“Uncle Luke!” He grasps frantically at his harness. “Daddy, how much time do we have? I wanna show Uncle Luke my new dragon and this cool game I just downloaded. It’s got the minions in it. You race them. I bet he’ll love it.”
I glance at Mia across the seat.
She’s unstrapping Chase, her absorbing eyes drawn down to my mouth.
“You’re spending the night, Buddy. You and Chase. You get two nights with Uncle Luke,” I answer, smiling as I lift Nolan out of the truck.
“Oh, yeah! Sleepover! Boo-yah!”
I hand him his iPad and he scurries excitedly up the driveway, yelling out for Luke.
“What?” Mia gapes at me, pulling a slowly awakening Chase against her. He rubs his sleepy face into her neck. “They are? Why?”
I grin and unhook the booster seat, holding it with one hand while I lift the bench and reveal the bags I packed and stored here earlier, unbeknownst to Mia. Two for us, along with a smaller cinch tote concealing a few personal items Mia keeps tucked in the back of her panty drawer at home.
Massage oil. Warming lube. Those sex dice she got as a gift at her bridal shower.
Suck this. Lick this. Kiss this. Fuck THIS.
Goddamn. I wanna rip into that bag right now. This four hour drive might feel like torture.
I grab the duffle for Nolan and Chase and hoist it out of the truck.
“Hey, lovebirds.” Tessa steps up behind Mia. She ties her red hair back into a messy knot and reaches for Chase. “Gimme that cuteness.”
Mia passes him off, then sticks her hand on her hip, glaring at me as I walk around to the passenger side. “Benjamin Kelly, would you please explain to me why we have luggage packed and hidden in your truck? What is going on?”
“You didn’t tell her yet?” Tessa asks.
I shake my head, bending to kiss Mia’s temple. She leans away and squints.
“Angel.”
“Babe,” she mocks, arching her brow. “Spill it.”
Tessa shrugs, bouncing Chase in her arms. “I’ll spill it.”
I scowl at her, fuck that, I’m saying it, then turn to Mia as Luke steps up to the group. I hand him the duffle and the booster seat.
“Got the villa early. We’re heading there tonight.”
Mia sucks in a breath. “What?” she asks quietly, inching closer. Her cheeks warming as she gazes up at me. “You took off work?”
“Yeah.”
“Is . . . is anyone else going down early?”
I slowly shake my head, laughing as she looks anxiously between Luke and Tessa, then back at me, those big, dark eyes wide with astonishment.
“Just you and me, Angel. No interruptions.”
“Ben, oh, my God.” She hurls herself into my arms, wrapping her hands around my neck and pinning us together.
I can feel her heart pounding against my ribs. The quickness of her breath against my cheek.
“I can’t believe you did this.”
Closing my eyes, I stroke her back and inhale the sweet warmth of her skin. “I need to be with you,” I murmur, only for her to hear.
I’d fucking scream it though. I don’t give a shit who hears my desperation for this woman.
“Yeah,” she says quietly, squeezing me a little tighter. “Me too.”
“I’d do anything. You know that, right? Anything, baby.”
Even if we couldn’t get the villa, or my leave had been denied, I would’ve found a way to get Mia alone. I’m feeling this separation from her in my bones. My blood. Fuck, I’m feeling it deeper than that. This goes beyond anything physical.
Just like everything else with Mia. Since the beginning, what I feel for her goes deeper than marrow.
Her lips curl against my neck. “Me too,” she says before leaning back and staring up at me. “What about this weekend, and the boys?”
Luke heaves the duffle over his shoulder. “We’re bringing them down with us. Got their tuxes and stuff for the wedding. And don’t worry. I just spent the last hour kid-proofing the house. There’s baby gates everywhere. Like every ten feet. I put those locks on all the cabinets and stuff too.” He shifts his gaze to me. “You know they make those things for toilets? Those latches? Why?”
“Small kids can fall in and drown. They’re a little top heavy,” Mia informs him, craning her neck to peek at Nolan.
He’s balancing his dragon on Max’s back while he holds his iPad in his other hand, some song I recognize from one of his favorite TV shows playing as background music.
I look back at Luke.
For a second, he looks absolutely terrified, his eyes broadening and fixating on Chase. His bicep trembling and the fingers gripping the strap of the duffle turning stark white.
“I’ll put them on,” he says quietly, looking down. “I bought six, so, we should be good. I can always get more.”
I laugh under my breath.
Luke has two bathrooms in his house. Two. I can tell him one lock is sufficient per toilet. Not to mention a real fucking pain in the ass when you’re trying to take a piss in the middle of the night.
Or, I can stand here and keep my mouth shut.
He wants to be a dad someday, he needs to get used to this constant state of failure and oversight.
Mia squeezes my hand. “I’m going to go say bye to Nolan.” She stands on her toes to kiss my cheek, then saunters across the yard, beckoning Nolan over and crouching down to talk to him.
I turn around and start unlatching Chase’s car seat.
“How’d it go with Angie?” Tessa asks.
“Good. Really good, actually. She’s not pushing anything with him. Unless Nolan asks for her, she’s staying away.”
Still can’t believe it myself.
I thought for sure Angie was going to be a pain in the ass about this, fighting me every chance she got and dragging me in front of a judge, begging for some sort of custody arrangement I wasn’t going to be willing to give. Nothing was ever easy with her. She argued with me for sport.
I was prepared for her bullshit. I wasn’t expecting her to yield.
I wasn’t planning on Mia.
Her presence affecting Angie. Her fire. The way Nolan clung to her like a son seeking comfort from his mother. His real mother.
I was a damn fool, overlooking my wife in that equation.
After working the belt through the slot, I turn around and sit the car seat on the asphalt.
“That’s awesome,” Luke comments, looking as happy as I am about this development. “She was straight-up crazy, and terrible to Nolan. Good riddance.”
Tessa looks from Luke to me, shaking her head. “Wait a minute. Angie just rolled over, just like that? I don’t believe it. She gets off on making you miserable, Ben. No way is she not going to fight you on this.”
I jerk my chin and shove my hands into my pockets, my back pressing against the door of the truck as my eyes narrow in on my entire reason for every fucking thing I do.
Mia kisses Nolan’s cheek and pulls him into her arms.
I look back at Tessa, shrugging. “It was Mia. Seeing her with Nolan messed Angie up. She can’t compete with her.”
“Well, duh,” Tessa says, smirking. “I could’ve told her that a long time ago. Saved everyone the headache.” Her eyes flicker a hair wider. “Speaking of which . . .”