To Cherish and To Hold (Love of a Rockstar #1.5) (6 page)

Matthew, the former lead singer for Five Guys wore a bashful grin as I turned around. Although his downright handsome face promised a night of unforgettable sex, he wore his shyness like armor. Women ate it up, bragging to their friends that they’d seduced Matthew Lee. At least, that’s what I heard through the grapevine, aka Luke. Mathew was also Luke’s closest friend and soon-to-be best man. Yet we hardly knew each other. Without a wife or kids, Mathew traveled extensively and had been in Europe since Five Guys’ last tour ended. I had no idea he’d returned or, for that matter, would be here today.

“He likes to embellish.” I put a cookie onto a plate. “But you can be the judge.”

Matthew bit into the snicker doodle and crumbs littered his shirt. “Holy shit,” he said around a mouthful. “These are incredible. Luke lied. You aren’t a master, you are a genius.”

Laughing at the high praise, a blush scorched my cheeks. “Would you like another?”

“Of course I would.”

Mathew ate three in a single breath. Built like a roman god, he had an incredible metabolism. If sugar touched my lips, my waist tripled in size.

“I won’t need any coffee now,” he joked.

“Have you been here long?”

“Since ten this morning. Luke asked if I would come in and see if the crown molding can be salvaged.”

“Are you a wood maker too?”

Matthews’s shoulders hit his ears. “My father was. He taught me a few tricks of the trade.”

Luke hadn’t mentioned that Mathew was schooled in the art of wood making. I wished Luke had though, because the crown molding was my favorite architectural detail about this crumbling house. It would have saved me a heart attack when Hendro mentioned the possibility of tearing it out. Years of water damage from the roof had eroded the wood.

“I’m glad you’re here then. You can prove to Hendro that it’s not hopeless,” I said.

“I don’t know about that. Based upon our short introduction, he’s a stubborn old coot.”

As if he had super sonic hearing, Hendro glared at us. I waved cheerfully, but he scowled and returned to his work.

“He is an old coot,” I agreed. “Anyways, what are your thoughts?”

Matthew gestured to the molding framing the living room. “In here, there is a possibility. The water damage isn’t as extensive, but it’s gonna be harder in the rest of the rooms. I have an idea, though.”

“Let me hear it.”

“I can snap a few pictures and see if my dad can replicate the original wood molding. If he can, he would shape and build it then ship the materials to Seattle. I’ll do the rest.”

His plan sounded like a good idea but it also sounded like a lot of money. Luke and I were bleeding our savings into this house. There wasn’t any wiggle room in the budget.

Disappointment hit me square in the gut. “That sounds amazing but….”

Mathew cut me off with a heartwarming smile. “If it’s about money, don’t worry. It’s my wedding present to you and Luke.”

His generosity stunned me to tears.

Stupid hormones.

Blinking up at the ceiling, I waited until my eyes were dry to face him. Unlike half the male population, Matthew didn’t seem perturbed by my heightened emotional state. Although, he was studying me to an extreme degree.

“What?” My thumb swiped underneath my lash line. “Is my mascara running?”

After a beat, he spoke. “You’re pregnant.”

“What?”

“You are, aren’t you?”

My outward appearance hadn’t changed, so how the hell did he know? Unless Luke had somehow found out and told him. But then why wouldn’t Luke confront me first? Matthew gently touched my elbow, drawing my attention to the present.

“Your head is going to explode if you don’t stop thinking,” he chided. “I have three sisters. Two who have gotten pregnant in the last year. I’m an expert on recognizing the signs.”

“What signs?”

Mathew held up his pointer finger. “You’re crying at the drop of a hat.”

“You are being really super duper nice.”

He held up a second finger. “The bags underneath your eyes. My sisters always said it felt like a truck has run you over and then backed up and ran you over again, but when you try to sleep, you’re brain won’t turn off.”

“I have a five-year-old and a billion things on my plate,” I protested weakly, although it was no use. Matthew had me pinned. Sighing, my arms wrapped around my waist. “Fine, you are right, I’m pregnant.”

“It makes sense now.” My raised eyebrow incited him to expand. “Luke mentioned you had reservations about the final tour.”

“Did he?”

“Yes, and I understand, but you have my promise he will come home in one piece. I’ll be worse than his mother.”

Evidently, Mathew didn’t know Luke’s mother. There wasn’t anybody worse than her, even dead.

“That’s sweet, but it’s complicated. Also, can you not mention this to Luke?”

“He doesn’t know?”

“Like I said, it’s complicated.”

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated,” Mathew said sagely. “Confucius came up with that.” He held his hands in front of him, head bowed. “Just think about it and don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you.”

“But….”

I sighed. I should have figured Mathew wasn’t done doling out advice like Tic Tacs. “Yes?”

“Luke loves you in the way you only see in the movies. It’s an everlasting love. Whatever you’re worried about, don’t be. The man would walk across fire to get to you.” His eyes crinkled with laughter. “Luke actually said that after three shots of tequila in Mexico, but his exact words were more slurred.”

My heart turned over, exposing its tender underbelly. “Really? He said that?”

“Yup.”

That fiancé of mine melted my defenses like nobody else. While having Luke gone for a month sounded as appealing as a root canal, I would be a selfish idiot to force him to stay home. He’d made the ultimate sacrifice for Nil and me, showing us he wasn’t the same man. Therefore, I had to trust that the past wouldn’t repeat itself. Luke would come back to us.

S
tanding at the sink, his hands submerged in soapy water, Luke washed the grime off the dishes and set them in the dishwasher. I hooked my arm around his waist and pressed my chest against his back. My head nuzzled the crook of his neck. His cologne of pine trees and wintery nights made me sigh with adoration.

“Hey,” Luke said. “I heard you went by the restaurant.”

“I did. Mathew is a sweetheart.”

He dried his hands on a towel then turned around to face me. I sucked in a lungful of air. After knowing each other for almost seven years, he still managed to steal my breath away.

“And why is that?” Luke questioned.

“Because he said he would do the crown molding for free. Also, he’s just a nice dude. It’s in his mannerisms.”

“Don’t be fooled. There is a man whore underneath that niceness.”

It sounded as if Luke was jealous, which I couldn’t help but be pleased by. Normally, the green-eyed monster attacked me, not him.

My mouth spread into a Cheshire-cat grin. “You’re cute when you get envious.”

“Yeah?” He grabbed my hips as his eyes darkened. “I’ll show you how cute I am.”

I gulped at his predatory stare. “Where’s Nil?”

“She’s taking a nap.”

“Then we should talk.”

Luke pressed his finger against my lips, shutting me up. “Enough talking. All we do is talk.” He pointed in the direction of the bedroom. “Walk.”

A shot of lust blossomed between my thighs as I followed his orders. Once my feet crossed the threshold, he kicked the door closed. My bottom plopped on the side of the bed.

Luke discarded his t-shirt on the floor, exposing his tanned torso. I watched him stalk toward me, more than willing to be his prey. He gently shoved my shoulders backwards onto the mattress. Looming over me, our gazes locked and the world ceased to exist.

“Can I say something?” I asked.

“What?”

He planted a trail of kisses against my neck, ending on the sweet spot below my ear. A half moan, half sigh escaped my lips and my brain cells short-circuited.

“I forgot,” I said.

“Then my plan is working.”

Luke reached into the nightstand to grab a condom. Gasping and reeling with lust, my fingers tugged at his belt loops. He glanced over at me.

“We don’t need those. Come back here,” I demanded.

“You will regret that in the morning.”

“No I won’t.”

Luke’s eyebrows scrunched together, puzzled. Dropping the p-bomb in the middle of foreplay had to be the worst way to announce that he would be a dad. I had to think of a distraction. Unhooking my bra, a cold breeze from the open window caressed my bare breasts. I pinched my nipples between my thumbs, giving Luke my best come hither glance. His eyes hooded over with lust.

“I want to feel you with nothing between us,” my voice purred.

Luke discarded the box as he rolled onto his back. He quickly kicked off his pants followed by his boxer shorts. My blood heated as I stared openly at his impressive length. I’m one lucky woman.

“Are you going to admire it or fuck it?” Luke chided.

“Such a dirty mouth.”

Crawling on top of him, my hand closed around his hard shaft. He sucked in a breath as I pumped upwards. My mouth was added to the equation and Luke’s head fell backwards into the pillows. A string of unintelligible words shattered the silence. The effect I had on him was intoxicating. My tongue swirled around the tip of his penis like a lollipop. A pointer learned from the pages of Cosmopolitan magazine. Luke’s fingers tangled into my hair and jerked my head from his lap.

He spoke in broken English. “Now. Inside you.”

I lifted my hips and began to guide him into my slick and waiting heat. Drowning in the sensation, it took me a moment to notice Luke’s hands on my ass, preventing me from going further.

“Too fast?” I asked.

“Tell me the truth. Why don’t we need condoms?”

“Really?”

Luke’s gaze remained steady, which meant he was dead serious. I attempted to squirm out of his grasp but he moved his hands to my waist. The man had freakishly strong hands.

“This isn’t fair,” I moaned.

“Life isn’t fair. Now tell me why don’t we need condoms?”

My bag of diversions had been emptied and with his iron clad determination. There wasn’t an exit in sight. Damnit! Why did I say anything? I should have let him use a condom but the difference—
oh my God.

“Marlene!” Luke snapped.

“I’m pregnant!”

“What?!”

Scrambling to an upright position, he shoved me to the side. I landed on my stomach and puffed my hair out of my eyes.

“You’re pregnant?” Luke echoed. “When? How?”

“I would have thought you had the sex talk by now but….”

“I’m serious, Marlene.” He pinned me to the wall with his gaze. “This is serious.”

“Fine. When you take cough medicine it has a chance of interfering with your birth control so….”

He finished my sentence with something that sounded like wonder. “So I’m going to be a dad?”