42. Maggie
42
maggie
The girls have a whole plan about how to reveal me. I’m bouncing in my seat the entire four-hour drive. I mean I had way too much coffee, and the bonus chai latte that Daisy didn’t like. But also, I get to see my friends. I haven’t seen them since Mak and Tony got married a year ago. And I haven’t seen Mak specifically in almost seven months, which is super weird for us. We’ve never gone that long. But after seeing Kevin getting his balls pickled, I went a little off the rails and needed to recalibrate. I can’t say I’m there yet, but I’m so excited to see her. Lizzie, Hayden, Mak, Tony are already my friends. I met Robbie and Claire at Mak’s wedding and danced with them a lot that night. They’re cool. Law, the youngest brother, met me in Vegas but not sure he’ll remember. Super drunk.
“And all the cousins will be there?” Daisy asks.
“Yes, the littles will be there.” She means Claire and Robbie’s little girl, their twin boys and of course, Hayden and Lizzie’s son, Danny.
Daisy is sketching out the layout of the Paris building that Hayden and Lizzie live in with their moms.
“And Uncle Dax always sleeps in this room because I think he’s paranoid, so he wants to be close to the balcony in case of fire.”
Colt offers, “Or it’s the best view.”
“And Dax is okay?” I ask.
Sloane leans forward between the seats. “He is, but he’s with that woman.” It sounds like she’s jealous he found love and it’s so cute.
“Monica.” Colt says.
Daisy writes that name as Sloane explains, “We’ve never met her. She’s just blowing in the wind for us.”
“That makes no sense.” Daisy scoffs.
“Doesn’t have to, man. Anything goes.” Sloane waggles her head back and forth and floats her arms in front of her. Then she moves the leather braided headband up.
“She used to work with Uncle Hayden and Uncle D but now she’s like his girlfriend,” Daisy explains.
We ride in silence for a while, then I turn to the back seat and ask. “Is it weird that your grandpa is so important?”
Sloane answers, “It’s weird he’s not doing more for the peace efforts in certain countries and that he’s glad-handing with big oil instead of concentrating on renewable energy sources.”
Daisy whines, “Dad.” I grin at Colt as he smiles.
I say, “I mean he is the Vice President.”
Sloane responds, “Yes. It’s weird, but to us he’s just grumpy grandpa who is usually too busy to go to our stuff but always remembers to send cash.” She smacks her hands together and rubs them. We all laugh.
Colt says low enough for only me to hear, “And there’s the reason we’re in Italy. We’re free to say and think whatever we want.” I giggle and he pinches my arm. He says a little louder, “Turn around Meerkat. Stop popping in the back and look where we are.”
We turn down a cobblestone street and my heart soars. I clear my throat a little. “I don’t come back here.” He squeezes my hand quickly, then points to a modern building that should be an old motel that used to house students. “It’s a retirement home now.”
“I know.”
“You said you don’t come back here.”
“I can google stuff.” He drives past the corner where he first told me he loves me, and I’m a big sappy mess. But t0o excited about all I’m about to get back to get misty about all the things I’ve lost.
“Can you? Because a lot of things might have been avoided at the ole Villa if you’d used Google translate, Meerkat.”
“Daddy, did you just call Maggie a meerkat? I thought she had a mongoose,” Daisy says.
He laughs and says, “Mags is a Meerkat, popping up all over the place and she might have something in the walls but…”
“Mongoose,” I state. “It’s a mongoose. The claws are too sharp and the noises too feral to be anything other than that. And I haven’t seen a snake the whole time I’ve been in Italy. And I’m in the grove a lot.”
“Don’t you ever get sick of lemons?” Sloane asks.
“Not yet.” I totally am.
Colt eases into a parking space, and I look around grinning at the grand tall old building that line this love storied street. The plaster is ancient and white. I can feel the French all around me.
“Gah! It’s so flipping pretty.”
Sloane says, “You can swear around us. We’re not in America where grandpa and the man might have us bugged or something.” I’m not sure that’s a joke.
Colt turns around. “Everyone grab their bag.” The girls scramble out of the car and bop down the block. I round to the back of the car, but they’ve already run inside a blue door without hesitating. Colt grabs me from behind and spins me around.
“Je suis un peu rouillé mais merci beaucoup de m’avoir accompagné,” I blurt out as my French returns. I studied it for years after the trip. Italian, not so much.
We’re so close and I clutch his biceps. He puts his forehead to mine and responds, “You’re very welcome. I’m happy you’re here too. Ready to go shock the hell out of our friends?”
I swallow hard and before I can take another breath, he’s planting a subtle kiss on my lips. I gasp against his mouth, and he takes the opportunity to lick just inside my lower lip. He then takes a giant step backward, and I cross my hands in front of me and sway a little bit.
“I couldn’t go another second without kissing you again in Paris.”
“You’re the only one who ever has.” I lift one shoulder and cock my head.
“I like that a lot, but he never brought you here?”
“He’s more of a fake hunting, fishing, Daytona, put his dick into multiple partners kind of guy.” His eyes get wide.
“He cheated on you multiple times?” He seems alarmed so I shake my head no. It’s the one detail I haven’t shared but what the hell.
“Just the once that I know of.”
“But you said multiple partners.”
“I did. He’s very happy with his current throuple.”
His eyebrows practically raise into his sandy hair line. I shrug, and he yanks me back to him. I skip forward a step and land with my hands on his chest.
“Details, woman, tell me all the details. And I promise the only three way I’ll ever have is with my girls.”
Shaking my head, I burst out laughing. “That’s gross.” He laughs too.
“Okay, how about you and a mongoose?”
I’m roaring now as he tickles my side and I sputter out, “Yes.” We settle as his lips crash into mine, and it’s not the sweet remembrance of earlier. This is a full on dirty kiss with a promise of a filthy future. His lips drift to my neck and back up to my ear as he groans. “This week has been impossible. The last two. Christ, I’ve been fucking hard thinking about you for a decade and now that I have you in my arms again…”
“Me too. Me too.”
“My cock is ready to fucking punch a stranger to get to your tight wet pussy?” He traces my lips with his finger as I open my mouth in response to him. “I want to ruin you.” His thumb pulls my lower lip down and then releases it quickly as I gasp.
I whisper say, “You already have.” His lips bruise mine in a punishing way. This kiss is all the pent-up energy we’ve both tucked away from our real lives. I am wet right here on the street. I’m hoping no one can tell. His hands skate down my sides, and I shiver. Then his phone dings and breaks the spell. I love that he talks to me like that. I eat it up. No hesitation or worry about whether I want to hear it or not. He knows me. I jog circles around the car.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“The equivalent of you reciting state capitals.”
“Running makes your dick deflate? And mostly I recite foreign capitals or electoral votes my father won.”
“Yes. Drying up as we speak.” I jog past him, then turn around and jog backward.
“You do know your tits are bouncing as you do that and that is not helping my situation.” I glimpse a lovely tented short and giggle. I stop on the other side of the car as he grabs our bags from the trunk.
I pop my head up and say, “The boob bouncing wasn’t helping me either. Why are you so cute?”
He growls as I step back around the car. “Cute?” His phone dings in rapid succession.
His hands are full. “Can you see what those assholes want?” I take his phone from his shirt pocket and hold it up to his face. It doesn’t open. He says very quietly, “624443.”
I chuckle at that. “That’s weird. That’s my code too.”
He winks at me and says, “You shouldn’t have your own name as your code.” My eyes go wide. “I’ve always kept you close.”
“I thought you’d do it spiritually, emotionally, sexual fantasy wise not literally in your phone. That means you had to think of me every day.”
He walks toward the door and says, “I was going to do that, anyway.”
Damn these weak knees. I read his texts to him.
Hayden: Did you abandon your children?
Tony: Liliana won’t let us eat until you’re here. Hurry. I’m fucking starving.
Law: Since when are you the prima donna? Chop chop, Andrews.
Dax: And what’s with the hippie?
Law: I can dig it!
Dax: I miss Steve Martin. I hate Jefferson Airplane. She’s literally singing White Rabbit. Save us.
Robbie: Oh my god. What the fuck is this? I hate surprises and this is truly annoying.
Colt takes his phone and scans the texts and writes quickly.
Colt: Shut up. On my way, picking up something perfect for all of you.
I grin at what he wrote as he holds open the door for me. “Third floor and the loft above there is where Hayden and Lizzie have their bedroom. The moms live on two in large two-bedroom apartments, and the guest rooms are mostly down here. There’s two kinds of family suites with multiple bedrooms. You’ll stay in the solo room down here, and we’ll be down the hall in one of the family suites. I’m sure they’re putting Robbie & Claire on two with the moms. Liliana has room for all of them. Hayden made sure when they renovated this place.”
“It’s huge.”
“That it is.”
He puts the bags in front of one of the doors. It looks like this all used to be apartments. But there’s a grand white marble staircase and I hear everyone upstairs. My heart leaps and I bounce up and down, letting tiny noises eek out of me.
He gathers me once more in his arms, rubbing his thumb along my back. “Meerkat, settle.”
“But it’s some of my people.” He kissed my lips quickly.
“I know, but your boobs are bouncing again.” He smiles at me and I laugh quietly.
“Who are we in front of them?” I ask softly.
His chiseled handsome face stiffens for a moment, and he drops his arms. “We have to be friends.” I turn, but he grabs my wrist and brings it to his mouth, kissing the inside of it. Flames shoot through my body. “In public.” Then his left lip curls up into a sexy smirk, and I’m sure my eyes dilate at the thought of us being together.
He kisses me and I rasp out, “Answers, questions, and consequences. AQC.”
“After Paris. AQC.” He releases me and climbs the stairs. “Let me go first.”
At the top of the stairs, he motions for me to wait. I’m out of their sight just where the archway opens to a large kitchen.
Hayden says to Daisy, “I’m done guessing petite fleur. What on earth did you bring us besides this absurd suitcase of lemons?”
Colt enters the kitchen and there’s back smacking. “You’re not the surprise. Because you’re incapable of surprising us.” I grin as Tony mocks Colt.
He says, “Well, it’s more that we lost something I found than a surprise. And to be honest, Mak, you lost it last.”
I hear hugging as my best friend says, “What the fuck are you talking about? I don’t lose things. Well, except Tony but I got that shit locked down now.” There’s the thundering of kids’ footsteps. Then I’m staring at a six-year-old girl. I think she belongs to Claire and Robbie.
She smiles at me and yells, “I found her. I win. I found the girl!” Claire comes whipping around the corner.
“What is happening? Colt! You brought us a person.” Claire exclaims while pulling me into the archway.
“We met at Tony’s wedding, I’m…”
“Maggie!” Mak screams my name running toward me, finishing my sentence.
She hurls her long frame at me and tackles me with a bone-crushing hug. And then they’re all there, hugging me as Colt leans against the archway to the kitchen. He returned all of them to me as well as the pieces of my heart.