Page 27 of Tangled Desires

“We’re going to meet Briar backstage. We’ll meet you all at the house,” Trent tells the group.

“I go with you,” Sebastian says. I must have a deer in the headlights look because what do I say to that?

“We’ll see you at Aunt Kenny and Uncle Trent’s. I don’t have your seat in my truck, little dude,” Jagger helps me.

“Promise?” Oh, man, this little boy has attached himself to me, and it’s making my heart melt.

“I promise.” I give him my pinky finger, the same way Jagger and I do when we make a pact.

“Otay.” Johnny comes up beside me, and Sebastian goes with him willingly. I give him a finger wave when he looks at me over his father’s shoulder.

“Well, gorgeous, you might not want to have children, but they sure as fuck want you. Plus, they look good on you.” Jagger bends down to whisper in my ear so no one else can hear, thankfully.

“They are cute, and how could you not love me?” I spin around to be face to face. I wrap my arms around his neck, forgetting everyone around us, in our own little world when our attention is on one another.

“That’s for damn sure.” He bites his lower lip, causing my core to contract, wishing we were at home.

“You know when I said absolutely no children?”

“Yeah. Are you worried I’ll be upset, gorgeous?” Jagger is more understanding than most would be.

“Well, no, I didn’t even think about that, honestly.” I wiggle my nose and furrow my eyebrows, worry hitting me in the gut that he will be. It’s time to suck it up and tell him what I’ve been thinking of as of late. “I might change my mind. I don’t want them anytime soon, but maybe a few years from now. After we live our life and travel a bit?”

“Whatever you want, whenever you want.” He drops a kiss to my lips, keeping it short and sweet. “Now, you ready for the fun to really begin? If you think Seb was attached to you, wait until Briar gets ahold of you. I may as well kiss you goodbye,” Jagger says in a teasing voice, except I know him well enough that he’ll be right there with me even if two kids drag me around to play with them.

“I love you, but I’d never let you say goodbye to me. Not ever again.” I wrap my arms around his waist, settle my head on his chest, and hold on to him with both hands.

“I love you, too. Let’s get going. The faster we get there, the sooner we can leave.” He presses a kiss on the crown of my head, squeezing my lower back before we head out of the building and meet everyone at Trent and Kennedy’s.

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“I’m soglad you’re back,” Winnie tells me. We’re all off to one side, the guys are on the other, and I can hear the laughter getting louder with each passing moment. Trent and Kennedy had everything set up and ready by the time we made it back here; well, the caterers did, really. I offered to help when we arrived, but there was nothing to be done. Instead, I helped clean up when plates and cups were set down, essentially being abandoned. The food was good, the desserts were better, Briar saddled up to me, telling me which ones were the sweetest, and we became instant friends.

“I’m glad to be back,” I tell her, taking a sip of wine.

“I knew you meant something big to him when he stormed off when Jude told him about you. It sucks that you were apart for so long, but as I’ve learned, sometimes life falls apart to be put back together again.” Winnie’s words are wise, and from what Jagger said about their time apart, it makes perfect sense.

“I didn’t feel like my heart really beat until I came back and saw him, even though he was a horse’s ass with his light switch being flipped on and off.” I don’t fault him. Neither of us really knew what had happened, and once we finally talked, I understood.

“That, I also understand. They have these big emotions, and instead of talking about them, they bottle it up, which, I mean, I may have done similar, but the best part about all of them is that they don’t hold grudges. They’ll also fight for what they want. There’s no walking away from their women.” Winnie tells me some of what I already know. The other, I’ll have to talk to her in a smaller group setting. Oneday, I’ll have to ask her about what happened between her and Johnny.

“What’s this I hear about Jagger not knowing the difference between a male and female cat?” Lennie enters the conversation. “The guys are giving him hell about it as we speak.” She’s got a plate of her own, stacked high with what looks like fudge, cookies, mini-cupcakes, and a piece of cheesecake.

“Well, I can answer that. He refused to look at Shadow’s privates to decipher the sex. Only assumed because the cat is so sweet, it had to be a girl, which then made me question how he helped with the kids around here. Did he cover his eyes when he changed diapers or took them to the bathroom? You should have seen his face when I asked if he looked. He was utterly appalled.” The girls laugh.

“You know, I can see that about Jagger. He’s this big thrill-seeking jokester on the surface, but deep down, there’s a lot more,” Maci says, describing the man I love so perfectly.

“Well, I hope he’s up for diaper duty. Between the four of us, we’re going to need all hands on deck.” Kennedy massages her lower back.

“I’m sure all the aunties and uncles will help, plus Briar will be in the thick of it. Then there’s Sebastian. I bet he’ll do the same,” I tell the group of girls.

“Enough about babies and sex. Well, not the real sex, because Kennedy will absolutely lose her shit on me. Let’s talk about your house. How’s it going? When will it be done? And are you ready to shop?” Lennie rapid fires the questions my way.

“The sex is great. Sorry, Kennedy,” I tease. Since Jaggerisn’t her brother, I’m able to get away with a smidge more. “The house is still in the early remodeling stages, but Jagger and his crew were able to get the master bedroom and bathroom done. I’m not sure when it will be finished, so as for shopping, it might be a few weeks from now, once more rooms are done and I can store things properly.”

“Well, I’m down, and I know the rest of the girls will be, too,” Kennedy states.

“Um, I hate to ask, but have you figured out what you’ll be doing with the house once it’s finished?” Lennie asks the question that’s been plaguing me for a while now. It seems every time I’m adamant about doing something or sticking to my guns, I change my mind.

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