Opal

Nine months later

“We got everything?” I glance at the back of our Yukon, and take inventory for the second time today.

Leighton crosses his arms over his chest and stares alongside me. “I feel like we packed our entire apartment.”

I laugh because he’s not wrong. “Yeah, probably.”

“Ready to go to work?” His arm goes around my waist and he kisses my lips.

I nod, a smile taking over my face. “Yeah, I am.”

“Then let’s roll.” He takes the infant car seat from my hands and lifts it high. “You ready for your first day of work, little man?”

“Don’t wake him.” I groan and open the door so he can place the seat into the base. “I have enough guilt as it is.”

“No guilt,” Leighton says, his tone stern with no room for argument. “You were meant to write songs. We’re doing this.”

I nod and walk around the car to the passenger seat and settle in for the short ride. These past months have been a whirlwind, but each step of the way Leighton’s been at my side. He’s been supportive and attentive. But it hasn’t been easy. I challenge anyone else to spend most of their pregnancy on tour with a rock band—one dealing with all sorts of issues, no less, but we’re figuring life out together.

Leighton’s determined not to let parenthood take away either of our careers, and I love him for it.

He’s the best baby daddy a woman could want. Yeah, we talked about getting married a few times. Especially during our first few weeks back together, but there wasn’t time or energy to plan the celebration we both wanted. Axl became our priority, not a piece of paper. And while I have no doubt we’ll walk down the aisle at some point, there’s no rush. Not when we’re living our best life.

We pull inside the mansion gates and then down the long drive. My nerves pick up a little, but before Leighton has the vehicle in park, we’re bombarded.

“Hey, mama.” Austin’s the first to wrap me in a hug, then he meets Leighton as the lift gate opens. His eyes widen. “Dude, that’s a lot of shit for an eight-pound blob.”

“He’s almost nine pounds, Gray Bush.” Leighton shoves his friend. “Help me with this shit, will you?”

Lexi rushes over and hugs me quickly, and then dips her head into the backseat. “How’s my nephew this beautiful morning?”

“Happy and sleeping.” I grin, settling on my son’s perfect face.

Lexi pulls his seat from the back, but Trent steals Axl from her. “That’s ’cause he’s milk drunk. Look at him.”

“Poor bastard never stood a chance.” Austin shakes his head. “Don’t worry, little buddy. I make the same face when I’ve feasted on a great pair of tits.”

“I’d love it if you’d stop talking about my girl’s tits.” Leighton slaps Austin on the back.

“Alright, enough shooting the shit.” Lexi claps her hands together. “We gonna make a record or what? Time’s a wasting.”

Back home after a long day of work, I rock Axl in his room and wait for his eyelids to drift shut. He goes out quickly, and I lay him in his crib. “You be a good boy and sleep all night for Momma, m’kay?” I know he won’t, but that’s okay. My little night owl prefers to make it through the night in three hour intervals.

“Sweet dreams.” I shut the door and creep down the hall for good measure, because I don’t want him to startle awake. Leighton’s waiting for me and I intend to get laid tonight. It’ll be the first time we’ve been intimate since Axl was born, six weeks to the date.

“He’s asleep. For a few hours.” I step into the kitchen and release a deep sigh.

Leighton hands me a glass of wine and drops a kiss on my lips. “Good.”

I look past him to the candles on the table and the spread he laid out while I was putting our little monster to sleep. “What’s this?”

“I thought we should celebrate.”

“Having sex again?” I waggle my eyebrows then laugh when he scowls.

“No. Your first day back to work. And it has not been six weeks yet. One more day to go. I know, because I’ve been counting.”

I reach up on the tip of my toes and capture his lips in a kiss that goes from chaste to erotic in less than one minute. “Live dangerously,” I whisper into his mouth and then step back to take a long sip of wine.

His gaze is hungry as it travels unhurriedly down my body. With that one look, I come alive.

“Can we skip straight to dessert?” I say, setting the glass on the counter.

“I bought dessert,” he says absently and tugs me into his arms.

I laugh into his chest. “I mean sex. Can we skip to sex?”

“We can most definitely skip to that.” He backs us up, all the way to our bedroom without breaking our kiss. His fingers make quick work of our clothes, and as soon as I climb on the bed he’s right there with me. “I need to taste you,” he whispers into my ear.

“Yes.” I groan and melt into the soft, cool sheets. The man knows how to get me off. We’ve had a ton of practice. He usually takes his time, but tonight is different. We’re on a race against the baby monitor, and it’s been months. With his focused attention it doesn’t take long before my pulse is racing and my muscles are taut, but I don’t want to come without him.

“I need you, baby.” I tug him back to my mouth.

Leighton kisses me and I can taste myself on his lips. He runs his hands over my skin with a greediness that kicks my need for him into high gear. He only stops a moment to pull out the nightstand drawer, grab a condom, and suit up.

I reach for his length, stroking his hardness before placing him at my entrance.

“I’ll go slow,” he promises, and he does. Slow. Gentle. Sweet. Each thrust of his hips slides him further inside. The fullness is painful at first, but he strokes my clit and the sensation morphs into yearning.

“Faster,” I whisper into his ear.

He groans. “God, yes.”

“Fuck me. I want you to fuck me.” It’s all the invitation he needs. My fingers rake down his back, encouraging him to go deeper. Harder. Lust crackles between our bodies, a current powerful and all-consuming. I don’t even care about being quiet, and words fly from my lips as he gets me there. A burst of pleasure floods from my core and I tighten around his length as my body writhes with the intensity of my orgasm.

“Fuck, baby. I’m gonna come,” he says between hurried breaths, and then he groans into the crook of my neck as he pumps his hips once more. His body is strong and heavy above me, but he rolls us to the side, his cock still inside. His breath is ragged, his pulse racing. “God we’re good together.”

His admission brings a smile to my lips. I kiss him. “So good.”

“Like we were always meant to be.” He holds me close and I relish in the security of his arms. “Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve this happiness.”

I lean back to meet his stare. There’s a heaviness that comes over his features each time he brings up our past. I’ve forgiven him. The band has, too. But it’s part of our story and journey to where we are now. “We belong together. We always have. Everything we’ve done, good and bad, has led us here.”

“You don’t ever wish we met differently?”

I shake my head. “No. Then we wouldn’t have Axl.”

“Yeah.” His smile grows at the mention of our son, and that alone melts my heart all over again. He is such a good dad.

“I like that we met young.” I kiss his lips. “This way we have our entire lives together.”

“Be right back.” He scoots off the bed and goes into the bathroom to take care of the condom. I stare as he walks back into the room, his lean body as desirable as ever. He slides on a pair of lounge pants, the elastic band hanging low on his hips, and levels me with a smile. “Stay there. Naked. I have something to give you.”

“Okay,” I murmur, still staring at his ass.

He glances over his shoulder and meets my gaze. “Are you thinking about a round two?”

I nod and bite my lip.

He chuckles, a low throaty sound that scatters desire throughout my body. “Good.” He struts down the hall, but before I wonder where he’s gone, the man returns with a wicked grin and a pink pastry box in hand.

My stomach rumbles loudly. I guess refueling first isn’t a bad idea. “What did you get?” I tilt my head with a grin but he shakes his head.

“It’s a surprise.” He climbs onto the bed, two spoons in one hand, and the box in the other. He sits at my right and hands me a spoon. “Shall we?”

“Yes, please.”

His eyes gleam with mischief and now I’m extra curious about what’s under that flap. He flips open the top and the scent of chocolate hits my nostrils, but it’s the lettering atop the cake that takes a moment to process.

Marry me?

“We’ve only known each other a year, and it’s been filled with our fair share of ups and downs. But I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I love you, baby. I love you so damn much. It’s totally selfish of me, but I can’t wait to call you my wife. Will you marry me?”

Tears leak from the corners of my eyes and I can’t speak, because if I do, the entire floodgates will open. Thanks so much post-pregnancy hormones. I nod my head like a maniac, climb into his lap, and kiss his lips.

“That’s a yes?”

“Yes.” I kiss him again. “Yes, yes, yes.”

His smile lights up our bedroom. “You make me so happy.”

“You do the same.”

He leans back, one arm around my waist, and with the other reaches inside the end table. He digs around for what I assume is a condom, because yeah, he’s already hard, but instead he pulls out a jewelry box. A ring box. My breath catches in my lungs all over again. He really planned this.

“If you don’t like it we can exchange it for something else.” He pops open the top and holds it out for my inspection.

Big. My first reaction. Beautiful. My next.

He slides the gold band onto my finger. The center stone catches the light and I hold it out for us both to see. A perfect fit. “I love it. I love you. I love us.”

“I love our family, too.” At the word family my heart bursts.

“Remember the first time we slept together? The afternoon on the bus,” I say.

“I’ll never forget it.”

I blow out a shaky breath, nerves perking up at the memory. “You asked me what I dreamed of, when I was a child, and I gave you some lame answer.”

“Not lame.” His brow furrows and he pulls me close. “Nothing about you is.”

I bite my lip and worry it between my teeth. I don’t know why I’m so nervous, other than I’ve kept this from him. “I lied then. I couldn’t tell you. I didn’t want to scare you away.”

He cradles my cheeks with his palms. “There’s nothing you can say now that would make me run.”

“It was a family.” It feels so good to say. And even better when he smiles. “That’s what I dreamed about. A family. Being a wife and a mother, and so much love. That’s all I ever wanted.”

“I’m going to give you all of that and more.” He captures my lips and our bodies come together again, this time less rushed. As if we have forever to make love. And really, with the promises we’ve made in this bed, we do.

I came into the world believing I’d always be a hindrance to those around me. From my grandparents, to finding my sister, that it was my fate. I never wanted to be a burden, but I just was.

Here in the safety of Leighton’s arms, I realize that girl is gone. He’s given me the confidence and freedom to be bold. To be me. I no longer spend my days worrying or living in the shadows. The family I claim now—my sister, the band, and the one I’ve made with him—have fostered the person I was always meant to be. I’m worthy of love, I always was, and I will spend every day living this truth.