Chapter 22

My feet dropped onto the asphalt and I glanced at the crowd of teeming people as I walked to the other side to help Olivia out of the truck. I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face at seeing the horde of people trying to get in.

My big brother had hit the big time.

My lady had said “I love you.”

Finally.

And my best friends were hanging out at the concert with us today.

The only thing that would be better is if Olivia had a positive pregnancy test.

This morning’s test had been a negative…while also being one of the weirder experiences of my life.

I was in multiple pregnancy Facebook groups under an alias so I could research all this pregnancy stuff. I couldn’t remember any information about ovulation cycles being taught in school—or maybe I’d blanked it out because it had been ingrained in me since almost the first time I’d picked up a stick…don’t get a girl pregnant.

That was probably more likely than a hole in my education.

Regardless…I was having to play catch-up. Read weird science articles that talked about eggs releasing, and fallopian tubes, and twenty-eight day cycles.

It was a lot.

I loved how helpful all the moms were. They were just willing to give out all this free information to whoever asked.

I didn’t know how women kept track of it all. I was marking dates on my phone calendar and watching her body carefully for any signs…swollen boobs, wild emotions, dry vs. wet pussy…timing of her period. I had code words in my phone for when I thought she was supposed to ovulate…and when you could start testing with early detection pregnancy tests.

And that had been this morning…

“Olivia!” I burst into the bathroom, right as she’d finished peeing. She stared at me in shock. “Hurry, you have to see this…this news story!”

I was making this up as I went…but I had to get access to that toilet. As inappropriate and ridiculous as it was.

But if I was willing to poke holes in a condom to use on a girl I’d just met…this seemed like the obvious next step if I was being honest.

“Walker, I thought we talked about boundaries in the bathroom,” she giggled as she pulled up her pants.

I lunged forward and tugged on her…before she had a chance to flush and realized there was a baggie spread out in the bowl.

I’d read that you couldn’t test diluted pee in water accurately, so a baggie to catch her pee was all I’d come up with.

And yes, I realized how fucking weird this was.

It would have been weirder though if I’d figured out a way to catch it fresh out of her…

Lord help me.

“Go on…I’m right behind you,” I urged.

“I’m just going to wash my hands first,” she said, turning on the water. I gave her like two seconds before I hurried her out the door and I stabbed the pregnancy test in the baggie, setting the timer on the phone.

“I don’t see anything?” her voice called.

“Keep watching!” I yelled, hoping I didn’t sound as crazy as I felt.

Had that been seven seconds yet? Some of the chat groups recommended longer than that.

“Walker?”

“Coming!”

I pulled the pregnancy test out and stabbed on the lid before stuffing it under my sink to check in three to five minutes.

Scrambling to dump the baggie, I flushed the toilet and then washed my hands before heading down the hallway to the living room where Olivia was standing in front of the TV.

“There was a news story about the resurgence of killer bees, and an injury report on the Dallas Cowboys…thrilling entertainment no doubt…but why exactly did you want me to see it?”

“Hmm, they said they were about to give updates on the team. I thought you’d be interested,” I lied through my teeth. Although, really, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. We were about to have our first game.

She frowned. “Oh, I should keep watching. Maybe it’s still coming,” she said, because she was such a fucking supportive sweetheart. I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against me.

“Nah, I must have heard wrong. Don’t worry about it, angel face.”

She melted into my arms as I kissed her. “Go get ready,” I said, slapping her on her perfect ass.

“I think I’m going to heat up those breakfast burritos that Mrs. Bentley gave you. I’m obsessed. Do you want one?”

Cravings were a sign of pregnancy, right?

Although anyone would crave Mrs. Bentley’s burritos. They were the best thing in the world.

Well, second best thing. Obviously Olivia’s pussy took the top spot.

“Yes, please,” I purred, giving her another kiss before I slipped away to the bathroom to check the test.

Closing the door behind me, I stalked to the cabinet and pulled out the stick.

One blue line. One blue line…what did that mean again?

I pulled out the instructions and frowned.

Negative.

Well…I had no problem with continuing to try. It happened to be my favorite thing to do actually.

Olivia Jones was going to have my baby.

My brother had made it. He was living his dream.

That’s all I could think as we pulled into the AT&T parking lot and I saw the mass of people all here to see him…and the Sounds of Us of course.

But I was pretending all these people were just here to see my brother.

Adrenaline beat beneath my skin, the same jittery feeling I got before a big game. I’d seen him start in bars, summer festivals, and now he was here…

Fuck yes.

The air around us buzzed with anticipation as I helped Olivia out of the truck, my dick stirring with how hot she looked…even with the oversized glasses and hat she was using to try and stay incognito. She was wearing a tight leather miniskirt that showed off her mile long legs, and a crop top that literally had me drooling.

I wasn’t sure that the hat and sunglasses were going to do the job when you couldn’t help but stare at her because she was so fucking hot.

I adjusted my dick with my free hand and she had the nerve to smirk at my pain. She had stared at me for an extra long time when I’d come out with a backwards ball cap earlier though, and I’d probably given her a similar smirk. So I guess we were even.

We headed towards the VIP entrance where I could see Lincoln, Monroe, Ari, Blake…and Camden all gathered. ‘Hero’ was starting to grow on me…as long as he kept arms length from Olivia, of course.

“Are you okay?” I asked, checking in with her. She hated crowds, and I’d offered to miss the concert and stay home, but she’d wanted us to be there for Cole. She seemed to like the idea of supporting my family members. Probably because she’d never had anything like that. Parker and Cole had started on insisting she was on our FaceTime calls because the bastards liked to talk to her more than they liked to talk to me.

But it also made me really, really happy. As hard as it was for me to share, Olivia needed more people in her life who saw her magic.

“I’m good,” she promised, laying her head on my arm as we walked.

Fuck…I was the luckiest.

As soon as I had that thought, my phone buzzed and I pulled it out, frowning and deleting the text right away. It was from Jolette—the cunt. She was “congratulating” me for the recent pictures that had been posted of Olivia skating with me on center ice at the Dallas Knight’s family night.

My PI had been busy collecting everything I could on the two of them, like the doctors they’d paid off to write reports about Olivia’s condition. Jeff thought he was close to finding proof of some big skeletons of Marco’s as well.

I just hoped he could hurry the fuck up.

Olivia squeezed my hand, seeming nervous all of a sudden as we got to the group.

They all loved her already. Hence why we were now getting Tupperware containers filled with Mrs. Bentley’s burritos. Olivia still got nervous every time we hung out though, her brain programmed to believe she couldn’t have real friends.

“Olivia,” Ari crowed, striding forward with his arms outstretched. It took me a second to realize what he was doing, and I immediately pulled Olivia behind my body.

“What are you doing?” I asked, horrified. Wasn’t it a rule in the Circle of Trust, “Do Not Touch The Girl?”

Ari snorted, his arms still outstretched. “What’s going on, Walker? I’m just trying to hug one of my new best friends.”

“Lancaster, I’d rather you not die and make me be out on the ice for every second of the first game,” Camden tossed out, watching the interaction like it was funny.

This was not funny.

Lincoln was also grinning though. “My, how the turntables have turned,” he drawled.

Ari got sidetracked with that comment. “Turntables have turned? That was what you came up with?”

“It’s in ‘The Office’, it’s hilarious.”

Ari stared at Lincoln, disgusted. “Zero points for originality, Golden Boy. Go back to the drawing board.”

Blake giggled and Ari grinned as he turned his full attention to his wife. Sometimes I was pretty sure he acted so ridiculous just to make sure she was paying attention to him.

A real “Circle of Trust” move if I’d ever heard of one.

“You look so pretty,” Monroe murmured to Olivia, coming over to give her a hug, side eyeing me the whole time like I was going to stab her with a fork or something.

I allowed the comment because Olivia loved Blake and Monroe..but I was still twitchy. Judging by the way Lincoln scooped Monroe back into his arms the second she’d released Olivia…he was twitchy too.

“Can we go in now that all of you have successfully proven you’re all psychos?” Camden casually asked.

“Listen, Hero, just you wait…one day you’ll wake up and you’ll be crazy. Just. Like. Us,” commented Ari, slinging his arm around Blake and heading towards where an employee was manning the VIP entrance.

Olivia snorted at Camden’s look of alarm.

We flashed our badges to gain access, and I grinned again the second we were through—there were so many fucking people here. I didn’t know how Cole didn’t shit his pants.

Inside the stadium the corridors were alive with the hustle and bustle of crew members preparing for the night’s event. The sound of footsteps echoed off the walls, mingling with the distant hum of conversation and the faint strains of music drifting from the first opening act.

We reached the backstage area, and I snorted when I saw Cole surrounded by women. One was draped across his lap, feeding him…were those Cheetos?

I was definitely telling Parker about this.

“Walkie-poo!” Cole called when he saw me, holding up his arms before he unceremoniously dumped the girl in his lap onto the couch and stood up.

He was dressed to impress today, a cowboy hat, leather vest and tight jeans. Oh, and a feather. He had his usual enormous feather in his hat.

Might I add that my brother was not a country singer…so he kept the world guessing with his…unusual fashion choices.

“I feel like the nickname of ‘Disney’ shouldn’t offend you so much, Walkie-Poo,” Lincoln commented.

I didn’t bother flipping him off.

Because it was true.

Cole walked right past me and then…he was scooping up Olivia. “How’s my favorite girl?” he practically cooed.

“Okay, okay. Set her down,” I growled.

And maybe Cole was actually Ari’s long lost brother and not my own…because he fucking winked.

“Wow, Walker, I’ve never noticed that vein in your forehead before,” Camden commented.

The rest of them chuckled and I sighed, still trying to tug Olivia from my playboy brother’s clutches.

Cole finally set her down, pulling me in for a hug. Our family had always been affectionate with each other. My dad had set the tone for that. Sometimes hugging my brothers felt like I was hugging him.

‘I’m glad you’re here,” he murmured, and another surge of pride welled up inside me.

‘I’m so fucking proud of you,’ I replied, clapping him on the back.

Both of our eyes were suspiciously shiny when we parted, but because these guys were the best, no one commented.

“Oh. My. Gosh,” squealed Monroe a second later. We all stared at her and watched as she transformed into a fan girl. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh,” she whispered, her hands coming up to cover her mouth as she did this weird little jig thing.

“Monroe?” Lincoln asked, only for Blake to start doing the same thing!

It was like watching a contagious disease spread across our women.

Except instead of a disease, they were one of the world’s biggest music groups.

The Sounds of Us.

I glanced down at Olivia, and at least she seemed relatively calm. Which was good because having Lincoln, Ari, and me going psycho right now was probably not ideal for my brother’s show.

Lincoln snapped his finger a few times near Monroe’s face. “Hey, remember me, your gorgeous hockey player husband who has your name tattooed on my⁠—”

“I can’t believe I’m in the same room with them,” Monroe whispered as she stared at Jesse Carroway, Tanner Crosby, and Jensen Reid as they walked into the room. The girls that had just been all over my brother literally screamed. One of them burst into tears and started babbling.

“Alright, we’re leaving,” Lincoln growled, scooping Monroe up into his arms and taking a step backwards like he really was going to leave.

“Lincoln ‘mother-fucking’ Daniels, you put me down right now,” Monroe said in the most fierce voice I’d ever heard her use.

Lincoln scoffed, but he stopped walking. Instead, he covered her eyes with his hand so she couldn’t see the band anymore.

Olivia started laughing into the side of my shirt, her whole body shaking as she watched Blake and Monroe freak out about the band, and Lincoln and Ari freak out about their reactions to other men.

“Oh hey, that looks heavy. Need some help?” I heard Camden say as a pretty brunette walked in with a large roller bag. He’d no sooner taken a step towards her when Jensen Reid popped out of nowhere, an arm going around the woman’s waist as he grabbed the suitcase from her.

“You were supposed to wait for me to help you,” Jensen purred into her ear. All of a sudden, Jesse came over and pressed a kiss into her neck.

“That’s Ariana Kent…she’s with the band. The whole band,” Olivia whispered to me, and I shook my head. I mean, good for them…but the idea of sharing Olivia made me feel bloodthirsty.

I would die before I ever let another man have her.

“Hey guys. You’ve met my brother, Walker. But that’s his girl, Olivia, and these are his friends,” Cole said, gesturing to the rest of the group.

“That’s Lincoln Daniels,” I said helpfully, pointing to the golden god.

Ari rolled his eyes. “Disney, you little simp.”

“Can I have your autograph,” Monroe all of a sudden squealed, her face resembling a lovely beet.

Jesse gave her wide grin that had Blake and Monroe looking like they were going to pass out. “Yeah, of course. What do you want me to sign?”

“Your shirt,” it sounded like Monroe whispered, before she shook her head. “Uh, I mean—a shirt. I’ll go get a shirt, and you can sign it!”

Lincoln whispered something into her ear then and she somehow got even redder.

“Holy shit. You’re—you’re Olivia Darling,” Tanner suddenly whisper-yelled.

“I just introduced her,” Cole said with a laugh. “Also, why isn’t anyone reacting like this to me? I feel left out.”

“You didn’t say “Olivia Darling!” Tanner said, his voice kind of high and squeaky. His girlfriend, Ariana, started giggling as she watched one of her boyfriends completely fall apart over my girlfriend.

I’m sure they were all very devoted to each other…but I still wrapped an arm around Olivia’s waist and pulled her into my body…you know, just in case.

“Hi,” Olivia said shyly, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she removed her sunglasses.

“How are you guys?”

“How are we?” Jesse scoffed. “How the fuck are you?”

There was a small beat of silence. “It’s complicated,” she finally said awkwardly.

“Here, can you sign my guitar?” Jensen asked, presenting it to Olivia eagerly, completely starstruck.

“Yeah, of course,” she murmured, her voice sounding almost…touched.

She signed her name with a flourish and I decided right then and there to have her signature tattooed on me.

I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it yet.

I was even obsessed with her handwriting.

A harried looking employee dressed in a black polo ran over. “Mr. Davis, you’re up,” he said to Cole.

Cole did a weird little spin move that for some reason had his female admirers swooning. I just thought he looked like an idiot. “I’ll see you guys in a bit,” he said with a head nod before stalking off towards the stage.

Jesse, Jensen, and Tanner needed to do some more prep before their set so we parted ways as the rest of us walked to watch Cole.

“I’m really hungry,” I muttered as we looked out at the frenzied crowd waiting for my brother to come on. “Are you hungry?” I asked Ari.

“I’m a little too traumatized to have a hotdog, Walker,” he griped.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“He’s jealous his wife has the hots for a world famous rock band,” Camden offered, snacking on a tub of popcorn he’d literally pulled from thin air.

I frowned because I wanted some of that.

Ari scoffed, but he didn’t deny it as he wrapped himself around Blake like a fucking boa constructor. Probably to make sure a hot rockstar didn’t abscond with her while his back was turned.

“I watched a clip of you performing here,” I told Olivia, who’d gone silent as she stared out at the crowd, deep in thought.

She grinned, as usual looking bemused that I was such a fucking fan-boy.

“I always thought of it as my home-town crowd, ya know? So it always felt a little special,” she murmured.

The crowd suddenly went wild as a guitar melody began and I glanced at the stage. A second later, my brother walked out from the side entrance across from us.

Cole’s voice soared through the stadium, rich and powerful, filling the air with its soulful resonance. His voice had always captivated me, just like it did for everyone else.

It wasn’t just Cole’s vocals that had the crowd in a frenzy—it was his stage presence, his charisma, his undeniable star quality. He moved across the stage with effortless grace, his dance moves fluid and confident, commanding the attention of everyone in the audience.

It gave me chills to watch him. We’d dreamed of these things as kids, me playing pro sports…him singing for crowds. Everything seems possible when you’re young, but it was still crazy to see us now.

The crowd roared with applause as Cole launched into the chorus of one of his hit songs, his voice ringing out clear and strong. I nodded along to the rhythm—it was one of my favorites. I especially loved it when Olivia rubbed her ass on my dick to it.

As the final notes of the song faded away and the crowd erupted into applause, I beamed at Cole. For a second, we locked eyes, a silent acknowledgment of the fact that we’d fucking made it.

The moment passed and he started the next song, and I once again pretended I wasn’t emotional.

Olivia

Cole had been amazing, but somehow the crowd had taken it up a notch as The Sounds of Us took the stage. I stood on the sidelines with the rest of the group, Walker’s arms around me as I watched Jesse, Tanner, and Jensen command the attention of tens of thousands of adoring fans.

“Walker, I owe you my first born child,” Monroe said as she watched the band perform with huge eyes, her hands over her heart as she mouthed the words to every song.

“That’s not happening,” Lincoln snarled as he pressed a kiss against the side of her head.

I snorted and Walker’s arms tightened around me.

The song ended, and Jesse, the lead singer for the band, stepped close to the mic.

‘You guys are never going to believe who came to watch us fucking play tonight,” he announced, his voice carrying over the roar of the crowd. I stared out into the rows of fans like I could find the star he was talking about.

“Should we get her to come out here?’ Jesse asked, grinning as the mass of people continued to scream. He glanced over to where I was standing and gave me a smirk.

“Olivia, why don’t you join us?” he called out to me as my heart started beating in my ears and adrenaline began to pulse.

Walker froze as Jesse waved me forward like he’d been possessed.

“You don’t have to go out there,” Walker said fiercely, looking like he was ready to jump Jesse Carroway if I didn’t want to do this.

I pressed a kiss to his lips and took a deep breath before pasting on my stage smile and walking out.

The cheers of what felt like all eighty thousand people swept over me with an overwhelming force, like a powerful surge of energy as I met Jesse at the microphone. Another polo wearing employee ran out and handed me a guitar.

“Hello!” I called out, pretending I wasn’t terrified at the moment to have thousands of pairs of eyes staring back at me. ‘I’m Olivia. It’s so great to be here tonight.’

As I spoke, I couldn’t help but steal a glance at Walker, who was watching me with a mixture of pride and concern. I offered him a reassuring smile before turning back to the crowd, my fingers trembling as I strummed a random chord.

“Imagine our surprise when the queen herself showed up tonight. Lucky us, right?” Jesse crowed as everyone continued to scream. I waved at the fans again, my smile turning…genuine as I listened to their adoration.

“Let’s see if you guys know this one,” I said in the mic as I strummed the first notes of one of my biggest songs. Their screams about knocked me over.

“I think they do,” Tanner said with a laugh.

“Sing along then, Dallas!” I yelled. “This one’s for Walker.”

I winked at him and I swear he swooned.

Lost in the world, caught in the fray,

Searching for something to light my way.

But in the chaos, I found my truth,

I’m only free when I’m with you.

Usually with this big of a crowd, I wouldn’t be able to lose myself. I’d be stressed and anxious, especially without any pills.

But something seemed to have changed since I’d met Walker. The songs that I used to sing about—the ones that came from me imagining my dream man, or my dream life…they weren’t dreams anymore.

The lyrics poured out of me effortlessly, each word imbued with emotion as I poured my heart and soul into the song, the Sounds of Us following along smoothly like they’d been secretly practicing just in case I ever showed up to one of their shows.

The final notes faded away, and the stadium erupted into cheers and screams, the sound echoing all around me and filling me with a sense of…elation. I basked in the glow of the moment, my heart soaring as I drank in the adulation of the crowd.

Waving one last time, I gave Jesse a hug and walked offstage.

Walker scooped me into his arms the second I got within reach. “You are fucking incredible,” he told me, kissing me until I wanted to climb him like a tree.

“Way to go, sis,” Cole said, giving me a wink at my shocked expression. I side-eyed Walker to see what he thought of that, but he looked freaking ecstatic.

Blake and Monroe rushed me at once, but evidently Ari and Lincoln were a little touchy about their fan girl moment because they were only allowed to hug me for a second before they were pulled back to them.

Camden reached out an arm like he was going to hug me, but Walker pulled me back. “Disney, what’s up?” Camden smirked.

“You need to stay far away from Olivia’s ovaries,” he responded matter of factly, making me blush and everyone else cackle like hyenas.

“I’ll put that in the ‘circle of trust’ rulebook I’m compiling,” Camden responded. “Stay away from Olivia’s ovaries.”

Ari scoffed. “You are not in the ‘circle of trust.”

“I will be,” Camden said with a grin.

We watched The Sounds of Us continue to rock the stage, and the hope that I’d been trying my best to keep away…

It fucking grew.

“Olivia!”

“Olivia! Over here!”

“Is that Blake Lancaster?”

“Holy shit,” Ari commented as he put a hand in front of Blake’s eyes to block the lights.

We’d just stepped out of the stadium and there were flashing cameras and reporters everywhere.

Walker immediately went into protector mode, his body trying to block the reporters. I glanced around though, feeling oddly numb to the onslaught.

‘Olivia, can you tell us about your performance tonight?’

‘Walker, how does it feel to be dating a superstar?’

The questions were almost nice, and for once, I found myself smiling…or at least not grimacing. Maybe it was the adrenaline from performing on stage, or perhaps it was Walker, but whatever the reason, I felt strangely…at ease.

Walker hustled us to the truck, everyone splitting up to escape the cameras. He climbed into the cab and was quieter than usual, his brow furrowed with concern as he navigated the truck through the horde.

“I’m okay,” I promised, reaching out to him and squeezing his hand reassuringly. “They were way nicer than usual.”

He nodded, but his expression remained guarded, and he still didn’t say anything.

“Are you okay?” I pressed quietly, starting to feel nervous—worst case scenarios blooming in my brain…like what if everything became too much for him…

“I’m fine, angel face. I just hate those guys, and I hate that they stalk you.” There was a pause and then he laughed, almost to himself as we finally got out of the parking lot. “I’m the only one who’s allowed to stalk you.”

I laughed too, and he finally seemed to relax.

“I really mean it. You’re amazing. Incredible. The most talented person I’ve ever met,” he said softly, his hand grabbing mine.

I blushed and laid my head back in the seat.

“I love you,” he said tentatively, like he thought the other night was a fluke and I was going to reject him.

“I love you,” I immediately answered back, the smile he gave me better than anything I’d ever seen.