Chapter 26 #2
There was a beat of silence. “He loves you.”
“He does.”
“You love him.”
“Completely.”
Crew narrowed his gaze, and I’d seen him give Payton much the same look. He was such a dad sometimes.
“You have to talk to him. Open communication is the most important thing.”
I waggled my eyebrows, wanting to take the attention off me. “Yeah, you’d know huh?”
He groaned, but smiled too. “Yeah. I do know. So listen to what I’m telling you. You have to talk to Ville.”
“I will, just not right this moment. I’m going to the last show in Vegas at the end of the month, and then we’ll see what’s what.
” When Crew opened his mouth, I held up a hand to forestall his argument.
“You’re going to stand there and tell me that if you and Mal were in this situation, you wouldn’t do whatever you could to make Mal’s life easier?
Because if you say no, you’ll have lied to me for the first time in your life. ”
Crew chewed on that for a moment. “Fine. But I still think—”
The two-way crackling to life interrupted him.
“All hands. Anyone got eyes on EH?” Mom’s voice came through.
My brother unclipped the radio from his belt and handed it over without a word. I waited until there was a break in the negative responses to butt in.
“EH here. What’s up? Over.”
“Demi needs you. Now.”
I didn’t respond, just tossed the walkie at Crew and took off running.
It wasn’t that far from the house, and I was in pretty good shape, but I was still winded by the time I made it inside.
I searched the room, seeing Mom feeding Quinn, Dad snuggling Violet, and Payton trying to wrangle Aria, Emerson, and Phinneas into playing a game.
Mom pointed up the stairs and I sprinted in that direction, taking them two at a time.
Demi was sitting in the rocking chair, Rowan to her breast, and her face was a dark cloud when she spotted me. I dropped down beside her, frantically looking her over.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” I demanded, voice low so as not to startle the infant. All three of them were hitting the milestones for their adjusted age, but we all couldn’t help but be extra careful around them still.
“How dare you not tell me everything going on in your head?” My twin sister hissed even as she rubbed the peach fuzz of dark hair on Rowan’s head.
It took me a second to shift gears because I’d been in panic mode. When I realized what she meant, I groaned softly and sat back on my heels.
“Come on, D. You’ve had enough going on.”
This, apparently, had been the wrong thing to say. “Our bond says otherwise, you idiot. It’s always us first.”
Then her eyes filled, tears spilling down her cheeks. I knew it was hormones in conjunction with everything else, but I hated that I made her cry.
“No, no,” I soothed, reaching to wipe the tears, and chuckling when she batted my hand forcefully away.
“I didn’t notice!” Her voice got a little loud, and Rowan’s eyes popped open. We both made shushing noises and Demi rocked a little faster. After a few seconds, Rowan went back to sucking and her eyes drifted closed again.
“You are my ride or die,” I swore at almost a whisper. “And you made three babies at once. And you have been taking care of all your kids like a goddess. I’m just missing the man I love.”
That seemed to soothe her. Rowan’s mouth sagged open, and Demi tucked her breast away before laying Rowan out on her lap, then gently, slowly sitting her up. Demi ran her hands up that tiny torso and the burp that escaped was very satisfying. We both laughed.
Demi handed me the baby then pulled her legs up and got comfortable. “Start talking.”
It felt good to get it all out, in a way I could only ever be with Demi. She listened, made faces and noises that had me alternately laughing and grimacing, and when it was all done, I had a plan to talk to Ville at the concert.
Due to my scheduling, and the fact that I had to fly commercial even though I did spring for first class, I landed only two hours before the concert was about to start.
There was a car waiting for me, and the driver was a nice man who only made a little small talk before we settled into a comfortable silence.
Because of traffic, it took almost an hour to get to the venue, and once I did, I was ushered in a side door and handed credentials I immediately hung around my neck.
“Wait here,” one of the security guards said, stepping back and speaking into his radio.
I nodded and took in the scene. Even from where I was, I could see the insane hustle and bustle going on. It only took a few minutes before Ville filled my vision, and then he was all I could see. The smile that split my face actually hurt, but I didn’t care.
He gathered me up, squeezed me hard, and then kissed me so deeply I was going to have to tell him I’d had my tonsils removed when I was eleven. But then he grabbed my arm and towed me after him, all but shoving me inside an empty green room.
“Don’t you have to be out there right now?” I asked, even as I wrapped myself around him.
“Abi’s got it for a minute. I need to talk to you.”
My heart started to pound as I took in the seriousness on his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he was quick to assure me, and he kissed me again for good measure. When he pulled back, he didn’t go far, resting his forehead on mine. “What I’m about to tell you can’t leave this room.”
I slid my hands into his hair. “Of course.”
Ville took a breath. “He’s done.”
It took me a second. “Wren?”
Ville nodded, then lifted his head so he could look into my eyes. “We’re still working out details, but he’s…he’s just done.”
I couldn’t help the worry that crept into my gut. “Is he okay?”
“Physically, yeah. He’s fine.”
Whatever was plaguing the man I thought of as a brother was all mental then. Which I understood. Being a superstar celebrity had to be wearying. Plus I’d be stupid if I didn’t recognize that Bodhi had something to do with it too. But I wasn’t touching that with a ten foot pole.
“So what does that mean for you?” I asked, trying not to let hope take root. Not yet.
“It means,” he began, and he had to take another breath.
“It means that once he’s finished what he needs to, and decided on where he’s going to land because I don’t think it’ll be Nashville anymore, then I’m done too.
It means I only need to ask you to hang on for me for a few more months.
Can you do that, baby? Can you last just a little bit longer? ”
The relief and hope that surged through me made me lightheaded. My knees nearly buckled, but just like always, Ville held me up. He pushed me up against the wall and squished me back into my body and I breathed him in, joy filling me up with every inhale.
“Yes. Yes, of course. Oh my god.” The laughter was a touch unhinged, but it was all from relief. “I was going to talk to you, after the concert, tell you how much I was…how hard it was for me these past few months. See if we could figure out…but now—what?”
I could not interpret his expression, but his voice was kind of smug when he said, “You think I don’t know? You think I don’t see exactly how much you’re struggling?” Then his expression turned serious, an almost-sadness entering his gaze. “You think I’m not hurting too?”
Of course he knew. I’d been a fool to think I was hiding even some of it. And I knew he’d been hurting too, of course he had. I just knew his commitment to Wren was stronger. I kissed him, hard and claiming, and he was grumbling as I broke the kiss.
“Like I don’t know every little thing about you. What the fuck?”
I could not contain the grin. Which he proceeded to kiss off my face with reckless abandon.
“I love you, sugar,” I said fervently, my heart becoming whole.
“And I love you. Ready for the rest of our lives to start?”
I was so ready. With this man at my side, I could handle anything. For sure the rest of our lives.