With Brave Wings

by Cara Dee

  Sophie threw her arms around his middle and hugged him as hard as she could. "What would I do without you?"

  "You know the answer to that, princess."

  She did. She would've accomplished most of what she did with him…but she wouldn’t be blissfully happy. And one other thing. She looked up at him and kissed his chin.

  "I would be lost, though."

  He smiled and stroked her cheek. "So would I."

  *

  Los Angeles

  The wrap party was hilarious, and Sophie got to see Tennyson and Asher wasted for the first time in her life. Noah wasn’t much different, and it looked like she, Brooklyn, and Emma would be a new kind of babysitters tonight.

  "Think of all the bargains we can make tonight." Emma was a hoot. "We can practically get them to do whatever we want."

  The three women stood by the bar, all watching their men slam back shots by their table.

  "You ladies having fun?" Judah walked over, a beer in his hand.

  "Sure, just look at tonight's entertainment." Brooklyn chuckled and jerked her chin at Asher, who chose that moment to wrap his tie around his head. Jesus Christ. "Pierce, maybe I want my own place, after all."

  Sophie laughed, knowing that was such bullshit. Asher had asked her and Maliah to move in with him in Malibu last week, and Brooklyn was head over heels.

  "So what's next for you, Judah?" Sophie took a sip of her soda and tried to focus on someone other than Tennyson. Who knew he could be a goof without their son around?

  "Looks like I'm off to Toronto," he replied with a grin. "My agent was quick to book my next gig—one where my sister doesn’t actually stab me to death."

  She chuckled. "Hey, it was kill or be killed."

  "Touché." He smirked and nodded. "Well, I should be going. It was awesome working with you. We'll see each other for press in a few months, I assume?"

  "Expect a lot of it." She squeezed his hand. "Asher and Tennyson want statues."

  "I'm not feeling the pressure at all!" He winked and kissed her cheek before stepping back. "Have a good one."

  "You, too." Turning back to Brooklyn and Emma, she raised her brows. "Shall we get our men home?"

  "We shall." They nodded firmly.

  Chapter 24

  "I love you." Tennyson stumbled into the elevator and cornered Sophie to kiss the shit out of her. Fuck, she was sexy tonight. All pregnant and glowing and giggly and perfect. "Did'ju know?"

  "I did know." She grinned and pushed the elevator button, and the doors closed as soon as Noah and Emma were inside, too. "It's gonna be fun to see if you're hungover tomorrow."

  He snorted and nipped at her jaw. "I don't get hungovers—hangovers." He couldn’t wait to get her behind doors so he could fuck her silly.

  "Emma, should we test your theory from earlier?" she asked. "About how much we can make them do?"

  "Go for it!" Emma said. "Oh my God, seriously, Noah. Not here."

  "What!" Noah slurred. "Excuse me for loving you."

  "That kind can wait until we're alone."

  Tennyson looked over his shoulder, blinked a few times to find focus, and saw Emma reaching up to pinch Noah's cheek.

  "But I love you, too," she said cheekily.

  "Forever?" Noah demanded.

  "Come on, my alien—we're home." Sophie fisted Tennyson's tie playfully and dragged him out of the elevator. But then they came to a stop. "Oh, shit."

  Josh. That motherfucker.

  Talk about sobering.

  "I thought you moved." Tennyson glared.

  "He did." Noah didn’t look pleased, either. "What're you doin' here, man?"

  Tennyson had been fucking lucky, not running into Josh a single damn time after learning about him and Sophie. Then Noah had said Josh had moved in with a friend while looking for something permanent.

  It was something Tennyson wanted to leave in the past, not run into in the hallway.

  "I was leaving my key." Josh smiled condescendingly at Noah. "Moshe was home, so I left it with him. I'm out of here now." He slid his gaze to Sophie. "Really? You broke up with me for him?"

  "Good God, you're delusional," she muttered. "We were never together."

  Tennyson cocked a brow and took a step forward. "I'd watch myself if I were you, kid." He was so goddamn pissed, and it wasn’t as if he'd forget that Sophie admitted Josh had called her a cocktease for not wanting more.

  Josh straightened and raised his chin to look Tennyson in the eye. "I'm not afraid of you, you arrogant prick."

  "You should be." Tennyson took another step toward him and grinned sinisterly. "You can insult me all you want—I don’t give a flying fuck." He leaned close to speak in his ear. "But if you offend Sophie one more time, you can kiss your Galaxy soccer players goodbye. You can give up all your dreams and move your little clinic to the Valley where you'll spend the rest of your days playing chiropractor to porn stars."

  "Are you threatening me?" Josh chuckled incredulously, and Tennyson saw the change in his eyes. All humor faded, replaced by rage. It made it easier to anticipate the idiot's next move.

  As he raised his hand, Sophie and Emma shouted for Josh to stop, and Tennyson dodged the blow before shoving the motherfucker into a wall. He followed and sent his fist flying into Josh's face.

  "Are you fucking kidding me?" Tennyson seethed. Holy shit, his hand was going to hurt tomorrow. "Even drunk off my ass I can take you. Now, get the fuck out of here."

  Josh groaned in pain, his hands covering his nose. Next, Noah hauled him up and pushed him into the elevator.

  Sophie looked rattled, and the copious amount of alcohol Tennyson had indulged in tonight was making him dizzy.

  "I'm not gonna apologize for this." He waved a hand at the elevator doors that had just closed. "But I understand if I'm in the doghouse for a night or two."

  She spluttered a laugh at that, and she said goodnight to Noah and Emma before nudging Tennyson toward their loft.

  "No doghouse, baby." She shook her head, amused, and unlocked the door. "I'm not really sure what to think. And it doesn’t matter. Violence may not be good, but he threw the first punch. Besides, I plan on using your intoxicated state against you right now, so maybe we can both be demoted to half-decent people tonight."

  He narrowed his eyes and entered the loft, but it made his vision blurry. Shit. It had been a while since he'd drunk this much. Not to mention how many years it had been since he'd enjoyed a social gathering like this, but tonight had been a lot of fun.

  Some good times before tomorrow.

  Peter was coming to visit.

  If everything went well, he might go with them to Mendocino in a couple weeks for Christmas.

  "How exactly do you plan on using my intoc—intoxici…fuck." He huffed. It wasn’t an easy word, that one.

  Sophie seemed to think he was hilarious. "God, you're cute, Tennyson." She pulled him farther into the loft and smiled up at him. "We're not picking up Kayden at Angela's until tomorrow morning. It gives me a whole night to convince you to agree to the name I want for our daughter."

  Oh, Christ. Not this again. "Princess, we've already discussed this a dozen times." He palmed her cheeks and leveled her with a serious look, which wasn’t easy when he wanted to laugh. "I think Ivy is adorable, but we are not naming her after me. Pick another middle name."

  She shook her head and widened her eyes innocently. "They go together. And I've already told you—we're Hollywood people. We're supposed to be quirky when we name our children."

  "Um, if you say so, but Ivy Kip? No. Give it a rest."

  Her expression changed, and he could sense the scheming a mile away.

  "Are you sure?" She started unbuckling his belt. "Are you a hundred percent positive you don’t want a cute little Ivy Kip Wright?"

  "It's too weird—the Kip part." He stared down as she unbuttoned his dress pants next. "It's even weird for a man. I should call my mother and demand an apology for naming me that."

  She hum
med and slipped her hand into his underwear, to which Tennyson closed his eyes and fought a groan.

  "You're absolutely certain, then?" She stroked him like the little goddess she was. "There's no budging you?"

  "Fuck." He thrust into her hand, his head swimming. "You're the devil."

  He didn’t stand a chance, did he?

  *

  The next morning, Tennyson and his killer headache headed out early to pick up Kayden, breakfast, and Tylenol. The latter came first, and as he drove toward Angela's place, he connected his phone to the Bluetooth and called up Ash.

  "What…" Grumpiest, flattest reply from Asher ever.

  "Mornin', sunshine." Tennyson squinted due to the sun and slid on his shades. Brutal fucking sun. "How much did last night cost you?" Then he uncapped a bottle of water and downed two painkillers.

  "Approximately ten years." Asher yawned and groaned. It sounded like fabric was rusting in the background, so perhaps he was still in bed. "What about you?"

  "Bruised knuckles and naming rights to my daughter," he grumbled.

  At least they wouldn’t run around and call his baby girl Ivy Kip. It would just be Ivy. Kip would stay on paper.

  "Pussy."

  "Yeah, some of that was involved, too."

  Ash chuckled gruffly. "Wait…bruised knuckles?"

  "My fist ran into Josh in the hallway." Tennyson switched lanes and took the next exit to downtown Culver City. "Anyway, can you call Mom and Dad later? We're all set for Christmas. Noah and Emma are coming, Daniel and Zane, you and your own ballbusters…and depending on how things go today, Peter."

  "Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck."

  "What?" Tennyson frowned.

  "I just remembered something from last night," Asher said, sounding spooked. "Hold on—let me just make sure I'm alone. Okay, she's in the kitchen." The sound of running water started, and his voice echoed a bit more. "I think I agreed to try for a baby. As in, a human being—that kind of baby."

  Tennyson laughed—hard—which intensified his headache, but damn, it was worth it.

  "Pussy?"

  Asher groaned. "Maybe some of it was involved. Holy hell, I'm so screwed. Can I pray for a boy? Brooklyn and Maliah already have me whipped as it is."

  "Sure. Try praying." Tennyson chuckled and pulled over as he reached Angela's apartment building. "Don’t forget to call the folks. We were thinking everyone could be there by dinner on the twenty-fourth."

  "Uh-huh." Asher sulked. "When're you guys going up there?"

  "Twenty-first." He got out of the car and headed up to the third floor. "Sophie said she wants to stay awhile, so we're packing up two cars and driving." But he'd be back for post-production work on the third. Then he'd commute like many other frequent flyers for the next couple of months. "Okay, I'm gonna pick up Kayden now. We'll talk later, little brother."

  *

  Kayden was in a cuddly mood as they got back home, and he clung to Tennyson like a monkey all the way up in the elevator.

  "Good to be home, bug?" He kissed Kayden's forehead and opened the door, surprised to see that Peter was already here.

  He and Sophie were in the living room, and she sent Tennyson a tentative smile—hopefully a good sign.

  "Hi." She stood up, fidgeting slightly, and walked over to Tennyson. "Um, Dad was a little early. I can take that." She went for the bag with breakfast, but he stopped her and spoke quietly for only her to hear.

  "Everything okay?"

  She nodded and snatched up Kayden instead. "I'm just nervous. It's all good, though. Promise."

  Tennyson searched her eyes for any distress but found none. "All right." When she made a move to leave, he pulled her close again and kissed her.

  She smiled widely.

  Better.

  Peter looked sharp as ever, even though he'd ditched the million-dollar haircut and Armani suit. But something had softened in his features too, and Tennyson kept an eye on the man as he set out the breakfast on the dining room table. In the meantime, Sophie was introducing Kayden to his grandfather.

  Kayden was shy but managed a small grin when Peter asked for a high five.

  "He's so precious, pumpkin," Peter murmured. Turning away, he coughed and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

  Sophie shot Tennyson a look of nervousness, so he figured it was a good moment to break the tension.

  "We ready to eat?"

  She nodded gratefully and carried Kayden to his chair.

  Half the selection of food from a local coffee shop filled the table, and Tennyson set a decaf iced tea and Sophie's recent craving—a bagel with prosciutto and cream cheese—in front of her. With Kayden at the end of the table, Tennyson sat down across from Sophie, and Peter sat down next to his daughter.

  "Thank you for having me here." Peter squeezed Sophie's hand on the table and looked at Tennyson.

  He inclined his head, not ready to be friendlier than civil.

  He wasn’t an asshole. He wanted this to work for Sophie and her dad, but Peter had truckloads of groveling to do before Tennyson was even marginally satisfied. That Sophie had given Peter a second chance showed what kind of angel she was, and now it was up to her father to prove himself.

  Sophie and Peter had spoken over the phone a few times since they'd left Wales, so of course Tennyson was hopeful. But she came first, and if Peter hurt her…

  "So will you keep this place when you move to, where was it, Mendocino?" Peter asked.

  Sophie nodded and chewed on her bagel. "This will be our second home. We're in LA too much to stay in hotels."

  Tennyson quirked a brow. "We're not sure yet. You haven't even seen it, baby. You might not like Mendocino."

  "I know what I know," she argued with a mock-scowl. "It's a small community, good school nearby for Kayden, private, and I've seen photos of every nook and cranny of that house. I'm ready. I want it. I want a family life away from the glitz and glamour, and then we'll have work and—" She waved a hand. "We'll still have this place."

  Peter cleared his throat and brought his coffee to his mouth. "When she sets her mind to something…"

  "Yeah, that hasn’t changed," Tennyson said with a wry smirk at Sophie.

  She went on as if she hadn't heard them. "Emma and I were talking, and did you know Noah wants to leave the city, too?"

  "He's told me." Tennyson nodded. "Why?"

  Sophie shrugged, but the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth gave her away. She had hopes. "Just sayin'. Maybe they'll like Mendocino." She reached over and helped Kayden with his milk. "Daniel and Zane are hopeless. After they get married next summer, they'll probably move to New York, and Asher and Brooklyn will never leave Malibu. But Noah and Emma seem to want what we want."

  "Is that so smart?" Peter furrowed his brow. "Bad enough to be on opposite sides of the state from your manager, but if Daniel moves to New York, how will he be there for you?"

  "Technology is amazing, Dad." Sophie was teasing him. "Daniel can coordinate my schedule from anywhere in the world, and he always sends me one of his assistants when I need help. Plus, as his number-one client, he drops everything to see me if it's an emergency."

  Tennyson had to admit it felt great to see her carefree about the whole situation. She wanted this badly—for things to be good between her and Peter.

  Peter grunted and fought a smile. "All right, sassafras. I'm not completely clueless, you know."

  Tennyson allowed himself to feel some relief and dug into his breakfast sandwich. "Have you told your dad about Central Living?"

  One of the reasons she wanted to stay behind in Mendocino for a bit was so she could finalize her plans for the first building she'd bought. She had a whole staff ready to work, and a right-hand man who would run the organization when she couldn’t.

  "Yeah." Sophie nodded and turned to Peter. "If everything goes as planned, Brooklyn House will open for its first tenants in March next year, and then the next in May."

  "That’s remarkable," her fa
ther noted. "Let me know if you need any help."

  "Will you name a building after Kayden or Ivy?" Tennyson asked.

  "Actually…" She shifted in her seat, excitement building up in her eyes. "I was thinking. The whole project is for single parents, right? So maybe I could organize some kind of day care, too. And in that case—don’t laugh at my idea—I was playing around with Kayden's Crib, or maybe Crib with a 'K.' I don’t know. Is it stupid?"

  Sophie Pierce was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.

  Tennyson shook his head and turned his gaze to Peter. "Should you tell her or should I?"

  "Oh, I don’t mind." Peter jumped right in. "Sophie, perhaps you don’t know the definition of stupid, but I'll be happy to tell you—"

  "Okay, okay, I get it!" she groaned through a laugh. She shot Tennyson a look. "Just because of that, I'm naming one of the places Ivy Kip."

  Tennyson smirked and rolled his eyes. "You do that. I can always ask America for their opinion on national television next week."

  "Press for you already?" Peter asked, knowing Tennyson was busy with post-production.

  He nodded at Sophie. "We're sort of coming out, I suppose." It was her publicist's idea, but it would also begin a wave of media attention aimed at A Killer's Walk. "The interview will be focused on the film, but the host has been given permission to say one line that will confirm our relationship. And then we'll move on."

  "We'll be yesterday's news soon enough." Sophie appeared nervous, but she'd been the first one to agree. Tennyson was fine either way, though he had to say he wanted them to be able to move around in public together without being hounded.

  However… "You will never be yesterday's news, princess." He knew she was too brilliant for that. "But there will be less gossip, yes."

  "Fingers crossed." She smiled.

  Chapter 25

  Los Angeles

  "So let's welcome Sophie Pierce and Tennyson Wright!"

  They walked out on the stage together after having their mics adjusted, and Sophie was momentarily blinded by the spotlights, not to mention going deaf by the complete madness. This was bigger than a simple audience sign flashing "applause."