Page 6 of Pretty Little Rocker

“Mm-hm,” she hummed, unconvinced. “Are you planning on coming home tonight?”

Chewing my bagel, I considered her question. With all the money I earned from sponsors as Havoc, I could have easily afforded to purchase my own place. But I was waiting to see what Abi decided she was going to do after college. Maybe we could buy a place close to each other and live the sweet life of raising our kids—and tormenting them—together like Mom and Aunt Kin had done with us.

Leasing an apartment, however, sounded more and more appealing every day.

Maddie had her own place. Maybe I’d check out available residences close to her later.

But I knew I wouldn’t. It was just a thought that randomly filtered through my mind whenever Mom went all mom on me. I loved our family dynamic, and I knew I wouldn’t make it two days without being able to soak up the love that filled this house. The truth was, I had to be around people all the time. It energized me. There wasn’t a single part of my DNA that was introverted.

“I don’t know yet,” I finally answered my mom, bending to kiss her cheek. “Love you.”

“Try to stay out of trouble,” Mom called after me.

I smirked at her over my shoulder as I opened the door to the garage. “Can’t make any promises. Later, Ev.”

He glowered at me because I was still eating his bagel, but he blew me a kiss like he always did from the time Poppy and I taught him how to do it when he was seven months old. My giant of a brother looked intimidating as hell, but he was one of the gentlest people I’d ever known. His mop of brown curls and deep dimples made him look more like an adorable puppy to me than the supposedly hot basketball player I’d heard countless girls describe him as.

Chapter Four

Hayat

Arella lived in Beverly Hills, which took longer to get to than forty-three minutes, I didn’t care what my GPS said. Traffic was a bitch, no matter what time of day it was, so I didn’t pull up in front of my cousin’s mega-mansion until two hours later.

Ringing the doorbell, I heard kids screaming excitedly, mixed in with a few dogs barking. Moments later, Jordan opened the door, a baby on his hip, spit-up on the expensive dress shirt he wore, and two toddlers tangling around his feet. A small herd of Aussiedoodles danced happily with my cousin’s younger kids, gently herding them away from the door and their dad’s legs.

“One-third of the Terror Trio is on my doorstep,” Jordan groused. “How much trouble are you and my wife going to be getting into?”

If the kids hadn’t been there, I would have flipped him off. Instead, I took the baby from his arms and stuck out my tongue at him. “We’re going to ignore what an a-s-s-h-o-l-e your daddy is, aren’t we, princess?”

Grabby hands fisted around my curls, but I had a tough scalp, so her yanking on my locks didn’t faze me. Rubbing my nose against hers, I brushed past Jordan into the house. “Arella? Your husband is being mean to me!”

Arella Stevenson-Moreitti came out of the family room, her eyes barely open. She was less of a morning person than I was. There had never been an event she’d ever been on time for. If her older kids hadn’t needed to be at school by a specific time, she probably wouldn’t have even been out of bed yet. With her dark hair pulled into a messy ponytail, a pair of sleep pants and a baggy sweatshirt on, she looked tired—but more beautiful than any one woman should ever be allowed to look first thing in the morning.

Her mom, Lana, and mine were biological sisters. Their eldest sister, Layla, who was also my gammy, had adopted Mom when she married Poppy. Our family was a complicated, twisted tree full of biological and honorary family members, none of whom I could imagine my life without.

From the green look on Arella’s face, I guessed what was wrong with her before she even turned her head to vomit into the little bucket she was carrying. Of course she was pregnant again. Jordan couldn’t keep his hands off her, and since she was between filming movies, everyone in the family more or less expected her to be knocked up.

“Is your house even big enough for another kid?” I teased her, bouncing the baby I held. Twenty-thousand-plus feet of space, but with all the kids Arella kept popping out, I didn’t think they had enough room for their kids, dogs, and everything extra that came with my dear cousin. Natasha giggled on my hip, her grip on my hair only tightening as she swung her arms excitedly.

“I have an architect working on the plans to expand the west wing,” Jordan said as he rubbed his wife’s back while she dry-heaved. “Love, let me carry you back to bed. Or at least sit on the couch. I don’t like you overexerting yourself when you’re in this condition.”

“I’m fine. Really. Nothing I can’t handle,” she muttered firmly.

“Maybe if you stayed off her, she wouldn’t be in this condition so often,” I snarked, watching as the two toddlers chased after the adorable dogs who seemed all too happy to play tag with the kids.

“Arie, are you sure you’re up to helping me?” I questioned, feeling guilty for asking for her assistance now that I knew she wasn’t feeling well. Although she definitely should have advised me of her current situation when I’d called a few days before to ask if she would help me out.

Apparently she wasn’t making any baby announcements yet, so I made a mental note not to spill the proverbial beans to anyone about the happy couple expecting another bundle of joy.

She waved off my concern. “I’m fine. A nurse will be by later to hook me up to an IV to stop me from getting dehydrated. Besides, I’m not the one who is doing the transformation. I have an entire team coming to help. I’m an actress, Hayat, not a makeup artist. Or a costume designer.”

“I just need a little hair and makeup help, not for you to turn me into Elphaba from Wicked.” I followed her into the family room, where she already had a few stations ready to be set up for when her team of special effects people showed up.

“Oh, let’s watch that while we get you ready!” Arella said excitedly once Jordan had helped her sit on one of the beautiful plush couches. “The little ones love singing and dancing.”

“No, Momma.” Penelope shook her dark head emphatically. “Showman. Showman!”

“Yeah, we wanna watch the circus,” her slightly older brother, Draven, seconded. Arella had had a full two years off between one action series and another movie a while back, resulting in her being pregnant back-to-back-to-back since she’d still been in her final months with Natasha when filming was originally supposed to start for her last movie. “Peas?”

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