Chapter Thirty-Four
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
It had been a good couple of days. Eugene had missed having his family together, and Mom showing up with Warren and Joe had been a huge surprise. The fact that Natalie fit in so well with his family, however, wasn’t a surprise at all. She was currently having a girls’ day with his mom and Hazel, the threesome apparently having become besties in a matter of two days. Not that that should surprise him. He’d gotten close to Natalie quickly. She was warm and open and easy to talk to, and his mom was the same way. It was logical that the two of them would bond.
Today he was on the golf course with his brothers and Joe, and they were talking—of all things—babies.
“So the baby is due in early November,” Joe said, unmistakable excitement in his voice.
“Which means, if it comes early, it could be a Halloween baby,” Linc said. “Do they put the newborns in costume in the hospital?”
Warren rolled his eyes. “No, jackass. They’re babies.”
“Oh, come on,” Eugene said. “If it’s a Halloween baby you have to bring it home in some kind of costume.”
“You’re both assholes,” Warren said. “And now I’m hoping it’s born in November.”
“Then you could dress it like an ear of corn.” Linc grinned.
Eugene shrugged. “A pumpkin still works.”
Joe shook his head, but his smile was evident. “Worst uncles ever.” He looked over at Warren. “You know we’ll never be able to trust our child with either of these two.”
Warren nodded. “Obviously.”
“Hey.” Eugene frowned. “I’ll have you know I’m great with kids.”
“Based on what?” Warren asked.
“I hang out with Natalie’s kids all the time. They like me.”
Linc snorted. “I think he pays them.”
“No, I’m just a genius with children.”
Warren coughed. Joe snickered a laugh. Linc said, “I think I’ll just ask Natalie.”
“You do that,” Eugene said.
They walked the next couple of holes, and while Linc lined up his next shot, Warren came up beside him. “Taking us teasing you about kids pretty seriously, huh?”
“Hey, I like Natalie’s kids. And they like me back.”
“I know that. But we’re your brothers. We’re supposed to give you shit, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“So what is it that irritated you?”
He gave Warren a look. “Honestly? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m the youngest and no one expects me to ever grow up. But I have, with responsibilities that I take seriously. I sometimes think you and Linc still see me as that goofy kid you used to push around and make fun of.”
Warren frowned. “No one thinks that about you, Eugene. You’ve made a tremendous success of your life. And Natalie is amazing. It’s obvious she cares about you. I haven’t met her kids so I can’t judge you on that. Yet.” He gave Eugene a wink.
“Well, you will tonight since we’re all having dinner at her place.”
“True enough. So I’ll withhold judgement.”
Eugene was about to say something, but Warren gave him a teasing smile, so instead, he rolled his eyes, and they walked on.
Their golf game was fun, though Eugene sucked at it. But his brothers and Joe enjoyed it so it was something he endured in order to hang out with the guys. After, they had lunch at the clubhouse and talked all about their lives.
“So you’re happy building houses with occasional visits to your finance company?” Warren asked Linc.
Linc shrugged and took a sip of his iced tea. “It’s working. I have a phenomenal management staff who don’t need me there every day watching their every move. And if they do need me I’m only a phone call away. Plus I’m in the office a few days each month for meetings.”
“Sounds like a perfect setup to me,” Joe said. “With the baby coming, I’m doing the same with the health clubs. I’ve promoted some people to top-level management positions so I can spend less time at the clubs. I want to be home more with the baby.”
“That makes good sense,” Linc said. “We all know Warren will nod at the baby when it’s born and then head straight back to the courtroom.”
“Hey.” Warren shot Linc a look. “I plan to take a month off.”
“I’ll believe that when I see it.” Linc smirked.
“Believe it, bruh.”
“I have a question,” Eugene said. “And it might be a sensitive topic, but who’s the daddy of this kid?”
“We don’t know, actually,” Warren said. “We each provided sperm, and then the fertility doc separately fertilized the donor embryos, which were frozen until a surrogate was found. They implanted the ideal one, which meant the one with the best chance for survival. We didn’t care about the sex of the child, and we honestly don’t know whose sperm got used.”
Joe slung his arm around Warren’s shoulder. “It’s our baby, no matter what.”
“Well, you’re Black, and Warren’s White, so I think it’ll be obvious once the kid arrives.”
Joe laughed at Eugene. “Yeah, we know. But it still won’t matter.”
“We’re both the child’s legal parents,” Warren said. “So in case—God forbid—something happens to either of us, or in case of a divorce…”
“Which will never happen,” Joe said.
Warren nodded. “Right. Anyway, in case of…well, dire cases, we both share legal custody equally even though only one of us will actually be the biological parent.”
“Helps to have a lawyer in the family, huh?” Linc asked.
Warren nodded. “Yup.”
Eugene couldn’t help but grin. “You guys are gonna be the best dads.”
“Thanks, Eugene,” Joe said.
“Yeah, thanks, kid,” Warren said.
Eugene shook his head. Sometimes he hated being the youngest. He’d always be the kid to them.
But maybe that was okay.
He smiled and took a drink.
· · ·
Natalie wriggled her toes, admiring the shining pink polish as the woman at the nail salon put the finishing touches on her pedicure. Next to her, Lisa regaled both her and Hazel with hilarious stories of Linc’s and Eugene’s childhoods.
“And then the three of them decided it would be fun to climb inside a cardboard box at the top of the stairs and ride it all the way down. They crashed into a wall. I thought I’d be running to the ER with at least one or two of them with broken bones. Instead, all of them came tumbling out of the box, laughing hysterically, not a scratch on them.”
“Oh my God,” Natalie said. “Kids will scare the life out of you, right?”
“At least once a week, if not more than that. I have way too many stories like that.”
Natalie shook her head. “Mine have been minor. So far. Maybe mine aren’t daredevils like yours were.”
“Or maybe they’re just lulling you into a false sense of security,” Hazel said, “only to spring the dramatics on you when you least suspect it.”
Natalie gaped at her sister. “Oh, thanks, sis.”
Lisa laughed. “Hey, it could be that you just have good, nondestructive kids.”
“Ha. I don’t think any kid lacks a destructive side. Or at least the inability to keep themselves from harm.”
“That’s true. Eugene was the worst of them. Too many trips for stitches and broken bones with that one.”
Now it was getting interesting. “Do tell.”
“Well, being the youngest, he always thought he could keep up with his big brothers. So he’d jump off things he wasn’t big enough to jump off of, or climb things he shouldn’t be climbing. He did a nosedive off the top of the slides, taking a short cut because Warren and Linc had taken off, and ended up with a broken arm.”
Natalie winced. “Ouch.”
“And then there were the stitches on his head when they all decided throwing rocks at each other could be a fun game. Eugene, being the youngest, didn’t have as strong an arm as his brothers, but that didn’t stop him from pitching rocks at them. Unfortunately, Warren hit him just on the temple with a jagged one, and he ended up with six stitches.”
“Oh no,” Hazel said. “Did Warren get in trouble?”
“They were all in trouble, but then again, Eugene loved every minute of it because his brothers praised him for taking the stitches like a champ.”
“I don’t think I ever want to have kids,” Hazel said. “No offense to either of you.”
Lisa laughed. “None taken.”
“Christopher had stitches a couple of months ago. It’s like my heart stopped. But he was barely bothered by it.”
Lisa reached over and patted her hand. “Kids are resilient. They bounce back faster than our worries for them.”
Her heart swelled with emotion, with joy, with understanding for this woman who’d raised three incredible men, including the one she lov…
Just say it. At least think it.
She loved him. Okay, fine, she’d thought it. But thinking it and doing anything about it were two different things.
She was having a fun day with Lisa and Hazel, and that’s all she was going to think about today. Anything else was too much to handle. So she shoved it aside, at least until she got home and started prepping for tonight’s dinner. Hazel had followed, and so had Lisa, and then her mother had showed up, so she got to introduce Eugene’s mom to her mom.
“I’m so glad you’re here, Melinda,” Lisa said to Natalie’s mother as they sat at the table sipping wine while Natalie and Hazel worked at the kitchen island. “I was hoping we’d get a chance to meet before I left.”
“I’m happy that Natalie invited me,” her mom said. “I would have been upset to miss meeting you, along with Eugene’s other brother. Hazel and Natalie both tell me that your sons are amazing men. You must be very proud.”
Lisa smiled. “Thank you, I am. And you as well. Your daughters are remarkable, successful, amazing women.”
Natalie shot Hazel a look. Hazel shrugged and grinned.
Okay, fine. So it was going well between the moms. Still, this was a little weird that her mom was meeting Eugene’s mom. Then the realization hit her that Lisa was also Linc’s mother, so it made sense they should meet each other since Hazel and Linc had been together for a while now. It really had nothing to do with her and Eugene.
Christopher came running in. “Mom, can I have a snack?”
“Not before dinner.” She held up a carrot. “Unless you want a veggie?”
Christopher wrinkled his nose. “Ew. No. Can I have a cracker?”
“Nope. But how about I slice an apple, and you can share it with your sister?”
“Okay.”
“I’ve got that,” Hazel said. “Christopher, go get Cammie while I get your apple ready.”
He disappeared and then came back, Camryn in tow. They took seats at the kitchen table and Hazel put their apple slices on a plate. Both Lisa and her mom engaged the kids in conversation while they ate their snack.
“That’s going well,” Hazel said, keeping her voice low.
“Which part? The moms or the kids with Lisa?”
“Both.”
Natalie looked over to see Lisa having an in-depth conversation with Christopher. As she listened in, she couldn’t help but smile as she realized it was about different types of construction trucks. Yeah, Lisa was definitely a mom of boys. And yet, she turned her attention to Cammie and oohed and ahhed over Cammie’s pink painted fingernails, then remarked about Cammie’s bracelet, which made her daughter so happy.
Lisa was going to be a fantastic grandmother.
The guys showed up, regaling them with tales about their golf game, and then how Eugene had taken them to his office to show them the ride he was creating.
“It’s damned impressive,” Warren said as they took seats in the living room.
“We will definitely be back once it’s done,” Joe said.
Natalie got involved in helping Hazel fix their dinner. They were having shrimp tacos with cilantro lime slaw, fresh avocados, rice, and salsa and chips. And chicken with pineapple on skewers for the kids, which they were going to love. Natalie made margaritas for the adults and lemonade for Cammie and Christopher.
School had ended and summer was just beginning. It was such a fun time of year, even though it was already humid and hot. But that meant more outside time in the pool, and the kids always enjoyed that.
They ate inside at the table, and there was plenty of room for all of them, though they did have to squeeze together. Not that Natalie minded being huddled close to Eugene.
“Have a good day?” he asked as he brushed his shoulder against hers.
“I did. You?”
“Yeah. Missed you, though.” He leaned over and gently glided his lips across hers, and she realized how natural and usual that had become, even in front of her children, who didn’t notice anymore. Then again, her kids were too busy talking Warren and Joe to death about cars and trucks and jewelry and art and anything else that came off the top of their heads.
She supposed it was good practice for when they became dads.
“Warren, Joe, if you need rescuing, let me know,” Natalie said.
Warren grinned. “Are you kidding? This is the highlight of our day.”
“Seriously the highlight,” Joe said, turning his attention back to Camryn, who explained to him that he’d look even better if he’d let her paint his nails tonight.
After dinner, Natalie let the kids hang out for a bit, then sent them to their rooms to get ready for bed. Her mom went in to help them change clothes, and Lisa went with her. The rest of them moved into the living room.
“How’s the house coming along, Eugene?” Joe asked.
“It’s done,” Linc said.
Eugene frowned. “Since when?”
“Since the end of this week. Okay, by the first part of next week I’ll be ready for you to do a final walk-through.”
Eugene looked over at Natalie. “Ready to walk through it with me?”
“Absolutely.” She made a mental note to go through her design notes and make sure everything she’d ordered was ready for delivery. “Linc, you’re sure it’s finished?”
Linc grinned. “Of course. I wouldn’t say so if it wasn’t.”
She was excited. Getting Eugene in his house was everything. It spelled permanence, even though she knew he wasn’t staying here forever.
Was he? No, of course he wasn’t.
But had things changed? She hadn’t asked him. She couldn’t. Wouldn’t.
Why not? Tell him how you feel. Then ask him. Ask him to stay. Not just for the duration of his project, but permanently.
No way.
“You have a faraway look on your face. What’s on your mind?”
She looked up to see Eugene smiling down at her. “Oh. Just thinking about how much fun it’s going to be to decorate your house. Are you excited?”
He grinned. “Yeah. I mean, the rental is fine, but it’ll be great to be in the house. Are you looking forward to decorating my place?”
“Of course.” She laid her hand on his chest. “I can’t wait to make it feel like home for you.”
“I can’t wait, either.”
He slipped his arm around her and leaned in, whispering in her ear. “We’ll have to christen the house.”
She tilted her head back, gazing into his incredibly sexy eyes. “With champagne?”
His lips lifted. “No. With sex. In every room.”
Heat surrounded her, filled her, desire blooming within her. The way he could do that to her so easily made her think…
Well. It made her think exactly what he was thinking.
“Yes. We should definitely do that.”
He laughed. “I can’t wait to move in.”
Neither could she.