“Couldn’t we have gone to some place better?” Nick whined with obvious frustration as he snapped a breadstick in half, unable to rouse Brian into a battle because of Stevie’s verbal chastises. He watched the two pieces fly over the expensive tablecloth, scattering crumbs everywhere. He instantly gazed toward Kevin, figuring to be sharply reprimanded. But Kevin was excusing himself to make an important phone call. Nick smirked, however, knowing the important phone call was an excuse to call the lovely Ashley. Knowing he was off the hook, Nick then grabbed his fork to plunge into his cooling food. But he instantly made a face when he remembered they were celebrating the end of the tour at a private Italian Restaurant that acted as if he were a mutant when he requested pizza instead of some pasta dish. That is, until Kevin smacked him upside the head and he requested the lasagna, but he would have rather had pizza and was looking for an escape. Immediately, he caught sight of his favorite little girl and grinned. “Jillie isn’t a happy camper with this dinner selection. I say... Pizza Hut is still open and my name is practically emblazoned all over their cash registers in all fifty states--”
“Hold your roll, pizza face, Jillie Bean is an angel and loving her meal,” Keveney corrected with an amused smile, reaching over the high chair to dump the bite sized pieces of chicken parmesan onto Jillian’s already empty plate. The growing little girl chirped a coo of obvious delight, reaching with an expert pincher grasp to pop the pieces of chicken into her mouth. She babbled happily with the mouthful of food, holding her sticky hand out toward Keveney to offer a bite of what she found delicious. Keveney obliged, bending down to playfully slobbered the hand with kisses after taking the small bite. Jillian giggled even louder than before, offering a somewhat toothy grin that caused the others to smile as well.
“She’s growing up way too fast…” Stevie finally spoke, watching her little sister interact with the infant. No one would have ever assumed that Keveney was merely the caretaker of the infant and Howie was a type of foster parent. After months on tour, Stevie had finally learned the truth about the situation and respected Howie’s wishes to keep it confidential. It was amazing to say the least, because the three had formed into a special family. And, considering that the tour was finally over, Stevie had to wonder what her sister might do. Tomorrow, they would be flown back to Florida where the boys would receive a well deserved vacation before possibly touring in Europe again or perhaps moving back into the studios for their next album. But the vacation was all they could think about at that very moment and all Stevie could think about was the possibility of getting Brian to herself for several more weeks and perhaps conning her younger sister into taking a semi-permanent residence with her makeshift family.
“She’ll actually be one in two weeks,” Howie agreed, offering the sippy cup filled with fruit punch to Jillian. It was her favorite juice, which she immediately started to slurp down with an infectious grin, keeping her free hand on Keveney’s hand so she wouldn’t dare move away. Howie was always amazed when he watched his daughter, still in somewhat of a daze to realize he had been her father for almost a full year. She was growing into a toddler faster than Howie expected. Her platinum blonde fuzz that had graced her head at birth was finally starting to length, darken, and curl into light honey locks that rested just beneath her pierced ears (courtesy of AJ). The light freckled mark still remained underneath her right eye, but those beautiful emerald doe eyes had grown in depth and personality. Jillian’s personality was playful and happy. She loved to tease those closest to her, but made sure not to overstep her boundaries. She constantly watched Howie and Keveney for facial cues on her behavior, putting Howie’s heart at ease. But most of all, she loved to make Keveney laugh. That seemed to be her primary goal in life, which Howie welcomed freely.
“Does that mean we get to plan a big birthday party?” Stevie questioned almost immediately, her gray eyes exploding with a brilliant electricity of excitement. She even allowed her fork to clatter hard against the exquisite china plate, causing Brian to actually chuckle with amusement. Only, when Stevie squared a hard glare toward him, he shrugged and smiled sheepishly, leaning to brush a kiss onto his cheek. But Stevie brushed away his kiss, causing Nick to snicker.
“Don’t you dare let her be the party planner!” Keveney followed with a threat to her lover, pointing her fork squarely at his chest.
Stevie frowned. “Now wait just a damn--”
“I didn’t even say a word!” Howie exclaimed in surprise, holding his own hands up in defense.
“Bad Dada,” Jillian giggled.
“I distinctly remember my twenty first birthday party involving…”
“No way! That can’t even compare to my twenty first birthday when you had my best friends help you order three old clown strippers who pulled bananas from their G-strings!” Stevie fired back. Brian, Nick, and AJ’s faces turned to stone, knowing if they laughed, they would be slaughtered by the older Moore sister. And, she seemed to sense their amusement, turning on them. “Don’t you dare laugh! I was mortified when she passed those pictures out at my work for Christmas cards!”
“That was the best birthday ever,” Keveney snorted with her own giggle. “And it made a beautiful Christmas Card… Valentines Card… Easter Card—“
“Keveney Marie--”
“I think we should all have a hand in planning Jillie’s birthday,” Howie interrupted, saving his girlfriend from a wrath of tongue lashing.
“I like that!” Brian seconded quickly, wrapping his arm tightly around Stevie’s waist to keep her from jumping onto the table to attack her quirky little sister. “Each of us get to commemorate something special to the birthday for what special gift Jillian gave each of us when she was born.”
“Can my special gift be inviting Ashley?” Kevin announced, overhearing the end of the conversation as he slipped back into his seat. A glowing smile plastered hard against his face, showing how much Ashley’s voice mattered to him. More so, how much Ashley mattered to him. In the past months, their relationship had grown strong. Kevin kept begging for her to accept his invitation to move to Orlando, Florida – permanently. He hoped inviting her for the birthday party would seal the deal.
“How did I know that was coming?!” Nick groaned with a loud snort, causing Jillian’s emerald eyes to widen in shock.
“Yucky! Icky!” she scolded, pointing an accusing finger at him.
“Yucky! Icky!” everyone chorused, following Jillian’s actions.
“Very funny,” Nick scowled.
“Did I mention how much I love this kid?” Kevin chuckled, leaning down to place a kiss on the top of Jillian’s light curls.
The entire clan of friends had just arrived back in Florida about an hour ago and the jet lag seemed to have a horrendous affect when they were just hours away from breaking dawn. Exhausted, Kevin had quickly bid his dues, mostly because he would wake up early to give Ashley a call before she traveled to work. AJ and Nick seemed quite wired from the plane ride, deciding to celebrate their return home with a trip to the nearby clubs in town. Brian had wanted to ride home with Howie and Keveney, but Stevie had insisted he take her home. Not wanting to tempt Stevie’s sharpness that would probably sever his head from his torso with her lack of sleep, he had simply obliged, wishing Howie and Keveney well. Howie, with Jillian dozing peacefully in his arms, motioned Keveney toward the limo that would take the small family home.
As Howie dealt with gathering their luggage inside, Keveney had promised to lay the infant down. She had been given the easier task of the two, or so she thought, because Jillian had curled underneath her blankets without complaint. As long as her warm blankets were curled around her body like a small cocoon and her favorite teddy bear nestled underneath her chubby arm, Jillian was content to sleep through the night. Keveney had even watched for a few moments, smiling as Jillian rolled onto her stomach and popped her little behind into the air before finally falling still.
Satisfied, Keveney released a soft yawn as she pulled her long golden locks into a low ponytail, hurrying down the elegant staircase of Howie’s home. She made sure that her feet were soft and light on each of the stairs, not wanting to rouse any loud noises in chance that Jillian might hear. Once she was on the first floor, she hurried toward the pile of suitcases, easily finding hers wrapped with several yards of duct tape. Heaving it upward against her back with a groan, she planned to sneak off into the early morning darkness, but a pair of arms snaked around her lean waist. Quickly, she released the suitcase as she was heaved upward, causing her to squeal in surprise.
But, the loud squeal was softened on a pair of warm lips, enticing Keveney into the romantic fantasy. She inhaled the soft scent of her boyfriend’s cologne, allowing his tongue to dip into her mouth to stroke hers. The heat of her body actually caused her blood to boil with a deep yearning. Moaning softly with delight, she allowed her arms to wrap around his neck and she deepened the kiss while easily wrapping her long legs around his waist for stability. “Mmm, Howie…”
“What did you think you were doing?” Howie questioned as their long kisses slowly broke into soft, sweet brushes of their lips between words. Carefully, he eased his body backward to the couch, flopping down so Keveney could easily straddle his hips. He refused to let her part from him so quickly, cupping her face in his hands to bring her down for another long kiss. “Trying to sneak away?”
“Jillie Bean’s sound asleep,” Keveney murmured, voicing the facts of the situation as she let her eyes flutter closed to concentrate on the sensation of Howie’s lips against hers.
“Good, that means we get time to ourselves,” Howie suggested, biting gently on her bottom lip which sent tingles down her spine. She always released a soft whine as if it had hurt, but the beautiful smile lighting up her face told Howie otherwise.
“I have to stop by the hospital early this morning to get my schedule,” Keveney somewhat declined, leaning down to catch Howie’s lips again. Slowly, she worked her tongue against his to silence him into a sleepy passion before tilting backward slightly. “My pseudo-maternity leave for Jillie Bean is technically over. Everyone was happy to grant me that maternity leave to help raise Jillie Bean on tour, but I’ve got to get back, no matter how badly I want to be with you right now…”
“We could get you started on a new maternity leave tonight?” Howie suggested hopefully.
“You way too cute,” Keveney groaned playfully, brushing her hands delicately against his face. “But not until I get my big expensive ring.”
“Would you smack me if I called you a gold digger?” Howie groaned back.
“No,” Keveney answered with a shrug of her shoulders, climbing off his lap. “Because I tend to like platinum and silver better--”
Howie scowled, “Kevie--”
“Baby,” she laughed softly, bending down to his sprawled form on the couch to kiss him once more. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too…”
“But I have to go. I’ll have to unpack my things, get some rest, wake up, get a shower, find something to eat, get dressed, go to the hospital, get my hours--”
“Move in with us,” Howie suddenly blurted out of no where. The simplistic words radiated through the quiet house as Keveney stood while her body tensed. The words had obviously surprised her more than Howie had anticipated. He had originally hoped to lull the suggestion into her mind with a romantic evening, but she always had a way of getting him to boldly act without weighing the consequences. So, swallowing carefully, he sat up to reach for Keveney’s hands. “I’d really like you to consider moving in with Jillie and me. We’ve been together for almost a year and we love each other so much. Jillian already thinks of you as her mother and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We miss you way too much when you’re gone… And after having you to ourselves for so many months… I don’t think Jillie and I will fare too well without you by our sides. We need you here. Always. We need you to move in with us.”
“Howie…” Keveney whispered, actually shell shocked into an awed silence.
“It’s not irrational thinking, either. I love you so much, Kevie. So much that I’ll be okay with your piles of clothing spread all around this house. I’ll even let the bed unmade so can jump into it and curl beneath perfection any time you like. I could even stand doing all the dishes, because I know you hate to. As long as it means I get to keep you forever.”
“Baby…” Keveney cooed as Howie stood, leaning to kiss him tenderly. “You really know how to knock a girl out with proposals...”
“I know it’s a big step…”
“A gigantic step.”
“But it’s one I really want to make with you and only you.”
“If you’re trying to get me to spend the night, trust me, you already won that case with a little bonus of loving,” Keveney teased with amusement.
“Kevie--”
“I’ll think about it, Baby.”
“Really?”
“I promise.”
