to have to deal with them for a while.
"Yeah. We had the fridge restocked before we came home," I answer.
"Where were you?" Gage asks.
"Bora Bora, then Utah."
"Utah?" he scoffs.
"Oh, didn't you know? Trace's dad is the Governor."
"Shut the fuck up," Justin bellows. "You're daddy's a politician."
Trace nods. "He'd help me hide the bodies. Keep that in mind."
I snicker.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Lucian exclaims. "I see someone's got some engagement bling. You slick son of a bitch," he says looking at Trace. "You finally made your move."
Trace ignores him and bites into a donut.
"You're going to join us, right?" Kael asks. His hopeful expression makes me feel compelled to say yes, though I'm not sure I want to.
"Why don't we do this," Trace says. "Let Meg learn a few songs and see how she feels about lead. Then we'll decide."
"That's a yes," Justin shouts with a fist punch in the air.
"It's not," I correct.
"But it is."
"Not."
"Yes, it is," he argues.
"No."
"Yes."
"Are you arguing with my future wife?" Trace asks him, and Justin shuts up.
"Just a little word play."
"Go play with yourself," Trace tells him and I snicker.
"I do that all the time," Justin responds.
I give him a side-long look. "I heard about you guys from Nicole. Pervs."
"I'm innocent," Gage declares.
"And that right there tells me for sure you're not," I reply.
"He's so not," Kael tattles.
"So… when?" Lucian asks.
I sigh. "Tomorrow. We'll met you at the gold tower. You can ask Cage for a studio."
Lucian nods. "You'll notice, we didn't ask."
About Blush is what he means.
"You'll notice we didn't tell," Trace responds.
"I definitely noticed that," Justin says.
"Good, now get the fuck out of here. We'll see you tomorrow. Ten-thirty," Trace tells them, leading them to the front door, holding it open, then closing it with a little more force than is necessary before locking it. He leans back against it and scrubs a hand down his face.
"Well, it won't be boring," I state.
Trace gives me a droll look. Suddenly his eyes start to sparkle—those pretty emeralds. I know what's on his mind. I set my coffee mug down as Trace stalks toward me, leans down, and lifts me over his shoulder in a fireman carry.
"I vowed to make love to you. I don't break my vows to my woman," he tells me, then tosses me onto the bed. He pounces on me and I let out a squeal and a giggle.
Never a dull moment.
12
Meggie
We walk into Nichols Records, drumsticks in Trace's back pocket, and my guitar case in his hand. He spoils me. I'll take it.
Cage meets us at the studio. Burners are already here. Gage is kicked back in a recliner, his hand elevated, his eyes closed.
"Good pain meds?" I ask.
His eyes open slowly. "Ibuprofen and Tylenol. Recovering addict, remember?"
"Ouch."
"Yeah. I took the stuff they gave right after surgery because otherwise I'd have gone crazy from the pain, but after a few days home, I stick to OTC."
"I admire that," I tell him honestly.
"And I know I'm going to admire the hell out of you rocking lead."
I cringe. "We'll see."
We set up, and Justin gives me the sheet music.
"Damn, you made me sheets," I say. Now I have to try my hardest. Putting all those notes down on paper isn't easy. Generally lead guitarists play their riffs once and know where to go from there.
"Yep. Gage told me what notes where, and I wrote it up for you," Kael tells me.
"Thank you for that. I feel bad now because I pretty much know the songs by heart," I admit.
"I knew it," Justin exclaims. "You're a fan."
I roll my eyes. "Duh."
"Let's see what you've got," Lucian says.
I shrug. "I make no promises that I'm going to be good."
"Meg, you're more than good," Trace tells me.
Whew. He's gonna have to sex me up again later.
The song starts and I listen to Gage's recording of him finger fucking the strings like a pro and trying my best to match him. There are a few times I'm off beat just a bit, but I pick it up. With practice, I think I could get it. Song after song plays and I surprise myself when, after a couple of songs, I'm keeping up and on beat.
It's exhilarating. It's challenging. It's… amazing. After the fifth song, we stop.
"You did fucking awesome," Gage tells me.
"I was off at first, but I figured it out, your timing. If we go this route, I'm going to need a lot of practice. I need to learn—so much. I hope I can," I admit.
"You