Just One Wish (The Kingston Family #4.5)(18)

You’re not settled in your life. You’re still a man on tour with no home base, no sense of home, and I want that in a partner. I need that. I need someone responsible.

He was forced to admit the truth stung, and he couldn’t sort through his thoughts on his own. He needed to talk to someone who knew him well, and nobody understood him better than Cassidy. He showered, ate breakfast, and called his sister. Despite it being a Sunday, she was at Sasha and Xander’s going over work, and he headed there for a visit.

Sasha let him in and greeted him with a welcoming hug. The famous actress never ceased to amaze him in how much she looked like the girl next door when not in full makeup. She was exceptionally pretty in her California blond way, and he knew how much Xander loved her.

She led him into the kitchen, where the women had been working, his buddy Bella included.

He kissed his sister on the cheek and gave the dog a pat on the head. “Miss me, girl?”

“We just saw you last night,” Cassidy said, laughing. “But if your best friend didn’t miss you, don’t worry. I did.”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine. Make fun of me. I’m used to it.”

Sasha grinned at their byplay. “Listen, I can give you two some privacy,” she offered, rising from her seat.

He thought about it and shook his head. Both Cassidy and Sasha knew what it took to build a stable relationship. He might as well get advice from them both. “I appreciate it. Especially since it’s your house, but stay, please. I could use your opinion, too.”

“Okay then, sit and let’s talk,” Sasha said with a smile.

Cassidy rested her arms on the table and met his gaze. “Talk to me.”

It was so unlike him to discuss his personal life with a woman mostly because he’d never had one before. Unless you counted the groupies, which he didn’t.

“Let me make it easier for you. It’s about Tara, right?” Sasha asked.

He released the breath he’d been holding and nodded. “She doesn’t think I can give her what she needs. She wants stability and someone she can count on. When she looks at me, all she sees is a guy who rents a house he’s barely in, lives with no furniture, and goes on tour in between writing albums. And I didn’t see it before, but when she laid it out like that … she had a point.” He reached down and scratched Bella’s head, and she stepped closer, placing her chin on his thigh.

Cassidy and Sasha glanced at each other, but his sister spoke first. “What do you want?”

“Tara. And I’m willing to do whatever it takes except give up my career.” Bella nuzzled her nose into his side, and he slid his hand over her fur.

“You should get a dog,” Sasha said. And before he could reply, she held up a hand. “Hear me out. You adore Bella. I mean, you’re certainly not here all the time to pet Xander.” She snickered at her joke. “But seriously, what shows permanence and commitment as much as getting a dog?”

He raised his eyebrows. He couldn’t deny how much he’d love his own pet and had even thought about it. He also knew all the reasons it wasn’t a good idea. “I travel and I’m not around when I tour.”

“I’m around and I’m happy to take care of your dog,” his sister said.

“And I have to take care of Bella anyway. If I have to be on a movie set, I have a kennel I trust for short visits,” Sasha added.

Axel shook his head. “You two are crazy.”

“But smart. You want to show Tara you can offer stability, a dog is a start,” Cassidy said.

“And Tara is a vet. What other way to her heart than a dog?” Sasha shrugged. “Seems like common sense to me.”

“Are you two always this good at tag teaming?”

“They’re masters.” Xander strode into the kitchen. His glasses were on, indicating he’d been writing, and he headed to the fridge, pulling out a can of soda. “Anyone want some?”

“No, thanks,” Axel said.

The women shook their heads.

“So what’s going on in here?” He walked over to the table, pulled out a chair beside Sasha, and sat, straddling it. “What are you two up to?”

“Convincing your brother to get a dog,” Sasha said.

“So he’ll stop coming by all the time?” Xander grinned as he spoke.

“No, so he can impress Tara,” Cassidy said, making Axel feel like the asshole under the microscope.

And when Xander burst out laughing, Axel glared at them all. But at least he had a plan forming, not just for his next date with Tara but beyond.





Tara had a jam-packed day of appointments that ended with an emergency for a patient that had gotten into chocolate, which was toxic to dogs. The poor pup needed to be given medicine that would cause him to vomit, hooked up to an IV, pumped full of fluids, and treated with activated charcoal to prevent the chocolate from entering his bloodstream. Lucky, the dog, needed to stay overnight, and Tara and Harry had a technician who would check in on the inpatients during the night.

Though she hadn’t finished up late, she was exhausted and didn’t remember she had a date with Axel until almost six. Not that she’d forgotten about him completely. He’d been on her mind since he’d rescued her this past Saturday night. An evening she didn’t want to repeat. She was too old to wake up hung over. But not too old to find herself underneath Axel.