Chapter 34
Love – is the answer. Just ask Maya.
Lucas
“C hloe! Are you home?” I shout when I return home after work. “Are you okay?”
I bound up the stairs. Sophia messaged me to go check on Chloe. Since Chloe snuck out of the house this morning, I didn’t hesitate to rush home after reading the message.
I peek in my bedroom, but it’s empty. As is the connected bathroom. And the hallway bathroom. I enter the guest bedroom to discover Chloe packing her things.
“What the hell are you doing?”
She jumps and drops the clothes in her arms. “What are you doing home early?”
I point to the suitcases on her bed. “Are you leaving me? I fucking knew it. You’re running scared.”
“I’m not scared. I’m doing this for you.”
I rear back. “For me? You’re hurting me for me? If you cared about me, you wouldn’t do this.”
“I love you, Lucas. With all my heart. It’s why I’m doing this.”
Warmth spreads through me at her confession. Hell yeah. This woman I’m obsessed with loves me.
I prowl to her. “I love you, too, wildcat.”
I reach for her but she bats my hands away.
“I’m still leaving.”
My muscles tense. She’s still leaving? “Why the hell are you leaving if we love each other?”
“I don’t want you to lose Natalia.”
The anger drains from my body and warmth replaces it. “This is about Natalia?”
“Of course, this is about Natalia. You can’t lose custody of her. Holly can’t have her. Your ex will destroy the light in your little girl’s eyes and I won’t have it.”
Damn, I love this woman. She loves my little girl something fierce. It’s everything I ever wanted for my daughter to have.
“You won’t, have it?”
“Don’t make fun of me. I know how it feels to be raised by a narcissistic mother. How it feels to wake up every morning wondering what kind of mood she’ll be in. Will today be the day she lets you eat breakfast or will she lock you in the closet for asking for a bowl of cereal? Why do you think I don’t want children? I can’t become my mother.”
I shackle her wrist before sitting on the bed and pulling her on my lap. “You aren’t your mother.”
Her brow wrinkles. “I know.”
I cup her cheeks. “You said you’re afraid of becoming your mother if you have children.”
“Shit,” she mutters and glances away.
“No.” I pinch her chin and force her to meet my gaze. “No hiding from me. You can’t tell me you’re afraid to have children and then hide from me.”
Her eyes narrow. There’s my wildcat. “I said I don’t want children. I didn’t say I’m afraid to have them.”
I grin. “You love children.”
She scowls. “I didn’t say I love children.”
“Okay, I’ll edit my statement. You love my daughter.”
“Natalia’s easy to love.”
I chuckle. “She threw up on you on a rollercoaster yesterday.”
She shrugs. “It happens. Ask me about the time Sophia drank six shots of moonshine before getting on the rollercoaster.”
“Nice try, but you can’t distract me.”
“Distract you from what?”
I grin. This woman can amuse me even when we’re having the most important discussion of my life.
“Chloe Fellows, you are not leaving me.”
The sparkle in her eyes dies out. “I have to Lucas. I can’t risk you losing Natalia. I would never forgive myself.”
“I’m not going to lose custody of my daughter.”
“But Holly knows our marriage is fake.”
I growl. “Our marriage isn’t fake.”
“Correction. Holly knows our marriage started out as fake. She could use the information to persuade a judge to give her custody.”
I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “I already spoke to a lawyer.”
“You did? When? Why didn’t you tell me?”
I pinch her nose. “Someone hasn’t been answering her phone all day.”
“Oh.”
“There’s only one attorney on Smuggler’s Hideaway who handles custody cases. Apparently, he’s been fielding calls all day from people on the island who want to testify about how our marriage is very much real. About how we’re in love and can’t keep our hands off each other.”
She frowns. “Can’t keep our hands off each other? Who said that?”
I smirk. “No one but it’s true.”
“You’re serious? People have actually been contacting Mr. Ezra about us?”
“Yep. And Ezra says it doesn’t matter anyway. Holly hasn’t visited or contacted her daughter since we arrived on the island. It seems the local judge doesn’t approve of mothers who don’t show up at Family Sports Day.”
“Makes sense. Judge Clara broke her foot doing the long jump on Family Sports Day. Since her parents weren’t there because they were both working, she ended up going to the hospital with a teacher. She had to have surgery to put a pin in her ankle and her parents weren’t there. I don’t think she ever forgave them.”
“Is there anyone on this island you don’t know?”
She scrunches her nose as she pretends to consider my question. I tickle her ribs and she giggles as she tries to wiggle out of my arms.
“Stop it. This is a serious discussion.”
I throw her on the bed and crawl on top of her. “The serious portion of the discussion is finished. The fun part is about to begin.”
She strains at my shoulders. “But I haven’t told you I’m staying.”
I bite her bottom lip in punishment. “You’re staying. I’m not letting you go.”
“You can’t order me around.”
“I love you. You love me. You’re my wife. You’re not leaving.”
“But I don’t want children. You need to find a wife who will give Natalia brothers and sisters.”
“I found my wife. It’s you.”
“But children?”
“We have Natalia. She’s enough.”
For now. I know I can convince Chloe to give me more children. She’s afraid but I’ll show her there’s nothing to be afraid of. I’ll show her each and every day she’s nothing like her mother.
Once she realizes she isn’t her mother, she’ll agree to give me babies. She loves children. She’s just afraid.
“Really?”
I kiss her nose. “Really.”
She bites her bottom lip and mischief sparkles in her eyes. “I’d stay but all of my clothes are packed.”
I glance around the room at her suitcases. “Good.”
“I’m confused. You want me to move out? I guess we could date for a while. Although I’d miss sleeping with you at night.”
I press my hard cock against her stomach. “You’re not sleeping anywhere but with me.”
“Are you deliberately being confusing? Why are you happy my bags are packed?”
“It makes it easier to move your clothes into my room.”
She gasps. “Into your room?”
“Our room,” I amend.
“Maybe we should slow things down. This is moving extremely fast.”
“I know what I want and what I want is you, my wife, sleeping in my bedroom with me every night. Your bathroom shit spread all over the vanity in the bathroom.”
“I’m not messy.”
“Wildcat, I’ve seen the hallway bathroom. Yes, you are.”
“Fine, I’m messy. How messy would you be after eighteen years in a house where you had to vacuum the carpet in one direction because otherwise your mother would lose her mind?”
I draw a finger down the vein on her forehead that started pulsing at the reminder of her mother. “I like your mess.”
“You do?”
I nod. “Are we done talking now?” I grind my hard cock against her and her eyes flare.
“Yes,” she hisses.
“Good, because I want to make love to my wife now.”
“Your wife approves of this plan.”
“Approves?” I pump my hips again. “Not excited?”
“Trust me. I’m excited.” She wraps her legs around my hips. “Prove to me I made the right choice, hubby dearest.”
“Gladly.”
I meld my lips to hers and plunge my tongue into her mouth. The untamed flavor of Chloe hits me and I moan.
I finally have it. Everything I’ve ever wanted. A wife I love. A daughter I love who loves my wife.
I was afraid I lost everything today. But I fought for what I want – what I need – and I didn’t give up until Chloe agreed.
I will never give up on Chloe.