“And what’s that?”
“Distracting me,” she whispers before kissing me back.
“Is it working?”
“Always,” she says, reaching her hands around my neck and pulling me down to kiss me.
“Mom.” We both pause as the bedroom door opens and Oliver stands there rubbing his eyes. “I had a bad dream,” he says.
“Book a doctor’s appointment, and I’ll put Oliver back to bed,” I whisper to her. She doesn’t speak, but I know she understands me from the slight nod. “Come on, buddy.” Oliver is a good kid, and he goes back to bed with no problems after I read him a short story. When I get back to the bedroom, Jacinta is sitting cross-legged on the bed.
I stand at the door, watching her as she stares down at the white stick. She turns her head to me when she notices me standing there.
“You can run. I’m used to men running. Now is your chance,” she says in a shaky voice.
“I would never do that to you,” I say, walking over and climbing in behind her. “I may be an ass, but I would never do that.”
She chuckles, and it’s music to my ears. “We’re having a baby,” she says.
“We are,” I confirm.
“Shit.”
“Fuck,” I say, smiling from behind her.
She turns and lets me kiss her cheek.
“I once described you as my cruel lover. Now … well, you are anything but.”
Chapter 29
Jacinta
One Year Later
My hands caress his face. Who would have thought he would look at me the way he is, with so much love and admiration? It’s a beautiful thing to have someone you love stare at you like that. It’s something I will never take for granted.
Beckham’s hands touch my flat stomach, now scarred with white lines and ripples. He smirks as he moves closer, his lips finding mine in a frenzy of passionate kisses. Then, like clockwork, the baby starts crying.
“She can cry,” Beckham says, and I chuckle because I know what’s coming next. He groans as he moves me and touches between my legs, finding me already wet. And just as her screams become louder, he’s up and off of me, adjusting himself. “I’ll be back. Stay where you are. Do not move.”
“I need to shower,” I tell him, resting up on my elbows.
He points at me. “Stay.” So, I lie back down as he leaves.
I never expected this life, but I am not complaining about it.
Somehow, I found a man who’s not only a great father but a great man in general. Well, at least to me, he is. He’s still an asshole to almost everyone around him, and most of the time, I have to remind him to walk away.
He’s especially standoffish to the mothers who try to talk to him when I’m not with him. He gets a lot of them, a lot of attention, and he’s just plain rude to them. But for some strange reason, they keep trying, which confuses me.
I still work for him, part-time. Shandy fills in for the other half, which works out great because anyone else would probably quit, as he is a complete ass to work for.
I hear our beautiful girl, Estelle, stop crying, and know Beckham has it under control. It’s so different for me this time around. It’s basically a whole new experience.
It’s not just me.
I have Beckham this time.
He is the best father, even to Oliver, who asked if he could call him dad.
That broke my heart, just a little, that I had failed him in that department. But Beckham puts it all back into perspective.
Oliver, well, he is the best big brother a little girl could ask for. I feel like I hired two nannies without actually doing it. We moved into Beckham’s home, as his place is bigger, and my house didn’t have the room to add him and the baby to the mix.
It took a lot of adjusting.
Just like things with his mother.
I’m pretty sure she still to this day dislikes me, thinking I am some sort of gold-digger, but she’s a good grandmother, and that’s all I can ask for despite her bitchiness toward me.
“You moved.”
I roll over to face him. He has Estelle against his chest as he rocks her to sleep. Her eyes are fighting, but they are slowly closing, losing her battle with the inevitable.
“I need to shower.”
“No. Wait for me.”
“I need to shower,” I tell him again. “I have to get ready for work.”
“You’re fired. Now stay in bed and listen to your boss.”
“You may be the boss at the office, but you most certainly are not here.” I wink at him, getting up and tearing off his shirt that I like to sleep in.
“That’s unfair. No.” He shakes his head. “That’s just plain fucking cruel. You do know you’ll be spanked for this, right?”
I turn around and wiggle my ass at him.