Sinful Ever After (Sinful Serenade Book 5) (17 page)

My phone buzzes.

Incoming call from Mom
.

Dammit, I thought I hung up fast enough.

For a second, I consider letting it ring to voicemail. But then I see Drew's slacks and boxers on the bedroom floor.

Damn him and his sexual not quite bribery.

I answer the call. "Hey, Mom."

"Kara, sweetie. How are you?" Her voice is chipper. She's doing well.

"I'm good. Tired."

"How was your friend's wedding?"

"Beautiful." I spent nearly twenty minutes filling Mom in on all the details of the wedding. Not that I'm avoiding the subject at hand.

She interjects with
awws
. It was a nice wedding.

When I run out of details, I start talking about the cake. Then the frosting.

Then I'm out of other subjects.

I have to tell her.

Fuck.

I push myself off the bed and pace the hotel room. It's a long room. It's a lot of space for pacing.

"Kara, you okay?" Mom asks.

"I have to tell you something." I need to do this fast, like a Band-Aid. Quick. Painless.

Yep, there's nothing as painless as telling your mother that you're unwed and pregnant.

It's not so bad, really. Drew and I are engaged. We're employed. Well, he's employed. I'm employable.

He's responsible. He's mature. Hell, he's the only one of the guys who does his own cleaning. Miles, Tom, and Pete all hire cleaning services.

Drew takes care of himself. He takes care of me. He can take care of our baby too.

We can do this.

I take a deep breath. "Mom, I'm pregnant."

"Oh."

I can't read her voice. Shit.

"I just found out." I tap my fingers against the phone. What do I say here? How do I convince her this is okay? "It's a good thing. We're happy."

"Then I'm happy."

Drew calls out from the bathroom. "You have an appointment with a doctor in the morning."

Thank God for Drew. I've never been more certain that I need him than I am right now.

"I'm seeing an OB tomorrow," I say. "We'll find out more."

"That's great, sweetheart."

"Really?"

"You're a little young, but... you know, your father and I got married and started trying for a baby as soon as we could. Sometimes, it's okay to do things early."

"Yeah?" I ask.

Her voice lifts. "You're going to be a great mom, Kara. I know it's scary. I was terrified when you were born. I thought I'd do something wrong. But the love you have for your family—it's the best thing in the world."

***

A
fter the doctor's office—I'm ten weeks along, and everything looks good—we get into a cab and head to brunch.

"Think they're tired of sleeping together already?" Drew asks.

"Not in a million years." I rest my head on his shoulder and intertwine my fingers with his. "Do you want to tell them or should I?"

"I will." He squeezes my hand. "Unless you object."

"No. You should tell them." I press my eyelids together and soak in the vibrations of the road. "In thirty weeks, we're going to have a baby."

"Yeah."

"There are about two weeks until your tour starts."

"I've got it under control, Kara. Don't worry."

"You want to tell me how?"

"I’d rather tell you once I'm sure this will work." He lowers his voice. "In case I fuck it up."

"Okay." My breath feels sharp. I don't like the uncertainty, but I
can
respect that Drew wants to be sure before he makes a promise.

It's his way.

After a few quiet minutes, we arrive at the restaurant. It's surprisingly quaint, like a hipster version of Denny's. Everyone else is here. They're at a long table in the middle of the room. Meg and Miles are sitting on the end. They're wearing the relaxed smiles of two people who spent the entire night knocking boots.

Tom jumps out of his chair when he sees us. Willow follows, a few paces behind.

He hugs me hello and whispers in my ear, "nobody knows you're knocked up."

Willow play-swats him then takes her turn hugging me. "You do have that glow about you."

"It's the glow of good nausea medication." The doctor prescribed something that is safe for the baby. It still feels like a dream. I'm having a baby. We're having a baby. In seven months, we'll have a baby. "But thanks."

"No, it's more than that." Tom gives me a quick once-over. He turns to Willow. "They
are
bigger."

She laughs, somehow endeared by her husband's bluntness and inability to mind his own business. Okay, it's hard to deny that Tom is charming in a very Tom kind of way.

She kisses him on the nose then turns to me. "Do you know how far along?"

"We're going to announce it in a few minutes." Drew motions to the table. "Sit down or you'll blow our cover."

They do as they're asked.

Drew turns to me. He rubs my shoulders as he stares into my eyes. "You okay?"

"Still breathing."

"Want to get this over with?"

"Please."

Drew nods. He presses his palm into my back to lead me to the table.

I smile as I take my seat. "Congrats again, you guys. You look very married."

Meg smiles. She stares at her rings with delight then turns to Miles and plants a peck on his lips.

He slides his hand behind her neck and kisses her deeply. She pulls back an inch, murmuring something about
not in front of our friends.
Within seconds, she's kissing him back.

Then the two of them are making out like no one is watching.

"Think he'll ever get tired of that?" Tom asks.

"Fuck no." Pete nods hello to me and Drew.

Jess too. "You look pretty, Kara. I couldn't figure out how to tame my hair after all that hairspray. I'm impressed you did."

Pete exchanges a look with Jess. God knows what they're communicating. I'm not sure how anyone communicates anything with the dark-haired bassist. I've known him for nearly two years, and he's still an enigma.

Drew leans in to whisper. "Now?"

I nod. "Now."

He stands up and addresses the table. "We have an announcement."

"You're getting married too?" Jess claps her hands together.

Drew shakes his head. "No. We're... Kara's pregnant. Almost two months along. We're excited, but it means some things are gonna change."

"Give everybody a minute to be happy for you." Tom stands up. He offers Drew his hand to shake. "I know I already said it, but this is fucking awesome."

"You told Tom?" Pete cocks a brow in a gesture that says,
you know he can't keep his mouth shut, right?

Tom laughs. "He didn't exactly have a choice. Long story. Fill you in later."

Pete shoots him an inquisitive look.

Tom shrugs.

Pete looks at me. "That's great, Kara. You're going be a great mom, and Drew's gonna be a really protective dad. But it's good. Kids need love
and
boundaries."

Miles calls out from his side of the table. "That's great, Kara."

"Yeah. It is." Meg smiles and mouths,
are you okay?

I nod. "Hope we're not usurping your wedding."

"Don't worry. I know how to steal spotlight back." Miles winks.

Meg laughs. She leans in to kiss him. This time, he's even more obvious about making the kiss hot as hell. He slides his hands to her ass, pulls her into his lap, and presses his lips to her neck.

She groans loudly enough to draw the attention of everyone here.

Only there's no one but us and a few confused staff members. None of them are looking at the group with that,
oh my goodness, celebrities are weird
stare. It's more,
kids these days
.

Drew looks me over carefully. I must look okay, because he steps backward and nods to Tom. "Shall we?"

Tom taps his fingers against the table. He pushes himself up. "Yeah." He blows a kiss to his wife. "Order without us. Could be a while."

"Sure, sweetie." She smiles until Tom and Drew walk away, then she's pressing her lips together, her brow knotted with worry.

Yeah, that looks about right.

Willow shakes it off when she catches me staring. "I'm sure it will be fine. Tom's really excited. He kept talking about how when we adopt in a few years, we can adopt an older kid or older siblings—usually, older siblings can't get any placement—so our kids will be similar ages."

"You and Tom have already talked about adopting?" Jess asks.

"Yeah." Willow smiles. "He's always wanted to adopt. Because of his parents and being in foster homes." She clears her throat. "Uh, your wedding was really nice, Meg. And your tattoo looks awesome." Willow places her hand over the tattoo on her chest—a glass heart, broken and bleeding. Drew has the same one on his shoulder. "I should have warned you about these. Guys love staring."

"I'll protect you, Princess." Miles squeezes Meg.

"Likely story." Meg traces the lines of her new ink—the words
Be Brave, Love
in script on her chest. It matches the tattoo on Miles's chest.

It's all very sweet.

But not sweet enough to distract me from Tom and Drew's conversation. They're just outside the restaurant.

It looks tense.

Really tense.

"I'm sure Drew isn't gonna quit." Miles laughs. "He needs the money now."

Pete chuckles. "They'll work it out. Tom cares about family more than he lets on. The band's a family. It’s not gonna fuck us up if Drew takes time off. We'll figure something out."

Miles clears his throat. "You suggesting we replace Guitar Prince? He'd never go for that."

"His ego can handle it," Pete says.

"You angling to pick up the mantle?" Miles teases.

"Fuck no. Give me a bass guitar or give me-" He turns to Jess. "Well, there is something else I like my hands on."

"Don't tease." She presses her forehead against his.

"Who's teasing, baby? I've got the day free." Pete smiles ear to ear. He presses his lips to her neck.

She groans. Her eyelids press together as she tugs at her skirt.

Miles clears his throat again. "Damn, don't need to hear you come this often, Steele. At least keep it down this time."

Pete shakes his head. "No way in hell."

Miles raises a brow.

Pete winks.

At least they're in good spirits. I can't get the worried feeling out of the pit of my stomach. I take a deep breath, but it doesn't help.

"Excuse me. I'm going to get some air." I push myself from the table and find the back entrance.

It doesn't open up to anything fancy—just the parking lot—but it's quiet and it's empty. I press my back against the walls and scan the windows to check the view. Once I'm sure no one can see me from inside, I sink to my feet and bury my head between my knees.

Too much is happening.

A month ago, I had the next few years figured out. I was going to take a teaching position in Malibu at the school where I did my student-teaching, marry Drew, and spend my weekends and summers with him on tour. He'd fly home as often as possible. The constant stop and go would be hard, but we could do it for a while. Until everyone in the band wanted to slow down.

Sinful Serenade is big, but they're not big enough to pull off a multi-year hiatus. I can't be the person who holds them back from reaching their full potential.

A tear stings my eye. Damn pregnancy hormones.

I let it fall. I spent years trying to stay in control of my feelings. All it got me was a bunch of ugly scars to line my thighs.

I was running from my feelings until Drew forced me to confront them. I was running from everything I wanted.

There are footsteps. I wipe my tears with my sleeves and push myself to my feet. No sense in embarrassing myself in front of a stranger.

Only it's not a stranger. It's Meg.

She crouches down to wrap her arms around me. "Are you happy? Besides the crying in a parking lot thing?"

"Terrified. But also happy."

She squeezes me. "Then I'm happy too." She helps me up. "Your boobs are going to get even bigger. How will you ever find clothes that fit?"

I laugh. "I wasn't worrying about that."

"You should have told me you were pregnant instead of letting me go on about wedding dresses and cake. I feel like an asshole."

I shake my head. My eyes are still stinging with tears. "Fucking hormones." I use my other sleeve this time. "Your wedding is important. And cake is fucking amazing."

She laughs. "That's true."

"And you picked an amazing cake."

She nods. "It really was good. I ate so much of it. I never want sugar again."

"That sounds about right."

She smiles and leans closer. "You know you can always tell me the truth. No kid gloves, okay?"

"Okay."

"Holy fuck, you're gonna be a mom!" She hugs me again. "It's really cool."

It is. I can see that part—I can see myself cradling a baby, dressing her in those adorable tiny Converse, playing peekaboo, and when she's older, teaching her to read.

"Miles likes to play cool, but we were going through this too." She lowers her voice. "I wasn't sure I could survive us being apart so much. School is hard. I don't have time to visit. Sometimes, it feels like a part of me is gone with him. And that's when we're apart a week. When it's longer-" She shifts her weight between her legs, leaning against the wall. "I was worried. The next five, ten years, I'm going to be stuck at whatever hospital will have me. It's nothing compared to having a child, but it's hard."

"You weren't sure about the wedding?"

"Yeah. You couldn't tell?"

"Figured it was normal cold feet."

"Maybe it was." She looks up at the blue sky. "Change is hard. Even when it's something good."

I copy her position, leaning against the wall and looking up at the sky.

"Did you cut your caffeine down to less than 200 milligrams a day?"

"Yeah, but no future Doctor Smart. Is it still Smart?"

She nods.

"No future doctor right now. Just my friend, Meg."

"Miles talked to Tom about slowing down. At least, I figured he talked to Tom. It does seem like Tom's in charge of everything, but I've never really looked into it."