Long seconds passed before he weakly nodded. “Yeah.” His stare darted all around before settling on me. “Yeah, you’re right.”
I settled back against the counter and looked over to see Savannah and Emberly watching us as they spoke quietly, Savannah seeming to take in the feel of the room and my mood before smiling softly at me.
“Emberly’s gonna be pissed,” Cayson said with a huff. “You actually apologized to me. Twice.”
“Idiot,” I mumbled under my breath. “Speaking of pissed . . .” I glanced over at him. “I already know he has company, I saw them, but y’all should really go see Sawyer.”
Suspicion slid across his features. “Why?”
I gave him a look as if he should know better than to expect me to tell him. “You shoulda told me my wife was pregnant.”
“And then I would’ve been kicked out of my house,” he said blankly.
“Good thing you have a condo.”
“Asshole,” he muttered, but his mouth was lifting in a grin as he started stepping away. “Hey.” He turned back, his smile softening as he looked at me. “I’m glad y’all worked through everything. Really, man, we were all hurting for y’all.”
“Me too,” I said quietly. “Appreciate your help and the condo. I’ll get my stuff out of there tomorrow.”
He nodded as he faced the girls. “Em.” When she looked at him, he gestured out of the kitchen with his head. “Let’s get out of here. We need to swing by Sawyer’s real quick.”
“Yeah, I dunno how quick it’ll be,” I said under my breath and bit back a smile when Cayson gave me a questioning look. “Have fun with that one.”
“What am I walking into?” he asked, all hesitance.
I just lifted my shoulders.
“Damn it,” he hissed as he held out a hand for Emberly.
“I ate your dinner. Sorry, but not really,” Emberly said in a rush as she grabbed hold of Cayson’s hand and began quickly pulling him away so I wouldn’t have the chance to respond.
I just smiled at Savannah as she pressed close to my side and followed them to the door.
Once they’d left, after Savannah and Emberly had said half-a-dozen goodbyes and finished other conversations they’d been having, I locked the door and latched the deadbolt.
“Hey, I thought of something when I saw you and Cayson talking,” Savannah began, wrapping her arms around my waist and looking up at me.
I dipped down to pass my mouth across hers, then started leading her toward the stairs. “Yeah?”
“Wait.” She pulled me to a stop, eyes wide. “Is that the first time you’ve really talked to him since he’s been back?”
“No. I’ve seen him a few times these past weeks.”
“Oh, well, it was nice to see,” she said, a soft smile tugging at her mouth as she started up the stairs. “Anyway, I was thinking . . . you explained last night how you’ve managed to control everything over the years—how you stopped being afraid of what you might do.”
“Right,” I said when she looked to me in question.
“But when Cayson came home and exposed everything about your dad, you were terrified in a way I’ve never seen you.” She reached up, gently grasping my shirt. “Beau, you were afraid to be around the kids.”
Assent rumbled in my chest as I turned us and started for our room. “That . . . yeah.” I scrubbed a hand over my jaw before shrugging, not wanting to voice the thoughts that had haunted me.
“What?”
A heavy breath escaped me after a moment. “When Cayson first explained everything about Dad and said he thought Dad might’ve been like me as a kid, it scared the shit out of me,” I admitted. “The only way I’ve figured out how to control my anger is to accept and welcome it when it’s there. And I kept thinking, what if that’s what my dad had done? What if controlling it got to be too much, and he snapped on Cayson one day, then continued to because he knew he could get away with it? And what if I eventually do that?”
“Beau,” she whispered, voice twisting with anguish. “You wouldn’t. I know you wouldn’t.”
“That’s how I got past it,” I muttered, head nodding absentmindedly. “Because I’d die before hurting one of them.”
“You’re an amazing dad,” she said, eyes searching mine to make sure I was listening.
To make sure I heard her.
“Yeah, well, we all thought he was too,” I said pointedly.
Her head shook as she grabbed my hand and crawled onto the bed, pulling me with her. “If I’d ever had a second of fear or the slightest hesitation with you, we never would’ve had kids. And you . . .” She glanced away for a moment, a bright smile creeping across her face. “The kids and I are so beyond lucky to have you.”
I fought a smile at the glistening in her eyes and dipped low to place a trail of feather-soft kisses from her lips to her neck, breathing in all that sugar and the faintest hint of cinnamon. “I love you.”
“I love you.”
Brushing my knuckles across her stomach, I asked, “So, what are you thinking for his name?”
“His, huh?”
I lifted an eyebrow and looked pointedly at the tears filling her eyes. “Babe.”
She glared at me for a moment before understanding fell across her face as she sucked in a slow breath. “Oh . . . oh, that makes sense.”
I hummed my agreement and gave up fighting the smile when I said, “And showing up at the school today.”
“Okay, but wait . . . that was so not planned, and you know she had it coming.”
“I never said she didn’t.”
“Did she really get fired?” she asked, eyes widening when I dipped my head in response. “What happened, and what does that mean for you?”
I rolled to my side and continued my lazy trail against her stomach. “More or less, we have Emberly to thank . . . and Kevin. All my write-ups were dropped.”
“Really?” Relief wrapped around the word and poured from her. “Oh, thank God. I still can’t believe any of this happened. I could’ve punched one of her fake boobs.”
A startled laugh burst from me and was echoed by Savannah, all soft and slightly embarrassed.
“I could’ve. I was so mad,” she mumbled, heat creeping up to her cheeks as her golden eyes danced around my face. “Try to get my husband to sleep with her and then say all the things she did and bring the town into it.”
“Walking out there and seeing you ready to throw down . . .” A groan built deep in my chest. “Do you know how hard it was to walk you outside and not take you to the nearest empty room and fuck you right then?”
Her next grin was pure sin as she rolled to her knees and pushed me to my back, following me down until she was straddling me. “I know you said all night, but—”
“Now,” I said firmly, my voice gravel as I pressed her harder against me. “Night starts now.”
She reached for my jeans, fingers stilling once she’d gotten the button undone. “Oh! I still love Kevin.”
“What the fuck?” I demanded, harsh and low.
“For a baby name—for a girl,” she clarified as if I should’ve known what she was talking about.
I dragged a hand over my face, my head shaking quickly. “Savannah, don’t ever say another guy’s name when you’re on top of me. I don’t care that we’re still dressed.”
“It’s for a girl,” she reasoned.
I lowered my hand and gave her a look. “For the fourth time, we’re not naming a baby after Kevin.”
“It wouldn’t be after him. I just love the name.”
“Do you know how fucking weird it is every time I see him after we have this conversation? How awkward it would be to say, ‘Hey, Kevin. We’re naming our baby Kevin . . .’” I lifted my brows, but she just continued to stare at me, not ready to surrender on this one yet. “Besides, I am positive we’re having a boy.”
“Again, it’s not like we’d be naming a baby after him,” she repeated. “If I was gonna name our bab
y after someone, I’d name him after you. Or Hunter or Cayson or Sawyer.”
I gripped her hands and forced out a slow breath. “I need you to get off me.”
Her eyes widened and a wounded sound left her. “Why?”
“Savannah, you’re undoing my pants and naming off my brothers.”
“You asked what I was thinking for the name,” she said as I gently eased her off me and got off the bed.
“I regret it,” I said with a rough laugh. “God, I regret it.” I turned to see her sitting on her knees at the side of the bed, eyes slightly narrowed as if I’d asked for it.
My crazy girl.
Closing the distance, I curled my hands around her cheeks and released another slow breath. “The first few months of your pregnancies are always a wild ride. And trust me when I say, I fucking love every single part of you and those rides.” I pressed a slow kiss to her mouth and then rested my forehead against hers. “I love you. You are my world. But I need a cold shower now. After that, I’d like to take you on a date.”
Her soft inhale was approval enough for me.
“When we come home, as long as you’re done naming off other guys, I’m undressing you and burying myself inside you.”
“I’m already done naming off people,” she assured me.
A smile slowly tugged at my mouth as I pressed another kiss to her lips. “I’m gonna need a minute to recover from that one, angel. Date?”
“Yes please.”
“We can talk about all the baby names you want,” I promised as I straightened and took a step back just as my phone chimed in my pocket.
Her face scrunched up in indecision. “There are only girl names coming to mind now that you said I’m having a boy.”
“Maybe I’m wrong,” I said as I grabbed my phone and bit back a curse when I saw the preview of the text.
“You know you’re not.” Savannah’s words came out slow and drawn out as she stood to see what was on my phone. “What’s wrong?”
I showed her the screen, not that it would explain anything to her.
Sawyer: What the fuck man?
“What’s going on?” Savannah asked as I tapped out a response.
Me: They needed to know. Hunter needs to know. Y’all will be a hell of a lot happier once everyone does.
Locking the screen, I tossed my phone to the bed and turned to my wife, already preparing for her reaction. “About Sawyer and Rae . . .”
A shocked cry escaped me and faded into a soft laugh when large hands molded around my hips and pulled me back into a warm, muscled body a few days later.
Leaning fully into his chest, I let my head roll to the side when Beau started making a line down the side of my neck with his mouth. My eyelids fluttering shut and my hands stilling on the island.
The baked goods forgotten.
“Fuck, you smell good,” he growled against my skin before giving a gentle bite.
“Such a bear,” I murmured teasingly.
Assent rumbled in his chest and vibrated against my back. “Walking into this kitchen and finding you dancing is one of my favorite things.”
I twisted in his arms to look up at him, his dark eyes studying me with so much love, it was staggering. “Really?”
“Yeah.” He said the word as if he couldn’t understand how I didn’t know that. “I know if you’re dancing, you’re happy. Dancing when you’re doing what you love most in the kitchen you dreamed up?” His shoulders lifted as if that explained it all.
The corners of my mouth twitched as awe and love for that man wove through me. “We dreamed up,” I corrected.
He gave me a doubting look that was playful and adorable and solely mine. “Two islands and double the size.” A smile slowly crept across his face. “That was all you.”
“And I was right, wasn’t I? I need both of them.”
His voice was all easy amusement when he said, “Never said you were wrong, just that the kitchen was all you.”
“Well, then, you’re welcome,” I said as I grabbed a chunk of one of the Danish twists I’d been snacking on and lifted it for him to try.
But then he was slowly taking the pastry from between my fingers while his eyes stayed locked on mine, and I was kind of forgetting everything else and the fact that we had a houseful of guests arriving soon until his eyes widened and appreciation sounded in his throat.
“Babe,” he groaned around the bite.
“Right?” I asked and smacked at his hand when he tried to take the rest of mine. “I made them last weekend, and they were gone crazy fast.”
He held my hands away and grabbed the last half of the pastry, holding it high up in the air so I couldn’t take it back. “You smell like lemon,” he said pointedly before taking another bite, silently asking what else I had made.
I pointed over to where I always left the pastries and goodies guests could snack on in pretty dessert displays. “Mini salted caramel Bundt cakes and mini lemon blueberry chiffon cakes . . . and that’s mine.”
“And it’s really fucking good,” he murmured, voice all rough and low as he pressed a slow kiss to my lips.
Bringing the twist down to my face, he let me take a bite then backed away until he was out of reach, mouth twitching with a wicked smirk.
“You’re so mean.”
“Never,” he said as he popped the last bit into his mouth, smiling as he chewed when I grabbed another and slid it closer to me.
“This one’s mine,” I said firmly.
“Yes, ma’am.” He ran a hand through his still-slightly-damp hair from his shower, then gripped the edge of the island, muscles rolling and twitching as he held himself up and distracting me completely. “The rooms are ready and the outside’s done. What can I help you with?”
I tore my stare from his arms and tried to think, but my thoughts were on him and his body. The way he looked when he held himself above me and how hard he’d made me come that morning before we’d ever left our bed.
“What?” I finally asked, and looked up to see a knowing grin mixing with his heated stare as it searched my face.
“What’re you thinking about, Savannah?”
“Nothing,” I lied.
A grunt of disbelief sounded in his throat.
When he pushed away from the island, my heart skipped a beat before taking off—all wild and merciless.
When he rounded my side of it, my stomach dipped with heat and anticipation.
When he slipped up behind me again, large hands curling around my hips and gripping the top of my pants, a flash of need rolled down my spine and had chills raising along my skin.
“What were you thinking about?” he asked as he started pulling my pants over my hips, dragging my underwear as he went.
“You,” I said on a breath, my head falling back against his chest. Pushing back against him when I felt him harden beneath his jeans. “This morning.”
His fingers gripped my leg for a moment at the reminder before he slowly trailed them back up and dipped them between my thighs.
A shuddering breath tumbled past my lips, and my eyelids fluttered shut . . . just as the front door opened.
“Are you fucking kidding?” Beau ground out and hurried to pull my pants back up from where he’d left them just above my knees.
I struggled to catch my breath when my heart and body were all over the place, then hissed a curse when I realized who was coming our way. “Shit, that’s my fault.”
Beau’s fingers dug into my hips as his forehead dropped to my shoulder. “I’d make them leave if I didn’t need him.” A groan that was all kinds of frustration sounded from behind me as he moved away, whispering, “Later,” as he did.
“Looking forward to it.” I met his stare, all carnal need, and prayed I didn’t look half as flushed as I felt when Sawyer and Rae entered the kitchen.
“You can’t really expect me to let her come over without me, all things considered,” Sawyer said with a shrug.
“I only called her for
a reason,” I said, pointing at Rae. “And I still can’t believe y’all got married without telling me. You assholes.”
“Which is why she isn’t here alone.”
“I’m pretty sure I hate both of y’all,” I continued even as I grabbed a couple Danish twists for them.
“You have your tools?” Beau asked after he finished turning the music down, eyes narrowed on Sawyer for the interruption. “I can’t get a spigot out back to stop leaking.”
Sawyer looked at me as if gauging what I planned to do with Rae before sighing. “Yeah, give me a second.”
I slid one of the twists toward Rae, then started setting up some of the others exactly how I wanted them in the display case as she slowly started toward me. “So, how long do you think you’ll hate us? Because Emberly said ‘forever.’”
A laugh bubbled free. “Of course she did.” My head shook slowly as I met her worried stare, a soft smile playing on my lips. “I don’t. I am so bummed I didn’t get to see that boy get married, but I’m also incredibly excited for y’all. And I get it,” I added encouragingly. “Emberly does too.”
“This isn’t poisoned then?” she asked as she brought the pastry closer to her, a mischievous glint in her eye.
I gestured to Beau with a jerk of my head. “He’s still standing.”
“Comforting,” she said sarcastically, then offered him a playful grin before looking at me. “Are you guys missing the kids? It’s so quiet in here.”
“Too quiet,” Beau added.
“We miss them so much,” I said. “We’ve been FaceTiming them a couple times a day. They’re having so much fun, and we’re grateful that my parents gave us this time together. We needed it.”
Beau grunted in agreement. “But we’re ready for them to be home.”
“Few more days,” I said with a sigh, then gave him an encouraging smile.
“Well, I’m glad the two of you were able to have some time alone,” Rae said with a nod. “Not that I know what it’s like the other way, but . . . you know.”
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