I’d moved on from that part of my life and I was fucking happy.
And I was almost certain Benny would be happy I was putting myself out there for someone. So much so that I was going to go for the ultimate prize.
Forever.
“My mom’s place is about an hour outside of the amphitheater. It’s a ranch in the middle of nowhere. There’s plenty of space for the bus, and there’s even a home-cooked meal in it for everyone.”
Noah’s eyebrow rose. “You want to stop in and see your mom?”
“Yeah.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Does she still make that Roadhouse-level steak dinner?”
My lips twitched, but I managed not to smile. “Yeah. That’s on the menu. Easiest way to feed all the testosterone on this bus. Including Jamie.”
Noah snorted. “True statement.” He straightened up and finished off his coffee. “Yeah, I’ll check in with Lila about it, but I don’t see a problem. The out of the way location is good for some downtime without getting into trouble.”
“You hope.”
“I don’t have hope anymore, Dallas.” He grabbed his clipboard, tucked his mug in the slim dishwasher, and headed to the back of the bus where the security bunks were.
I found the one apron in the skinny pantry then got out the fixings for breakfast. I cooked enough bacon for three battalions and a pile of simple scrambled eggs.
As if I’d put it under her nose, Jamie came down the steps. “Is that bacon?” she whispered.
I held out the plate.
She took a piece and folded it into her mouth like the gum she perpetually chewed. “Oh my God. If Teagan didn’t have your dick tied up, I’d kiss you.”
“Thanks? I think.”
She took the whole plate.
“Hey now. I’m sure the rest are coming.”
She shrugged. “Cook more.”
I held out my hand. “Jame.”
She took five pieces and handed it back with a grimace. “You suck.”
“More like the fridge only holds so much.”
She went to the round table and pretzeled herself into a chair. “So, why are you out of the knocking boots nest?”
I side-eyed her. “We don’t spend that much time up there.”
She gave me a shark-toothed smile. “Sure.”
“You’re just jealous.”
“That’s true. I haven’t been tuned up much since lockdown. Master Sergeant is a tight ass about after-hours activities. I tried to sneak into the bunker in the back, but he chased me out of there.” She shrugged. “Their loss.”
I shook my head and brought a plate of eggs over. “You’re lucky Noah didn’t shoot you.”
“Maybe his mood would improve if he shot something.”
“Not touching that one.” I watched her wrap a bit of bacon around her eggs. “Would you like a fork?”
“Yeah, okay.”
I laughed and shoved forks in a cup and set it on the table. One by one, people made an appearance. Lindsey was on a no meat kick, but she caved when she saw scrambled eggs with cheese. Zane and Teagan came down together, talking about a song they’d been working on the night before.
One of the last to arrive was Daisy—on Oz’s shoulders. “Do I smell bacon?”
“On the table.”
“Man, this is awesome. I thought I was going to have to beg Noah to hit a diner. Instead, we got chef Dallas.” Daisy hopped off Oz’s back and gave me a quick peck on the cheek.
Oz grunted and dumped her on his lap at the table.
Teagan came down wearing sleep shorts and another one of my T-shirts. I was quickly running low on them, but damn, it was still worth it. “Hey, babe.”
“Hey yourself. What’s with showing the band your morning after special?”
I curled my arm around her waist. “Sorry. I have very few skills in the kitchen.”
She tucked her chin between my pecs. “I’ll forgive you.” She frowned. “Does this have something to do with why you couldn’t sleep?”
“Noticed that, did you?”
“I notice everything about you.”
“Took a few years, actually.”
She wrinkled her nose at me. “Don’t start.”
I glanced at the table. Everyone was busy talking, so I let my hand wander lower on her ass. “I’ll explain in a second.”
“It’s not bad, is it?”
“No.” I dropped a kiss on her mouth. “Not bad at all.”
“Okay.” She peered around me. “Any bacon left for me?”
“You know I held some for my girl.” Was supposed to be ours, but she took all of it and I couldn’t deny her anything. Even bacon.
She grinned. “That’s right, I’m your girl.” Her freckles seemed extra bright with the little pigtails she’d pulled her hair into. “I like the apron. We’ll have to play shirtless chef again.”
“Count on it.”
“All right, love birds. So, now that the Avengers are all assembled, are you going to tell us what’s got you pulling out the domestic card?”
Lindsey threw a piece of bacon at Jamie. “Can’t you just enjoy a band breakfast?”
She caught it against her chest and popped it in her mouth. “I can enjoy and also question said band breakfast. Especially since we were up until after three writing ‘Offering’.”
I brought over another carafe of coffee, and then sat down with the last of the scrambled eggs. I stole the tabasco sauce from Oz and soaked them liberally before digging in. “I wanted to ask Noah before letting you guys in on it.”
“And Master Sergeant said yes?” Jamie refilled her coffee. “I’m in shock.”
Teagan stood up and grabbed a water, and then came to stand by me. “Gonna spit it out?”
“So impatient.”
She teased her fingers through my hair. “So…”
I stole her last piece of bacon.
“Hey.”
“Too slow.” I chewed then hooked my arm around Teagan’s waist and hauled her closer. “The venue is actually about an hour away from my mom’s place. We’re going to head over there instead of taking up one of Noah’s black zone parking spots.”
Teagan froze against me.
“No way. I totally forgot. I can see Boots!” Jamie jumped up and filched a strip of bacon off Oz’s plate then came around to hug me and Teagan.
“That girl deserves a boot off this
