MY FAVORITE BAND, page 81
“At your first wedding, you exchanged rings that serve as a physical reminder of your vows. Today, you will exchange new rings that symbolize the love that has deepened between the two of you.”
I wait for Rascal to hand over the rings to Mark in the little bag Marcy chose for this part of the ceremony. Adam had me hand over my ring first thing this morning just for this moment. Mark shakes the rings out of the bag and hands one to Adam.
“Adam, repeat after me as you place the ring on Emily’s finger,” Mark says. “I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and commitment to you...forever.”
Adam slides my ring up my finger and says the words. When I look down at my hand, I gasp as tears fill my eyes.
It’s not the princess cut diamond he gave me.
It’s the dream ring.
The French-set halo band with a round diamond glitters and sparkles in the natural light on the terrace where we stand.
It’s the forever ring, and it’s from the man I plan to share forever with.
When I agreed to go to Vegas with my best friend after I caught my douchebag ex cheating on me, I never could’ve imagined I’d wake up married to the guy I’d had a crush on since before I was a teenager. And even more unbelievable? We’re going to stay married...not because of some contract, but because we found the other half of our hearts in each other.
EPILOGUE: ADAM
I kiss my wife as we dance our first dance at our reception to a song Mark Ashton wrote for his wife called “A Little Like Destiny.”
It’s the exact right song for this moment.
Somehow everything came together for us in a way I never could’ve expected, and it’s because it always had to be her. She was my destiny.
“I can’t believe you really got me the ring,” she murmurs, and I can tell she’s holding her hand up behind me as she studies it. “It’s the dream ring.”
I pull back and look down into her eyes. “You’re my dream girl. You deserve it. You deserve everything.”
All eyes are on us, and I feel like now is the time to give her another gift.
“I have a surprise for you,” I say.
She giggles. “The last time you told me that, it was in your pants.”
I laugh as I remember that night well. It was a week after New Orleans and we were backstage in Nashville. “Well, if we’re being technical, it had to come out of my pants before I could deliver my surprise.”
“It was a good surprise.” Her eyes get a little dreamy.
“So’s this one, but this one isn’t sex.”
“I have a surprise for you, too,” she says.
“Is it sex?”
She shakes her head as her lips tip up, and now she’s got my curiosity burning.
“Me first,” I say. “I know how much you’ve been wanting to go back to school for your accounting degree, and I did some research. There are online degrees and in-person degrees, and I support whatever you decide. I’ll cover the costs and I’ll help with the startup when you’re ready to build a business. I want you to do what you love to do, and I want to support you in whatever way I can. And, most of all, I want MFB to be your first client.”
Her eyes fill with tears.
“But before school starts, I have another surprise.”
“Another one? First you make my romantic dreams come true with the ring, then you make my nerd dreams come true with school, and now...?” She trails off at the end with a question as to which dreams I’m going to grant this time.
I twist my lips as I think, and then I smile. “This one is for your sex dreams. We’re going on a honeymoon.”
Her lips widen into the smile that doesn’t just light her face or light the room...it lights my entire being. “We are?”
I nod. “You once said where you’d want to go, and so I booked us two weeks in Hawaii. We leave Wednesday morning.”
“What?” she practically screeches, and I laugh.
“I was going to book it for tonight, but I thought you’d want a couple days to shop before we go.”
“Thank you.” She shakes her head as her eyes sparkle with unshed tears. “I can’t believe you. God, I can’t believe me. I can’t believe how lucky I am.”
“How lucky we are.”
She clears her throat and glances nervously up at me. “Yeah,” she says softly. “All three of us.”
I tilt my head as my brows move together in confusion. “Three?”
She lifts a shoulder and arches an eyebrow. “Yeah.” Her lips tip up a little nervously. “Three.”
“Did you get me a dog?”
She giggles and shakes her head. “No.”
I just stare at her in total confusion until she spells it out for me.
She rises up on her tiptoes and whispers in my ear, “I’m pregnant.”
The world seems to stop spinning on its axis as she utters two words that will forever change us both.
“You’re...you’re...”
“Pregnant,” she repeats.
“We’re having a...”
“Baby,” she finishes softly, nodding as she sees the light of understanding dawn behind my eyes.
I’m silent for a few beats as I try to process what she’s telling me.
A baby.
A part of her and a part of me.
Hers and mine.
I never really thought about what this moment would feel like, but numbness settles over me first. Am I old enough to be a father?
Of course I am. I’m twenty-seven.
Am I mature enough to be a father?
Debatable.
Am I ready to be a father?
I’m not sure. I’m a touring musician in a band that’s topping the charts. I have a new wife who I selfishly want to enjoy all to myself for a little while, especially since this is real now for us.
But ready or not...here he—or she? God, it could be a little girl—comes.
“Are you serious?” I finally ask.
She nods, her smile faltering. “I’m ten weeks along already. It happened that night in Vegas.”
And that’s when it clicks.
My first thoughts don’t matter. Age, maturity, readiness...they’re all factors that are rendered irrelevant because together, we created a new life.
Besides, is anyone ever really ready?
We’ll read the books. We’ll learn the rules. We’ll figure it out.
And, above all, we will love this baby with every fiber of our beings.
Besides, this is Emily we’re talking about. I already know she’s going to be the best mother in the world to our children. There’s no one else I’d rather hold hands with through this crazy adventure than her.
I wrap my arms more tightly around her. “I love you so much,” I murmur to her. “I’ve never been so happy.”
She seems to relax in my arms, and I feel her trembling against me. I pull back and gaze down at her.
“I was so nervous to tell you,” she admits. “Honestly, I’m just a nervous wreck over this whole thing.”
I smile. “We got this,” I say, dropping a kiss to her sweet lips. “You’re going to be the best mom ever, and I’m going to be right by your side doing the best I can do for both of you. And however many more come after this one.”
She smiles, and it’s that same one that makes my heart ache with love for her.
Man, when I did a few tequila shots one night in Vegas, I had no idea how the course of my life would be altered forever.
A wife I love, a baby on the way...my heart is full. I ended up with so much more than a hangover when I found myself waking up married.
BONUS EPILOGUE: WAKING UP MARRIED
AMBER’S POINT OF VIEW
© 2019 Lisa Suzanne
CHAPTER 1: AMBER
Emily and I make our way up the Octavius Tower at Caesar’s Palace to room 2304, the room my brother texted to me not so long ago. I’m not sure why, but I feel a little nervous.
I haven’t had the chance to hang around my brother’s friends in a long time. I’ve seen them around, been to some MFB shows, and had crushes on them when we were growing up, but I’ve never spent the weekend in the same hotel as an actual rock band.
And this weekend, I am.
I get it...they’re just normal people. Nothing proves that more than when my brother opens the door wearing nothing but a towel and a smile. Oh, and a semi-shocked look on his face.
He stares at Emily longer than I’ve ever seen him stare at anyone other than his ex. I roll my eyes and huff my way past him into the suite. Without taking his eyes off her, he says, “I didn’t know you were bringing a friend.”
“You could offer to take our bags, asshole.”
“Nice to see you, too, Amber,” he says, and I look around the suite for a second while Emily trips over her words trying to impress my brother. I love the girl, but she’s had a crush on him for as long as I can remember, and he’s just not interested.
As I look around, I see three bedrooms. I assume Adam’s in one, and Em and I will take the second one, so I can’t help but wonder who will be in the third. A hot, single rock star, perhaps?
“You two can stay in here,” Adam says. He takes Emily’s bag and leaves me to my own devices as we follow him into the room that’ll be ours.
“I have some exciting news,” he says to me. “Vail invited us onstage with them tonight. Do you two wanna come?”
At the mention of my favorite band in the entire universe, my heart races. “Oh my God, Adam!” I smack his arm. “Of course we want to come! Vail is my all-time favorite band EVER!”
“MFB isn’t?” he asks.
“MFB is mine,” Emily says.
Of course it is. “Ass kisser,” I mutter.
Once Adam stops laughing, he asks, “What can I get you two to drink?”
I glance out the window as I think about what I want tonight. I finally settle on the usual. “Rum and Diet Coke.”
My brother rolls his eyes. “Rum? Still, Amber? Haven’t your tastes matured yet?”
I laugh and don’t respond. I don’t give a fuck if he doesn’t agree with my drink preferences. Emily asks for a margarita, and he says something about how tequila is a better choice. So glad to know he approves of my friend’s drink choices, but let’s get to what really matters here.
My brother’s band is playing with Vail tonight, and that means I need to get the sitting in the car for five hours look and smell off me.
“Let us freshen up and we’ll meet you out there,” I say, and I immediately start mentally going through the clothes I brought that would be appropriate for a night like tonight.
Let’s be honest. The correct answer is none of them. What can a girl possibly wear that would be appropriate for meeting her favorite band?
As soon as Adam’s out the door, I squeal. “Oh my God!”
“I know!” Emily squeals back.
“Can you believe it? My brother...he’s going to be sharing a stage with Vail tonight! Mark Ashton! Ahhh! And Ethan Fuller!” I blank on the other two even though I know who they are. “And the other guys, too! Holy shit!”
Emily sighs dreamily, and then I get my suitcase situated, unzip it, and start my make-up. Once that’s in decent shape, I pull out two outfits. “This or that?” I ask Emily.
She nods toward the casual outfit rather than the dressy one, but I’m just not feeling so casual tonight. I want to dress to impress, and jeans aren’t really the ticket to ending up in a rock star’s bed.
Even if all the members of Vail are happily married.
Maybe it won’t be someone from Vail...
“Really?” I ask, looking at the jeans on my right and then studying the dress with a little more longing.
“Then why’d you ask?”
I laugh. “You think casual? I’m thinking it’s Vegas and we go flashy tonight. When will we have the chance to go backstage with Vail ever again?”
“Considering your brother’s band signed with Ashmark, I don’t think it’s as far-fetched a fantasy as it would be for most people.”
She has a point, which is annoying. She’s always so logical, while sometimes I like living up in the clouds. “Touché. But I’m still going glam tonight.”
I’m ready enough for now, and I’m definitely ready for some rum, so I head out to the living area. I collapse on the couch across the room from where my brother stands, and Emily sits next to me. “What’s the plan for tonight?”
“We need to leave in about an hour.” He sits in a recliner and drinks his beer, but his words have set off an alarm in my head.
“An hour? I only have an hour to get ready?” I bolt upright from my comfortable slouched position.
“Didn’t you just get ready?” he asks, and all I can do is stare at him in horror. “We’re meeting with Vail to run through the song a few times before their show, and they said they’ll have food for us. We’ll perform there, and then we have a club appearance at ten. The night is ours after that.”
“What does that mean?” I start chugging my drink since clearly we’re not going to have time for pregaming.
“It means we can hang out at that club or go to another one, we can go to a casino, we can go downtown...whatever you want.” He nods to my now empty glass. “Need another?”
Duh, obviously. “Yeah, and Emily will need another margarita, too.”
Emily looks back and forth between us, and then she shrugs. “Eventually.”
“I’m on it,” he says, and then I steer Emily back to our room to get ready for tonight.
CHAPTER 2: AMBER
“Does this look okay?” I ask. I’m not sure why I’m asking my brother that question since he has all the style knowledge of a monkey, but he’s one of those tell them what they need to hear kinds of guys...something I’ve always appreciated about him.
He looks past me, though. His eyes fall right to Emily.
And something is different in the way he looks at her.
Definitely different.
I don’t know if I like this.
Em tugs at the bottom of her gold dress. She looks amazing in it, and the way Adam is looking at her tells me he agrees with me on that front. She doesn’t see it, though. She’s never seen what an amazing, beautiful person she is. Instead, she falls back on her insecurities—something that’ll surely worsen after what her shithead ex did to her.
Adam finally looks over at me. “Yeah, you look fine,” he mutters.
I blow out a frustrated breath. I didn’t slave over the mirror for the last fifty-four minutes for anything less than gorgeous.
And then William Rascowicz saunters up beside my brother. I study him for just a second before he speaks.
Has he been working out?
I’ve met him before, but I didn’t really notice him. Tonight, though, he looks different.
Sexy, even.
Sexy? William Rascowicz? I did not see this coming.
“I think he means you look fine,” he says to me. The way he says the word makes something inside me ripple with sexual energy.
Wait a minute.
This is the guy they refer to as Rascal—and not just because of his last name. He’s sort of like a rascal in the way that he’s silly and immature and overall sometimes a total hooligan. He looks the part of a rascal, too, with his fiery red hair that he doesn’t bother to do anything with as it falls in messy curls around his head.
I squint at him for a minute.
He just called me fine, and honestly, the more I study him, the more I see that he’s not exactly hard on the eyes.
He’s got kind of a Michael Fassbender mixed with Sam Heughan combined with Tom Hiddleston vibe going on. The hair and mischievous personality adds a little bit of a Carrot Top vibe on top.
The more I squint at him, the more I see how sexy he really is.
I never noticed it before, but this night just got a whole lot more interesting.
Especially given the way my brother is eyeing my friend. If I have to watch those two trip over themselves to flirt with one another for the entire night, I may as well find someone to entertain myself.
And Will might just fit the bill on that front.
I just can’t bring myself to call him Rascal. Not if I’m going to hook up with him.
I force myself to stop studying how hot he actually is. I wink at him. “Thanks, Will. That’s more like it.”
His eyes burn into mine for a beat—or maybe I’m just imagining it. It sure feels like there’s heat passing between us, but I did chug that rum drink and I’m working on my next. Maybe I’m a little tipsy and seeing what I want to see. I just want to have a fun time this weekend, and if Will is the only single guy around to help me have a good time, then so be it.
“All right, all right, enough,” Adam says, clearly not into the vibe passing between Will and me. “It’s time to head out.”
Adam leads us to the other MFB room, and we see Dax and Brody, who were Adam’s best friends all through high school, along with Kane, the bassist for MFB, and their women, all of whom I’ve met before. We head over to the MGM, and my heart is racing when we stand outside Vail’s green room. Dax knocks on the door, and when it opens, I can’t help it.
I gasp.
It’s Mark Ashton.
Mark. Freaking. Ashton.
I realize I’ve been around rock stars for the last two hours, and in some ways for the last several years...but this is Mark. Freaking. Ashton!
I die a little inside because he’s so goddamn gorgeous in person, and Adam shoots me a look but I don’t give a shit.
It’s Mark Ashton! How am I supposed to keep my cool?
“Oh my God, it’s Mark Ashton!” I squeal. I can’t help it. I almost yell, “I fucking love you!” but somehow I manage to stop myself.
“Ahh!” Mark squeals back at me. “And it’s someone with MFB!”
“Mark, stop,” a pretty brunette woman says. “Welcome, MFB!” She introduces herself as Reese, Mark’s wife, and I can’t help the wave of jealousy that washes over me. She’s not just pretty and married to Mark Ashton, though. She’s so damn nice that you can’t help but just like her and be drawn to her and want to somehow be her best friend.
