From beside me, I heard my mother mutter, "Oh . . . my . . ."
Mom and I exchanged knowing glances as Kellan and his father shook hands. Elation on his face, Kellan gestured inside his house. "I'm glad you're here. Come on in."
Gavin nodded and stepped inside. Right behind him were his two children-Kellan's half siblings. I waved at Kellan's sister, Hailey. Giggling, she waved back at me. Hailey was close to my age, maybe a year or so younger. She had also inherited her father's deep blue eyes, but, surrounded in natural light, I could now see that her light brown hair was a just a touch blonder than the boys'. Close on her heels was Kellan's little brother, Riley. Cute as a button, Riley looked to be around ten years old, just a couple of years shy from the age Kellan was when he'd first experimented with the opposite sex. I really hoped Riley hadn't yet; he was far too young. With eyes the color of a spring morning, Riley looked up at Kellan with awe on his face. Obviously, Riley already idolized his rock-star big brother.
Kellan rumpled Riley's hair as he walked through the door. Once the trio was inside, Kellan indicated his small living room. "Please, have a seat."
I stepped away from the couch so Kellan's father could sit there. My parents stood so they could shake Gavin's hand. My dad gave him a firm, hearty handshake. My mother tittered, then tried to cover it by clearing her throat. Dad was frowning as he watched his wife shake hands with the older version of Kellan. He wisely moved over so that he was sitting by Gavin on the couch and my mother wasn't.
Riley plopped down on the floor, stretching out his legs as he looked around Kellan's home. I'd recently enlisted my best friend Jenny's help in painting the living room. It had been a drab, off-white color for as long as I had been here. She helped me paint it a warm, beige color with a deep, red focal wall. Along the corners of the red wall, Jenny had used her artistic ability to freehand music notes. She had also painted lyrics from one of Kellan's songs. In big, bold letters above the sliding glass door, it said: Every single day I'll keep you with me, no matter how far from me you are. Kellan thought it was a little pretentious to have his own words on his own walls, but I thought it was beautiful and wouldn't let him paint over it. It was my home now too.
Coming up beside me, Hailey wrapped her arms around me. By the delight on her face, it was clear to see that she loved me by Kellan's recommendation alone. I found it almost laughable now that I'd once suspected Kellan of cheating on me with her. But he had been pretty secretive about discovering his birth father and hiding it from everyone, including me. I think most girlfriends would have leapt to the same conclusion I had.
I thought Kellan's face might split apart, his grin was so big. As his eyes settled over his parent having a conversation with my parents, he smacked his hands together. "Well, I'll get started on brunch, since it's getting close to lunch time." Laughing a little, he held his palms up to his father. "I'm sorry I was so late in calling you."
Gavin's deep blue eyes took in his son, then swung my way. As I felt my cheeks heat under his gaze, it was easy to imagine how this man had seduced a married woman. Sure, it was an awful situation-just as awful as the situation I'd found myself in a couple of years ago-but it was easy to see why it had happened. Gavin's face was not one that many women would say no to. I was instantly grateful that Dad was acting like a buffer between Gavin and Mom. Not that Gavin was going to hit on my mom while he was here, and not that my mom would go there, but still . . .
A warm smile lifted Gavin's lips as he nodded at me. "Yes, I hear you got married last night. Congratulations."
My cheeks felt even hotter as Hailey squeezed me tight and squealed. "You're part of the family now, Kiera! Like it or not!"
My dad sighed.
Walking over to me, Kellan extracted me from his sister and gave me a soft kiss. His eyes drank me in like he'd never seen me before. The way he looked at me made my knees wobble, my heartbeat spike, my breath quicken. He was amazing.
"Like it or not," he murmured before kissing me again.
Feeling sappy and romantic, I breathed, "Like."
My dad sighed again.
Wrapping an arm around my shoulders, Kellan faced our families. "We'll be in the kitchen. Do you guys need anything?"
Grinning as she stared at Gavin, my mother muttered, "No, we're just fine here." Dad peeked over at her and leaned forward just a bit, blocking her view of Kellan's father.
Oblivious, Gavin shook his head. "We're fine, thank you, son."
Kellan was chuckling when we walked around the corner into the kitchen. Leaning down to my ear he whispered, "He called me 'son.'"
I smiled up at him, ecstatic for the bond that was growing between him and his father. Kellan stopped us in front of his refrigerator, and the smile fell off his face. His perfectly soft lips pulled down into a frown. "What the hell do I make them to eat?" He peered down at me, his face a mixture of panic and concern. "I'm not the greatest cook."
Releasing me, Kellan pulled open the refrigerator door and aimlessly looked inside. Trying to think of any meals I'd made that were half-decent, I tossed out, "I can make eggs?"
Kellan's bright smile returned as he found a carton in the fridge. "Yeah, okay . . . that will work." Handing me the carton, he closed his eyes for a second. "Please tell me we have bacon." I was just about to tell him that I'd picked some up the other day, when he opened the freezer door and spotted it. His face flooding with relief, he exhaled, "Thank God."
Amused at his nerves, I set the eggs on the counter and cupped his cheeks. "Hey, relax. They're here for you, not the food."
Kellan let out a long, cleansing breath. "Yeah, I know. I just . . . I don't want to mess this up." Shaking his head, he looked down at the floor. "I mess up everything, Kiera."
My stomach tightening at the painful look on his face, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his body into mine. "No, you don't." With a serious expression, I pulled back to look him in the eye. "You haven't messed us up."
His lips twisted into amusement, like he was sure that wasn't true. It wasn't true, though. Our dark parts couldn't be contributed solely to him. No, our troubles had been a group effort.
His voice soft, he pointed to the cupboard under his sink. "No? I just threw away a sex tape, Kiera."
My stomach did a strange sort of twist. I was thrilled it wasn't still in his pocket, and horrified to know exactly where it was. Making myself smile in as natural a way as possible, I released myself from Kellan. Grabbing a pan for the eggs, I told him, "Exactly. You threw it away." Finding a fork in the drawer, I playfully poked him in the chest with it. "Now, if you had stashed it in a drawer to watch later, then you'd be an a**hole."
Kellan chuckled at me as he swatted my bottom with the freezing cold package of bacon.
Just as I was cringing away from him, his sister walked around the corner. "Who's an a**hole?"
Rubbing my backside, I automatically pointed at Kellan. He frowned, then shrugged. "Me . . . apparently."
Hailey gave him a wide grin as she pulled up a kitchen chair. Sitting in it backwards, she watched us try and prepare a decent meal. Kellan thawed the bacon in the microwave while I made a pot of coffee. The surging gurgle of freshly brewing java mixed with the pop and hiss of greasy fat as Kellan's bacon slices went into the frying pan. I got started on the eggs, cracking several into a pan, then waiting a few minutes for the white part to turn a solid color. When they looked ready, I attempted to flip them over. Kellan peered into my pan as I broke the yolk on yet another egg. "Uh, I think they have to sit longer," he murmured.
Glancing over at his pan of sizzling meat, I noticed an unappealing dark smoke filling the air. Pointing at it, I retorted, "And I think you're burning the bacon."
He immediately went back to his own cooking while Hailey laughed out loud. "Good God, how have you two survived this long?"
Standing up, she walked over to where Kellan and I were butchering breakfast. "I got it from here. You guys just go relax somewhere."
Kellan gave her an apologetic smile. "Thanks . . . sis."
She smiled back at him after flawlessly flipping an egg. "Not a problem, big brother."
I couldn't help but note the similarities in their smiles as they stared at one another. It warmed me that Kellan's grin seemed to be genetic. Maybe he would pass that unbelievable smile on to our children? When we had children. Many years from now.
Kellan slung his arm over my shoulder and let out a happy sigh. Looking down at me, he shook his head. "I've been cooking for myself for years. I don't know why I can't this morning."
Grinning wide, I patted his stomach. "Welcome to the wonderful side effect of a really bad case of nerves, Kellan Kyle."
He frowned at my assessment. "I'm not nervous."
Hailey paused in her cooking to look back at him. "You're joking, right? I can practically smell the fear coming off of you." Amused at herself, she giggled.
Kellan's frown deepened. "I'm so glad I have siblings now."
Loving the playful banter between brother and sister, I wrapped my arms tighter around Kellan. Hailey was right about his nerves, wrong about his scent. He smelled just as fabulous as he always did. That marvelous aroma that was his and his alone filled my senses as I leaned against him. He smelled better than the coffee and the bacon.
Riley came into the room a few minutes later, an excited expression on his face. "Kellan, can you show me your guitar?"
Kellan smiled down at him. "Sure." He patted Riley's shoulder, then kissed my head. "I'll be right back."
I watched his backside as he left the room, feeling perfectly content. Then Hailey said something that cracked my contentment a little bit. Eyeing her little brother in the room with us, she asked, "Did Kellan really . . . make a tape?" Her eyebrows lifted meaningfully.
Hating that she'd overheard that, I cringed. Seeing my reaction, Hailey's eyes immediately widened and she returned her attention to the meal she was preparing. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. I'm sure you don't want to talk about . . . that." She looked a little embarrassed.
Riley, not really understanding what she was talking about, looked confused. "He's made lots of tapes, Hail." He looked up at me, pure innocence in his eyes. "There are tons of videos online."
I blushed and bit my lip. "Yeah, that's right . . . lots of tapes are out there." I sighed, knowing how true that statement was.
Hailey grimaced and mouthed, "Sorry."
I nodded at her. There was no point in worrying about all the footage of Kellan that was probably going to be leaked one day. It didn't matter. I could deal with it. The price was worth it. I could probably handle much worse to be with him. Not that I wanted to-but, push come to shove, I would take whatever crap came my way if it meant I got to be his wife.
Kellan came back into the room a few minutes later, the neck of his guitar in his hand. He was on a break from recording his album in L.A., and like always, he'd lugged his favorite instrument home with him. It was almost like a security blanket for Kellan, one he couldn't seem to part with for very long.
I smiled at him as he sat Riley in a kitchen chair and then gave him the cherished instrument. I thought Riley might pass out; he was so excited to hold it. There was a gleam in Kellan's eye as he watched the boy's exuberance, as if Riley reminded him of himself. I left the two to their bonding and tried to help Hailey with brunch. I found a fresh honeydew melon in the fridge and started slicing it into bite-size pieces as a disharmonious twang filled the air.
Kellan helped Riley adjust his technique, and as I listened to his instructions, I was reminded of Kellan's first attempt to help me play his guitar. The memory of his hands over mine and his breath in my ear made me smile. At the time, I'd felt really guilty over how much I'd enjoyed it. In truth, I did still feel guilty over it. I probably always would. What we'd done was wrong, and I knew it. I'd dressed up our flirting as nothing more than innocent caresses, but it had never been innocent. I'd wanted him, and he'd wanted me. I'd loved him, and he'd loved me. Nothing about what we'd done was right. But the memory still made me grin.