Page 32 of Reckless and Rooted
Deciding that’s about all my body can take, I run to the side of the arena, jumping up the fence to safety. I raise my arms up in the air, taking all the cheers I can get before I spin my fingerat the wranglers, and they take to their horses, pushing the bull out of the arena.
I look to the stage and see Felicity standing now, an expression on her face that betrays her nonchalance. She doesn’t notice people taking pictures of her, because her gaze is trained on me.
So I wink at her and make damn sure she knows I saw her watching.
17
felicity
“I’m so sorry.I’m so embarrassed,” Juniper says to me quietly, concern written all over her face. “I didn’t know it wasn’t public knowledge.”
I calm my racing heart and put a smile on my face, hoping to ease her anxiety. “It’s really okay,” I say, referencing the fact that right before we went on stage, Juniper handed me water and asked if I was feeling up to performing.
Questioning what she meant, I’d given her a look, and she nodded with a smile to my stomach. Where a more prominent than yesterday bump is now. I’d looked at her, horrified, and she immediately knew that no one was supposed to know.
“You saved my ass, actually,” I say, gesturing to her oversized knit sweater that she lent to me before I went on. “I didn’t realize how obvious it was.”
“I feel horrible, though. I mean, that could have been a food baby,” she whispers very discreetly, given our setting. Mitch was our security and watched our every move, but he kept a respectable distance, even though there was a time I would have called him my brother.
“Really, it’s okay.” I place a hand on her arm and smile. “Just do me a favor and keep it to yourself, for a while at least.”
“Of course.” Her brows knit together. “I won’t breathe a word, I swear.”
“Thanks, June.” I nod and sigh, letting the worry roll off of me. Because really, what was I going to do if it got out? Not much, honestly. “So…that was amazing, though.” I point to the stage, and she blushes.
“You definitely helped it be that way,” Juniper says, and I see Mitch shake his head out of the corner of my eye. He looks at me, and I lift a brow before he looks away, a slight pinkishness to his cheeks.
I look to Juniper and say, “You need to stop selling yourself short. Your voice is absolutely magical, and your sound is beautiful.”
Juniper smiles and sighs. “Thanks. I really appreciate that.”
I shrug. “It’s just the truth,” I say, snapping my fingers. “Hey, next week I’m heading down into the city to meet some people. We’re working on my next album. Why don’t you come with and sit in?”
Her eyes widen, and she opens her mouth to reply when Mitch says, “She will.”
Juniper glances behind her, concern written all over her face. “Oh, I don’t know. I have the restaurant.”
“Well, think about it, okay?” I squeeze her arm and sigh. “I need to go take five somewhere before I try to go walk around.”
“Mitch, you should go with her,” Juniper says, nodding at me.
He stands to do as he’s told, but before he can, a voice from behind us says, “I got her.”
I spin, my heart launching to my throat as I take in the sight before me. Jax.
“It’s really okay,” I hurry to say. “It’s not a big deal.”
“People know you’re here now, Felicity,” Mitch interjects. “You need someone with you.”
I nod, knowing they’re right. Knowing that the moment my manager finds out I performed for a big festival with no input from them, with no security, with no payment, I am going to get reamed.
Jax reaches out and takes my hand, and I let him, all the while knowing that the moment our fingers interlace, my heart is going to be telling me things that I don’t want or need to hear.
He does exactly what he used to, tucking my arm underneath his and sliding his fingers between mine, shielding me from view and from the world.
I feel safe instantaneously, like nothing in the world could possibly touch me in this moment, and I know that it was a reckless way to feel. I know that if he knew the truth of my current predicament, he would…
Well, I don’t know what he would do. But I don’t imagine that every man’s dream ends with his girl having another man’s baby.
