Loving Storm (Ashes & Embers 5)

Storm stabs his e-cig at a square on the calendar.

“Here. Let’s get married on this day.”

“That’s next weekend, hon.”

He takes a drag off his e-cig and raises a pierced eyebrow at me. “And your point is?”

“That’s too soon. There’s no time to plan.”

“Evie, between my mom’s persuasiveness and the money we can spend, we can make it happen next weekend, trust me.”

I frown at him and open my “Wedding Wish List” file, which I started a few months ago, on my laptop. “No. We’re not using money to bribe people to rush our wedding.”

“Why not? People do it all the time.”

“We’re not going to be like those people. We’re not snobs.”

He shrugs and nods. “Okay…you’re right. Then soon. Not a hundred days away from the day I picked. I want to get married and honeymoon while the band’s on break so we can be together as much as possible before the crazy starts up again.”

Leaning back against the couch, I pull my laptop onto my lap and eye him from behind the screen.

“Do you want to know what I really, really want? Like my super-duper dream wedding?”

“Lay it on me and I’ll make it happen. As long as it’s soon.”

Has any man ever been this excited and impatient to get married? How did I get this lucky? I chew my lip, hoping he doesn’t think my idea is crazy or weird. “I would love a Christmas- and winter-themed wedding in December. I want to wear a white dress with white fur trim, with little glittery snowflakes in my hair, and carry a bouquet of red flowers. I want to give snow globes to our guests. And I’d love a cake that looks like it has icicles hanging off it. I know it sounds a little out there, but I have all these ideas and pictures I’ve been saving…and it would be sooo beautiful.”

He crawls over to me, grabs my face in his hands, and kisses me to the point of making me breathless, knocking my laptop onto the floor.

“Its fuckin’ awesome, babe,” he says, grinning. “Let’s do it. Then a honeymoon someplace quiet.”

“Really? You’re okay with all that?”

“I think it’s gonna rock. It’s cool as hell that it goes with how we met. My mom will lose her mind over it. It’s going to kill her that she didn’t think of it herself.”

“December is two and a half months away though. Is that okay?”

He sits back on his heels and sighs. “I can live with it. It has to be early December though.”

“I’m good with that.”

“I do have a requirement,” he adds.

“I figured you would,” I reply with a smile as I pick up my laptop and put it on the coffee table. “Since you’re going along with my wedding theme, I’ll do whatever you want.” That comment gets me the adorable, sexy, and playful smile that I fell in love with.

“I think it’s time you move out of your apartment and move in with me permanently.”

“I’m at your place almost all the time though.”

“I know, but we don’t need three places to live. Our shit is everywhere. We’re constantly bouncing back and forth between your place and my place. The cabin is supposed to be a getaway—I want us to have one real home that we’re living in together.”

I love my apartment, and I’ve been reluctant to let it go for a few reasons. After I left Michael, having my own apartment was a big step for me, learning to live alone and just be comfortable with me. Jumping from living with Michael to living with Storm didn’t seem like a good idea. As much as I wanted to live with him, I still felt like it was best to give myself some time. I already felt like a horrible person for falling in love with Storm while I was in a relationship with Michael. And learning about Michael’s various affairs, on top of that, made me question everything in the entire relationship department. I was scared to trust anyone, including myself.

Even though Storm is a great guy, he’s still a popular rock star who hasn’t been in a relationship in a long time and has women flirting with him all the time. Honestly, I was still trying to figure out what he saw in me, and I was afraid once the chase was over, he’d get bored and move on to a more exciting woman.

But he didn’t. He committed a thousand percent of himself to our relationship. Being with him has brought me out of my boring, sheltered existence—even though I may have kicked and screamed a little (okay, a lot) along the way. He’s always been right there to reassure me and comfort me when I needed it. And for that, I love him more than words can say.

He’s right, it’s time for me to let my safety net of an apartment go and commit to us in every way.

“All right,” I finally say. “Let’s do it.”

He lets out a whoop. “Damn. It’s about time. I was thinking maybe we’d buy a house closer to Talon and Asia.”

I blink at him. “But you have a house.”

“I know, but I’ve lived there for five years and I’d rather we get something that’s new for both of us. This way you can pick out how many closets you want and have an office with lots of windows, and I can have a bigger guitar room.”

“You don’t have to do that…I don’t need a lot of closets. Your house is fine. I can set up an office in the basement.”

“No. You’re not sitting in the basement all day. My mom drives you nuts. I want you to have windows and a view of the pool so you can watch me float around on a dolphin raft.”

I burst out laughing at that visual. “I’m not sure I’ll get much work done if you’re outside taunting me.”

“You can take a break every two hours and come join me.”

“Seriously Storm, we don’t have to get a new house. I like your house.”

He stands and stretches his arms over his head, making his jeans fall low around his hips. I have to drag my gaze off the delicious V of his lower torso.

“I know we don’t have to. I want to. I’ll get in touch with the realtor on Monday so we can start looking right away, and you can talk to Mom and nail down the wedding date.”

A wave of apprehension floods my senses, and my ears ring with the tune of anxiety. Smiling, I busy myself with folding up the calendar, hoping he doesn’t sense my nervousness. I don’t want him to think it’s doubt, because it’s not. Its just there’s so much to think about and so many details to cover. Over the next two months I’ll be moving to a new house, planning a wedding and a honeymoon, and becoming Mrs. Storm Valentine.

Chapter Four

I’m a pet sandwich. Niko is stretched out on top of the comforter, with his head resting on my hip, and Halo is curled up on my other side, his body pressed into the curve of my waist. This is what they do on the mornings when Storm gets up early to go for a run or spend a few hours at the gym—our fuzzy kids climb up on the bed and snuggle with me.

I should get up and start my day, but the warmth and coziness of Storm’s bed, coupled with the contentment of our pets, is hard to leave. Instead I pet Niko’s head and stare up at the autographed poster of Storm on the ceiling above the bed. He put it there as a joke, months ago, after I teased him about how much he loves looking at himself. Now I won’t let him take it down because I like looking at it.

Twenty minutes later I slowly creep out of bed, being careful not to disturb my two sleeping beauties. I’m meeting Amy for lunch at noon, and then we’re meeting my future sister-in-law, Asia, at a wedding boutique to look at wedding gowns. Asia is a sewing goddess and makes all the stage clothes for the band. Once I pick a gown, she’s going to customize it to match my winter theme. Aria wanted to join us but couldn’t make it, so I promised her Amy will text her pictures of me trying on dresses.

My stomach flips. Wedding dresses!

I spend the morning going through Storm’s house, making a list of what we need to pack and trying to figure out how many boxes we’re going to need for all our things, because we’re moving in four weeks.

Four weeks!

Yes, a month. Less than a week ago, at the cabin, we agreed to buy a house. Two days ago we found the perfect house—a mile away from where Storm’s youngest brother, Talon, lives. The homeowner immediately accepted our offer, so now we’re just waiting for paperwork to seal the deal.

My stomach does a double flip. Everything is happening so fast.