by Haley Travis
Ethan’s eyes looked up at me with such warmth. So much love.
I felt my heart thudding once, twice....
“Yes!” I squealed, a split second before my ears rang from the applause and screaming.
Ethan had barely slipped the ring on my finger before I fell to my knees to kiss him.
Todd straightened up the mic, announcing, “Congratulations to Corina and Ethan!”
I didn’t even care that hundreds of people were staring. Ethan’s lips branded mine, searing in our love forever. When I finally pulled away, his eyes were shining. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too,” I giggled, “But you need to finish your show.”
Kissing him on the forehead, I stood up, racing back to the wings where Jenna and Brynn hugged me half to pieces.
Ethan strapped his guitar back on and adjusted his microphone. “Sorry about that little disruption, folks,” he laughed. “I guess the song worked.” He paused for the laughter to die down, blowing me a kiss.
“We have one last song, and it would really be the cherry on top of a great night if you could all sing along.”
The band broke into their second biggest hit, as hundreds of people raised their voices to join him.
“Your fiancé is pretty darn sweet,” Brynn said, lifting my hand to study the ring. “Great taste in jewelry, too.”
“You’ve only been dating a few weeks, but it seems right,” Jenna said. “I’ve never seen you this happy.”
Squeezing their hands, the three of us sang along with the chorus, as I nearly exploded with joy.
The part of me that was always looking for ways to get more media exposure realized that a public proposal could be the best thing for Ethan’s career. Not only did it show him as a sweet, romantic, down to earth guy, it would keep women from throwing themselves at him, to a large extent.
But I also knew that thought likely hadn’t crossed his mind at all. He simply knew that I needed to be reassured. To believe that we truly belonged to each other, through work, touring, recording, and whatever else might be thrown our way.
16
_____
Ethan
Walking into my loft with Corina, we kicked off our shoes and flopped directly on the bed. Without a doubt, this had been the best night of my entire life, but it was a relief to be home.
Although my sweet angel accepting my marriage proposal was definitely at the very top of the list, the rest of the night had also been one joyful success after the other.
The crowd had been so revved up they had screamed for three encores. We had to resort to repeating a song, and playing a couple of hilarious cover tunes.
When we finally left the stage and went back to the green room, Corina had arranged an incredible buffet of snacks, beer, and wine for us to unwind.
Representatives of three different record companies actually snuck backstage to speak with us, and Corina was setting us up with a manager who could help us field offers next week.
I finally got to meet Corina’s best friends, who impressed me not only with their sweetness, but the way they kept jumping up to serve food, clean anything that spilled, and help out anytime they saw something that needed attention.
It warmed my heart to see that Corina had wonderful people looking out for her. That would reassure me when I had to be out of town for a few weeks now and then.
And now that I was home with her, we could finally be alone as a newly engaged couple.
My beautiful fiancée rolled onto her side, grinning from ear to ear. “You must be exhausted,” she said. “If you’re hungry, I can fix you something, or should we just go to sleep?”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
Pulling her up so that she was sitting, I peeled her shirt and bra off at once. She lifted her hips for me as I wrestled off her skirt and panties.
Kissing along the curve of her soft stomach, I caressed her hips, feeling her relax beneath me. Pressing her thighs apart, I felt her hand grip my shirt and pull it off.
“Come here.”
She’d never given me a command before. Desire flooded through me as I helped her yank my mouth to hers. Corina’s sweet tongue against mine was heaven, and my hands on her firm breasts made her moan.
She reached down to tug restlessly at my jeans, so I rolled, peeling off my clothes until we were completely skin to skin.
I began to kiss down the center of her body again, but she stopped me.
“Please,” she barely breathed, “I need you now.” Her hips twisted, sliding under me at the perfect angle as she reached down to stroke my pulsing length.
“That’s it, angel. If you want it, just take it.”
Little slivers of raw heat took over my nerve endings as she rubbed my pre-come along her inner lips. Watching my sweet, proper girl be naughty was an incredible thrill.
Corina wedged my shaft into her wet entrance, sliding the tip up and down, then spreading her legs wider as she tried to pull me inside.
Bringing her hands to my ass, I loved how she was quickly becoming more comfortable, and more open.
The growing pressure in my balls was distracting, but I needed to be gentle at first. Sinking into her softness, I watched as her eyes sparkled in the dim light, her mouth open as she tried to catch her breath.
Nuzzling her throat, an uneven exhale rattled through me as I hit bottom, so deep inside her.
“You’re mine, angel,” I murmured, pulling my thick length out so I could watch her twitch every time I slid it back in.
“Yours,” she gasped, her heels locking around the backs of my thighs. “Only yours.”
The unbelievable lust between us overtook me, as my entire body moved over her, filling her again and again.
“Tell me what you need,” I breathed, listening with delight to her naughty little moans.
“Faster,” she whimpered, gripping me tightly as she buried her face in my neck. “Harder, please.”
Thrusting harder, deeper, my lips crushed to hers until we could barely breathe.
Kneeling up, I held her hips so that I could watch her incredible breasts as they bounced with each stroke. Looking down to the place where we were joined, I studied her beautiful pussy opening for me, as I brought my thumb to her clit.
Swirling gently, just the way I knew she liked, her hands gripped my knees as her entire body began to flail.
“Oh my God,” she gasped, “I…”
Driving into her faster, the pressure spiraling in my core was about to escape any second.
“Come for your new fiancé, angel. Let me feel you.”
“Ethan,” she stuttered, fingernails gripping the sheet as her spine arched, looking like she’d been struck by lightning.
I could see the precise second in her eyes where she crossed over from tension to release. Watching my precious girl lose all control was going to be the highlight of my day for the rest of my life.
As her snug pussy clenched around me, I lost control too, thrusting fast and deep as I growled, “Corina…baby…”
“Yes,” she whined, reaching up to grip my neck, my lips meeting hers just as my muscles all contracted, my climax shaking me to the bones.
As my hot release filled her in huge bursts, Corina saucily smiled into our kiss.
Collapsing onto the bed, I held her against me. “I love you so much, my sweet gorgeous girl.”
“I love you, my crazy musician. And fiancé.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe that you did that for me.”
“That’s just the beginning. I promise.”
“Just never try to outdo that,” she laughed. “I don’t know if my heart could take it.”
“The proposal in front of a crowd, or the smoking hot sex?” I asked, raising an eyebrow while she laughed.
“Any event with a huge crowd,” she said.
“And the other?” I asked.
I absolutely loved how easily she blushed.
“I’m still pretty new at that,” she whi
spered. “I’m going to need lots and lots of practice.”
“So what you’re saying is, you’ll be moving in with me by the end of the month?”
I was blown away when she nodded immediately. “Yes.”
“Wow, I figured it would take me a few months to talk you into it,” I chuckled. “You’re always full of surprises.”
“I need to stay sharp around you,” she laughed.
“You’d better. Remember, I’m the expert in sharps and flats.”
“We’re going to make a rule about musician jokes, though,” she grinned, cuddling deeper against my chest. Then her mood shifted and she became serious. “Do you think anything is going to change when we’re married?” she asked softly.
“I already belong to you. I just want to make it official. Plus, we get to throw a party, and you seem to be a wizard at events.”
Moving so that her thigh was across mine, both of my arms wrapped snugly around her back, I added, “I’m going to thank you properly tomorrow for everything you did for tonight. I want to do it right, with a coffee in my hand.”
Corina was already drifting off, nodding against my shoulder.
“Hey, and I got you a box of your favorite tea,” I whispered, pulling a blanket over us.
“Just when I thought…I couldn’t love you any more…you remember my tea.” Her exhales became longer, as she drifted off.
Holding a sweet, smart, curvy angel in my arms was the only way I wanted to fall asleep for the rest of my life.
EPILOGUE ONE
_____
Ethan
* Three Years Later *
Finishing the second encore, I couldn’t believe how vibrant and attentive tonight’s crowd had been. They’d been singing along with everything, even the brand new songs that we’d only been playing for a few weeks.
Somebody must have posted live concert footage. It was crazy.
I didn’t want to admit it to anyone, but my focus was only partly on the show tonight. Even though this last show of our two week tour was only an hour away from my gorgeous wife, I felt like that was too much distance.
Taking a swig of water just off stage, Skippy, Todd, and Rob all turned to me. “Damn, the crowd is wild tonight,” Skippy laughed. “Should we go out for a third encore?”
Before I could decide, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Pulling it out, I could feel the blood draining from my face as my mouth fell open.
“I’m driving,” Rob said, grabbing me by the elbow to propel me toward the side door.
“We’ll take care of the gear, just go, go,” Todd said quickly, as I heard Skippy’s voice booming through the PA system.
“Sorry folks, there can’t be another encore tonight. Our singer just got word that his wife is in labor two and a half weeks early.”
I had never understood my guitarist’s obsession with cars, rhyming off engine sizes and fuel injection systems as if they were baseball stats. Yet I’d never been more thankful for his obsession as I was now, as he tore out of the parking lot and hit the highway as if the devil himself had been chasing us.
Thirty-nine minutes later, I charged into the maternity ward of Memorial Hospital at a dead run. “Where is Corina Taylor-Cooper?”
The receptionist and two nurses laughed right in my face, putting me slightly more at ease.
A nurse in purple scrubs jumped up and took my arm, smiling widely. “She’s fine, daddy. You’re just in time. Your wife is a powerhouse, and everything’s going very smoothly.” Her warm Caribbean accent was instantly comforting.
As she walked me down the corridor, she looked me up and down. “Don’t you look sharp. Out at a party?”
“My band had a show.”
Her twinkling laugh echoed down the hall. “Well, honey, you got over stage fright at some point. Now you can get over new-daddy fright. We’ll take care of you.”
In a flash I was wearing a smock, with my hands scrubbed, as the nurse pushed me into a white room.
Time seemed to speed up and slow down at strange intervals. As Corina obeyed the doctor’s and nurse’s instructions to push and breathe, my only job was to hold her hand and murmur sweet calming things to her.
It all happened so fast, until the second that her eyes locked with mine as she seemed to stop breathing entirely for a full minute, straining for one long, last push.
Then she gasped loudly a half second before I heard a tiny cry. Leaning in to kiss my wife, I was interrupted as a tiny pink twitching ball of pure sweetness was placed on her chest.
As always, Corina’s response was quiet and thoughtful. “Hello, Jacob,” she whispered softly. “Welcome to the world.” I slipped my arm under her shoulders to help her sit up slightly so that she could stare at our child’s round little face.
“Hi, Jacob,” I somehow choked through the enormous lump in my throat.
Reaching out carefully, I placed my hand on my son’s back, marvelling at how strangely fragile his skin felt.
After a few moments, the nurse took the baby away to clean and check him, leaving us with a minute of relative privacy.
“You made it,” she sighed, her eyes still wild with adrenaline.
“This is why I didn’t want to do this tour,” I said. “What if I’d been farther away?”
“But you weren’t.” She gave my hand squeeze. She had insisted that we do the tour anyway, even though I had wanted to overrule her. “Rob didn’t run anyone off the road on the way here, did he?”
“Almost. We should probably never speak of it again.”
She laughed lightly, but it was clear that she was exhausted. After I gave her a few sips of water, the nurse returned the baby to Corina, so that I could hold them both again.
“You’re amazing,” I murmured as Corina’s eyes began to drift closed. “I’m so proud of you, angel.”
“Remind me later to ask all about your show,” she breathed, drifting off.
As her eyes closed, Jacob’s began to open. I had no idea whether he could even focus on my face, but as his little hand flailed toward me, I swear it seemed like he was waving hello.
“Angel,” I whispered, “Can you take one more look before you nap?”
Her eyes fluttered open to see Jacob looking up at her, as his hand twitched as if he was tapping her chest. It was likely just his teeny muscles stretching, but it looked like he was patting her skin.
Watching my son stare into his mother’s eyes for the first time was the most magical moment of my entire life. “I love you both so much,” I rasped.
Corina grinned at me, then continued staring at Jacob. “I love you both, too,” she murmured.
Our baby glanced between us, then those tiny lashes fluttered closed. Corina’s followed, and I was left to stare at my perfect family.
EPILOGUE TWO
_____
Corina
* Ten Years Later *
Even though the work was hard, the people were often crazy, and the hours could be insane, sometimes being in the PR and event planning business came with perks.
Through our contacts and connections, Jenna, Brynn and I had managed to put together the ultimate summer party for our families with only a few calls.
Under a huge canopy tent in Jenna and Andrew’s giant backyard, our husbands took turns making burgers and hot dogs. There was a make your own sundae station, roasted corn on the cob, and every summery snack the kids could want, all supplied by one of our favorite caterers.
Our six children were all creative types, who weren’t really into sports. So we encouraged them to play outdoors with video cameras and props.
Their project for the day was for them to figure out all of their special skills, and put them together in some form of collaborative movie. We sat in the shade watching them cartwheel, test crazy dances, and see who could jump the highest to hit the lowest treebranch to touch some magic charm they made from tinfoil.
“I still can’t tell whether it’s going to be a documentary, or a fiction piece,”
Brynn said as she sipped her mimosa from the lounge chair on my left.
“I heard Marnie mention fairies, so I’m thinking it’s a fantasy movie,” Jenna said from the chaise on my right.
When we’d first discussed the idea of a summer party, the three of us immediately decided it should be Mom’s day off. We organized an event company to provide the tent, tables, and chairs. Everything appeared in the morning, and would be taken away at ten o’clock. The caterer delivered the food, arranged everything, and would return at nine to pick up the dishes.
