“Then why are you staring at me?” I lift my champagne flute, letting the cool bubbly tickle my throat, relishing in the lavishness of this European getaway.
“Because I can, Mrs. Hayes.”
My heart does this thing where it stumbles and stammers, skipping a beat at the sound of the words “Mrs. Hayes.” I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve heard it. The curt ticket agent at the check-in counter at San Diego International Airport, the attentive flight attendant walking the aisles along our first-class seats, the bubbly front desk clerk at Shangri-La Paris as her eyes caught the attention of our wedding rings and eyes misted over with giddiness. And now, Everett. It seems he’s added it to the long list of endearments handpicked for me. Baby, when we wake up in our king-size bed facing the bright morning San Diego cliffside. Sweetheart, when I’m fighting him on something minor and trivial, like who it was that left the garage door open (usually me). Honey, when we’re in front of Sadie and he doesn’t want to gross her out with the more corny sentiments.
My brow shoots up, and I stave off a cheeky smile with a dismissive shake of my head. “I’m going to have to get used to that one.”
“What?”
“Mrs. Hayes.”
“I hope it doesn’t take too long,” he says, leaning into my hair and whispering the words against my goosebump-ridden skin. “Because I plan on calling you Mrs. Hayes every chance I get.”
“Say it again,” I tease against his cheek. “Maybe I need to hear it over and over again, and it’ll feel more instinctive. Second nature.”
“Mrs. Hayes.” His voice tickles my ear, and I giggle, wrapping my arm over his neck. “Mrs. Hayes. Mrs. Hayes.”
A light knock to our door has me pressing my hand to his chest. “I think that’s our luggage.”
“They can wait,” he mumbles into my neck.
“Everett,” I scold with a playful shove.
He reluctantly pulls away from me, landing a light smack on my ass. I feign a shocked squeal, and he peeks over his shoulder, watching me as I settle into the plush linens of the bed. I kick off my heels and let my toes press a groove into the fluffy sheets, my head falling back against the cloud-like pillows.
This is my life now. Me and Everett. Him touching me whenever he wants and me always getting my way. It almost feels like a pinch isn’t enough to confirm this reality.
Two years after we’ve settled into our new lives, Everett and I finally sealed the deal with a beautiful Malibu wedding topped off with a stunning ocean view along a secluded cliffside. Surrounded by our friends and family, we placed our love story at a vantage point it deserved. It took some time for my parents to get over the double whammy of my divorce and the illegitimate child that never was, but once they saw how amiably Leo and I worked through co-parenting, they warmed up to the idea. And it definitely helped having Everett’s mom around, rekindling a friendship long forgotten, to erase the painful stain of my past with something brighter to replace that memory.
Sadie’s growing into a woman as she starts her junior year of high school in the fall, embarking on yet another milestone I feel honored to witness. I sold the house I shared with Leo shortly after our divorce, not wanting to hold on to those memories of my past, and I moved in with Everett. We started to build a life together, my trust in us slowly and surely growing with each passing day.
Everett started his own tech company, something from the ground up, and with his experience and networking skills, ProTech Solutions is becoming a widespread specialist for companies small and large to meet their tech support needs. Sadie adjusted to the divorce, and even offered her support when Leo announced he’d met someone while on a business trip to Toronto last summer.
While I support Leo’s choices and how he wants to live his own life, I minimize our interactions to an as needed basis. While we’ve maintained a cordial air between us, it feels as if the chapter of Teeny and Leo has been officially closed.
It seems all the colors in my life have turned bright and shiny. It’s all Technicolor now, making all the light beam out of me without a single moment of hesitation. Instead, it pours and flows with enough to share.
“Sadie said they just landed,” I announce, my phone wedged in my hands. Everett saunters back to me with the bellhop having moved our luggage quickly and efficiently inside, Everett handing him a hefty tip. He watches as I roll onto my stomach, my feet kicked up in the air and my skirt ridden up my thigh, resting just below the curve of my ass. “She just sent me a picture of the Statue of Liberty from their cab.”
I turn the phone over to show Everett, and his hand glides over the exposed skin of my calf, traveling up slowly and meticulously.
“She’s going to have an amazing time,” he says softly as he leans down to place a soft, wet kiss behind my knee.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For organizing their trip.” He trails a kiss from my shoulder to my neck, letting a shiver travel up my back. “She’s going to have so much fun with Lauren. And Mina’s always wanted to visit Manhattan.”
“You don’t need to thank me, Teeny.” He tugs at my wrist, letting my head fall to his shoulder where he presses a kiss to the top of my head. “I just hope this was enough to convince you to come to Paris on our honeymoon without feeling guilty for leaving Sadie behind.”
“Oh, so that was the plan,” I contest teasingly. “Send my daughter off so you can have me all to yourself.”
“Plus send her on a trip she’s been begging to go on,” he disputes. “With a responsible chaperone.”
“Hopefully responsible enough that she won’t let Sadie get that nose ring she’s been asking for.” I end my sentence with a kiss, my lips finding Everett’s. I follow a path that started at his collarbone, all the way to his jawline, finally settling on a flirty nibble to his bottom lip.
“She’s sixteen, babe. I think she’s old enough for a nose ring. It’s not like she’s asking for a tattoo.”
