Page 66 of Flawless Lyric

My back’s been bothering me all day, but I haven’t said a word to Micah. Knowing him, he’d have me on bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy. Being first-time jitters for the father-to-be. I’m not worried since I’ve had every test under the sun and everything came back perfect.

“I put everything in the room closest to us like we talked about in the car.” Not only is he attentive but he listens. A rare find in a man today.

“Thanks, Fast Hands. I apologize for not helping, but I’m wiped out for today.” With a chuckle, he sits down. He grabs my feet and gives me a foot massage. No complaints from me.

“No worries, Beauty. You just take it easy for the rest of the weekend. After working all week, I shouldn’t have insisted we go shopping all day.” Now he feels guilty and that wasn’t my intention.

“I wanted to go shopping with you, Micah. We picked up lots of cool things for the baby and I can’t wait to start her room.”

“Hisroom, Beauty.” Bending down, he kisses my lips, my nose, and my cheeks. It’s something he does often, and I find it irresistible. “You need to eat to keep up your strength. I’ll be right back.”

I often wonder how different my life would have been if I had picked up a different guy at the bar that night. In truth, it scares the heck out of me because I can’t imagine my life without him. My only consolation is he’s told me many times that our paths were meant to cross. And I believe him. If not that night, it could very well have been the next day when Ruth introduced us.

A few minutes later, Micah’s back with the food and it smells delish. It’s baby-approved.

“After we eat, I’ll clean up while you soak in a nice warm bath.” Oh, that sounds divine.

“You’re spoiling me, but a bath sounds like perfection.” It might be just what I need to alleviate this backache since I refuse to take any medication during my pregnancy.

We devour our food while making plans for the baby’s room. We decide on a music and melodies theme since it’s gender neutral and Micah’s a musician. Pale, aqua walls with light-gray and white furniture and big bold notes stenciled throughout. Once it’s finished, it’s going to look gorgeous. Now that we’ve gone shopping, I can’t wait to get started.

“I can’t eat another bite.” Handing him my plate, he agrees.

“Neither can I. Let me clean up a bit and I’ll start your bath.” Sounds like heaven.

Leaning my head against the back of the sofa, I close my eyes. Micah’s home is so quiet and peaceful. Serene. Unlike mine where I can hear my neighbors coming and going since it’s in a subdivision and there’s not much privacy. Don’t get me wrong, my home’s beautiful, but as I get older, I long for quiet. I’m happy that our baby’s going to grow up with nature surrounding them.

“Beauty, are you ready for your bath?” Yes. No. I must have dozed off and I’m a bit groggy.

“I’m so exhausted. I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep.” He picks me up like I weigh a feather and I know that’s far from the truth. I’ve already gained fifteen pounds!

“I understand if you’re too tired, but I’ll gladly sit with you just to make sure.”

“You would do that for me, Micah?”

“Always and forever, Beauty.”

29

MICAH

The weekend flewby and now we’re back in the studio. Once again, it’s balls to the wall. Fine tuning a bunch of songs that we put on hold during our last album. Grateful that we have something to work with since none of us did much writing while on vacation.

“I thinkI’m Losing Controlwould be a hit if we just made a few changes to the opening riff. Any thoughts?” Zander asks.

“Jax should tap the beat after the opening riff which would be a great segue for Micah to join in. Let’s try that first.” Ace has always had a great ear for picking this shit up. Works for me.

An hour later, with a few small changes here and there, we’re thrilled with the outcome. After only a month of being back in the studio, we have six songs locked and loaded. Caleb is going to be ecstatic. Which makes me nervous since April tenth is our due date. I’m hoping we can convince him not to start touring until the summer. Buying us all some time.

After a long day, we’re all ready to leave with the exception of Jaxon. “Want to go grab a few beers?”

“I’ll pass since I’d rather spend time with Hadley and Melody instead of your ugly mug.” Yeah. Zander and Jax might be best friends, but after being in the studio all day we need a break.

“I thought you were all hot and heavy with Aria. Don’t you want to go home and bang the fuck out of her?” Sometimes Ace doesn’t have a filter.

Jax looks uncomfortable when he runs his fingers through his hair. “Hell yeah, but she won’t be home until around ten tonight. So I thought we could hang for a few.” He’s been acting weird since he started dating her. We thought it was much too soon since he’s had a thing for Stephanie since high school.

“Come over to my house for a beer,” Zander says. “If you’re lucky, I’ll let you play with your niece for a few.” Zander’s invitation is heartfelt even if he’s spent the day with him already.

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