Rock Stars Do Like Christmas Stockings (Rock Stars Don't Like... Book 3) Page 9

  “I’m fine, it’s not too cold.”

  Tom laughed. “Says the Californian who is always complaining that ‘it’s so arctic here’.”

  Abbie grinned at Tom’s imitation of her accent. “Well, I’m not complaining today.” Lifting on her tiptoes, Abbie kissed the corner of Tom’s mouth. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

  Tom shrugged. “I thought you’d think I was a wimp and wouldn’t want me anymore.”

  “So breaking up with me instead was a better idea?” Abbie’s eyebrows rose almost to her hairline.

  “Yeah, I know, I’m an idiot.” Tom sighed and pulled Abbie against his chest. “I’m sorry. I love you and I don’t ever want to end things with you. You’re it for me Abs. My one; my penguin - my Norma Jean.”

  Abbie giggled as she recalled the day they’d looked after Eliza and Rocco and ended up watching Happy Feet five times because every time it finished Eliza and Rocco had cried until Tom had played it again.

  “And you’re my Memphis,” Abbie sighed. “I love you honey and I would never think you were a ‘wimp’, which I guess means a pussy.”

  “Yeah, I’m a pussy,” Tom laughed.

  “Well you’re not. You had a traumatic experience. Look at Luke, didn’t you say he got stage fright after seeing Skins almost die on stage.”

  Tom shuddered at the memory of that awful day at Glastonbury when Skins had collapsed because of his drug abuse. Luke couldn’t handle watching the medics trying to start Skins’ heart, so he walked off stage, picked up a groupie and disappeared for a while. That was the start of his debilitating stage fright that meant the band didn’t perform for almost four years.

  “It’s hardly the same, baby.” Tom sighed and hugged Abbie closer to his chest.

  “Of course it is. You were a child and saw your mom kissing someone who wasn’t your dad, or at least you didn’t think it was. They were the people you loved the most in the world; just like Luke loved all of you. Your parents were the most important people in your life then, and you guys were Luke’s.”

  “How come you’re so smart…being Jake’s sister I mean?”

  Abbie slapped at Tom’s chest. “Hey don’t you diss my big brother.”

  “Sorry, but you are smart.”

  “Well I must be to hitch my wagon to you.”

  Tom let his head drop back and burst out laughing. “You may be smart baby, but you say some really weird things at times.”

  “I do not. What’s wrong with saying that? My mom says it.”

  Tom stared down at Abbie’s beautiful face and marvelled that she was his. Staring into her bright, shining, blue eyes, he felt a deep need for her. He wanted to bury himself inside her while tugging at her long blonde hair, exposing her soft neck so that he could kiss all the way up it to those lips that were now pouting sexily.

  “How long do you think we have before the gang get back from the movies?” Abbie asked, evidently reading his mind.

  Tom glanced at his watch. They’d been gone almost two hours and he’d heard Jake say they were going for a burger after the film.

  “Long enough for me to sing you my ‘heartsong’ and then love you so hard you’ll be walking like a cowboy for days.”

  “Gee, you’re so romantic,” Abbie giggled. “But I’m on board with all of that, it sounds the bomb.”

  “Good,” Tom whispered against her mouth. “Then we’ll talk about how and when we tell Jake. You good with that?”

  Abbie nodded. “Yes, honey, I’m real good with that.”

  Tom kissed Abbie hard and then led her back into the house and up the stairs to fulfil his promise; three times.

  As everyone sat down for dinner, Abbie gave Tom a short nod of her head towards the empty chair next to Jake. She wanted him to sit next to her brother, and prepare him during dinner for the conversation that they were going to have later; a conversation that Jake knew nothing about.

  The kids were all in bed, as they were all staying at Luke and Martha’s for the night, so that they’d be together in the morning for the grand present opening. As they were all staying, Abbie was extremely thankful, because if things kicked off with Jake, at least Tom would have Luke and Skins around to calm things down. She hoped with everything she had that Jake took it well, but she wasn’t holding her breath on that count.

  Tom returned Abbie’s nod and gave a heavy sigh before plastering a smile onto his face. “I’ll sit next to Jake,” he said a little too enthusiastically.

  “Ah Sugar Tits are you looking for some loving? I have noticed you’ve been having a dry spell recently.” Jake pulled the chair away from the table. “Sit down baby.”

  Tom gave Jake a tight smile and bit his tongue about his supposed ‘dry spell’; he didn’t expect Jake would be so damn happy if he knew who’d actually been keeping him watered for the last year.

  “What did you do while we were at the cinema?” Jake asked as Tom pulled his chair closer to the table.

  “I had a little jam session in the studio,” Tom replied; it wasn’t exactly a lie.

  “Really, and how did that sound without the musicians in the group to help you out?”

  “You’re so, so funny, Jake,” Tom quipped, slapping at Jake’s arm. “So funny in fact that I’ve just peed my boxers.”

  “Thought I could smell something,” Skins muttered as he pushed a dish of potatoes towards Tom.

  “You guys really are comedy genius,” Tom moaned. “Eddy Izzard and Billy Connolly must be shitting themselves.”

  “Oh come on Tom, you know you’re our straight man. It’s the rules that all piss taking is made against you.” Luke messed up Tom’s hair as he walked behind him, to his own seat.

  “Leave him alone,” Martha scolded as she too sat down.

  “Ah Sugar Tits needs big, bad, Martha to stick up for him.”

  “Jake!” Amber snapped. “Stop it.”

  Amber had been watching Tom and could see his jaw tightening. The normally amiable Tom, was not happy and looked as though he was about to erupt. She knew that his secret was taking a toll on his nerves, but as much as she liked Abbie and Tom being together, Amber didn’t like her husband being kept in the dark.

  With those at fault suitably chastised, a brooding silence fell across the room as everyone filled their plates from the dishes on the table. Abbie kept glancing at Tom, wanting to ensure that he was okay, Martha and Amber continued to scowl at their husbands, while Stacey shifted uncomfortably in her seat, blatantly ignoring Skins’ attempts to help her. The women all felt for Tom and knew that from the downturn of his mouth and slope of his shoulders, it was unlikely that the dreaded conversation that Abbie had told them about, would go ahead.

  “Hey, Tom,” Noah cried, breaking the mood. “I meant to tell you, a guy was playing in the studio last week with this really amazing guitar that you’d love.”

  “Oh God,” Betty groaned. “He hasn’t shut up about this damn guitar all week.”

  “Because it was beautiful,” Noah replied.

  “Yeah,” Tom replied disconsolately. “What was it?”

  “A custom made Rickenbacker, he paid mega money for it, but like I said, it’s beautiful.” Noah grinned. He worked at Luke’s record company and had inherited his uncle’s love of music, and was starting to get high praise for the few tracks that he’d started producing.

  “What’s it like?” Tom perked up a little; guitars being one of his favourite subjects.

  “A deep, blood red with a black inlay. You could see your reflection in it.”

  “Wow, sounds cool.”

  “Yeah it was, I took some pictures. I’ll show you later.”

  Abbie breathed a small sigh of relief and flashed a thankful smile at Noah. Tom looked decidedly more relaxed and was tucking into his dinner. Under the table, Abbie felt a hand squeeze her thigh. She turned to see Lucia smiling at her.

  “It’ll be okay,” Lucia whispered.

  “I hope so.”

  As Abbie reached for her
knife and fork, Jake suddenly pushed up from the table, sending his chair flying. Had Tom said something already? Abbie’s gaze landed on Tom, but he looked as shocked as everyone else.

  “Jake, what’s wrong?” Amber asked.

  “I need to get to hospital, like now!” Jake cried.

  Amber pushed up from the table and ran to her husband’s side. “Jake, what is it?” she cried, clutching at Jake’s arm. “Please tell me, what’s wrong.”

  Jake pointed at the dish of asparagus on the table. “I forgot,” he croaked. “Shit we need to go.”

  Everyone gasped in horror. Jake was allergic to asparagus and it brought him out in blisters and made breathing difficult until he received an injection.

  “Oh shit,” Luke growled, remembering it happening once before when they’d been on tour, years ago. Jake had almost died because he had no idea at the time what the problem was, and they all thought he was messing around. Thankfully, the girl that was with Luke was a nurse and recognised his symptoms when she came back from the bathroom.

  “Skins,” Tom snapped. “Call the hospital and tell them we’re on our way and that we need epinephrine.”

  Skins nodded and pulled his mobile from his jeans’ pocket. Jake’s breathing was already getting laboured, so Tom took hold of his arm and guided him towards the door.

  “Freckles,” Jake croaked.

  “It’s okay baby,” Amber sobbed. “I’m right behind you.”

  “I’ll call you from the hospital,” Tom said to the room as he led Jake outside and pushed him into the back seat of his car with Amber.

  As Tom’s car careered down the drive, everyone else watched in despair, each one of them hoping that Tom got Jake to the hospital before the symptoms worsened.

  “He’ll be okay, Abs,” Stacey soothed, rubbing a hand up and down Abbie’s back.

  “Oh God, I hope so,” she whimpered. “He’s my big brother. I don’t know what I’d do without him.” Abbie hugged her arms tightly around her waist and started to shiver.

  “Come on, Abs,” Luke said. “Let’s get you inside.”

  “He will be okay, right?” she asked.

  Luke nodded. “Yeah, thanks to Tom’s quick thinking, he’ll be just fine. I promise.”

  Everyone followed Luke and Abbie back inside and congregated in the den, their dinner and the offending asparagus forgotten.

  It was almost midnight, by the time Tom, Jake and Amber walked back through the door, and only Abbie was still up. Everyone else had gone to bed once they’d had a call from Tom, telling them that Jake was going to be okay and they would be home soon.

  Thankfully, Skins’ call and instruction on what Jake needed, meant that a doctor and a couple of nurses were waiting for him as soon as he arrived at A&E. The drug was administered before the symptoms had taken too strong a hold, so after a couple of hour’s observation, Jake was allowed home.

  “How you doing?” Abbie asked, rushing to her brother’s side and dragging him into a hug.

  “I’m fine, sweetheart. It’s just a little scary when it happens, but with Tom driving like Lewis Hamilton and getting Skins’ to ring ahead, it wasn’t too bad.”

  Jake grinned at Tom over Abbie’s shoulder and held up a hand to high five his friend.

  “Come on,” Amber urged. “Let’s get you to bed.”

  Jake wiggled his eyebrows and smacked Amber’s backside. “Lead the way, Freckles. I’m ready for an early Christmas present.”

  Amber sighed and shook her head. At the door she stopped and turned back to Tom.

  “Thanks again, Tom. You were brilliant tonight.”

  “Ah I didn’t do anything,” he scoffed.

  “Yeah you did,” Jake responded. “But that doesn’t mean you get out of playing Santa tomorrow.” With a chuckle he pushed Amber through the doorway and towards the stairs.

  “Are you okay?” Abbie asked running a hand down Tom’s cheek.

  Tom didn’t answer but gave her a quick nod. His heart was thumping fast and hard, but he fought against showing Abbie how much the thought of dressing up was affecting him.

  “Tom, honey, you need to tell Jake again how this makes you feel.”

  “What’s the point,” Tom sighed leaning into her touch. “He just thinks it’s a huge fucking joke; which it is.”

  “No its not,” Abbie protested. “It’s something that genuinely upsets you. It’s a real phobia.”

  “A pathetic real phobia.”

  Tom moved away from Abbie and walked over to the fireplace, leaning both hands against it and stretching out his arms. He looked down at the dying embers of the fire and dropped his head. Christmas Day was supposed to be one of the happiest days of the year, but tomorrow could only be a disaster. Not only was he going to have to tell Jake that he’d been having sex with his sister for a year, but he was also going to have to lay himself open to ridicule when everyone found out about his phobia.

  As Tom contemplated just taking Abbie and running away, she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist and laid a cheek against his back.

  “I love you,” she said quietly.

  Tom placed a hand over both of hers that were clasped at this chest. “I love you too, but I’m fucking shit scared of what tomorrow will bring.”

  “I know, honey, but whatever happens you’ve got me. For always.”

  Turning in Abbie’s arms, Tom felt a lot calmer as he held her face in his hands and gave her the sweetest of kisses.

  “For always,” he whispered. “No matter what.”

  Chapter 15 – Christmas Day

  Christmas morning had begun bright and early in the Mahoney house, with Eliza waking everyone up at just after six. Kids and adults alike, rushed excitedly down the stairs into the den to see whether Santa had been. The huge piles of gifts around the room, the half-eaten mince pie and empty sherry glass were all evidence that he had indeed visited during the night.

  As Tom looked down at the children ripping at wrapping paper, he tried hard to keep the smile plastered to his face. It was great to watch them get excited with every gift, but the knowledge of what he had to do was causing an ache in his chest. It felt as though someone was using his heart like a concertina.

  The kids were coming to the end of their presents now and Skins had been sent to get some bin bags for the discarded paper. Stacey was on the sofa with Lucia and Abbie, while Amber and Martha were sitting with the kids, amongst the debris. Luke and Jake were in armchairs watching and both were sporting extra wide smiles, while Betty and Noah were cuddled up on the other end of the L-shaped sofa laughing at Eliza in her Manchester City football kit that she’d screamed in excitement about.

  “Hey, Rocco,” Luke called above the chatter. “Let Mama see the tag on that present, buddy.”

  “Okay, Papa.” Rocco tore the tag from the beautifully wrapped gift and passed it to Martha before continue to destroy the paper. “Wow, a truck. That’s weally cool.”

  “It is,” Martha giggled as her sons eyes grew wide on inspection of the toy. “It’s from Auntie Gabrielle and Uncle Dominic.”

  Luke wrote the details down on the pad that Martha had given him charge of. Every single person would get a thank you note from her children; something she was insistent on and something that Betty still did, even though she was now in her twenties and about to be married.

  “Hey how you doing?” Skins slapped a hand on Tom’s shoulder, as they both watched the chaos around them.

  Tom drew in a ragged breath as a knot rose in his throat. “I wanna puke, if I’m honest.”

  “Fuck, Tom, just tell him and get it over with.”

  “How can I tell him now?” Tom nodded towards Jake who was tickling Hendrix. “He’s having a great time with his kids. Me telling him about what’s been going on is just gonna piss on his turkey and ruin his day.”

  “He’ll be even more pissed if Amber has to tell him.” Skins replied with more than a hint of disapproval.

  “I know that!”
Tom hissed. “I just need to find the right time.”

  “Well, if I were you I’d make sure it’s before the party, that way you’ve got plenty of people to lose yourself in if he’s on the warpath.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Tom said wearily, knowing that Skins was right. He also knew that it was probably a little cowardly, but Jake wouldn’t ruin the party by being a dick.

  With another slap on the back, Skins moved away from Tom and started to pick up paper.

  All the wrapping paper had been cleared away, the kids were playing with their presents and a breakfast of tea and toast had been served by Martha and Amber. Everyone was now having some downtime before the chaos of the party started later in the afternoon. Thankfully, Guy and his team were outside in the marquee making the final preparations, so the house was a calm haven. Tom decided it was time. He’d managed to catch Abbie’s glance, and nodded as her eyes met his.

  “Jake,” he said putting a hand on his friend’s back. “You got a minute in the studio?”

  Jake looked up from the jigsaw puzzle he was doing with Eliza. “What now, we’re at an important point here. We’re looking for an edge piece.”

  Tom couldn’t help but smile. “Sorry buddy, but it’s pretty important.”

  “Okay,” Jake sighed. “Daddy will help you later, Princess. Okay?”

  “Yup,” Eliza replied with a huge smile. “See ya later alligator.”

  Once they got down to the studio, Tom thought his heart was going to bounce out of his chest, his nerves were so on edge. He wasn’t bothered about any punches Jake decided to throw, it was the thought that he was going to lose his best friend within the next half hour that had him petrified.

  “Right, so what’s the deal?” Jake asked.

  As he looked at Tom in anticipation, the door opened behind them. They both turned to see Abbie.

  “Hey Abs.” Jake said. “You okay?”

  Abbie didn’t say anything but moved over to Tom and grabbed his hand in hers and gave it an encouraging squeeze.

  “What’s this?” Jake nodded down at their conjoined hands.

  “Jake…” Abbie started.