Double Time

“He’s on the bus torturing Eric with baby pictures,” Trey said.

Sed smiled. “I can’t wait to hold the little guy.”

“Jess said she wanted one,” Trey said and winked.

Sed’s blue eyes widened. “Jess wants a baby?” he asked breathlessly.

“She’s totally in love with Malcolm. Her biological clock is ticking at warp speed.”

“You’re f**king with me,” Sed said and scowled.

“She seemed to genuinely want a baby to me,” Reagan said.

Sed spared her a second glance. “We’re getting ready to leave. You need to get lost now.”

Her face fell.

“Fuckin’ Sed,” Trey grumbled. “She’s with me.”

“That’s obvious,” Sed said.

“And she’s staying with me,” Trey added.

“I’m Jace,” Jace said to Reagan and smiled warmly.

“Oh God. Cute!” Reagan exclaimed and released Trey to grab Jace in a face-to-bosom, double-armed embrace.

Jace’s various chains rattled as he tried to extricate himself from Reagan’s bear hug. She finally released him, took a second look at him, and hugged him again.

“Jace doesn’t like to be touched,” Trey tried to explain as he tugged on Reagan’s arm. “But I like it.”

“Oh, sorry,” Reagan said as she released Jace for good this time. “I didn’t mean to attack you like that. I’ve never seen you smile before.”

Jace blushed again and stared at his boots.

“So she’s staying on the bus?” Sed asked, sounding none-too-happy about the fact.

“Yeah, for the next two weeks,” Trey said.

“I’m Reagan. Exodus End just hired me to be their rhythm guitarist.”

Sed and Jace both stared at her as if she had sprouted wings and took flight to Crazyland.

“No shit?” Sed shoved his grocery sacks in Trey’s direction. “You can tell me all about it later. I need to call Jess.”

Trey managed to grab the sacks before Sed released them. Sed dug his phone out of his pocket as he stomped up the bus steps.

“He’s kind of a jerk,” Reagan said.

“Kind of?” Trey said.

“He’s different once you get to know him,” Jace said. “He’s like that with strangers. Doesn’t know who to trust.”

“True,” Trey agreed. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen him act like that. He must’ve thought you were a groupie.”

“That excuses him being a jerk?” Reagan asked, her eyebrows raised high above her grayish-blue eyes.

“You’ll have some groupies of your own soon. Then you’ll understand why it’s easier to be an ass**le when they’re around.”

“So you’re an ass**le to your groupies too?” Reagan asked.

Trey started backpedaling. “Well, no, I—”

“Trey just uses them for sex,” Jace said and headed up the stairs after Sed.

Trey was going to invest in four sturdy ball gags. One for each of the members of his big-mouthed band.

Reagan managed to stifle a laugh as she watched Trey try to come up with something to say after Jace dropped that bomb. She didn’t care that Trey had a long list of sexual conquests. One didn’t get as good in bed as he was without a lot a practice. It wasn’t as if she was clueless about what went on backstage. She had a few acquaintances in the business. No one as famous as Trey—well, until yesterday—but even small-time bands had plenty of women to keep them entertained.

“If you’re going to get upset every time one of your band members reveals one of your dirty little secrets, you’re going to go nuts.”

Trey raked a hand through his long bangs and held them out of his eye. “I’m not upset.”

“You don’t think I know these things already?”

His face fell. “What things?”

“That you’ve slept with a lot of women.”

He released his hair and it dropped to conceal one eye again. His typical devil-may-care expression replaced the worried one of just a moment before. “You’re not the jealous type?”

“If I was, I wouldn’t last as your girlfriend for three seconds. I see the way women look at you.”

“You do?”

“I can’t blame them.”

He grinned that sexy smile and even though it made her heart race, she couldn’t resist teasing him. “I want to take a pair of scissors to those bangs as much as they do.”

His sexy smile faded and he looked up at his bangs. “You don’t like my haircut?”

She bit her lip and shook her head. “It’s much too sexy. It makes me want to grab you and do naughty things with you.”

He laughed. “One of these days I’m going to get used to you f**king with me and quit falling for your taunts.”

She produced an exaggerated pout. “And ruin all my fun?”

The bus engine started and Trey took her hand. “Time to sequester ourselves in a small space with six or seven other people who like to f**k with me.”

“This should be fun.”

Reagan paused at the top of the stairs. There was a lean man with a foot-tall, blond mohawk behind the wheel. How many people were crammed onto this bus?

“Hey,” the guy said, rubbing one eye and blinking rapidly as if he’d just been pulled from a deep sleep. “Are we finally ready to roll?”

“Let’s move,” Dave said. He’d given up his wheelchair, which was folded and tucked behind the drivers’ seat. He had a pair of metal crutches resting against the side of the sofa beside him.

Reagan offered a hand to the driver. “I’m Reagan.”

“Jake.”

“You’ll want to get to know him. He’s our guitar technician,” Trey said.

Jake squeezed her hand before honking the bus’s horn. “And occasional driver.”

“Nice to meet you. I’ll harass you later.”

“Booyah!” Jake said.

Reagan walked down the bus aisle and looked for an empty seat. Sed was sitting in one of the two captain’s chairs talking into his cell phone and flipping through the pictures on Brian’s phone with a huge smile on his face. “I’ll be home in two weeks. Get off the pill now.” He paused. “I’m sure.” Another pause. “I’ll still marry you even if you’re as fat as a hippo. I’ll just put you on a diet after the baby is born.” His face fell and Reagan couldn’t make out Jess’s words, but she was definitely yelling. “What?” he said. “What did I say?”