Reckless Redemption: A Bad Blooded Rebel Novel (Bad Blooded Rebel Series) (28 page)

He
sighed from somewhere deep and grinned.

“Jess
and I found out this morning we are having a baby. Finally,” he answered.

Grinning
big, I leaned over the table to bump fists with him.

“Dude,
that’s awesome. Congratulations!”

We
all knew the reasons why having a baby was so important to Jessie and Kris and
I was really happy for the both of them.

“Yeah,
that’s great, bro,” Zayne said, seeming totally sincere.

Zayne
was always the first one to be a dick so for him to actually say something nice
to one of us without it being laced with sarcasm was kind of weird. I wondered
if he’d finally met someone to help tone down his bad attitude.

“Thank
you Zayne. Seriously, I feel like jumping out of my skin right now. It’s taken
me and Jess years to get pregnant and now that it’s finally happened I feel
like…I don’t know, like the luckiest guy in the world. Next to Beau, of
course,” Kris answered, nudging me.

Jake
laughed and took another drink of his beer.

“I
never thought I’d see the day when almost all the Bad Blooded Rebel members are
settling down and making babies and shit. It’s awesome, seriously, but I just
never thought it’d happen for anyone other than Kris. We all know he’s been in
love with Jessie forever, but I really never thought you guys would stop
partying and do the family thing.”

“Well
when you find that right girl you fight like hell to make it happen,” I
answered him, slightly agitated. “I still can’t believe Danni gave me another
chance after how badly I fucked things up, but once she did I knew then and
there that nothing and no one would stand in our way again.”

Jake
smiled at me and it seemed genuine. “I’m glad you two found your way back to
each other, really.”

I
could sense that he wanted to say more to me but he steered the conversation to
Ryder.

“So,
Ryder, Everleigh’s got to be close to having that little rocker baby soon,
right?”

Ryder
smiled. “Yeah, she’s due in three weeks. In fact her doctor told us at her last
appointment that she could really go into labor at any time.”

“That’s
not surprising, she looks so uncomfortable,” Cash answered sympathetically. “I
know nothing about pregnant chicks, but that belly of hers looks abnormally
huge. How can she move around?”

“It’s
not without difficulty lately, but she’s not complained once. She said she
loves being pregnant and is trying to enjoy every moment of it. But, I have to
confess I hope she goes into labor soon. Like right after the wedding
tomorrow,” Ryder admitted.

“I
love seeing her pregnant with our son but I can’t wait to hold him. I’m going
fucking nuts waiting.”

He
was toying with the label on his beer bottle and gently rolling his tongue
across the ring in his lip.

“Don’t
worry, you’ll get to hold your kid soon, man,” Logan answered, clapping him on
the back.

“I
hope so. Okay, let’s change the subject because it’s making me tense. Tell me
about the tour. How’s it been on the road now that you jackasses don’t have us
to make look good?” Ryder asked, and everyone barked out a laugh.

I
sat back in my seat, drinking my water and watching everyone interacting, and I
realized how much I had missed this. Danni and our daughter were my life now,
but I still missed my friends…all of them. Even Jake (although I hated to admit
it).

After
dinner the other guys started making plans to maybe hit a club. I was just about
to text Danni when Jake walked over and took Jude’s unoccupied seat.

“Hey
man, where are the girls tonight?”

I
gritted my teeth together for a few seconds before answering him. “They are at
my house. Sadie was throwing some kind of toy party or some shit instead of
them all going out since Danni and Ev, and apparently now Jessie, are
pregnant.”

Jake
threw his head back and laughed. “A toy party? Like, sex toys? Damn,” he said.
“I’d love to be a fly on the wall in that room.”

“Yeah,
I bet you would,” I grumbled.

He
sighed. “So, you’re still pissed about that kiss a year and a half later? Beau,
you know nothing happened.”

“I
know nothing happened, Jake, but it still bothers me that you kissed her. I
know it’s stupid, especially after what I did, but it does.”

“Look,
I’m sorry, but she shot me down pretty fast and I’m pretty sure we’re both over
it by now. Fuck man, she’s marrying your dumb ass tomorrow and she’s pregnant
with your kid. She loves you and she always has.”

“I
know,” I said, running my fingers through my hair.

Jake
looked around before leaning closer to me.

“Besides,
I met someone anyway so I’m not after Danni,” he admitted quietly with a wink.

I
sat up in my chair a little straighter, suddenly feeling a little less tense. “Wait…you
what?”

“Shh,
no one knows about it so keep your voice down.” I grinned at him as he twiddled
his thumbs. “Her name is Olivia.”

“Olivia,
huh? Where did you meet this girl?”

“At
my shop, where else? Her sister came in to get a tattoo and Liv came with her.”

His
eyes drifted off into space for a second and suddenly he was smiling like an
idiot.

“Is
she hot?”

“She’s
so fucking beautiful, man. She has long black hair, these deep chocolate brown
eyes, and her skin looks like fucking caramel.”

“You’re
making this girl sound like a candy bar,” I snickered.

“Shut
up, she’s gorgeous.”

“How
long has this been going on?”

“Not
too long. Actually, we haven’t really been out on an official date, we’ve just
hung out. I have asked her out several times but she keeps laughing me off and thinks
I’m not serious.”

I
reached out and patted his arm. “She sounds a little insecure. Maybe you need
to step up your game and the next time you two hang out, get a little
physical.”

Jake
stared at me like I’d grown two heads.

“What
the hell does that mean? She’s shy as hell! If I make a move she’ll freak the
fuck out and run away.”

“God
you can be a moron sometimes,” I laughed. “Flirt with her, Jake. Tuck a strand
of hair behind her ear, pretend you see an eyelash on her cheek so you have an
excuse to touch her face, things like that.”

“You
think it’ll work?” he asked me eagerly.

I
looked pointedly at him.

“You
really like this girl, don’t you?”

Jake
ran a hand through his messy hair and sighed.

“Yeah,
I do. She’s killing me, man.”

“Well,
nothing good in life is ever easy, trust me. If you want this girl, don’t give up
until you get her. I wasted a whole year with Danni because I was too fucking
stubborn to admit I loved her.”

Jake
put his hands up and shook his head.

“Whoa,
whoa, whoa, no one said anything about love, Beau. I just like this girl. Like
a lot,” Jake stated. “I never said I loved her.”

“I
know you didn’t, but it’s all over your face, man. You love her. You just won’t
admit it yet.”

Jake
stared at me, dumbfounded, before his face softened.

“Well,
fuck,” he muttered.

I
smiled and placed my hand on his shoulder. “Give it up, man. You’re a goner.”

“I
guess this is what it’s like to be pussy whipped like you all,” he said,
laughing.

“Well,
you can’t be pussy whipped if you’re not getting any pussy, man.”

“Below
the belt, Beau,” he laughed.

“Might
as well get some action down there since this Olivia chick isn’t giving you
any,” I answered back.

He
flipped me off, saying, “You’re lucky I like you, dude. Listen, I’m glad we
talked. Seriously, I’m really happy for you and Danni. She’s a great girl and I
know you two will be really happy together.”

“Thanks,
Jake,” I answered. We quickly man-hugged before breaking apart.

“And
don’t stress about your girl. You’ll work it out. Just don’t give up on her.”

“Oh
trust me, I won’t. This one’s worth the chase.”

“The
good ones always are. Come on let’s get out of here and go play some poker back
at Ryder’s place. You’ll get to meet Danni’s dad.”

“Wow,
you actually seem excited about seeing your father-in-law. I take it he’s not a
bastard then?”

“Hell
no! Dan Sharpe has to be one the coolest guys I’ve ever met. You’ll see,” I
told him. “And if you think Dan’s awesome, just wait until you meet Danni’s
mom.”

I
laughed at the thought of Jake’s reaction when Brenda was unleashed on him.

Wedding
Day

I
hadn’t slept all night. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone without sleep
for that long. I know I should have tried harder to get some rest the night
before my wedding, but I just couldn’t without the feel of Danni by my side. The
morning had been even slower. The guys and I played basketball before going to
breakfast. Ryder was trying to find activities to fill up the morning so I
would calm down and stop being so antsy, but nothing worked. But I just wanted
Danni and nothing in the world would calm me until I was in her presence again.

After
the longest morning
ever
, we were finally at the church dressed in our
tuxedos. Dan had left us to go meet Danni and the girls in the bridal room,
Jake had gone to call Olivia (for the hundredth time since he’d arrived in
Cincinnati), and Jagger, Zayne, Logan, and Cash had all taken their seats in
the sanctuary and were probably hitting on some of the wedding guests.

After
John had gotten the girls safely to the church, he’d taken over the security
for the event. His team had a tight perimeter set up to keep out the paparazzi
and any other unwanted guests. Ryder and Everleigh got married in Vegas, so
there hadn’t been time for the press to be tipped off about their wedding. On
the other hand, when the news of my engagement to Danni hit, it was a media
frenzy. There were photographers following us everywhere we went trying to get
wedding details.

It
wasn’t as bad as I’d expected it to be but it was still annoying as fuck. The
media was insane when news of Danni’s pregnancy broke, so naturally everyone assumed
a wedding would follow.

I
was pacing the room and constantly checking my watch. When would this damn
wedding start? Jude walked over to me, putting his hand on my shoulder.

“Beau,
you have to calm the hell down. I know you love Danni and want to marry her,
but this pacing shit is annoying as fuck and we are all about to kill you.”

I
huffed out a laugh. “I know, Jude, I’m sorry. I just…”

Flanking
my other side, Ryder jumped in. “I know. When Evie and I got married I was only
away from her for a few hours. This night away from Danni must have been
torture. It never goes away either. Last night without Evie was freaking brutal,
especially since she could’ve gone into labor at any time.”

“I
know. Looks like we’re both anxious to get to our girls today,” I replied, nervously
toying with my cuff links.

There
was a knock at the door and John poked his head in. “Guys, it’s show time,” he
said, smiling at me.

I
wiped the thin layer of sweat off my forehead and felt my stomach flip. As eager
as I was to get this show moving, I was fucking nervous and started to panic.
What if she got cold feet? What if she realized that she was better than me and
that I wasn’t good enough for her? What if she still didn’t trust me?

Kris
put his arm around my shoulder and gave me a comforting shake. Sensing that I
was about to have a full-blown freak out, he spoke calmly.

“Beau,
just breathe. That girl loves you with her whole heart. She’ll will be walking
down that aisle toward you in just a few minutes.”

I
took a deep breath and nodded. “Right, I know.”

“Let’s
do this thing,” Jude announced, and we left the room to take our places at the
end of the aisle.

The
sanctuary was beautiful; Danni had done an amazing job planning the wedding. The
church was decorated with tons of white, maroon, and dark orange roses; it
looked like the perfect autumn wedding. It was so perfect that it was as if Danni
created not just her dream wedding, but mine too.

There
were about sixty people there. Other than our close friends and family, the
guests included some of Danni’s distant family members, most of our road crew who
had been with us for years, everyone that worked for Rebel Records, a few rock
reporters we’d befriended over the years, and our old manager Steve Roberts. We
hadn’t let him go; once we parted ways with Bulldoze Records he decided to
retire in order to spend more time with his family. He said the only reason
he’d put up with our former bosses at the old label was because of us. So when
we didn’t re-sign with the label, he decided to take some time for himself. I
was glad that he was able to make it to the wedding. I’d actually missed the
big guy.