and Willow to get closer to the stage. My body moves of its own accord, no thinking necessary.
Drew is singing for me.
Singing about being in love for me.
My heart melts as his voice flows into my ears. Drew may not be the best singer in the world, but I can feel every word in my soul. I can feel every bit of emotion in his voice.
The song fades into the outro. Right away, another starts. Only this isn't a Sinful Serenade song. It's one of his songs.
He never shares those. With anyone. He won't even sing the lyrics in front of me.
The other stage light goes on. There's a man with dark hair and bright eyes playing the guitar part. I barely recognize Ethan, the Dangerous Noise guitarist.
He's playing Drew's part. In Drew's song.
I'm not sure what it means. It's hard to concentrate on anything but how much I want to dive into Drew's voice and stay there forever.
This time, he stops after the song fades into the outro. He sets the mic back in its stand and turns to me.
"We learned about a dozen of these, but I'm guessing you got the idea." He jumps off the stage so he's standing in the aisle, ten feet away from me.
"I can listen to you sing another dozen songs."
He nods.
"After you explain?"
He takes a step closer. "After I explain, I'm going to take you backstage and make you come."
"After that."
"Afraid I've got the entire night dedicated to making you come."
My lips curl into a smile. Already, all the tension in my shoulders is relaxing. "I can live with that."
He moves close enough to touch me. His fingertips skim my wrist, the scarred one. He looks into my eyes. "This tour, Ethan is going to fill in for me any time I need to be home with you. I'm going to be there every doctor's appointment, every time you get scared. Every time you need me, we're going to be together."
"And after that?"
"Got four session musicians lined up."
"Someone else is playing for you?"
He nods.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"But you're not leaving the band?"
"Not unless I get kicked out." He looks toward Tom. "Not going willingly." He brings his gaze back to me. Brings his palm to my cheek. "You come first, Kara. Our family, that comes first. But you were right, Sinful Serenade is our family too. As much as I hate to admit it, we need them."
I stare up at him. "Explain the details."
"First year or so, I want to be there, at home with you. After that, I'll still go on the road, but we'll never be apart for more than a week. I'll fly home or you'll come with me. It won't be easy. It will be a lot of trial and error, but we'll make it work."
Drew's letting someone fill in for him while he stays home with me, with our family.
But then he's going back.
I'm not derailing the band. Not derailing him.
He rubs my cheek with his thumb, wiping away a tear. "That a happy tear?"
I blink, and my lashes are heavy with happy tears. It's an obvious solution, but I wouldn't have ever guessed Drew would be willing to do it.
He's more protective of his role as the guitarist, the best musician in the band, than he is of anything.
But he's still the band's guitarist, because the band is so much more than the music. It's a family.
All eight of us are a family.
Drew wipes another tear from my eye. "I love you. I want a life with you and with all our family."
"I love you too."
He squeezes me. "You're gonna be a great mom, Kara."
"You think so?"
"I fucking know so."
"Really?"
"Really."
I rise to my tiptoes to press my lips to his. He tastes like home. He always does, but in this moment, it's more potent. It's exactly what I need.
Wherever we are, that's home.
He's my home, and I'm his, and together, we're going to be this baby's home.
"You're going to be a good dad," I whisper.
"I'll be there whenever you need me, honey. Anytime. I'll make it work."
I nod. "We're really doing this. We're really having a baby."
He smiles. "Yeah, we are."
I kiss him again for good measure.
Rock Forever
Chapter Twenty-Five
Willow
"What are you looking at, kid?" Tom presses his back into the mirrored elevator wall. He looks me up and down, his green eyes lighting up.
Why am I reading an email on my cellphone when my husband is eye-fucking me?
God, he's really my husband.
It's been two months, but it still feels