All I heard after that was Marianne’s beautiful, sexy laughter.
“I love you,but I also hate that you got even better looking,” Marianne blurted out.
It was late morning, and we’d already gone through a good portion of the lube stockpile.
Turns out it worked perfectly.
Every time.
“I think you need glasses, darlin’.” I let my fingers wander up and down her arm.
She shook her head adamantly. “Perfect vision.”
“Marianne, the only one of us who got better looking, is you. Fuck, I wanted to grab you the second you walked into Marcel and Angelique’s place.”
She retreated to her back. “Mm hmm, is it the dozens of stretchmarks that turn you on?”
Her fingers first touched her belly, then her thighs. “Or maybe it’s the C-section scar that did it for you?”
I traced her scar with the tips of my fingers. “All of your kids come through here?”
“Nope, just one.”
“Trey?”
“No, Hannah. She’s the most stubborn of them all. And trust me, that’s saying something.”
We both laughed, but that hit me in a sad way.
“This saved her life?”
Marianne sighed in a resigned way. “And mine. Always the drama queen, I tell you.”
I touched her belly—allowing my hand to cover it. “Then it’s a battle scar. That’s something to be proud of. So, yes, Mrs. Hunter, the fact that you battled for your life, and the life of your child—and won—is about the noblest thing in this world to do. Seeing this scar is not a turnoff.”
Her eyes got that glassy look, so I kissed her.
“And the fact that you have these,” I said, and grazed over her stretch-marked skin, “means you grew babies inside of you. Three human beings. It takes balls to do something like that.”
“Actually, it takes ovaries.”
That cracked us up, and I pulled her into my side. “You just need to accept it. You’re sexier now than way back then.”
She played with the hair on my chest. “I love the way you lie, honey. But—” she looked up at me, “there’s something else we need to discuss.”
I felt a pang in my heart that I didn’t like. “What’s that?”
“The kids.”
“Darlin’, the kids are dealt with. Why do we need to talk about them?”
Her eyes stayed on mine for a minute before she spoke, “What are the chances of them keeping their hands off each other?”
I answered her instantly, “Next to nil.”
She laughed so hard, that she let her forehead rest on me while her body shook.
“I’m just being honest with you, Marianne. Lexi’s had posters of Trey on her wall since before she hit puberty.”
Marianne lifted her head and gave me a resigned look. “Wes, I’ve never seen Trey like this. And the way he was being so protective of her—” she shook her head and sighed, “I think he really is in love.”
“Fuckin’ kids.”
All she did was nod.