Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
ALICE
T oday, I am so excited. We’re headed to the beach with all the brothers who have ol’ ladies and kids. A few of the single brothers are tagging along as well.
I haven’t been to the beach since the beginning of my relationship with Declan. Initially, he used to take me places all the time, but after a year or so, he didn’t even try. Looking back, I see everything clearly. He didn’t care once he felt like he had me. I should never have married him. I guess I was so caught up with him being my first love that nothing else mattered.
My thoughts cause me to quickly glance at Red beside me in the driver's seat. I am falling hard for this man. He truly treats me like a queen. I would have never guessed he had this in him the first time I met him.
Red catches me staring, and a smug grin spreads across his face. He winks and turns his attention back to the road. Discreetly, I eyed the kids in the backseat to see if they caught that. Thankfully, they didn’t. They’re too engrossed in their conversation as they talk about everything they want to do once we get to the beach.
We still haven’t sat them down to explain our relationship, and I am not ready to. I don’t have any doubts, but anything can happen. I remember all those times I grew attached to those women my father dated, and when they left, it felt like losing my mom all over again. I would hate to do that same thing to Cindy and Colt.
Once we arrive at the beach, all the kids exit their vehicles quickly. They’re bouncing on their feet, ready to get the day started. I smile when I see Madison and Bianca being helped out of their vehicles by their husbands. They’re both pregnant, and their men wait on them hand and foot. I am a little envious. I would love to have a baby of my own. But I know it’s not possible.
That’s a conversation I’ve been avoiding with Red. I’m grateful he hasn’t brought up my comment about being unable to get pregnant the first time we slept together. I don’t want to talk about it, but if he brings it up, I won't lie. He deserves to know the truth. I’m just afraid that once he learns I’m infertile, he’ll change his mind about us.
When I was with Declan, I used to be happy about the fact that I couldn’t conceive. I didn’t think bringing a child into the situation was the right choice. Now that I’m free of him, it's more of a curse than a blessing.
“Come on, Alice,” Cindy shouts, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Okay, okay, I’m coming.”
I catch up to the group as we scan the beach for a section big enough for us to all settle down. Once we find a spot, we set up the area with beach towels, umbrellas, toys, and tables. After we finish, I scan the area before shaking my head. We took up a good amount of space, but that’s to be expected with such a large group.
Hannah runs up to Sara, removing her cover-up in the process. “Mom, can we go into the water?”
“Not so fast. You need sunscreen, and then you can do whatever your heart desires.”
“So, if I want to drive one of those jet skis Nonno brought, that’s okay?” She smiles mischievously.
The first time I heard the kids refer to Cara’s dad, Paul, as Nonno , I was confused because I had never heard the word before. Sara explained Nonno was just grandpa in Italian.
“Obviously, that’s a hard no. But if you ride with an adult, that’s fine.”
Hannah shrugs her shoulders. “Fair enough.”
The kids line up as Sara and Crystal spray them down with sunscreen. They were running down to the shore the second they were done.
“Come on, kitten. Let's go hit the water.” Red’s eyes run down my body, full of lust, when I take off my cover-up. He looks over his shoulder to see the kids occupied before pulling me to his body. “Mmm, I can't wait to get you home tonight.”
He licks his lips, causing my body to react instantly. God, I never thought I would crave sex, but with Red, I do. This man has turned me into some kind of nympho or something.
As we walk down to the water, Duke and Daisy run past us at full speed before jumping into the ocean with the kids. They have a frisbee, tossing it as far as possible for the dogs to catch.
Out of nowhere, I’m scooped up by Red as he charges for the water. I can see the playful glint in his eyes. “Don’t you dare throw me in there!” I hiss.
He laughs and speeds up. “Red! If you throw me in tha?—”
I’m cut off as he launches me high and far into the water. When I emerge from the water, I hear the kids cracking up. When my gaze connects with his, he opens his arms as if he’s welcoming my retaliation.
Oh, he wants to play it like that. Challenge accepted.
I run back to the beach with Red, shouting my name. He sounds almost terrified that he genuinely pissed me off. He has no clue that the ol’ ladies and I came fully prepared for one of them to try something like this.
By the time I reach the group, Cara is already holding out a water gun with a devilish smile.
These water guns she purchased aren’t like regular water guns. Oh no. These babies have tanks on them. It shoots up to forty feet away, and the tank makes the force of the water feel like a mini firehose.
Red is in for a rude awakening.
“Wait, move, Blade. I’ve got to get this on camera.” Bianca tries her best to shimmy out of her seat with that round belly. She retrieves her phone, but Crystal snatches it from her.
“Sit your pregnant self down. You ain’t about to be shaking my grandbaby around. I got this.” Crystal pulls out a camcorder from her bag and gives me a beaming smile. “Make it good, Alice.”
“You got it.”
I turn around, and Red throws his head back, laughing when he spots the gun in my hand.
“That’s it, kitten? You brought a measly little water gu—Ahh! What the hell?” he cries out when I shoot him right in the stomach. He rubs the spot with a frown. I saunter like a predator as he backs away from me. “Alice…” he trails off, scanning the crowd.
Most of the brothers are doubled over laughing, and the kids cheer me on.
“Get him, Alice!” Cindy shouts.
“What the hell, you little traitor? I’m your father!” he scolds her.
“All’s fair in love and war.” She shrugs her shoulders, not the least bit sorry for taking my side.
“All’s fair in love and war? I swear I’m cutting down the time you spend with Cara.”
“Oh, is that right?” Cara asks from behind him. She also has a gun in hand.
Red’s eyes widen, and then, at a speed I didn’t know the man has, he takes off. Cara and I are hot on his heels, lighting him up like the Fourth of July with these water guns. The crowd is laughing, and Crystal is right behind us, catching every second on film. This whole scene looks like a bad version of Cops.
Red ends up diving into the ocean just to get away from us. When he refuses to come out, we retreat to the group. After about five minutes, Red approaches me skeptically as I lie on the beach towel.
“No more water gun, babe. Unless you want to keep it going.” I raise my brow, awaiting his answer.
“Naw, you got that. I don’t want no problems.” The ol’ ladies giggle as he rubs the red spots on his body from the water gun. He lies on the towel next to me with a grunt. “Where the hell did you find those guns?”
“Now, why would I give up that secret?”
Shaking his head, he chortles. “That’s how you gonna do me, kitten?”
Rolling onto my side, I rub the spots on his stomach. “You started it, and I finished it.”
“I love it when you get all feisty on me, kitten. It’s sexy as hell.”
I don’t get to respond because his lips are now on mine. Everyone disappears, and it’s just me, him, and this kiss. There’s no tongue, but he sucks my lip into his mouth, causing me to sigh. I could just kiss this man all day, every day. And even then, that wouldn’t be enough.
“I told you, Colt.” I hear Cindy say from not far away. I snatch away from Red to see them standing a few feet away, looking at us with wide smiles. I gaze around the group, and everyone is watching with amused expressions.
“Don’t even look over here. We called y’all’s names like ten times to warn you they were coming.” Sara snickers before turning her attention to her daughter, Elena.
I’m completely speechless. I was so caught up in the kiss I didn’t even think about Cindy and Colt seeing.
“What do you mean you told him? How did you know?” Red questioned her.
“Dad, I’m nine, not two. You and Alice spend every day together. She’s at our house all the time. We’re always doing things together, like going to the movies, the park, and arcades. And then you two are always smiling at each other, looking like the emoji with heart eyes. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.”
By the time she finishes her little speech, the group is roaring with laughter while Red and I stare at her dumbfounded.
When she puts it the way she does, I feel kind of stupid thinking we were pulling the wool right over her eyes.
“Oh my God, they’ve gotten so big,” a voice shrieks from behind us.
Red body freezes, and so does mine. How the hell did she know we were here?
Red stands to his feet, and I follow suit. We turn around, and Chloe is there with a man who is overdressed for a day at the beach.
Like, who the hell wears a Rolex and dress pants to the beach?
“Chloe, get the hell out of here,” Red grits through clenched teeth.
“Why? I have just as much right to be around my childr?—”
“Chloe!” he snaps. “You need to leave. Now.”
Chloe jerks back and turns to the man beside her. He wraps an arm around her waist before stepping forward. “Look, I think we’re getting off on the wrong foot. I’m Chloe’s husband, Jeffery. We just want to be a part of their lives. She has just as much of a right to be in their life as you.”
Red makes a move to step to him, but Viper puts his arm out, stopping him. “Not here, man. We have the kids here, and they don’t need to see this.”
Red opens his mouth to say something, but Cindy steps up with furrowed brows. “Who is this, Dad?”
She eyes Chloe suspiciously before turning her attention to Red. Chloe opens her mouth but one hard glare from Red has her snapping her lips together. The threat in his stare is clear.
“Dad, who is she?” Cindy asks more urgently when he doesn’t answer.
“Baby girl, we can talk about this la?—”
“Is this her? Is she my mom?”
Her eyes fill with tears, but not out of sadness or hurt. She looks angry. “Is it?” she presses.
Red watches her with a sad and defeated expression before he nods. Cindy whirls back to Chloe, who has a light smile on her face, but Cindy's next words wipe that smile clean off her face.
“Why did you leave us? I want to know.”
I notice Cara and Sara standing off to the side with clenched fists. Knowing those two, if the kids weren’t around, they would be dragging Chloe down to the ocean to drown her.
“Sweetheart, you wouldn’t understand. I just couldn’t?—”
“You’re right. I don’t understand. You left us and never came back. Now you’re back and expect us to just accept that. How do we know you won’t leave again?”
“I um…it’s not that…Cindy…” She sighs, rubbing her forehead.
Cindy shakes her head and backs away, tears running down her cheeks. Colt is right beside her, eyes full of hurt. “I don’t want her here, Dad. Make her go away.”
Cindy turns and runs away, and Colt is right behind her. Sara and Crystal take off after them.
“I’m going to go check on them.”
Red nods and pecks my lips. Walking away, I hear an irate Chloe going off about Red trying to replace her with me. This bitch is delusional. She chose to leave and thinks that she can just pop back up with no hard feelings. Maybe, if Cindy and Colt were too young to understand, but that isn’t the case. They’re older now and completely understand what she did to them.
When I approach the kids, they pull out of Sara and Crystal's grasp and run to me. I sit on the ground and hold their shaking bodies as they cry. A few tears of my own drop as I understand what they’re going through all too well.
“I don’t want to see her, Alice,” Cindy cries.
“Me either,” Colt mumbles.
“Then you won’t,” I tell them.
A part of me feels like I’m speaking out of turn, but I’ve grown to love and care about Cindy and Colt. I want whatever is best for them. Plus, I know Red doesn’t want Chloe anywhere near the kids, so I don’t feel like I’m lying to them.
I don’t know what Chloe has up her sleeve, but I have a feeling this is just the beginning of this storm.