Twisting my head, I told Kellan, “They can always hop on Sienna’s bus. Didn’t she say she was tired of riding alone?”
Kellan let out a laugh that startled Gibson. “That is an excellent idea.”
Griffin glared over at him. “Dude, keep it down. You freaked out my daughter.”
Kellan grinned at his bassist. “Sorry.” Then he made a whipping noise like Griffin frequently made. I had to bury my head in Kellan’s shirt so I didn’t laugh too loud and get yelled at by the overprotective new father.
Kellan and the boys left a little while later. The show was over, and the process of tearing it down and moving on was probably already underway. I waited in the hallway with Evan, Matt, and Kellan while Griffin said goodbye to his family. Kellan was hugging me while we waited. “I’m going to miss you,” he said.
Resting my chin on my chest, I peered up at him. “I’m going to miss you too, but you’re only going to East Rutherford. That’s not far.”
“Feels far.” He smiled at me, then looked over to Anna’s door. “Do you think Griffin will be a good father?”
Smiling, I looked over to the closed door as well. He’d been in there saying goodbye to his wife and child for over fifteen minutes. “Yeah, surprisingly, I think he’ll be great.” I was still shocked by that fact.
Kellan turned back to me. “Do you think I would be a good father . . . one day?”
Tightening my arms around his neck, I eagerly nodded. “I know you will be.” Kellan smiled at the subtle promise of our future in my words. Kids wasn’t a matter of if for us, just when.
When Griffin finally emerged from Anna’s room, he was subtly swiping his eyes dry. I gawked at the raw emotion on his face. I’d never seen him look so distraught. He frowned as he glared at all of us. “What?” Then he moodily walked down the hall, away from the two people who had just become his entire world.
Matt and Evan hurried after him, Evan tossing an arm over his shoulders while Matt playfully punched him in the arm. Kellan watched them leave then sighed; his smile was a sad one as he gazed at me. “Guess I’m off to work. I’ll see you soon.” His brow bunched in concern as he twisted me to face him. “Please be careful.”
Leaning up, I placed a tender kiss upon his lips. “I’m always careful. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
As he walked away from me, I tried to not think about how much I was going to miss him while we were apart. Watching the way his clothes molded around his body helped with that. He turned at the door and gave me a small wave before exiting. I noticed a young nurse nearby sigh as she blatantly stared at him. Laughing a little, I waved back. When he disappeared, I exhaled just as forlornly as the nurse had.
Twenty minutes after he left me, my phone rang. I hurried to answer it. “Miss me already, Kellan?”
“Of course.” His happy tone fell as he added, “Hey, I just wanted to warn you, there was a group of fans forming outside of the hospital as we were leaving.”
I immediately stood and looked out of the window. Anna’s room overlooked a courtyard in the center of the hospital, though, and not the front doors. “Kell-Sex fans? Here?” I asked. “How did they . . . ?” My voice trailed off as I remembered stupidly announcing to a room full of fans that I was heading to a hospital. The more ambitious ones must have followed me in hopes to see Kellan there . . . or possibly to confront me . . . I wasn’t sure.
Kellan sighed. “Yeah, I think so. We left out of the ER doors, so they didn’t see me. They may think I’m still in there . . . with you. I’ve already called the hospital to give them a head’s up, so I don’t think you’ll be bothered on the inside. But just be careful when you do leave, please? I still haven’t had a chance to explain that photo.”
“Yeah, thank you.” Great. Was I really going to have to deal with a bunch of rabid fans who probably hated me while trying to get my newborn niece back to her rock star daddy? And just when I thought my life couldn’t get anymore surreal.