Another ring of the doorbell had the smile fading before it had completely formed. Zander jerked, his arms instinctively tightening around me. A rough sigh escaped him and his lips found mine. I didn’t try to fight it or him as he deepened the kiss and our hands started seeking parts of each other’s bodies that we knew would start the kind of burn that would take hours to extinguish.
The third ring of the doorbell lasted longer; whoever was at my front door was pressing down and not releasing it for several long seconds. Zander pulled back, a murderous look on his face. “Isn’t Mieke home? Can’t she answer that damn thing?”
Glancing at the clock on my nightstand, I saw that it was after ten in the morning. Even if Mieke had come home the night before, she was probably at school by now, given that it was a Friday. Another ring of the damn bell and I was pushing the covers aside and reaching for my robe.
“Where the fuck are you going?” Zander growled as he stood and pulled on his boxers. Grabbing his shirt, he got to the bedroom door before me and blocked my exit. “I’ll handle this. You get some clothes on. No way are you answering the door with nothing on but that little silky thing.” He dropped a quick, hard kiss on my lips and stomped away, closing the door behind him as he started pulling his shirt over his head.
A stupid smile lifted at my lips and I rushed to put on clothes. Grabbing the first things I came to, I pulled on a bra, tank top, and running shorts that I was sure belonged to Mieke but had been mistakenly put in my dresser rather than her own. I won’t lie, it was a good feeling, being able to wear the same clothes as my teenaged daughter. My ass was a little curvier than hers, but it only made the shorts hug my hips better.
Dressed, I grabbed a hair tie and headed downstairs, pulling my long blond hair into a knot on top of my head as I descended the stairs. Raised male voices stopped me halfway down and I stopped, instantly recognizing them.
“You can’t just quit on us, Z,” Axton Cage’s voice snapped.
“We’ve worked through tougher shit than this, man,” Liam Bryant spoke up. “I’ve fucked-up the most in our little family here, but don’t walk away because we were dicks. Look, we’re sorry. Okay? Annabelle is a great chick and she didn’t deserve the way we talked about her.”
“Stop being a pussy, fucker,” Wroth Niall’s scary voice came next. “I’m not putting up with this shit. I’m tired and want to get home. So let’s settle this shit now. You aren’t quitting and we’re all friends again.”
I frowned, the happy fog evaporating from my brain as I listened to the rockers speak to Zander. What the hell was going on? He’d quit OtherWorld? No way. I didn’t believe that shit for a single second. Hurrying down the last of the stairs, I walked into the living room where four scary-looking rockers stood over Zander who was sitting on my couch, looking bored. His arms were crossed over his chest, his feet propped up on my stone coffee table, and his eyes were hazel.
Still hazel? Even with those four looking at him like they were? Even with Wroth Niall hulking up? Something was seriously off and I didn’t understand a single second of it.
As I entered the living room, they all turned their heads. Seeing me, Axton stepped forward. “Annabelle, I want to say I’m sorry for the things I might have said about you. You obviously had your reasons for not telling Z about his kid and I’m going to respect that. Now, will you tell him to get his head out of his ass and stop talking about quitting the band?”
My eyes moved from the rock god to the man sitting so quietly on my couch. “You quit?” I whispered, still not sure I’d heard Axton right. Still not sure I understood anything right then. After spending the entire night with Z, my emotions were raw and scattered everywhere.
“Yup.”
That was it? I asked him a question that serious and all I got was a ‘yup’? I wanted to smack his sinfully sexy face. Instead I felt tears stinging my eyes as I looked back at the four angry rockers. “I don’t understand what’s going on. Why are you here?”
Devlin took several steps forward, the slight smile on his handsome face flashing those killer dimples at me. His aquamarine eyes were considerably calmer than the other three but he still looked concerned. “Z emailed Natalie yesterday, officially quitting OtherWorld. Asked her to make a statement to the press and all that. Apparently he got distracted last night and forgot to tell Emmie. But we don’t want him to leave, Annabelle. Together we’ve always made OtherWorld. Without even one of us, OtherWorld isn’t the band it should be. Maybe we’re all a little fucked up and we don’t like each other half the time, but we’re still a family.”
I understood what Devlin was saying. Knew that, although OtherWorld’s members weren’t as close as they could have been, they did make up a bizarre kind of family. A family that had worked, even through the hard times, like when Liam had been struggling with his drug addiction. Without all of them together, OtherWorld wasn’t what it should be.
That still didn’t answer the one question that was burning through my brain. Why had Zander quit?
“Z?” His name came out quietly, almost afraid of his answer.
Sighing, Zander got to his feet and crossed the living room until he was standing in front of me. Cupping my face in his hands, he forced me to meet his gaze. Still hazel. A smile lifted at the corners of his lips. “I’m doing what I should have done seventeen years ago, Anna. I’m picking the one thing I want more than anything else in the world. The thing I love beyond all else.”
My heart stopped. Completely. I couldn’t get it to beat again as the smile turned into a grin and he lowered his head to brush a soft kiss over the tip of my nose. “I love you, Anna. I always have and I always will. I choose you. Nothing else matters. Not the band or the outside world. All I want is to be with you. To be the man you deserve, the man who will pick you over everything else that could possibly matter.”
“I…” I couldn’t think, couldn’t speak. Couldn’t. Fucking. Breathe.
“I know I’m not going to be able to prove that to you overnight, but I’m never going to stop trying. I love you, and our daughter. I want to be here with you and her. Fuck, woman, I want the life we should have had all along. Maybe you don’t want that yet, but I’ll go to my grave fighting for us this time.” A rough thumb skimmed up and down my neck, his smile dimming a little when I didn’t say a word.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to. It was that I couldn’t. The tears stinging my eyes started to fall and I gasped for a lungful of air as I shook my head at the man I had loved my entire life. “Okay,” I whispered, unable to get anything else out.
A choked laugh left him. “Okay?” I nodded and his fingers tightened at the base of my neck. “Well, thank fuck for that.” He brushed a tender kiss over my lips and lifted his head, smirking at the four men standing behind him. “See you fuckers around.”
I lifted my hands to cover his, somehow finding my voice. “But only if you stay with OtherWorld.”
Hazel eyes shot back to mine, not looking nearly as hazel all of a sudden. The gold started to fade, leaving nearly green orbs staring back at me. “What?”
“I’m willing to see where this goes, if you stay with the band. As your new manager, I can’t let you back out of your contract. Besides, when the band has to travel, don’t you want to go with me?” I grinned up at him, loving the shocked look on his face.
“You… But… Okay, explain, woman.”
I nodded at the other guys, Devlin in particular. “Natalie will have to go on maternity leave soon, and she isn’t going to want to come back to work right away. One of the stipulations of the contract I signed with Emmie making us equal partners is that I take over OtherWorld.” I’d known I’d been signing my heart’s death wish when I’d told Emmie I wanted to have the OtherWorld account the day before, but I was a glutton for punishment. Or so I’d thought. Now it didn’t seem that way.
Zander frowned down at me before closing his eyes and dropping his head. Muttering a curse, he opened his eyes again several mome
nts later. “Only for you, Anna. You understand that right now. Only for you.”
I nodded, feeling happier in that moment than I had in a long time. “Okay.”
“So he’s not quitting?” Wroth growled.
“No,” I assured the beast of a man. “He’s not going anywhere.”
“I go where you go,” Zander muttered, making my heart skip another beat. “Don’t expect anything else.”
“So we’re okay?” Liam was looking between Zander and me, his blue eyes concerned. “Anna Banana?”
“I’m cool with you guys,” I assured him. I had no idea what Axton, Liam and Wroth had said about me. Honestly, I didn’t care. It was over. The past was done. I just wanted to concentrate on the present…and maybe the future.
“Z?”
Zander glared at Liam. “Ask me again in a few days. Until then, shouldn’t you be with your little Italian rocker?”
“Alexis is staying with her until I get back.” Liam stepped forward, offering his hand to us. When Zander didn’t look like he was going to shake it, I put mine in the rocker’s hand. He smiled with relief. “I’m glad you’re taking over for Nat. That works well since you’re Brie’s manager too.”
I grinned up at him. “Go home, Liam. Tell Gabriella I’ll call her.” I turned to the other men in my living room. “You should all go home. Your wives will be missing you. I’ve got this handled.”
Strong arms wrapped around my waist and Zander buried his face in my neck. “You’d fucking better believe it,” he growled, kissing my neck.
One by one the four rockers left my house. I stood at the front door watching as they climbed back into the big SUV that had some huge dude in a suit behind the wheel. I assumed it was one of Seller’s men. As I watched, Noah appeared and walked over to the SUV. The grin on my brother’s face told me he was glad to see his old friends.
I turned my attention back to the man who still had his arms locked around me. “What are we going to tell Mieke?”
Zander frowned in thought for a long moment. “I don’t know. I don’t want to upset her.”
“I doubt she’ll be upset if we’re dating. I think that was her goal all along when she went to California to see you.” I knew it was something that Mieke had always wanted —for her mother and father to be together. She’d mentioned it once and only once, but I’d never forgotten it and I knew she hadn’t either.
“Dating?” The gold in his eyes started to fade again. “Baby, I want to do more than date you. I’m going to marry you.”
Again my heart stopped and I couldn’t breathe as I stared up at Zander. Shaking his head, he grabbed my hand and tugged me away from the door, shutting and locking it behind him. Quietly, he pulled me up the stairs and into my room. Leading me over to my bed, he sat down on the edge of the mattress and pulled me onto his lap.
There wasn’t a single gold fleck in his green eyes when he looked at me this time. “One day, I’m going to ask you to marry me. Not today, probably not tomorrow. When you’re ready. When I’ve proven to you that you mean more to me than anything—anything, Anna. Only then will I ask you to be my wife.” He grimaced. “I wish I had Gram’s old ring.”
I felt the pink that filled my cheeks as I glanced toward the small jewelry box on my dresser. “You do,” I whispered. I’d stopped wearing the promise ring when Michelle had died, had even contemplated burying it with my little girl. In the end I hadn’t been able to completely let the little gold ring go.
Zander followed my gaze. “Then one day I’ll put it on your finger—the finger it belongs on. But only when I know you’re ready.”
“Z…”
“Shh,” he murmured, kissing my lips to keep anything I might have said locked away. “We still have a few hours before our daughter gets home, Anna. Let’s not waste them.”
Annabelle
If one more thing went wrong that day I was going to scream. Like, throw down everything in my arms, stomp my feet and scream. I could even imagine myself rolling on the floor in one of the tantrums Mieke had been known to give me on rare occasions when she was a toddler. Right then I felt like I had the emotional stability of a frigging toddler, so I felt like I was entitled to it.
From the time I’d woken up that morning I’d known it was going to be a shitty day. My alarm had gone off and when I’d turned over to snuggle into Zander for a few extra minutes, I’d realized he was gone and had been gone for a while since the bed was cool. Pouting, I’d gotten ready for the zillion and one things that needed my attention that day and went into the kitchen for some coffee and a slice of toast.
We were back in California for the holidays because both Emmie and I were busy as hell with all the new clients we were signing on, plus getting our staff trained and eleven million other things. It was nice staying in Zander’s penthouse apartment, but the three of us were used to the room of my house back in Tennessee. Mieke and her father had been grumbling the night before over dinner about it and Zander had even hinted at looking at houses while we were still in California. I didn’t know what to think. Why would we want to look at houses there when we spent most of our time back in Tennessee?
Not that I was against it or anything, I was just curious. Two houses seemed a little excessive to me.
After my first drink of coffee, I’d ended up pouring the rest of the mug’s contents down the drain. It had tasted bitter to me and when I’d tried to eat the toast, my gag reflex had sent me rushing to the sink to empty the contents of my dinner from the previous evening. After cleaning myself up again, I’d felt better and had gone into work.
Emmie had found us some office space in L.A. and we had an entire floor to ourselves. She’d already set up my office for me while I’d been in Tennessee and I was really happy with how it had turned out. So far she’d added fifteen people to our staff while I’d recruited three to help me back in Nashville.
As soon as I’d sat down at my desk, my cell in one hand trying to find out where Zander and Mieke had run off to that morning, the phone on my desk had started ringing and hadn’t stopped for over an hour. Emmie was in and out of my office and we had six different meetings in the conference room by lunchtime.
One particular meeting had set me off, because I was fed up with dealing with Tasha Vowel’s diva attitude. I’d gone off on her and thankfully Emmie had backed me up when I’d point blank told the singer that we wouldn’t be renewing her contract after all. The bitch had left in a huff, but not before she’d gotten a tongue lashing from Emmie. I’d taken a sick kind of pleasure in seeing the embarrassment on my ex-client’s face as she’d stepped into the elevator.
Emmie ordered lunch, which brought back my queasy stomach and I locked myself in my office until the smells went away. After lunch, Emmie left me to the rest of the work that was piled up on my desk. She was having a Christmas party at her house that night and everyone was invited. Even Noah and Chelsea had brought their kids out to the West Coast so that Mieke and I wouldn’t have to miss the holidays with them.
My queasiness stayed with me for most of the afternoon, making me short-tempered, and the fifteen or so people running around the floor learned real quick to steer clear of me. While I was glad that they avoided me, I didn’t want them to think that one of their bosses was a tyrant to be afraid of.
Around four that afternoon I finally got a text from Mieke telling me she was out with her cousins as well as Jenna Stevenson and Lucy Thornton. She said she would meet me at Emmie’s house at eight. Apparently she was doing some Christmas shopping. I didn’t worry about her, knowing that Lucy Thornton’s bodyguard would keep my baby girl safe.
There were still no messages from Zander though, and that bugged me more than I knew it should. It wasn’t like I didn’t know I’d see him that night, and since we’d gotten back together in September, we’d basically been inseparable. I saw him throughout the day, every day. Even when I didn’t get to see him as often as I wanted, he texted me religiously and even sent me flowers at the sma
ll office I now had in Nashville every Friday.
I didn’t know why I was feeling so hurt over not seeing him or hearing from him all day, though. It was stupid. Maybe it was just because I was feeling sick and emotional. Whatever. I wouldn’t let it make me feel insecure. Our relationship was a strong one. He told me he loved me every day and he was always doing things to make me feel special, proving to me just as he had promised, that I meant more to him than anything else in the world.
It hadn’t been easy, finding our way back to the place in our relationship where we were at now. I’d had some days where I was so happy that we were back together. Some days, however, I’d been full-on pissed at the world that it had taken us this long to have our happily ever after. I tried not to think about the past—the wasted years we’d been apart—and for the most part I succeeded. But those few days that I didn’t—couldn’t—put the years we spent apart behind me, those days had kind of made us stronger. Zander knew that on those days I needed some extra TLC, and he always gave it to me. He always did something that made me realize that the past didn’t matter. All that mattered was right now.
We were happy, all three of us. Even Mieke seemed happier than I’d ever seen her and I was so glad that she was enjoying having her dad around. Then again, what girl wouldn’t want their father around if all he did was spoil her rotten? It had only been a few months since Zander had been in Mieke’s life, but from the way those two adored each other no one would ever know that.
Thinking of what an amazing father Z was turning into, I finally felt a smile teasing at my lips. Finally getting over my bitchy mood, I gathered my things and left the office. It was getting late and I still had to get back to the apartment and change before going out to Malibu for Emmie’s party.
I was just getting out of the shower when another wave of queasiness washed over me and I felt slightly lightheaded. Alone in the apartment, I was momentarily scared as I sat down on the closed toilet seat and waited for the dizziness to pass. With a shaky hand, I reached for my cell where I’d left it on the sink. My fingers trembling, I pulled up Zander’s name and hit connect.