Crush (A Night Fire Novel Book 1) (16 page)

Epilogue

Gently Curtis lowered me onto the lounge, smiling broadly at me. I was in pain all over. Okay, so that might have been extending the truth but I was allowed to. It was my right to complain at the pain that I suffered at the hands of this man. Well, maybe not his hands. Maybe it was that certain appendage and it's magic seed. That certain appendage and I weren't talking at the moment. I hated it. Okay, so extending the truth again.

“Hey there beautiful lady, ready to smile for the camera?”

“No.” I muttered under my breath like a petulant child.

I hadn't become accustomed to this life, even after nine months of this nonsense. Every time I stepped outside a camera was being pointed out me. I didn't dare pick my panties out my butt crack, not that I could reach it.

We had been on tour for eight months, taking a break for the impending birth. I waddled my way around America, from jet to hotel room, limousine to back stage. It was like a circle of monotony, living out of a suitcase and sleeping on hard hotel beds. Not sure if this rock star business is all that it's cracked up to be.

Curtis and his sobriety has been going well, all this time and he hasn't had a single drop. I couldn't be more proud of him. As for his family, I wouldn't know. He has permanently cut all contact from them. Curtis had been working through his issues with his therapist, going to his AA meetings and generally finding a new lease on life.

“Okay Curtis, Frankie.” the photographer settled onto his stool behind his camera. “Time to bring the boys out.”

Curtis smiled at me and wandered to the far side of the lounge room. The renovations had been completed in our absence, my parents staying here and overseeing the works and ensuring that all were to a perfect standard. My father was a fussy man and my mother wanted the best for her daughter and son-in-law. Oh, and lets not forget bug.

Yes, little bug. What could I say about bug? Well bug's a boy. Eden was right on that one. Bug came out at seven pounds, six ounces and a mass of brown hair, screaming loudly. We named bug Jett and he is absolutely gorgeous. But little bug had a friend. Bug two came out at seven pounds, two ounces and like his brother, full of brown hair and screaming loudly. We named bug two Levi and yes, he is gorgeous as well.

So I guess it comes as no surprise that the male species and their appendages aren't the flavor of the month with me. After pushing out two fat heads, Curtis was lucky to have said appendage still attached to his body.

Curtis placed Levi into my arms, he yowled a yawn and settled back into sleep. They were a week old now and we were doing the photos for a magazine shoot. One big 'up yours' to his parents. No one outside our immediate circle knew that Jett and Levi had been born, somehow we had managed to avoid the paparazzi.

Eden had a wicked mind, she was the devil for sure. She had been camping out at our house for about a week before the birth, stuffing a giant pillow up one of my dresses that she was wearing and casually walking around the external areas. Pretending to be me, at home and resting. Curtis and I weren't there. We were at my parents new home which was a few streets away from our house.

They had moved here and bought a small house at the edge of the posh estate, close but not too close. Pete had been searching out a few places but seemed rather attached to my old apartment. Can't understand why though, it was so small it was almost like a hole in the wall.

Curtis sat down with Jett, he was fussing and looked like he was about to start crying. He settled him against his chest and gently rubbed his back, waiting for him to calm down. I don't know where Curtis had learned these skills but he was all over this daddy thing. Once Jett was settled, Curtis repositioned him for the photographer.

I hated having to force a smile like this. I hated being on show like this. But this was about Curtis, not me. Not just for the issues regarding his family but for the band and their fans. I still wasn't going to win miss popularity. In fact, I doubted that I would ever be popular with the female fans of Night Fire. But in doing these pictures, it showed a soft side to the rock god. His wild days were more subdued now, not that the public knew that. To them he was still the party animal, the bad boy rocker that lived fast and partied hard. It was his job, the facade of the rock star was holding brilliantly thanks to the awesome band assistant. And to those who really know Curtis, the true Curtis, they would see the quiet soul that was a wonderful man and an amazing father and husband. He juggled the two worlds perfectly.

Somewhere along the way, I had managed to obtain the illustrious duty of becoming the assistant of the very dashing and handsome Curtis Andrews. Not sure how I managed to obtain the job exactly but I do enjoy fucking my boss.

Being pregnant with twins had made for some interesting encounters. Once I had an enormous belly there was no more wall sex. Though desk sex had become a regular thing. Curtis was eagerly awaiting the return of the skirt, he had said he was going to buy more for them and yes, he did just that. I now owned several colors and all of them were scandalously short.

Curtis wrapped his arm around my shoulder and snuggled in tight against my frame. The photographer clicked away madly, fearing that our well behaved bugs weren't going to remain that way for too long. When he was done he repositioned us and clicked a few more times.

The phone shrilled and I placed Levi into his daddy's arms, leaving the photographer to do his thing.

“Hello?”

“Mrs Andrews, the guests have arrived.”

“Thanks Jack, let them in.”

I hung up the phone after he responded, walking to the front door to open it. This was going to be an interesting afternoon.

First in the door was Jaxon, no surprises there. He engulfed me in a hug, telling me yet again that he missed my giant stomach. For most of the later stage of the pregnancy, I was like their giant cuddle toy. Not just Jaxon but the others as well. Apparently a pregnant woman is a fascinating creature. More so when one of the bugs moved. When a limb pressed out they all sat enthralled and then they wanted to feel the babies pressing out.

Jaxon spent a fair amount of time with his ear pressed to my stomach, waiting for bugs first word. No matter what I said he couldn't be convinced that they weren't going to talk, so in the end I gave up. He did too, telling me that I must have mated with a werewolf because all he could hear was growling.

Eden wandered in followed by Fraser. Evan was a few steps behind, lugging a great stack of presents. These weren't presents for Jett and Levi, they had their over abundant lavishing a week ago. No, this would be daddy's twenty-fifth birthday. The one that he had specifically said that he didn't want a party for. Yep, the guys had ignored him.

My parents were slowly making their way up the stairs, followed by Pete and his girlfriend. Cara had been on the scene for about six months now and by all appearances, things were going well. My mother had her fingers crossed in the hope that she would hear wedding bells real soon.

“Morning darling.” my mother hugged me. “How are our boys?”

“Doing well. Just in the middle of the photo shoot for the magazine spread. Shouldn't be too much longer. Hey dad.”

“Morning sweet pea.” he kissed the top of my head.

They continued on into the house, Cara hugged me hard and Pete gave me a slap on the back of the shoulder. I had been upgraded from the rock star tip of the chin to a back slap. I'm such a lucky sister.

I could hear the infectious laughter of El, she was talking to Lola as they walked up the stairs. Jerry was left with the large platters of food while Harry, Lola's husband brought in the presents.

“Morning all.” I hummed cheerily.

When the hugs and kisses were done, I stood and waited for the next lot of party goers to arrive. Fraser's family had just pulled up, along with Jaxon's parents.

It had been planned this way specifically, another attempt at showing Curtis what a family could be. It wasn't conventional by any means but it was enough to prove a point. He was loved by so many important people. Sadly not the right ones but there wasn't much I could do about it.

The last car pulled up, Austin and his family. This was probably the last connection that Curtis would have with his family. Austin's mother was Curtis's aunt on his father's side. They were the only children that his grandparents had. As for his mother, she had two sisters and had ensured that they knew that Curtis was the black sheep of the family.

I didn't want to push him into finding out if his aunts wanted to maintain contact with him but I did suggest it. He stated simply that they weren't that different to his mother and if she had spoken about him in such a way then it was likely that they would take her side rather than trying to learn the truth. I felt sorry for him, his mother was a stupid cow and I wanted desperately to punch her. It was likely that I would never get that chance and it might just be for the best.

Austin and his family stepped into the house, as we hugged and said our hellos I could hear the cries of my little bug two. I closed the door and followed the sound of my unhappy baby, finding that he was in Jaxon's arms and completely annoyed.

“I swear princess, he was like this when I found him.”

“Sure he was.” I chuckled.

He passed him over and almost instantly he settled.

“Oh I see how it is.” Jaxon sniffed. “No guitar lessons for you then sunshine.”

“Don't worry about it Levi. Uncle Evan knows much more, he'll be a better teacher.” Evan grinned as his hand gently caressed Levi's head. “So much better.” he whispered.

The photographer got a few band shots and then packed his things, leaving after about an hour. By then the party was in full swing, everyone laughing and chatting. The smell of food wafted through the house, between my mother, El and Lola, this party food thing was under control.

After a feed Jett and Levi settled into their cribs, the soft music echoing through the house didn't concern them. Considering that they spent much of their formative months listening to their daddy's band playing, it wasn't surprising. Their life was always going to have music involved in it in some way.

I looked down into their cribs side by side, feeling the hands of a handsome man moving over my hips and to my belly.

“So, when's the next two coming out?”

I laughed. “How about you give me a year to recover?”

“Mm, might be a bit too long.”

His lips kissed over my neck, slowly moving up to my ear.

“I do love this baby making business.”

“Well you are going to have to wait a couple of weeks at least. This baby mamma is out of bounds for you daddy-o.”

The soft skin of his lips traced over my ear, sending all sorts of devious and luscious thoughts through me.

“Shame.” he whispered. “I would so like to thank you for giving me two gorgeous sons after hours of painful labor.”

I grinned, wondering what I had done to deserve this man. Turning to him, I wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head on his chest. Maybe it was him that was the one deserving of this relationship and this life. After what the hell that his family had put him through, he deserved a loving wife and amazing kids.

“I love you Frankie the waitress.”

I chuckled and looked up at him, stepping up onto my tip toes to kiss him sweetly.

“And I love you Curtis the stalker.”

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Coming soon:

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A Night Fire Novel

It was meant to be the holiday of a lifetime, or at least that's what Abigail Marshall had been telling herself. Going to Florida for spring break seemed to be the thing to do, though she was reluctant to join the crowds on the mainland. With her friend Monique, they booked into a hotel on a little island just a short distance from the mainland. All she wanted was a nice, quiet holiday with her best friend and maybe a temporary special friend. Abigail's only problem was her friend, Monique. She didn't want a quiet holiday, she wanted a holiday with lots of temporary special friends and sets Abigail a challenge to find the one man on the island that she would not take home to meet her parents. 

Austin Gibson is in hiding. Retreating to the island resort he bought for his parents, he hopes to hide for a couple of weeks to escape the paparazzi. He spends his days wandering around the island, enjoying the solitude of anonymity and spends his nights working behind the bar at the local tavern. His life as the singer for Night Fire is always hectic, filled with alcohol and women. Austin knows it's a one way path to a burned out life and struggles to maintain control. With the wedding of his cousin on the horizon, Austin wonders if there is a like minded soul for him, one that doesn't want to be with him just because he's famous.

Abigail searched and found her bad boy, but will she take him home to meet her parents?