Page 45 of The Rocker

“You could end it,” Cross threw out there as if there was even a possibility I would let Pen go.

“Not happening,” I gritted out.

“As much as I like finally seeing you two together, how do you think this is going to work? She’s our manager.” Cross’s face went soft as he looked over at Pen. “And don’t take this the wrong way, but she’s a lot older than you are.”

“Don’t remind me,” Pen murmured under her breath at the same time I said, “I don’t care about her age.”

“Okay, that may be so, but again, I’m not trying to be mean. I’m only stating questions anyone would have. What about kids? We’re going to be on the road for hopefully a lot of years, and when that time comes,” he looked at Pen and frowned. “You won’t be young.”

Sitting back in her chair, Pen narrowed her eyes at Kenton and Cross. “How old do you think I am?” They both shrugged and looked at me as if I was going to tell them. “Yes, I can’t deny I have thought about it. I hope you become wildly successful and with that means lots of time on the road, and by the time you’re ready to settle down and have a life, my eggs will be old and dried up.”

Kenton scrunched up his face. “Yikes, way to paint a graphic picture for us.”

Forgetting the two assholes across from us, I turned to Pen. When I looked at her, the world fell away. We were the only two people on the planet. In the short amount of time we’d been together, she had become my everything. “Do you want kids?”

This time it was Pen’s turn to shrug. “I mean, I’m not opposed to them. I never thought I’d meet a guy I’d want to settle down and have kids with, so I always assumed I’d eventually be a crazy cat lady.”

I scanned over her face looking for some kind of tell. What did she want out of life? What did she want out of our life together? “And now, what do you see?”

“I see you up on stage and me cheering you on for the next two decades or so. As for kids, I’m not sure they’re in the cards for me or us. They’re really not conducive to the Rockstar life.”

No, they really weren’t. I couldn’t imagine having to leave Pen at home to take care of a baby while I was on tour for months on end, and I also couldn’t imagine having a baby on the bus with us. A child growing up on the road would be tough, and eventually, he or she would need to go to school.

“I can’t ask you if you want kids because you’re still young, and you might change your mind.” Pen looked down at my clasped hand in hers. “What if you change your mind one day, and it’s too late for me?”

That was a big what if, but one I needed to think about.

“According to you, we’re going to be big, and with that comes lots of money, right? She nodded, her whiskey eyes looking troubled as she watched me. “If we’re rich, then we can adopt or hire a surrogate if the time comes that we ever want children.”

“Dude, you’re signing away your life at twenty-one. Can you really say you want to spend the rest of your life with her?” Cross held his hands up. “I’m not saying Pen isn’t great, but how do you know it will last?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but you can never know with one hundred percent certainty that anything is going to last. You have to put yourself out there and go along for the ride, and I’m putting myself all in.” Even though I was answering Cross, I was looking at Penelope, letting her know just how serious I was. I had just professed my love for her in the bathroom, but she needed to know if the sadness in her eyes was anything to go by. “I would give up everything for you to be by my side.”

Eyes and mouth downturned, she tried to smile but was unsuccessful. “You say that now, but it would kill me for you to regret me later because I won’t be able to give you what you want.”

“You could have a baby now,” Kenton threw out there.

Looking away from Pen, I glared at Kenton. “That isn’t the solution to any of our problems right now.”

“Sorry, I can’t believe we’re here to witness this. It seems rather— “

“Personal,” Pen said for him. “It is, but as I said earlier, you’re family, and now that we don’t have to hide our relationship from you, you might as well know how serious we are.”

“And you’re serious?” Kenton tilted his head to the side, waiting for our answer.

“So serious, I would marry her tomorrow.”

“That’s it,” Kenton boomed out, causing everyone to look at us. “If you get married, there’s no way Titan Records can fire you, and then you can be our manager forever.”

What Kenton said did make sense.

I looked over at Pen. “What do you say? I know I only told you I love you today even though I think I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you.”

One of the guys, I wasn’t sure which one, but I think it was Kenton, made a long, drawn-out aww sound.

Pen bit her lip and then nodded. “What better way to spend our last night in Greece than getting married.”

“Today?” I questioned. When I asked her, I hadn’t thought of the logistics.

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