “UCCS is in the Springs—so if you get stuck in the snow, now you could crash at Sophie and Brian’s place.”
When Grace’s eyes grew wide, Sophie said, “Absolutely. We have more room in our place than we know what to do with.”
“That is so nice of you, Sophie. Thank you.”
She didn’t regret making the hasty offer one bit. Grace was absolutely adorable.
Charlie also chimed in. “Well, if we’re all piling on the education theme, I also agree. And,” she said, forming a small smile on her lips, “if you don’t want to go back to school, there’s nothing wrong with that, either.”
The waiter unfolded a stand next to the table, placing a huge tray full of steaming plates of assorted breakfast food. While he placed dishes in front of each person, Sophie smiled at Brian, keeping her fleeting thoughts to herself. Charlie and Grace were on spring break at the moment—which meant that when they weren’t visiting or skiing or eating, they were likely studying or writing papers. Sophie wasn’t ready for that grind again, at least not at the moment. Right now, she only wanted two things: to spend time getting to know this new family and to shower Brian with all of her undying love. Beyond that, she had the rest of her lifetime to ponder what came next.
* * *
That night, Sophie and Brian were enjoying a drink near the fireplace on the first floor of the hotel next to the bar. Sophie’s head was cradled in the crook of Brian’s arm and he had a small smile on his face that was never going to go away. That said, he was trying to ignore how his legs were screaming at being overworked today. They were not thrilled with him.
And that was too damn bad—because he wasn’t nearly done with his day yet.
He took another gulp of his drink before nuzzling Sophie’s ear with his nose. “You about re
ady to head back to the room?”
Turning her head to look in his eyes, she gave him the sweetest smile. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“We can have a bottle of wine delivered if you want.”
“No, that’s okay.”
“Babe, you gotta stop worrying about calories.”
Sitting up in the loveseat so that her nose was touching his, she said, “That’s not what I was thinking about.”
“Then what were you thinking?”
The wicked grin she flashed him made every nerve stand on end. “I need to have full control of all my senses, ‘cause I’m considering keeping you up all night.”
Raising his eyebrows, Brian gave her a tiny peck on the lips. “Then I think we better get going right now.”
After setting their glasses now empty of everything but ice on a table closer to the bar, they walked over to the elevator doors. It might have taken him longer than his brothers to find true love, but feeling Sophie’s arm around his back had been worth the time it had taken. To have a best friend and partner through life was worth every little bit they’d had to go through to get here—even that stupid ass guy snapping a picture as he and his woman boarded the elevator.
It was all worth it, because he had the perfect woman.
Forever.
THE END
* * *
Thank you for reading! I hope you loved meeting Sophie and Brian. The next book in the Feverish series will be Three Weddings and a Baby. Happily Ever After didn’t mean there wouldn’t be a few bumps along the way—but see the guys of Last Five Seconds and their women in the final story of the Feverish series!
It’s not ready yet, but for now you might enjoy the Vagabonds series—it begins with On the Run!
READ ON THE RUN NOW >
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Turn the page for an excerpt from Three Weddings and a Funeral…
Sneak Peek at THREE WEDDINGS AND A BABY (Feverish #5)
Brian Zimmer’s smile consumed his entire face as he looked across his lush backyard. Here there was just the right amount of sun and shade and, with the mountains in the backdrop, it felt like paradise—especially now that he was surrounded by his friends and the love of his life, Sophie Buckley. They’d invited his friends and bandmates to their new home as a sort of housewarming but also because they had a huge announcement to make. Sophie and their six guests had arrived on the deck after she’d given them a tour of their upstairs while Brian had headed outside to warm up the grill.
On the menu were hamburgers and hotdogs, including the veggie variety for Emily, with potato salad and coleslaw on the side, and the day couldn’t have been more perfect for outdoor dining. Not only was the sun shining with few clouds in the sky, but there was the slightest breeze that kept it from getting too hot. In June along the Front Range of Colorado, that wasn’t always a guarantee.
In the short time Brian and Sophie had been living in Manitou Springs, they’d grown to love everything about the place—not just the geography but the people and even the vibe. He hadn’t missed the Denver area one single bit. If he ever did, it was just an hour away. Maybe touring all these years had made it easy to step away from home. He and Clay had grown up in Centennial, a city in the midst of the sprawling urban metropolis of Denver and he’d continued living there, even after becoming successful with their band Last Five Seconds. Now, though, there were moments where they felt like they could actually rest on their laurels, meaning all four men had settled down a bit. Clay had a place in Highlands Ranch in the southwesternmost part of the Denver Metro area, while Dane lived in Evergreen in the mountains west of the city. Sam, though, beat them all, going south more than one-hundred miles. Although he was still in Colorado, he sometimes felt far away, residing in Pueblo West, a place that didn’t even resemble a city. It was spread out and spacious, and even modest homes there seemed to have a decent amount of acreage. When Sam and Grace got married a couple of years ago, Brian wondered if they were planning on moving elsewhere. After all, they were living next door to her parents.
But that was a conversation for another day.
The band was going to be hitting a few festivals over the summer, but the big tour was finally over. With their last album, Eternal Brutality, they’d tried something new. At first it had been skewered by critics, even though lots of fans seemed to appreciate it, but sales weren’t as good as they should’ve been. The response hadn’t bothered Brian at all, but Sophie—an enemy at the time—had made sure that not only did her career shoot off the ground, but it also catapulted the band’s album. It had been doing okay before Sophie pulled her stunts, but shining a glaring spotlight on it caused it to move up the charts, better than the band had expected. So nobody was complaining about the things that she’d done—least of all Brian.
“Damn, that smells amazing,” Clay said. “I think I could eat a horse.”
As if Clay’s words had prodded her, Emily asked, “Do you guys need me to run to the store to get a veggie burger for me?”
Sophie said, “No way, I got your back, my friend. I even bought a vegan potato salad at a market not far from here.”
Brian flipped a burger, his perpetual grin threatening to crack his face wide open. While he’d wanted the love of his life to love his friends as well, he hadn’t expected her to fully embrace his friends’ partners—and yet she had. Brian couldn’t be happier than he was at this moment, especially because, even though the guys always needed a week or two to themselves after a tour, there was no other group of people they’d rather spend their days with. They really were family.
And so, of course, Brian and Sophie wanted to share their new home with their friends. Over the last couple of months while the band was finishing up the tour, Sophie had been decorating the place. Brian would have rather she’d come with him on tour, but she still had modeling obligations. So she would fly out to modeling gigs for a day or so and then return home, and during her days off, she coordinated with a designer to decorate their new home. And Brian trusted her. As long as the house wasn’t painted in pink or covered in giant polka dots, he knew he’d be happy with whatever she chose.
And he was. Their home exuded warmth, love, and intimacy, even though it was huge.
That, too, had been part of the plan, because they’d wanted plenty of room for their family to grow.
Yes, they’d already talked about it. At some point, they both wanted kids—and lots of them. Brian wanted an audience for his shenanigans, and Sophie was more than happy to supply him with them.
Just not yet.
After each person in the backyard filled up their plates, they sat around a giant picnic table in the backyard. Under the bluest of skies, Clay said, “So…I’ve been working on a couple of songs, guys. Do you want me to send the audio files or do we want to get together next week?”
“Man, we’re not even completely finished with this tour.”
“Close enough. And, besides, you know there’s no controlling the creative juices. I gotta write them when they come to me.”
Emily squeezed his arm. “He says he has a muse that haunts him until he gets it all out on paper.”
Nodding, Sam picked up his glass. “I can relate.”
“So where do you want to meet then?”
Brian said, “If you guys aren’t sick of our place, it’s kind of in the middle.”
Dane said, “Speak for yourself. I’m farther away than all you guys.”
“And you get bored, honey,” Charlie said, scooping up some potato salad. “You know when I have my long days, you’re practically dying by the time I get home.”
Sam said, “If it makes it easier, we could all take turns.” Grinning, Grace nodded, letting everyone know she was more than happy to have visitors.
Clay stood, waving his arms dramatica
lly. “So here’s the deal, guys. This album, we go back to our roots. It was cool to experiment, to show the world we’re not a one-trick pony, to stretch our muscles—but now let’s remind our hardcore fans what they love about us.”
“Hell, yeah,” Brian said, suddenly feeling energized about their band again. It never took much. Even though he needed some time off, he would never grow tired of Last Five Seconds. It wasn’t a job; it was a never ending adventure.
The talk turned to their last tour and ideas for a new album while Clay admitted that he had not just one song he was working on but three.
Near the end of the meal, Sophie said, “Don’t get too full. We have watermelon for dessert. Sweetheart, would you do me the honors?”
“You know I’d do anything for you, babe.”
“Get a room, guys,” Clay said—but when they looked over at him, he was grinning from ear to ear.
“Yeah, you got no room to talk.” Brian took the chef’s knife from Sophie as she kissed him on the cheek. As he carved off slices and quartered them, Sophie delivered the pieces on paper plates to each guest.
Before he sat back down, Brian said, “By the way, guys, we had another reason for inviting you here today.” Glancing at his woman, he caught her biting her lower lip. “There’s something Sophie and I have been wanting to tell you.”
Slow Burn (Feverish #4) Page 21
