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“And he did. Something he reminded me of constantly. I’m sure sweeping an assault charge under the rug isn’t written in any parenting books anywhere. He sure as hell made it clear how much I disappointed him after that.”
Luc sighed. “Disappointment? No. I think the two of you needed to have a talk and clear the air, but you would have worked things out with him at some point.”
“Little late now.” A lump in my throat took me by surprise. I’d never cried over my dad’s passing, not one drop. But wow, what were these feelings cropping up now?
“The one thing that keeps playing in my head with Emily’s pregnancy is how much I took my folks for granted, you know? I’m only now realizing how I can run a billion dollar international construction company with ease. But raising children, and making sure I don’t fuck up my kids? Forget my CEO position at the company—parenting will be the most challenging job I’ve ever undertaken. But hopefully, the most rewarding too. So maybe sometimes give yourself a chance to think about your dad and forgive him. From my viewpoint, he raised one helluva son. I hope you know how proud of you I am, too.”
Luc held out his hand to me. Goddamn, my eyes were wet. “You S.O.B. a handshake won’t cut it. Come here.” I pulled him in for a hug. This felt good, like a piece of my life missing for a long time and finally found. The feeling of family, of being a piece of something greater than me, swelled my heart. We slapped each other’s backs and parted, right as Mia came up, clearing her throat.
“I hope I’m not interrupting?”
“Not at all, Mia. You’re a breath of fresh spring air.” Luc chuckled and took her up in a dancing position with proper body frames, waltzing her away from me around the little seating area we were in while the jazz quartet played a new tune for them.
I ducked into the house for a moment. Standing at the marbled bar in the living room with my palms against the cool stone, I inhaled deeply. So many things I should have said to Dad before he passed. Yeah, Luc was right. I’d need to sit sometime with these feelings and work them out. But tonight was a good start, and the talk with Luc did me some good.
Mia’s laughter at something Luc said to her wafted on the air and I breathed it in as though the sound gave me life. New life. She really was the fresh start I’d hoped for when I left the military and returned home. And tonight, it was time I told her how much she meant to me.
I gathered some things on a tray and headed back out to the porch. Luc had moved on, back by his fiance’s side. Mia sighed against the railing of the patio, dropping her chin into her hand.
She leaned over, admiring the view of the people on the porch at the ranch house. “Look at Luc and Emily, and so many couples here. Isn’t love wonderful?”
Her ass looked good hugged in her jeans, almost as good as when I had her bare-assed in my bed before the party. I set down the tray of things I was carrying on a bench behind her so she didn’t see it.
The stars shone brightly on this little event tonight like they knew how special it was, twinkling and blessing us all. The crisp weather kept the people wrapped in sweaters or bundled in scarves, but all in all, Luc couldn’t have paid a billion dollars to mother nature for anything better on a late March night like this.
I took full advantage of it, coming up behind Mia. My cock swelled as I put my arms around her. “Yeah, I guess love looks good on people. Must be why you look so stunning tonight,” I finished in a whisper in her ear.
She turned in my arms and wrapped her hands around my neck. “Hm. You think I’m in love?”
“All the signs are there,” I teased with a sly corner of my lips turned up. We started swaying together to the slow jazz music. I wasn’t the dancer Luc was, but this slow pace moving our bodies together suited me fine.
“Oh yeah? Enlighten me.”
“Your eyes beam with gilded flecks. Your cheeks flush with romantic—or sexy thoughts.” I brushed her hair back from her face and behind her ear. “And your lips curve into a dazzling smile. All of this is in front of me every time we’re together. So it must be love, right?”
“Maybe so.” She shrugged. Her attempt at teasing me back pleased me. I loved the way we naturally bantered back and forth. “And what about you? Are you in love?”
“Yes. There is someone I love. In fact, I’ve been smitten with her for a long, long time.”
She pulled back a little, eyeing me. “How long?”
“Probably since the night you sucked the lime from my lips.”
She blinked a few times. “Our body shot? That night? No, come on. That was probably lust. We were just horny teenagers.”
“Perhaps. But lust is a sure-fire gateway drug to love, don’t you think? Speaking of body shots—” I turned and grabbed the tray with tequila, salt, limes, and shot glasses while she broke out into giggles seeing it. “I did some checking on the calendar earlier today. Now, this party tonight may be Luc and Emily’s engagement party, but if my calculations are right, this also may mark something else. The ten-year anniversary of that fateful night I taught you everything you needed to know about body shots. The way your lips sucked the salt off my neck, and sucked the lime from my mouth? Mm. The night changed everything. You went from being like a sister to me, to being my best-friend’s-sister-I’d-like-to-fuck.”
She grinned ear to ear, throwing her head back in laughter.
“Mia, would you do me the honor of recreating that night with me? Only this time, I’d love to kick it up a notch.”
She raised an eyebrow at me. “Exactly how do we do that?”
“Follow me to my bedroom, and we’ll play a round of strip shots, where after each body shot we remove another piece of clothing off each other and do another body shot on the newly exposed skin. Then once we’re naked—” I set the tray down and pulled her into me again. “—I won’t fuck you, Mia. Not tonight. But I’ll sure as hell make sweet, passionate love to you all night long. I’ll show you how a man loves a woman real good. Because I do. My heart beats for you, my dulce rosa. Don’t disappoint me. Tell me you love me too.”
Tears escaped her eyes, and her nose and cheeks flared pink. After a moment, she tried to speak through her sobs. “Yes, Teddy. I do. Oh gosh, I need a tissue.”
“Sh. Cry on my shoulder, baby. I’ll take all your tears. In fact, I may never wash this shirt again.” I held her close, swaying together until the music shifted to a new tune. Nothing in the world could tear us apart now. “You’re mine, Mia. I think you always were, and I know you always will be. I love you, baby.”
