“I can tell you’re rolling something around in your beautiful brain,” Chaz commented. “What’s on your mind?”
“Emory,” I replied automatically without thinking how bad it sounded.
Instead of getting mad, Chaz laughed. “Oh my God! I’ve infected you with the same virus that makes me say the worst things at the worst time. Baby, I’m so sorry. I had no idea my affliction was contagious.”
I was lucky that Chaz didn’t take that the wrong way. “I was thinking about Emory’s psychic ability, nothing sexual,” I said to clarify. I gave Chaz a sharp look and added, “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about his psychic abilities.”
Chaz shrugged and said, “It wasn’t my story to tell.”
“I keep asking myself the same questions. Would I want to know in advance how my life turns out or would that ruin the journey? Wouldn’t I have missed little nuances if he had told me that I would fall in love with you and we’d build a life together? I would’ve taken it for granted instead of working for something that I so badly wanted.”
“I think it would be like opening a book to the last page and reading it first,” Chaz remarked. “Where’s the fun in that? You miss the buildup, the twists and turns, and the thrill of discovering love if you already know it happens. No,” Chaz said, shaking his head. “I’ll take the unscripted love.”
“Me too,” I agreed. “Maybe that’s how Drew feels. He’s trying to go off script to forge his path and find the love of his choosing.”
“But Aiden is perfect for him,” Chaz replied, but I could tell he was giving my words serious consideration. “Oh! Dimples, I think you might be onto something.”
“I was on it a few minutes ago,” I replied, earning a playful slap for my bawdy remark.
“It’s been Travis all along,” Chaz said in awe. “Damn, I have a lot of work to fix this hot mess of a manuscript.”
I pulled Chaz tighter to me and said, “It doesn’t have to be tonight.”
“You’re right.”
“Would you like me to go get your laptop for you or do you plan on sneaking up to your office as soon as I fall asleep?” I asked because I knew damn well he wasn’t going to bed until he figured out the changes to his plot.
“I don’t know,” Chaz replied. “How long do you think that will be?”
“I was thinking about one more round of ‘research,’” I told him. I broke out the air quotes that he loved so much.
“Okay then,” Chaz said, eagerly rolling to his back. “Do me, Dr. Dimples.”
“New Year’s Eve in Vegas was a brilliant idea,” I told Kyle through the microphone attached to my headset, even if I was nervous about some of the festivities he planned.
“Two birds with one stone: your first helicopter ride and amazing advantage point to see the fireworks.”
Kyle surprised me with the trip to ring in the new year. It reminded me of our trip to New York because I had a surprise of my own tucked inside my jacket pocket—one that made me more nauseous than when the helicopter lifted off.
At the stroke of midnight, choreographed fireworks boomed in the sky over the hotels on the strip. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life and reminded me of our first kiss beneath the much smaller firework display in our hometown just six months prior. Kyle kissed me, but there was no running from the things he made me feel.
The colorful explosions were still blasting in the sky all around us when I pulled back from our kiss and pulled Kyle’s gift from my pocket. He threw his head back and laughed when I handed the stuffed lobster to him. I knew he’d get the Friends reference immediately and waited not-so-patiently for him to notice the shiny, circular item tied to its neck. Kyle’s eyes widened when he saw it.
“I know it might seem a little soon, but I’ve decided to go off script here,” I told him. “I don’t see a reason to wait another minute to tell you that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have children, grandchildren, and matching rocking chairs on our front porch. I want us to fight over who is the worst at playing World of Warcraft then I want to kiss and make up. I want to spend the rest of my days being your lobster.”
I saw the answer in Kyle’s eyes before he spoke the words. “Okay then.” He pulled me to him for another long kiss before he broke it off just as quickly. “You know what they have a lot of in Vegas?” The answers to that question were endless. “Wedding chapels,” Kyle answered excitedly.
My mouth gaped open in surprise. “You can’t be serious.”
“Why not? You said it yourself a few minutes ago. Why wait another minute when we know we want to spend the rest of our lives together? We can plan a ceremony for our friends and family when we get back home, but tonight is just for us. What do you say? Will you marry me tonight with Elvis as our witness?”
How could a guy pass up an offer like that? “Okay then.”
The End!
Keep turning for bonus chapters from Josh and Gabe!
“We’re home, Dylan and Destiny,” Gabe softly said when he pushed the button to shut off the engine. “There’s a lot of people waiting inside our house to meet you.”
I turned and looked into the back seat of my snazzy, dark red Land Rover I affectionately called Duchess. Our sleeping newborns weren’t paying a bit of attention to what their daddy said. I traded in my convertible Mini Cooper once we found out the babies were going to be a reality. I couldn’t fit two car seats in the back of Princess, so changes were required. I loved the luxuriousness and sleekness of my new ride, so I was hardly complaining. “You didn’t just get two dads; you got an entire village of people who will love you,” I told my babies.
“Can we go inside now? I can’t wait to show my babies off,” my mom asked.
My new snazzy ride came with third-row seating, which happened to be filled with two proud grandmothers who came home with us from Florida.
“Got that straight, Bertie,” Martina said. “I can’t wait to sleep in a real bed.”
We’d spent two days on the road driving home from Florida, and everyone was ready to feel a sense of normalcy. Well, the babies were too busy sleeping to notice much of anything. We had spent the previous night at a hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. Gabe’s birth mother, Bonita, and his three sisters, Selena, Marisol, and Arianna, joined us for dinner and hung out back in our room so they could fuss over Dylan and Destiny.
“Our hotel room had a real bed in it,” Gabe remarked. “Yours didn’t?”
“Stop being a wise ass, Gabriel,” Martina said. “You know damn well those hotels don’t provide beds and sheets as nice as the ones Josh does.” Martina knew who was responsible for making the in-law suites so comfy.
“I hope you know they’re never going to leave now,” Gabe whispered in mock-horror to me. Then he looked at his doting mother and said, “You should watch your mouth around the babies.”
“You need to be more worried about your birds,” my mother countered. She wasn’t wrong either.
The garage door to the house flew open, and the excited faces of our friends filled the frame. It wasn’t that long ago that I lived above the salon, had no love to speak of, and didn’t know half of the people who waited eagerly to welcome our children home.
“The ladies are looking a little impatient,” I said when I saw Meredith, Sally Ann, and Deanna’s faces.
“Not as impatient as the ones cramped in the third row of this SUV,” Martina said.
I knew we needed to get out and show off our babies, but this felt like the last minutes that the babies would be just ours. Gabe and I had stayed in a suite with them for a few days at the hospital since they were born a little early. Neither of us wanted to close our eyes and sleep because we didn’t want to miss a second. They were our little miracles and the precious little pieces that made our family complete. We knew we needed to share, but for that brief time, we wanted to be selfish and hold them against our chests and just breathe them in. Sitting in the garage felt like that
too. Our babies would never lack love and affection with the amazing group of friends that we shared our lives with every day.
Suddenly, there was a stir in the middle of the group, and the bodies started shifting. I smiled when I saw Mama Richmond elbow her way to the front of the gathering. She still wore her Sunday finest complete with an ornate hat. “Boy, are you going to come out on your own or do I need to snatch you out by your hair?”
Gabe and I pointed at one another. “She’s talking to you,” we said simultaneously.
Neither of us was willing to take a chance and unbuckled our seatbelts. Gabe and I each grabbed a car seat and assisted our mothers out. As soon as they were free, they grabbed the car seats from us and headed inside.
“Grab our suitcases, Gabe,” Martina said.
“Don’t forget the diaper bags,” my mother added.
Gabe and I stood in the garage looking at one another as everyone followed our mothers into the house. “Hey, you want to?” Gabe asked. “First minute we’ve had alone since the babies were born.”
“Get used to it,” John said from the doorway. I hadn’t seen or heard him come back. “I haven’t had sex in three years.”
“Want to make it three more?” Deanna asked her husband.
“Damn, she hears everything,” he mumbled then turned to go inside.
We were once again alone, and Gabe took advantage of the moment to back me up against the SUV. “Do you have any idea how happy you’ve made me?” He cupped my face in his big hands just the way I liked. The only thing that made me melt even more inside was when his strong hands cradled our babies safely against him.
“It sounded like you were complaining about the lack of sex a minute ago.” I looped my arms around Gabe’s neck and rose on my tiptoes. “I’ll settle for one of your toe-curling kisses for the time being,” I whispered against his lips.
Gabe lowered his head to close the tiny distance between us and kissed me just the way I liked. Slow and tender at first followed by hot, wet, and hard as our passion built. If I wasn’t careful, something else was going to get wet and hard, and we had a house full of people to contend with before we could even think about sex. Still, I didn’t want to let go of the moment, so I kissed him until someone cleared their throat to remind us that we weren’t alone.
I turned my head and saw that my mom was standing in the doorway. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Your father still corners me…”
“Mom, please don’t finish that sentence,” I begged.
She smiled broadly at my discomfort. “Diaper bags, please.”
Gabe hoisted the bulk of the luggage while I grabbed the rest plus the diaper bags, and together we made our way inside the house. We dropped our bags in the kitchen and followed the sounds of the cooing until we found everyone gathering around the two car seats they’d propped up on the coffee table. Like it had every day for the past two weeks, my heart stuttered to a stop in my chest for a brief second when I looked at our children. We’d been parents for a whopping fourteen days, yet I could hardly remember a time without them. That’s how fast we fell in love with our kids.
“You know, I wasn’t sure I could do it,” I said to Gabe.
“Do what, Sunshine?”
“Love another living soul as much as I love you, but there are two more that I can’t imagine my life without now. It’s like you’re all tethered to me by an invisible string; a part of me.”
Gabe wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. “You’re just tapping into the well of love you have inside you.”
Normally, I wouldn’t have liked getting so personal with a large gathering around, but they didn’t know we existed. At least our friends were waiting patiently for our sleeping beauties to wake instead of just snatching them out of their seats. I knew how hard that was to do and sometimes I was guilty of lifting them out of their bassinettes while they slept because I just needed to hold them and know that it was all real.
I looked at the faces of each of the people smiling down at our infants. They all brought something unique to our lives and made us better people. John and Adrian started out as Gabe’s co-workers, but we couldn’t love them more if they were our flesh and blood. Emory and Jonathon were the newest members of our group, but it felt like I’d known them my entire life. It seemed to me that their sadness faded a little bit more each time they came around, but I thought it had more to do with the undeniable attraction between them rather than anything Gabe or I had done. I hoped one day they’d stop pretending and start accepting that something special could develop between them. Mere and Chaz were the brother and sister I never had, and I was so happy to see them in love and planning exciting futures. Mere and Harley were engaged and planning a wedding. I expected to hear news out of… Wait a minute!
“Chaz Bailey Hamilton,” I said loudly, mimicking Mere’s tone she used when he was in trouble. “What is that round, shiny metal thing on the ring finger of your left hand?” I marched forward with my hands on my hips. “Did you get engaged and not tell me.”
“Um…” Chaz rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Well…”
“It’s not a particularly hard question,” I told him.
“No, I didn’t keep my engagement from you,” Chaz said sheepishly. “I got married and didn’t tell you.”
“Married?” we all asked at the same time.
“Why in the world didn’t you tell us?” Meredith asked.
“I can’t believe you got married without us,” I said in shock.
“Wow! When did this happen?” Gabe asked them.
We peppered them with one question after the other, but they didn’t seem to hear us. Chaz and Kyle were too busy staring into one another’s eyes while wearing sappy smiles. All the fussing did, however, wake the babies and they cried to show how unhappy they were at having their slumber disturbed.
“Look what you two did,” I said jokingly to Kyle and Chaz. “You woke the babies.” Gabe and I moved in to sweep up our children, but Mere and Deanna elbowed us out of the way.
“Now now,” Meredith softly said as she held Destiny against her chest. “Auntie Mere has you now, beautiful girl.”
“Oh, such a sweet boy you are, Dylan,” Deanna said to our son as she rubbed gentle circles against his back. Dylan was always more vocal and harder to calm down, but Deanna had the magic touch.
The room got quiet once again except for all the baby talk from the two women, but the peacefulness didn’t last long.
“You woke the babies!” Savage screeched from his perch in his fancy solarium. “Fucknuggets!”
Sassy began mimicking a crying baby. I had to admit she sounded just like them.
“Dirty Bird!” I turned to face Gabe. “I thought you worked out a deal with your bird.”
“He was your bird long before I walked into your salon.”
“He’s Big Daddy’s boy now,” I countered. “I thought he was going to play nice from now on.”
“I can control that bird’s mouth about as much as I can control you,” Gabe said dryly. “I’ll work on it.”
“We’re a family now!” Savage squawked proudly, making me smile. Gabe had taught him a host of new sayings, and we repeated them all the time in the hope of pushing out his foul vocabulary.
“Family of fucknuggets!” Sassy added.
“Gonna wash your mouth out with soap, cock badger!” Savage added.
I threw up my hands. “It’s hopeless.”
Gabe looked at me with wide eyes. “I never called him a cock badger.”
“I’ll ask their pediatrician about fitting them with ear plugs,” I told him.
The birds settled back down while the babies were gently passed around like precious party favors. I made a beeline for Kyle and Chaz once they were done making googly eyes at my kids. Gabe was right on my heels probably ready to intervene if I got too huffy. “You have some serious explaining to do!”
“It just felt right,” Chaz said
with a shrug. “We went to Las Vegas for New Year’s Eve and got caught up in the excitement of the moment. A new year seemed like the right time to start a new life.”
“It sounds romantic and sweet, but why didn’t you tell any of us?” Gabe asked.
“We stayed in Las Vegas for five days then went to Cabo San Lucas for ten days and just got back ourselves,” Kyle said. “We told our families this morning, and now we’re telling our friends. We’re going to have a reception party to celebrate properly.”
“Just wow,” I replied. I opened my arms and hugged Chaz. “I’m so damn happy for you. Your writing career is taking off, and you finally took Dr. Dimples by the…”
“Josh,” Gabe said in a warning tone.
“…hand and took that leap. I’m going to miss seeing you every day at the shop, but I am so proud of you, Chaz. Don’t you forget about us.”
“Like you could get rid of me,” he replied, hugging me tighter. “I’m so happy for you too, Jazz.”
“Let me in,” Mere said. Chaz and I opened our arms so she could join us in a group hug. “You’re my tribe, my ride or die, and the most amazing men I know.”
“We’re not all that,” I told her, rumpling her hair.
“But we’ll do in a pinch,” Chaz added.
“I’m glad you said that because I need to ask you guys for a favor,” Meredith said. “I would like for both of you to give me away in May when I get married.”
Meredith’s father had passed away when she was a young girl, and she didn’t have any living male relatives. Her request meant the world to me and moved me to tears. I looked at Chaz, and I figured my expression was just as dopey as his.
“Oh, Mere,” I said, “We’d be honored to give you away.”
“We’ve been waiting to do it for a long time,” Chaz added. “Wait, that might’ve sounded wrong.”
Unscripted Love (Road to Blissville, #1) Page 22