Standing on my tiptoes, I kissed Seth’s cheek.
“What was that for?” he asked, smiling.
I lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Wanted to.”
He grinned. Seth dropped his spatula then wrapped his arms around my waist. He dipped his head and captured my mouth in a long, sensual kiss.
“What was that for?” I breathed.
“Wanted to,” he murmured against my lips.
I smiled and kissed him again. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
* * * *
The sun had begun to lower, the day winding to a close. Austin was exhausted and was taking a disco nap on the couch inside. Billy, I think, was glad of the break. He sat in the chair beside me, seemingly happy to sit back and let the conversations wash over him. An observer rather than a participant. Like me, I guess.
Seth reached for my hand under the table. He laced our fingers together and squeezed. “Hey, you want to get out of here?” he murmured.
I glanced at Billy. “You think he’s hit his limit?”
Seth lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I think we’ve put in enough face time. Why don’t we head out and do something, the three of us?”
A slow smile pulled at my lips. “That sounds perfect.” And it really did. I loved how considerate, how thoughtful he was. A lot of other guys would probably still be freaking out at the sudden appearance of a twelve-year-old child in their lives.
“Hey,” I said, turning to Billy, “are you ready to go?”
“What? Don’t tell me you guys are taking off already,” Blake cried from across the table.
“We’ve been here for four hours, bro,” Seth said, laughing.
Blake gestured across the yard to where a mound of fireworks were piled. “You’ll miss the best damn show in Vegas!”
Seth gave him a skeptical look.
Blake turned to Marley. “It’s going to be amazing, right?”
Marley smiled and leaned over to kiss Blake on the cheek. “I think you’ll do the very best you can.”
Blake huffed and draped his arm over his wife’s shoulders. “After all these years, I can’t expect you to start inflating my ego now, right?”
Marley patted Blake’s knee. “I’m just thinking of your best interests.”
“Right,” he muttered sardonically.
“Anyway,” Seth said as he glanced between Blake and Marley with undisguised amusement. “We’re going.”
We all got to our feet and started to head around to the front of the house.
“Thanks for keeping my little monster entertained all afternoon. I think you’ve got a sidekick for life,” Marley said to Billy.
He smiled up at her. “He’s a cool kid. Totally nuts.”
She laughed. “Yeah, you’ve got that right.”
Seth unlocked the car and slapped his brother on the back—showing his thanks the way only men can, I guess.
“Thanks, Marley,” I said, giving her a quick hug. “You threw an awesome party.”
“Thanks for coming.”
“Um, thanks for letting me come too,” Billy said, scuffing his sneakers on the gravel.
Marley’s face softened and I knew it was killing her to not pull him into her arms. “You’re welcome here any time, Billy. Any time at all.”
He smiled and, if I had to guess, Marley had just won his heart for, like, ever. Billy ducked into the car.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” Marley said, squeezing my arm.
I nodded. “I think a therapy session will be needed.”
“I’ll bring the tequila.”
“Perfect,” I said, not even close to kidding.
Seth started the car and I climbed into the passenger seat. We waved goodbye to Blake and Marley as Seth pulled out of their driveway.
“Hey, Billy, you ever been to Vegas on the Fourth before?” Seth asked him, catching his eye in the rearview mirror.
“No,” Billy replied. “We always stay in Henderson.”
“When I was a kid, my favorite thing about the Fourth was the fireworks. And let me tell you—nowhere else in the world does fireworks like Vegas.”
A laugh bubbled in my throat. “You have to be talking about—”
“Hey,” Seth interrupted. “Keep it a surprise for the kid.”
I held my hands up in submission. I wasn’t naïve. I knew there were other, more glamorous places in the world. But Seth was right—nowhere else in the world did fireworks like Vegas. And only one place in Vegas did them the most spectacularly.
* * * *
Seth found a place to park and we negotiated our way through the crowds of people that forever littered the strip. Las Vegas Boulevard was home to the biggest, most over-the-top, out-of-this-world hotels on the planet. I’d practically grown up with neon signs as my night-light and hadn’t realized that not all hotels had giant, lit-up cowboys above the doorway until I’d been eight and we’d taken a family vacation to Chicago.
Vegas was, and always will be, my home. I loved it here and couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else in the world. It was surprising, then, that Seth and I had never crossed paths before we’d met five years ago.
He was practically Nevada royalty. Every other person knew the name Hamilton, knew that it went hand in hand with wealth and success. It hadn’t been a shock to learn that when he was younger, Seth had been the epitome of a playboy. He’d gone to the best clubs, traveled around Europe, hung out with likeminded people.
When I’d hit the Vegas nightlife scene, it was off the beaten track. I hadn’t set foot in one of Seth’s father’s hotels until we’d gotten together, and the closest I’d gotten to Europe was when one of my roommates had made French toast.
And yeah, in the beginning, I’d been skeptical of Seth. Hadn’t believed he could really be interested in a nobody like me. After some trial and error, I’d discovered that there was a lot more to Seth Hamilton than met the eye.
I was thankful every day that I’d looked hard enough and found the man beneath the bravado.
Last year for the Fourth, we’d been with a bunch of Seth’s old friends and we’d hired a houseboat on Lake Mead. It had been a two-day party and it had taken me almost a week to fully recover.
This year, we’d planned to be with Blake and Marley, so I’d thought I’d miss out again on my most favorite Fourth of July experience.
Fireworks at the Stratosphere.
We found a good place to see the show, and when I glanced at my watch I saw it was scheduled to start any minute now.
“I’ve always wanted to go to the top of that thing,” Billy said, nodding at the Stratosphere tower.
“I tried to talk Cass into X-Scream a few years back,” Seth said, looking at me with amusement.
Billy laughed. “You didn’t go on?”
“Um, no, I didn’t. And I have no regrets about that.” I gave Seth a sickly sweet smile. “Tell him what happened after you tried it out.”
He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah…I may have vomited. A lot.”
“All over the sidewalk, then the car, then the flower bed at home.” I shook my head. “If the ride itself wasn’t enough to put me off, then that sure as hell was.”
Billy laughed again. “That’s so gross.”
“You’re telling me,” I murmured.
A loud crack filled the air and the sky erupted in a riot of color. We turned our faces up as the firework show began. Different sizes and shapes lit up the already bright night. Flowers burst into existence, fountains and multi-colored Ferris wheels sparkled and banged.
I glanced down at Billy, at the light bouncing off his face. He wore a look of awe and child-like wonder. His mouth was slightly parted, his eyes wide as though trying to swallow the display whole and sear it into his memory.
He turned and caught me staring. He smiled wider before turning back to the display.
My heart lurched and I sucked in a breath. Was I really here? Was this really happe
ning? Before I could overthink it or change my mind, I placed my hand on Billy’s shoulder. I gave it a soft squeeze and left it there. If he’d shrugged it off I’d have died of embarrassment. But he didn’t.
I looked up at Seth, expecting him to be watching the show.
He wasn’t.
I couldn’t determine, couldn’t even describe, the look in his eyes. He smiled, soft and reassuring, and leaned over to kiss my temple.
I wanted to freeze this moment. Capture it in a bottle so I could take it out and relive it whenever I wanted. I closed my eyes tight, trying to soak in everything. The noise. The warmth of Seth’s body beside me. The feel of Billy’s shoulder beneath my hand.
The cracking slowed then stopped, and the show was over.
With some reluctance, I said to Billy, “Come on, we’d better get you home.”
He nodded and followed us wordlessly to the car.
The drive to Henderson was near silent, save the low murmuring from the radio. Billy gave us directions when we neared, but stared morosely out of the window for the most part.
We pulled up in front of a nice two-story white house with blue shutters and a brick surround front door. Shrubs lined the front steps and the side of the two-car garage.
“This is it?” I asked, turning around to Billy.
He made a nondescript noise.
“It’s nice.”
He shrugged.
Wow.
Seth turned off the engine and reached over to squeeze my knee.
My heart thundered as I climbed out of the car. I had no idea what to expect when I knocked on that front door. She had been nice and understanding, and more supportive than I could have imagined while on the phone, but what if she was just waiting to see me in person before she ripped me a new asshole?
Billy walked ahead of me and Seth and opened the front door.
“Billy?” a feminine voice called from somewhere in the house.
“Yeah,” he called back. “I’m home.”
A moment later, Mrs. Rossi appeared, wiping her hands with a dishtowel. She gathered Billy in a tight embrace. She pulled back and pressed her palm to his cheek. “Did you have fun?”
Billy nodded.
Mrs. Rossi looked at me, her eyes shining. Then her arms were around me, holding me just as tight, just as fiercely, as she had held Billy. “Are you okay?”
I opened my mouth to reply, but my throat closed up. A knot formed and I tried to swallow it down.
She released me and looked at Seth with a wide smile. “Hi, I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“I’m Seth Hamilton, ma’am,” Seth said, extending his hand for her to shake.
Mrs. Rossi laughed. “No need for the ma’am. It’s lovely to meet you.” She turned back to me and glanced down at my bare left hand. “Is he your…?”
“You know, I keep asking, but she always turns me down,” Seth said with a heartbroken, puppy dog look.
I huffed and swatted his arm. Seth Hamilton—always the joker. Like I’d ever turn him down. Ever. “Ignore him. We’re long-term. And I’m waiting for him to finally ask.”
She laughed again. “I see. I’ve just put on a pot, will you both stay for coffee?”
Seth and I shared a look. “Sure. That would be lovely.”
“Billy, want to give me a hand getting your bike out of the car?” Seth asked him.
“Sure,” Billy agreed and the pair headed back outside.
Mrs. Rossi gestured for me to follow her, and she led me into a bright and airy kitchen.
“You have a lovely home,” I said, hovering in the doorway. I had no idea where to put myself. What to do with my hands. Anything.
“Please, have a seat.” Mrs. Rossi moved to the round table near the windows.
“I feel like I should apologize,” I said when she brought over three mugs of coffee.
She lifted her eyebrows. “Why?”
“I don’t know… You weren’t exactly given much room for negotiation in all of this.”
Her gaze softened. “Sweetheart, neither were you.”
“I just… It’s my fault, isn’t it?”
“Actually, I think it’s Billy’s fault. He put us both in a difficult position, and rather than come to me and his father, he jumped on his bike to find you.” She sighed. “If I had the choice, of course this isn’t how I would have done things. There would have been an email or a phone call first. Then an initial meeting, then we’d take it from there. We’ve all sort of been shoved in at the deep end. But it is what it is—we can’t change that.”
“No, we can’t.”
“Do you resent him coming to find you?” Mrs. Rossi asked carefully.
I whipped my head up. “What? No, of course not. Seeing him on my doorstep… I can’t explain what that felt like. It was like years of wondering, worry, melted away.”
“Is this something you would like to do again? On a more regular basis?”
“You mean contact?” This was surely a conversation I should have with Seth. It was his life too, and he’d hardly asked for a part-time twelve-year-old kid. But I knew Seth. He would only tell me that I should do what I wanted, what made the most sense, and support me no matter what.
“Yes.”
“I… I’d really like that. But I want you to know, I’m going to follow your lead. I’m not going to shove myself into your life. This should be something you and your husband, and Billy of course, decide. I’ll go along with whatever you want.”
She blew out a breath. “I sometimes can’t believe it’s been twelve years… It feels like yesterday, doesn’t it?”
“No,” I whispered. “It feels exactly like twelve years. Four months. Two weeks. And one day.”
Mrs. Rossi reached over and captured my hand. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. It’s me who has to say this—thank you. Thank you for giving my baby such a beautiful home and family. Thank you.”
She rose from her chair and wrapped her arms around me. “We’ll figure this out. I promise.”
I nodded and wiped away the tears that streaked down my cheeks. The front door opened and closed, and Mrs. Rossi released me. I sucked in a deep breath and took a gulp of my coffee.
A moment later, Billy and Seth entered the kitchen.
“We should really be going,” I said, standing up. “You guys have a lot to talk about, I’m sure.”
“Wait,” Billy said, taking a step closer to me. “When can I…? Can I visit you again?”
“Yes. And either Cassidy will pick you up, or I will drop you off. If you ever decide to ride your bike to Las Vegas again, William Rossi, I will skin you alive. So you’d better make sure you have a head start,” Mrs. Rossi warned.
Billy rolled his eyes, but a smile pulled at his lips.
“I’ll see you soon, okay?” I said.
Billy nodded and seemed to hesitate for a moment. But then he came closer and slipped his arms around my waist. The world stopped. For a second I just stood there like the most awkward person on the planet.
I brought my arms around him, pressed my face to his hair and held the child I’d missed for twelve years, four months, two weeks and one day.
Billy pulled away, his cheeks pink.
“Your mom has my number. Call me any time, okay?” I said.
“Okay.”
At the front door, Mrs. Rossi hugged me again, and I couldn’t find the words to express what this meant to me—her acceptance, Billy’s desire to be part of my life. Emotion threatened to spill, so I hustled Seth out of the door.
It was a quiet car ride again. My head was so full of the events of the last few days, trying to process that my child, my child, was back in my life…that his parents were happy for him to be.
I could hardly believe it.
It took a while to realize that Seth wasn’t driving us home. But I knew Seth Hamilton had a reason for doing everything, so I kept quiet and waited.
* * * *
Seth got out of the car and pulled a blanket from the trunk. He spread it on the grass, where the headlights illuminated the night. He crooked a finger at me and, with a smile, I left the car to join him.
I sprawled flat out on my back and settled into the nook of Seth’s side, under his armpit.
“Crazy few days, huh?” Seth asked, his voice piercing the otherwise silent night.
“That’s an understatement if I ever heard one,” I said quietly.
“Where’s your head?”
I laughed. “Everywhere. Where’s yours?”
“Firmly on the ground. Or on my neck, a safe six foot two off the ground. I don’t know. I messed up that metaphor. My head is right where it should be.”
“You’re such a dumbass.”
“You love me.”
“I do.”
Seth rolled onto his side. He propped his head up on his hands. “When are you going to say that for real?”
“What, I do?” I asked, my eyebrows shooting up.
He nodded.
“I don’t know.” I laughed. “When are you going to ask?”
“When do you want me to ask?”
I could have replied with another glib, vague answer. But in our relationship, it was always Seth reassuring me. Seth pulling me along to where we needed to be. I had all the questions, and he had all the answers.
Not this time.
“Seth, will you marry me? Like, right now?”
He sat up. “Say what now?”
So clearly he hadn’t been expecting that. I sat up and grinned at him. “Why not? We can do the big wedding thing if you want. Or we can just do it right now. Just us.”
“Don’t you want a big wedding? Or at least a small, intimate thing?” Seth frowned.
I shook my head. “I want to be married. I don’t care about the wedding. But if you do, then I’m in. I just want to be married to you. I don’t care how we do it.”
Seth stared at me for a few moments, those familiar eyes of his searing into me. Then he fished his phone out of his pocket.
Secrets, Lies & Fireworks (Beautiful Saviors Book 1) Page 6