Chapter 29
29
LINCOLN
“I can’t believe you’re here.” I give Eva a quick hug and pull Thea out of her arms. My baby sister grants me a huge smile as I spin her around and she lets out a high-pitched squeal. Her green eyes are even more emerald than I remember. She’s so cute with her little blonde pigtails. She’s adorable and could be a lot of trouble for me as she gets older. I may turn into the Hulk if a boy comes anywhere near her.
“I’ve missed you, little one.” I give her chubby cheeks a kiss.
“Everyone else is checking in. It’s carnage in there, so I came out here for some fresh air.” Eva scrunches her nose up and pulls her statement green fedora hat down to protect her face from the high sun. “Traveling with three kids was a challenge. Oh, and then of course my sisters’ four, too. Not great.”
“Lincoln!” Archie and Hamish scream with excitement and when I bend down, they almost bowl me over.
“Look how big you’ve gotten.”
They both throw their arms around me and Thea.
“I’ve missed you both. ”
“I’ve missed you too,” Archie whispers back, melting my heart.
“I miss the sandcastle competitions.” Hamish leans out of our hug and smiles. “Your boo-boo is all better.” He points at my forehead.
“Like magic, Hamish.”
“We have a present for you.” Archie pulls something from his pocket. “Close your eyes.”
I clench my eyes tight.
“Now open.” Cupped in Archie’s two hands is a gray-colored heart-shaped rock.
“Is that for me?” I choke up.
Archie and Hamish bounce their heads enthusiastically. “We found it on the beach.”
“It’s to show you we love you, Linc, and we missed you.” Hamish throws his little arms around me again. “Are you coming home with us?”
“I am.” I gaze up at Eva. “Thank you.”
“They seem to like you for some reason.” Her eyes are now glassy.
I take the heart rock from Archie’s hand. “I will treasure this forever.”
“Promise?” Hamish’s big brown eyes look at me.
“Promise.” I clench the stone tight.
“Can I look after it for you, just for now?” Archie’s crystal-blue eyes are full of hope.
“Yes, please. Put it in your pocket and I will get it later. Thank you.”
Trying to pull myself back together, I ask Eva, “How was the flig?—”
“Eh, excuse me, Mrs. Black, is it?” Violet’s sweet American voice interrupts us and I shoot up to my full height .
What the hell is she doing here? She looks mad. Crazed, even, as she places Pom-pom on the ground.
“Yes,” Eva replies.
I don’t get the chance to introduce Eva as Violet jumps in, “Did you know your husband has been sleeping with me for the past thirty days? Not that I’ve been counting or anything.”
Yes, she has.
But wait… “What?” Eva and I both shriek at the same time.
“I like sleeping. I’m tired, Mommy.” Hamish yawns.
It suddenly dawns on me; she thinks Eva is my wife.
I feel my face paling. “Oh no, Vio?—”
“Don’t you dare speak to me, ever again.” An angry blotchy-looking rash forms on the bronzed skin of her chest.
I pass Thea back to Eva.
Violet looks so upset. “You’ve been lying to me this whole time,” she says, her words sounding pained. “You said that I was your missing piece. And now I know why I’ve never been back to your hotel. Because you have a secret family. I’ve been such a fool.” She sucks in a breath. I think she’s on the verge of tears. This isn’t good. My poor girl thinks I cheated on her, have lied, and I’m married.
“Is that a real doggie?” Archie asks and plays with Pom-pom.
“It’s very cute,” Hamish tweets. “Does it belong to the crazy lady? She talks funny.”
“Hamish, be quiet,” Eva scorns.
“Don’t come near me.” Violet raises her hand to stop me as I try walking to her. “You have a family, and all the things you told me about how beautiful I was…” She looks directly at Eva. “I knew you were lying. I look nothing like her.”
“No, you don’t. She’s not my type.” I take a slow step forward.
She shakes her head. “You are disgusting and why is your wife not upset? ”
“Because I’m not his wife,” Eva says from behind me.
“What?” Violet looks like a deer caught in the headlights.
“I’m not her husband.”
“I am.” The voice of my father suddenly appears. I haven’t seen him in months, but I don’t turn around to greet him. I need to calm Violet down and reassure her.
“Those two rascals are mine.” I can only imagine my dad is pointing at Hamish and Archie. “As is the blonde terror in Eva’s arms and Eva, here, is my wife. And the big lump in front of you…” He must point to me last. “Is also mine. Eva is Lincoln’s stepmom.”
“Shit,” she mutters under her breath, her face turning a bright raspberry color.
“Surprise.” I try to lighten the mood, but I’m nervous she might knee me in the balls.
“But you didn’t tell me you loved me today when I told you. You left, and I thought…”
What a fuck-up.
“Violet, look at me.”
When she does, she’s chewing the side of her mouth.
“I didn’t tell you I loved you this morning because I was stupid, a complete idiot.” I don’t take my eyes off her pretty face. I pluck up the courage to tell her how I feel. “But I am scared. I’ve never been in love before and I usually mess everything up.” I point to my family. “Case in point, like this now.” I cup her face. “I wanted to say those words to you so badly, but I couldn’t get them out. You scare me and the distance thing scares me too. I don’t want to ever not be with you, but in two weeks’ time, everything changes, and I don’t get the choice to stay. It’s completely out of my hands. I’m the guy who fixes everything, but the ocean between us? I can’t solve that.” I take a deep breath in. “I love you, Violet, your-mom-should-have-called-you-Susan , West. ”
She snorts. “You heard that?”
“I heard that and I wouldn’t change your name for the world because I love it. I love you.” I bend down to kiss her.
“I love you too, Lincoln, your-dad-has-a-crap-surname-and-makes-me-sound-like-a-color-palette-if-we-get-married , Black.”
Against her lips, I smile.
“Eww, Lincoln is kissing the crazy girl that speaks funny,” Hamish says, drawing out his words as if disgusted.
A cacophony of laughter breaks out.
I give Violet another kiss, then take her hand in mine, and when we fully face my family, we find Eva fanning her face. “I feel teary; that was beautiful.”
“I think I need to pump some iron or chop some wood because I’ve come over all emotional too.” My dad pretends to dab his eyes, making us giggle.
“Oh my God, what is wrong with you two? Can you not try to be normal for once?” I look at Eva then my dad and they shake their heads.
“We’ll give you two a minute.” Eva lifts Pom-pom into her arms.
They all start chatting among themselves and coo over Pom-pom.
I lean into Violet. “I should have told you they were coming. I’m sorry. But my family is a lot to get used to. They have enormous personalities and collectively they are, the only word for it is, extra .”
She smirks. “Oh, I don’t know. Your wife seems nice.”
I squeeze her waist.
“A little heads-up on that would have been good, Lincoln,” she says and steals a gaze at my family. “When you said you had brothers and a sister, I thought they were older.”
“If I was to tell you my sister is almost three decades younger than me, it would sound weird, but when you see my dad, Eva, and the kids together, it’s not. It was easier to show you than tell you.”
“That makes sense. They look incredibly happy together.”
I bring her up to speed. “Hamish and Archie are from Eva’s first marriage, but the boys don’t see their father. And Thea is my dad and Eva’s.”
“Blended family.” She continues to gaze at them.
“And Eva has two sisters. She’s a triplet. And their husbands and children are all here too.”
“Wow.”
“I’ve made such a fool of myself.”
“No, you didn’t. It was very Violet.” She hides her face in my chest and I hold on to her tighter. “I would never cheat on you, Petal. Never.”
“I’m sorry I doubted you,” she says, her words muffled.
I kiss the top of her head. “The reason we have never stayed over at the hotel is because your whole life is at your house. It’s your home. Your clothes, office, files, stationery cabinet.”
She laughs.
“Me, I am currently living out of a suitcase, plus you have Pom-pom, and you live near the beach. It made sense for me to stay over at your place.”
“It was a stupid thing to say.”
“It wasn’t. It’s okay to have doubts. You haven’t been here, and we have only been dating for thirty days. Have you been counting?”
“Maybe,” she mumbles as if she’s embarrassed.
“We’ll chat later about the distance thing, okay? We will work it out.”
“I’d like that.”
I kiss Violet again before leaning out of our embrace .
“Can I interrupt?” My dad walks to me, and Violet moves away to find herself in Eva’s arms. Eva tells her to forget whatever happened before asking her about Pom-pom.
“Christ, I’ve missed you so much.” His eyes become glazed, then he wraps me in a tight, fierce bear hug.
I choke up and pat his back. “Me too,” is all I can say.
He clasps either side of my face. “Violet is beautiful.”
“I know.” I look over at Violet, who is now crouched down, deep in a conversation with Hamish and Archie about Pom-pom. Poor dog won’t know what’s hit him these next two weeks. Those boys already think he’s a toy.
My dad’s eyes glint with amusement. “So you went for a strong, confident, outspoken woman, then? Because we don’t have enough feisty females in this family already.” My dad punches the top of my arm. “You’re a glutton for punishment.”
I am where my heart is concerned.
I hope I’m not setting us up for a fall somehow.
No matter what happens between me and Violet, I’m sure a swift kick to the nuts would be less painful than the thought of leaving her in two weeks’ time.
Fourteen days.