I hesitated, flicking a quick glance in Nico's direction, only to find him smiling down at the kids. He returned his gaze to me and sighed, before looking back at her with a wry grin.
"Sure, princess. Maybe Grayson and his daddy can come over for a cook-out and you guys can play in the pool."
I let out a relieved breath and smiled as Liam agreed that they would love to get together with us sometime.
Miss Rosa called for all of the kids to gather around the story-circle. Grayson gave Liam a quick wave and scurried off to join his friends. Gracie hugged Nico's leg for all of a nanosecond and ran off as he was bending down to hug her back. He stopped mid-bend and then slowly straightened, looking so forlorn that I had to smother a laugh.
"Well, I guess I see where I rate," he said, an adorable pout on his face. Liam snickered, and I laughed outright.
"You got more than I did," I pointed out. "I think she forgot I was here."
Liam chuckled. "Welcome to the joys of parenthood, Nico. Just when you think you're the center of their world, they'll forget all about you and crush your soul."
We took our cue to make our way to the front exit, Nico still pouting and grumbling under his breath a little. Liam was stopped by one of the other parents for a second, so I gave him a quick wave and hustled Nico back out to my car.
"So, that was Liam." Nico pronounced as soon as I put the car in gear.
"Yep, that was Liam," I said, shooting Nico a quick glance to judge his mood. He sighed and shifted in his seat.
"He seems like an OK guy, I guess. I really wanted to hate him, you know. I did hate him after he sent you those fucking roses. Wanted to kick his ass, actually."
I felt my heart clench, hating the fact that I had hurt Nico by dating Liam or anyone else. "I'm sorry," I said quietly, then turned my attention to the traffic in front of us.
Nico sighed again, then reached over and gently squeezed my thigh before sliding his hand up a little. "It's OK now, Sunshine. Everything's OK as long as I have you with me."
I drove us back home with his hand resting on my upper thigh, fingertips just grazing my inner thigh in the most tantalizing way. I prayed for a pothole or bump in the road to shift his fingers just a bit further north, but no such luck.
We pulled through the gate to find Matt's car there already. Of all the damned times for him to be early. Damn, I was hoping for a few minutes alone with my sexy man. It was going to be a long day.
By the time we parked in the garage and walked into the house, Tony and Josh were strolling in through the front door. All three of them showed up early? That was pretty much unheard of. The universe was obviously being a huge clit-blocker today, because Nico and I didn't have a second alone together.
The guys rehearsed hard for a few hours, then took a break to eat the lunch that I'd made for them. I had left them alone in the studio, knowing that they were up against the clock to make the final tweaks they wanted to the song so that it could be re-recorded in the morning. I hadn't wanted to interrupt or interfere with that process. From the way they talked as they ate, it sounded as if they had made substantial progress.
"I really think the arrangement on that last bit - with you two coming in hard just a beat before I start to sing the bridge - that really works," Nico said to Tony and Josh. They just nodded, mouths full, as Nico reached for another sandwich.
Matt spoke up to add, "I really want to try slowing down the first line of that second verse again. Let your voice do that growly, raspy thing. Maybe let it break a little. You know, really draw out the emotion."
Nico just smirked at him. "Sure, man. How 'bout I just rip open my chest and throw my broken heart right there on the floor?"
Josh snorted. "That would do it."
"Oh, please, asshole. Your heart's not broken anymore. You're so happy you're practically shooting hearts and rainbows out of your ass," Matt said, tossing a chip at Nico.
Nico made a valiant attempt to catch the chip in his mouth midair, almost falling off his chair in the process. Once everyone stopped laughing, they finished the last bits of their lunch and made their way back downstairs to the studio. I quickly cleaned up the lunch mess before going into my home office to respond to some emails regarding another band that Michael represented.
Nico texted me after forty minutes or so had passed, letting me know they were finished tweaking the song and they wanted me to listen to it. I made my way down to the studio, to find Nico sipping a bottle of water in the outer room while the guys messed around with their instruments.
After greeting me with a quick kiss - not nearly enough to satisfy my need for him - Nico joined the others back in the studio, pulling me along behind him. He directed me to have a seat on the sofa, then took his place at the microphone.
I spent the next few minutes watching him sing about the heartache of being without the woman he loved.
"My arms are empty, 'cause you're not here. My body's aching without you near. Sleeping without you is killing me. Beside you is where I want to be. I can't stand one more minute alone. Baby, I'm begging you, please come home."
I'd heard the song before, of course. I'd heard all of their songs, even the ones that didn't make the final cut for the album. At the time I'd first heard it though, I had just thought it wasa regular song about heartbreak - a pretty common theme for songwriters.
However, Nico had confessed to me - during one of our lazy, late-night talks as we snuggled in bed - that I was the reason for the song. He had written it about me a few months ago, when he was feeling particularly frustrated about his spot in the friend-zone. He'd also confessed that he had chosen this house because I had liked it when I helped him house-hunt after his initial encounter with Stripper Barbie. He told me that he had imagined Gracie and me living there with him, and that's why he chose this one. It had seemed like the perfect home...for all of us. I was shocked, then saddened all over again at the thought that we had wasted so much time.
I was in tears by the time he finished the final note. The changes they had made had ramped up the intensity of the song, and I could almost feel Nico's pain bleeding through his words. He immediately walked over and scooped me up into a big hug, and I wrapped my arms around him and held on tight. He ran his arms up and down my back, soothing me with his touch, before pulling back a little to be able to peer down into my face.
