Untamed

A

“No problem, Mrs. H. It’s cool, stay out as long as you need to.” Je

Je

Normally I’d say something witty like, “A little to the left,” but her words instantly reminded me how young she was. With a frown, I crossed my arms over my chest. “You have our number? And the gallery’s number? And the rest of the band’s numbers?” You could never be too cautious about some things, and Gibson was one of those things.

With a patient smile, Je

Digits? My lips compressed into a thin line, but I let it go. It would be fine, and Gibson loved her. “Okay, well, no company, no boys, no phone calls, no booze.” Suddenly feeling like I was just as lame as Matt, I shook my head. I needed to stop being so douchey. “You can totally raid the fridge though, and once Gibson is down for the count, feel free to use the pool.”

Je

I wanted to lay down some more laws for her, or maybe add some more emergency numbers to her phone, but A

I knew she was right, but I still had to resist the urge to fire Je

“Bye, Daddy,” Gibson said in the sweetest, most adorable voice on earth. God, my kid was cute. Spi

I felt better once I was in my Hummer, cruising across I-90 toward downtown Seattle. But then I remembered that I hadn’t reminded Je

A

Normally, I would have laughed, but I just wasn’t in the mood at the moment. “Oh…okay, so long as she’s aware…I guess.”

A

Surprise washed over me. I thought I was cool with those two. “Kiera and Je

Retreating back to her side of the car, A

That made me frown. I wasn’t an “okay” person. I was awesome wrapped in awesome smothered in more awesome. They should be squealing to their neighbors that they know me, not that they merely tolerate me, like A

Tossing a playful grin A

Rolling her eyes, A

A wide smile broke over my face as I returned my attention to the sea of taillights in front of me. Noble was practically my middle name.

We arrived at the gallery about an hour late, which was right on time in my book. Matt was flustered when he spotted us outside, talking to the fans. Thanks to us and our awesome diehards, Je

“There you guys are. What took you so long?” Matt was dressed to the nines in a full-on tuxedo, and his short blond hair was gelled into rigid, unyielding little spikes. How appropriate. Clearly nervous, he seemed more tightly wound than usual; it looked like he was having muscle spasms he was moving around so much.

Since humor was the best cure for nerves that I knew of, and since fondling myself in front of him was too good of an opportunity to pass up, I cupped myself and said, “What do you think we were doing?”

The fans around me tittered, but Matt’s scowl deepened. “We’re on in thirty minutes. Try to not be late for that, okay?”

I saluted the fucker, but he was already turning to leave. The fans who had been trying to get his attention asked me, “What’s up with him?” Disappointment was clear in their voices. Douche hadn’t even said hello.

Shrugging, I told them, “Same thing that’s always up with him.” I mimed putting my finger where the sun didn’t shine, and a couple of the girls laughed. “That and he’s proposing to his girl tonight. His nerves are basically fucked.”

The crowd gasped and squealed. A

I pointed to the sign above the door loudly proclaiming BAGETTES! “I’m not supposed to say anything to Rachel. These guys don’t count.” I turned back to the crowd. “You guys won’t tell Matt’s girlfriend, right?”

More giggling and shrieking. I took that as a yes, and gave A

Watching her waddle away from me, I murmured, “You bet your sweet little ass I will.”

Je

People were walking around looking all hoity-toity with fluted glasses of champagne, so I found a waiter and grabbed me a couple. It was my obligation to drink for A

On the far side of the main room, I spotted my wife hanging out with Kiera, Je