Chapter 12
SIENNA
Zander walks into the garage just as the door is whirring back down into place.
Shit.
He looks stressed, and I can’t handle this! If he’s already annoyed about something, me telling my story is just going to make everything a million times worse.
My fingers shake as I gather my stuff off the passenger seat while he opens the door for me.
“Hey, Sparks.” His smile is tight and unbelievable, but I force one of my own.
“Hey.” Taking his hand, I let him pull me out of the car and lightly peck his lips before forcing yet another weak grin, then brushing past him.
He shuts my car door with a sigh and trails after me.
My heart is hammering, my stomach a tight ball of knots as I walk into the kitchen and find my boys tussling.
“Enough!” I quickly shout.
They spring apart as if I’ve just fired a gun into the air, their eyes all wide as they quickly assess me and try to figure out my mood. Thankfully, I’m saved the hassle of pretending to be in full control when Zander backs me up.
“Right, guys, upstairs, grab the last of your things. Make sure you’re all ready to go. If you forget something, we’re not coming back for it.” The boys scramble to their feet, and he continues to call after them as they race up the stairs. “Help each other out and do a gear check for each other!”
“Got it, Daddy!” Olly yells down the stairs, then gasps. “Hi, Mommy!”
An instant smile curls my lips, yet I feel like crying as I call out to my precious boy. “Hey, bud.”
“We’re going to the airport!” Aw, bless, he’s so excited.
I try to brighten my voice. “I know! So fun!”
His feet thump on the stairs and I start to relax until Zander’s hand curls around the back of my neck and gives it a light squeeze. He then trails his hand across my shoulders, and I can feel each muscle tensing under his touch.
Why?
He’s my husband!
I love his touch.
Some days I crave it.
Yet right now, all I can think about is Davis’s slimy lips pressing into mine. The way he boxed me in against the lockers.
A shudder ripples through me.
“You okay?” Zander’s voice is gentle, soft… yet there’s still a hard, underlying gruffness.
Something has upset him between our afternoon lovemaking and me going off to the gym.
I turn to face him, knowing I need to fix this because we can’t have two stressed-out, grumpy parents at the airport. But time is not on our side. We’re due to leave in ten minutes.
“Yeah.” I smile and really hope it reaches my eyes. “I’m good.”
I’ll tell him about Davis later. Once we’re settled in Nolan and someone can watch the kids for a few minutes. Zander’s going to have to process what happened to me, and although it was just a kiss, I still feel totally violated. Zander is going to hate that.
“Where were you?” He lightly brushes his finger along my hairline. “I messaged you a couple of times.”
“Oh, sorry.” I turn, digging out my phone, my shoulders slumping as I skim his texts.
Shit, I’m gonna have to lie for now. He’ll understand when I explain things later.
“I got caught up with some stuff after my workout. I was trying to rush to get it done and then hit one obstacle after another. You know how it is. I’ll give you all the deets once we’ve reached Nolan.
I don’t want to make us late.” I shove my phone back into my bag.
“Are we good to go? Give me a status update.” I switch into Mommy mode, because that’s easy. It’s safe and…
Zander sighs, his expression buckling with a frown.
“What is it?”
He scrubs a hand down his face. “I just got into it with Zoey.”
“Why?”
“Did you know she has a valentine?”
The way he spits out the word makes me blink, my stomach forming an even tighter knot. This isn’t some cute little card we’re talking about here. Zander wouldn’t be this upset over some cardboard. Something must have happened that—
“Some guy drove her home, and then she kissed him goodbye. I was standing at the window, watching the whole thing!” Zander points across the kitchen to the large window.
“What?” My fingers start to shake, so I curl them into Zander’s hoodie, needing something to cling to. More guys crossing lines? And with my daughter! Oh, I am going to kill that little shit. “Who?” I snap. “Who kissed her?”
“I don’t know.” His voice pitches. “She won’t tell me!
But I told her she’s not old enough to be dating or kissing or any of that shit.
” His expression buckles, his eyes taking on a vulnerable quality as he gazes down at me.
“I’m right, right? She’s still my baby girl.
I don’t have to deal with boyfriends yet, do I?
Please, Sen. Please tell me I don’t have to deal with that. I’m not ready for any of that shit.”
I give him a sympathetic smile, cupping his cheeks and softly reassuring him. “I agree that she’s young. And I’m not ready for her to hit the dating scene either. Especially with a boy who is old enough to drive.”
“Oh, thank God.” His arms wrap around me, pulling me into a tight hug.
I can feel him quivering against me and squeeze him around the waist. Thanks to Zander’s first and only year at Kelsey U, he’s ultra-sensitive about protecting his daughter.
The way his teammates treated those girls at that college was deplorable.
He’s paranoid about the same thing happening to Zoey, but we’ve trained her well.
And we’re not done yet. Thankfully, she’s still got three and a half years before she flits off to college.
“I was hoping you were gonna say that. She’s still my lil’ bug.”
I ease out of his embrace to give him a wincing smile. “She’s kind of not your lil’ bug anymore, babe. We knew this day was coming.”
“Yeah, but not yet. She’s fourteen!”
“Yeah. Just a little peewee freshman. And she should not be catching rides with some guy we don’t even know. I’ll have a chat with her.”
Zander growls. “Good luck. She definitely didn’t want to talk to me.”
“Probably because you started with you’re not old enough.” I give him a knowing smirk, and he frowns. Adorable. Even after all this time, he can still melt my heart. My Zander. The love of my life.
My one and only.
My only.
Lurching for his lips, I quickly deepen the kiss, needing to drink from him, erase the feel of Davis on me, the way he tried to take what wasn’t his.
Zander moans, sounding pleasantly surprised as he meets my desperate kisses with swipes of his tongue, his arms circling me in a tight hold once more.
Yes, baby. Make me forget. Wash away this gross feeling that’s still roiling in my stomach.
“Mommy! Do I really have to take a book with me this weekend? Logan says we have to do homework on this trip!” Olly sounds highly disgusted. “Is that true?”
I pull out of the kiss, Zander snickering while I rest my forehead against his chest.
He rubs his hands up my back, and I can’t look at him as I mumble that I need to take a really quick shower.
“Okay.” He kisses the top of my head. “I’ll sort the kids, and we’ll leave as soon as you’re dried and dressed.”
He tips my chin, forcing me to look up at him.
My eyes glass without my say-so, and his expression buckles with concern. “Sparks. You okay?”
“Mommy! Is it true!” Olly shouts down the stairs.
I force yet another smile at my husband and quietly rasp, “We’ll talk later, okay?”
Zander doesn’t like my deflection, but he lets me go and I walk up the stairs with a sniff, quietly assuring Olly that he doesn’t need his schoolbook.
My little boy’s face puckers into an angry little scowl, and he runs toward the twins’ bedroom, yelling, “Logan, you little liar!”
Zander bolts up the steps, gently pushing me toward our room. “Go shower. I’ll deal with this.”
“Thank you,” I murmur, rushing away from him and already dreading the conversation we’re going to have later.
Before today, Zander was the only man to ever kiss me. I mean, there was that unwelcome peck from my old roommate years ago, but Davis shoved his tongue into my mouth. He fucking ruined everything.
I’m equal parts pissed off and shaken.
Sure, I’ll get over it. Thankfully, it was nothing more than a kiss. But that’s kind of not the point. He took something that I wasn’t willing to give! That shithead! Thank God I never have to see him again.
Ugh. All I want to do right now is have a scalding-hot shower and brush my teeth for ten minutes straight.