yourself.’ She opened the door wider. ‘I guess you’d better come in considering you sent the driver packing.’
‘Where’s that country hospitality Brockenridge is supposed to be famous for?’
‘That’s only reserved for friends.’
‘Ouch.’ He pretended to stagger and stepped into the kitchen, waiting until she closed the door before taking the folded document out of his pocket.
She eyed it warily. ‘What’s that?’
‘A plan.’
‘For?’
‘You and me.’
Her eyes widened and she backed up a few steps. ‘Kody, we’ve been through this. Anything between us isn’t feasible—’
‘I’m stepping away from the band.’
Her jaw dropped. ‘You can’t. That band is your life.’
‘No, my life is here. With you and Isla.’
Colour suffused her cheeks and he could almost see the wheels turning in her head.
‘What are you saying?’
‘That I want to prove to you I’m in this for the long haul.’ He unfolded the paper, smoothed it out and held it up. ‘If we’re going to do this right, the way the news gets out is important, so a press release will control it.’
She stared at him like he’d sprouted another head. ‘You want to announce to the world that you have a daughter? Are you nuts? Media will be all over this place like ants at a picnic.’ She shook her head, not even glancing at the paper. ‘No way.’
Knowing she’d react like this, he laid the paper on the nearby dining table. ‘Give me some credit. I’ve spent the time in Melbourne reorganising my life so I can be with you and Isla as much as possible, so the least you can do is hear me out.’
She visibly deflated. ‘Sorry. You know me, always ready to make rash judgements.’
He bit back a smile, her moroseness incredibly endearing. ‘Yeah, I do know you, yet I still want us to be together. Go figure.’
‘Stop it,’ she muttered, but he glimpsed a smile. ‘Okay, I’ll listen.’
‘I’m not leaving the band, but we’re cutting back, big time. No more long tours. We’re old enough and successful enough to pick and choose what we do these days, so that means focussing on recording and less live gigs.’
Her lips compressed, her silence telling. She wasn’t impressed.
‘I want to put down roots for a while, explore a relationship with you, be a dad to Isla, without having her travelling between us. So I’ll get a place in Brockenridge, see how it works out.’ He held up his hands like he had nothing to hide. ‘No pressure, Tash. I just want you to know I’m not jerking you around, that I’m serious about us.’
The tension underlining her mouth softened. ‘Those are some major changes for you. Are you sure about it?’
He nodded. ‘Absolutely. The boys are onboard too. We’ve been on the road too long. About time we came home to Australia and concentrated on our local fans.’
She didn’t speak for a while and when she did, it was to murmur, ‘I’m a fan.’
Hope flickered to life. ‘Then that pretty much guarantees I’ll be focussing on you.’
She smiled and he wanted to punch the air and let out a happy whoop.
‘I need some time so I can think about this, because I always weigh every decision involving Isla carefully.’
She was making him sweat and he bit back a grin. ‘How much time?’
Her smile widened. ‘As it turns out, no time at all, because I’ll be returning to study fairly soon, completing my nursing degree part-time while working, so it’d be handy having you around.’
He laughed at her joke, as an invisible weight lifted off his shoulders. ‘So that’s the only reason you want to give us a go? For my general dogsbody skills.’
She tapped her bottom lip, pretending to think, before snapping her fingers. ‘That, and some other skills you have.’
He crossed the kitchen in three quick steps, his ankle not twanging at all, to sweep her into his arms. ‘So you want to use me for my body too?’
‘Over and over again,’ she murmured against the corner of his mouth a moment before she kissed him.
‘Lucky I married Harry today otherwise I reckon I’d give you a run for your money with Hot Pants.’ Alisha nudged Tash, who hadn’t taken her eyes off the stage since Kody had stepped up to perform a great rendition of Billy Idol’s ‘White Wedding’.
‘Huh, did you say something?’ Tash cupped her ear and leaned over. ‘I think you did, but I didn’t hear because I’m too busy perving on my boyfriend.’
Alisha laughed. ‘I’m so glad you two are back together. And I’m also glad he