“Uh huh.” I pull down her pants and all I’m hearing is words words words because she is wearing an insane pair of panties. I’ve never seen these before. I am removing them from her body right fucking now but I make a mental note to buy her ten more of these.
“On location.”
“Mmhmm.”
“And I just want you to know that I’m not going to worry about that stuff anymore.”
“Good.”
“Whether we’re all with you on tour or I’m home with Tate while you’re traveling, it’s all going to be fine. Right?”
“Yes. Always. I love you, but I’m going to request that you cease all talk of our family members while we’re both naked and I have a massive erection.”
“But I’m not completely naked yet,” she whispers into my ear.
I finally unhook the sexy bra and she leans forward, letting it fall to the floor.
Okay, maybe this is the high point of the night.
“Welcome home,” she coos.
I take her in my arms. After a lifetime of one-liners and smooth-talking, I don’t know what to say to convey how much it means to me to get to this place. But I will spend the rest of the night and my life trying to explain to Kat, with my hands and my mouth and my tongue, what it means to finally hear those words. From this woman. This woman is not just the one at the end of the line and the end of the road, she is the beginning of everything that really matters.
I carry her to the bed and she gets under the covers, holding them up for me to join her. As I climb on top of her, sandwiched between a pillowy comforter and her smooth, warm body, I find my voice enough to say the thing that I cannot wait to say to her: “I want you and Tate to move in with me. Eventually. You should probably come over for dinner or something first.”
“Yes. That sounds like a good place to start.” She places one hand over my mouth and uses the other one to guide me inside of her. “Now fuck me quietly, until we fall asleep.”
I groan, as quietly as possible, and mumble into the palm of her hand. “I hope you weren’t planning on getting much sleep tonight.”
* * *
Kat and I did get to sleep, eventually.
Now, I’m in Tate’s room, drawing a King, Queen and Jack of hearts on his cast with a Sharpie. “How much longer do you have to wear this?”
He practices shuffling a playing card deck on a breakfast tray. “Lou said a week. And then I get to wear a big boot.”
“Sweet.”
“Yeah. Maybe you can draw on that too.”
“I will draw on anything you want me to.”
He laughs at that.
“Hey, you know how I have a house? Kind of near the coffee shop where your mom works.”
“Yeah.”
“I want you guys to come over. Maybe later today. You up for that?”
“Okay. Will you make us omelets?” he grins. Kid’s got a good memory.
“Sure. With lots of cheese.”
“The orange kind that’s already in little pieces?”
“Definitely… And if you like hanging out there, you and your mom can come over anytime you want to. And you can stay for as long as you want.”
“Sleepovers, you mean?”
“Yeah. You can sleep over every night even. I’ve got an extra bedroom that I think you’d like.”
“But I have a bedroom.”
“Well you can keep this one too.”
“I’m allowed to have two bedrooms?”
“I guess we’d have to talk to Lou about it, but I’m pretty sure, yeah.”
“Okay. What color is the one at your house?”
“Right now it’s white but I can have it painted any way you want.”
“Can I have a bunk bed?”
“Yes. I mean, we’ll ask your mom. But yes. Once your ankle is healed.”
“What about my mom? Does she get to have two rooms too?”
“Yes. You know how I stayed in her room here last night?”
He nods, cautiously.
“Well she can stay in my room when we’re at my house.”
“Do you have a bunk bed too?”
“No sir, I do not.”
“You mean she’d be in the same bed with you?”
“Yes sir, she would.”
He wrinkles his nose. “She gets in my bed sometimes. She takes up a lot of room.”
“I can handle it.”
“She moves around a lot.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Sometimes she takes pictures of me while I’m sleeping.”
“She takes really good pictures.” And here goes nothing. “I really care about your mom and you a lot, you know?”
He wipes his nose with the back of his hand and then puts the deck of cards down. He seems to know that he should give me his full attention for this. “Thanks.”
“And you know how sometimes when grownups care about each other, they get married? Like husband and wife?”
He nods.
I put the cap back on the Sharpie and look him straight in the eye. “Well I want to marry your mom. So I have to ask her if she wants to marry me.”
He blinks, straight-faced. I cannot read him at all right now.
“And I was wondering how you’d feel about that. If I were to ask her to marry me.”
He shrugs. “You should ask her. She definitely likes you. I don’t think she’s gonna marry anyone else. Are you done drawing?”
“Yeah, there’s no more room.”
“I like it. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I was wondering if you have any ideas about how I should ask her to marry me. Like, to make it really special.”
He hems and haws for a bit, looking up at the ceiling as he considers this. “Say please. She likes it when people do that.”
“I will definitely do that. ‘Please will you marry me?’ Sounds good. I was planning to sing her a song.”
“Mmmm.” He scrunches up his face at that idea. “Oh! I know! We can make her a card. I can help you.”
“I could definitely use some help with that.”
“Maybe you can get her more new booby holders!” he laughs, dropping his head back. “She liked the ones we got for her birthday.”
“Brilliant. I can write ‘will you marry me’ on the bra. And I can hide the ring inside one of the cups.”
“Oh, you’re giving her a ring too?”
“Yeah, it’s a really nice one. I think she’ll like it.”
“She already has a bunch of them, but she’ll probably like it.”
“Okay, well we’ll keep thinking about it, you and I. But let’s not tell your mom about this, because I want it to be a surprise. You know how to keep a secret, right? Like how you don’t tell everyone how you do a magic trick? This thing we’re talking about, this can be a secret between you and me for now, right? So we can surprise your mom when the time comes.”
“I can keep a secret. I never told anyone about the time Lou told work that she was sick but she just played Mario with me all day… Oops.”
“I won’t tell.”
Tate looks around his room, sighing, and shifting around.
I can tell he doesn’t want to leave it.
He’s not ready for more changes yet.
“Hey. None of this has to happen right away. You don’t have to move in with me and I don’t have to ask your mom to marry me until it feels right. You can let me know when you feel ready. Okay?”
“Okay.” He twists his lips to one side. “Do you know the cupped balls trick?”
“Um. Is this another idea for how to propose to your mom? Because yes. But no.”
31
Kat
*One Month Later*
“Um. Excuse me, Mr. T. Are you wearing a necklace?”
Tate has emerged from his “second bedroom” fully dressed in a Charmer tour T-shirt and wearing his magician’s hat and a silver chain that’s hanging behind his collar. Nico has already bought him all kinds of thi
ngs to make him more comfortable when he stays here at his house on the weekends, but I’m going to have to draw the line at boy jewelry. What the hell?
“It’s for a magic trick, hang on.” He shuffles through the dining area, grinning and heading straight to the kitchen where Nico is tidying up after making us omelets for brunch. He really does make good omelets.
His kitchen—his whole house in Beachwood Canyon—is gorgeous. Tasteful and warm, with a patio surrounded by lush landscaping out back and a cottage that he’s having converted to a recording studio. I honestly don’t know why he had spent so much time at The 101 when he could have been chilling here at night. Actually, I do know why. But he doesn’t have to anymore.
It’s the weekend, and we’re celebrating Tate’s ability to walk normally again—with an ice cream cake.
We’ve pretty much settled into the comfortable chaos of our new life in LA. Tate is back in school, so Nico stays with us in Toluca Lake during the week most nights. Both or either one of us can take Tate to and from school. On weekends, Tate and I are here. Instead of sleeping during the day and waitressing at night, I can sleep at night and schedule jobs around school. Ever since our Charmer tour documentary went live on Nico’s website three weeks ago, I’ve been booking so many photo shoots with other musicians around town, and I’m talking to a producer about completing my mom documentary so she can start submitting it to film festivals. I’m ready for all of it.
Nico let his manager go ahead and book his Europe tour for the spring. It will coincide with Tate’s spring break, and if he feels up for a quick trip across the pond then we’re all going. If not, I may go with Nico for a week. There will be stress. There will be changes. We will feel all the things, when we’re together and when we’re apart. If we can all be each other’s anchors no matter where we are or what’s going on, it will be fine, no matter what.
Today, we’re together and we’re happy.
Nico and Tate walk out of the kitchen, looking like the best buds they have become. They join me in the dining area.
“Hey. Where’s the cake?”
“Tate has something to show you first.”
They’re both grinning like sly little devils. Nico takes a seat near me at the table, and Tate positions himself right beside me. I move my chair so I can face him.
“You better make an ice cream cake appear.” I try so hard to frown at him, but it’s impossible. He’s got his serious magician face on as he adjusts the hat on his head and it’s just too cute.
“Even better!” he says, in his performer voice. “How about I make one of your rings disappear?! Ma’am. May I please borrow one of those rings you’re wearing on your finger?”
“Hmm. I dunno, I like these rings,” I mutter, but I pull one of the stacked gold bands from my index finger anyway. “You better give this one back.”
“Not to worry, madam!” He takes the ring from me. “You see this ring, this very nice normal ring that you’ve just handed to me?” He holds it up between two fingers and shows it to me and Nico and a few imaginary people in the audience. “It’s such a pretty ring,” he says, as he pulls a pencil out from his back pocket. “And I am going to make it disappear. Ready?” He angles himself away from me.
“Ready.”
“You ready, Nico?”
“I am so ready.”
He makes a big show of tapping the pencil to the ring. “One, two, three!”
And the pencil vanishes from his right hand.
“Heyyyyy!” I exclaim. “Where’d the pencil go?!”
He turns to face me again, pointing to his ear. “Oh, it’s right here!” He pulls the pencil out from behind his ear and holds it up again, then waves it at his left hand and shouts, “Four!” and he opens up his hand and the ring is gone.
“What?! How’d you do that?!”
“And now I’m going to make this pencil disappear!” he says, ignoring my question. He holds the pencil at both ends and taps it against his leg. “One, two, three!” It vanishes.
“Where’d it go?”
“Well, the pencil is right here, he says,” pulling it from behind my ear.
I clap, squealing. “Wait—where’d my ring go?”
“You’re ring, ma’am?” He reaches inside his shirt collar and pulls the silver chain out. “It’s right here, I’ve been wearing it… “Hey wait a minute—this is a different ring! Did I do this wrong?!”
It is definitely not my ring. The ring that’s dangling from the necklace around my son’s neck is a diamond engagement ring. An elegant platinum band princess cut diamond ring. That is not some magic prop, that shit is real.
“Let’s see what’s going on here,” Nico says, as he removes the silver chain from around Tate’s neck and lets the diamond ring slide down into the palm of his hand. Tate steps aside and Nico tosses the necklace away and gets down on one knee in front of me.
I have to clear my throat. “What is happening?”
“Katherine Dempsey, will you marry me?”
Tate grumbles something and nudges Nico’s shoulder.
“Katherine Dempsey,” Nico says again, “will you marry me, please?”
I can’t see the ring that he’s holding up to me clearly anymore because my eyes are flooded with tears.
“Say ‘yes,’ Mom.”
I nod, shaking a few tears loose. “Yes, please. I will marry you, Nico Todd.”
“You freakin’ better,” he mutters, as he slides the ring onto my finger and then pulls me in for a kiss. “This ring has traveled from coast to coast with me.”
“He waited until I had the trick worked out,” Tate explains, hopping around us.
“Don’t hop on both feet,” I remind him.
“It’s fine, Mom. Don’t worry.”
Tate pulls the gold ring that I had given him earlier from the front pocket of his jeans and places it on the table. “Here’s this back. I distracted you with the pencil, haha.”
“I love you,” Nico mouths to me. “I love you.”
I kiss his forehead. “I love you.”
That was some trick, Nico Todd. Getting my whole family to fall for you.
Or maybe I somehow got him to fall for my family.
Either way, it’s magic.
Nico is still kneeling on the floor in front of me, kissing my hand and we stare at each other smiling while Tate hops on both feet around us.
It is fine.
I’m not worried.
With two impossibly cute guys who are both so wizard, I have no doubt that I can handle every kind of trouble along the road ahead.
Epilogue One
*NICO TODD SONGWRITING JOURNAL*
“It’s About Fudging Time”
Cat blue eyes, cherry red lips and a long white dress
Yes I want it, yes yes yes
You’re a total smokeshow and I think you know
What you’ve done to me baby
What I want to do for you
But quit taking your fudging time
Cuz I haven’t got all night
It feels like I’ve been waiting my whole fudging life
And it’s about fudging time you became my wife
Come on let’s get it on so I can take that dress off you
Okay I may have had too many cups of coffee
But it feels like I’ve been waiting for fudging ever
To marry you in front of all these people we love
Come on come on, come get to this, babe
It feels like I’ve been loving you my whole fudging life
And it’s about fudging time you became my wife
Now here’s the part of the song that I’m really not proud of
Where I tell you in front of all the fudging people we love
That I’ll never say goodbye—never say goodbye
And here comes our son doo doo doo doo
with another fart
joke
And there goes my heart
Cuz Summer is here, and I’m s
till waiting there
You’re Lucky I am a patient man
Now Willa you make me the happiest too
If not I’m gonna have to leave you
For my boyfriend Shane Miller
Yeah I know this song ain’t no Grammie winner
So in front of all these fudging people
While they finish their dinner
Let me tell you that I love you and I need you and blah blah yes
For fudging ever starts today and it’s about fudging time
Cuz I do and I will—take off that white dress
I mean I do and I will and just yes yes yes
It feels like I’ve been waiting my whole fudging life
And it’s about fudging time you became my wife
Yeah it’s about fudging time you became my fudging wife
* Whatever. Everyone will be drunk by the time I sing this anyway.
* I guess it’s a good thing that I did my Europe tour in the spring, because we were able to plan our wedding and honeymoon for this summer.
One year and three and a half months.
That’s how long it has been since Kat poured me that first cup of coffee at The 101.
Tomorrow, I will sing this song for her and a hundred of our closest friends and family members.
Tate will walk his mom down the aisle, and Lou has promised to just sit in the front row with Ricky while saying and doing nothing. I’ll believe it when I see it.
The twins may be a little old for flower girl and ring bearer, but Summer demanded that she be an important part of the wedding since she doesn’t get to marry me. Shane will be my best man (for a change), and Willa and Grammie will be the world’s most obnoxious groomsladies.
I will finally marry the woman that I’ve been waiting for—for one year and three and a half months and my whole life.
Seriously. It’s about fudging time.
Charmer Page 25
