by KB Winters
As we walked to the limo, I looped my arm through his and smiled up at him. “You ready to call it a night, Mr. McGuire?”
“Not a fuckin’ chance, Mrs. McGuire,” he replied, flashing a wicked grin.
Epilogue
After marrying Holly on the bluff, overlooking the ocean, surrounded by family and friends who were close enough to be family, I thought nothing could ever come close to topping that day. Nothing could ever be that perfect.
I was wrong.
At three-fifteen on a Saturday afternoon, Holly fought like hell and pushed through the birth of our son. The moment that tiny little pink body was placed in her arms, I knew I’d never seen anything so damn beautiful as the way Holly looked, glistening with sweat and tears, staring down into the face of our little son.
Jackson Aaron McGuire, all ten fingers and toes.
I cried like a damn baby.
Weeks turned into months, each day flying by as Holly and I were lost among a sea of diapers, laundry, and baby bottles. It was exhausting but worth every sleepless night and long day. Jackson grew like a weed and by the time we made our first formal outing as a little family of three, he was already busting out of his onesies.
“You ready for this?” Holly asked, glancing into the backseat at Jackson who was sleeping in his car seat. She’d dressed him in a three-piece suit for the occasion—which I told her was a little much all things considered, but she insisted.
I smiled over at her. “I don’t know. I kinda wanna take advantage of Jackson’s hot mama while he naps.”
Holly laughed as she dragged her eyes from our infant son and locked them with mine. “Is that right?”
“Your tits have never looked better, baby.”
She slapped me playfully on the arm. “Jack!”
“What? He’s knocked out, he can’t hear me.”
She glanced back at Jackson and then smiled over at me. “Still…”
“Hey, if you didn’t want me to oogle, you shouldn’t have worn that dress.” To prove my point, I dropped my eyes to her ample cleavage and down the curves that were wrapped in a form-fitting black dress. She insisted she wasn’t back to her pre-baby weight but I didn’t care. I thought her filled-out booty looked hot as hell and didn’t mind if it stayed around a little while longer. She’d always had a butt, but since having Jackson, she was even more lush than ever before. The dress she’d picked out for the occasion hugged her in all the right places and sent my mind racing with all kinds of nasty thoughts.
Holly glanced down at herself, following my eyes. “It’s too tight, isn’t it? Let me run in and change. I knew I should have worn the purple one.”
I snagged her hand before she could open the passenger door. I tugged her across the center console and kissed her nice and slow—silencing all her doubts and insecurities. If she kept complaining about the way her body looked, I was going to have to take her inside and show her just how much I appreciated it.
Which sounded good to me. But Aaron would kick my ass if I was late to my own grand opening. He’d been bitching like an overworked party planner the last few months, trying to make sure everything went off without a hitch, and while I appreciated all his hard work, I was ready to get to work simply so he’d stop complaining about the menu and the lazy ass people who didn’t bother RSVP’ing in time.
“Mmm,” Holly murmured as we broke apart. “I guess the dress works.”
“Baby, you look smoking hot.”
“You just wanna get in my panties,” she teased, her eyes sparking with desire and mischief.
I shifted in my seat and hurried to put my seat belt on before I got carried away. “Maybe Jackson could stay with Aaron and Gemma tonight,” I suggested, flashing her a dark grin. “They could use the practice.”
Holly laughed. “I don’t think either of them are thinking babies right now. We’re the only ones crazy enough for that right now.”
She was probably right. Aaron and Gemma were only a month away from their own wedding, and Nick and Carly were talking about running off to Jamaica and tying the knot on New Year’s Eve. We were all invited of course. I was ready for a little vacation, even if it ended up only being for a few days. Between Jackson’s birth and the new business getting off the ground, things had been hectic and a little down time was just what we all needed.
But first, I had to get through the night. In a strange twist of events, Noah Scoville ended up turning into quite the ally—at least, business wise—and had put up the cash to get my charter business off the ground, literally. With his investment, I’d been able to buy two gorgeous jets, kitted out with every luxury needed to draw in top dollar clients. In addition, I’d been able to upgrade the airstrip behind the museum and hire on a part time pilot who could take over for me when daddy duty called. Aaron wasn’t my official partner, but was influential in getting my roster built up and was rewarded with a hefty sum for use of the facility and airstrip.
I glanced at Jackson in the rearview mirror. Yep, everything had turned out pretty damn perfect.
****
“Baby Boomer!” Aaron cooed as Gemma rocked him in her arms.
I laughed and slapped Aaron on the back. “Kid’s gonna need his own call sign one of these days.”
“You think he’ll be a navy man?” Aaron asked.
“Holly’d probably have a heart attack, but I wouldn’t stop him if he wanted to follow in my footsteps.”
Gemma smiled as Jackson opened his eyes and looked up at her. “Hi, little man. Remember Auntie Gemma?”
Aaron chuckled. “Babe, he just saw you a few days ago.”
“I know.”
“Come on, let’s get a beer,” Aaron said, pointing his chin in the direction of the bar. “After all, you’ll need something so you can give your big speech.”
I swallowed hard. “Don’t remind me.”
Carly and Holly were across the room, chattering away and I smiled. One of the best things about settling down in Holiday Cove was that all of our friends were right here. Carly came over several times a week to take Jackson off Holly’s hands so she could run errands and get things done around the house. Holly was still interviewing nannies who would take over once she officially went back to work in the next few weeks. In the meantime, she had Auntie Gemma and Carly on hand and Rachel came up some weekends to hang out with us.
“Two beers,” Aaron said once we arrived at the open bar. The museum hangar was once again converted into a huge event space, even using some of the leftover decor from the wedding. He’d hired the local florist to deck the place out with fancy arrangements on every table. Carly offered to do the catering, but Aaron had turned her down, citing that he wanted her to enjoy herself. The party was more for family and friends than for the opportunity to expose the business to new or prospective clients—although there were some big fish on the guest list for that purpose.
The bartender passed over two cold ones and Aaron raised his glass to mine. “You ready for this?”
I nodded. “As ready as I’m going to get.”
Aaron chuckled. “You can cross into a fuckin’ red zone without breaking a sweat but giving a speech in front of two hundred people makes you break out in hives.”
I laughed. “We all got our issues.”
He tapped his glass to mine and then asked the bartender for the wireless mic pack. He switched it on and I drew in a deep breath. “Good evening everyone,” he started, his voice booming throughout the hangar. All eyes turned in our direction and anxiety swept over me even as I grimaced to keep a smile on my face. “Thank you all for coming out tonight, Boomer and I appreciate it. Are you all having a good time?”
A round of polite applause rang through the crowd.
“Good, good. Now, I’m going to turn this thing over to the man of the hour, but I did have a few things I wanted to say first.”
I cocked my head in his direction, unsure what he was talking about.
He grinned. “Tonight, I’m honored to rai
se my glass to you, Boomer. You’re more than my friend. You’re my brother. You were my brother in our navy days, you always had my six, and now, in life, I know you’re still watching out for me. Now, as most of you know, this place, the Rosen Air Museum was my dad’s. He was a navy man himself and when he got out, this was his vision. His heart and soul. He dumped his everything into this place. This is the legacy he passed on to me when he left this world. And I’ve done my damndest to build it up into something he’d be proud of.” Aaron paused and swallowed hard. “Now, I’m standing here with Boomer McGuire. Medal of Honor recipient and damn fine pilot.”
My heart thundered in my chest. I steeled myself and Aaron continued. “I’m proud to know this man and to add him to this legacy. Especially since he and his beautiful wife, Holly, have just had their own son.”
My throat went tight as I glanced over and found Holly, who had Jackson in her arms.
“Jack, you’re one hell of a man. Thank you for always being there, for never giving up on me, and now, for coming here and helping me to make this place something my old man would be proud of. All day I’ve felt him looking down on us, smiling.” He held up his glass to the crowd. “So tonight, this one’s for you dad.”
“To Dad,” I added, raising my glass to meet Aaron’s.
The crowd echoed our toast and we all drank together.
Aaron set his beer aside and pulled me in for a tight embrace. “Thanks, brother,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.
I nodded. “Thank you.”
We parted and Aaron passed over the mic before taking his beer and going to stand beside Gemma, leaving the floor mine. I drew in a deep breath and stared at the crowd. Most of them were still recovering from Aaron’s heartfelt speech, some wiping at their eyes. Likely those who had known his father. I found Holly’s eyes across the room and she smiled at me before blowing a kiss.
“Thank you, Aaron, for those words. I’m gonna do my damndest to live up to them. Being a pilot was my dream from my earliest memories. I always wanted to fly—yes, even off the roof of the garage on occasion,” I said, pausing for a light wave of laughter. “I joined the Navy as soon as they’d let me and spent nearly fourteen years in active duty and now remain in the reserves. That love of flying used to be my driving force. My reason to wake up each day. Right up until I met this beautiful lady on the beaches just a few miles from here.”
I smiled as everyone swiveled to look at Holly. Jackson giggled and kicked, making everyone laugh again.
“That day my whole life changed and then, just a few months ago, it changed all over again when that little meatball joined the ranks.” A soft round of applause went through the room and Jackson gave the crowd a wide, gummy grin. “I still love flying and that’s what led me to open McGuire Charters here in partnership with the Rosen Air Museum. I learned that while I still need the sky and the wide-open horizon, I know there’s nowhere else, or anyone else, that I’d rather fly back home to at the end of the day.”
Holly wiped at her eyes and mouthed I love you.
“So, for you, Holly, and my little man, Jackson, I love you, thank you for joining me on this journey. To Aaron, my brother for life, thank you for giving me this opportunity. And to all of you, thank you for building this amazing community where friends have become family. May we all have a long and bright future together in Holiday Cove!”
Everyone raised their glasses. “Cheers!”
~ T H E E N D ~
Wow! I hope you loved Jack! Stay tuned for more stories from Holiday Cove!
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Acknowledgements
Thank you! I love you all and thank you for making my books a success!! I appreciate each and every one of you.
Thanks to all of my beta readers, street teamers, ARC readers and Facebook fans. Y’all are THE BEST!
And a huge very special thanks to my wonderful PA, Silla. Without you, I’d be a *hot mess! I’m still a hot mess, but without your keen sense of organization and skills, I’d be a burny fiery inferno of hot mess!! Thank you!
And a very special thanks to my editor, Tina Rucci (who sometimes has to work all through the night! *See HOT MESS above!) Thank you for making my words make sense.
Copyright © 2017 BookBoyfriends Publishing LLC
About The Author
KB Winters has an addiction to caffeine, tattoos and hard-bodied alpha males. The men in her books are very sexy, protective and sometimes bossy, her ladies are…well…bossier!
Living in sunny Southern California, the embarrassingly hopeless romantic writes every chance she gets!
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Or stop by her website at KBWinters.com!