Loving Storm (Ashes & Embers 5)

ME: I didn’t shack up. Why do we have to re-hash this? You had a girlfriend, remember? You were lying to me for years. And I fell in love with someone else. It’s over.

MICHAEL: I just think we should talk before you go any further with your crazy plans.

ME: I’m getting married in less than a month. I’m happy. There are no crazy plans. WTF.

MICHAEL: He’s going to hurt you.

ME: YOU hurt me. He loves me. Stop bothering me.

“Who are you texting so ferociously to over there?” Storm asks from the driver’s seat.

“Michael.”

“Michael? What the hell does he want?”

“To talk, apparently. He thinks I shouldn’t go any further with my crazy plans. He’s an ass.”

His knuckles whiten as he grips the steering wheel tighter. “He’s jealous and he’s trying to get in your head. Give me the phone.” He holds his hand out.

“Storm…”

He wags his fingers. “Hand it over.”

I place the phone in his waiting hand. He glances at the screen, presses a button, and holds the phone to his ear.

Oh no….

“Surprise, it’s not Evelyn. Look Mike, it’s time to let go and move on, because if you don’t, I’m going to have to find some creative ways to make you. Yeah…I know…it’s not a threat, man, just laying down the truth. Good.” He nods. “Don’t call, don’t text. No man, don’t even listen to my music. Do I sound like I’m kidding? Get your shit together, bro.”

He ends the call and hands the phone back to me with a grin. “What?” he says innocently.

“Nothing.” I lean across the car and kiss his cheek. “I just love you.”

“My favorite grandson is here!” Gram exclaims happily when Storm and I walk into the living room.

“Gram, you just told me an hour ago I was your favorite.” Mikah is perching on the edge of the fireplace, where he’s playing a game on his cell phone.

“You’re all my favorites, honey, just at different times and in different ways,” Gram replies as Storm and I take turns leaning down to kiss her hello.

“Evie, you look beautiful. You’re glowing.”

My cheeks blush with warmth as I sit on the loveseat a few feet away from the recliner she’s relaxing in. Storm sits on the floor next to her and holds her hand.

“Thank you, Gram,” I reply. “You look gorgeous yourself.” She always looks beautiful and happy, but today she appears a little more frail and tired than she did when we visited her a few weeks ago, and her delicate hand, in Storm’s, is shaking slightly.

“I bought the most perfect dress for your wedding,” she tells us. “And I ran into Joe and Nancy from across the street, they have nothing to do the day of your wedding so I invited them. You don’t mind, do you? They’re always so nice to me. She brings me homemade honey. Their son is a beekeeper.”

“Of course they can come, Gram.” Storm winks at me and I smile back at him. I’m fine with Storm’s family inviting their friends—the more the merrier.

Mikah stands and shoves his phone into his back pocket. “If you guys are gonna talk about wedding stuff, I’m outta here.”

“Just make sure you show up the day of the wedding.” Storm calls out after him.

“It’s open bar, of course I’ll be there!”

“He’s so grumpy,” Gram says once Mikah has left the house. “He needs a nice girl like you, Evie.”

“Mikah doesn’t like nice girls, Gram,” Storm says. “He likes dirty, bad girls.”

She waves her free hand in the air. “Oh, that’s just a phase. And I told him he better not get drunk at your wedding and act like a fool. I’m getting too old for all the shenanigans with you boys.”

Stifling a giggle, I stand and head for the kitchen. “I’m going to get lunch ready, you relax with Storm, Gram.” I always like to give them some time alone to talk when we visit. Especially if they’re talking about the other guys, because I don’t need to hear all the crazy and gory details of their personal lives.

I heat up a pot of Gram’s homemade chicken soup, make a big bowl of mixed salad greens, and put a handful of soft rolls in a basket. Just as I’m finishing setting the table, Storm and Gram join me, hand in hand. He helps her into a chair then takes a seat next to me.

“Thank you for doing everything,” he whispers, leaning close to kiss my shoulder.

“Evelyn, when are you due?” Gram eyes us from over the rims of her glasses as she spreads butter onto her roll.

I choke on my soup. Storm looks at Gram, then at me, then back at Gram.

“Due? For what?” he asks, wide-eyed.

“For the baby. You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

“No,” I say quickly, wiping my mouth with my napkin. “I’m not pregnant.”

“She’s not pregnant,” Storm says. “Right, babe?” He looks at me like a deer in headlights.

Gram studies me with her wise eyes and loving smile. “You have that baby glow. I’ve never been wrong.”

I look at Storm and shake my head. “No…I’m just really happy and excited about the wedding, and finally living together. I’ve never been this happy. And I just started using a new face cream. And I’m drinking a lot more water. We’re not planning for a baby yet.” I want to run and examine myself in Gram’s full-length mirror to see if I look fat. I’ve been watching what I eat, walking on the treadmill, and having sex like crazy almost every night. Surely I’m burning a ton of calories. People are so critical of brides, and once our wedding pictures hit social media, the female fans of the band will be scrutinizing me and zooming in on our photos. The last thing I need is to see hundreds of comments saying I look chubby and bloated.

“Babies come when they want to, they don’t care if you’re planning or not.” She points her fork in Storm’s direction. “Asher was the only one your parents planned. The rest of you were surprises. Especially Rayne. Your parents thought they were all done having babies, then finally the little girl they wanted came along.”

Storm squeezes my leg under the table. “Gram, I know you want a baby to spoil and all that happy stuff, but we’re not having a baby yet. We want to wait a year or two before we even think about starting a family.”

“A year or two? That’s so long. I could be gone by then. I can’t live forever.”

“Gram!” we both say at the same time.

Storm rakes his hand through his hair. “You’re not going anywhere. And we’re not pregnant. Can we just talk about the wedding, since that is happening? We’re gonna have snowflakes fall on us instead of people throwing rice or blowing bubbles. How cool is that?”

His grandmother’s eyes light up hearing Storm’s excitement. “That sounds lovely. A winter-themed wedding is so magical. Aria showed me a photo of the cake you’re having made, it’s going to be too pretty to eat.”

The four-tiered cake we picked out will be decorated with chocolate twigs and candied red berries and dusted with edible sparkles that look like icy snow.

“It’s got a white chocolate layer,” Storm raves. “I’ll eat that entire thing myself.” Leaning closer, he whispers into my ear. “Then I’m going to eat you.”

“My hearing is better than you think,” Gram announces. “And suddenly I’m feeling very tired. I think I’d like to go take a nap. I feel awful you two came all this way to see me, but I’m just feeling very sleepy today.”

“That’s totally fine.” I mask my worry with a smile. “We got to see you and that’s all that matters.”

Storm jumps up from his seat. “I’ll carry you to your room.”

“Don’t be silly. You can’t carry me.”

He proves her wrong by gently scooping her up into his big, tattooed arms and carrying her out of the kitchen and down the hall to her bedroom while she laughs the entire way.

Before I clear the table, I sit there quietly for a few minutes, cherishing one of the sweetest moments I’ve ever witnessed.

The

first time I met Aria, she told me Storm had a lot of love to give. At the time I had no idea how true that was, or what an understatement it was. Storm is one of the few people I have ever met who truly knows how to love someone.

My heart clenches as I stare at the engagement ring on my finger. That amazing man, who just lovingly carried his grandmother into another room, is going to be my husband and, someday the father of my children.