This Is Love - Chapter 21
The seagulls cawed as I walked through the sand. But the sound was mostly drowned out by my family’s laughter.
“Welcome to our little slice of paradise,” I whispered to Liam as I showed him the ocean for the first time. We had finally found a beach house that was big enough to accommodate our extended family. And this weekend everyone was here to celebrate our new home away from home.
“Most people think paradise has more palm trees. But this is paradise to me too,” Melissa said as she stared at the ocean with us.
I glanced down at her stomach. She was finally starting to show.
She and Josh had originally planned their trip to help me out while Liam was born.
But they also had news of their own that they hadn’t shared because of all the chaos.
She was pregnant. A wonderful, unexpected surprise for her and Josh. But she was so excited.
“No bikini today?” I asked with a smile. “I swore I wore a bikini the whole time I was pregnant with Scar.”
“No. No bikini and no wedding dress until after this little girl is born.” She put her hand on her stomach, her engagement ring shining in the sun. “Besides, moving back to New York has been stressful enough. I can’t even think about planning anything else.”
“It’s good to have you back. Even though I had to settle for us being neighbors instead of roomies.”
She laughed. “It’s crazy how much we’ve grown up. I mean, who would have guessed we’d be here?”
“I always knew you’d end up with Josh. You guys are perfect together.”
“She just needed some time to be convinced,” Josh said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and placed a kiss on the side of her neck.
I left them alone as he tried to pull her into the water.
“One day you’re going to fall in love,” I whispered to Liam.
“Way, way in the future. Like Melissa and Josh.” I looked up the beach where Mason and Bee were sitting in beach chairs.
Bee was waving around sunscreen, probably trying to convince him that he wasn’t immune to sunburn just because he was naturally tan.
“And Mason and Bee.” I bounced Liam on my hip.
Tyler and Hailey had wrangled the kids together to build a sandcastle that did not look like it was going to stand up for very long.
“And Tyler and Hails.” Jen and Ian were up on the boardwalk, staring at the chaos we had unleashed on the beach.
“And Jen and Ian.” Matt was holding little R.J.
in his arms while Rob and Daphne were jumping waves.
“Like Rob and Daphne. And Matt...well, I'm sure he'll find someone soon. I’m going to help him.”
Liam wiggled in my arms.
“What? I’m a good matchmaker.”
He blinked up at me.
“I helped Mason learn that not all girls are lame salad eating divas. And I pushed Tyler away. If I hadn’t, he’d never have met Hailey.
Plus I kinda accidentally broke up Melissa and Tyler, which sent her back in the arms of Josh in a weird, roundabout way.
I encouraged Ian to ask Jen out. And Rob was at James’ bachelor party when he started things with Daphne. I feel like that counts too.”
He blinked again.
“Fine, technically I’ve never done any real matchmaking.” I sat down in the sand, balancing Liam on my lap. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll be bad at it. Look at me and your father. That’s true love. If anyone knows what the real deal is, it’s me. One day, I hope you find love that strong.”
“Are you already hoping that Liam’s falling in love?” James asked as he walked up to us. “He’s only 4 months old.”
“No, I’m simply hoping he finds a love as great as ours. And the beach is a great place to fall in love. Don’t you think?”
James laughed and sat down beside me. “The only little girls here are his sister and his cousin. So no, I don’t think he’s going to find love here right now.”
“Well, Melissa is having a little girl.”
He kissed the side of my forehead. “Let him live his life, Penny.”
“I’m not going to interfere in his love life. I promise. Mostly. Okay, fine. I might interfere a little.”
He laughed and wrapped his arm around me. We looked out at the ocean in silence, watching the waves splash against the shore.
“I love it here,” I said. “Thank you. For all of this. Having everyone here…it’s amazing. Are your parents still coming down tomorrow? I think my mom is excited to try to bond with your mother again.”
James laughed. “Yeah, they’ll be here. Fun tonight and then the parents are arriving in the morning.”
“We’re parents too.” I gently nudged his side.
He wrapped his arm around me, pulling Liam and me close to his chest. “Are you saying we’re old and boring now?”
“No. I don’t think I could ever describe us as boring. Just old.”
“You’re not even thirty yet.”
“Yeah. But you're well past it.”
He laughed. “Touché.”
“I’ll love you when you’re old and gray,” I said. I tilted my face up so I could kiss the scruff along his jaw line. “I think I could sit right here until I was old and gray. This is perfect.”
“The kiddos certainly love it.” We watched as Axel splashed Scarlett and Sophie with water. Both girls screamed at the top of their lungs.
“Our family is perfect.” I lifted my head off his shoulder so I could see James’ face. “It’s the perfect size. I know I was upset when I found out I couldn’t have any more kids. But I think…I think this is perfect.” I looked down at Liam on my lap. I couldn’t possibly ask for more.
“I think so too.” James reached over and patted the front of Liam’s onesie.
“I have everything I’ll ever want right here.
” He looked up at me with a smile on his face.
“You know, a few months ago, when you were still trying to remember our family, you fell asleep in my arms while you were talking about how love isn’t about light and dark or whirlwinds of color.
You said that this right here was love. What we share.
What all of us share." He looked back down at our son. Our little miracle breathing easily on his own. “I never told you how much I agree. Love can’t really be defined. It isn’t a balance of light and darkness or a whirlwind of color.
It’s a feeling. This feeling.” He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss against my lips.
“Daddy! Mommy!” Scarlett ran over and collapsed in front of us in the sand. She rolled around, making herself look like a sugar covered doughnut.
I laughed. “Are you having fun, Scar?”
She stopped rolling. “Yes!” She stood up and launched her sandy self into James’ arms.
He kissed the top of her head and smiled over at me.
I didn’t remember talking about the definition of love before falling asleep a few months ago.
But hearing him say it today brought tears to my eyes.
It was like he finally realized that he wasn’t some dark cloud in my life.
He had finally put his demons at bay. He finally believed that we were made to be together just as much as I had always believed it.
And he was right. Nothing in the world mattered but this right here.
This feeling when we were together and surrounded by our family.
No definition was needed. We lived and breathed it. Love.
***
James has found love. But he isn’t the only forbidden billionaire!
Now it’s Mason’s turn.
Keep reading to see how the kinkiest of the forbidden billionaires found the love of his life in City of Sin.