Page 182 of Contentious

“I’ll look forward to that. See you in a bit.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

“She’s pretty cool,” Carson said.

“Told ya.”

“I already knew that.”

“Uh-huh. Sure you did.”

He gave her a gentle spank on the ass as he walked by her to find Ty. “Who wants to swim?”

“I do!” Ty came running and let out a yelp of excitement at seeing his Spider-Man suitcase waiting for him.

“Down the hall on the right is a bedroom you can use,” Carson said.

He grabbed the handle and took off running. “Awesome, thanks.”

Carson took advantage of the opportunity to kiss Cresley while they had a minute alone.

“Can you swim, too, Carson?” Ty asked when he returned thirty seconds later, wearing a swimsuit, a pair of goggles around his neck.

“Not yet. I have to watch out for infection while my incisions heal. We’ll watch those surfing videos after dinner. I promise.”

“Okay. Let’s go, Mom! It’s time to swim.”

“The boy has spoken,” Carson said.

* * *

The afternoon with Isla and the kids was delightful. Ty was great with three-year-old Theo and one-year-old Mila, watching over them and keeping them safe as they splashed in the shallow end of the pool. Even though multiple adults were right there, Ty took responsibility for the younger kids and made sure they were having a good time.

“He’s so sweet,” Isla said. “Theo and Mila will talk about him nonstop after this.”

Cresley and Carson were seated on lounge chairs, while Isla sat on the side of the pool, close enough to grab a wayward child wearing floaties.

“He’s always been great with younger kids,” Cresley said.

“He’d be an awesome big brother,” Carson said.

Both women looked at him as if he’d said something crazy.

“What? He would.”

“He has no idea what he said or what it does to your ovaries, does he?” Isla asked Cresley, who laughed.

“No idea at all,” Cresley said with a smile for Carson.

“Men can be so clueless.”

“I can hear you two,” Carson said.

“Good, we want you to,” Cresley said. “I know the whole relationship thing is new to you, but you can’t drop a bomb like that into a brand-new situation and act like it’s no big deal that you suggested we might have kids together.”

“Julian doesn’t get that stuff either,” Isla said. “I have to constantly remember that he’s brand-new to all this.”

“They’re like babes in the woods in need of someone to show them how it’s done,” Cresley said.