Page 35 of Consummation (The Josh & Kat Trilogy #3)

“Oh, your voice is gorgeous, honey,” Mom coos. “Smooth as silk.” She pauses, listening. “Oh, and that guitar—I love it.” She pauses again. “Oh my gosh, those lyrics—so clever. Beautiful. Oh, Daxy.”

“Ssh, honey,” Dad says gently, stroking Mom’s arm. “ Listen .”

I glance at Josh again to find him still mesmerized by my parents. Damn, I wish I could read his thoughts.

The song ends and everyone enthusiastically praises it.

“How do you record a full song like that with all those instruments?” Colby asks, scratching his beloved dog’s head. “Did everyone in the band stand in a room and play the song together?”

“No, recording a song’s not like playing it live,” Dax says, and then he goes on to explain in detail how songs are recorded in a studio, each instrument and vocal methodically recorded one at a time onto separate tracks, and then layered, one on top of the other.

“It’s like putting together a giant Jenga tower,” Dax explains.

“That’s so cool,” Colby says. “Well, however you did it, the song turned out great.”

I shoot Mom a relieved look about Colby and she returns it. Colby’s been staying at my parents’ house to recuperate, and this is by far the most engaged and upbeat I’ve seen him in all the times I’ve come over to hang out with him.

Dax plays his second song, and when it’s over, we all agree it’s a great song, no doubt about it.

But when Dax plays his third song, the room catches fire.

And I’m not surprised. When I heard Dax’s third song on my computer last night, I instantly became obsessed with it.

And hearing it today over a nice sound system has only heightened my love affair with it.

The song is ear candy and soul candy all rolled into one, one of those songs you hear to the end and immediately play again.

After everyone in the room has praised the song up and down, Dax tells Josh that all those stringed instruments we just heard on the track were nothing more than those two musicians Dax met at Josh’s house, each woman playing on about ten separate tracks to simulate an orchestra.

“Oh my gosh, those violins absolutely make the song,” Mom gushes. “I was mesmerized.”

“I guess it was kismet I met those ladies at Josh’s house when I did,” Dax says.

He looks at Mom and Dad. “Kat asked me to deliver a dinner invitation to Josh at his house—she’d planned a surprise dinner for him at a restaurant, even though, unbeknownst to her, Josh had planned a romantic dinner for her at his house on the same night.

When I got there, Josh had a violinist and cellist all set up to play for them during dinner, so I got the musicians’ phone numbers. ”

I shoot a grateful smile at my baby brother, nonverbally thanking him for calling my note to Josh a “dinner invitation” in front of our parents.

“Well, that was sweet of you, Josh,” Mom says, putting her hand over her heart. “What a shame you put in all that effort and Kat never saw any of it.” She shoots me a scolding look like I somehow purposefully fucked up Josh’s big plans.

“How was I supposed to know he’d planned a romantic dinner?” I ask.

Josh laughs. “It’s okay. My brother Jonas and Sarah wound up enjoying the dinner I’d arranged, and Kat and I had a lovely meal elsewhere.”

I force myself not to snicker at Josh’s use of the phrase “lovely meal” to describe what we wound up doing with Bridgette that night.

“And, anyway,” Josh continues, his eyes shifting to me, “I’d only planned all of that stuff so I could tell Kat I love her for the first time—which I did that night, regardless.”

My heart stops. Oh my God.

“Because I realized,” Josh continues, his eyes darkening, “‘Hey, I don’t need violins and a private chef to tell Kat I love her—I can do that anywhere, anytime.’ So that’s exactly what I did.”

Oh my effing God. I just had an orgasm, right here in front of my parents. And, apparently, so did my mother—she literally just made an unmistakable “O” sound, God bless her.

For a brief moment, there’s an awkward pause in the conversation as Mom and I flutter and twitch and coo and then giggle uproariously at how much we’re completely embarrassing ourselves—all while the male members of my family exchange looks that say, They’ve definitely got vaginas.

In the midst of my momentary meltdown, I glance at Dad. He’s smiling at me—a full smile that reaches his eyes.

I glance quickly at Colby and he’s looking at me with twinkling eyes—the first time I’ve seen light dance in his eyes since the accident .

And then I look into Josh’s beautiful eyes mere inches from mine—the eyes of the man who just declared his love for me in front of my entire family (minus Keane, but he doesn’t count), and I’m instantly home—even more so than inside the physical walls of my beloved childhood house.

This beautiful man is my safe place. He’s where I belong. Always.

“I love you,” I whisper.

“I love you, too,” Josh whispers back, almost inaudibly.

I kiss him on the cheek, my crotch burning, my heart fluttering, my very soul soaring around the room.

Mom clears her throat. “Well, that was very sweet of you, Josh.” Oh, man, her cheeks are flushed. Get that woman a cigarette. “Very, very sweet.”

There’s another awkward silence, which Colby rescues by redirecting the conversation back to Dax. “That third song blew me away, Dax. By the end, it sounded like you had an entire orchestra playing behind you.”

“That third song’s my favorite of anything you’ve ever done,” Mom says.

“Mine, too,” I say. “And you know how much I love everything you’ve ever done.”

“Hey, I don’t know if Kat’s mentioned it to you,” Josh says to Dax, “but my best friend from college owns an independent record label. I’d be happy to forward your songs to him if you’d like. He’s always scouting new talent.”

Holy fuckburgers. Jackpot .

Dax’s eyes immediately dart to mine, and there’s no mistaking the elation in them.

And I’m right there with him. I’m literally jiggling on top of Josh’s lap, unable to contain my excitement.

Not only will Dax’s songs find their way to Reed, exactly as we’d hoped and schemed, but Josh , not me, is gonna give them to him.

And, best of all, it was completely Josh’s idea, with no prompting by me.

This is truly the absolute best-case scenario.

“Wow,” Dax says, somehow managing to keep his composure (sort of). “That’d be amazing, Josh. Thank you.” Oh my God, he’s practically hyperventilating. “You think I should wait ’til I have all ten songs recorded on the album or send these three now?”

Oh God, I can see Dax’s chest constricting from here .

“It’s up to you,” Josh says calmly. “I’ll forward whatever you want, whenever. Just lemme know.”

Dax looks at me, obviously trying to keep his eyes from bugging out. “What do you think, sis?”

“Send these three now,” I say definitively. “Reed won’t need ten songs to know you’re amazing. Strike while the iron is hot.”

Dax’s face lights up. “Awesome. Thanks, Josh. I’ll send you all three MP3s now. What’s your email address?”

Josh gives Dax his email address, just as a timer goes off in the kitchen.

“Oh,” Mom says, hopping up. “Everyone up, up, up. It’s time to eat!”