That’s where I’m currently at. Renovation hell. But … Tucker is in his glory and I get to watch him work with tools and lift stuff all day. Shirtless. So I guess in a way, the constant upheaval and mess is worth it.
A jackhammer sounds from somewhere downstairs, and the walls in our bedroom shake violently.
“Tucker!” I scream, knowing he can’t hear me over the noise, but it feels damn good to get out my frustration.
The crushing sound keeps up, drowning out every conceivable thought in my head. I may kill that man. Or maybe send him back to jail. Only kidding.
I stomp out of our bedroom, which looks identical to the state of the rest of our upstairs. Untouched.
We bought a 1900s farmhouse on the outskirts of Lancaster about four months ago, and Tucker has been gutting the place since the day we moved in. So far we have a beautiful living room, and a downstairs powder room. They’re done in beiges and grays, and the living room has fluffy white couches and a sixty inch LCD.
But the rest of the house … is a nightmare. The entire second floor, all four bedrooms and two bedrooms, have gone completely untouched. Tucker wants to get the first floor done before he tackles the horrible tile in our master bathroom, or replacing the doors to the bedrooms. Which don’t close. We still don’t have appliances in the kitchen, so we eat out or take in every single night. In fact, we don’t have counters or even walls in some portions of the kitchen, where I’m guessing my husband is right now. He said he was going to rip up the old cracked tile in there today, but I didn’t expect him to start before I even left for work.
“Tucker Lynch!”
My husband is shirtless, sweat dripping down his glorious back and past the curve of his butt that peeks through his jeans. He must have heard me scream, because he turns the jackhammer off. Except now I forgot what I was yelling at him for, too caught up in ogling his rock hard body.
“My fee is a hundred dollars an hour. So you better pay up if you’re going to keep staring because I have work to do, beautiful.”
Wise ass.
“Yeah well, someone has to get out the door to bring in the big bucks. And I can’t hear myself think over this commotion! You couldn’t wait until after I left.”
Tucker smiles and wipes his brow. Which shouldn’t be sexy, because he’s sweaty as anything, but he looks like a Gatorade commercial or something.
“Like I said, time is money babe. I have to be at the job sight in an hour, so wanted to get some work in here before I have to go.”
God, he works so damn hard. He’s still working for the man Jane got him a job with about a year ago, and he’s moved up in the ranks of his construction company. Whenever I mention him branching out for himself, he sighs and grumbles about too much paperwork and upkeep. He’s just happy to work a job, build things. Which is why he’s also simultaneously working on our house with any spare time he can get.
“Okay, fine. But I’m only letting it slide because you’re so sexy. And because I don’t have anything too pressing on my schedule today.”
I’m still at HL Marketing, and I still love my job. I get joy from working with my clients each day, and with Jackie and her crazy graphics ideas.
“Hey, can you take a quick break and come upstairs with me?”
Tucker rolls his eyes but follows, and I can’t help the smile that breaks out on my face when I turn my back to him. I don’t know what to do with my hands, they’re shaky with the adrenaline and excitement. God, I can’t wait to see his face when I tell him.
When I got up this morning, I had no idea our whole world was about to change. Our marriage has been more fun and loving than ever these past six months, and with that has come a whole lot of naughty and sexy times. Not that we’ve been talking about having kids in depth, but from our past I know we both want them. Tucker and I bought this house to fill it with babies and puppies. And maybe chickens if he’ll allow me to get them. The jury is still out on that one.
“What’s this all about woman? If you wanted to get me naked, you’re already half way there. I’d more than happily give you some pre-work orgasms.”
I laugh as I clear the top of the creaky, hardwood stairs. “As much as that sounds tempting, I have something else to show you.”
“If you keep walking in front of me with that little silk robe, I might have something to show you too,” Tucker grumbles.
I walk into our bedroom and motion for him to sit on the bed. Walking into our master bathroom, I try to ignore the monstrosity of purple tile covering everything. But I don’t even see it, not really. Nothing is getting in the way of my happiness this morning.
The tiny stick sits on the sink and I gingerly pick it up, like it might be finite. Like it might disappear if I hold it too hard. I walk back out to Tucker and smile at him. His whole world is about to change.
“Ready?”
He grins. “For anything from you, always.”
I hold my hand out so he can see it. The plus sign on the screen of the pregnancy test.
Tucker blinks. And then he blinks again. He reaches out to pull me closer, as if I might be bluffing. The smile on my face is so wide, it’s starting to hurt my cheeks.
And then he’s pulling me in, placing his hands on my hips and belly. Without saying a thing, he kisses my lips, and then bends to place a gentle kiss on my stomach.
Tucker stares at my torso for a couple of seconds, and then looks up with tears in his eyes.
“We’re pregnant. I’m going to be a dad.”
Epilogue
Tucker
Three Years Later
People say that lightning doesn’t strike the same spot twice.
Those people would be wrong. Sure, it’s improbable. Rarely ever happens. But when it does, it’s beautiful. It creates something magical and other-worldly.
Lightning struck twice for Charlotte Morsey and I. The force of nature brought us back together and fused us so tightly, that these days I’m not sure where I end and she begins.
But that’s wrong. I guess lightning struck the same place four times.
Two little bundles of energy race towards me where I stand on the shoreline, making a beeline for the water that is a bit out of their league right now.
“Not so fast!” I catch Brady in one arm and Patrick in the other.
Our twin boys. Now two years old and a handful. Days filled with race cars, superheroes, bananas and peanut butter, and Baby Einstein. Nights filled with bath time and stories, kissing their little hands and heads until Char drags me out of their rooms so I can sleep.
“Good, Daddy can prevent you from drowning. Because Mommy is so tired she might fall asleep right here in this sand.”
Char plops down on a bench on the grass right above the shoreline, and her white sundress flutters in the summer wind. She’s still just as gorgeous as the day I laid eyes on her. Since having the boys, she’s complained that her body isn’t the same. That some things sag and she doesn’t feel quite herself. But I think she’s more radiant than ever. She has stretch marks, her battle scars I call them, and bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep for the past two years. And I love them. They’re sexy and remind me that she is the most amazing mother on the planet.
When we found out we were having twins, I nearly fainted in the exam room. I was thrilled to be pregnant, that Char was giving me the gift of becoming a dad. But two babies? At the same time? She picked me up though, slapped me straight and told me that if we could get through everything we’d been through, we’d get through a little poop and spit up.
And she was right. With the help of Jane, who practically lived with us for the first month of the boys’ lives like a grandmother should, and Jackie, who was better with kids than I ever expected … we made it through. Every day always presented some sort of challenge, but now we had toddlers.
And toddlers meant chaos, but also incredible moments. Watching Brady and Patrick develop personalities and thought logic, figuring out what foods and colors
they liked, or why they did what they did. I could watch them for hours.
“Boys, let me tell you a story about when Mommy and I came out to this lake one night a couple of years ago …”
Char gives me the stink eye as I grin at her from a few yards away. We still find time to worship each other, even if I have to ambush her in the shower before work. I’m trying to knock her up again, which is exactly why she tries to swat my cock away. I win in the end.
“Let em run in, they’ll learn sooner or later.” Willy comes to stand next to Charlotte, and I can see his mile-wide grin from here.
These are his grandsons, and he loves them unconditionally. They call him Papa and they call Melody, Nana. They’ve become permanent fixtures in our life. Our parents, for all intents and purposes. We go to their house for Thanksgiving, and they come to our’s for Christmas.
And speaking of our house, I finally did put in that crown molding in our bedroom. It was the last project, the final renovation. I may have driven my amazing wife crazy for the past three and a half years, but I gave her the dream house.
“Only if you’re going in after them. I’m too tired.” Char reaches for Willy’s hand. “You want Papa to take you in the water?
Her voice gets higher as she talks to the twins, who are wriggling in my arms.
“Da-ee, swim!” Brady squeals.
“Papa, come in!” Patrick yells at Willy.
I tickle the little rascals and the giggle. “The tickle monster will attack if you don’t go find Nana and bother her!”
They run out of my arms and totter away, their little brown curly heads stuck together in some brotherly scheme as they go to find Melody.
I walk up to where Char sits and kiss her on the head. “They’re adorable. Let’s have ten more.”
“Absolutely not.”
She slides over and I sit beside her, sling my arm around her shoulder and inhale the sweet vanilla of her perfume.
“Why don’t you leave the boys with us tonight and go out? This is your vacation, too. You need to take your beautiful wife on a date.” Willy slaps me on the shoulder.
We come to Camp Marsh for a week every summer, and we’ve been here for about three days. A date with my wife; without having to cut up the twin’s food, or making sure they’re behaving in public, or trying to give them both the same number of crayons to color the menu.
“I think that sounds like a great idea.” I don’t even hesitate to take what Willy offers.
But Char is … well, Char. “But can we leave the boys for that long? They like to see us before they go to bed, and—”
“We’re going. Thanks, Willy!” I wave him off.
Char looks at me with a glare, but I just kiss her.
“We’re going. We need a night off. You need a night off. We are going to be adults, and eat our food without interruptions or bibs. We are going to drink wine, and get tipsy. And then I’m going to make love to my wife in the back of our car like a bunch of teenagers. So yes, we are going.”
She nods her head, a dreamy look in her eye at my description. “That sounds perfect. But let me go brief Melody on the terrors she is undertaking for the night.”
Char stands and holds out her hand to me, pulling me up and lacing her fingers through mine. Together, we walk towards the quad where the boys are babbling in Melody and Willy’s ears while they color.
Not all of the days are perfect, little snapshots of life that I’ll keep stored in my brain forever. There are hard days. Days where I think about how easy it would be to get high or just leave. Days where it feels like the world is crumbling on my shoulders.
But I have Charlotte. The girl next door who turned into my saving grace. And I know that if I ever gets so lost in the chaos of life that I can’t see straight, she will come find me.
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About the Author
Author of romance novels such as The Tenth Girl and Privileged, Carrie Aarons writes books that are just as swoon-worthy as they are sarcastic. A former journalist, she prefers the love stories of her imagination, and the athleisure dress code, much better.
When she isn't writing, Carrie is busy binging reality TV, having a love/hate relationship with cardio, and trying not to burn dinner. She lives in the suburbs of New Jersey with her husband, daughter and Lab/Great Dane rescue.
Please join her readers group, Carrie’s Charmers, to get the latest on new books, as well as talk about reality TV, wine and home decor.
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Also by Carrie Aarons
All of my books are currently enrolled in Kindle Unlimited.
Standalones:
The Tenth Girl
You’re the One I Don’t Want
Privileged
Elite
Red Card
Down We’ll Come, Baby
As Long As You Hate Me
All the Frogs in Manhattan
Save the Date
Melt
When Stars Burn Out
Ghost in His Eyes
On Thin Ice
Kissed by Reality
The Rogue Academy Series:
The Second Coming
The Nash Brothers Series:
Fleeting
Forgiven
Flutter
Falter
The Flipped Series:
Blind Landing
Grasping Air
The Captive Heart Duet:
Lost
Found
The Over the Fence Series:
Pitching to Win
Hitting to Win
Catching to Win
The Complete Captive Heart Duet: Lost and Found Page 32