Melody of the Heart (Runaway Train #4)(34)

“I like that idea very, very much.”

BRAYDEN

THE PAST

“Brayden, are you coming?” Lily impatiently whined from the front of the bus.

As I slipped the ring box into my jean pocket, I called, “In just a minute.”

I couldn’t help grinning when I heard her stomp her foot in disappointment. We’d pulled into the RV area of the Great Southeastern Fair somewhere in Mississippi about an hour ago. We had a show from eight until ten. While we played, Lily would be manning the merchandise, which was mainly our CD’s and T-shirts.

Of course, I hadn’t expected Lily to be dying to go to the fair. I hadn’t seen her this excited in a long time and all for a half-assed version of what we could get back home on a much bigger scale at Six Flags in Atlanta.

She appeared in the doorway of the bathroom. “We only have three hours before you have to go on.”

Cocking my brows at her, I said, “Wow, only three hours? We may not get to ride everything twice.”

She poked her lips out in a pout that made her incredibly sexy. I had to fight the urge to throw her over my shoulder and head to the bedroom. I knew she would kill me if I even tried.

“Okay, okay, just let me put on my tattoo cream and pull my hair back.”

Lily’s blue eyes widened with pleasure when I unbuttoned my shirt. A week ago we had pulled into a tattoo parlor. Jake wanted some more ink, and considering I only had two tattoos, I thought it would be a good idea to get some as well. One in particular that I wanted was to go over my heart, and it was Lily’s name. The guy had made it look really bad ass with these flames and the word Lily in the middle of them.

“There I am,” she said softly, as I began to rub the cream over her name.

“Always on my heart.”

She leaned in and gave me a kiss. “I love that you wanted to get my name on your body.”

“Maybe we can work up to getting mine on yours.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Your name is a lot longer than mine.”

“So?”

“It’ll hurt more. That’s not fair.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “Am I not worth a little pain?” I countered.

“Mmm, hmm, and I consider that taken care of when I have our babies.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Here. I’ll do your hair for you.” Lily wedged herself between me and the mirror. She ran her fingers through the strands of my hair as she swept it out of my face. “I can’t believe how long it’s getting.”

“Don’t you like it?”

She smiled. “Mmm, I love it.”

I grinned at her. “I’m glad to hear that.” In the last month on the road, my hair had grown past its usual length on my shoulders.

“There,” she said.

Glancing past her, I surveyed her work in the mirror. “What the hell is that?” I asked, pointing to the bob at the back of my head.

“It makes you look edgy.”

“It makes me look like a samurai warrior or something.”

Crossing her arms over her rack, Lily countered, “Well, last time I checked, samurai’s were pretty bad ass.”

“Hmm, Lily Marie said a bad word,” I teased.

“You’re impossible,” she muttered before she shoved away from me.

I pulled her back to me and started tickling her. She dissolved into giggles. “Stop it, Bray!” she shrieked.

“Do you promise to lighten up?”

Jerking her chin up, she countered, “And do you?”

I grinned at her. “Yeah, I do.”

She returned my smile. “Good. Now can we please go?”

“Lead away.”

With a squeal, she took my arm and dragged me down the aisle. Jake and the others were milling around outside. “You guys going in to0?” I asked.

Jake shrugged. “Might as well. Nothing else to do until show time.”

AJ grinned. “Oh, I’m going in. I’m going to have a f*cking blast.”

“Me too,” Lily answered.

“Race you to the ticket stand?” AJ asked.

“Deal,” Lily said, and then they took off, kicking up a cloud of dust behind them.

Jake, Rhys, and I followed them at a much slower pace. By the time we caught up to them, they’d bought a ridiculous amount of tickets and were impatiently bouncing on the balls of their feet as they waited for us.

We did the bumper cars, the Tilt a Whirl, and the hokey Tunnel of Love. Lily even managed to drag me on the Merry Go Round. That’s when we eventually split up from the guys. Then we hit the food stands trying fried Oreos and fried pickles. I didn’t make it through half of my corndog before I was feeling way too full. Lily on the other hand had a never ending stomach when it came to fair food. I couldn’t help but laugh at her dainty self as she packed away the goodies.

As we walked around the other side of the fair, I nursed my growing indigestion. I knew it wasn’t just the fair food. It was the ring box in my pocket and what I had in mind to do with it when the time was right.

“Let’s do the Ferris Wheel,” I suggested.

Lily’s eyes lit up. “Okay.”

As we got in line, she started trying to devour what was left of her cotton candy. “Babe, I’ll get you some more if they won’t let you take it on with you.”