Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
E den
As I join with Ava to slather the boys in sunscreen, I can’t help but wish I could tell her the truth.
Marius has no idea how hard it is to keep this lie up.
There are so many times I’ve wanted to share something sweet he did for me, and I’ve gotten to share exactly none of it with exactly zero people.
That says nothing of how much I love him. I’ve never been this crazy about a man in my entire life, and ordinarily when something that incredible happens, a woman gets to share it with her best friend. Me? I get to pretend I’m some happy single girl who gave up on love a long time ago.
“You seem quiet today. Anything wrong?” Ava asks when we finish the slathering.
I force a smile and shake my head. “All good here. Maybe I should put some sunscreen on too. All these years of tanning are going to make me look like an old leather car seat at some point.”
Ava laughs at my attempt to distract her from my mood. “You’ve always been so lucky. You never burn. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. We’re both brunettes, but I burn every time.”
“It’s the blue eyes.”
She nods like that news disappoints her. “I guess. It would be nice to have some color sometimes. I wonder if the boys will get their father’s complexion.”
The two of us look at Theo on her lap and Matty still in the stroller with their brown hair and brown eyes just like Matthias has and then at each other. Laughing, I say, “My guess is you’re going to be the only one in the family who never tans. Sorry.”
When we’re talking about lighthearted things like this, I can tell myself it’s not a big deal that my entire life is currently a lie.
It’s when we’re serious that I have terrible bouts of guilt.
I so want to tell her how happy Marius and I are.
I want to tell her how we got together since that’s such a great story.
I want to share with her how he bought me that diamond necklace she always says she loves.
When she asked me about it, I had to lie and tell her my boss bought it for me for a job well done on some project.
For months, she was sure I was sleeping with him.
It's not like I’d even have to tell her everything. I just want to share the great stuff with my best friend.
“By the way, Matthias told me that guy from work said he’d be happy to come to the party. I hope you like him. I have a really good feeling about this one.”
Ava has set me up with no less than five guys since I got together with Marius two years ago. Each time, they were perfectly nice people I had to pretend to give a chance and then let down gently because I don’t want anyone else.
My best friend would know that if I didn’t have to keep lying to her.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” I say, confident I don’t sound as enthusiastic as she would like me to be.
Thankfully, Ava is preoccupied with Theo, who at the present moment has decided that his fingers belong in his mouth. All ten of them. At the same time.
“Can you hand me one of those baby wipes? He’s got my entire arm covered in spit.”
I laugh and hand her the container of wipes, positive she’s going to need more than one.
I don’t know what that kid’s fascination is with his mouth, but he’s constantly shoving something in it.
It would be one thing if he swallowed everything, but what he seems to do more often than not is put things in his mouth and then remove them covered in saliva, which he then gets on everyone.
As she attempts to clean herself up, someone walks out from the house. Assuming it’s Matthias, I don’t turn around, but then I see Marius walk over to join us instead. Like always, I have to pretend I’m not happy to see him, so I grab my phone off the table and begin to scroll through my emails.
“Ladies, are we swimming on this beautifully sunny day?” he asks and then crouches down to talk to Theo. “You’re definitely swimming, little man. You’re like a fish.”
“In his own spit, maybe,” Ava says. “I need to get him cleaned up first. You can take Matty in, though.”
Marius looks over at the stroller and stands up. “Okay, then he and I will do some uncle-nephew bonding. Ready, buddy?”
Even as I pretend to read some email, I sneak a peek as he strips out of his t-shirt to reveal his muscular arms and chest, to say nothing of the washboard abs. How this man expects me to pretend that we aren’t together when he insists on doing stuff like this is beyond me.
He lifts Matty out of the stroller and pats his bottom. “You sure these things you put on them don’t make the pool a mess?”
I look up and see Ava shaking her head. “Don’t worry. They do the job. You won’t be swimming in baby poop or pee.”
Turning to face me, Marius smiles, and it’s real work not to show how he makes my stomach do a flip when he’s so sexy. “That sounds delightful. Sure you don’t want to come in with me and the little guy?”
With a shrug, I answer, “Not today. Thanks.”
He winks at me and then walks away with Matty to get into the pool. I swear he does that on purpose because he knows I have a hard time pretending we aren’t together. It would serve him right if I came out and told Ava the truth while we’re sitting out here today.
“Come on, Eden. Don’t be a stick in the mud,” Marius calls out from the pool as he lifts Matty in the air like some Lion King redux.
Looking around, I don’t see Ava or Matthias, so the coast might be clear for a few seconds, at least. I walk over to the edge of the pool and look down at Marius.
“What’s the end game here, dear? Do you want me to spill the beans? If not, then I’m not sure why you’re acting like this.”
If it’s possible, he looks even better wet. How can someone always look so good? It’s impossible, yet Marius King somehow achieves that.
He glances over toward the door of the house to see if anyone’s around and then up at me. “No, Duck, I don’t want you to spill the beans. Just get in the pool. We can have a good time, and no one will be the wiser.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “Are you kidding? If his mother sees you and me having a good time together, she’s going to try ten times as hard to get us together. It’s tough enough pretending now.”
As Marius considers what I said, Matty splashes his little hands in front of them. I’m fine with coming clean and telling Ava everything. In fact, I’d be happier if we did tell the truth. It’s Marius who wants to keep us under wraps.
“At least sit down on the edge?” he says in a way that makes me feel like I’m being the bad guy here. “I promise Matty and I won’t splash you.”
Even though I don’t believe him, I sit down on the edge of the pool and let my bare feet dangle in the water. “Now there’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one.”
He positions Matty in front of him, hiding behind his little body while he says, “Aunt Eden, how could you think someone as innocent as I am would do anything like splash you on purpose?”
“It’s not the kid who I think is going to do that. It’s you. Just remember I’m not wearing a bathing suit, okay?”
Marius pokes his head out from behind Matty and pouts. “You’re no fun at all, Aunt Eden. No fun at all.”
Ava and Theo join us not ten seconds later, and it’s like his entire demeanor changes. Gone is the playful, flirty man I adore, and in his place, a man who acts like he doesn’t even know I exist appears.
“All the stickiness is gone, thankfully,” she announces as she walks over to the pool. “Marius, how is Matty liking the water? He cried yesterday when Matthias took him in, so I wasn’t sure how he’d deal with it today.”
“He’s fine,” Marius says as he bounces up and down with Matty in his arms. “He was just saying to Eden that she’s a flat tire for not coming in with us. I told him that wasn’t nice, but he refused to apologize. I have to admit he may be onto something.”
Ava throws me an uncomfortable look that says she’s sorry her brother-in-law is being a jackass and laughs it off. “If Eden wants to just dip her toes in the water, that’s fine with me. I’m sure it’s fine with Matty too.”
With that, she walks into the pool with Theo in her arms and proceeds to let him splash around, soaking her. “Eden, if you decide to change your mind, I’ve got a bunch of swimsuits. Just say the word.”
“Yeah, say the word, Eden,” Marius says, mocking me.
Thankfully, Matty chooses this very moment to suddenly burst into tears. Marius looks completely confused, like he isn’t sure what to do, so he walks across the pool to stand in front of where I’m still relaxing on the edge.
“Here, he doesn’t seem to want to swim any more. I think he’s missing the stroller,” he says before handing Matty up to me.
I reluctantly take him, although when I set him on my legs, he gets me drenched. “Thanks for the advance warning. Now it’s like I went swimming too.”
As I stand up to walk the baby over to where the towels and his stroller wait for us near the table, Marius lifts himself out of the pool and follows us.
I get Matty dried off and check to see if he’s dirty.
Since he’s not, I do as his mother instructs me to and set him down in the stroller. Not a minute later, he’s fast asleep.
“Ava, he’s out cold. Do you want me to take him upstairs to his crib?”
She thinks about it but shakes her head. “No, he loves the stroller, so he’s fine there. Just make sure the brake is on so he doesn’t start rolling away. Then come over and hang out with me. I can’t get out yet because Theo’s still having a good time.”
Since Marius is drying off and can watch Matty, I head back toward where Ava and Theo are enjoying themselves in the pool, but just as I’m about to reach where I was sitting, I feel hands grab me around the waist. A second later, I’m soaring through the air.
I hit the water with a thud and sink to the bottom. Son of a bitch! I’m soaked from head to toe. What was he thinking?
Furious, I come up from under the water and glare at Marius. “What the hell is wrong with you? I’m fully dressed here, you idiot!”