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She dragged in a breath. “Yeah.”
“Are you sure? I can carry you to the table if you’d like.” He tilted her face up to his. “Ayesha, Ayesha, Ayesha. You are so damn gorgeous to me. Did you know that?”
“And you’re so damn beautiful to me, Joel Lattimore. Didyouknowthat?”
He cupped the side of her face. “I was wondering—”
“Mama! Where are you?”
“Wondering what?” she asked.
He raised her hand to his lips and kissed each fingertip. “Later. If he doesn’t see you in the next five seconds, he’ll contact Interpol.”
They separated and headed for the loud vibrancy of the table.
Josiah inhaled his food, and when Tayler asked him if he needed scuba gear, he laughed and nearly spat rice across the table.
Theo kicked his legs while Ayesha shredded his chicken to ensure it had close to the same bite as the rice.
Joel put together their plates and set Ayesha’s, along with a glass of lemonade, in front of her. Afterward, he took the seat next to Josiah.
It wasn’t the first time they’d situated themselves like this, him and Ayesha with the boys between them. He wanted it to mean more than it currently did, and they were both ready to be more, but he kept chickening out. When he wasn’t, he was missing innuendos that clearly indicated she wanted him to warm her bed.
However, the issue he’d run into, the realization he’d come to only moments ago, was that he wasn’t interested in asking Ayesha to be his girlfriend.
Since they started spending time together, they never seriously dated other people, which had nothing to do with being too busy. It was because they’d been dating each other and lying to themselves about it, using their pasts to hide the fact that they’d been a couple for two years—at least.
As far as he was concerned, she was his girlfriend. Ayesha was his partner, soulmate, confidante, other half, and better half, regardless of them not owning a piece of paper legally binding them to one another.
Still, he wanted that paper.
“Joel, can you help me, please?” Theo raised his hands in the air, both covered in food residue. “I don’t want to drop it.”
Joel brought Theo’s cup to his mouth. They’d graduated from the sippy cup, but something told him he and Ayesha would likely have to return to using tumblers and straws.
And maybe a bib.
“Slow down, Theo,” he gently chided.
Theo leaned back, licked his lips, and released a satisfiedahh. Joel grabbed a napkin and wiped juice and sauce from Theo’s face, despite knowing at least one would return the minute he was done.
Theo tilted his chin. “Am I cute again?”
“Again?” Joel tousled his hair. “When are you not, kid?”
Theo, giggling, returned to his food.
Joel set the cup on the table and looked up to find Ayesha watching them.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
She nodded and slipped a golden slice of plantain into her mouth.
It didn’t matter what they pretended to be on the outside; he was as deeply rooted in her heart as she was in his. If that was the case, if he officially wanted her to be his, the only thing stopping that from happening was one simple question.
CHAPTER2
Ayesha stood overlooking the beach, tired but not sleepy after spending over an hour trying to calm Theo down enough to fall asleep. It didn’t matter that he and Josiah were sharing a room. The only people who could ease his night terrors without effort were the Lethal Six.
