“Why did you take the Puke Machine from Kev? Damn, J! He was perfectly fine with the brat! And we were just fine without her!” Nick lamented when AJ approached with Jillian. He had been complaining even before AJ had approached, but now his revulsion over the situation seemed to project three-fold onto the baby girl. He was the only man still slightly unnerved by the infant, despite his four younger siblings. However, Jillian was still a preemie in his eyes, which made her more susceptible to many terrifying childhood illnesses. Nick feared that if he were with Jillian that somehow she would have a terrifying attack and die on him. The overwhelming guilt of her death would just eat away at his tender soul, not to mention Howie’s devastation. And, if it wasn’t the fear of her falling ill, it was the significant change of his status. Jillian was like a daughter to the entire group, which made him a father-figure. He wasn’t ready to be a father.
“Because this little chick is a babe magnet!” AJ confided with a wicked smile, kissing Jillian’s warm cheek. The little girl giggled with approval, offering AJ her plastic key ring that she had been nibbling upon. AJ took the non-slobbered side into his mouth, wiggling it to gather Jillian’s attention, allowing her to seize it back into her mouth with a grin. The shell-shocked man begging for the newborn to stop screaming at the baby store was just a distant memory catalogued into the files of the boys’ friendship. Now, AJ was completely relaxed with the gurgling infant gently folded into his inked arms. Though, not everything was humbling about his fatherhood, because the wickedness of his lustful youth remained, infant or not.
“Babe magnet?” Nick scoffed with disgust. “What? I’m a famous singer who’s bank account triples your entire tuition through any Ivy League College just really isn’t heating up the women anymore?!”
“It leaves something to be desired,” AJ mused, glancing to notice a woman walking down the sidewalk just in front of them. They had been helping load the buses for the tour, although it had just been them settling their personal items into their private tour buses. Like many stars, Nick and AJ bowed out of lugging heavy electronic equipment into the various vans. That’s what the road crew was for, though Kevin blamed their insolence on their feminine qualities. Not that it bothered AJ, as long as he didn’t break a nail. So, they left Kevin to await the arrival of Howie and Brian, but the woman was side-tracking AJ.
“What could it possibly be missing, J?! Scoring left and right in the front of your latest and most expensive vehicle—”
“They won’t go for McDonald’s afterwards, because they know I’ve got the load of cash in my pocket. But, if they see a happy Daddy just taking his baby girl out for a walk… McDonald’s is so in the budget! Now, just watch and learn,” AJ murmured, kissing Jillian’s forehead for a burst of luck. The child immediately giggled, catching the woman’s attention. AJ grinned wickedly, noticing the woman offer a sweet smile to the pair. “Excuse me, m’am. I’m sorry to bother you, but my little girl insisted that I had to speak to one of the most beautiful women that she’s ever seen.”
“Oh, really? Your little girl?” the woman asked, pulling her prescription sunglasses from her face to reveal the most dazzling gray eyes. Her cropped brunette locks fell just above her eyes, accentuating the mysterious and gorgeous profile of her face. Her painted lips curved into an unruly smile as she reached to smack a gently kiss on Jillian’s small fingers.
“Yes, my little girl,” AJ replied with sincerity, feeling Jillian squirm in his arms. He glanced down to see Jillian hold her arms out to the gorgeous woman. She wrinkled her nose with determination, squeezing her hands repeated to signal she wanted the woman. He grinned with triumph at Jillian’s adorable nature, knowing she was almost as tempting as honey to a beautiful woman. “She’s really taken with you.”
“So I noticed.”
“We’d like to know if angels’ actually have names.”
“You’d have to ask one.”
“I think we are, huh, Jillie?” AJ quipped, pulling Jillian away from his chest. Holding Jillian just underneath her arms, he held her out toward the woman. He arched his dark brows with question, allowing the woman to hold Jillian. He was silent for a moment, allowing Jillian to work her enchanting charm that first fixated Howie in the hospital. “So, what’s the fallen angel’s name?”
“My name’s Stevanie.”
“That’s almost as beautiful as you.”
“Thank you.”
“My name’s—”
“AJ! What are you doing with my daughter?” Howie’s voice interrupted, causing AJ to cringe. He glanced behind to see Keveney, Howie, and Nick approaching. His heart immediately crashed to his feet as a sharp blush crept to his tan cheeks. He shifted quickly back toward the woman, hoping to wrap the conversation quickly and pretend as if he hadn’t heard his name. Though, everything seemed to crash with Howie’s repetition of AJ’s name.
“What does he mean his daughter, AJ?” Stevie questioned with a raise of her plucked brow. Stevie had parted from Keveney, Howie, and Brian because she forgot something in the limo. When she was coming back to the loading site alone, she had been caught within AJ’s radar. So, she had followed with AJ’s elaborate pick-up scheme, hoping he would realize that something was askew. But, AJ was notorious for his wild streak of unending sexual appeal and hunger.
“I have no idea what he’s talking about!” AJ explained with a nervous laugh.
“Oh, really?” Stevie murmured, trying not to laugh as Jillian squealed for Howie’s attention.
“Yes!” AJ blurted.
“My daughter is not a pick-up tool!” Howie bellowed. “How many times—”
“He’s psycho, really, walks around this block all the time, just screaming for someone to stop taking his kid. Only, it’s this broken baby doll in a shopping cart. It’s sad really, so we told him our names—”
“Jillie-Bean!” Howie cooed, taking her from Stevie’s arms without a second thought. He hugged her close as Jillian pressed open mouth kisses to Howie’s face. Her gurgled incessantly, voicing a happy conversation with her father. He laughed at her adorable nature, allowing Keveney to take her next for another round of kisses. So, Howie turned on AJ with a sharp glare. “I can’t believe you, AJ. Don’t use my daughter for your perversion—”
“Now, sir, your baby doll’s in the shopping cart, remember?”
“How about you remember to stop making such a jackass of yourself in front of Kevie’s sister.”
“I’m not—” AJ immediately deflated when he turned to Stevie. “Her sister?”
“It’s Stevanie Moore,” Stevie admitted with a grin.
“You knew all along?” AJ groaned.
“Guilty.”
“In retrospect of this disaster, you should probably stick to laying a Rockstar for a record label approach,” Keveney snorted, causing the others to laugh at AJ’s obvious dating blunders and first impressions.
“If you say thank you one more time, Ms. Moore, I think I’ll be forced to initiate a terrifying wrath,” Brian finally announced with an amused smirk, watching Stevie fidget on the soft couch. She hadn’t calmed since stepping onto the lavish country-styled tour bus, unable to sit still for a mere moment. Even now, she tapped the pads of her fingertips furiously against her bare knees while playing with her tongue ring, exploiting her nervous habits. However, Brian found it more than endearing that she was so apprehensive around him. That’s why he had invited her to stay on his tour bus for the duration of the trip, to satisfy his uncharacteristic hunger of infatuation.
“Please, just call me Stevie,” she fumbled, swallowing hard as Brian sat close. She tried to ignore the sensation of their knees pressing together in the comfy setting. It just seemed so surreal to be with him in the privacy of his tour bus. It wasn’t that she that she hadn’t mixed with fame or important names before, but Brian was absolutely different in her critical eyes. He was a man that she actually saw herself settling down with and marrying, though, she had always thought it would be an imitation of Brian’s characteristics. But this moment had flipped her thoughts completely upside-down. And she was giddy, emotion wreck.
“And since you have a picture of me in my intimates, it goes without saying that you can call me—”
“Brian—”
“Actually, I was thinking Mr. Littrell,” Brian mused, noticing a dark blush creep to her cheeks. He offered a genuine smile at the cuteness she displayed, not expecting her to be too shy. After the limo ride to the loading lot, Brian had figured Stevie to be anything but shy and intimidated. “Can’t tease you much, huh?”
“No… You’d think I’d be used to it given the fact that I’m related to Kevie… She’s so damn sarcastic and goofy and—”
“What about you?” Brian interrupted, leaning back against the couch.
“Me?” Stevie squeaked, leaning forward in shock. The interest seeping from Brian’s beautiful gaze caused her mind to focus upon him instead of her whereabouts within the space of the tour bus. She was dumfounded at the prospect of having Brian want her. She thought maybe she was misreading signals, till she found herself on the bus floor in Brian’s trimmed muscular arms.
“Are you okay?” Brian laughed in amusement, glancing down into the enchanting gray eyes that sparked with confusion. Stevie had been so perplexed that she leaned forward too far, tumbling off the couch. She almost knocked her head off the table, only Brian managed to catch her safely within his arms as they both fell. Usually, he was somewhat immune to the cheap knightly rescues demonstrated in many movies and literature. After seeing so many fans faint, he had started to wonder if it was even necessary. He tried to pay no mind to the girls’ hysteria now. But, with Stevie, he wanted to fall into the cliché romance.
“Huh?”
“You fell!”
“I… You… Huh?”
“You’re something else,” Brian chuckled, taking the first step to brush his fingertips just beneath her chin.
“So, when are you going to tell me the whole story about your last girlfriend?”
Howie immediately stumbled back from Jillian’s crib, falling onto the king-sized bed at the projecting of Keveney’s warm voice. He had just been lulling Jillian to sleep with her favorite song off the Black and Blue album when Keveney had interrupted him. He reached to press his hand over his thumping heart as his jaw fell slightly ajar when he followed her shadow from the doorway. They had been traveling across the states for almost an entire day and the sun had quickly disappeared across the open road. So, Keveney had left Howie to lay Jillian down while she changed. And, she couldn’t have looked lovelier. Her straight blonde locks were twirled into pigtail braids to accentuate the innocence of her rubber ducky boxers and yellow, sleeveless t-shirt. Her curvaceous body peeked out from beneath the short nightwear, causing Howie’s blood to warm with naughty thoughts.
“Howie?”
He blinked rapidly to air the sexual notions flooding from her good intentioned innocence. “Sorry, I just got thrown by that random question.”
“It wasn’t random,” Keveney objected with a small pout. She watched Howie arch his dark brows, causing her pout to break into a Cheshire smile. She knew she had been caught within her impish teasing. She crawled into the large bed she’d share with Howie for the trips, shifting beneath the covers to find the perfect position to doze into a light slumber. “I heard the song you were singing to Jillie Bean. And, I just thought about your ex-girlfriend…”
“You think I wrote it for Roxie?” Howie guessed, quickly reading Keveney’s gorgeous violet eyes. He smiled with approval when he noticed the jealousy spark within her gorgeous facial features. It felt good to be wanted and notice the trivial lump of jealousy in Keveney’s heart. But, she looked too embarrassed with the idea as Howie continued to stare. “But, I didn’t. I wrote it for the two most special women in my life.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh, yes,” Howie quickly agreed, climbing into the bed with Keveney. She curled into his side for protection, thinking nothing of their closeness. In the past six months, Keveney had been known just to travel over to Howie’s house in the middle of the night to sleep next to a warm body. They acted like they were two best friends at a slumber party, though Howie’s heart longed for more than a best friend from Keveney. “And you know who they are.”
“Yeah, but what happened with Roxie?”
“Why can’t we talk about the non-existent man in your life? When I know for a fact that you’ve got doctors and patients literally drooling when you walk by and begging for you to at least take their numbers?”
“Roxie first.”
“But, it seems so wrong when I’m in bed with another beautiful woman.”
“Howie, we’re best friends...”
Keveney’s voice trailed at the establishment of their relationship, leaving Howie plenty of room to argue the point. He could speak plainly and confess his love. But, Howie swallowed the urge to confess, closing his eyes for the longest moment. “Roxie… Wasn’t the one for me, Kevie. She didn’t want some of the things that I did. She didn’t want kids. She didn’t want to get married. She didn’t want me. And, I felt like there was a hole in my heart. We just really didn’t fit together as lovers.”
“Oh,” Keveney whispered through the dark, pressing tight into the comfort of his arms. She gently rubbed her hand over his chest as if she were soothing his broken heart. “I think we fit together.”
“We do fit together.”
“So, if you don’t find anyone by the time Jillian starts school, does that mean that I’ll find a huge honking ring on my fourth left digit?”
“I think we could arrange that.”
“I’m partial to silver more than gold. Well, white gold is beautiful, too… We’ll say white gold instead of silver. My birthstone is a sapphire. And, really, don’t worry about the cost. We can always get an extra forklift to carry the rock on my hand—”
“Keveney,” Howie scorned with a laugh.
“What?” she cooed, kissing his cheek.
“Go to sleep.”
“Okay, but just let me offer a fair warning if all your dates should fall apart by a series of bizarre and very coincidental misfortunes.”
