Austin is one of the best actors I’ve ever met, but I know him too well and I see the envy just below the surface. Still, when he smiles, it reaches his eyes, making them twinkle with excitement. “Congratulations, you two. I’m psyched to be an uncle.”
He talks with Shelby for a few more minutes, getting to know her, and when we finally hang up, he’s already treating her like his sister and teasing her like the annoying brother he is.
“I forgot that Austin Hayes is your brother,” Shelby says, and I don’t like the star-struck look in her eyes. “I wondered if he was as down-to-earth as he seems in his interviews.”
My eyes narrow and my arm around her tightens. She looks up at me and her lips slowly spread into a wicked smile. “He’s pretty hot.”
I growl and immediately grasp her waist and carefully put her over my shoulder, carrying her in a fireman’s hold to our bedroom. An hour later, I collapse on the bed next to her. “Who do you belong to, Shelby?” I ask one more time, even though I made her scream it with every orgasm. She doesn’t answer fast enough, so I reach out and pinch her luscious ass.
“Ouch!” she hisses, and I smooth my hand over the very red butt cheek, soothing the sting. “You.”
“Damn fucking straight you’re mine.” I pull her into my arms and kiss the top of her head. “All mine. My little muse. The love of my life”—my hand settles on her stomach—“and the mother of my children.”
Shelby sighs and cuddles closer. “I love you,” she whispers.
“Love you too, my little muse.”
Epilogue
Shelby
Two years later…
I stand in front of the vanity mirror all done up and ready for the show. The makeup and hair people only slipped out moments ago so Theo and I could have a moment to ourselves. Since we touched down in Dallas we’ve been on the move. Everyone’s trying to keep us as hidden as possible.
I still can’t believe this is my life. It has only been a little over two years since I landed on Theo’s doorstep. If you had told me this was going to be my life before I knocked on his door, I would have died of laughter. But it was. A mom of a precious baby girl, a wife to the most amazing husband and now world-famous singer about to perform at the Super Bowl. I couldn’t have dreamed of a life better than this.
Theo comes up behind me, kissing my bare shoulder. “My little muse went and turned into an angel.” He gives my shoulder a small nibble before turning me in his arms. He’s careful not to mess up the wings that took two people thirty minutes to get on me.
“Do you like it?” I smile up at my husband, already knowing he likes it. What he doesn’t like is that everyone else is going to be seeing me in this getup. It’s pretty much a white swimsuit with wings. At least it’s a one-piece. It’s paired with four-inch heels that could kill me. I run my hands up Theo’s chest, wrapping them around his neck. He lifts me by my hips, sitting me on the table in the center of the room.
“You look stunning.” He brushes his mouth against mine. The nervousness I had moments ago fades away with him close to me. I always know everything will be okay when he’s near. He wouldn’t let it go any other way. Not when it came to me.
“I can’t believe we’re performing together,” I sigh. God, this is almost surreal. He’s going to play the piano for my part of the performance. It’s crazy actually. We’re going to come out of the bottom of the stage with me sitting on his piano. No one knows I’m going to be here. It’s a surprise appearance. It’s how all my appearances are. We learned from my first song hitting number one on the charts I was not made for this life full time. I won’t be going on tour and popping out songs left and right. It doesn’t work for me like that. I sing and create music when I want to. I never wanted this to feel like a job. I want to enjoy it when I do it.
The handful of songs I’ve released have sold like crazy. Everything for the past two years has been a whirlwind. I’m so thankful our home is away from the rest of the world. Our hideout from everything. There we’re a normal family who does normal things. I’m also lucky that Theo’s my husband and I have a killer agent who makes it so I don’t have to sign with a label. I can release songs when and how I want.
“No one else I’d do this with,” he tells me before he kisses me deeply. He never performs. He only said yes because it was going to be with me. I should probably be scared, but I’m not. I only have about two minutes of show time before it switches to the next performer. I don’t have some crazy dance routine. I’ll stay planted on the piano singing my heart out. It’s the song Theo and I crafted together for our daughter Athena. We started working on it the day we found out we were having a little girl. Both Theo and I already knew somehow. We’d been calling her Athena weeks before we found out for sure she was a girl.