“Stop. You two don’t start this crap,” Maddox points at both of us.
“For the record, she knows something is going on. I’ve told her I don’t want her to worry about itbut that I will tell her what’s going on when I figure things out.”
“How’s that going for you?” Dane snaps.
“I said stop. I’m warning you, Dane. Back off,” Maddox looks to him then turns to me. “You too.”
“We need a break,” Ryder announces. “We need a day of no interviews, rehearsals, or travel.”
“You’ll get your wish tomorrow,” Liamtells us, coming up the stage. “You play tonight. Not again untilthe next night. Then we head toItaly.”
I think of all the ways I can spend the day with Lyra and Cara tomorrow. I wish I coulddo something with just Cara and me tomorrow night. Kind of hard when the girl I want to take out is also the nanny.
Hell. She’s more than a nanny. And, if things go the way I want, this will be a permanent predicament.A beautifully permanent problem. I want it to become the new normal. I want to wonder when I’ll get alone time with my girl because we don’t have a babysitter.Because Iwant Cara to be Lyra’s mom in every way that counts.I know Lyra wants it too. She told me she wants it.
I just hope Cara wants it. I hope when all the drama with Peyton really starts, she doesn’ttake off. I’ve got to figure out how to keep her from running.I need to make her want us as much as we want her.
“That’s a switch,” Liam chuckles, drawing me from my thoughts.
“What is?” Dane ask.
We all follow the direction of Liam’s nod. Angel iswalking up the steps with a huge grin on his face. “Who ate the canary?” Liam asks.
“What?” Angel responds,but that smile doesn’t drop. It’s kind of strange. I don’t think I’ve seen him smile that big since I met him in college.
“What are you staring at so hard?” Ryder nods to the phone in his hand.
His smile stretches wideras he hands it to Ryder. Ryder looks at the phone then back to Angel. “Seriously, mate?” he asks with his own grin.
“Okay. Share,” Dane grumbles, unable to stand being left out of the loop.
Ryder passes it to Maddox. Now he’s grinning like an idiot, and my curiosity gets the best of me. I snatch the phone from him to see what’s so fascinating. It’s hard to make out, butI know what I'm looking for since I’ve seen one of these before. “Well, holy crap,” I laugh. “You didn’t waste any time at all, did you?”
“Waited ten years. Pretty sure that’s long enough,” he laughs.
“What is it?” Dane whines. “Why are you all grinning like idiots?”
“Angel here has gone and knocked his wife up,” I tell him.
“Seriously?”
Angel shrugs. “Looks like theband is expanding.”
We all crowd around him, offering our congratulations. The guy deserves this. He and Josephine both do. It took them a long time to put years'worth of misunderstandings behind them.After all those years apart, it’s good to see them together and happy.
After a few more minutes of backslaps andjokes, we get back to practice. The mood is decidedly lighter than it was earlier. Within an hour, we’re all satisfied with the sound and the songs.
We go back to the rooms. I walk in to find Cara looking completely exhaustedand Lyra asleep on the sofa.I look at both of them, trying to figure out what’s going on.
“She’s been sick all day,” Cara tells me, leaning her head back.
I move around Cara to Lyralike lightning. I place my hand to her forehead. She doesn’t feel warm. “Why didn’t you call me?” I snap.
Her mouth falls open for a split second before snapping shut. Her eyes flash with anger and frustration.“I did try calling you,” she spits, standing to her feet.
“Then you should’ve called any one of the guys. I know you have their numbers. It isn’t that hard to get me.You’re the nanny. It’s your damn job.”
Cara step right into me. When she pushes me, it catches me off guard,and I stumble back a step.For two seconds, it pisses me off – not hard at the moment – then I see the tears, and I know I’ve fucked up.
