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Thinking about how sad I would be if any of our children ever tried doing that with me, I sniffled. “That’s awful.”
Tucker scanned the interior of the jet, making eye contact with each of the kids before announcing, “Don’t even think about trying to pull that shit with us.”
Everyone shook their heads, but it was our oldest, Madison, who answered. “We’d never hurt mom’s feelings like that.”
“Aww, my sweet babies,” I sighed.
“What about my feelings?” Tucker asked.
Daschel—Beck’s twin—rolled his eyes. “We all know Mom’s are more important to you.”
“Damn straight.” He interlaced our fingers and lifted our hands so he could kiss mine.
Piper’s little voice was sweet as she said, “I’m not getting married until I find someone who loves me the way Daddy loves Mommy.”
Tucker leveled a glare at our youngest daughter. “Maybe when you’re thirty.”
“Oh, please,” Avery scoffed. “You fell for Mom when she was only sixteen.”
“And I waited until she was twenty-four before I so much as took her on a date,” Tucker pointed out with a smug grin.
“A date?” I giggled, shaking my head as I remembered our first night together.
“More like a kidnapping,” Parker said.
Madison, Avery, and Piper giggled. Our girls loved the story about how Tucker had watched over me from afar—without going into detail about how he’d actually stalked me. Their favorite parts were how he’d carried me out of the restaurant after interrupting my date and took me to the home he’d created for us.
“Just so long as no guy thinks to do the same with you. I’d hate to have to kill somebody,” Tucker warned.
“C’mon, my dad let you get away with kidnapping me,” I teased. “The least you can do is be as understanding with whoever the girls fall for someday.”
“Not gonna happen,” he grumbled, giving my hand a squeeze before unbuckling his belt to get up.
I rolled my eyes as I followed behind him, making sure the kids gathered all of their things before we exited the plane. Avery hooked her arm around mine and smiled up at me. “Don’t worry, Mom. You know he’ll cave about the dating thing when we give him the puppy dog eyes.”
“I wouldn’t count on that, sweetie,” I warned.
She lifted her other hand and wiggled her pinkie. “Nah, I’ve had him wrapped around my little finger since I was born.”
Tucker was a doting father who gave our children just about everything they asked for. Except where their safety was concerned. His protective ways hadn’t lessened at all over the years. He was protective of them, just like he was with me. And with his access to cutting edge technology, he had no problem staying on top of everything they were into without them knowing. Not that our kids tried to keep secrets from us. So far, anyway.
The flight attendant loaded our luggage into the back of the Mercedes Sprinter van we’d purchased for the times when we were all on the island. It fit all ten of us. And since we kept clothes and toiletries at the house, we didn’t need to bring a lot.
“Your chariot awaits.” Tucker settled his palm on my lower back and guided me over to the vehicle. He helped me into the passenger seat while the kids piled into the second, third, and fourth rows. The drive was scenic and only took about twenty minutes.
As we pulled up in front of our island home, Tucker grabbed my hand. I turned to look at him as our children scurried out to run into the house, leaving the luggage for us to handle in their excitement. The older kids were used to looking after their younger siblings, and I smiled when Madison, Beck, and Daschel took charge of Easton, Noah, and Piper with Avery and Parker trailing behind them.
“If we leave them in there by themselves for too long, someone is bound to try to claim the master suite for themselves.”
“They can try all they want. It’s not gonna happen.” Tucker leaned over to undo my seatbelt so he could tug me onto his lap. “I let them invade the house, but our room is still our private haven. Even when they’re here with us.”
Twining my arms around his neck, I wagged my brows at him. “It’s a good thing you added that lock to the door the last time we were here.”
