Page 119 of Love You Like That (Excess All Areas 4)

“Like you know what they feel like.”

Alex placed his hand on Luke’s shoulder from across the aisle. “Perhaps a little less panic and a little more reassurance, yeah? You’re doing great, Will. You’ll be in front of a doctor in less than ten minutes.”

“Right. Yeah. You’re doing great, Will.”

Willow laughed, light relief in the otherwise stressful situation. “If this is labour, you are doing a supremely shit job of keeping your cool, Bryson.”

“Well, here’s hoping it’s a dress rehearsal, so I get to do it properly for the real thing. Have I told you today how much I love you?”

Alex smirked and looked away as Luke kissed his girlfriend softly before leading her off the bus.

And why he suddenly thought about Zoe, and the two of them, was both as comforting as it was frightening. He wondered what kind of parents they’d be.

He pulled out his phone and messaged her. At the hospital with Willow. Might be in labour.

There was a minute or two before she responded. EXCITING!! I’m thinking of you all.

Zoe posted several baby-related emojis in a row, and it made him smile.

Matt hugged Luke tightly. They’d been best friends for so long, it seemed right that Matt would know exactly what to say to Luke before Luke and Willow were whisked away.

“This might turn into a long night,” Alex said, as he flopped down onto a blue plastic chair, the faintly antiseptic smell of the hospital filled with too many bodies.

Ben leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “We cancel Ireland if she gives birth, right?”

Alex shook his head. “Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it. Let’s just wait to see what the doctor says first.”

They began to get funny looks, four currently famous rock stars sitting on plastic chairs in a small hospital, but three hours and one missed ferry later, Alex had learned something new. Braxton Hicks was a thing. A thing that felt like labour. But wasn’t labour. And wasn’t an immediate sign that baby Cletus would be with them anytime soon.

And the second thing he’d learned was that Willow had decided it was time to leave the tour and go back to Manchester.

“Luke. I’m fine,” Willow said, her palm to his cheek. “I’ll get a cab. I’ll even let you pay if it makes you feel better.”

“You aren’t getting a cab, flower. I’m driving.”

“Next ferry is at eight, so five hours from now,” Ed said, looking at the ferry schedule.

“I don’t give a shit about the next ferry,” Luke shouted. “I’ll fly into Dublin tomorrow. Just get me a ticket. I’m getting her home.”

“Luke,” Willow said, her voice as soft and controlled as Luke’s was loud and irate. “Sweetheart, listen. The next four weeks are going to be a bit like this. False alarms. You can’t just abandon everything and come rushing, especially when we already know I’m not in labour right now.”

“Stop being reasonable when I’m worried about you, flower.”

“So, five hours to the next ferry?” Alex asked. “Zoe’s got my keys. She can collect Chaya, and they can come to get Willow and look after her on the drive home. No offence, but I think they’ll be more use than you will.”

“Call Zoe.”

When Alex’s car appeared by the tour bus two and a half hours later, Alex stepped to the door and pulled it open. Zoe’s smile settled something deep inside him.

“This is a particularly sweet ride, Alex. I was doing a hundred down the motorway and it barely felt like fifty.”

“Fuck, I missed you,” he said tugging her out of the car once she’d unfastened her seatbelt.

“I missed you, too,” Zoe said, as he pulled her into his arms. “I thought five days would be a breeze, but it wasn’t.”

Alex kissed her softly. Once. Twice. A third time, as his hands reacquainted himself with the lines of her waist and hips. “Yeah. I sleep better with you. My end of the tour bus has been pretty lonely without you in it, and if everyone else wasn’t on it, I’d take you inside and show you just how lonely it’s been.”

She put her hand on his cheek and scratched at the bristles he hadn’t shaved. “Not long now before the end of the tour and we can spend more time with each other.”

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