“Thank you, Christ,”Sebastian groaned, standing up and stretching his arms above his head. “I mean,dude, Ifuckinglove you. But, shit, I swear youwannakill us all.”
“Nah,” Chad grumbled,putting his Fender Stratocaster down. “Just you.”
Sebastian rounded thedrum kit and wrapped his arms around Chad’s shoulders, holding on tight whileChad attempted to push him away. “That’s not what you were saying last night.Remember? You were all, ‘Oh, yeah, big boy. Pull my—‘”
“You’re so glad yousigned up for this shit, aren’t you?” Ty laughed, nudging me in the shoulderwith tattooed knuckles.
I watched the otherguys, teasing each other the way brothers would, and smiled. Nodding, Ireplied, “Yeah, I am.”
Ty chuckled, clappingthe hand against my shoulder. “You’re a sentimental motherfucker, Jon; I likeit.” He set his bass in its stand and waved a hand over his shoulder. “Come on.Let’s collect your women and get some food.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
TESS
He hadnever felt this way before. The thrill of love so honest and real. I saw it inthe glimmers of devotion, sparkling gold against his warm brown eyes. I livedto see him this happy, and the notion that it was me who could bring him to aplace of such elation, was a huge boost to my ego. I floated high above theground, far from the world and the people I knew. I was untouchable, madeinvincible with a love unlike anything I’d ever known before, and I couldn’thelp but wonder …
Howfar would I fall, when it all came crashing down?
***
“Well, it’s notNew York pizza, but it’sstillfreakin’ good,” I said, taking another bite ofpepperoni and cheese. Honestly, I was beginning to worry the guys were nevergoing to eat again, they had taken so long out in the studio.
Sebastian nodded, hismouth full and chewing. “You got that right, girlfriend.”
We sat around Devin’sdining room table, with a half dozen pizza boxes strewn about. We had all differentkinds—Neapolitan, Sicilian, New York-style, that wasn’t very much like NewYork-style at all, and all different toppings. Richard treated, despite Devin’sinsistence, and everybody gratefully reveled in the company of good food andeven better people.
Richard took one lastbite and threw the crust into the trash. “Okay, kids. I need to get going.Grace is beginning to wonder if I’m ever coming home again.”
“Tell her to get overhere and have some of this pizza,” Devin muttered, eyeballing the sight of hiskitchen. “I don’t know where we’regonnaput allthese leftovers.”
“I think you’ll find aplace, big guy,” Richard chuckled, patting a hand against Devin’s stomach.“Really, Igottago. I’ll be back tomorrow. Have agood night, everybody.”
We said goodbye toKylie’s stepfather and finished dinner in near silence. Everyone was exhausted.Especially poor Jon. He wasn’t used to working these hours, not when he woke upevery morning at six with the girls.
“Tess, you better get himto bed,” Ty said, followed by a gentle chuckle. “He can barely keep his eyesopen.”
Jon rolled his eyes andshoved against him with familiarity. He was becoming comfortable with them, andI loved it. “God, I’m fine.”
“Are you, though?” Chadlaughed. “I reckon you’ve yawned six times in the past twenty minutes.”
“I reckon that’s oddlyspecific and borderline creepy,” Sebastian teased, faking an exaggeratedaccent.
“We’realltired,” Devin said, proving hispoint by yawning. “And Kylie’s texting and begging me to get you fuckers out ofour house so she can finally sleep. So, get out. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
Sebastian furrowed hisbrow with immediate concern. “But wait, Dev, I’m—”
“Iknowyou’re staying here, idiot. Just shut up and go to bed. Forfuck’s sake …”
***
I had already known Jon was tired, but Iknew it even more when he asked if I’d drive us back to the hotel. We drove ina comfortable silence, fingers threaded over the center console, as my eyesremained on the road and his remained closed, temple resting against thewindow. The smile he wore never left his lips.
We walked through thehotel lobby to the elevator and took it up to our room, holding hands theentire way.
“After you,” he said,opening the door and sweeping his arm inside.
The hotel wasn’t swanky,and neither was the room. I was sure it’d been inexpensive, even though I neverasked. The amenities wereminimal—hell, there wasn’teven a refrigerator. I walked past the bed, across the room to the window andlooked outside. Directly surrounding the hotel was an industrial setting.Warehouses and big box businesses, parking lots and traffic lights. But severalblocks away, not too far in the distance, was the glittering water of the LongIsland Sound. The moon reflected from its surface, like a white flame againstan oil slick, and the breath pushed from my lungs.
