Page 47 of Love is a Drum Beat
She swallowed. “I brought an extra spoon in case you felt like dancing on the wild side.” She held it out, taunting him.
Dax didn’t want her smile to fall, so he took the spoon and scooped a small amount.
“You think that’s a bite?” Jo took his spoon and dug it in deeper until it had so much ice cream that it was falling off. He opened his mouth to protest, and she stuck the spoon in before he could get a word out.
“Oops. Did you have something to say?”
Ice cream dripped down her hand, and she wiped it on her pants.
Dax swallowed the ice cream. If she was anyone else, he’d tell them they couldn’t eat in his studio, but he got the impression she went wherever the ice cream went, and he wasn’t ready for her to leave, not when he’d caught a glimpse of the real Jo Jackson, the girl she’d hidden away during the pregnancy to protect herself.
Ice cream dripped onto her stomach, and she laughed, happy with her messy state.
Dax, on the other hand, had to keep his anxiety over the mess at bay.
“Question.” She pointed her spoon at him.
“Go for it.”
“Should we make a wager about if Conner will get mad or not that you want to change his part of the song?”
Dax didn’t know the members ofFatewho weren’t Ben, but he’d heard stories. There was a reason Ben was now closer to his Rockstars Anonymous friends than his bandmates. “Why would he be mad? It’s music. We go with what sounds the best.”
“Oh, you are too cute.” She set her ice cream on the table beside the couch.
Sticky sweetness dripped down the side onto his table, and he jumped up to grab one of the disinfectant wipes he used whenever other people had been in his studio.
He cleaned up the pint, retrieved a coaster, and set it down.
Jo watched him the entire time, a half smile curving her lips. He wasn’t sure ifcutewas a good thing to the rocker, but there were a lot more insulting things she could have said. Jo wasn’t one to spare people’s feelings.
She tried to shift on the couch but barely moved. “Ugh! This baby better come out darn cute for all the uncomfortable positions he’s made me sit in.”
“Aren’t all babies cute?”
Her gorgeous eyes widened. “No. They’re not. Have you seen many babies?”
“A few.” In truth, he’d only seen babies out in public. He hadn’t spent time holding them. He hadn’t even played with a kid until Noah needed someone to watch Stella for a night. He chuckled to himself at the memory.
“What’s so funny?”
“Ice cream was the way to Stella’s heart too. You’re not all that different from her.”
Jo rocked forward and tried to hit him before rolling back. “This is so not fair! I can’t even punch you.”
“Why would you need to punch me?”
“Because you called me a child. Because you’ve made me beholden to you, and now I have no idea what I’m going to do once this mango is out of me.”
“Pineapple.”
“What?”
“Your baby should be the size of a pineapple at your stage.”
She stared at him, expressionless. He squirmed under her gaze. “Did your mom tell you that?”
His face flushed, and he looked away to avoid her gaze.
