“Yes, ladies and gents,” she mumbled. “My husband and father-to-be still likes to make cock jokes.”
I sniggered as Addi slapped him on the ass and whispered something that made him raise his eyebrows and bite her bottom lip. “I’ll hold you to that, Stone. Right. Enjoy the show. I’ll see you afterward.”
I looked around the room at the party I’d organized along with Lea Lewis, party planner extraordinaire, to celebrate three years of the Gods of Melody record label. All the bands signed to the label, their management teams, our office staff, and lots of friends of the label filled the venue. The lights dimmed, and when the spotlights focused on the stage, the crowd went wild as they found the Cosmic Gods standing there.
I loved these guys. They were the main reason I took the job with the label. Despite the fact they’d all matured, got married, and had kids, they never lost their bad boy… and girl image; they were what rock music was meant to be.
Tanner stood at the front, dressed in leather pants, his inked chest on show and his tattooed hand pushing through his hair.Mav was to the side across from his twin brother, Grayson, both of them with their guitars, and Frankie was on the drums looking like the rock goddess she was.
I smiled as I spotted Matt, head of security for the label holding his and Frankie’s son River, rocking a tiny pair of ear defenders next to Ivy and Ethan who managed the Gods these days and were both married to Grayson holding hands with Star, who was trying to pull her ear defenders off with an angry look on her face. The only person missing from the Cosmic God family was Tanner’s wife Emmy, who was on bed rest, heavily pregnant with their second set of twins, who kept trying to arrive early.
Eight of them set up the label and working for them was like being pulled into the fold. For the next fifteen minutes, we all danced and sang as the Cosmic Gods did their set, blowing us all away with their talent.
As they finished to a room of screams and cheering, Addi hugged me. “Best go say a few words before I leave. Any problems while I’m away, you know you can call me, right?”
“I know, but do I ever?”
“No, and that’s another reason why we’ve just promoted you.”
Addi straightened her outfit, handing me her untouched glass of champagne before making her way to the stage.
“Weren’t they good?” She pointed at where the Gods had been a minute ago, pausing while the room erupted. “Make the most of it, as I’m stealing the rather handsome bass guitarist for six months while we add to our family.” Everyone cheered again as we all knew how excited they were to be adopting Hawk and Daisy after trying for so long for their own baby.
“We’re here to celebrate the fact that the Gods of Melody have been around for three years now and we love the label we’ve built, but I couldn’t do it without my family.” And just like I’dplanned, seven more spotlights burst to life, finding each owner of the label.
“A few years ago, I found myself in a bit of a sticky situation and I wasn’t sure how I’d ever get out of it. Luckily I did—”
“Because you’re superwoman,” Tanner yelled, but she ignored him, carrying on with her speech.
“Whatever the reason, I got a second chance at life and I swore I’d make the most of it, and I get to do that every day because those amazing people trusted me to let me manage them and now you all trust me to run the label you’re a part of. So, tonight is to say thank you to all of you.” Addi held her hands out and clapped, making us all burst into applause too. “But,” she yelled over the noise. “It’s also to tell you all to behave while I’m away, because I will hear about it.”
Laughter rippled across the room.
“Oh, and before I go…” I froze. “You all know the wonderful Fern, right?”
Everyone cheered, and I felt the flush rush my skin.
“Well, we couldn’t manage this label without her, so we promoted her to head of communication. Which means a couple of things—you all need to be extra nice to her as she’s going to be on your cases even more now and also, we need to get some new admin staff, so be nice to them too. Right, that’s enough of me talking. Enjoy yourself. Behave, and Mav and I will see you soon when all we’ll be able to talk about is how awesome our little people are.”
Another massive cheer erupted, and Addi waved before leaving the stage where Mav was waiting for her, cupping her face and kissing her like she was all he needed to survive. God, I loved how much he loved her. In fact, I loved how hard they all loved each other. It put my sorry excuse for a family to shame.
I downed Addi’s champagne as I thought about James and my sister and the shitshow that had become my family life over the last six years as Alchemy Myth came on stage.
Standing in front of their mic stands, I loved how different the three of them were. Archer was tall and dark… in his appearance and also in his mood recently. Black hair, black stubble, slate-gray eyes. Dressed in a skin tight black t-shirt, his tattoos stood out as much as the pain in his expression he’d carried since his fiancée vanished without a trace a few months ago.
Fox was the more relaxed looking of the group. Long hair, tied up in a man bun, a white t-shirt under a faded blue denim shirt, and gray skinny jeans that clung to his lithe, toned body. He picked up his guitar, pulling the strap over his head, before smiling out at the crowd and then they started their first song.
I’d spent plenty of time with them both over the years. They took me for lunch and cocktails, spilling secrets about their love lives and making me laugh until my sides hurt.
Charlie, the third member of the band, was an unknown entity. He hated coming into the office, barely spoke a word when he was there, and was the self-confessed troublemaker of the group, which seemed to have gotten worse recently.
Right now, watching him sing was mesmerizing. He was lost in the music, dragging us all with him, whether we wanted to go or not. His short brown hair, which was slightly longer on top, suited the cutting angles of his cheeks. He was wider than the other two; thick thighs, giant chest, wide biceps that flexed as he moved.
Dressed in a simple v-neck t-shirt, it gave the audience a glimpse of his famous snake tattoo. His square jaw was clean shaven for a change, as if he was trying to prove he would behave, and his brown eyes sparkled. Right now, he had a face that was hard to look away from. He leaned into the microphone,singing out a song I’d heard a hundred times, but tonight, it felt new, sending goosebumps scattering across my skin.
As if to interrupt the rather unsettling thoughts I was having about Charlie Wyatt, another glass of champagne and a shot of something materialized in front of me as Neo and his husband Aaron appeared next to me and we found our own little corner of the party to enjoy the rest of Alchemy Myth’s set.
Charlie