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.
You can also find Carrie at these places:
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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
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Do you want a free book?
Dedication
Contents
Lost
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Found
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Epilogue
Do you want a free book?
About the Author
Also by Carrie Aarons
The Complete Captive Heart Duet Page 32