Page 40 of His Secret Wish

And he was never going to complain about fuller breasts. Her breasts had already been perfection, now they were even more perfect. Slightly more than a handful.

His gaze caught on the scar on her belly. The one that had come with the last pregnancy, when she wouldn’t stop bleeding and they’d had to do surgery. When he’d been so afraid he was going to lose her. He’d sat in that waiting room in the hospital, staring at the opposite wall, but not really seeing anything. Praying to the God Mama spent every Sunday worshipping to not take his cariño away from him.

She dried herself off with the second towel and grabbed the robe from behind the door and threw it on. He couldn’t deny he was disappointed that he probably wouldn’t get to spend the rest of the day in bed with her, exploring her new body, and letting her explore his.

But today was actually Yaya’s birthday, and the party was set for late this afternoon and evening. Meaning another day of being social and all of that with her family. Seriously, when he was done with the weekend and back home, he was going to throw himself back into work, and into his regular life. Where he didn’t have to make small talk and smile at stupid jokes told by people who annoyed him.

A pang of something he didn’t recognize smacked him in the chest. He pushed himself up, rubbed at the spot to stop whatever it was. Worrying about weird emotions was pointless. They were all most likely due to the lack of sleep, and weird sleep patterns. Being out of his comfort zone and all of that. Once he got home, everything would be fine.

She scooped up her soggy pajamas, threw him a cheeky wink, and then disappeared out the door, closing it softly.

One side of his mouth twitched. Followed by the other. He loved seeing her so relaxed and happy. It was so different from the final days of their marriage. From any interactions they’d had since they’d split.

The smile fell off his face. He turned back to his shower, giving the wall a wash, and then finishing up. It was time to turn up the heat on the win-Izzy-back plan. Sure, this weekend was turning out to be a lot of fun. But he didn’t want it to be just this weekend, no matter the deal they’d made at the start. He wanted it to be forever.

Well, then, maybe you should talk to her about it, don’t you think? Find out her feelings.

He stepped out of the tub, pushing that thought away. Later. After. He’d talk to her after the weekend was over. There’d be plenty of time on the drive back home for them to discuss the future. Right now, he needed to worry about showing her he was willing to change. That he had changed. That he wasn’t that same uncommunicative asshole as before.

Grabbing a towel, he dried off and then got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. But first, he needed to make another trip into town. No way was he being caught without condoms tonight. All signs pointed to he and Izzy re-consummating their relationship this weekend, and he was planning on being prepared.

He left the bathroom and dropped his stuff off in the bedroom. It was empty, the bed made, as if last night had never happened.

None of it. Not the lovemaking with Izzy, or the comforting of Claudia and Marissa during the storm.

It was almost like it had been nothing more than a dream.

A weird feeling washed through him. He shook it off and grabbed his wallet and his keys. He’d never admit it, but he thought that maybe, just maybe, he’d felt more whole, more complete, when they were playing family than when he and Izzy had been fooling around.

What in the hell was wrong with him?

Isabella sat at the picnic table outside, eating her peanut butter sandwich and laughing at Claudia’s silly joke. It was an oldie but a goodie—what is green and sings? Elvis Parsley. And then the little girl laughed, the sound high and pure. Her amusement set Marissa off, even though the little girl didn’t understand the joke—not that she thought Claudia got it, either.

The scene made Isabella’s chest light and tight. It was a weird dichotomy, one she couldn’t explain.

Yolanda, who was sitting with them, laughed as well, but Isabella could tell she was forcing it. Her cousin looked like hell, dark circles under her bloodshot eyes. Clearly, she’d had a little too much to drink last night, had partied a little too hard. Which was something that tended to happen at these big family gatherings.

Of course, if it was Isabella, and she had a bunch of kids to worry about, she wouldn’t be partying quite so hard, but to each their own. Didn’t mean Isabella had to like it.

And, honestly, Yolanda was lucky Isabella hadn’t torn a strip off of her already this morning about what happened with the girls last night. Mostly because she didn’t want to make a scene, or have the rest of the family deciding they needed to take sides. Which happened quite often when a dispute happened within the family. The stress of all that wasn’t worth it.

Owen walked out of the front door of the house. The jeans he wore hung low on his hips, and were well worn in. She’d bet just about anything they’d be soft to the touch after having been washed hundreds of times. His long-sleeved t-shirt hugged his shoulders and biceps, showing off his strength. He had the sleeves pushed up to just under his elbows. His forearm flexed in the most distracting way when he reached into his pocket and pulled out his truck keys.

“Going somewhere?” Not that she cared, but was just curious. The last time he’d disappeared, it had been into town to buy a new mattress to replace the squeaky one.

He stopped next to the table. “Yeah, I have some stuff to pick up in town.”

She popped the final bite of her sandwich into her mouth and chewed. His gaze was glued to her lips, and he swallowed hard. She wanted to laugh, to tease him, but she couldn’t with the present company. “Would you mind if I come with you? I’ve got to grab some stuff at the drug store.”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

She stood and wiped the crumbs off her jeans.

“Can I come, too?”

She turned to look at Claudia, who was staring at them, her wide eyes full of hope.

“Me, too. Me too.” Marissa bounced up and down in her seat and clapped her hands.