Her golden complexion is glowing, and her bright red swimming costume has one of the sassy slogans she likes to sport: Baby Watch.
“It’s cute.” My happy statement has her looking at me over her sunglasses. “What? I love watching Casper dote on Grace.”
“Absolutely, I’m sure that’s what you love.”
“Oh my God, stop!” My cheeks heat, and I’m glad that my floppy hat covers most of my face together with my sunglasses. “I never had that.”
Arabella’s smile falters before she asks, “When’s Lucian getting here?”
“Tomorrow. He’s flying in with Francis and Penny.”
Grace’s christening is
going to be held at the chapel. Much like Beatriz, this is my happy place. There’s no other place I’d like my children to be christened than where I married the love of my life.
That’s exactly what Casper is. The love of my life. To most people he’s closed off and standoffish, but to me he’s everything I’ve ever wanted and needed.
“Are you two coming in or what? The water is warmer today. Even Gracie is loving it.” Casper splashes my warm legs with the cool water.
A mischievous smirk lights his face as he swoops Grace up into the air and back into the water.
“You want to zoom zoom?” he asks her, delighting in her giggles. “Okay, zoom zoom zoom, we’re going to the moon. Zoom zoom zoom, we’ll be there very soon.” Counting down from five, he swoops her back up over his head as he yells, “Lift off!”
Bringing Grace back to his chest, he spins around in the water to her loud giggles. He and Christopher exchange a few words right before he dunks himself all the way into the water. When he gets out, dripping wet, water rivulets over his tanned, tattooed skin make my heart run away with itself. The droplets course over his taught, muscled chest, and everything south of the border tightens.
“You may be wearing those bug-eye sunglasses, but I can hear what you’re thinking. An astronaut on the moon can hear all those dirty thoughts.”
“Oh, please!” Arabella cringes, flopping onto her back and covering her eyes with her forearm.
“It’s payback for all the PDA’s, Belles!” he laughs, standing over me while he shakes himself off to my happy, whiney giggles.
“That was quite refreshing,” I sass.
Holding the floppy edge of my hat up with one hand, I pull my sunglasses down to smirk up at him as he nudges my legs open with his feet.
Casper kneels between my thighs, pulling my sunglasses and hat off as he leans over me to kiss my thirsty lips.
“Mmm…” he groans, licking across the seam of my mouth before pushing his tongue inside.
The taste of spearmint is stronger than tobacco, but I love it all the same. And as his hand traces up my side, his thumb stroking over the underside of my breast, I am in blissful heaven.
Every time he touches me, I feel as though I’m on fire. I can’t get enough, and I want so much more. Similar to how when I think of everything we’ve gone through together, everything we’ve done, in spite of the lows and the pain, I want more with him. So long as we’re together…I am in heaven.
With a pulling bite of my lip, he lifts away. I know what’s coming from the way he’s looking at me. That gorgeous devious grin and the promising dark depths of his eyes.
Kneeling back onto his knees, Casper takes my hands and takes me up with him when he pushes to his feet. I could push him away and stop him, but I let him lift me into his arms and hold on tight as he bounds into the water.
It’s warmer than yesterday, but it’s still so fucking cold that I bite into his shoulder as payback.
“I like it when you do that,” he murmurs into my ear, walking us farther out until even he is out of his depth. Letting me go, he asks, “Swim with me?”
“You’re not giving me much choice, are you?”
I race after him towards the other side, constantly testing the depth so that I can walk the rest of the way. Pregnancy has left me easily breathless. Although it’s normal, it’s inconvenient at times like these.
I’m getting out of the water, and he’s already waiting for me with a towel.
“So, you had this planned, did you?”