Page 73 of How to Catch a Rockstar

“The vulture can go fuck himself.”

“As much as I’d enjoy watching him try to do that, he is my boss and expects me to work today.”

“In which case, you are working today.”

“I better eat this breakfast quick then.”

She picks up a piece of toast but I grasp her wrist before she can begin to eat. “Slow down, Aurora.”

“But I need to work.”

“You’ll be working for me today.”

She narrows her eyes on me. “Working for you?”

“Yep. I realized it’s Christmas Eve and I haven’t decorated for the holidays. I need to pick out a tree and all the trimmings.”

“And you want my help?”

“I need your help. I’ve never decorated for Christmas before.”

She bites her bottom lip. “I haven’t decorated for Christmas since my parents died.”

I pull her teeth from her lip. “Are you okay with decorating today? Or does the idea bring back bad memories?”

She gets a faraway look in her eyes. “It brings back good memories. Mom would blare Christmas music while Dad cursed as he tried to unwind the strings of lights. We’d make popcorn and string it up on the tree. On Christmas day, Mom would wake me up with hot cocoa and she’d sit on my bed while we discussed all my dreams as we drank our cocoa.”

I nudge her mug. “Maybe you should take a sip.”

She lifts the mug to her nose and sniffs. “It’s cocoa. You made me cocoa.” Her bottom lip trembles and a tear escapes down her cheek. I wipe it away.

“Please don’t cry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“These are good tears, Jett. Good memories I didn’t allow myself to think about before because they were too painful. But I want Little Bean to know about his grandparents. I want him to feel their love even if he will never meet them.”

I kiss her forehead. “You’re going to be a wonderful mom.”

“Thank you. My mom was the best. She’s a good example for me to follow.”

The familiar emptiness when someone speaks about their parents hits my stomach but it’s not as bad as it usually is. I don’t feel hollow. For once, I don’t want to run away.

“I’m sorry I don’t have any good examples to follow.”

“Yeah, you do.”

“Aurora,” I grumble. “I told you about my past.”

She squeezes my hand. “I don’t mean your past. There are examples all around you. Fender with Isla. Mercury with his niece Mercy. And I bet Dylan will be a wonderful father once Virginia has her baby.”

“You’re right.”

She winks. “Of course, I am. Get used to it. It happens a lot.”

“Now, eat your breakfast and drink your cocoa. We have a Christmas tree to buy.”

She salutes. “Aye, aye, Captain.”

It turns out selecting a tree is not as easy as those cheesy Christmas movies make it out to be.

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