by Amy Daws
“You made it!” Vi peals, ditching her man and rushing through the entrance of the resort. Her flip-flops clap loudly on the marble floor as she hurries over to pull Gareth into a hug.
“Hiya, Vi,” Gareth replies, clasping her back and watching over her shoulder as the two men approach.
As soon as Gareth’s dad reaches us, Gareth breaks away from his sister and steals the little girl right out of Vaughn’s hands. Vaughn doesn’t seem fazed at all, only smiling at his son who’s now doting over his granddaughter.
I’m thoroughly enjoying the hot guy with a baby show when Vaughn shocks me with a tight hug as well. “Sloan, it’s so good of you to come,” he says, pulling away and smiling.
The hug takes both Gareth and Vi by surprise as they stare at their father like he’s committed a felony.
“Thanks for having me,” I manage to reply, my tongue feeling stroppy in my mouth.
“This is my daughter, Adrienne,” Vi interjects with an affectionate smile. “Everyone calls her Rocky, though.”
Gareth turns a proud smile to me as he shows off his niece.
“Nice to meet you, Rocky.” I shake her tiny hand. My heart squeezes when she drags her tiny sunglasses off her face and hits me straight on with the most stunning blue eyes I’ve ever seen on a child. “Good God, she’s beautiful!”
“Thank you,” Vi replies with a pleased smile. “I can’t take all the credit, though. This is my fiancé, Hayden.”
Hayden shakes my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Vaughn’s voice breaks up our introductions. “We’ve had a brilliant day at the beach, haven’t we, Rocky Doll?” He pokes his finger into her side and she squeals with delight. “Your grandma would have loved it.”
I see Gareth stiffen beside me, but Rocky’s voice suddenly chimes, “Garee, swim.” She wraps her little arms around her uncle’s neck and basically makes me want more babies with one adorable grin. “Papa, swim!’
Gareth looks surprised. “Is she calling you Papa now?”
Vaughn smiles smugly. “That she is. You’re not the only one she fancies, Gareth.”
Vaughn laughs good-heartedly, but Gareth doesn’t seem amused. “How long has that been going on?”
“A couple of weeks,” Vi replies, her face appearing a little tense. “She went from repeating words to calling everyone by their names in the blink of an eye. You’d have heard it yourself if you were able to come to Sunday dinners. No worries, though! We’re just glad you’re feeling better and we’re all together now. The boys are off on a boat excursion with the girls, but they should be back soon. We have a packed three days ahead of us.”
Vaughn speaks up next, staring at both me and Gareth with a meaningful expression on his face. “I hope you’re both ready for all of this. It’s going to be a lot of family time. Some that I hope will allow us all to really reconnect.”
His eyes settle on Gareth for a moment, and I swear Gareth looks like he’s going to burst out laughing. Instead, he replies, “We’ll be fine, Dad.”
Vaughn nods. “It’s a shame you missed out on the beach day today. It was good fun.”
Gareth shakes his head like he can’t wrap his mind around the image in front of him. When he’s about to say something, Vi quickly steps between them, her voice shrill when she says, “Would you look at the time? We all need to get back to our rooms so I can finish prepping the dinner I’m making for all of us at our bungalow.” She smiles at Gareth with wide, over-eager eyes, clearly in planning mode already. “You’ll see it all on the itinerary when you check in. You and the boys are staying here at the resort. Dad, Hayden, Rocky, and I are at an adorable stone cottage just down the beach. There’s a map in your gift bag. Tonight we’re having a traditional family dinner. Then tomorrow morning is the wake. After that, it’s wedding day!”
Vi smiles a bit too brightly. Then I see Hayden rub a calming hand over her tight shoulders as she grabs Rocky out of Gareth’s arms. “Go check in and get changed. Dinner is in two hours, and I really don’t want you to be late.”
The three of them and Rocky turn and make their way back outside. It’s then that I notice Gareth is ten times more anxious than when we first arrived.
“Are you all right?” I ask quietly and reach out to touch his arm.
He nods, his jaw muscle ticking once before he turns to look at me. “I’m fine. I just have no idea who that man is because he certainly isn’t my father.”
AS AN ATHLETE, I’VE TRAVELLED the world twenty times over. I’ve stayed in the best hotels, ate at fine restaurants, been given VIP status at the most lavish clubs. But I’ve never been on a proper family holiday. And seeing my dad wearing bloody shorts and sandals for the first time in my entire life while he carried Rocky like a doting granddad shouldn’t have put me on edge, but it did. Then he referred to our mum as grandma and hugged Sloan. Hugged her! My dad isn’t a hugger. He’s stiff and emotionless. British. And what the fuck did he say out there? Family time? What in the bloody hell does that even mean?
I was quiet when Sloan and I checked into our room. My dad fucked with my head properly, so I went for a quick run on the beach when Sloan hopped into the shower to get ready for dinner. I hoped it might clear my mind and help me not be a moody sod all evening.
When I return to the room, Sloan is out on the balcony, curled up in a bathrobe with her mobile in hand. She’s laughing happily and I see her daughter’s face illuminating the screen. It’s a private moment, so I pop into the loo and set about getting myself ready for dinner.
Twenty minutes later, I’m dressed in a pair of soft navy shorts and a white T-shirt. I see that Sloan is off the phone now and is leaning over the railing of the balcony, watching the sun set.
I inhale slowly as I get a full view of her body. Her creamy back is almost entirely exposed in a long, black and white striped beach dress. There’s a single horizontal strand of ribbon tied in a bow across her shoulder blades, holding the dress closed. Other than that, I can see every beauty mark on her flesh.
The outline of her legs shows through the fabric of her dress as it blows in the wind. Her chestnut hair is wavy over her shoulders. She’s any man’s fantasy come to life. If I wasn’t so desperate to touch her, I’d stay where I am and continue watching her like a creepy voyeur because the sight is spectacular.
I stride out onto the balcony and move past the small plunge pool to stand behind her. She turns her head when she feels my presence, but freezes when my fingertips trace along the line of her dress that rests above the swells of her arse.
“If your back looks this good, I can only imagine how the front looks,” I murmur into her ear, splaying my hand flat along the flesh of her lower back and snaking my fingers inside the dress. I squeeze her hip and pull her back against me. Her entire body shudders beneath my touch. “I have so many plans for you, Treacle.”
She peeks over her shoulder, her eyes gazing up at my face. “When are you going to be putting those plans into action?” Her lips remain parted, her breaths coming out quicker than normal. “That six-hour plane ride was freaking torture.”
I smile a wicked smile and pull my hand out from inside her dress. “Later. Vi will kill me if we’re late.”
I drop a kiss to her temple, then watch her deflate and shake her head with a cheeky smile. She turns to eye me up and down. “Well, I have to say, the casual vacation look really suits you.”
I quirk a brow. “I have a really great stylist I can put you in touch with.”
She giggles. “How was your run?”
“Great.” I move to stand beside her and prop an arm on the railing while placing one hand on the small of her back. “How is Little Minnow?”
“Little Minnow?” she asks, her brows knit together in confusion.
“Sophia,” I correct with a smirk. “There’s a football game we played at camp called Sharks and Minnows. All the other kids were fighting to be sharks, but not Sophia.”
“That doesn’t surprise me in the least
,” Sloan laughs, a look of pride washing over her face in response to my anecdote. “And Little Minnow is good. She had just gotten home from school, so she had to tell me about her day.”
“Does she call you every day after school?”
Sloan nods. “Yes. At least, I like her to. It’s nice to know she’s safe since I really have no control over what she does at Callum’s every other week.”
“Control.” I repeat the artfully chosen word with a smirk. “It’s a fleeting thing sometimes, isn’t it?”
“That it is,” she replies, exhaling heavily. “I’ve noticed that the more you try to control something, the more it controls you.”
My brows lift. “Perhaps it’s better to let things go down their own natural path?”
“I suppose we’ll see.” She pulls her lip into her mouth and chews nervously. “So, should I be afraid of this dinner with your family?”
I bark out a laugh. “Yes, Sloan. You should be very, very afraid.”
We make our way down the beach and find Vi’s bungalow nestled amongst an array of papaya and mango trees. It smells of citrus as we walk past a natural pond situated in front of the stonewall cottage. The entire property looks like it was plucked out of an ancient holiday catalogue. That is until we walk into the three-ring circus that is the Harris family all gathered together in one place.
Tanner has Booker in a headlock in the foyer while Camden is full-on making out with his wife, Indie, against a nearby wall. Around the corner, I see Vi in the kitchen, pulling a large roasting pan out of the oven while Hayden dips his finger into something that looks like a chocolate mousse. Through the living area, Booker’s girlfriend, Poppy, is propped on the couch while Tanner’s wife, Belle, holds something up to her protruding belly. It’s a bloody disaster zone.
“Let go of me, Tanner. I’m going to miss it!” Booker cries, his entire body bent in half as Tanner tightens his grip around his neck.
“I’ll let you go as soon as you tell me your boy will be a striker and not a keeper. It’s that simple!” Tanner rolls his eyes like this is the most normal conversation he’s ever had.
“You’re bloody mental!” Booker howls as he tries and fails to slip out of Tanner’s arm.
Tanner’s man bun suddenly pops up as he realises he has an audience. “Oh, hiya, guys. Don’t mind us.”
“No!” Booker squeals, his voice sounding almost girlie as his face turns a deep shade of purple. “Mind us, Gareth! Please, mind us. Belle is about to find my baby’s heart rate with some Doppler thing she brought, and Tanner is being an exceptional brand of arsehole.”
I feel Sloan trembling next to me and look over to see that she’s covering her mouth to hide her laugh. She looks as if she’s staring at a couple of naughty children instead of two full-grown men.
“Don’t encourage them,” I murmur into her ear and slip a hand around her waist to give her a warning squeeze. “Tanner,” I grumble, shaking my head. “Let Booker go. You’re being stupid.”
“No, Gareth! It’s my wife’s machine. I get to call the shots.”
“God, you’re an idiot!” Booker bellows. “That’s not how basic human decency works. Bloody hell! What if I, erm, make you the godfather?”
Tanner’s eyes alight and he instantly releases Booker, who shoots up straight and rubs the angry red skin around his neck. His face is a deep shade of red and the veins in his neck are protruding angrily. “Fucking hell, you prat. We have a match on Saturday. What if you buggered up my neck?”
“Oh, stop crying, you baby,” Tanner muses, stroking his beard like a creep. “This worked out for the best because the first thing I’ll do as your son’s godfather is teach him how to fight like a man.”
“Godfather?” Camden’s voice exclaims now that he’s wrenched himself off of his wife and joined the scene in front of me. He drags poor Indie along behind him, and she adjusts her glasses sheepishly as she spots me and Sloan. “You can’t make him the godfather before the baby is born. Can he?” Camden looks at me like I have the answer to his absurd question.
Indie grabs Cam’s arm and attempts to pull him away. “Don’t throw a fit over this, all right? You’re going to ruin this moment for Booker.”
“Specs,” Camden argues with a wounded expression on his face. “Vi at least had the decency to make us all godfathers. This is total bollocks!”
Booker ignores Camden’s whining and turns to me and Sloan. “It’s nice to see you again, Sloan, but I really need to get over there to Poppy.” Without another word, he turns on his heel and jogs into the living room, leaving me with our idiot twin brothers and Indie.
Indie shakes her head and looks at Sloan. “Who would have thought one little foetal Doppler would create such a fuss? By the way, hi. I’m Indie.”
“I’m Sloan,” Sloan replies with a smile and they shake hands.
“What is going on exactly?” I ask, frowning over to where I see Booker kneeling down beside Poppy, who’s on the sofa.
Indie rolls her eyes. “Belle brought a foetal Doppler to keep an eye on Booker and Poppy’s baby this week. Poppy isn’t due for another couple of months, but she was nervous to come on the trip. This is helping to calm her down.”
“Oh, how cool,” Sloan replies with a smile. “You and Belle are both doctors, right? I think Gareth mentioned that once.”
Indie nods. “We met in med school, and it was love at first tequila shot.”
Sloan chuckles. “That’s so cute that two friends married two brothers.”
“Cute or mental?” I retort and Indie laughs.
“It’s cute,” Camden and Tanner both growl in unison, then smile stupid smiles at each other.
Indie scoffs, “I like to claim that I met Camden before Belle met Tanner and crazy follows crazy, so I guess we’re both gluttons for punishment.”
“I love my wife’s crazy. It’s her best feature.” Tanner waggles his brows suggestively at Sloan, and I give him a shove.
“Let’s not act like you two didn’t plan to marry brothers all along,” Camden says, wrapping his arms around Indie’s waist and pulling her back to his front. “You told me all about your plans for us when we got married in Scotland, Specs.”
She giggles and pushes him off of her. “Planning is pointless when it comes to you and Tanner. We’d have better luck trying to herd cats.”
A loud, scratchy sound suddenly erupts from the living room, so we all file in to see what’s going on. Hayden and Vi give me and Sloan a quick hello as they trail behind us. Dad walks in from the back garden with Rocky on his shoulders as we all huddle around Poppy and Belle.
Dad is about to say hello, but Sloan and I are both distracted when the sound goes off again. It reminds me of a galloping horse. Sloan inhales sharply beside me, so I look over and see a knowing expression on her face.
“That, Poppy darling, is what I call a perfect heart rate,” Belle states proudly from where she’s at on the floor, holding something that resembles a microphone to Poppy’s exposed belly.
Poppy gasps, her fingers holding the swell of her stomach. “Oh my God. This is so awesome, Belle! The fact that we can hear this whenever we want is amazing.”
Poppy stares up at Booker for confirmation, and he is equally as awestruck. He remains completely silent, but I can see in his eyes that he’s doing everything he can to keep calm.
Booker clears his throat and croaks, “It’s really nice you can do this for us, Belle. Thank you.”
Belle shoots him an easy smile. “I am a foetal surgeon, guys. This is child’s play. Literally!” She laughs at her own joke as she hands the Doppler to a stunned Booker and begins teaching him how to use it.
Dad’s eyes find mine. “Magical, isn’t it?”
I frown. “Sure, I guess.”
Sloan elbows me in the side, so I look over at her. “What?”
“Be nice,” she says quietly. “It is magical.”
I clench my teeth and murmur, “I agree, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard
my father use the word magical. This man is freaking me out.”
She shrugs her shoulders and replies, “Maybe he’s your vacation dad.”
“Vacation dad?”
“Yeah, like he’s more relaxed because he’s away from work.”
I frown over at him as he brings Rocky closer to Poppy for a listen. “He’s something all right,” I whisper through clenched teeth.
Once the excitement of the Doppler dies down, I introduce Sloan to the girls, who all instantly take her under their wings and steal her away to the kitchen for a glass of wine.
I watch Sloan carefully to make sure she’s handling everyone okay, and she seems to be genuinely having a laugh. My brothers shoot me lewd smirks the entire time, but I ignore them. I also do my best to ignore my father, who’s acting more like a dad seen on the telly, not the one I grew up with.
When dinner is ready, we move to the barbeque area outside. A long outdoor table with a fire-pit down the middle is situated on a flagstone patio. Above, there are several lanterns hanging from dragon trees that cast the space in a golden light.
“Rocky is out cold,” Hayden states as he joins all of us at the table. “She’s knackered after today.”
Dad smiles proudly from his seat at the head of the table opposite me. “You kids were the same way. Get you a little fresh air and exercise and you’d sleep like the dead.”
I frown at his remark as Vi begins passing dishes around the table. Dinner is delicious as it always is when Vi cooks. She chatters on and on about the plans for the wedding that’s to take place on the beach in two days. Hayden’s family is due to arrive tomorrow afternoon. It’s only Hayden’s parents, his sister, Daphney, and his brother, Theo, with his wife, Leslie, and their toddler, Marisa, whom Hayden is very close to.