head, my gaze questioning, then I looked at Gloria and Sabrina, who were wearing secretive smiles. They knew about whatever this was.
Everett clasped my hand, and his smile returned, curving his lips and warming my chest. “Come on.”
Outside, I stopped on the sidewalk when he pulled a set of keys from his pocket and hit the key fob, unlocking a Volkswagen SUV. “Um…”
“It’s yours,” he said, opening the door.
“What?” I dragged my eyes from the excitement dancing over his face and carefully stepped closer to the red car. “It’s mine?”
“Did you really think you’d be able to get around town with just a stroller?” He laughed. “We need a car, Clover.”
Perched on the back seat was a baby seat, still in the box. My hand rose to my mouth, my eyes watering yet again. “Holy shit, Everett.”
He rubbed my back. “Red. It was that or yellow, which they didn’t have. I couldn’t picture you in anything dull.”
“How did you…?” I stopped, glaring at him. “You used your advance? God, Everett, that’s to help you live until this album starts making some money.” He couldn’t work at the hardware store with the kind of hours they had to put in at the studio.
“It’s fine.” Sincere and firm, he said, “Trust me.”
Those two words had my shoulders relaxing. Marginally. “You could have bought something cheaper. This would’ve been expens—”
“Clover.” He groaned. “Would you quit riding my ass and get in the damn car?”
I planted my hands on my hips, ready to ream him out, then stopped when his mouth caught mine. His hands sank into my hair, and he kissed me until I could hardly breathe, let alone remember what I’d been worried about.
“Where are we going?” I asked after he’d tucked me inside.
“Studio. If I’m gone too long, they’ll have a tantrum.” He turned the car around and headed through town toward the highway. “Besides, I like it when you’re there.”
“Just…” My eyes were zigzagging everywhere. The gear shift, the stereo, the leather seats. “Wow.”
“You over your shock enough to admit you like it?”
With my fingers gliding over the center console, where two bottles of cold water were perspiring, a small laugh tumbled out. “I fucking love it.”
Everett slipped on his sunglasses. “I love you. Now drink some water. You’ve been crying too much.”
I did as I was told, and for the first time since we’d found out about this pregnancy, I felt like everything really would be okay.
“I guess things are getting serious,” Graham drawled around the butt of his cigarette, wearing a shit-eating grin as he watched us cross the lot to the refurbed warehouse.
“Mind your business, G.” Everett lit up his own smoke, then waved at the door. “Head inside, I’ll be there in a few.”
Waves of heat curled over the ground, raising goose bumps on my skin. I pushed the door open, relieved the A/C was up high.
“Well, look who it is.” Hendrix gave a slight smile from where he sat on a blood red leather couch, tuning his guitar. “How you doing, Steve?”
“Good.” I turned in the open plan space. “Where is everyone?”
A thud from the window across the warehouse made me jump, and there was New Guy and Dale behind the window of the control room, waving.
“How’s it coming?”
“Slow,” Hendrix grumbled.
“Why? Something happen?” I moved to the couch, taking a seat near him.
“These things take time. A lot more work than any of us would’ve guessed, but aside from that.” He eyed me a moment, then shook his head. “Your boyfriend keeps happening.”
About to ask what he meant, I paused when a guy I didn’t know came in through a side door with a headset wrapped around his neck. “Ready yet?”
“Yeah, he’s back.” Hendrix stood, looping his guitar strap around his neck.
The guy nodded, heading into the control room with barely a glance my way.
“Did he seriously buy you a car?”
My hands became interesting, and I ran my fingers over each other. “He did.”
Hendrix laughed, a low, gruff sound. “Well, at least he’s doing one thing right.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means exactly what I said, Steve.” He sighed. “Look, I’m over it. I really am. You two being together. But he’s the master of half-assing shit, and you know it.”
“He’s been working hard,” I tried to defend.
“Right. When he’s here, and when he’s here, he’s only half here.”
“I’m pregnant,” I blurted.
“Excuse me?” Hendrix backed up a step, his eyes layered with exhaustion, bulging. “For real?”