Page 151 of Tortured Tones

“A family?” Tears welled in her eyes. “Isn’t that rushing things?”

“Anyone who becomes important to us joins The Flintlocks family. So sorry, not sorry, you’re stuck with us. The option to work for the band is entirely up to you.” I leaned in closer to her and arched an eyebrow. “But is there something I can do to convince you and leave you with no other choice?”

“Like what?” Her gaze softened as she pursed her lips.

“I will do anything you want.” Pushing gently on her shoulders, I lay her down on the sofa, nearly crushing Tia’s head. Hovering over Ava, I kissed and nuzzled into the side of her neck, licking, and nipping at her soft skin.

“Enough, you two.” Giggling, Tia grabbed a cushion and smacked me on the back.

“See what I have to put up with, Ava?” I ruffled Tia’s hair, then drew Ava upright, stealing another kiss from her lips.

“You deserved that.” With a big smile on her face, Ava play-punched me in the arm.

Flint raised his glass toward her and bobbed his head. “Ava, we definitely need you around to keep him under control.”

Shuffling on the seat, she straightened her sweater, then combed her fingers through her loose hair. “Okay. On a serious note, do you guys have an employment contract?” She glanced at each one of us. “I’d like to see an official job offer, including salary details and benefits, before I make any decisions.”

“Absolutely.” Flint nodded. “We’ll get Blake to email you through the information on Monday. I guarantee we’ll pay more than you earn now. You have to be compensated well for putting up with our crap.” He took a gulp of his vodka and swallowed it down. “April was ecstatic when we discussed this with her. Blake’s all for it. We know you love your security team; we’ll continue using their services after the tour. But we’d love to steal you away from them.”

“What if Cole and I don’t work out?” She raised her questioning eyebrows at me.

Oh...we’ll work out. I wasn’t letting her go anywhere in a hurry.

Slip drained his vodka and placed the empty glass on the coffee table. “We’d still want you to work for the band. You’re the right fit, Ava. Not just because you’re with Cole.”

“It’s a lot to take on board.” She stared into her wine. “Let me think about it.”

“I’d be jealous if you went on tour with them.” Sutton drank the last mouthful of her wine.

“Why don’t you work for the guys, Sutton?” Ava pointed to the bottle of red wine on the coffee table in front of Sutton, silently asking for a refill.

“Me?” Sutton leaned forward and flicked her long ponytail over her shoulder. She grabbed the wine and topped up her glass, then Maddy’s and Ava’s. Tia was drinking bourbon with Lewis. Flint, Lewis, and I were into the vodka. Sutton put the stopper back on the bottle. “One: I’m not qualified to do anything they need. And two, I love acting too much. I’ve landed my dream job. I’ll be joining the band halfway through the tour now our filming schedule has changed. I’ll be able to spend the last two months with them.”

“What about you, Maddy?” Ava lifted her chin at Maddy, sitting opposite.

“I’m like Sutton. I love acting too much.” Maddy glanced at Slip and smiled. “We’ll stick to our casual, dirty weekend and romantic rendezvous for now.”

Chuckling, Slip hooked his arm around Maddy’s neck and pinned her against his chest. “I want more than our casual hookups. You know that.” I didn’t miss the low note of seriousness in his tone. They’d had an argument out in the hot tub over something earlier that afternoon. I hoped everything was okay. “What do I have to do to get you to trust me?”

“Put a ring on it.” Sutton laughed, raised her wine, and jabbed her elbow into Flint’s side, hard.

Oh boy. That was no subtle hint.

“On that note. . .” Flint jumped from the seat and grabbed his guitar. Nice deflection. “Let’s play some tunes.”

“Hell yeah.” But before I grabbed my sticks, Charlotte and Josh came running down the stairs, Charlotte giggling and squealing as he chased her. She dashed around the sofa and collided with my legs. I picked her up, placed her on my lap, and kissed her soft round cheek. “Hey, sweetie. What have you been up to?”

“Josh is chasing me. With his dinosaur. But Barney and me are too fast.” She held out her bear and patted his head.

Ava drew Josh into her embrace and tickled his tummy. “Are you playing nicely together?”

“Yeah.” Josh giggled, hugging his plush T-Rex to his chest. “We made a cubbyhouse and played dinosaurs.” He shoved the toy into Ava’s face. “Roarrrr!”

Had they draped quilts and sheets over their bedroom furniture upstairs? Scattered pillows and cushions across the floor? I hoped so. Had to have some fun.

Charlotte wedged Barney between us then rubbed my scruffy cheeks. “Daddy, can I play your drum now?”

My breath shot from my lungs as I smoothed my hand over her hair. My heart exploded. Tears prickled my eyes. “W...what did you say?”

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