Force (Gravity #3)

4 The Celebration

Dash/Beau

Dash

“Hmm. Yeah, it’s an intriguing development. File a motion for continuance on Monday. Handle it on your own. I’ll be back Tuesday morning. Let’s meet with the client then. Have Stone rearrange my schedule accordingly. It’ll substantially increase the bottom line. Do a preliminary cost analysis. Have it to me Monday evening,” I said to the newest member of my team, Mason Taylor, a highly driven third-year attorney who actively sought me out for employment. My cell phone was stuck to my ear, a full bottle of wine in my other hand. I hustled naked from the living room back to the bedroom where Beau was waiting.

“Should…wait. Changing directions. Is the client required to attend court with me on Monday? Will his presence be an advantage to his case?” Mason asked.

“No,” I said with a shiver. “I have to go. Send me the cost analysis. I need to be prepared for Tuesday.” In a fluid move that I’d mastered years ago, I swiped my thumb absently across the screen to end the call as I expertly dove under the edge of the blanket Beau held up for me. Not a drop of wine was spilled. Clearly not the first time I’d made such a maneuver.

Twenty-four hours into our anniversary weekend and we’d eaten two delicious buffets, spent time together sipping fruity cocktails while baking under the sun, had a sixty-minute couples massage then back to the room for ass busting sex, twice. I loved that the direction of Beau’s plans brought us back to the hotel room every few hours.

Now, we were finally alone in the suite with the temperature of the AC turned down as low as it could go, requiring Beau and I to cuddle together under every blanket we found in the suite. During the dive, I tossed my cell phone in the middle of the mattress, pressing my icy body against Beau’s warm one.

“It’s seriously cold out there. Maybe you should go turn the AC up a few degrees, so we don’t freeze to death,” I suggested cheekily, taking a decent-sized pull from the wine bottle.

“If I go, I’m takin’ the blankets with me,” he said with all certainty. His hand reached for the bottle before it properly left my lips, splashing a drop or two on my chest. “I can’t handle the cold like I used to. You might have to scoot over to your side. Your body’s makin’ me shiver.” My guy actually tried to shove me away from him.

Yeah right. When that didn’t work, he scooted the other direction. Beau was smarter than that decision. I smirked as I followed him, landing in the space he’d made warm with that big body. Perfect.

“How did we endure Chicago?” Beau seldom spoke about the dark period we barely survived.

Of course I didn’t respond, knowing that our difficult years were entirely my fault. “Stop moving and take a drink. If we don’t get you drunk, how can I take advantage of you? If you’re aware of what’s happening, that’s called having consensual sex. We do that regularly.”

“Not that regularly,” he hissed and lifted the bottle, taking several hearty gulps. I tucked pillows behind my back before getting another crack at the wine. Beau settled in around me, throwing the blankets over our heads.

“Is my guy missing our intimate time together?” I teased, cherishing the way he made me feel loved and adored. I also agreed with him, having children really put a dent in our naked alone time. I missed us like this too.

“Yeah, I am. I wish we found a way to fit it in more,” he said, scooting farther down under the duvet, tossing a leg over mine. His lips pressed against my chest. The kiss was light and nibbly, the perfect foreplay for things to progress.

“You have to know that I regularly think you’re naked under all those clothes you wear,” I said, doing my best to hide a smile. It took a second before Beau’s gaze lifted, glancing questioningly at me. I managed to hold my tongue as he worked through my tease.

“You’re dumb,” he finally said.

“I’ve been waiting to drop that joke,” I said, laughing while braving the cold to place the wine bottle on the nightstand. As I decided we’d had enough foreplay, and it was time to make amends for our lack of sexual activity, my cell phone’s irritating ringtone indicated the call came from home.

It was shrill and loud, designed to capture my attention. It did its job.

“Why do you have that ringtone? Make it stop,” Beau complained, peeking out of the cocoon he’d created. It wasn’t his fault that I misplaced my phone, but I still took the blankets with me while I hunted for it on the bed. Luckily, I found it on the fourth ring.

“Hello,” I said, swiping upward to connect the call. I leaned back on my ass, expecting Beau to absorb my body weight. He wasn’t there, so I toppled to the mattress while he ripped the covers away and headed toward the thermostat.

“Daddy,” Ava said, sounding bothered and irritated.

“Ava, how do you know how to call me?” I asked by way of a greeting.

Three days shy of their third birthday, and this was a first from any of them. Of course, I knew they were smart, likely on the higher end of intelligence, but understanding the process of calling us directly was going to change everything. My concerned gaze lifted to Beau who sat on the edge of the mattress. I scrambled toward him, trying to share his body’s warmth.

“Daddy, don’t be mad at me,” Ava started. “I remember your number from Paw’s phone. Abuela won’t let Dory spend the night, and Mia and I want her to. Will you tell her to let Dory stay here?”

“Daddy,” Livie said in the background. “Abuela’s head hurts, and Belle says we need to be nice and quiet, and her hands are full with the four of us.” Her last words were said with scorn at Ava’s selfishness.

“I didn’t say you wanted Dory here. Just me and Mia do,” Ava shot back.

“What’s goin’ on?” Beau asked, tossing the cold end of the duvet over me. His hard body was finally at my back.

“Ava’s figured out how to call me, she learned the number from your cell phone and wants Dory to spend the night. Amelia has a headache, and told her no.”

“Huh,” Beau said, clearly absorbing this new turn of events. “They aren’t told no very often, so when it’s said, they need to listen, or otherwise they go on the naughty list. And they can’t call you unless it’s an emergency. You’re too busy for that. And bein’ told no isn’t an emergency.”

“Daddy, that’s why I called you, because Paw always says naughty list, naughty list, naughty list!”

I pressed the speaker option so I didn’t have to be the heavy. Beau was by far the stricter parent. But Ava wasn’t wrong. The naughty or nice list was a regular concern in our home, causing my smile and Beau’s frown. I pointed to the wine bottle which was now closer to Beau, needing more to get through this conversation.

“And four of us means me, Mia, Livie, and Dory,” Ava said.

“No, four of us is us and West. Four. One. Two. Three. Four,” Livie answered, being our good girl.

“You girls are too smart for your age,” I added, proud of those math skills.

“We know,” Livie said. “Some of our friends don’t know the alphabet.”

“Where’s Belle?” Beau asked, taking the phone.

“Belle’s feeding West, and we’re hiding in our bathroom. I think you’re mad,” Ava responded.

“Girls, Dory isn’t comin’ over, and yes, I’m frustrated. You know better than to challenge Abuela. When she says no, that’s your answer. I want you to be quiet and helpful and only call us if it’s an emergency. This is not an emergency,” Beau explained, moving to hand me the wine bottle. I gulped it like Kool-Aid.

The silence on the other end lasted maybe ten seconds before Livie said, “Told you.”

Beau handed me back the phone.

“Take the phone back to wherever you found it, and please be as good as I believe you are,” I added, receiving two thumbs-up from Beau.

“Okay, bye, Daddy. If you change your mind, call Abuela,” Ava said. “Bye, Paw,” they chirped in unison. The phone disconnected.

“So that’s new,” I said, putting the cell phone on the nightstand within easy reach.

“They’re too smart for their age,” he said. I rested my palm on his thigh, fingertips trailing a caressing path. It’d take some time to regain that spark of romance, but I was up for the challenge. I edged closer when his cell phone dinged. “They better not have figured out how to text.”

“Of course they have.” I fell to my back, feeling like the world was trying to ruin our alone time. “I was just priming you to make my move. Let’s make love then order room service then go back to the dance club and have thirty-dollar cocktails served by handsome waiters. There were some really pretty men there. Did you think so?”

Beau ignored me as I followed his thumbs deftly moving over the small keyboard. A return text showed a picture of a handsome, buff, middle-aged rock climber. “Who’s that?”

“A new lead in the club,” Beau murmured distractedly. “He’s finalizin’ the arrangements for the Himalayas. He’s ordering our meals on the plane.”

Rock climbing attracted a certain kind of guy, but they were rarely that attractive. This guy met Beau in stature and looks. Shockingly, I had a momentary lick of jealousy, emotions I’d only had a couple of times before. It was incredibly hard to tamp down.

“When’s the climb?” I asked, lifting to a sitting position right beside Beau to read the texts. Wow. He had a beard, more substantial than the growth Beau wore. And had a fuck-boy hairstyle that I couldn’t properly pull off, but looked natural on him.

My heart gave a twist of concern. I wasn’t the young man I used to be, and got to my feet.

“Late October into early November. It’s a couple of weeks. I put it on the shared calendar.” Beau lifted his gaze to mine and didn’t focus on my cock that was eye-level. I didn’t turn hard either. What the hell? “You were invited to go. You haven’t been to that side of the world.”

No, I hadn’t. I wasn’t a fan of camping. I preferred climate control and flushable toilets. More importantly, the thought of both of us being so far from home didn’t set well. I lost his gaze to the phone again, his thumbs moving over the keyboard. He barely texted me, but this guy… Suddenly, he clicked off the phone and placed it next to mine on the nightstand.

“What did you say you wanted to do?” Beau asked, and still hadn’t touched my penis.

“I’m jealous,” I stated honestly. The only thing I wanted to do was to ride in on a white stallion and drive a saber through this sports climbing guy’s heart so he couldn’t go on the trip with my love. It seemed a fair option.

“Jealous of what? The trip? You can go…”

No. He was purposely being vague, and I cut him right off, not playing his games. “The guy you’re texting is nice looking.”

“What are you talkin’ about? Most of the guys in the club are attractive,” he said, as if that helped the situation in any way. My silence, due to being dumbfounded, had a perplexed expression knitting his brow together. “Jesse has a wife on the team. She’s goin’ with us. You’d like him and her. He’s a doctor of somethin’ smart, not a medical doctor, doctor. We can invite them over so you’re comfortable around ’em.”

His words soothed me. My jealousy vanished. If Beau didn’t genuinely understand where I was coming from, then I had to be off base. I let it go.

“It gets really chilly in here,” I said by way of an answer. “But the room loses it fast. Do you think that’s on purpose?”

I received the ‘ you’re silly’ head shake from my guy, which was probably deserved. “How about dinner, dancin’ for an hour or so, then marathon sex until it’s time to leave in the mornin’,” Beau suggested.

“How about a fast shower with sex, then dinner at the sushi place downstairs. We’ll decide about dancing. I might want to walk the complex. There’s a lot going on here.”

Beau’s handsome face scrunched slightly, knowing I really wanted to stop by the Kellus Hardin art show. He was local to the Dallas art scene. And Beau wasn’t a big fan of my favorite Asian meal, but he’d get something to-go from another restaurant, and we’d meet to eat together.

He nodded and rose, heading to the bathroom. “You bottom in the shower and I’ll get a hamburger from the grill.”

I followed, watching him strut in front of me. “We’ll see.” He gave me a sly glance over the shoulder, meaning the competition was on.

Beau

Four Days Later

Dash was on his A-game with Livie by his side. She was hypnotized in delight at her daddy’s adherence to complicated schedules and remarkable organizational skills. Mia held my right hand, Ava had my left, and West was snugly bundled on my chest. In a show of love and devotion, Livie lifted her hand to tuck into Dash’s as he pointed his other finger this way and that, instructing the porters who gathered our luggage and assorted baby and children’s contraptions from the car to the cruise ship.

Our coordinating outfits were another Dash induced reality. He found Disney character fabric and had most of our clothing made. The girls donned matching sundresses and sandals, their long hair in braided pigtails, and sunglasses on. The only way to tell them apart outside of personality, was the placement of birthmarks along their arms. West wore the same fabric onesie paired with a baby cap.

Dash commissioned two Hawaiian-style button-ups in the same material as our children and khaki shorts. My ball cap was new, and turned backward, not a Disney hat, but color coordinated with the rest of our clothing. Watching everyone else in their normal clothes, I felt like we may have gone overboard.

Today marked the start of their official birthdays. Tonight’s special dinner was private and princess-themed. They each planned to wear different princess costumes. Our girls were three years old and on their very best behavior.

“Beau!” My mom’s voice rose above the sea of people trying to board early.

“Gigi!” the girls sang in unison. At that moment, that “very best behavior” they’d been excelling at went out the window. They broke the handhold and bolted in the direction of my mom’s voice. I’d trained the girls in the same manner I used with Dixie and Duke, and I was seconds away from whistling them back when I spotted my mom busting through the throng. She jogged toward them, meeting in the middle with a near collision.

Dash and I also started that direction. I was amazed at how much my kids adored my mom and Wesley Carter. Even with all the miles between us, we’d somehow managed to make a functioning family. Kailey, my nine-year-old sister, was still as sweet and kind as always. She loved being with my kids and wore a matching dress. So did my mom.

“Happy Birthday!” Mom exclaimed from her knees, squeezing the girls in a giant, four-way hug. “I missed you. Now stand in front of me so I can see if you’ve grown taller.” Mom barely gave them space, and they lined up side by side. Ava was already giggling, knowing where this was headed. Mom stood, her expression serious, eyes measuring the trio. “You have grown! I told you to stop growing so you’ll be my little grandchildren forever.” She feigned anger, hands fisting on her hips. The girls erupted into laughter, insisting they had no say in the matter. It was sweetness and giggles as they piled back into warm hugs. Kailey included.

“Hi, Beau,” Kailey said, separating from the girls to hug me tight before doing the same to Dash. “Hi, Dash. Dad’s coming. He’s getting something for the room.”

As if waiting in the background for his cue, Carter started for us and the girls zoomed toward him, mimicking the scene with my mom. Carter had somehow wormed his way past my barriers and into my heart. Mom glided over to me, not to hug me or even to say hello. She wanted to see West.

“Hi, Linda,” Dash said before dashing off to join Carter. Those two were practically joined at the hip. They spoke every day, sometimes multiple times a day, and saw each other as much as possible.

“Oh, Dash, he’s wearing a matching onesie,” my mom cooed over West. “It’s so cute, Beau. You all are adorable.” I finally got a side hug. “Can I hold him?”

“He’s sleepin’,” I hedged, not quite sure why I played defense. She was unfastening the straps, gathering him into her arms. The little guy in his blanket didn’t wake in the transfer. Yesterday’s flight adventures really knocked him out.

“Let me see my namesake,” Carter said, balancing Ava and Mia on each hip. Livie flailed her arms for Dash to pick her up.

“Dad, his name is Weston, not Wesley,” Kailey chimed in, adding to the other running joke about the similarity to his first name.

“He’s sprouting like a weed,” Carter said, ignoring her. No amount of effort ever changed his mind, convinced we named West after him. “He’s doubled in size since we saw him last. He’s gonna be a big guy.”

“The Carter, Richmond-Brooks family?”

The collective gasps and sudden turns of the girls’ heads, including my mom’s, might have changed the jet stream of the area. Elsa from Frozen waved hello, greeting us. Livie’s eyes went wide, her legs instantly went board straight so Dash would put her down. They all hit the ground, running the few feet to Elsa.

Regardless of Carter being the official patriarch of the family, and this being a present to the children from their grandparents, I suspected Dash had wrangled Elsa to meet us at the entry. Of course, I didn’t know the cost. Everyone understood how cheap I was, but watching our girls being over-the-top excited was worth everything.

Elsa waited for the rest of the family to catch up, speaking directly to the girls like a pro. After the briefest acknowledgement to the adults, she turned, asking the girls to clasp hands. Our official tour for the arrival had begun.

Dash and I followed behind, coming in last. He clasped my hand. I side-eyed him, but his huge grin said it all. He was as happy as I was. I intertwined my fingers with his.

“Paw, I’m not sure,” Ava said, clutching my neck in her version of a death grip.

“I got you. I promise not to let you go. Trust me,” I said, moving the next step forward in line. “You’ve been itchin’ to do this since your dad showed you the ship.” Her head rested on my shoulder, and I did my best to run a hand over her head. It wasn’t easy with the life jacket and floaties she wore. In theory, Ava was the bravest of the three, but that didn’t say much in the face of the slide. “Think about somethin’ else. It’s gonna be fun. Next time you can go on the bigger slide because you’re gonna love it. Did you like your birthday presents from Gigi and Pop-Pop?”

Her face sparkled as she pulled back to look me in the eye. “Paw, she gave us all the Disney toys and princess dresses and stuffed animals. It was so much. I’m wearing my Minnie Mouse dress and ears to dinner.”

“I thought you planned to be Ariel?”

“No.” Her head swung back and forth until it didn’t. “Maybe. I don’t know.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle as the attendant lowered our raft into the entrance of the tunnel. The lifeguard gave a once-over, scanning Ava’s life vest. “Keep your arms to your side.” She dropped her elbows against her side to show Ava.

“Okay.” Ava tucked her elbows in when I put her on her feet.

The little kids slide required a parent and took us over the main part of the swimming pool to a shallow edge where the rest of our group waited. I took a seat on the raft and reached for Ava. She misunderstood the seating arrangement and ended up face-to-face, arms tight around my neck.

“Baby, I’m gonna turn you around. Hang on to my legs, and I’ll hold you.” Once she flipped, I held her securely in place with one hand. She took my other arm, wrapping it around her too. “Make sure you look through the tunnel and grin big at Daddy.” My amusement turned to laughter as she did exactly what I instructed, grinning big through her worry. “You’re brave, Ava. Kailey won’t ride a slide. She’s afraid.”

“1, 2, 3, go.” We got a slight shove, and Ava screamed, her hands clutching my forearms. A trickle of water guided our way. Ava easily found her groove, the water swishing and swirling around us. All three girls had taken swimming lessons.

“There’s Daddy and Gigi! Wave.” She took her greeting job seriously as Dash snapped a picture then waved as big as Ava. “Get ready to hold your breath.” Moments later, we popped out of the tunnel with the smallest free fall. A lifeguard and Carter were there waiting. The girls and Kailey stood cheering Ava on. The great thing about this cruise was the excitement everyone shared with each other. The staff and guests alike applauded her accomplishment.

I hoisted her up by the back of the life jacket, dragging her through the shallow water to deposit Ava with the others.

“You should try!” Extreme excitement laced Ava’s words. “I was scared and then I wasn’t. It was fun! Paw’s strong. He’ll keep you up if you go,” she said, adding a little jump at the end.

“Beau!” Kailey called when I was about halfway to our table. “Can you take me on the medium size slide?”

What? Was she braving up?

“Sure,” I said, not questioning or teasing her for fear she’d back off. “Let’s go on the other slide. The bigger one’s not that big, and the rafts are larger. It’ll splash more water.” I rambled, glancing at Carter and our mom. “I’m takin’ Kailey.”

“You going again?” Dash asked, jogging to me.

“Yup, she wants to try,” I said, grabbing her life vest. “She’s bravin’ up. Put this on. I’ll make sure it’s cinched up in line.”

“Good job, Kailey.” Dash lifted his hand for a high five. “I’ll take pictures and wave. Watch for me.”

He followed, chatting with Kailey to help her nerves. I had such a stunningly beautiful life.