Page 83 of Fractured Frets

“Morning, everyone.” Too much cheer flitted through Harper’s tone as she greeted us. She threw me a mischievous smile, then a thin-lipped one at Maddy. I sneered back. I’d avoided Harper most of the time. That wasn’t about to change.

I drew Maddy against my side and kissed her temple. “Let’s go.”

She didn’t hesitate to follow.

Most of our road crew and entourage had headed home for our seven-day break to catch up with family and friends or had gone on to Austria—our next stop on the tour. Jade had quickly caught up with me to refresh my meds before driving to the airport. Thank God. Now, with a stronger dosage in hand, I’d survive the week.

The guys, our partners, and security were traveling south to the Tuscan countryside. We’d hired sports cars for the drive. Three black convertible McLaren Spiders sat parked in the hotel driveway for Flint, Lewis, and me, and our girls. A Mercedes SUV was ready for Cole, Ava, Harper and the kids. Wicked motorbikes stood side by side for Beckett and Wyatt to ride. Sloane and Riley piled into a minivan that had to tow a trailer loaded with all our luggage.

I let Maddy drive our Spider.

With my oxy kicking in, and my head slightly buzzing, I didn’t want to be behind the wheel. I didn’t have a death wish.

With the tops down on the convertibles, we headed out of Milan in convoy and drove along a highway through the vibrant countryside. We passed farms, old villages, colorful towns, and rolling hills. Exhaustion from our shows, lack of sleep, relief from the pain-killers, and the high from being with Maddy coursed through my body. Behind my sunglasses, I closed my eyes. I pulled down my baseball cap over my forehead, rested my head back against the plush leather seat and floated, zoning out on oxy. Pain-free. No agony throbbed in my hip or twisted across my lower back or dug into my knee. Damn, these drugs are good!

“Hey?” Maddy touched my arm. “You alright? Are you car sick?”

“No.” I straightened and lazily rubbed her hand. “I’m just enjoying the drive, being outside in the sunshine and being here with you”—I grinned and glanced over my shoulder. Beckett followed us on his motorbike. Security was never far behind—“and with Becks...and everyone else.”

Maddy laughed, low and sweet. God, I loved that sound. She pushed her oversized Prada sunglasses up higher on her nose. Her eyes fixed on the road ahead. “I can’t wait to see this villa Ava found us to stay in. The photos online looked amazing.”

“They did.” Cole would’ve had a hand in helping Ava find something five-star. He liked the finer things in life. This place would be worth the small fortune we were paying for the luxurious private escape. I’d be happy to stay anywhere that didn’t have screaming fans or paparazzi loitering outside the front door with camera lenses pointed in my direction. For me, that was a win. “It’s only a couple miles from Uncle Rocco’s place. But I’m just looking forward to spending time with you.” I kissed her hand before she returned it to the steering wheel.

“Me too.”

“Are you ready to meet my family this evening?” Am I ready to face them again? I hadn’t seen them in months. I prayed everyone stayed focused on Mom and not me and my wife.

Likelihood of that happening? . . . Zero.

Maddy gave me a sideways glance. “I’m not gonna lie to you. I’m nervous.”

“They’ll love you.”

“Even though I led you astray into a Vegas wedding?” she teased, but a thread of worry was sewn into her tone.

“Hey! Who led who astray?” I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “Pretty sure, that was my doing.”

“Hmm. If I recall correctly, it started with too much champagne. That was thanks to me.”

“Doesn’t matter. I loved marrying you. It was a night I’ll never regret or forget. Vegas was perfect.”

“Yeah, it was. I’m glad we didn’t have a big wedding.”

“Same.” I had a deeper understanding of why she’d never wanted an extravagant day, after learning about Noah.

She nodded, then gnawed on her lip as she sped down the highway. “But maybe when you get home after the tour, we should have a party to celebrate. Something small. Just with a few close friends and family.”

“Wait.” Lightness filled my chest as I swiveled in my seat. “Do you mean that? Does that mean you want to drop this trial period bullshit and are gonna be mine forever?”

“Don’t jump to conclusions.” Giggling, she drew a flyaway hair off her face that had caught on her mouth and tucked it behind her ear. “But maybe if the next few months work out...yeah, I’d like that.”

“Oh, we’ll work.” I leaned over the center console and kissed her cheek. “We’re meant to be together. It’s time you admitted that.”

Laughing, she placed her hand over my face and pushed me away. “Let’s see how meeting your family goes.”

I straightened my sunglasses, then rested my arm across the back of her seat. “What happened to unconditional love?”

“Slip, we have a lot of conditions to work out.” She threw me a wry smile. “We can’t delay talking about our future forever. I need to be more certain and comfortable about the life we can build together.” With her eyes on the road, seriousness mellowed her tone. “I want some kind of normalcy first—to feel like we’re married, and to live together. To be confident in believing we can survive beyond the steamy hookups we’ve had up to this point. I want to go grocery shopping with you, do laundry, learn to cook, pay bills, and discuss our finances and investments. We’ve never done any of those things. Is that okay?”

---