The Stars Lie

When Matt thought about his life before he’d met Elise and when he thought about his life now, he realized it was like looking into two different mirrors and seeing different reflections. It was like two sides of one coin, something that was so different, but at the same time, one in the same. It was amazing to Matt what his wife had done for him, and how much she had helped him grow as a man.

Before Elise, he’d gone through women like they were candy. Every week, he’d have a new girl warming his bed, and he’d politely let go of them, trying his best not to break any hearts. And that was what Elise was supposed to have been. After she’d left that morning in Vegas, he’d never thought he’d see her again. He was grateful that he did; and whatever God in heaven existed, Matt thanked on a daily basis. His wife was his saving grace; she was his light at the end of the tunnel, as cheesy as it sounded. He knew that he wouldn’t be who he was right now if he didn’t have her right there beside him.

And then there was Dylan and little, unborn Maddie. Dylan was just now starting to say his first words; Matt was proud that the very first thing he’d ever said in life was ‘papa.” Or, at least, Matt thought that was what he had said. He’d never been too good at deciphering baby talk, and that was precisely what his son spoke in at this stage in life. Matt knew that his son would grow up to be an amazing young man someday, though, and even though the little boy, a perfect mixture of his traits and Elise’s, was only a little over a year old now, Matt was more proud of him than he’d ever been of anything his entire life. Sure, it was a rush getting up on stage in front of thousands of kids, but there was nothing quite like coming home to his wife and child at the end of the tour.

That was where he was headed today. The touring had finished for the year since Elise was eight months pregnant, closer to her due date than Matt felt comfortable with. He’d been more than nervous when Dylan had been born, but this baby girl that his wife was carrying had him feeling a whole other slew of anxiousness. They’d gone ahead and found out the gender of the baby this time around so that Matt and the guys had time to prepare the nursery before they’d left for tour, and both he and Elise had been pleasantly surprised to find out that Dylan was going to be having a little sister. The two of them had debated back and forth on a name for several months afterwards, but because Elise had insisted on naming her Madison—Maddie, for short—Matt had given in. As far as he was concerned, the baby girl wouldn’t be their last child. He wanted a large, happy family, and he knew that his wife wanted the same thing. He knew some would think him crazy for having two kids, let alone more than that, while he was a touring musician, but Matt Sanders had never been one to give a shit what others thought about him.

He grinned as the taxi that was taking him home drew closer to his house, and he paid the cabby before stepping out of the yellow vehicle, pulling his single duffel bag out with him. He whistled an upbeat song under his breath as he made his way up the walkway, grinning like a madman when he saw his son and his dog, Bella, playing together on the living room floor through the large bay window at the front of the house. Before he could even get to the front door, Elise had flung it open and ran at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, holding him tightly.

“I missed you so much,” she muttered against his lips as he pressed a chaste kiss to her mouth, the smile never leaving his features as he returned her hug, dropping his duffel bag to the porch as he swirled her around once. Right now, in this very moment, Matt felt like he was the luckiest man on the planet. He had the most beautiful woman on the planet as his wife, and he had one amazing baby and another on the way. He had a successful band, and the best friends a man could ask for. If life got any better than that, Matt didn’t know how. He’d never known what he was missing until Elise had entered his life. He frowned when he saw tears springing out of her eyes, and he wiped them away with the rough pads of his thumbs before pressing another kiss underneath each of her eyes.

“Baby, don’t cry. I’m home now,” he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her once again, careful to avoid putting pressure on her swollen belly. Elise blushed as he did so, and then let out a small giggle when she heard Dylan’s voice calling from inside the house, abandoning the dog to scoot on his butt closer towards the door.

“Pa-pa! Pa-pa!” The little boy said excitedly, his eyes shining bright as Matt let go of Elise to lean over and pick the small child up off the ground. He gave his wife a triumphant smirk as he pressed a kiss to Dylan’s forehead.

“I told you he could say ‘papa,’” he joked lightly before wiggling his nose against the baby’s. Dylan let out a gurgle of happiness as he clapped his hands together excitedly before he rested his head on Matt’s strong shoulder. Dylan was too young to understand why his dad had been gone for so long; all he knew was that he’d missed his presence in his life, and he was glad that he was home now.

“I knew he could,” Elise chuckled before bending over to grab her husband’s duffel bag. The three of them returned to the inside of the house, and Matt patted Bella’s head a few times before sitting down on the couch, still holding Dylan in his lap. The baby was content to just sit there, not needing to be preoccupied with toys for the time being. Matt closed his eyes, smiling as he relaxed for the first time in what felt like forever. He loved life on the road, but he’d missed this. Life was a lot more laid back here in Huntington, with his wife and child. He wouldn’t give up his band for anything in the world, but if Elise asked him, he’d make the band a secondary priority to her.

“I’m going to make him some oatmeal, if you want to feed it to him,” Elise said with a smile as she walked into the kitchen. Matt cracked open his hazel eyes to follow her with his gaze, and grinned when he saw the way she swayed her hips. She might be eight months pregnant, but she was still the sexiest thing he’d ever seen in his life.

“He’s eating oatmeal now?” Matt asked casually as he stood with Dylan, joining his wife in the kitchen. Elise nodded, readying the food in the microwave before she leaned against the counter as she waited for the beeper to go off. She loved watching Matt interact with their son. It never ceased to make her smile.

“Yeah, he started that awhile ago, babe,” Elise said as the timer went off. She reached to pull the bowl out of the microwave and then stirred it a little, adding in some milk to it to cool it off just a little so it wouldn’t burn Dylan’s mouth. When she was satisfied with that, she had Matt put him into the baby chair, and handed the food to Matt to feed their son. He took it one spoonful at a time, smirking when his son attempted to lift the bowl with his small hands and eat it all without the spoon.

“He’s an adorable eater,” Matt said softly, watching Dylan after he’d finished eating several minutes later. Elise giggled and nodded before putting her hands on Matt’s shoulders. She turned him around to face him, not letting go of him as she looked into his eyes. He kept his gaze on hers as well, and his lips turned up into a smile.

“I love you so much, Matt Sanders. More than you’ll ever realize,” she whispered up to him, touching the side of his face with one of her hands before she leaned in to slowly press her lips against his. Matt made no move to deepen the kiss for several long minutes before he captured her bottom lip in his mouth, nipping on it softly before letting go of it, watching as Elise’s cheeks tinted red.

“Not nearly as much as you, Elise Sanders,” he murmured as he pressed his forehead against hers. “It’s not possible to love someone more than I love you.”

Elise giggled at her husband’s words, and then moved to hug him again. It felt so good to just hold him close to her now; to have him be there for her physically while she was in this last month of pregnancy. She knew that Matt would be there for her until his dying day, and she hoped that day didn’t come to pass for a long time. He was her everything; she’d built her entire life around him, and she couldn’t imagine going on without him.

And as she looked into Matt’s face, she knew that he felt the exact same way about her.