Page 102 of Songbird: Black Kite
“Sure. You feel that way now,” Wren pressed, her brow knotting. “But what about when she’s asking things of you. Not money,” she cut in when I opened my mouth. “That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about the big things, the foundations of parenting. Like when she wants your time and attention and you’re being pulled in ten million different directions for your music and your fans. What about when she’s having a teenaged meltdown over something that seems ridiculous to you, but means the world to her? She needs support and stability, Hawk. Not a father who drops in when she’s new and shiny, then fucks off back to his life in California and has his personal assistant send her a gift card every year on her birthday.”
“You’ve written me off before I’ve even had a chance, here, Bird,” I replied, annoyed.
“I’m just being realistic. This is not a part-time job you can do when it suits you. She’s a human being and she’ll need you. I just want you to have some idea before you get in over your head.” Pulling her hand from mine, Wren linked her fingers and set them in her lap. “You can still walk away. She’d never have to know.”
I let her words roll around in my head for a moment, picturing it.
She was right; I could leave right now. Get on a plane and head back to L.A., focus on the label and the festival at the Hollywood Bowl. Go about my life as I had been for the last fifteen years, like none of this had ever happened.
It was a choice a lot of guys in my position would make.
But those guys must not have ever looked into the eyes of the child they’d made and not had the chance to know. The moment Cooper opened that door, I’d seen my future.
I was meant to be here, with these girls. I knew it like I knew how to play guitar. It was instinctive, and there was no going back.
“I’m afraid that’s not going to work for me, Bird,” I said, and her eyebrows shot up. “Because, you see, I’ve spent the last fifteen years being haunted by a pair of beautiful hazel eyes.” Her mouth popped open in surprise, and I smirked at her. “I have been dreaming about being here, in this moment, with the girl I couldn’t stop thinking about, for far too long. Now that I know it’s a package deal? Two beautiful girls for the price of one? Well, that’s a deal I’m not willing to pass up.”
Lifting my hands, I cupped her face, looking deep into the eyes of my dreams, feeling hope swell in my chest.
“Give me a chance to prove to you that I want this. That I can be what you both need. I promise I won’t let you down.”
I could feel her pulse fluttering under my fingers, see the rush of heat to her cheeks as she listened to my words, but still, the doubt remained.
“I’ll show you, Bird. I am right where I’m meant to be.”
And before she could offer another protest, I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers.
Chapter sixty
Wren
Present
Hekissedmelikehe never wanted to stop. The feel of his lips on mine was like a dream, half remembered. I’d spent so long thinking about the night we’d been together, that it often felt like I’d imagined the whole thing. If it weren’t for the existence of Cooper, I might not even believe it myself.
But in this moment, it was real, and Hawk was here, kissing me, touching me,wanting me, and I reveled in it.
I was still reeling from the things he’d told me. The fact that Hawk hadn’t even known Cooper existed changed everything. It meant that all this time, he hadn’t been avoiding us, living his life while we were on our own.
It meant that he had been on his own, too. Trapped in a marriage made of lies to the woman who had apparently orchestrated the whole messy situation.
All this time, I’d made him the villain when he’d really been a victim.
Just like us.
And that realization broke my heart.
I knew there was still a lot to work through, things that needed to be discussed and decided on before we made any important decisions, but for now, I just wanted to kiss him.
Hawk tilted his head to one side, using his hold on my cheeks to direct our kiss, his tongue testing the seam of my lips as he sought entrance. I granted it, parting my lips as his tongue swept inside like a conqueror, taking what he wanted with determination.
Lifting my own hands, I placed one on his firm bicep, the other I threaded into his hair, giving a gentle tug as I pulled him closer. The sound Hawk made had me squirming on the couch, the pure manliness of it sending a delicious tingle through my entire body. He was just so damn sexy, the feel of him against me so alluring that I lifted up, aching to get closer to him, to connect us even more.
Using the hold I had on his arm, I pressed Hawk back into the couch, lifting up on my knees as we moved so that we didn’t break our kiss. Leaning forward, I pressed my chest to his, loving the feel of his body heat against my aching nipples. God, he had gotten so much broader since the last time we’d done this, his frame filled out from lean to muscled in a way that made me want to run my hands over every inch of him. I couldn’t seem to find enough places to touch him.
Hawk apparently felt the same, because his hands landed on the outside of my thighs, his calloused fingers gliding up and down my legs, stopping just shy of the curve of my ass.
“Fuck, Bird,” he whispered on a groan, and I swallowed the sound. “The things you do to me.”
