“Why did I let you talk me into this?”

“Because you know you love her and she loves you madly. Even if she sounds like a demon at the moment.” Piper set the carrier down in the living room of my house. My new roommate was inside tearing at the sides of her carrier.

I’d been hoping for a different sort of cohabitation soon, but Piper and I had only been involved for six months and three of them had included me out on the road.

We were making it work. I’d promised her we would, but it really was work. She was independent as hell and didn’t pine for me as I’d expected. I admit that I sort of wished she would. The fact that it was mostly me climbing the walls when I wasn’t with her took some getting used to.

The tour schedule was already gearing up and second nights were necessary in a lot of cities because we were selling out. It was going to be a beast of a summer. And I knew that meant more time away from her. I wasn’t really psyched about that part, but we were going to make the most of the spring together.

The album was doing really well and we were doing a video for the third single while we were taking a break. The fact that most bands didn’t get a second single out there, let alone a third, was exciting and impressive.

Dex, our manager, was very pleased with the way things were going. The crowds were getting a little hard to manage lately, and in turn, the big man himself, Donovan Lewis, was beefing up the tour program. He’d had a hand in adding on an opening act, which came with even more security.

As usual, bullshit chased the amazing details to keep us humble.

An extra added emotional component had to be dealt with during the tour as well. Hunter’s best friend, Tristan, had dealt with a sudden death in his family and it had rocked the foundation of the whole Ripper Records family. Randy Pruitt had been killed on stage during Warning Sign’s first official show of their new tour. What we’d first thought was a terrible accident now seemed a lot more ominous.

New protocols were being enforced and that took some time getting used to. As if Quinn, our head of security, wasn’t bad enough. Now he was an extra special sauce level of insane. That included increased security personnel crawling all over us. Tensions between Reed and the band were at an all-time high because Victoria and her entourage couldn’t come and go as they pleased any longer.

All in all, I was very glad to be home for two months. The only drama I wanted was right here.

I kneeled on the floor and peered into the carrier. “Maya, sweetheart, relax.” I went to stick my fingers through the wire mesh when Piper squeaked and grabbed my arm.

“Are you nuts? You’re going to lose a finger. I know you have a little vacation going on, but I don’t think you have time to have a finger sewn back on before the tour starts up again.”

I ignored her and stuck my finger inside. Maya instantly came forward and rubbed against my knuckles with a reverberating purr.

“Traitor,” Piper muttered.

I tugged Piper down into my lap. “Don’t be jealous. You’re the one who convinced me to bring her home.”

“Only because she doesn’t like anyone but you. In fact, she’s so bitchy with our new Persian that I have to separate them into two different rooms. She almost took Queenie’s eye out. Literally.”

“Well, when you have a cat named Queenie, you know she’s just asking for trouble.” I settled my chin into the space between her shoulder and neck. My very favorite place. At least when we had to be clothed.

I reached around Piper for the little pincher lock of the carrier and opened the door. Maya came out like a shot and zoomed into the bottom shelf of my coffee table. She knocked a few magazines and a large book about the lunar cycles out of her way until she was jammed in the corner, her little body heaving in fright.

I lifted Piper off me and crawled after the cat. “It’s all right, Maya.”

“The pecking order is already being established, I see.”

“You were the one who convinced me to take her home.” This was insane. Why on earth was I inviting a cat into my life?

I slowly reached into the corner of the storage part of the coffee table. Maya growled her displeasure and I stilled my hand about a foot away from her. My phone and my iPad rang at the same time.

“Oh, shit. Is it time?”

Piper raced for the iPad. “Yes. Come on. Leave her for a minute to get acclimated.” She glanced over her shoulder at me. “She’ll be fine, Dad.”

“Shut up.” I got to my feet and met Piper at the dining room table.

“Hi, guys. Oh my gosh. You put her kitten hoodie on. I love you.” Piper’s voice went gooey as hot caramel.

I came around to find Owen and his daughter Lily on the screen. “Hey, man. You could have at least put your wife on. I’m sick of looking at you.”

Owen grinned. “I haven’t let Lily out of my sight since I got home. You’ll just have to deal, Lucky Charms.”

Lily was sitting on the table in front of him reaching for the iPad with her drooly, chubby little fingers. She was wearing a gray hoodie the same color as Maya with the hood raised and little cat ears sticking up. Owen pulled her back into his chest. “Say hi to Aunt Piper and the idiot I call a mate.” His voice was soft and sweet.

We’d taken to FaceTiming with Lily at least once a week, if not more. After the crazy way she’d come into the world—and no, Callie didn’t make it to the hospital. She had her baby girl in the back of the ambulance in the ER parking bay. Perfectly healthy with a set of lungs her father was very proud of.

Me too. We could use a few more rocker vocalists in this life. Lily Blackwell sounded like a rock n’ roller already.

Anyway, after the crazy way Lily had come into the world, the five of us seemed more connected than ever. Families, I was learning, came in all shapes and sizes.

Mine now included a cat. Three cats actually, including Piper’s Hank and Rosie.

And that wasn’t even mentioning the many others that sashayed through our lives on a daily basis.

Lily’s face lit up when she saw Piper and then her fingers went grabby when Maya hopped on the table and pranced right in front of the camera.

“Don’t show her a cat. Then she’ll want one.” Owen sighed.

“I think that ship is sunk,” Piper said with a laugh. “Callie’s been in looking at the new batch of kittens three times this week.”

“Enabler,” Owen muttered.

Piper grinned. “All my cats deserve great homes. She’s going to bring Lily in to make sure she’s not allergic.”

“What if I am?”

I leaned into the camera lens. “You haven’t figured out that we don’t count?”

“I’m learning.”

Lily squealed then stuck her hand into her mouth, making a scrunched-up face.

“Oh, here we go. Mom time. Someone’s hungry.” Owen popped up. “We’ll see you guys in the cafe this week then, I guess.” He gently pried Lily’s fist out of her mouth and waved. “Say bye.”

“Bye guys.” Piper blew kisses at the screen and leaned into me as the screen went black. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

“She sure is.” A quick flash of a little girl with Piper’s dark brown hair jumped into my head. I could honestly say I’d never, ever thought about kids until right now.

Holy crap.

“You okay?” Piper hooked her arm around my shoulders.

“Yeah, just glad I’m home for a while.” I didn’t think we were quite ready to think about that kind of future. I knew I wasn’t. Though it wasn’t nearly as scary as it once was.

Maya bumped her head under my arm and tried to burrow into my chest. Evidently, she was getting used to my place just fine. I had a feeling she’d own it by the weekend.

Piper tried to give Maya a little scratch and the cat answered her with a hiss and bared teeth. Some things clearly wouldn’t change even with Maya living with me.

I stood and drew Piper into my arms. “I have something to show you.”

“Oh?” Her eyes lit with interest.

I’d created a monster. One that I certainly didn’t want to tame. I’d never been with a woman who was quite as hungry for me at any given moment. Then again, I might have been the one who’d dragged her into the cafe storeroom the moment I got back from the airport the other night.

“I might have something of that nature as well.” I’d found a very interesting shop in Denver. I’d had the little gem I’d purchased shipped home and was waiting to show it to her this weekend when we had some uninterrupted time together. “This one involves clothes.”

“Oh.”

The disappointed pinch between her brows made me laugh. “Just follow me.” I led her back to my bedroom, the cat following us down the hall.

“This is promising.”

I tangled our fingers together and brought her toward a closet.

“Kinda small for one of those red rooms.”

I laughed. “Oh, kitten. Life with you is never boring.”

She tipped up her chin and gave me the smile that usually made me end up with my pants missing. Before she distracted me with that, I opened the door. “What do you think?”

“I think that I didn’t realize it was possible for you to have a closet that was empty. Friggin’ clothes horse.”

I rolled my eyes. “As a matter of fact, this was quite full earlier today.” I reached up and found a spare belt on the shelf. I grabbed it and threw it on the bed.

“Are you giving some clothes to Goodwill or something? They’d probably pass out considering some of the fancy threads you own. Not to mention the average man can’t wear your shirts.” She bumped my arm with her shoulder. “Or your pants.”

“Is that all you think about?”

“No. I think about coffee, cat furniture, and those sateen sheets you own on occasion as well.”

“Well, I was thinking you might want to bring some things over. You know, so we don’t have to do the overnight bags all the time. It’s just a thought. Not a big deal if—” I grunted as she threw herself into my side and knocked me back a full step.

“My stuff? An actual space for my clothes? You do realize that means annoying cat shirts, right?”

“I’m aware.” I tugged her in front of me and linked my fingers at the base of her spine. “I’m partial to cats it seems.” I glanced at the sleek gray Siamese mix who was currently washing herself at the end of my bed.

The fact that I had willingly invited cat fur into my home meant I was well and truly gone for this delightfully unusual woman.

“Seems only right since I’m in love with a crazy cat lady too.” Her eyes welled up. “Now don’t start with that.”

“I can’t help it. You adopted a cat and now you’re adopting me.”

“I am not. I’m going to marry you eventually, but there is nothing in the definition of you and me that includes adoption, Ms. Lockwood.”

“Marry?” she gasped.

“I think I have to talk to your dad face-to-face first.”

She stood on her tiptoes and grabbed the lapels of my vest. “Oh my God, are you going to ask my dad for my hand in marriage? Can I get a video?”

“You are a menace.” I bent down to lift her against me. “And if I were to possibly ask sometime in the future?”

“I might—in the sometime future—say maybe.”

“Maybe?” I lifted her higher so our lips lined up. “What’s this ‘maybe’ crap?”

“You’ll have to up your game, buddy. Lesson number one in a good marriage proposal. It requires an over-the-top situation in which you sometime-in-the-future-might-ask-me to marry you.”

I smiled against her mouth. This woman would never, ever be boring. And I really wasn’t sure how I’d ever lived without her. “Let the lessons begin.”