I shuffled out of bed quietly and opened one of my drawers. I pulled out his T-shirt, one I kept when I left, and pulled it over my head. I didn’t know how he missed it when he put all my clothes in the drawers. Maybe he didn’t miss it—maybe he noticed it and decided to just ignore it.Tying my hair up, I walked downstairs and into the kitchen. The kettle was empty, so I filled it and set it to boil, then threw four slices of bread into the toaster. My laptop was on the counter and I opened it, bringing up Spotify. I set the radio playing and hummed along to the song—Dirty J.’s latest. My lips curved.Damn. They were everywhere.I twirled across the kitchen, still humming, and grabbed the butter and milk from the fridge. I buttered the toast when it popped and stir two coffees.“I wondered what was dying down here.” Conor’s hands settled on either side of my body on the counter, and he dipped his face into the side of my neck.“Ha, ha.” I knocked his elbow with mine. “Good morning to

I reached out and took her hands in mine, even though we’re walking through the door.I had to find a way to get rid of them. A way that meant they won’t be the first to get Milka’s photo. A way that meant we can take Milka out and do anything we want to with her, that meant we wouldn’t have to sneak her through the damn woods to get between our houses.Milka looked up as soon as we walked in the room. “Mama! Dadda!” She scampered up and ran to us, arms wide.I scooped her up, holding her to my chest, smiling. “Hey, little girl.”“My lub Dadda.” She squeezed my neck as tightly as only a two-year-old can.“I love you, too, baby.”“My lub Mama.” She reached for Chloe.She placed her hand on Milka’s back and kissed her cheek. “Mama lub you, too,” she whispered.I turned my face and kissed Chloe’s temple, letting my lips linger there.Mom walked in and smiled. “Done?” she asked Chloe.Chloe turned and nodded.“Great! Now, Conor.” She faced me. “Aiden’s in the garage whining like a little

I frowned at him. “I don’t get it.”“Facebook.” He sat down next to me triumphantly. “You post a picture of her and Conor on the Dirty J. fan page. We have like twenty million likers on that thing. It’ll go viral from there, and none of the media will get their famed shot of the ‘Dirty J. secret baby.’ ”I placed my phone down on the table and stared at him, my mouth dropping. “Aiden! That’s brilliant!”He sat back smugly. “It’s been known to happen now and then.”I looked at Conor. “Do you think it’ll work?”He nodded. “We have a lot of messages and posts asking to see her. It’s like they don’t really believe it. We can post it there, then go out straight after.”“They’ll all think they’re getting the pictures, but there’ll already be one online.” Aiden tapped his fist against the table. “Hey, Milka.”“Yeah, Aid?”“You want a picture with Daddy?”“Picker?” she gasped, her eyes lighting up.“Yeah. Picker.” Aiden leaned forward. “You want Mommy in it?”“Mama picker, too.” She gasped ag

“Uhh . . . One touch, baby girl,” he said reluctantly. “Gentle.”Milka ran her fingers down the strings, the low acoustic buzz filling the air. She giggled.“He’s gone soft,” Conor said into my ear, watching as she did it again, and again.“By all accounts, Milka’s turned you boys into a bunch of pussies,” I said back, quietly.“Only where she’s concerned.” He swept an arm around my waist and dropped his lips to mine.My fingers curled in his shirt, and I leaned up into his kiss.“Five minutes, guys,” someone said from across the tent.All four of them acknowledged it with a grunt or mumble of some sort.“What’s it like out there, Chloe?” Bray asked me.“I’ve never seen so many people in Santa Monica in my life,” I answered honestly. “It’s probably a small concert for you guys, but seriously, wow. You can’t park anywhere in town.”“Sounds about right,” Aiden said, prying Milka away from his guitar and giving it to someone to take on stage. “Why don’t we grab you a Popsicle before we s

“You’re crazy,” she whispered.“Only for you.” I kept swaying her hips, and she settled her hands on mine, shaking her head.I slid my hands around to her stomach and her hips still. “Why’d you come back?”“I needed to be the only person who loves you after that.”“They ain’t in love with me. They’re in love with my voice.”“Yeah, that’ll explain the panties that got caught on your mic stand.”“Yeah, that happens sometimes. Aiden puts the ones with numbers on them in his pocket. Obviously he never calls them because he has no idea who he’s calling, but still. They hope.”She shook her head. “It’s a whole other life, ain’t it? What you have away from Santa Monica. I don’t think I realized it fully until today. Some chick near us drove up from freakin’ Texas because she missed all your tour dates there.”“They’re crazy, but in the best kind of way ”“Crazy freaky. Crazy obsessive. Crazy relentless.”“I like your crazy beautiful better,” I reassured her. “Your crazy was made just for me.