Emily

The rest of the band—sans Jared, of course—arrived less than five minutes after Ethan and I reached his loft. I barely had time to block the stairs and let Dammit out of his carrier before they were there, a cluster of voices and noise as they poured through the door.

I scooped up Dammit before he could charge in to greet them and hung back behind Ethan.

“I’m telling you, that cleaning lady violated me.” The spiky, blond head of Lennox Reid appeared first, as he argued over his shoulder with one of the twins, his dark eyes flashing in annoyance.

Kade and Kane were identical in every way, including their dirty blond hair, which hung to their shoulders. Still, the smirk and humor on his face made me think this twin was Kane, the one who had kicked Lennox out of their shared suite.

“She poked you with the broom handle to make sure you were breathing, dumbass. You were passed out in the hall; you’re lucky she didn’t call security.”

“She jabbed me in the ass, Kane.” Ha! I was right. “Goosed me so hard I hit my head on the wall.”

“Will you two shut the fuck up already? I’m sick of hearing it. Kane, at least make sure he has his wallet next time you toss him out.” The other twin, Kade, stepped into the room, stormy gray eyes glaring at the back of his brother’s head. “And Lennox, spring for your own room instead of bringing the fuck squad to a shared suite, you uncouth jackass. No one wants to listen to you moaning while three chicks fake orgasms all damn night.”

Ethan’s shoulders shook as he stood in front of me, and Kane made no attempt to hide his laughter.

“Fuck you, Kade.” Lennox bit out then swept his gaze over the room. “Fuck all of you.”

Aubrey finally stepped around Kade, shaking her head at them. She was gorgeous, with long dark hair and gray-blue eyes. She had a casual style I could totally relate to—distressed jeans and a long sweater with ankle boots. “Can we all take it down a notch, please? All’s well that ends well, right? Kade and I had a great night alone. Kane, you got a good night’s sleep. And Lennox…” She smirked. “You got your prostate massaged. See? We’re all winners.”

“A prostate massage usually consists of a finger in the ass, not a goddamn broom handle,” Lennox grumbled.

“Ahem.” Ethan pointedly cleared his throat and stepped aside so everyone would realize I was there.

Dammit chuffed and started to squirm in my arms, wanting down.

All three men froze, and I could almost see them taking mental inventory of their exchange, probably wondering exactly how offended I was going to be.

Aubrey’s expression went from surprise to elation in a heartbeat, and she hurried across the room toward me. “Emily! I’m so glad you’re here!”

She pulled me into a hug as Dammit wiggled between us, wanting kisses. I looked over her shoulder at the guys and had to laugh. They looked like a bunch of deer caught in headlights.

Ethan took a moment to make the introductions even as Kade’s bride squeezed the breath out of me. “Emily, meet Kade, Kane, and Lennox. Aubrey, you already sort of know.”

When Aubrey stepped back and stole Dammit from my arms, I smiled over at them. “Nice to meet you. From what I just heard, it sounds like it was a bad night for asses. Just ask Ethan what happened to his.” I looked at him, smirking. “Or you could just show them the teeth marks.”

All three men—even stone-faced Kade—cracked up and turned to Ethan.

Lennox was nodding, shooting looks my way as he spoke. “She’s a biter, huh? That’s hot.”

“Not her, idiot. The dog.” Ethan pointed at Dammit, who was too intent on licking Aubrey’s face to notice the stares he was getting. Thank goodness her shiny brown hair was pulled back, or he probably would have tried to chew on it, another of his odd habits. “He thought I was…attacking Emily.”

“You probably were,” Lennox tossed out.

“He really was.” I confirmed, laughing when Ethan gave me an indignant look.

Kane crossed his arms over his chest, feigning disappointment in his friend. “Serves you right then, you animal.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Ethan groused.

Aubrey decided her face bath was over and put Dammit down on the floor. He took off like a shot, heading straight for the guys. Lennox and Kane both crouched, immediately ready to pet him. Kade was more reserved but still regarded Dammit with a soft smile as the pup made a beeline for his twin.

“Whosagoodboy? Whosagoodboy? Did you bite him real good? Did ya?” Dammit’s back leg tapped on the floor as Kane scratched behind his ears.

Lennox looked on with jealousy plastered all over his face. “What’s his name?”

“Dammit,” Ethan answered.

“No, really.”

I shrugged, looking around at the four people waiting for me to dispute the answer. “Ethan’s serious. The dog’s name is Dammit. And after a few hours in the same house with him, you’ll see how well it fits.”

“Nah. He’s a sweet little dog. Just protective, which is a good thing.” Ethan jokingly rubbed his bruised butt cheek adding, “Usually.”

The next half an hour was spent watching the entire group fawn over my dog, which was adorable. Even Kade eventually reached down and picked him up—much to Dammit’s delight.

The allegedly scary Kade Edenfield trying not to chuckle through the doggy kisses was the most hilarious thing ever.

And Dammit totally won the battle.

Grammys or no Grammys, that day my little brown pup was the star of the show.

He even seemed to enjoy the music when the guys finally tore themselves away from him long enough to practice.

He sat on Aubrey’s lap and watched as the guys made their way through several songs—all of them seeming unhappy with the sound because of their missing guitarist but making the best of it nonetheless.

Lennox switched his bass for Jared’s rhythm a few times because they alternated a lot in concert, which I thought was cool. But I was hard-pressed to pay attention to anything except Ethan’s hands flying behind his drum kit.

His expression was so intense, his movements so deliberate and entrancing, that I didn’t even realize Dammit had jumped down and was doing his ‘I need to go out’ dance at my feet.

Ethan was all I could see.

I wonder if he looks that intense with a paintbrush in his hand.

Aubrey had to nudge me and gesture toward the door to alert me to Dammit’s needs. I nodded and waved for her to come along, which she seemed happy to do.

She blew Kade a kiss on the way out, and he flicked his tongue in response, making me blush at having witnessed it. I caught Ethan’s eye and he winked, giving me a dazzling smile. His hands didn’t slow for a second.

I stood there a moment longer, watching his hands, marveling how they could make such amazing music and create breathtaking works of art. So much talent in those hands.

Dammit jumped up on my leg, hurrying me along, so I grabbed his leash and my stash of baggies and headed out as the slow beat of a popular TotC ballad played behind us.

* * *

“I forgot how cold it is here in the winter,” Aubrey commented as Dammit led us at a leisurely ‘I’m gonna sniff allll the things’ pace.

“The cold doesn’t bother me much anymore, but I’ve been here for a while now, so…”

“Where are you from originally?”

Shit, I should have known even a seemingly innocuous weather comment was leading question and answer period.

“Tennessee. Just outside of Nashville.”

“You a country music fan, then?” A standard question for anyone who’s ever lived within a hundred miles of Music Row.

“I like everything. Country is what I grew up on, but I’m pretty well-rounded in my listening now.”

Dammit stopped to sniff a particularly interesting patch of grass. Aubrey smiled down at him and asked, “What about TotC? Were you already a fan, or did our Ethan have to win you over?”

I quirked a brow. “Isn’t everyone a fan of TotC?”

“Everyone worth knowing.” She chuckled.

I glanced over my shoulder and back at her. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

I gestured to the extremely large, menacing guy who was keeping within a few yards of us. “Do you have to keep a guard with you everywhere you go?”

She blew out a breath and chuckled. “Nah. That’s Kade being overprotective. When all of us are together, we rarely have security. I mean, come on—who in their right mind would challenge either of the Edenfield twins? And the other three don’t have the same scary tall stature as Kade and Kane, but trust me, no one steps on them either.”

“I can’t picture Ethan in a fist fight.” I shook my head.

“Soul of an artist, fists of a prizefighter.” She shrugged. “Not that I know firsthand—just stories from back when they started out. They’re all pretty chill now, though. Except my husband, of course.”

“He’s nicer than I would have expected but still kinda scary—no offense.”

She gave me a dreamy smile. “Isn’t he though?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. We made it another half a block before either of us spoke again.

“Ethan showed you his studio?” Aubrey asked in a tone that implied she already knew the answer.

“Yeah. It was incredible, absolutely stunning.”

She nodded in agreement. “He’s so talented. I can’t even use a paint roller, much less create anything even remotely resembling art.”

“Me either.” I admitted.

“But you’re into art, right? I mean, you do work in a gallery.”

“Oh, I adore all things artistic. Painting, sculpture, whatever. It all intrigues me.” I snorted softly as Dammit finally found something worthy of lifting his little leg. “I even like graffiti. I know, I know—it’s illegal, but some of the stuff that’s out there is flat-out amazing.”

“I’ve seen some really phenomenal artwork on the side of overpasses myself,” she agreed, smiling.

“Exactly. If I were in the position to track down and feature some of those street artists, I definitely would. I feel like there are a lot of really talented artists out there who just don’t have the means or the platform to get noticed, you know?”

She said nothing, still smiling as she looked over at me approvingly.

“What?”

“Nothing. I was just thinking how well-matched you and Ethan are. You kind of sounded like him just now.”

I tried not to let it go to my head. After all, being well-matched wasn’t going to matter when the holidays were over, and he had to get back to his life, one that kept him on the other side of the country most of the time. “We definitely have an appreciation of art in common, but that’s to be expected.”

“Yeah, it is. But that’s not what I meant. It’s more than that.”

I just shrugged, not wanting to get too heavy with the conversation. “I think Dammit is trying to freeze us to death.” I hooked a thumb in the direction we’d come from. “He’s probably done, if you want to head back to the loft.”

“That definitely sounded like Ethan. He’s the king of evasion. Only Jared has been harder to crack, which is really saying something.”

“Really? He seems pretty straightforward to me. Maybe he doesn’t answer every question right away, but he usually gets around to it eventually.”

“With you, he’s like that. But that’s so freaking rare for him; you have no idea.” She looped an arm through mine and continued walking in the opposite direction of the loft. “Most of the time, I don’t even think he’s a hundred percent transparent with the rest of the band—with the exception of Jared, who I’m pretty sure he tells everything.”

“He told me how close they are. If they were already best friends before the accident, I can only imagine how bonded they are after going through something like that together.” I leaned into her side and admitted rather shyly, “Your husband is definitely intimidating, but Jared is the one I’m the most afraid to meet. He’s so close to Ethan, what if he doesn’t like me?” I winced and shook my head. “God, I sound like a stupid teenager; forget I said anything.”

Aubrey laughed quietly. “Too late, it’s out there now. And it’s not stupid. You like Ethan, so of course you want to fit into his circle. That’s a pretty normal instinct.”

“Even for a fling?” I blurted and instantly wished I could slip between the bars of the steam grate we were passing and disappear.

“Oh, honey. If you were a fling, you wouldn’t be hanging with the band.” She looked at me like she couldn’t believe I thought that. “These guys don’t have a lot of free time, and I’ve never seen any of them—aside from my husband, of course—go to such great lengths to make time for anyone outside the band. Ethan’s seriously into you, and it shows.”

“It’s only been a little over a month, and we’ve been thousands of miles apart for most of it.”

She shrugged. “Whirlwind romance is a phrase for a reason. It happens. That instant connection between two people where they just click from day one.”

“Was it like that for you and Kade?”

“Us?” She snorted and shook her head. “We hated each other—hated—in the beginning. He’s stubborn as hell, and I’m not one to back down, so…it got heated, to say the least.”

“Sounds like an interesting story.”

“Oh yeah, I’ll fill you in sometime. But right now, we’re talking about you and Ethan.”

“Whirlwind, huh?” I scoffed.

“That’s what I’m predicting. Instant attraction can turn into amazing things, trust me. After the initial push and pull, Kade and I had a whirlwind ourselves, sort of. Hell, I’m here today because of a whirlwind romance.”

“Really?” I asked, intrigued.

“My parents. They married less than two months after they met, and to hear my dad’s version of the story, it drove them crazy to wait that long.”

“Two months? Wow.”

“Married at twenty and spent the rest of their lives together, not one day apart.” Her smile was tinged with sadness, and it wasn’t lost on me that she spoke of them in past tense.

“Sounds like an epic love story.”

“It was,” she said quietly.

We were passing a small bakery, and the smells of fresh pastry and strong coffee wafted out to us.

Eager to change the subject, I stopped and offered her the leash. “Will you keep an eye on Dammit while I grab us some coffee and a snack?”

She took the leash from my hands and peeked through the store window. “Sure. I could use a pick-me-up and a sugary treat.”

Shit!

She said treat!

Dammit went nuclear.

He jumped and barked and ran circles around her legs until she was so tied up she couldn’t move. One good tug from him, and she’d hit the freezing pavement. I couldn’t get my hands on him and almost knocked her over myself trying to grab him.

Luckily, the bodyguard stepped in to help.

He steadied her while I scooped Dammit up and unhooked the leash long enough to unwrap it from her legs. The dog still wiggled and whimpered in my arms, not forgetting for a second that someone said the t-r-e-a-t word. “Shit, Aubrey. I’m sorry. He spazzes out when he hears that word. Are you okay?”

“It’s not how I usually like to be tied up—I’ll tell you that,” she joked and managed to make her three-hundred-pound tatted-up bodyguard blush.

Once he let go and resumed his spot a few yards behind us, she smirked. “I love messing with that guy.”

I clipped Dammit’s leash back on but didn’t put him down, opting instead to hand him to her. “He’ll wiggle a while longer but maybe they’ll have something inside I can use to appease him. Really, I’m so sorry. He’s such a loon when he hears that word.”

“No problem. It was kind of funny.”

“Not from where I stood. I kept picturing having to tell your enormous, scary husband how my crazy dog hog-tied you and dragged you down the sidewalk.” I snorted and patted his head while he chuffed and whipped Aubrey’s side with his tail. “How do you take your coffee?”