I leaned in, pressing my mouth to hers and enjoying it immensely. She and the others worked really hard on this housewarming, and she should take a moment to smell the roses.
To my delight, she kissed me back. My wife wasn’t a tiny woman, but I was a big guy. I dwarfed her petite and curvyframe. My hands moved to her hips. She wore a black dress that made me absolutelywildfor her.
“Ramses,the press are here,” she urged.
I was well aware of that. I was also aware of the fact that they were confined to certain areas of the house. This particular area was off-limits. Even still, she placed a hand on my chest. She placed distance between us, and I got to enjoy the sight of the woman I got to spend the rest of my life with. She looked like real-life royalty with her dark hair and eyes that were so hypnotic they sent me to my knees. They literally sent me there. I had a taste between her thighs before this very event.
My queen put her arms round me. “I love you.”
I had no words for how much I loved her. I kissed her deeply before pressing a final one to her ear. “I love you too, and you did a great job today.”
She did. The kids’ house looked lovely. She and the other mothers outdid themselves, and they mostly did this in a day. They’d done the design work when all us guys went out golfing not that long ago.
“Thanks,” she said, then gazed around. “You haven’t seen Sloane, have you? I wanted to ask her what she thought of the catering.”
I knew Brielle planned to use this particular service for Sloane and Dorian’s at-home wedding and reception.
“I haven’t, but I’ll look for her,” I said, still blown away that one of my kids was married. Another one was engaged, and this housewarming was for the third. I had no idea when I got old, but ifoldwas this sense of fulfillment I got every time one of my kids hit a milestone like this, I’d take it. I was so happy to see them happy.
“Hey, bud. Great place,” I said to Bru when I passed him. He was in full conversation with some of his friends, including Wells and Bow.
“Thanks, Dad,” Bru said, grinning with a beer in his hands. He looked so happy. Wells and Bow were great for him, and, even though their relationship was less than traditional, none of us parents cared about that. We just wanted our kids happy.
Bru proceeded to ask me where his mom was so he could thank her for helping with the party, and I pointed behind me.
“She’s back near the kitchen,” I said. “She actually sent me to go find your sister.”
“I think I saw Sloane out back not too long ago,” Bru stated, and I found that curious. No one from the party was really outside.
I thanked my son before giving him a hug and telling him what a great place this was again. I also hugged Bow, who was like a daughter to me, and Wells, who was like a son.
Out back, I did find Sloane, and, curiously enough, she was with Ares, her twin brother. He was actually just leaving her.
“Let me know if you need anything. Dorian and I will keep giving you space until you’re ready to come back,” he said, and my brow lifted. Neither one of them had seen me standing there, and, when Ares turned, his smile was tight.
“Hey, Pop,” he said, looking way too much like me when I was his age. Honestly, he was my clone, and Sloane was Brielle’s. Both the kids even had my curly hair. Ares’s was grown out and long, but he had it up today. He nodded. “I was just heading back inside.”
“Okay,” I said, studying his departure with my gaze. After the back door closed behind him, I faced Sloane. “Everything okay?”
They were obviously talking about something, and it was weird that they were out here. Everyone else was inside.
Sloane was sitting on a cobblestone bench that faced the yard, and beyond that was a magnificent cityscape of our town. It was lush, rolling hills and, even though Maywood Heights was small, it was mighty.
Sloane stood, my daughter so beautiful in a yellow sundress. Her hair was up. She lifted her shoulders. “Fine. Was just about to go back inside.”
So my kidwasn’tfine if Ares and Dorian, her husband, were giving her space. Sloane didn’t go anywhere without Dorian. I pocketed my hands. “I respect if you don’t want to talk about something, but obviously everything isn’t fine. You’re out here isolating, and you and Ares are doing your twin thing.”
Her dark eyebrows scrunched. “Twin thing?”
I smiled a little before gesturing for her to sit back down. She did, and I joined her.
I stared out toward the city. “Did you know, when you and Ares were born, you were holding hands?”
Her mouth parted, and I laughed.
I nodded. “Literally, the doctors had never seen such a thing. You were so small and definitely didn’t have the grip strength at that stage of life, but you were.” My eyes crinkled. “Anyway, that’s what you guys were doing just now. You may not have been physically, but it was the same thing.”
He was supporting her, and that was wild to me, too. They had a history of being separated for a while. That was very painful for our family, and, though we were all still healing from that separation, it got better each and every day. We were a family again, a strong one.
