Talon (Ashes & Embers 4)

Talon whips out his gold card at checkout, and I try not to faint at the amount of money he just spent. But I remind myself that most of these outfits we're designing will be purchased by his bandmates, the girls from Sugar Kiss, and the online orders I've been getting almost daily.

As we're walking across the parking lot with our cart, a young blond girl comes flying up to us seemingly out of nowhere as we're reaching our car.

"Talon! Hey!" She throws her arms around him, and he embraces her back with a big, startled smile on his face. She's absolutely gorgeous with long blond hair, pouty lips, green eyes, and a perfect, petite body.

"Hey, sweetheart, what are you doing here?" Sweetheart? He doesn't even call me sweetheart.

They let each other go and she smiles up at him. "We stopped for coffee at the café next door," she motions to a rugged looking guy on a motorcycle a few parking spots away from us who's got huge, muscular arms covered in black tats and a short ponytail at the base of his neck. Wow. I guess good-looking people tend to run in flocks. Everyone Talon knows is either a gorgeous girl or an incredibly hot, muscular guy.

Talon raises his hand to the guy, and he in turn nods and waves back. "You're here with Toren?" he asks.

"Yeah…" She replies a bit too casually in a way I instantly hone in on. "He picked me up from school to give me a ride home. I just wanted a latte first."

"You know I can give you a ride if I'm not busy. Just call or text me."

I eye this girl without trying to make myself obvious. I have no idea who she could be. Friend? Ex-girlfriend? A fan, maybe? And did she say school? As in high school?

"It's okay, Uncle Talon." She turns to me, smiling sweetly. "So, is this your wife?" Oh my God, is this actually his niece I've been getting all crazy jealous over for the past five minutes? Of course, now I can actually see a resemblance between them.

Talon smacks himself in the head. "Shit, where the hell are my manners? Asia, this is my niece, Kenzi. Kenzi, this is Asia."

I extend my hand to her. "It's so nice to meet you."

"I'm so sorry I missed your wedding. I was out of town on some stupid class trip."

"I understand. I'm glad we're meeting now."

"Are you guys, like, shopping?"

"Yes, we are, like, shopping," Talon teases. "Asia makes some kick-ass clothes, so we're going to design some stage wear together."

"Ooh, that's rad! I need to see this stuff. Can you make me cool clothes too?"

I nod at her excitement. "Of course. You can come over anytime you want and show me what you like, and I'll do my best to make it for you."

Her eyes go wide and she does a little jump. "That would be amazing! I better go. Tor's waiting."

She gives us each a quick hug and then skips across the lot to her friend.

"I had no idea you had a niece," I comment as we put the bags in the backseat and climb into the front.

"Yeah, that's Asher's daughter."

"Oh! How old is she?"

"She's seventeen."

I watch them in the side-view mirror as they ride off on the motorcycle.

"He looks kind of old for her," I say.

Talon scoffs as he backs the car out. "They're not dating, Aze. She's known him since she was born; he's like family. He and Asher have been best friends since they were little kids."

I frown. "Hmm, he had his hand on her thigh when they pulled out of the lot."

"You're crazy, babe. He was probably just making sure she was holding on. She's kinda hyper. I'm not thrilled with her being on a motorcycle at her age, but Tor's a biker so he doesn't actually drive a car much. His family owns the bike place in town."

"Okay, it was just a gut feeling I got watching them."

"Hey, not my circus, not my monkeys." He pops his e-cig in his mouth. "Between her and my little sister, who is pretty much the same age, I'd lose my mind if I tried to get involved in all the things they do. I'm gonna save the parenting stress until I have my own kids."

I can't shake the idea that the way Toren touched her looked a little intimate, but if he's a family friend, then I'm sure it's okay and I'm overreacting.

"Good idea," I agree. "How many kids do you want, anyway?"

"Two would be nice. How about you?"

I nod as I stare out the window, trying to imagine being pregnant and having babies with him. I think he would make a good father once he grows up just a little bit. A vision of him shirtless holding a baby against his tattooed chest flashes through my mind. Damn, that would be so sexy. "I think two is good. One of each would be perfect."

"Are you on any birth control now?"

"It's a little late to ask now, isn't it?

He laughs a little. "Yeah, I guess it is. I figured you would have stopped me if you weren't. I wasn't trying to be irresponsible. It did cross my mind rather quickly, but I was a little bit distracted." He grabs my hand across the seat.

I give his hand a squeeze back. "It's all good. I'm on the pill, but I have been getting bad headaches, so I'm thinking about going on the patch."

"Is that safe? You don't get sick or anything?"

"I don't think so. I'd have to talk to my doctor about it. I don't have health insurance, so I haven't been able to go. I went on the pill three months ago when I found out we were getting married. Kat had to lend me the money to go to the doctor."

He turns to me and then quickly averts his eyes back to the road. "Baby…shit. I have private health insurance, and I never even thought to ask you about that. I'll call my agent and see about getting you on my plan or getting your own. Whatever you need, we'll get it."

"Talon, you don't have to do that. I've never had health insurance."

He squeezes my hand harder. "Asia, I'm supposed to take care of you. I'm an asshole for not thinking of this stuff sooner. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize."

"Well, we're getting it straightened out. If you want to see your doctor before that, I want you to go. Just use the credit card I gave you."

"It can wait, hon. Really. Let me know what you find out and then I'll go. A few migraines aren't going to kill me."

"I know, but I don't like the idea of you feeling sick if I'm on tour. You'll be home alone and migraines are nasty. Asher and Storm get them sometimes." Given how bad my head hurts when my ears ring occasionally, I can only image their pain with a migraine. I don’t want my wife feeling that sick while she’s alone.

"I've been alone for a long time; I'll be all right," I reassure him.

"I get that, but I still want to do what I can for you. So, no more debates."

I lean across the car and kiss his cheek. "You're a very sweet man." I rub my nose against his cheek and pull away, my insides doing little waves of happy bursts. I've never had anyone care about me like he does, and the fact that it's new for him makes me feel special.

* * *

As soon as we get home, he carries all our new supplies to my craft room while I head to the kitchen to make us fruit smoothies.

"Come on, Pixie. Maybe I'll design you some badass cat clothes," he says as Pixie chases him down the hall. Lately, she's been riding on his shoulder, which I think is the most adorable, sexy thing I've ever seen. I posted a picture on social media, and it went viral in like an hour. Apparently, rock stars and kittens make girls go crazy.

When I join him in the craft room, he's sitting on the floor with all the supplies in front of him, his red Converse sneakers off and tossed to the side. And there, in the middle of everything, is Pixie rolling around. He picks her up and plops her to the side for the second time since I came into the room.