And then, as he was made to do, Seb set out to give his wife exactly what she needed from him. Their mouths connected in a hot, wet, overwhelming kiss. He swallowed her moans and then made her scream sometime later, with his hand over her mouth to muffle the noise.
It took a year to conceive.
And when Seb’s second daughter, Dixie, was born, Seb was over the moon to be ruled by his family of females.
Like the first time, pacing outside the hospital room were two gruff, family-oriented grandfathers waiting impatiently to monopolize yet another of Seb’s kids.
* * *
Sunshine
SOME YEARS LATER
At the kitchen island, it was a rainy Saturday afternoon, and her two girls were shaping cookie dough when Sunny heard.
“Mom, why do you call Dad my Seb?” Twelve-year-old Peggy asked. “Granddad Colton said it’s ‘cause you claimed Dad when you were a baby, and no one else could have him.”
Sunny’s lips curved.
Then it was Dixie’s turn. “Granddad Asher said Daddy used to beat up anyone who bullied Mom.”
“Granddad Colton said Mom would get upset if Dad went on dates with anyone else until he ditched the girls and came home to her.”
“Your grandfathers are gossips,” Sunny told her kids. “But they’re not wrong. I had to let everyone know your dad belonged only to me.”
“She’s always been a possessive little brat.” From the back door, a man’s voice announced his arrival, and then he appeared, silhouetted in the doorway, entering from the garage. Seb sent the girls a half-smile as he ambled to the sink to wash the dirt off his hands. He wore casual weekend clothes while rebuilding a bike, and Sunny thought he looked edible.
The pulse of love still took her by surprise as her heart sped up when he approached her and casually dropped an arm around the front of her for a chest-to-back hug before heading to the fridge to drain some juice directly from the jug.
“Mom, I think that’s sweet,” Peggy said.
“Like Romeo and Juliet.”
Peggy scoffed and threw a lump of dough at her younger sister.
“Do you even know what Romeo and Juliet are?”
“Yeah! They fall in love.”
“Get your head out of the Webtoons and read a book. It’s not a romance. It lasted only four days, and six people died in the end. Mom and Dad aren’t dead, are they?”
“Oh.” Pouted Dixie, making Sunny smile and share a look with her husband.
Conversations were never uninteresting in their house. And nothing was off the table if the girls wanted to ask.
The topic of boyfriends had been a stimulating chat when Peggy brought it up. Her poor Seb had almost needed resuscitation that night. When Sunny’s dad had heard about it, he’d smirked and told Seb, “Welcome the fuck to my world, son.”
“Did you always love each other?” Dixie asked, shaping her dough into fox shapes.
Their girls took on Sebastian’s features and coloring. They both had Sunny’s mannerisms and dramatic disposition. Peggy was the quiet book nerd. Dixie loved adventures and had a new hobby every week. All three of the Priest girls kept Seb on his toes. Her poor, brown-eyed boy.
“I was always in love with him. Your Dad took a while longer to catch up.” She threw an accusing smile, and he answered with an arched eyebrow.
“Sunbeam, I would have been arrested had I loved you at the same time you loved me. I got there when it was time.”
“You took forever. I had to chase you for so long until you caught up.”
The girls dissolved into giggles. Their love story wasn’t news to them. They loved hearing it.
