Page 100 of Rising Star

“Now hurry. You’ll miss Austin laughing.”

She tugged at my hand, and I followed her into the kitchen.

My pregnant fiancée sat there, looking at our one-year-old son with stars in her eyes. The same stars that appeared every time they landed on the girls or me.

I leaned in to kiss her lips. And like always, my heart shot fireworks in my chest. And contentment traveled in my bloodstream. These people were my entire universe.

“Oh, you taste good. I could eat you up right now. You know how hungry I am all the time. These damn pregnancy hormones,” she said with a wink.

“Let’s drop the kids at Riley’s later. He still owes us hundreds of hours of babysitting. I might let you sample me afterward. To satisfy your appetite. Because I’m selfless like this. And maybe because I love you a little.”

Madison snickered behind her hand.

“I love selfless Sam Stevens. He’s my favorite.”

Austin laughed, bubbles coming out of his mouth. Just as Mikaella described. He looked adorable in his highchair, clapping his hands before him, enjoying being the center of all our devoted attention.

“I think we’ve got another performer in the family,” Madison said with a dramatic sigh.

“Babe, you look tired. You should rest. I’ll take care of the kids.” I dropped my voice to a whisper. “I want you refreshed and relaxed if we wanna play later.” I wound one arm around her and helped her up. “I love you.”

She buried her head in my chest, the smell of her vanilla shampoo filling my nose.

“If you drive the kids to our friends’, don’t go before I get a chance to kiss them goodbye, okay?”

“Never. Now go, take a nap. This baby girl in there is sucking all the energy out of you.”

My eyes were trained on her backside as Madison climbed the stairs to our bedroom, my heart pumping heat waves through my veins, every molecule of me at ease. And at peace.

“Okay, girls,” I said to our daughters once I heard the bedroom door close. “Time to bake that cake.”

* * *

I brushed my lips over Madison’s. Hers still tasted like the blueberries she’d had in the morning. “Hey babe, time to wake up.”

She grumbled something. My knuckles grazed the side of her face, relishing the trail of goosebumps they left in their wake.

Her arms fastened around my middle.

“What time is it?” she asked, her voice groggy from sleep.

“Almost five.”

Her eyes sprang open, and she propped herself on her elbows. “Sam, you didn’t wake me up. I asked you—”

My mouth claimed her, and she melted under my lips, parting hers to let me in. Even after all these years spent together, we were still insatiable for each other. Our honeymoon period just never ended. Our tongues danced together. I forgot how to breathe. Or to form words. The world started and stopped with us.

Her arms locked around me, and she deepened the kiss. I was a gone man.

This woman could ask anything from me, and I’d say “Yes” without ever thinking. Never in my life did I trust someone as much as I trusted her.

Madison Prescott owned my heart and my balls, my present and my future.

“Are the children still here?” she asked once we broke apart.

“Yes. Downstairs. They wanna see you actually.”

“They do? Wait. Aren’t they supposed to be at Riley’s?”