I laughed as I jogged downstairs. A glance into the living room revealed Axel lying upside down on the couch as he watched a cartoon on the television. I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him.
“You’re going to give yourself a headache watching the TV like that, Ax.”
“No, I won’t,” he replied, not taking his eyes off the TV. “I always watch it like this.”
I had no doubt.
“Just sit up every few minutes; otherwise, the blood will rush to your head.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
I shook my head in amusement, dropped my arms to my sides, and walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. My eyes found her the second I entered the room. With her back to me as she cooked breakfast, I took a moment to drink her in. In twenty years, nothing about her had changed. Not really, even after five kids. Her body was the same level of perfection it had always been. Small waist, thick thighs, and an ass so fat it still made my knees weak when I looked at it.
Her hair was shorter—it hung just past her shoulders instead of touching her butt—but it was still a beautiful shade of chocolate brown. She had more laugh lines around her eyes, more stretch marks, and a slight tummy pouch from having so many babies, but she didn’t look thirty-eight years old. She could easily pass for being in her late twenties, and I told her that often because it was true ... not just because it got me laid whenever I said it.
She was tiny, feminine, and was the greatest love of my life, along with my five children. Children she gave to me. I glanced down at my ringed finger, smiling at the reminder that we recently celebrated our thirteenth wedding anniversary. We’d been married for thirteen years, but together for twenty, and I couldn’t wait to spend fifty more with her, God willing. I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone else, and I didn’t want to, either.
“Good morning, Mrs Slater.”
I knew she smiled without having to turn around. I could sense it on her.
“Good mornin’, Mr Slater,” she replied. “How did ye’ sleep?”
“Before or after you woke me up with your mouth on—”
When she spun around and narrowed her bright green eyes at me, my own laughter cut me off.
“Children,” she whispered hissed. “They are present.”
I glanced to my left, noting my third and fourth sons, Quinn and Griffin, sitting at the kitchen table on the far end of the room, not paying us a lick of attention. I turned my attention back to my wife and grinned.
“They can’t hear me.”
She gave me a once-over, her eyes lingering on my groin and torso a little too long, allowing naughty thoughts to enter my mind, but just as I knew she would, she turned back to face the stove.
“I made you eggs, and I’m workin’ on your protein pancakes,” she said, rustling the pan to flip the pancake. “The boys horsed down the first two batches I made, as well as two ten-egg omelettes.”
“Q and Griff?”
“Yeah,” she answered with a shake of her head. “Axel and Beau had cereal; Georgie hasn’t been down to eat yet. Quinn and Griffin are goin’ to eat us out of a home all by themselves. I can’t believe how much they can put away. They’re just as bad as Locke, and that lad never stops eatin’.”
“They’re growing boys.”
Bronagh snorted. “Growin’ boys, me arse; they are always feckin’ hungry.”
“So were my brothers and I growing up.” I chuckled. “We still are.”
“Oh, I know,” my wife answered. “I do the cookin’. I know how much your fat self can gobble up.”
I stepped closer to her, pressing my body against hers and sliding my arms around her tiny waist.
“You think I’m fat?” I teased. “My body fat percentage would disagree with you.”
“Ye’ have the appetite of a fat person and so do your kids. Well, except Georgie, but she used to eat just as much.” Bronagh shook her head. “I don’t know how we afford it. Ye’ know, it costs me nearly three hundred and fifty euros a week on just food? I don’t even shop in Dunnes anymore because it’ll easily reach over four hundred in price if I go in there.”
I leaned down and kissed her cheek.
“Why are you worrying about this?” I questioned. “I make more than enough to cover our bills. We own the house since Branna signed it over to you, and the cars are brand new since we traded in our others for a steal. We have a fantastic policy on our family health insurance and both of our life insurance policies. You set aside money each month to pay our bills on time. You’re worrying yourself over nothing.”
“I know.” She sighed, her body relaxing. “It’s just with the football season startin’ back up, and the lads all bein’ taller with bigger feet, it means we have to buy all new team uniforms and tracksuits, and new football boots, which are over one hundred euros each in their sizes, and new clothes since they’ve no summer clothes that fit. I only realised this when they got dressed this mornin’ because everythin’ was a little tight on all of them. Don’t even get me started on Georgie’s art supplies. She goes through them so fast that we need to replenish every—”