Nova got the brunt of it since he was the one who pushed the two youngest around all day. Even though Gemma and Gillian had outgrown using a stroller at home, they never argued about it at the theme park since their little feet were always tired before the end of the first day of our trip.
He glanced over his shoulder with a cocky smirk on his handsome face. “Told you this was the perfect place to stay.”
I’d balked a little at the price tag—a habit Nova still hadn’t been able to get me past after all these years—but he’d insisted that it was perfect for our family. With two bedrooms, plus a pull-out couch and a twin sleeper chair in the living room, there was plenty of room for our crew. The boat transportation to our favorite park made getting there and back a breeze, and the full kitchen made it easy to keep the kids’ favorite snacks around. We also enjoyed the quiet atmosphere, fireplace, and lake views after our long days of running around. Dax and Arya were in the cabin next door, so the kids could run back and forth to see each other, too. But all of that paled in comparison to my favorite part of our accommodations.
As soon as we got into the cabin, Nova turned to me and suggested, “Go ahead and hop into the hot tub. I’ll get everyone settled before I join you in there.”
I probably should’ve felt guilty about leaving Nova to take care of four kids all by himself, but I wasn’t about to turn down that offer. Flashing him a grin, I brushed a quick kiss against his cheek before saying, “Behave for your daddy, kiddos.”
There was a chorus of “But Mommy” in four childish voices as I made a mad dash for the larger bedroom. By the time I came back out, after using the bathroom and changing into a hot pink bikini, Nova had already made the kids a snack and poured me a glass of wine. “Here you go, angel. I’ll see you out there as soon as I get everybody off to bed.”
“I wanna go in the hot tub, too,” Gillian whined.
Joshua, our second oldest, nodded. “Yeah.”
“C’mon, guys. Give Mom and Dad a break.” Our oldest, Seth, winked at me and grinned over his mug of hot chocolate. “They spent all day doing everything we wanted. Now they want time to smooch.”
Joshua made a gagging sound, which made the girls giggle. Seth bumped him with his shoulder, and Nova leveled a look at the group that made them all settle down. “You guys see me kiss your mom all the time. You should be used to it by now.”
That was definitely true. The chemistry between us hadn’t dimmed in all these years. We were lucky they hadn’t caught us doing a whole lot more than that, although there had been a few close calls when one of the kids came wandering into our room for one reason or another in the middle of the night and we’d forgotten to lock the door.
“I’ll show you some smooches.” I dropped a sloppy kiss on each of my baby’s heads, enjoying their exaggerated reactions as I walked past the table to head out to the covered patio. After pressing the button to turn on the jets, I set my glass of wine down next to the hot tub. Then I rolled up a towel, set it on the edge near my wine, and slipped out of my cover-up. I let out a low moan of relief when I stepped into the hot water, which felt great to my sore feet.
It got even better when I sat down and stretched my legs out. Leaning my head against the towel, I snatched my glass of wine and sipped at the cool liquid while listening to the low murmur of my family’s voices. Nova and I had built a great life together. Our children were healthy and happy, the tattoo parlor was booked out weeks ahead, and Dom kept me busy working on restoration projects at the garage when the kids weren’t running me ragged. My mom had even remarried a few years ago after Chad had finally been declared dead since he was still missing. Her new husband was a great guy, but Nova still kept a close eye on him.
“What’s that smile for?”
My eyes popped open, and my lips curved higher when I found my husband prowling toward me in his swim trunks. The lights inside were all off, so I must’ve drifted off longer than I realized if he’d already gotten the kids settled for the night. “I was just thinking about how happy you make me.”
“Speaking of happy.” He stepped into the hot tub, lifting me onto his lap after he sat down. “Now that the kids are down, it’s time for me to go to my happiest place on Earth.”