Page 30 of Holiday Hookup

“What?” I whisper, hopeful that he means exactly what I think he means.

“It’s over.” The tears that have been threatening to fall for the past few minutes are now streaming down my cheeks as he walks into the apartment, cupping my face in his hands and bringing his forehead to mine.

“Are you seriously home for good?” I ask, needing one more reassurance to make this a reality. And when he chuckles, bringing my eyes to his and giving me that smile I love so much, I know it’s true. Instead of answering me, he brings his mouth down to mine in a searing kiss that sets my skin on fire. When we finally break apart, he leads me to the couch, placing me in his lap.

“I’m sorry it took so long,” he mutters against the sensitive skin of my neck. “I signed over all of my rights to Blanked Edge. I will no longer receive any royalties and I gave Frankie and Brent permission to use my face until they found a new front man.”

I’m speechless for a second wondering if what he did was the right thing.

“I also gave the label all the rights to my lyrics, master recordings, and any songs we recorded but never released.”

“But those are yours. Don’t you want to keep those for when you want to get back into music?”

He shakes his head, bringing my lips back to his for a light kiss.

“I don’t need that life anymore. Will I always love music? Of course. But I no longer have this need to perform and become famous.”

When I give him a questioning look, he smiles.

“I’m not giving up music for good, sweetheart. I can also sell my lyrics to other artists if I ever write again. That’s all I’ll need. I promise.”

I go to question him once more and he kisses me, fogging up my brain enough for me to forget what I was about to say.

“So the label was okay with those terms?” I ask after a few minutes of trying to catch my breath, and Dane just starts laughing.

“Hell no. They also wanted me to pay seven million dollars to secure the loss they think they will accrue when the band releases the next album without me.”

When my eyes widen, his grip tightens around my waist.

“And you were okay with that?”

“Not really, but it got me what I wanted and for that alone, it was worth it.”

I don’t say anything, his fingers caress the sides of my neck, sending shivers down my spine.

“I meant what I said on Christmas Day. I’m falling in love with you, you and Jaxon. And no matter what happens, that will never change. You are the one thing I never saw coming, and yet I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

Tears start to form as I place my hand on the back of his neck and pull him closer.

“Kiss me,” I demand as he obliges without hesitation. At first, the kiss is sweet, almost sensual but after a few minutes his lips begin to devour me and it’s not until I hear Jaxon running down the hall that we break apart.

“When does Brian get Jaxon next?”

I smile at the suggestion before telling him he goes there this weekend.

“Be prepared, sweetheart, because we will be making up for the lost time.”

God, I hope so.

Epilogue

“Jaxon, sweetie, can you come help with the dishes!” I yell from the kitchen, and when I don’t hear anything but laughter coming from down the hall, I shake my head, smiling as I make my way toward Jaxon’s room.

I don’t know when we fell into this life, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. It took a few months, but Dane finally convinced me to move Jaxon and me into his palace, since according to him, “we spend all of our time here anyway.” He’s not wrong, but the idea of uprooting my son and living with someone else caused me a bit of a panic attack, that is until Jenn convinced me that Jaxon loved Dane and that moving in with him wasn’t all that big of a step considering we did it once already.

So here we are, a year later, Jaxon starting first grade, Dane starting his new songwriting school, and me doing what I always do, loving my boys unconditionally.

“Jaxon James!” I yell as I walk down the hall, and when I hear the laughter stop, I smirk, knowing that Dane is the culprit behind all of this.

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