“Shh!” I hear Logan hiss.
I slowly open my eyes and blink away the sleep. Shit! We fell asleep last night. I squeeze my eyes closed, wishing Logan and whoever it is she’s hissing at would be quiet so I would have slept a little longer. To make matters worse, Cole is starting to wake up, and he’s drawing circles on my lower back. I want to yell at them to go back to bed so I can enjoy this rare moment of sweet Cole. Instead, I try to move his hand, but he’s not having it.
“Stop, baby,” he mumbles.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Baby?” Kacen says, loud enough that we’re both opening our eyes.
I quickly sit up, as does Cole. He blinks a few times and roughly runs his hands over his face.
“What the hell is going on here?” Kacen demands.
“Babe, calm down,” Logan tries to soothe him.
“Fucking hell, Kace. We fell asleep watching a movie,” Cole bites back.
“You called her ‘baby,’” he retorts.
Cole shrugs. “And your point is? I was fucking comfortable.”
“I fucking told you, Cole.”
“Chill the fuck out, man. I know I heard you the tenth fucking time you lectured me. We fell asleep, end of story.” Cole stands and makes his way to the bathroom.
“Kacen.” My voice is low. “He’s telling you the truth. I read for a little while and then we watched the rest of Speed. We fell asleep.” I hate that he’s so angry about this. I’m beginning to wonder if I made the wrong decision.
“You all ‘just fell asleep’ at the house too,” he says, with less anger in his voice.
“Kacen Michael, you need to stay out of it. Who cares if they fell asleep? Who cares if they slept together? They are both adults and can make their own decisions. Who are you to tell them what they can and cannot do?” Logan lays into him.
“She’s your best friend.”
“And he’s yours. They are also two consenting adults who do not want or need your permission to do whatever the hell it is they want to do.”
“I don’t want it to cause problems.” His voice is softer now that he’s talking to his wife.
“You’re going to, acting the way you are. Stay out of it.”
Cole comes back into the room and sits on the couch beside me. “It’s not a secret that I want her. Nothing you say can keep that from happening.”
WOW!
“She’s not a groupie,” Kacen says through his teeth.
“You think I don’t know that?”
“Stop! Nothing happened. We fell asleep. Kacen, I appreciate your concern, but regardless of what, if anything, happens between Cole and me, or hell, me and Gavin or Tristan . . .” I pause when Cole growls beside me. “It will not be any of your concern. I promise you that it will not change my relationship with Logan, and it would take more than a one-night stand to keep me from this amazing opportunity you’ve given me.”
Tristan and Gavin must have heard the commotion as they are now both awake and sitting at the table. Of course, they arrived just in time to hear my little tirade.
“Stacy, you tell me when and where.” Tristan winks at me.
“Ditto.” Gavin grins cheekily.
“Fuck you both,” Cole seethes. “Hands off.”
“I’m flattered,” I tell them. “But it’s not happening. With any of you.” I make a point to look at all three of them. Gavin and Tristan are wearing matching sleepy grins. Cole looks . . . sad, with a mix of anger evident. I don’t even take the time to figure out what that means.
“Right, you all have to be at the radio station in an hour. It’s a fifteen- minute commute, so get moving. Breakfast casserole is on the stove,” Logan says.
And just like that, the discussion is over. The four of them grumble their thanks and love of Logan’s cooking while filling their plates. She takes a seat next to me on the couch and pats my leg.
“Sorry about all of that,” she whispers.
I shake my head, letting her know she doesn’t need to apologize.
“So, did you finish that book?” she asks.
“Yes, it was so good.”
“Did you cry?”
“Like a baby.” I grin. I love that we have the same taste in books.
“I was worried at first,” Cole says between bites from his seat at the table.
From the look on her face, Logan is thrilled that Cole seemed to care.
“What is it you call it, babe? ‘Ugly girl cry’?” Kacen winks at her.
“Yes, and I’m not ashamed,” Logan says, head held high.
“Most of the time, they break you, but put you back together again,” I tell him.
“I don’t like to see my wife cry,” Kacen grumbles.
I chance a look at Cole to find him already looking at me. Something passes between us, Kacen’s words almost exactly what he said to me last night. This unspoken connection confuses me. It’s nothing I would have expected from Cole.
Logan clears her throat, pulling my attention away from Cole.
Busted.
She winks at me. Logan doesn’t miss a thing.
“Later,” I mouth to her. I know my best friend, and she’s going to want details.
“You sure you don’t want to come with us?” Kacen asks for the third time in the last half hour.
“I’m sure. Stacy and I are going to go over the rest of today’s schedule.” He finally agrees, kisses her, and the guys are off.
“Dish!” Logan says as soon as the bus door closes.
I laugh at her giddiness for the scoop. “Not much to dish. He wants to sleep with me, and I keep telling him no.”
“That’s it?” She sounds sad.
“In a nutshell. We hung out before I made my decision to accept the job, which you know. Then yesterday and last night, we hung out pretty much most of the time.”
“Kacen said it’s not like the three of them to not want to go out. Usually, they’re out strolling for female companions.”
“Yeah, not sure what’s up with that. Tristan and Gavin both seem to be preoccupied with their phones lately.”
“I know Gavin is spending more time with the label, learning the ropes and whatnot. They’re thinking of opening their own label someday.”
I nod. “Cole mentioned that.”
“I guess they’ve been talking about it more recently. Kacen is afraid that once the baby gets here, I won’t want to travel with him. I told him we might need our own bus, but it’s possible. I wouldn’t want to do a year-long tour, but a few months at a time with a break might not be that bad of an idea.”
“I’m sure it won’t be easy, but if anyone can do it, it’s the two of you.”
Logan smiles. “So, admit it, it’s killing you to keep telling him no.”
Leave it to my bestie to get straight to the point. “I might have maybe had a fantasy or two,” I admit sheepishly.
“I knew it! It’s the hair, right?”
“It is nice to hold onto when he’s kissing me.” Shit!
“What? When? Why the hell am I just now finding out about this?”
Ugh! Me and my big mouth. I spend the next twenty minutes giving her the basics of what’s been going on with us the past several months.
“He’s different with you,” she tells me once I’ve given her an edited version. Some things I just want for me.
“He’s chasing me. He’s realized he has to change his game. He knows I’m not going to fall for his regular bullshit. The ‘It’ll be good between us’ cheesy-ass lines.”
Logan throws her head back in laughter. “True, but it’s more than that. I just have this feeling.”
“It’s the pregnancy hormones.”
For some reason, we both find this funny. My theory is that it’s because she is deliriously happy and living life with the man she loves, starting a family. Laughter is happiness.