“Babe, are you two ready?” Dan called from the living room of our suite.
Phoebe sat in front of me on our bed, her arms crossed and a determined furrow between her brows. My baby girl turned five today, and she’d already seen more of the world than most kids twice her age. Yet, to take one look at the tantrum building in her green eyes, you’d never know.
“No. I’m gonna need a minute,” I shouted back, crossing my arms and matching Phoebe’s stare with my patented ‘don’t fuck with me’ mam look.
We’d been on the road since May with The Brightside, bouncing between a tour bus, stadiums, and hotel rooms. Seven months of constant travel would be a lot for a normal person. Apparently, my daughter had decided today was her breaking point.
“Put your dress on, munchkin. You don’t want them to start on the cake without you, do you?”
My only reply was her lip jutting out as her pout deepened.
Oh geez. I was not prepared for this when I rolled out of bed this morning. We were meant to go to a cake shop uptown, but given it was raining heavily enough for a lake to form on the roads outside our hotel, it was a wash out. We were improvising with everyone gathered in our suite with cake and balloons and hastily organised hotel canapés. I didn’t want to know how Matt, Rhiannon’s manager, got the hotel to organise it with such short notice. Nothing short of black magic or bribery, I’m sure.
The door opened and I caught a pair of identical green eyes.
“Everything alright?” Dan asked, his brows furrowing to match his daughter’s.
“Not really.” I gestured to her. “She won’t get dressed.”
“What’s wrong, munchkin?” Dan shut the door and knelt in front of Phoebe. “Don’t you want cake and presents?”
Before she could work up an answer, the main door to our suite slammed open, the sound echoing back to us.
“Where’s my baby girl?” my father called from the living room. “Grampa’s got presents.”
“Jesus, Dad. What are you wearing?” Ella said, her voice muffled by our bedroom door. Since when did we find my dad amusing? How is he even here?
“A shirt.”
“That’s not a shirt! It’s a monstrosity.” Ella’s voice rose painfully.
Phoebe’s bad mood evaporated and she slid off the bed. She had our bedroom door open and shot into the suite before either Dan or I could react. Swearing, I grabbed her dress and raced after the naked child. Wasn’t parenting meant to get easier?
I stumbled into the living room to find the Rhiannon and The Brightside guys crowded around the sofas and dining table, grinning at my daughter. She’d flung herself into my father’s arms like he might vanish with the next blink. My mother hugged Ella, catching my eye with amusement twinkling in hers.
“Surprise.”
Ella snorted. “I’m not sure Phoebe likes surprises.”
The child in question chatted excitedly to my father, entirely oblivious to the attention fixed on her. She might have been the only one not staring in horror at the fabric covering my dad. Were those photos?
“Given her bad mood seems to have evaporated, I’d say you’re onto something, Els.” My eyes narrowed on my father’s shirt and I edged forward to get a better look. Ella mirrored my movements and my growing horror.
“Tell me those aren’t…baby photos,” Ella whispered.
“Told you they wouldn’t appreciate it,” Our mother said, stepping away from him. “Nia, dear, why don’t you show me where to place the presents.”
Chuckling, Nia detangled herself from James’s arms and sprung to her feet. “Sure thing, but let’s hurry. I don’t want to miss this.”
“Oh my god, they are.” Horror dripped from Ella’s voice. “Mel, he’s got our baby photos on his bloody back.”
“I’m not sure I want to see.” I rubbed my eyes. “Dad, please go change.”
“What? No. I worked hard on this shirt.”
“It’s embarrassing, Dad.” Ella pointed at an image on his arm. “I’m in the bath in this one. That is so not appropriate for public wearing.”
“Wait, I want to see this.” Jared scrambled off the sofa and rushed across the room wearing a massive smirk. “She claims she’s so perfect. I need evidence that she’s human like the rest of us.”
Ella rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. It had been nearly eleven months since they surprised us with that little development. I mean, it was kind of predictable and Alys and I may have had a hand in causing it… Didn’t make it any less of an adjustment though. My baby sister, in a serious relationship with a reformed bad boy rock star? Yeah, I might need therapy one day.
Still, she made for the perfect full-time childminder, and considering she and Jared were still sussing each other out, I was content to let her figure out her next step in life on her own terms. It also helped having the extra familiar support on tour. Nia tried to be a constant but her job required her to be with the guys as much as possible. Couldn’t exactly take behind the scenes shots if you were locked in a room with your best friend, though sometimes we shared a workspace while I fielded the latest brand disaster in the UK and she edited her photos.
Having Ella on tour made everything seem like less of a big deal. We were just normal people, spending time with our friends and family, doing our jobs.
While seeing the world.
“Tell you what, we’ll compromise,” Dad said, all jovial. “I’ll change before the hockey game. How about that?”
“At least put a jacket on,” Ella groaned.
“Not a chance.” Jared held his arms out in front of her. “I’m not done cataloguing yet.”
She glared at him. Someone was going to put himself in the dog house.
Dan took the dress from me and helped my father wrestle Phoebe into it. Time was quickly running out. Thanks to Lily, we had box tickets for the Toronto Titans hockey game against Philadelphia later tonight. I guess it helped that Lily and her band would be taking over the arena in two days for the first of their Toronto dates. Hockey was new for me so I fully expected to spend the entire thing sipping water and corralling Phoebe while everyone else cheered on the Titans.
Dan’s arm slipped around my waist, pulling me into his chest. My hand smoothed up his plaid shirt – someone had bought far too many Canadian shirts since we crossed the border.
My breath caught in my throat when my gaze rose to his.
Then again, unlike my dad, I didn’t care what he wore, as long as he kept looking at me like that.
Love, happiness and heat shone in his gorgeous green eyes. His fingers danced up my back until they slid into my hair, tilting my head. He didn’t so much as hesitate before meshing our lips together in the sweetest kiss – and I’d know, considering I couldn’t get enough of him. We’d gotten used to almost never being alone, gotten good at bottling our need for one another until we finally stopped at a hotel.
I leaned into him, absorbing the passion and returning it in turn. Who cared if our friends and my parents were watching? Touring cured you of the slightest slither of modesty.
The right moment hadn’t presented itself yet, but I had every intention of locking this loveable giant down. Soon.
The door opened again and someone cleared their throat, dragging out attention back to the room. Lily’s blonde head peeked into the room, of her body and whatever she hid behind her back blocked from view.
“Who’s ready for some cake?” she shouted, eliciting an answering “Yes!” from her boys and Phoebe.
She let the door swing open, revealing a hotel trolley carrying a huge chocolate fudge cake. Phoebe’s eyes lit up and not just because of the inferno of candles crowning the cake. I’d debated the sanity in ordering her favourite cake for all of five seconds. We’d just have to deal with the cleaning bill from the hotel.
Dan left my side, collecting a grinning Phoebe from my parents. He lifted her into her seat at the head of the dining room table as Lily wheeled the trolley towards her. Kneeling next to her, he whispered in her ear, and the little terror giggled as if she hadn’t spent half an hour glaring at me over the pretty green dress she now wore. The sight of the two of them together still sent tingles down my spine. Nothing had ever felt more right.
“Mammy, stop stalling,” Phoebe groaned. Her tiny fists bounced on the glass table top. “I want cake.”
“Then you’d better make a wish, so we can cut it up.” I settled beside her on my knees, sharing a knowing smile with Dan across her copper locks.
Lily stopped the trolley in front of us and Phoebe jolted forward trying to get at it. My heart leapt into my throat but Dan was ready for our little hellion’s every move. He wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her in place and away from the flames.
The room erupted in a round of “Happy Birthday” and Phoebe pouted until they were done. I bit my lip, struggling to contain my amusement. She reeked of impatience. If there was ever any doubt that she was Dan’s, that aspect of her nature drove it home. He was her mini-me even though he’d missed out on the first few years of her life.
“Make a wish,” he whispered in her ear.
