Chapter 7
FAYE
FAMILY GROUP CHAT RISK ASSESSMENT
Priority Level: HIGH
Status: WHAT IS HAPPENING???????
IMMEDIATE OBSERVATIONS
Added to "Dogg Pack" group text
147 unread messages and counting
Multiple gif usage
Excessive emojis
Sam's dad posts dad jokes hourly
Note: SAVE FAVORITES FOR LATER
CURRENT CONCERNS:
Everyone types in ALL CAPS
Jay keeps sending awkward selfies
Frankie's "relationship" memes
Will's dad jokes are actually funny
Sam watching me read with a grin Note: STOP NOTICING HIS GRIN
EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS
Read but don't respond
Selective emoji usage
Maintain professional distance
Try not to get attached
Note: TOO LATE???
Current Status: Information overload
Threat Level: INCREASING
Personal Note: Why does this feel so natural?
Secondary Note: These people are chaos
Final Note: I might love it
M y phone buzzed for the hundredth time that morning, another notification from the "Dogg Pack" family chat lighting up my screen.
Dogg Pack Chat
DaddyDogg
WHY DON'T EGGS TELL JOKES?
MommyDogg
Please don’t….
DaddyDogg
THEY'D CRACK UP!
Mr. Jay Kenton
Dad, no. Please stop.
FrankieKenton
Keep ‘em coming, Will!
MommyDogg
Will’s been saving these up all week. You’re just lucky they’re egg jokes and not wedding jokes. I’m looking at you @SamDogg and @FayeMoyo.
SamDogg
Sorry @FayeMoyo, you can mute them if you want
I glanced up from my phone to find Sam watching me from across the tour bus kitchen, amusement dancing in his eyes as he sipped his morning tea.
"Your family is chaos," I informed him, even as I saved Will's joke to my growing collection.
"Our family now," he corrected. "At least according to Karen's latest text."
As if on cue, my phone buzzed again.
MommyDogg
@FAYEMOYO HONEY WHEN ARE YOU COMING FOR DINNER?
MommyDogg
Sorry, I hit caps. You know, none of you visit enough. When was the last time we all had dinner together?
JamesDogg
Thanksgiving. We literally were all together for thanksgiving.
MommyDogg
But we missed Christmas! Sam was away and Hayden and Kat had to take the kids to London to visit her parents. I miss you all!
LittleDogg
I don’t.
MommyDogg
Ignore your sister. She’s annoyed that she has to go back to school next week.
DaddyDogg
WHY DID THE SCARECROW WIN AN AWARD?
DaddyDogg
BECAUSE HE WAS OUTSTANDING IN HIS FIELD!
Mr. JayKenton
Speaking of dinner...
FrankieKenton
Mr. JayKenton
Frankie and I are happy to host if you guys want to come over. @SamDogg, you’re gig free tonight, right? And only an hour and a half drive away. See? Perfect!
FrankieKenton
Is it? Seems like a lot of work for them.
FrankieKenton
I mean, Yes! Faye, we need girl talk!
HazelDogg
We’re in – I’ll make dessert
MillieDogg
I’ll make sure we’re free. I can bring a salad.
AshDogg
I thought we had a work thing on Thursday?
MillieDogg
I’ll move it. I don’t want to miss Faye’s initiation dinner.
TrentMoyo-Dogg
Welcome to the fam, sis! Be prepared for the unexpected. Seriously, I found a snake in our house last week after someone came over.
JamesDogg
I PLEAD THE FIFTH!!!!
RyanDogg-Moyo
Don’t scare her! We need some in the family who’ll rope our chaos in.
EnidTenil
Henry and I are a yes—we’ll bring wine.
KatDogg
Party!!
Sam set down his mug, crossing to where I sat.
"We don't have to go if you're not up for it."
I looked at him, noting the careful way he asked, like he was trying not to pressure me.
"You want to go?"
He shrugged, but I caught the tension in his shoulders. "It’d be nice to see them. And we are only an hour and a half away."
"Then we'll go." I turned back to my phone, typing quickly.
FayeMoyo
We'll be there. What can we bring?
FrankieKenton
Just yourselves! And maybe some juicy stories about married life
Mr. JayKenton
Frankie, no. I draw a line.
FrankieKenton
I didn’t say you had to be a part of the conversation
SamDogg
And on that note, I'm muting this chat. We’ll see you tonight.
AshDogg
Coward
RyanDogg
You can't escape the dad jokes, Samuel. Embrace them. EMbrACE THEM!!!
I couldn't help laughing, even as my phone continued to buzz with notifications.
Sam's hand settled on my shoulder. "You sure about dinner? The family can be... intense."
I chuckled. "I have met your family before. Your brother is married to mine. It’s not like I’m going in cold. I can handle them.”
A thump came on the side of the bus. “Sound check in five!”
Sam’s thumb brushed the base of my neck, sending shivers down my spine.
‘Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warm you.” He squeezed my shoulders before moving toward the bus door.
I stood, following him out. “How bad could it possibly be?”
He chuckled. “You have no idea.”
"You're overthinking again." Sam's voice drifted from the bathroom of the bus where he was changing. "I can hear you from here."
"I am not." I straightened his leather jacket on its hanger, checking for wrinkles. "I'm just..."
"Making sure everything's perfect?"
"It's dinner with your family."
"What happened to ‘I can handle them’?” he teased, emerging in dark jeans and a soft grey henley that made something flutter in my stomach.
"Yes, well normally I could. But this isn’t exactly normal. We’ve kind of… you know…" I gestured between us.
"Shacked up?”
Heat crept up my neck.
"Exactly. What if they can tell we're faking it?"
Sam crossed to where I stood, gently taking his jacket from my hands. "Faye, breathe."
"I am breathing."
"No, you're spiraling." He shrugged into the jacket, and I absolutely did not notice how it pulled across his shoulders. "Everyone just wants to see us. No agenda.”
"No agenda," I echoed dubiously.
"It'll be fine." Sam's hand found the small of my back, guiding me toward the steps. "Though fair warning – Frankie's probably going to ask about our sex life."
I stumbled. "She what?"
"Sexologist, remember?" His grin was far too amused. "She likes to make people squirm with inappropriate questions. It's her love language."
"And you're just reminding me of this now?"
"Would you have agreed to go if I'd told you earlier?"
"No!"
"Exactly." He pressed the open door button, waiting for the exit doors to slide open. "Besides, you're the one who's always saying we need to make this look real."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "I hate you."
"No, you don't."
As we stepped out onto the grass lot, Sam's phone buzzed.
"Justice wants to know if we'll be back in time for an early rehearsal tomorrow."
"Tell him yes. We need to run through the new arrangement for 'Wild Heart' before tomorrow's show." I frowned as a thought hit me. "Unless... do you want to stay longer with your family? I can handle rehearsal notes?—"
"Faye." Sam's voice was soft. "Stop trying to manage everything."
"I'm not—" I caught his knowing look in the elevator's mirrored wall. "Fine. But someone has to."
"And someone has to make sure you don't work yourself to death." He bumped my shoulder with his. "Good thing you married me."
My heart did that strange flutter again.
"Car's here," Sam said, nodding to where our driver waited. His hand found my lower back again, warm and steady. "Ready?"
I thought about Frankie's inappropriate questions, about Jay's cryptic text, about how natural Sam's touch felt.
"Not even slightly."
He laughed, the sound wrapping around me like a familiar melody. "That's my girl."
And for just a moment, I let myself believe he meant it.
I slid into the back seat, only to be immediately assaulted by memories of the last time we’d been alone in the back of a limo.
Flushing, I ducked my head, pulling my phone out of my bad to text Hope.
FayeMoyo
911!! HELP!!!
Hope
Did he kiss you again??????
FayeMoyo
No, but we’ve returned to the scene of the crime. And I am NOT ready to go down that path.
Hope
Why not? He’s hot, you’re technically married / single. Get it girl!
FayeMoyo
You are not being helpful…
Hope
I’m a virgin who writes steamy romance. Cut me some slack. I need to live vicariously through you
During the hour and a bit car ride, I attempted to distract myself with emails and phone calls—anything other than glancing at Sam.
There lay danger….
Jay and Frankie's house sat in the middle of the small town of Capricorn Cove. A modern single-story bungalow, it had been carefully upgraded to include wheelchair access and additional rooms. Warm light spilled from the windows, and the smell of something delicious wafted from inside out across the lawn.
A lawn that was strewn with dinosaurs.
It was a Jay thing, apparently.
"Finally!" Frankie called as she opened the door, her wheelchair expertly maneuvering back to let us in. Her pink hair was styled in a fashionable high ponytail, her smile knowing as she looked between us. "I was starting to think you'd gotten lost—or maybe pulled over for a quickie."
"Frankie," Jay's warning tone came from the kitchen.
"What? I'm just saying they have that newlywed glow."
I fought back a blush as Sam leaned down to hug her. "Missed you too, Frankie."
"Of course you did. I'm delightful." She turned her chair toward me, arms open. "Come here, gorgeous. Let me see this ring."
As I bent to hug her, she whispered, "Welcome to the family."
Before I could respond, Jay appeared, wiping his hands on a dish towel.
"Rainbow, at least get them a drink before pumping them for all the juicy details," he told Frankie, pulling Sam into a bear hug. "Hey, bro.”
"As a professional—" Frankie started to protest.
"You're not getting paid to analyze us," Sam cut in smoothly.
"No, but you’re family. I’ll do it for you guys for free."
I laughed despite my nerves.
"Something smells amazing," I said, trying to redirect the conversation.
"Jay's making his famous pasta." Frankie headed toward the kitchen. "Come help me set the table while these two do their brooding man-chat thing."
"We don't brood," Jay and Sam said simultaneously.
"Sure, you don't." Frankie winked at me. "The rest of the family are out back."
I followed her to the dining room, hearing voices drifting from the back porch. Something about football and endless possibilities.
Jay and Frankie’s house had once been a small beach bungalow but at some point Jay had blown out the rear of the property to expand it into a full indoor/outdoor living area. In summer all the doors and windows could be left open, inviting in the warm sea breeze. While on days like today when winter had settled into your bones and snow piled on the ground, the triple-glazed storm-glass was closed tight, sealing us into a warm, cozy house.
“They’re here!”
I wasn’t sure who called out, but in the next instance we were swarmed by both Sam’s family and—surprisingly—my own.
“Dad? Mom?”
“"Baby!" My mother, Nora, wrapped me in her arms, pulling me tight against her. "You're too thin. Are you eating enough on tour?"
"She is," Sam answered before I could, accepting a handshake from my father. "I make sure of it."
"Good man," my dad said, clapping Sam on the shoulder. "Though you couldn’t have waited for us to be at the wedding?"
"Chidi," my mother scolded. "They're young and in love. Sometimes these things just happen."
I caught Sam's eye over my mother's shoulder, finding him fighting a grin.
"Speaking of the wedding," Karen, Sam’s adopted mom said, swooping in to steal me from my mother's arms.
"Will and I are thinking we could throw you a renewal ceremony. Something small, intimate..."
"With proper planning this time," Will added, ruffling Sam's hair as he passed. "Though I have to admit, the unicorn celebrant was a nice touch."
"I need a drink," I muttered.
"Way ahead of you," my brother called from the kitchen. "Wine's breathing.” He walked in holding a bunch of glasses in his hands. “Mom wants to discuss the sleeping arrangements for Christmas."
"It's January," Sam said, exchanging another glance with me.
"Exactly! Only eleven months to plan!" Karen linked arms with my mother. "Nora and I were thinking we could try James’ lake house?"
“Don’t drag me into this!” James protested from his spot beside Hazel on the couch.
"Or we could all rent a ski cabin," my mother countered. "Somewhere the whole family can stay together."
“Ash is thinking of buying one,” Millie said from where she stood with her husband, attempting to soothe a screaming toddler. “Right, babe?”
“Um, sure,” he said, wincing as a small fist flew against his chest.
"The whole family meaning...?" I asked warily.
"Us," Mom said, making an all encompassing gesture.
"Great," Sam muttered.
"I need a drink," I announced to no one in particular.
As if on cue, Sam appeared at my side, pressing a glass of wine into my hand.
"Breathe," he murmured against my ear. "They're just teasing."
"They're planning our future," I whispered back.
"Is that such a bad thing?" Something in his tone made me look up. His eyes were soft, uncertain in a way I rarely saw.
Before I could respond, Jay called everyone to dinner. We were herded toward the massive dining table, somehow ending up wedged between our mothers, who were already deep in discussion about holiday traditions and whose turn it would be to host Thanksgiving next year.
“Faye,” Frankie called. “Can you help me with plates?”
Grateful for any excuse to escape this weird Brady Bunch-esq cult moment, I hurried after her into the sanctuary of the quiet kitchen.
"So," Frankie said as she handed me plates from a low cabinet. "How are you really doing?"
"I'm…”
…overwhelmed, exhausted, overstimulated, confused, horny…
“…fine."
"Hmm." She watched me arrange the plates with precise movements, lining them up one by one in a tall stack. "You know what I love about my job?"
"Making people uncomfortable with sex talk?"
She laughed, handing me a final plate. "Besides that. I love that I get to help people be honest with themselves."
I set down the plate harder than necessary. "Frankie..."
"You know what I see when I look at you and Sam?"
"Two people managing a complicated situation professionally?"
"Two people who are so afraid of losing what they have, they can't see what they could have what they want and need."
I felt that like a gut punch.
I stilled. "It's not like that."
"No?" She moved to the wine rack, selecting a bottle. "Then why do you keep straightening those plates?"
I looked down to find I'd been obsessively adjusting the table settings. "I just like things to be right."
"Some things don't need to be perfect to be right." She handed me the wine. "They just need to be real."
Before I could respond, Sam's laugh drifted in from outside. The sound wrapped around me like a familiar song, and I found myself smiling automatically
"See?" Frankie's voice was gentle. "Real."
"It's complicated."
"Love usually is." She headed back toward the rowdy group. "Doesn't make it less worth it."
I watched her go, her words settling uncomfortably in my chest. Because the thing was, I'd noticed changes lately.
The way Sam's touch lingered.
The way his songs seemed to hit differently.
The way I found myself turning to him first, with everything.
But noticing feelings and acting on them were very different things.
Weren't they?
"Hey." Sam appeared in the doorway. "You okay? You've been staring at that wine bottle for a while."
I looked down at the bottle still clutched in my hands. "Just thinking."
"Dangerous pastime."
"For you, maybe."
His laugh was soft as he crossed to me, taking the wine. "Come on. Jay's about to serve, he has a whole thing about cold pasta—no one wants to be subjected to that rant."
"Sam?"
"Hmm?"
"Are we..." I hesitated, not sure what I was asking. Are we okay? Are we real? Are we making a mistake?
His free hand found mine, squeezing gently. "We're good, Faye. Promise."
And the thing was, I believed him.
Even if I wasn't sure what 'good' meant anymore.
Dinner was exactly as chaotic as I should have expected from this family.
Jay told stories about the lumber yard between bites of pasta, while Frankie interrupted with increasingly inappropriate questions about tour life. Kids ran riot around the table while babies cried and were passed around to whoever had a free hand.
Sam kept his hand on my knee under the table, a gesture that was probably meant to be reassuring but instead sent sparks up my spine every time he moved.
"So," Frankie said, refilling my wine glass with a worrying gleam in her eye. "Tell us about the wedding night."
I choked on my pasta.
"Frankie," Jay warned.
"What? It's a valid question. I mean, they went from friends to married. That's a big jump. There had to be some underlying tension there."
Sam's hand tightened on my knee. "We're not discussing our sex life."
"Who said anything about sex?" Frankie's smile was wicked. "I'm talking about emotional intimacy. The way long-time friends suddenly have to navigate new boundaries. The shift from professional to personal. Though if you want to talk about sex?—"
"We don't," I cut in quickly.
"Spoilsports." She turned to Jay. "Babe, remember when we first got together? All that delicious tension from?—"
"And that's enough wine for you." Jay smoothly moved the bottle away from his wife.
Heat crept up my neck. "Excuse me." I stood abruptly. "Bathroom?"
"Down the hall, second door on the right," Jay said.
I felt Sam's concerned gaze follow me as I fled—because that's what this was, wasn't it? Running from truths I wasn't ready to face.
The bathroom was all sleek lines and adaptive fixtures, a perfect blend of style and function, just like everything about Jay and Frankie's life together. I braced my hands on the sink, staring at my reflection.
"Get it together," I whispered to myself. "It's not real."
Except...
That kiss had been real. Our laughter, our easy teasing, the way he’d looked at me when he’d admitted he wanted to kiss me again.
The way he defended me, supported me, saw me... that was real.
Wasn't it?
A soft knock interrupted my spiral.
"Faye?" Will asked. "You okay in there?"
I opened the door to find him leaning against the wall, arms crossed, expression gentle.
“Sorry. I just needed a minute.”
“I get it. It can be overwhelming.” He tilted his head to one side. “But you’re used to crowds. So that’s not it.”
I huffed out a laugh, mimicking his pose in the doorway of the bathroom. “I don’t know what it is. I just feel….”
“Untethered?”
Oof. Right in the feels.
I shrugged. “Maybe?”
“You know, it’s okay to be scared. Marriage is a big commitment.”
I bit my tongue to keep from admitting the truth.
"But I’m gonna let you in on a secret. As much as you’re worried, Sam will be ten times as concerned. The fact is, he doesn't know his own worth. Never has. Probably never will, unless someone shows him."
My throat felt tight. "I don't?—"
"You do." He smiled. "You see him. Really see him. Not the rock star, not the quiet helper, but Sam. And he sees you too. The real you, not just the perfect professional image you project."
"Will…"
"I know what it's like to be afraid of wanting things. To think you don't deserve them." He straightened. "But sometimes the best things in life are the ones you think you can't have."
"It's complicated."
"Love usually is." He grinned. "Doesn't make it less worth it."
Before I could respond, Sam's laugh drifted down the hallway, followed by Frankie's delighted cackling.
My chest ached. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you're family too, Faye. Marriage certificate or not." He squeezed my shoulder. "Maybe it's time you both stopped pretending otherwise."
I stood in the hallway long after he left, listening to the sounds of my family—because they were all mine now, weren't they?—and wondering when exactly I'd lost control of this situation.
When I'd lost control of my heart.
"Oh," I whispered to no one. "Oh no."
Because that's what this feeling was, wasn't it?
That's what it had been all along.
Love.