Chapter 16
Strapping Precious safely into her car seat, I tickled her until she was giggling uncontrollably. “You ready to go, Sweet Pea?”
“Yeahhhh!” she replied cheerily.
“Well, let’s go then.” I pinched her cheek, then closed her in the back. El was already in the passenger seat, waiting patiently. Once I was buckled in, I turned to her. “And what about you? Are you ready too, pretty lady?”
She did a little happy dance. It wasn’t lost on me that it was the same dance Precious did when she was overly excited. It was cute to see all the ways she mimicked her mother. It wasn’t hard to tell she worshipped the very ground El walked on, just like my ass.
“Yes, even though I have no clue what you’re up to.”
I chuckled because she had another thing coming if she thought I was about to tell her where we were headed. I had it all planned out, and God willing, it would be a weekend to remember. I took her hand in mine and placed a soft kiss on top of it. Everything was right in my world.
Since the night we went out to celebrate Armani’s birthday, I hadn’t been able to keep my hands or lips off the damn girl.
She’d turned me into a fiend. It was the way her body reacted to my presence.
I took relearning her body very seriously and never missed an opportunity to study what unraveled her until she was putty in my hands.
Over the weekend, I was definitely going to get my hands on her and my dick deep inside of her.
My phone connected to the truck, and Selli Paper’s “Soft Spot” started to blast from the speakers.
El immediately started dancing in her seat.
I knew she loved this song because she was always playing it, so I added it to my playlist for the weekend.
I couldn’t help but smile every time I glanced over to see her smiling and vibing out.
She looked so at peace, and that was all I wanted my presence in her life to offer her.
The rest of the ride was smooth with little to no traffic until we got close to our destination. I almost jumped out of my skin when El screamed in the passenger seat. “What? What is it?” I asked, whipping my head between the road and her.
“Are we going to Latimore Beach?” she questioned, barely able to contain her excitement.
I smiled because we were close enough that there were signs everywhere. I nodded. “We are.”
Her bottom lip poked out, and tears filled her eyes. “You remembered . . .”
“Of course.” I eased into the loading deck and parked beside her parents’ Chevy Equinox. “And my parents are here?”
“Oh yeah, it’s a family affair, Princess. Come on.”
When her parents saw us getting out of my truck, they did the same.
After hugs and greetings, Eddy and I grabbed all the luggage, while El and her mama walked ahead of us, holding hands with Precious.
I chuckled when El started screaming when the yacht I chartered came alive in front of us.
She’d told me how she’d never been on one or to Latimore Beach off the coast of Carolina, so of course, I started plotting.
The yacht had two bedrooms, a kitchen area, and plenty of lounging space.
El raced onto the boat, leaving everyone behind.
We got the bigger room, while her parents took the smaller one.
I already had the yacht refrigerator and pantry stocked with food, drinks, and snacks for us to have while we were out on the water.
While I was in the bedroom putting away our luggage, El found me and tackled me on the bed. I could only smile as she showered kisses all over my face. “You did this for me?”
I nodded. “I did this for us. We’re a family.”
I sank deeper into the bed when she ran a finger along my eyebrow. “Are we really doing this, Perfect? Me and you?”
I flipped us over so that I was the one on top. My lips went to the mole beneath her eye, where I eagerly marked my territory. “It’s already done, baby.”
Just before I could get too carried away, I heard the patter of my baby’s feet coming down the hallway.
“Daddy!” she called out for me, melting my heart.
There was nothing compared to the feeling of knowing I helped create someone so perfect.
I climbed off her mama just as she came into the room.
I scooped her up in my arms and rained kisses on her cheeks.
“What’s up, Sweet Pea?”
“Swimming pool!”
I chuckled. Glancing over at El, I said, “I guess someone wants to get in the water.”
She smiled. “I told you she loves water, and she’s been in lessons since she was eight months. She is about to have the time of her life.”
And the time of her life was exactly what my baby had after we dressed in our swimwear.
She looked so cute with her little floaties on.
The second the girl walked over to the edge where I was down in the water, she leapt off the boat and into the ocean.
I started freaking out until I saw her float to the top, then flip herself over on her back so that she was floating.
It still took a minute for my heart to stop racing.
El sat on the edge of the yacht, laughing at me. “I told you. She loves the water.”
Sweet Pea swam over to me, and I picked her up in my arms. “Again!”
I shook my head, knowing she was about to stress me out with this water independence.
I placed her back on the yacht, to which she immediately jumped her little ass right back into the water.
I stayed in the water, swimming and playing with her, while El went to sunbathe with her mom on the front deck.
Eddy was in the kitchen whipping something up for us to eat for lunch. I had to drag Sweet Pea out of the water when he called for us to come eat. I didn’t think I stopped smiling once as we sat and had lunch together. It was the first time in a long while that I felt truly happy.
After lunch, I pulled El to the bedroom with Precious. I made them sit down while I fished for the gifts I had for them. When I found the boxes, I handed them both their gifts. I helped my baby get into hers while El opened her box. She gasped when she saw the tennis bracelet.
“Perfect! What is this?”
“Just something I wanted to get for my girls.”
She shook her head and tried to put the bracelet back in the box. “No, no. This is too much. You don’t have to keep flexing your money for us. We both love you for who you are.”
“It’s not like that, El. The smiles on y’all faces are worth it.
It’s what I worked for. While I was gone, it wasn’t pretty.
I wasn’t laid up with another woman, living some glamourous lifestyle.
I was in straight grind mode, barely came up for air until it was time for me to come home to you.
I couldn’t do shit for you, El. I had to get myself together.
I’m together now, and I want to spoil my girls.
Give me the satisfaction of being able to do it without you thinking I’m trying to buy y’all love.
You accepted me when I had nothing, so this ain’t that. ”
Tears cascaded down her cheeks. “You really left to become a better man, huh?”
I nodded. “Exactly that. I did the mental work in prison, but I had to lock in to create a better quality of life in the physical.”
She sniffled and nodded. “I understand.” She squealed. “Okay, well, put this on. It’s so beautiful.”
I chuckled but did as she asked before she turned her attention to Precious. It was the same bracelet, just a baby version. “I wish I had diamonds when I was a toddler,” she teased.
“Well, at least you got ’em now.”
Leaning over, she placed a kiss on my lips and looked up into my eyes. “At least I have them now,” she agreed.