Page 24

“Oh my god,” Signe muttered behind me.

“Well,” Josh lifted a shoulder while combing through his dark brown hair with his fingers, “Your girl definitely didn’t know who I was, T.”

Oh my god, I’m Taylor’s girl .

I just stared at him.

Frozen in shock, partially because I had just casually been introduced to the lead singer of Carbon Cut, and partially because the lead singer of Carbon Cut referred to me as Taylor’s girl.

That meant that Taylor had talked to him about our relationship.

Positively, because no one would refer to me as their girl unless they wanted to claim me as their girl.

I also hadn’t met a celebrity before.

I had seen random celebrities growing up in southern California, but usually, it was the celebrities I wasn’t excited about. The ones my friends were excited to meet. Not one I was a big fan of myself.

I silently reached over and clasped Taylor’s hand in mine.

Josh tilted his head back and laughed at the movement, while his wife—which I now realized was Courtney motherfucking Henderson, the woman Josh pulled onto his stage years and years ago—grinned at me.

“I’m sorry.” What was I apologizing for? I had no idea, “Just. Wow.”

“Hey, babe, breathe.” Taylor kissed my cheek right when Leo called out to them from the field.

“Oi!” He was cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound, “We need our captain to start training!”

“Get off my dick!” Taylor called back.

“Don’t have too much fun without me. I’ll be back.” Their fingers trailed up my back, skimmed up my neck, and cupped the back of my head before tipping me back to gently brush their lips over mine.

“They just said dick; do they owe you money for that?” I heard Signe ask Susie from behind us.

“Dick isn’t a bad word. It’s a body part.” Susie replied.

“Don’t forget about me, okay?” Taylor murmured against my lips.

I scoffed, right in their face, making them jolt away from me in amusement.

“Never,” I whispered.

Taylor grinned, a rosy pink that wasn’t there before appeared across their cheeks, before they finally stood up and jogged back to their teammates.

When I looked back at Josh, he was pulling his hoodie up again.

“Did you like your surprise?” Susie asked me. She was sitting cross-legged, but excited energy made her bounce in her seat.

“Yeah,” I replied, glancing behind me. At some point, Jacqueline had scooted far enough back to sit closer to Signe. I gave the two of them wide-eyed looks. Signe was grinning, and Jacqueline had her eyebrows raised.

“Wow, so,” I cleared my throat before turning to face the Madeys. The Madeys . Not only did I just meet the lead singer of Carbon Cut, but I also met his entire family.

Wow .

“So,” Susie giggled.

“You’re friends with Taylor,” I added.

“To be clear, I was friends with them first,” Courtney leaned forward, as if to remind me that she was also there.

I grinned at her, connecting the dots. Courtney became famous because she interpreted Josh’s concert into ASL for her friend, and he noticed her.

Apparently, they were high school sweethearts, reconnecting after almost a decade apart.

I glanced at the birthmark on top of her hand again, realizing why it looked so familiar.

That birthmark was how Josh knew who she was.

“Really?” I asked her. If memory served, Courtney had been involved in lots of charity work recently. I admired this woman a lot.

“Yeah, and then I married Josh.”

“And I was invited into the circle of friendship.” Josh grinned at his wife before taking their baby boy from her and adjusting him so he could face out toward the field. The baby grinned and started wiggling in his father’s hold, as if trying to get to the rugby players.

“What a small world,” I breathed. Taylor ran by, yelling at Zaid around the mouth guard they wore, and I got distracted watching them take a man almost double their size down to the grass.

I had seen them play before, and even though they were one of the smallest members on the team, they were strong.

Leo and Zaid immediately jogged over and helped Taylor to their feet, who dusted their jersey off before clapping their hands and telling their team to start whatever drill that was again.

“Nicole?” Susie’s voice pulled me back into the present: “Do you want to plan a future with Taylor, or do you just want to hold their hand and kiss them?”

Josh’s eyebrows shot up as Courtney leaned forward to rest a hand on her daughter’s shoulder and say, “Suse, that’s too forward of a question to ask someone you just met.”

I giggled, appreciating Josh and Courtney’s embarrassment.

“That’s okay,” I reassured them before addressing their daughter, “I really like Taylor.”

“We do, too,” Susie replied, “…but I don’t want to kiss them.”

“Well, that’s fine,” I replied, nudging her knee with my fist, “I like that I’m the only one who gets to kiss them.”

Susie grinned up at me, before her gaze dropped to my arm and she pointed at it, “Can I see your tattoo?”

“Sure.” My flannel had ridden up my arm, so she got a peek of the latest one I got.

It was still covered in saniderm, since I got it two nights before on an impulse decision.

It was simple, a daisy right on the inside of my wrist. I decided to remove my flannel from that arm completely so Susie could admire the random patchwork tattoos I had on my upper arm, too.

“I like this one,” She pointed to the tattoo of a raccoon, holding a bouquet of flowers.

“I do, too.”

“Does this have a special meaning?” Susie asked. I shrugged.

“It means the drawing was cute and I wanted it on my body forever.”

“So can I copy it?” Susie asked me.

I laughed at her question before replying, “Um, sure.”

At that, Susie reached into her school bag she had with her and pulled out a pen, before holding it out to her dad. Josh sighed, handing the baby back to Courtney, before uncapping the pen and getting to work on his daughter’s request. She held her arm out for him while smiling up at me.

Joshua Madey is drawing my tattoo on his daughter’s arm .

“Oh my god, wait—” Courtney sat up straighter, looking intently over my shoulder, “Are you Signe Lange?”

“Stop it,” Signe replied, “ You know who I am?”

“I’m obsessed with your book!” Courtney lit up, adjusting her baby in her lap, “You’re friends with Eloise St. James, right? She told me to read your book, and I’m so glad I did!”

“Wait, really?” Josh glanced up from his drawing, “What’s the title?”

“Stop it right now!” Signe exclaimed. I looked over my shoulder, keeping my arm visible for Josh to view for reference, and saw Signe tugging at the collar of her sweater and hiding her face behind it.

Jacqueline and I shared a laugh, and the rest of the evening settled in like that. Me, geeking out over a famous musician drawing my tattoo on his daughter. His wife, Courtney, geeking out over meeting Signe Lange, her new favorite romance author.

Taylor checked in every few minutes as they took a water break, smiling brightly at the sight of all of us mingling. I tried to see it through their eyes, how it would feel to have everyone from different worlds come together. To support them like this.

This was big , I realized.

They weren’t just introducing me to their friends; they were introducing me to a very vulnerable friendship. They were trusting me with the knowledge of who they were friends with.

Taylor felt safe sharing their people with me.

Something warm bloomed in my chest, and I found myself slightly less interested in the rockstar beside me and more interested in my partner running around on the field, outdoing so many men on their team with their speed.

I needed to tell them tonight.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t scared to.

In fact, I was really looking forward to it.