Christmas with a Rockstar (Rock Revenge Trilogy 3.50)

She nodded at Zoe. “Can you hand me my violin behind you?”

Zoe hopped up off the couch. “Really? You’re going to play?” She pulled out the case from under the end table, then handed it to Margo.

Luckily, she’d just tuned it that morning when she practiced. Raine liked a little Beethoven-style soothing when she was doing one too many somersaults in her womb.

Margo pulled her bow out and softly followed her husband’s tentative finger work on the piano. He shot a look over his shoulder and she smiled at him as she sawed her bow over her strings.

Even this far along in her pregnancy, her playing the violin always made Simon a little crazy. She raced through the notes and Simon complemented her on the piano.

The song had such a frenetic pace after the second half. It was exhilarating. She hadn’t played anything other than soothing baby songs for months now.

This felt wonderful.

Her heart raced and the hairs of her bow frayed and floated around her shoulders and neck. Simon’s light touch at the end of the song sent a shiver down her spine, then Margo added her own version of the end, the sweet notes lingering through the room.

She opened her eyes and met Simon’s gaze.

Damn, she still had it.

There was a fire there in his gaze. One that never seemed to dull, even when she was crazy-pregnant and crying over something ridiculous.

“Oh my God, who was that?” Zoe perched on the edge of the couch.

“Trans-Siberian Orchestra, love.”

“Actually,” Simon climbed off the little bench in front of the piano, “the correct answer would be Savatage. Though it’s pretty much the same thing, if you want to get technical.”

Nick flopped on the couch. “Ahh, the hair metal brigade. Simon and I learned that song when we were fourteen.” He curled his arm around Lila and dragged her in for a cuddle. “Back when I needed tricks to get laid.”

Lila elbowed him. “You still use some tricks.”

He waggled his eyebrows. “Gotta keep you on your toes, Mrs. Crandall.”

Zoe settled back on the couch and pulled her feet up, then curled her arms around her knees. “Is this what you guys do? I thought Ian was the weird one, dragging his acoustic everywhere.”

Simon crossed to Margo and took her violin from her before tucking it back into her case. “It’s been a long time since we sat around like this, but yeah, we used to do it a lot.”

He drew her to her feet. “And now, we’re going to go take a nap.”

“Code,” Nick said with an eyeroll.

Simon tossed a grin over his shoulder. “We’ll meet you guys on the beach in the morning, huh?”

“That’s fine, we don’t mind cleaning up.”

Margo laughed at Nick’s typical deadpan reply. “I really am tired.” But not that tired. She stopped by the couch and touched Zoe’s arm. “Congratulations on the baby.” She patted her own belly. “Raine will love growing up with a cousin so close to her age.”

Zoe’s eyes brightened and a quick wash of tears starred her lashes before she seemed to control herself. “Thank you.”

Margo slid her hand around Simon’s and let him draw her up the stairs to their suite on the far side of the house. The more time they spent here, the more they’d expanded on the little converted church. Some days she missed their little loft overlooking the living room, but then there were times like tonight when she was looking forward to the privacy.

Simon slid his hand along the wall inside the door, but she tugged on his hand. “Leave it. Just the twinkle lights for now.”

“Whatever you want, babe.”

The little Christmas tree she’d had Simon put up—with supervision—was just the right amount of traditional and glam. Very like them. Simon had brought the glam into her life and shook up the traditional trappings she’d lived with for most of her life. She crossed to the tree and found the little crystal bell Simon had given her for Raine’s first Christmas.

He really was the most thoughtful man sometimes.