She purses her lips. “Seriously? Las Vegas? And don’t you think Nic will be furious if we get married before he gets Harper down the aisle?”
I nod. “Good point.”
For a split second I have a vision of the two of us at an Elvis Wedding Chapel in Vegas and my Wild Child with a huge pregnant belly practically waddling down the aisle in her skin tight white wedding dress. It’s got to be the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever imagined.
“Why are you grinning like that?” Her question knocks me out of my daydream.
“No reason.” I hope my face doesn’t look as guilty as I feel.
Her eyes narrow. She’s clearly not buying it.
“Fine,” I tell her. “I was imagining you pregnant.”
“And that made you grin like a five-year-old getting his first bike?”
“My parents never bought me a bike, but that’s definitely something I want to do for our kids.”
“Kids? Plural?”
I laugh. “Oh, hell yeah. If you’re as sexy pregnant as you were in my imagination I’ll be knocking you up a few times.”
When she bites her bottom lip I think she might protest. But instead she says, “If you want me pregnant so badly what are you waiting for?”
Epilogue
Brooke
Six Months Later
“I feel like a whale,” I moan as I look at my very pregnant belly in the mirror.
Leo insisted on picking out my wedding dress. He says it’s identical to the one that he always imagined me wearing, short and very tight. If I wasn’t six months along it might actually be sexy, but right now I feel like a stuffed sausage in it.
“You look great,” Harper assures me.
I frown. “It’s easy for you to say. You’re wearing a classic gown, not one from the Fredricks of Hollywood collection.”
“You look beautiful,” she assures me. “You’re glowing.”
“I’m scared,” I admit. When I turn to face Harper I’m blinking back tears.
“I just don’t know if I’ll be a good wife. And I’m definitely not sure if I’ll be a good mother. It’s not like I had the greatest role models for parenting.”
She puts her hands on my shoulders. “It’ll be a learning experience just like everything else in life. You probably won’t be perfect, but nothing in life is. I know Leo worships you and I know the two of you will do the best you can loving each other and loving the baby. That’s all anyone can expect.”
“You’re right,” I tell her. “But you’re always right. About everything.”
She rolls her eyes. “Let’s not get carried away.”
“You look beautiful, by the way. Like a princess in a fairytale.”
“Enough with the mutual admiration society,” Raven says as she strolls into the guest house. Harper and I are using it as a temporary dressing area so the guys don’t see us before we exchange vows.
“You two are almost making me sick,” she adds with her typical Raven cynicism. “And who picked out this bridesmaid’s dress?” She stands in front of the mirror with us. “It’s hideous. Way too frilly. Not to mention it’s puke green.”
Raven kind of looks like a cake topper that someone vomited on. Never in a million years would either Harper or I admit that we both made a point to pick out the ugliest bridesmaid’s dress we could possibly find for her to wear. Just because we thought it would be funny.
Needless to say we’re not disappointed.
“I want you both to know that the only reason I agreed to be your bridesmaid is because I love Rayne and Leo like my brothers.”
“We know,” Harper replies, trying her best to keep a straight face.
“And because Xander is the best man.”
“Of course,” I tell her.
“I don’t want either of you to think it’s because I actually like either one of you. We’re not going to suddenly be besties or anything. I’m not going to want to go on your stupid shopping trips or attend your ridiculous ladies lunches.”
“We know,” Harper agrees before she eyes me.
I give Harper an almost imperceptible nod in return. Then I say off-handedly, “I don’t know if you heard, Raven. Harper and I were invited to a tea party at the art museum next weekend. I know it’s not really your kind of thing, but we have an extra ticket, if you’ve got nothing else to do…”
She makes a point of rolling her eyes at me. “A tea party at a museum is like the last place on Earth I’d ever want to go.” Then she sneers, before she asks, “What time is it at?”
“Three o’clock next Saturday,” Harper says. “The guys are playing in a celebrity golf tournament that day.”
I laugh. “Rayne and Xander will actually be playing. Leo will probably just be swinging the clubs and hoping he can hit the ball enough times that he doesn’t embarrass himself.”
“I’ll see if there’s anything else on my calendar that day,” Raven says. “Like watching paint dry.”
“We’ll leave the extra ticket for you just in case,” Harper says and winks at me.
“I really need to get the two of you outside for the ceremony. Before Rayne and Leo come to their senses and decide not to marry you.”
“This is it.” I turn to face my best friend. “Can you believe we’re both getting married?”
“And we’re both having babies,” she says.
My eyes go wide. “I’m sorry. What was that?”
She laughs. “I said we’re both having babies.”
“You’re pregnant?” I stammer still in shock.
She nods. “We just found out.”
“Aren’t you just full of surprises?”
When she looks like the cat that ate the canary I know something else is up. “Spill.”
“There’s another surprise…”
“What is it?”
“A good one. I promise. You’ll just have to wait until we get outside to find out.”
I glare at her. “I was just calmed down until you started springing all this news on me. Now I’m scared shitless again.”
Raven grabs us both by the elbows. “I’ve got to get you two breeders outside. Now.”
“Like you and Xander aren’t going to have kids,” I fire back.
She laughs. “Not anytime soon. I can assure you of that.”
Harper and I give each other a meaningful glance. Knowing how competitive the members of Always Rayne are it won’t take long for a little Raven or Xander to join the ranks.
As the three of us head out to the garden where the guests have all been seated for the ceremony I think about how much has changed and how much we’ve all grown since that Always Rayne concert in San Diego when Harper and I first met the guys.
It seems like a lifetime ago.
Harper insisted on more traditional music so Felix Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" is playing as we make our way down the aisle. Since we made the decision to have a very intimate wedding with only close friends and immediate family it doesn’t add up to a huge crowd.
It only takes a few moments for me to realize that my mom and dad are seated in the front row. When I glance at Harper she just grins at me.
I didn’t send them an invitation because I didn’t want to go through the pain of having them decline, so Harper must have invited them herself.
Xander, Nic and Leo are lined up in their black tuxedos looking sexy as hell, but also scared shitless. Nic is as white as a sheet and Leo looks like he could pass out at any moment.
But when the three of us take our places in the other side of the podium directly across from them they all light up like the Las Vegas strip.
And speaking of Las Vegas…since Nic thought it would attraction too much media attention for the four of us to elope he decided to bring a little bit of Sin City to the Arizona desert. He hired an Elvis impersonator to officiate the ceremony. The guy could easily pass for Elvis, if Elvis wasn’t dead.
Leo and I exchange vows first. He insisted on writing his own and I’m t
ouched when he says he will “love and cherish me forever.” And that even when he’s dead his “ghost will still love me and cherish me for eternity.” It’s such a typical Leoism.
I wasn’t sure what to write so I tell him that he makes me a better person, because it’s true. And that every day I make a choice to be with him because I’m still taking things one day at a time.
When Elvis tells Leo to kiss his bride he doesn’t hesitate for a moment. He plants a big wet one on me and everyone in our small audience applauds.
Harper and Nic have much more serious and much better written vows because they’re Harper and Nic. They’re much smarter and much less lazy than their best friends.
And once the four of us are officially husbands and wives by the powers vested in the Elvis impersonator we all march back down the aisle, this time with our husbands in tow and form a line next to one of the fountains to greet our guests.
Leo’s got the tightest grip on my hands ever and when I turn to face him his skin looks green.
“What’s wrong,” I whisper.
“Your parents are here,” he whispers back.
“It looks that way.”
“What if they hate me?” he actually sounds pained.
I can’t help but laugh. “Join the club.”
I can’t even remember the last time I saw my dad in a suit. He’s almost always wearing a Polo shirt with his smoothie shop logo emblazoned on the chest and khaki pants.
“Congratulations,” my dad stammers and then awkwardly kisses my cheek.
I hate myself for already blinking back tears. “Dad, this is my husband, Leo.”
It sounds so strange to say the word husband it almost gets caught in my throat.
My dad shakes Leo’s hand. “I know you’ll take good care of our daughter.”
Our daughter. My parents haven’t called me their daughter in years. I do my best not to start sobbing.
“I’ll do my best, sir,” Leo replies. “Or I’ll die trying.”
“We love you,” my mom says as she grabs me and hugs me. I may have been seven or eight years old the last time that happened.
“Mom, this is Leo.”
To my surprise she hugs him too.
“We’d like to be a part of our grandchild’s life,” my mom says. “If you’ll let us.”
I’m not sure what to say, or if I can even speak. I’m a bundle of raw emotions. So I just nod.
As four sets of eyes naturally gravitate toward my belly we see the baby kick. The baby’s foot seems to be even more noticeable in the ultra-tight dress I’m wearing.
“Did you see that?” Leo’s eyes are wide.
“I felt it too,” I tell him.
“Do it again,” he urges.
I laugh. “There’s another human being inside of me. He’s the one who’s doing it. Not me.”
“It’s a boy?” my mom asks.
“It is.”
“Have you picked out a name?”
I nod. “His name is going to be Bradford Donovan.”
When I glance at my dad I see him swat at a tear that has escaped down his cheek. After he sniffles a few times I just can’t help myself. “Everything okay, Dad?”
“Fine. I think the desert plants are affecting my allergies.”
My dad would never admit that he’s crying because we’re naming the baby after him, but I can see he’s smiling. And for my dad, whose face rarely cracks a smile, this is literally worth a thousand words.
A Sneak Peak at Never Raven
Chapter One
“Stop kicking me, Xander,” I mutter still foggy from sleep.
My mouth is as dry as the Arizona desert and my head is throbbing.
Too much tequila. I never drink tequila. Except last night apparently.
As I rub the sleep from my eyes and look around I realize I’m not with Xander…or Leo. I can’t remember whose room I’m in or who I fucked last night.
The only thing I do remember is that fucking the guy was about as exciting as fucking a dead fish.
“Who’s Xander?” The guy’s voice is deep. I still can’t place it.
I was in a bar last night with Xander. We got into a fight. Not that we hadn’t been doing that a lot lately, but this time he left me sitting on a barstool and never came back.
I had no way to get back home.
Or should I say back to Rayne and Harper’s place. It’s not exactly my home. I just crash there when we’re not on tour with the band.
The bar was filled with button-down shirt wearing douche bags. I picked the one who looked the least douchey, or so I thought. He said he didn’t mind taking me home, but he wanted something in return.
Guys always want something in return.
He told me he didn’t want to leave right away. That’s when the tequila shots started coming.
I don’t remember much after that. He told me something about playing guitar, but I had a feeling he was just trying to impress me when I told him I knew a lot of musicians.
He definitely didn’t look like a guy who plays guitar. When you’ve been on the road as long as I have, you get to know a lot of guys in bands. Most guys in rock bands don’t wear button-down shirts, ties and dress slacks, even when they’re going to a funeral.
I remember thinking his clothes and the fancy watch he was wearing looked really expensive. He was even wearing polished black dress shoes. And his huge smile and perfect teeth reminded me of a politician’s.
And there wasn’t a tattoo anywhere on his body. Definitely not typical for a guy in a band. Most of the guys I know have more ink than a newspaper.
“Who is Xander?” he says again with an edge of irritation in his voice.
Who is Xander? That’s a really good question. I used to think he was my best friend. I used to think we’d be together for the long haul. I used to think that I was someone special in his life.
I don’t think those things anymore.
“A guy I fuck,” I say casually.
When he grabs my chin it knocks the wind right from my lungs. Fear surges through my veins and I brace myself for something even worse. His entire body goes rigid with tension and his eyes flood with rage.
“Don’t ever speak to me that way again,” he spits through clenched teeth.
“Okay,” I squeak. My voice is so soft it doesn’t even sound like my own.
“Show some class.”
He’s holding my jaw so tight his fingers feel like a vice grip. All I want him to do is let go of my face before he bruises it.
“Okay,” I repeat, even though I’m not sure how much class I can show after fucking a guy I just met for a ride home.
I can’t even remember the dude’s name.
“Get dressed,” he demands as he rises from the bed.
“You’re still going to take me home?” My voice sounds so small and fragile. I don’t remember feeling this vulnerable since I was a kid, long before I met Xander, Leo and Rayne and before they became Always Rayne.
The guy scrunches his nose and looks at me like I’m a piece of stinky garbage he has to get rid of. “Of course I’m going to take you home.”
The last thing I want to do is put on the sweaty clothes I was wearing last night. They’re in a wrinkled heap on the floor.
His eyes are on me as I rise from the bed. When he licks his lips like a hungry lion my stomach actually lurches.
Before I know it he’s right behind me. He grabs my long hair in his hands and pulls hard enough that the motion jerks my neck back. “If I had more time I’d take you for another ride.”
Then he smacks my bare ass so hard it stings. “But I’ve got an appointment and I don’t want to be late.”
***
The ride back to Rayne and Harper’s place is excruciating. The guy is cold and distant and doesn’t say a word to me. I’m not sure why I expect anything different. That’s how he was when he fucked me.
It’s definitely not something I’m used to. When I’m with Xander, or w
hen I was with any of the guys from the band—and I was with them a lot over the years—it was always fun. We fucked a lot, but we also laughed a lot and talked a lot and just enjoyed being together.
There’s nothing to enjoy about being with this prick. I just want to get as far away from him as I can.
I don’t want him to know that I live with the guys from Always Rayne and their girlfriends. Always Rayne is one of the hottest bands in the world and the lead singer, Nic Rayne, is a complete freak about his privacy and having it invaded by the paparazzi. He would kill me if he knew I brought some guy I barely know anywhere near his house, or even more import anywhere near his girlfriend, Harper.
“Stop here,” I state when we’re about a quarter mile from the driveway of Rayne’s estate.
“Why?” the guy asks without slowing down.
“I said stop the car,” I demand. As soon as the forceful words leave my mouth I know they’re a mistake.
Tension fills the air between us as the guy slams on the brakes. Luckily Rayne’s place is a fair distance outside of Scottsdale and he owns a lot of land so there’s no one else on the road.
When he turns to confront me the guy’s face is like stone. “Don’t ever yell at me again.”
I want to tell him there’s no way in hell I ever plan on seeing him again, but I refrain. I just want to get out of the car without getting hit.
His fists are balled and his arms are so rigid they’re shaking.
My heart is beating so fast I feel like I could pass out at any moment. As nice as his brand new Mercedes is I just want to get out of his car.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him, even though I’m not. I just don’t want to push him over the edge.
Luckily my apology seems to calm him down a bit.
Then he smiles. One of his big, politician grins. The guy is like Jekyll and Hyde. “I want to see you again.”
By see he means fuck, but I’m not going to correct him. I’m going to be the good girl he seems to want me to be until I’m safely out of his car.
“Okay,” I lie.
“Give me your number.”
I’m tempted to lie and give him a wrong number, but something tells me not to. So I give him my cellphone number.
Sometimes Brooke (The ALWAYS SOMETIMES NEVER Rock Star Romance Series Book 2) Page 15
