Page 12 of Lost Lyrics

“Yeah, I do.” I kissed the side of Ava’s head and breathed her in. Her hair smelled so good, of something sweet and rosy. “Just seeing Charlotte crumble in front of the class hurt my chest. I wish I could take that pain away. You’re awesome with her, too. I hope I’m the same with Josh. I love that little guy.”

Ava ran her hand across my stomach in soft, slow strokes. I loved her touching me, anywhere and everywhere. She smiled at me. “Do you think being a dad is your calling?”

“God no. But I love it and I’m doing my best.” I rolled toward Ava and kissed the small of her neck. “Would you like to give this daddy some loving?”

Giggling, she pushed me away. “Later. I have to get back to the office. You guys may be on a break, but the workload hasn’t stopped. There’s the tour documentary to finalize, events to get you to, socials to maintain, fans to keep happy, and your everyday lives to run. Travel bookings and emails are never ending.” She sighed, sinking deeper into the sofa. She bit her lip and wrinkled her nose.Too sexy.“And I’m helping Flint pull together a certain you-know-what for you-know-who.”

I jabbed my finger against her arm. “I can’t believe you won’t tell me what he’s got planned. Is it gonna happen soon? Sutton is dying for that ring on her finger.”

“Trust me. I know.” Ava rolled her eyes and laughed. “She keeps asking me if I know something she doesn’t. It’s so hard not to say anything. It’s stressful.”

“I have a solution.” I swiped my fingertips down her cheek, then brushed the tip of her nose. “Move in with me. It would ease the stress. You’d be closer to work. With Charlotte and me. Closer to the band. Closer to Josh’s new school.” I leaned forward, eased her jacket aside, and kissed the top edge of her shoulder. “And I could do many things to ease the tension in these sexy shoulders of yours.”

She clutched my hair and drew me back. She caught my chin and softened her tone. “Cole...we’ve talked about this. I like the way things are for now. I don’t want to burst our bubble.”

“It won’t burst.” I took her hand and entwined our fingers. “We’d make it better.”

“I love you. I really do. You’re the best thing that hashappened to me in years.” She swept her fingers through my short hair. “But we’re still new. I’m finding my feet. After the hell Luther dragged me through, I need to take this slow. I want to be more confident in my job. In us. In this new life. Ensure Josh is okay.”

“I understand that. I’m the same about Charlotte. I don’t want to pressure you, but at the same time, I do. I’d love for you and Josh to move in here. We can be a family.” That scared her. I understood that. Trusting someone again was hard, but I would do anything and everything for Ava. Being patient wasn’t easy, but a must.

“I want that too. But I don’t want to mess this up.”

“You won’t.” I was more worried about me fucking up things rather than her. “But if you do, or I do, we’ll deal with it. Together. I want a life with you.”

She pressed her lips to mine, lingered there for a few seconds.Hmmm. I loved the taste of her mouth on mine. She broke our kiss and licked her lips. “I’m yours. We’re good. I promise. But can we just enjoy dating for now?”

“Yes. But why delay the inevitable? Is there anything I can do to change your mind? Speed up the process? Or am I missing something?” That wouldn’t be a first.

“No.” She swept her fingers through my short hair. “You’re amazing. It’s been so long since I’ve had a boyfriend. We have fun together. I like having you woo me.”

I slid my hand up her thigh and gave her a sexy smile. “If I have to court you, may I take you out tonight? Dinner. Drinks. Dancing. Harper can mind the kids.”

“I’d like that.”

“Hmmm. Good. But you know I like a challenge. If I have to make love to you every day to prove that we belong together, I will gladly do so.”

“Better start convincing me.”

I popped open the button on her dress pants and slid my hand into her panties. “Gladly.”

Chapter 4

SUTTON

What the hell?Someone had parked in my spot. Couldn’t they read? What the fuck did the sign “RESERVED FOR SUTTON SUMMERS” mean?Damn it.It was April Fool’s Day, but this wasn’t funny. I was already late, thanks to Flint. He’d had a restless night, couldn’t find his favorite Green Day T-shirt to wear this morning, and had needed my help to find it. He’d then left in a hurry with Cole and Lewis to go to a meeting. I’d never seen Flint care so much about a T-shirt. Weird...but whatever.

I pulled into a spare parking spot, four rows away from the front of the studio. Flustered, I rushed through the rear entrance and headed for my dressing room. I swung the door open to find my fellowAngels in LAcastmates, Mia and Peyton, dressed and ready for the day. Farrah, our hair and makeup artist, stood resting her butt against the counter, pulling the hair out of a brush, laughing with them. Mia sat in her chair with Peyton standing, wedged between her legs. They kissed, giggled, touched each other, and canoodled like love-struck teenagers. Clearly, they’d made up after their huge fight yesterday. Their third one this week.Ergh.I loved them, but they continually did my head in. I’d spent more than an hour yesterday after work consoling Mia. She’d sworn they were over. Today, it was as ifnothing had happened.

I’d never survive in a turbulent relationship like that.

Mia and Peyton had been dating on and off since our show started two years ago. It wasonat present, but who knew for how long? I was so glad Flint and I weren’t like that. We’d had our moments, but damn, we’d never had a walk-out-on-each-other, I-need-some-space fight like those two often did.

“Hi.” I dumped my purse on the counter. “Sorry I’m late. Someone parked in my spot. I had to walk a mile to get here.”Well...half a mile. I dashed behind the privacy screen and stripped down to my underwear. As I slipped into my fluffy robe and put on my soft slippers, I eyed the gorgeous red evening gown I’d wear for today’s shoot.Holy shit!Was that Valentino? It hung like liquid silk on the front of the clothes rack, loaded with outfits for this week’s shoot. Alice in wardrobe had excelled. Our budget for clothing was getting better and better with each season. Designers wanted us to wear their outfits, carry their bags, be adorned with their jewelry, and be seen in their shoes. I loved that. With a huge smile on my face, I sank into the swivel chair, ready for Farrah to perform her magic. I was having a bad hair day, so she’d have her work cut out for her.

I turned toward Mia and Peyton and circled my finger at them. “This is good to see. You girls make up?”

“Yeah.” Mia rested her head against Peyton’s belly. “Sorry for causing a commotion yesterday. I didn’t like her flirting with Austin Williams after she’d made out with him on set.”

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