“What? Are you pregnant?” Logan asks her.

  Stacy nods. “We just found out this morning.”

  This news earns another round of hugs and congratulations.

  “It’s still really new,” she tells us.

  “Looks like our kids are going to grow up together after all,” Kacen says. “Gav, my man, you need to step up your game.”

  A look I can’t decipher crosses his face. “Need to find the one, brother,” he says casually. Much more casual than his body language implies.

  We spend a few hours just hanging out, laughing, and talking babies. When baby Drew wakes up from his nap, we all take our turns passing him around. My heart is full knowing that my child will have this support system growing up. My son will never lack for a positive adult role model in his life.

  It’s been a month since we found out we’re having a boy. Every night we lie in bed and discuss names, but nothing is really standing out to either of us. I never imagined the stress of naming a baby. The little man is going to be stuck with what we give him for the rest of his life. I want something unique that’s not off the wall like Uranus.

  “What about Scott?” Lauren asks.

  “I like it, but I want something more, you know? I’m hoping that as soon as we hear it, we’ll just know.”

  “We’re in the S’s, babe.”

  “There are more books and online. We still have plenty of resources.”

  “Scout?”

  “Too much like Sprout.” She laughs, causing her belly to shake. “Easy there, woman. That’s my son you’re shaking around in there,” I say, placing my hand on her belly.

  “Well, can you tell your son to take it easy on my bladder?”

  “Have you felt anything more?” I ask her.

  “No, just like bubbles in my belly. It’s weird.”

  I nod. Moving down the bed, I raise her shirt and kiss her bump. “Hey, little man. Take it easy on your momma, will ya?”

  “It’s hard to believe that we made this little person who will change our worlds forever in just a few short months.”

  “Let me see,” I say, holding my hand out for the book. She’s still propped up against the headboard while I’m lying on my stomach.

  I skim through the rest of the S’s and start the T’s, nothing really standing out. I’m in the Z’s when a name catches my eye. “Hey, babe, what do you think about Zachary?”

  “Zachary,” she repeats. “Zachary Lewis, I kind of like it.”

  “Me too. I think it has a nice ring to it.”

  “It does.”

  “So you think that’s it?”

  “Zachary Lewis. You know, I really like it.”

  I rub her belly. “What do you think, little man? You like the name Zachary?” I hold my hand still, hoping to feel him. I know it’s too soon, but I try every day.

  “One down, one to go,” she says.

  Flipping over on my back, I toss the book between us and grab my phone from the nightstand. “All right, we need a middle name,” I say, typing ‘badass boy name’ into my search engine. While I wait for it to load, I look over at my wife and find she’s on her phone too, more than likely doing the same thing.

  So much has changed in such a short amount of time, but I now know that I wasn’t really living. You can have all the fame and fortune in the world, but if you don’t have someone to share it with, someone to love, it’s all for nothing.

  “What about Ethan?” she suggests.

  “Zachary Ethan Lewis. I like it. You?”

  “Yeah, I think I do.”

  “You think or you know? This is big, babe. Zachary will be stuck with this name for the rest of his life,” I tease her.

  “Oh hush.” She waves me off. “I love it. It flows really well.”

  “We have a name,” I say, setting my phone back on the nightstand.

  “We have a name.” Her eyes are glassy with tears.

  Scooting over to her, I gently cup her face. “We do. Good job, Mommy.”

  Her smile is blinding as I kiss her softly. It’s meant to be just a quick peck, but once I have her lips against mine, I can’t stop. Lighting nipping at her bottom lip, she gasps and I take advantage, slipping my tongue past her lips. Sliding a hand under her shirt, I tweak her bare nipple and she moans.

  “I want you,” she murmurs against my lips.

  “Come here.” I roll onto my back and she straddles my hips. I run my hands up and down her thighs. We’ve had to get creative with her growing bump, but we both love it this way.

  “You’re ready for me,” she says, rocking against my cock that’s resting right where it needs to be. Just a thin layer of cotton keeping him at bay.

  “Like that’s anything new.” I raise my hips, letting her feel me. “Take these off.” I tug on her panties.

  With a nod, she crawls off the bed, slipping her shirt over her head and her panties down her thighs. I make quick work of my boxer briefs, kicking them to the floor. When Lauren climbs back on the bed, she has a slight blush. I know she feels like she’s not desirable right now, but fuck me, is she ever.

  “I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as you,” I tell her, and her cheeks darken further. “It’s sexy as fuck knowing a part of me is growing inside of you.”

  “Zachary,” she says with a smile, then straddles my hips, holding my cock as we become one.

  I place my hands on her thighs, trying like hell not to thrust in like the fucking caveman she makes me. Instead I let her get used to me, let her call the shots. When she starts to move, I grip her hips and assist her, lifting her up and down my cock. Her head falls back, making her hair cascade down her back.

  “Beautiful,” I murmur.

  “More,” she pants.

  Adjusting my grip on her hips, I lift her faster, thrusting my hips at the same time. She moans deep in her throat, and I just about come from the sound alone. She’s squeezing the fuck out of my cock and I’m almost there.

  “You there, Ren? I’m—” I grit my teeth when she squeezes my cock. She knows what that does to me. “So close,” I pant.

  “Now!” she screams, and I feel her spasm around me, falling over the edge. I hold her still and thrust once, twice before filling her.

  She tries to fall forward, but her baby belly gets in the way. Instead she lifts off me and settles on the bed beside me. “That was… that was for good luck,” she says, winded.

  “Good luck?” I repeat.

  “Tomorrow? Did that orgasm scramble your brain?” she laughs.

  “No, baby, you do that all on your own. No orgasm needed.”

  “The grand opening of Soul Records?”

  “Oh yeah, that,” I chuckle.

  “Yes, that.” She pinches my arm. “I’m proud of you, all of you.”

  “Gav did most of it. I feel kinda bad about him doing so much work, but he enjoys it. He took it on and forged full steam ahead.”

  “Maybe there’s a woman at the label,” she offers.

  “Hard to tell, knowing Gav. I do think there’s someone though. He’s just not ready to tell us.”

  “He will,” she says confidently.

  “What makes you so sure?”

  “That’s how you all are. You’re a group of badass rockers, with tats, and reputations, but when you start to peel back the layers, each and every one of you are just big ol’ teddy bears.”

  “You think?”

  She hugs me tighter. “I know. I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes. And now I’m living it.” She props her chin on her hands that are resting on my chest. “I never would’ve imagined that you, this man who treats me with so much love and patience, would be behind the public persona of you. Same with Kacen and Cole. I get the real you. All those women, the Tracys of the world, they can have the rocker.”

  I cringe at the name of the woman who broke into our home, then hold her a little tighter, thanking God for this incredible woman in my life.

  The quiet of the house surrounds us as our breathing returns to normal and we fall fast asleep.

  Today is a big day for Tristan and the guys. It’s a big step for them, taking a step back from touring and recording their own music to taking over the label. They all seem stoked about it. Tristan explained that they just love music, not the fame, though the fortune is nice—his words, not mine. They’ve been touring nonstop for the last several years, and now’s a good time to take a break. Especially with the new members of the Soul Serenade family, meaning the wives and babies. It’s happening fast for all of us.

  “How are you feeling?” I ask Stacy. We’re sitting in a conference room that’s for us only. There’s a Pack ’n Play for Drew in the corner and a bodyguard standing just outside the door. None of us batted an eye when we were told this would be where we would wait, bodyguard included, until it was time to cut the ribbon. The guys are all overprotective, even more so after that crazy chick Tracy. Not to mention Jones and how he threatened Stacy. We knew better than to argue.

  “No morning sickness, but I’m exhausted all the time.”

  “That’s good. Yeah, that gets better. I’m glad they put us in a room with a bathroom,” I comment.

  Logan laughs. “I remember those days. I swear I had to pee every five minutes.”

  “That’s what I have to look forward to?” Stacy asks.

  “Hush, you. You don’t have to deal with morning sickness,” I tease her.

  “I’ve been lucky.” She grins. “Thankfully.”

  “You are so lucky,” I say, remembering how bad it was. “So we picked a name finally.”

  “Let’s hear it,” Stacy says.

  “Zachary Ethan.”

  “I love it!” they both exclaim.

  “What’s all the ruckus?” Kacen asks, entering the conference room. Cole, Tristan, and Gavin trail behind him.

  “They have a name.” Logan points to me and Tristan, who now stands behind me with his hands on my shoulders.

  “Yeah. It’s Zach,” Kacen says.

  “You all are worse than women!” Stacy laughs.

  The four of them shrug, not even bothering to deny it. “We like to have the latest, you know, keep up on current events,” Cole says, as serious as I’ve ever seen him.

  “You all about ready?” Cassidy asks, stepping into the room.

  “You mean you’re letting us out of the cage?” Logan replies sweetly.

  “Logan,” Kacen sighs, exasperated. “We just need you safe. All of you.”

  “I know. You sure taking Drew is a good choice?”

  “Kace and I will be on either side of you and little man,” Gavin speaks up. “Cole and Tristan will have Stacy and Lauren taken care of, and we have extra bodyguards on hand.”

  “It’s sad,” Stacy says. “This is such a huge day for all for you, and you guys are stressing over our safety instead of enjoying it.”

  “Regardless of what’s going on in the world, regardless of the Joneses and Tracys of the world, we would still worry,” Cole assures her. “That’s just what we do.”

  “Ready?” Tristan asks, pulling out my chair. “You stay by my side, hear me?”

  “Yes, dear,” I reply sweetly.

  He growls and leans in for a kiss. “Behave,” he says, pulling away.

  With bodyguards all around us, we travel in a pack to the front entrance of the building. The press is already there, cameras flashing as soon as they see us. We form a line behind the huge red ribbon and the large sign that stands overhead, which is currently covered with a tarp. We tried to tell the guys that this was their day and we would stand behind them, but they had no part of it. They insisted that we be here, all together as a family unit.

  Cassidy steps in front of us. “Ladies and gentlemen.” She raises her hand in the air to get everyone’s attention, waiting patiently for the crowd to die down. “Thank you all for being here. As you know, this is the grand opening of Soul Records. I’m sure you know the guys behind me.” She laughs and the crowd cheers. “Thought so. How about we get one of them up here?” She looks over her shoulder, eyes landing on Gavin. “Gavin MacIntosh,” she introduces.

  He steps up next to her and waves, waiting for the crowd to quiet down. “Hey. Thanks for being here. This is a big milestone for Soul Serenade. We are a band, but first we’re brothers, a family. Now that my brothers are getting married and having babies of their own, it’s time for us to slow things down. We love music—writing, recording, producing—and this is best of all of those avenues. We get to do what we love and be home every night with the people we love.”

  “What about you, Gavin? Is there a lucky lady in your life?”

  I can’t see him, but I can imagine he’s giving them that sexy smirk of his. “Like I would tell you.” He shakes his head, chuckling. “As I was saying, this is a big milestone in the next step of our careers.”

  “Does this mean you’re no longer touring?”

  “Honestly, the guys and I have discussed this at length, and the best answer I can give you is we don’t know. We need a break. We’ve been doing back-to-back tours since we started this adventure, and now it’s time to slow down and enjoy our families.”

  “Do you resent them?” another reporter shouts from the crowd.

  “Never. Why would I resent them for finding the loves of their lives and having a family? These guys are my brothers, and now they’re giving me sisters-in-law and nieces and nephews. How could I resent that?” He says it so boldly that you can’t help but believe him. There’s challenge in his voice as well, daring the reporters to keep at it.

  More questions are fired at Gavin, but Cassidy cuts them off. “That’s all the questions we have time for. Now, who’s ready to see these guys start their next adventure?” The crowd goes crazy, screaming and jumping up and down.

  Cassidy and Gavin walk back to our line, and a young guy who looks like he’s still in high school hands Kacen a pair of scissors. It was decided that since this was his dream from the beginning, him convincing the guys to create the band, he would be the one to cut the ribbon.

  All eyes are on Kacen, which is why we didn’t see her coming. Before I know what hit me, I’m covered in red. I scream, and Tristan curses beside me. From the smell, I can tell it’s paint.

  “You bitch!” a woman holding a paint can screams. Looking up I see who it is: Tracy. “He’s mine,” she seethes as a bodyguard pin her arms behind her back, another grabbing the now-empty paint can.

  Before I can really process anything else, I’m swooped up in Tristan’s arms and he’s rushing me inside. The others race in behind us before the doors are barricaded.

  “What the fuck?” Tristan roars. “They should have locked that bitch up when they had the chance. So much for our judicial system. A fucking slap on the wrist and look where that got us.

  “Tristan,” I say, placing my hand on his arm, trying to calm him down. “I’m fine. It’s just paint.”

  “She’s lost her fucking mind!” he bellows. “Look at you! Fuck!”

  Cassidy appears beside us. “Lauren, I’ve got some extra clothes in my office.”

  “She’s fucking pregnant,” Tristan roars.

  “Hey.” I cup his face. “I’m okay. It’s just some paint. It could’ve been worse.”

  He pulls me into him, paint be damned. I can feel the erratic beat of his heart.

  “I’m okay,” I say against his chest, then turn to face Cassidy. “Thank you, Cassidy, but with this little guy”—I point to my belly—“I don’t think they’ll fit.”

  “They’re work-out clothes, so they might,” she adds, hopeful.

  “We’re heading home,” Tristan tells her.

  “I’ll lock up. You all go,” Cassidy says.

  “I’ll stay with Cass,” Gavin informs us. “I’m sure the cops are going to want a statement.”

  “Fuck, there are a hundred reporters out there who can probably show you a play-by-play,” Cole growls.

  “You go,” Gavin urges Tristan. “I’ll take care it. They’re going to want to talk to both of you, but get her home and cleaned up first.”

  “We’re out,” Tristan says, not bothering with pleasantries before he leads us to the elevator so we can get to our car in the underground parking lot. I’ve never been more grateful for the private lot that only the guys and Cassidy have access to.

  Tristan lifts me into his truck and slams the door. I know he’s not pissed at me, but he needs to calm the hell down. When he climbs into his side, he grips the steering wheel and takes a deep breath, closing his eyes.

  “Tristan,” I say softly. “I’m okay. Zachary is okay.”

  “I fucking hate this, Ren. I hate that I’ve thrust you and our son into this madness. When it was just me, it was fine, you know. Now I have the world, and I can’t protect you from this shit.”

  “Hey.” I place my hand on his lap. “I don’t need you to protect me, Tristan. I need you to love me, and you do that.”

  “That’s my job as your husband. As his father.”

  “No, it’s not. It’s your job to love us. To be there when we need you, to be a part of our lives. This need to protect us, that’s all you. You can’t protect us from the world. We just have to live and love each day.”

  “You sure you’re okay?” he asks, finally looking over at me.

  I smile for him. “Yeah, babe. I’m fine. Just a little… sticky.” I curl up my nose.

  Leaning over the console, he kisses me deeply. The kiss tells me what I already know, that his love for me is deep, never-ending. “I love you, both of you.”

  “We love you too. Now let’s get home so I can change. And there is now paint all over your truck.”

  “That can be cleaned.” With one more kiss, we raise the doors and pull out of the underground garage.

  The entire ride to our place, he’s quiet. I don’t try to talk to him, knowing he’s trying to process what just happened. I get that he wants to protect us, I do, but he needs to realize that he can’t. The only thing he can do is love us.

  As soon as we’re in the house, he leads me to the laundry room and strips first me and then himself of our clothes. Fingers intertwined, he leads us up the stairs and into the bathroom. Still not saying a word, he turns on the shower, waits for the water to get warm, and steps inside, never releasing his grip on my hand, meaning I have no choice but to follow. Not that I mind, of course. I would follow him to the ends of the earth.