Emily

“Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee.” I peeked through one bleary eye as I entered the kitchen and stopped when my eyes fell on Ethan.

He was already dressed, looking delicious as he held out a huge travel mug of coffee.

I was struck silent at the sight.

Standing in his enormous, gleamingly clean kitchen, looking like sex on two legs and offering me my morning fix?

He really was perfect.

My body was sore this morning, in all the right places.

Actually, that wasn’t entirely true. My feet were sore from being on them most of the day cooking, but the other stuff hurt because…well…we tried to bring down the entire building last night.

What had started out slow and reverent had turned desperate and feral in a hurry. Thank goodness Ethan’s downstairs neighbors were out of town because between our—okay, my—screams and Dammit’s barking, they wouldn’t have gotten a bit of sleep.

Hell, we barely got an hour ourselves.

And it was so worth it.

Ethan leaned in and kissed my forehead as I took my coffee and pivoted on one heel to head to the living room. “I’ve got a quick call to make. Can you be ready to leave in twenty?”

I was barely able to form words, so I gave a little grunt and nod.

“Good. I’ll make my call while I walk Dammit.” He grabbed the leash hanging on the door knob and whistled.

Dammit came charging into the kitchen with so much gusto that when he tried to stop at Ethan’s feet, he ended up sliding right by him and nearly colliding with the wall.

His whole body wagged when Ethan reached down to clip on the leash and scratched behind his floppy ears.

“Who on earth could you be calling this early? It’s four in the morning.”

He grinned. “I didn’t say they were going to be happy about it. Just that I had to make the call.” When I frowned in confusion, he chuckled. “I’ve got someone handling the other location this morning. Can’t risk being seen there in case someone puts two and two together.”

I nodded, realizing what he meant. “And you’re their wakeup call.”

“Not hardly. I’m Jimmy’s wakeup call.” Jimmy was the band’s manager. “And then he calls the guy who enlisted the guy who will actually be overseeing everything. Got to be covert to keep my name out of it.”

“That’s a lot of people to wake up at stupid o’clock in the morning.”

“And it’s for a damn good cause, so they can get the fuck over it.” He dropped a kiss on my lips and pinched my ass, making me yelp. “Plus, they’re being paid very well to wake up at stupid o’clock.”

“They’d have to be.” I yawned.

He quirked a brow, ignoring Dammit who was dancing on his hind legs, begging to go out. “Do you need compensation, too, pretty lady? Because that can be arranged.”

“Later, drummer boy. Right now, I need coffee and a hair brush. But I’m sure we can come to an agreement later on compensation.”

“We do compromise very well together.” He winked and looked down at Dammit. “Come on, boy. Let’s go kill some grass and make some calls.”

When the door clicked shut behind them, I let out a contented sigh.

Even with zero sleep and a rat’s nest for hair, I was happier than I’d been in forever.

And the day was just getting started.

* * *

The Manhattan sidewalks were bustling with Black Friday shoppers, the streets filling fast with taxis and van loads of bleary-eyed moms and dads looking for killer deals.

It was cold, bone chillingly so, and the wind was almost enough to cut right through even the thickest parka I owned. I had a beanie pulled low to cover my ears and my gloved hands stuffed into the pockets of my coat as I watched the guys form a shoulder-to-shoulder line in front of the doors, bodyguards one step behind them—just in case.

“Good morning! How’s everyone doing?” the store owner called, stepping in front of the band.

Most people replied with ‘cold’ and a few said ‘tired’. I could relate to both.

“Anyone here recognize these guys?” He hitched a thumb over his shoulder, indicating the band—who still wore dark glasses and ball caps or hoodies to obscure their identities.

Aubrey and I were off to the side—with our own set of stoic bodyguards—where we had a great view of the whole thing.

As soon as the owner finished his question, Ethan and the guys pulled off their glasses and hats, to a round of incredulous gasps. The cheers erupted a second later and the band members smiled and waved, but only let it go on for a few seconds before signaling for everyone to settle down.

Grinning from ear to ear, the owner continued. “Glad to see a few of you know who they are. I would have been pretty embarrassed if I had to explain it.” Everyone chuckled. “Well, besides being one of the most successful bands of the century, these guys also have some of the biggest damn hearts on the planet. And you, my dear friends, are about to see that for yourselves.” He waved a hand at Kade, who stepped forward.

“Good morning!” Kade called so everyone could hear. Aubrey and I glanced over at the security team, who were busy roping off the entire block to keep things organized. He stepped out closer to the curb so he could see the other end of the line. “Great to see such a large group of music lovers here today. Did you all see that sale flyer? Some seriously amazing deals, right?”

The crowd cheered and nodded in agreement.

“Want to know what’s better than getting something half off? Getting something absolutely free!”

The cheers got louder, and everyone started looking antsy as they watched Kade in anticipation.

“See, we—the members of TotC—believe in the power of music. We believe that the right chord or beat or lyric, delivered at just the right time, can change a life. Save a life. Maybe even create a life—and you know which songs I’m referring to.” He winked, and I swear I saw a couple of forty-somethings sway on their feet.

“We also believe in giving back, especially to young musicians, because the drumsticks or guitar strings or amplifiers they get today will bring them one step closer to that Grammy, that world tour, that one song that changes a thousand lives. That one musician might one day inspire the entire world.”

I was blinking back tears watching the people in line. There were more kids here than I thought there would be, given the early hour, but there they were—dozens of them lined up in the cold for a chance to get a bargain on the thing that they were building their dreams on.

Ethan caught my eye and smiled, giving me a little nod as he too blinked back tears.

Kade held up the tear-away list that had been attached to the sales flyer. “Do you all have your lists?”

The flyer had instructed customers to have lists ready so they could be quickly helped in the order of their arrival. Each sheet had a spot for item numbers and quantities that could be easily checked off.

Arms went up all down the block, waving the long, narrow pieces of paper.

“Good. Write your names on them and hand them to the sales associates who are working their way down the line, please.”

People reached in purses and pockets for pens to add their names. I watched as one lady rifled through her enormous—and gorgeous—bag and found at least a dozen pens to help out the people around her.

Twenty store employees and volunteers made their way down the line, getting every list before heading back into the store. A few of them had elf hats with pointy ears that made me chuckle.

Kade waved the rest of the guys over, standing at an angle to the line so as many people as possible could see them. When all five of them were once again shoulder to shoulder, Kade announced, “Every item on every list is being gathered and bagged as we speak. It may take the team a little while, so please be patient.” He looked at the other guys and grinned. “This next part is very important. When you go to pick up your bags, all you need to do is tell them the name on the list. No money required. TotC is picking up the tab. And if there’s an item on your list that is out of stock, you’ll receive a voucher to come back and get it—for free—as soon as the store can get it in.”

The screams were actually louder than at the concert. People were jumping up and down, hugging each other. I saw a little boy around nine or ten happy-crying and wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his coat. He had a pair of worn-looking drumsticks in his free hand, his mom—I assumed it was his mom—was holding the other. Ethan saw it too and walked over to talk to him.

Aubrey and I joined the rest of the band, and we all watched the boy clutch at Ethan’s coat, hugging him and crying into his shoulder.

Jared came over to stand beside me, offering me a comforting smile as my shoulders shook. Dammit, I was about to start blubbering like a baby.

I swiped at my cheeks and sniffed softly, watching Ethan crouch down and talk to the still-crying boy. Jared wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me to his side, whispering, “That speech Kade just gave? E wrote that. He’s the best of us, you know?”

That just made me cry harder, and I nodded, unable to speak.

“He told you about the art store in Chelsea?” he asked, dropping his voice further. I was actually finding his slow, measured way of speaking kind of soothing.

I nodded again, tears thankfully slowing. “I wish he could be there to see all the artists he’s helping today.”

“Me too.” Jared sighed.

I leaned more heavily into his side, needing the support as I admitted, “I was worried you wouldn’t like me.”

He squeezed my shoulder. “I don’t hug people I don’t like.” It was a simple declaration, but I knew he was saying much more than those few words implied.

“Or defend their honor to the likes of Lennox Reid?” I joked, needing to lighten the mood before my few emotional tears turned into a torrential downpour.

“You didn’t need my help. You handled Lenn just fine.” He chuckled, nodding to Ethan, who was coming over to join us. “And I’d like to chip in on that Christmas present Ethan told me about. Maybe we can pool our money and supersize it or whatever.”

That gave me a visual that had me cracking up.

Thank goodness I knew how to clear my browser history— you know, in case I was ever investigated by the FBI or something.

There’s just no good way to explain searching “giant gnome-shaped prostate massager” to the feds.