Page 35 of Summer With You

The garage door slammed shut, pulling me from memory lane as the two men trudged into the kitchen, dripping wet with a combination of rainwater and sweat. I stood and rushed at Ace, but he put his arms out and stopped me. I frowned as I came to a halt. I didn’t care that he was wet. I just wanted him to hold me.

“Let me change, Princess. Please.” I deflated. Did he really think I cared that he was sopping wet?

“I just need to make sure you’re alive, Ace,” I whispered brokenly.

“I’m never leaving you,” he swore. “You can’t ever make me leave you because you are my world.” I swooned at his sweet words. He always had a way to make me melt.

“Go change and dry off,” I quietly told him. “I’ll be waiting.” He made his way to our bedroom, quietly slipping inside and closing the door behind him, and I watched him until he disappeared from my sight. Ryan had already made his exit, but Amber had a glint in her green eyes.

“Those hormones, huh?” She laughed with a wink.

“Shut up,” I grumbled. “I’m not you.” I defensively crossed my arms over my chest.

“Yeah, but admit it, you totally want to jump his sexy, sweaty bones right now, right?” I looked over my shoulder to see that the kids were still playing, completely oblivious to our conversation.

“Yes, I want to jump his sexy as fuck bones right now. Are you happy?” I snappily retorted.

“Thrilled.” I rolled my eyes. “Now, what are you waiting for?” I glanced between her, the kids, and my bedroom door. “I can handle them. They’ve had dinner. And look how much fun they are having. They won’t even notice the absence of their parents.” She smiled coyly, noticing my hesitance. “Just go make-up with your husband, who adores the ground you walk on. I promise that you won’t regret it.”

“I’m not a horny teenager anymore, Ames. I’m a mom now. The kids come before my needs, and they need to spend time with their parents before they go to bed.” She shook her head at me, her red hair falling out of the messy updo she had.

“Your loss, girl. I’m just trying to help a sister out.”

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A few hours later, the wind still howled against the house. Rain pelted harder and harder as the time went by, and the house became more humid with every passing second, but by some miracle, the kids fell asleep nearing the early hours of the morning.

I was resting my head on Ace’s lap as he massaged my head, trying to will me to sleep, but I couldn’t stop my overactive mind from thinking of all the worst possibilities.

My poor mother must have been going through hell when Ace and I were stranded at the beach house and then on the streets all those years ago.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the wind ripping the roof off the house and pulling my children away from me. The thought kept me wide-eyed, no matter how many times Ace reassured me that was impossible.

Amber and Ryan had retired to their room not long after the kids, both completely exhausted. I kept looking up at Ace and wondered how he was still awake, his blue eyes watching me with concern.

“Why don’t you go to sleep?” I asked him a few minutes later.

“Not without you,” he whispered, fingers threading into my hair.

“I can’t sleep,” I whispered. “I’m freaking out about all the things that can go wrong.” He laughed, his other hand resting on my belly, rubbing a soothing circle near my belly button.

“No stress, baby,” he reminded me, and I sighed. “I’ll protect you and our kids, just like I did the first time.” He leaned forward and kissed the top of my forehead.

We still hadn’t spoken, never finding a moment alone.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered as I sat up, looking straight into his dark blue eyes that reminded me so much of the ocean on a stormy day. Always full of mischief and chaos.

“I shouldn’t have gone. I never should have left you.” He shook his head. “You were right. I was putting work first, and I will never do that again.” He grabbed my hands, holding them tightly in his sweaty grasp. “There is nothing on this planet more important than you and our kids, absolutely nothing. And I will spend the rest of my life proving that to you,” he swore.

Tears blurred my vision as I gazed at him. Amber hadn’t been kidding. These hormones were driving me crazy. I swallowed past the big lump building in my throat.

“Please forgive me,” I whispered, tears rolling down my hot cheeks.

“There’s nothing to forgive, Celine.” He held my face in his big hand and brushed my tears aside, his other hand still holding my own. “You’re the reason that I wake up every morning, the reason I pushed through years of abuse from my family, the reason I go to work, the reason I fall asleep at night completely content. God made you for me, and he wanted me to find you, and thankfully, I did. I am a strong man, and a petty fight will not make me stray from you and the love we’ve built.”

Nothing could have prepared me for this sudden declaration of love. More tears rolled down my sweaty cheeks.

“I’ve been meaning to thank you for months now, but there’s never been a good time. We’re always too busy with life to just pause and enjoy each other.” He swiped at the tears flowing freely down my face.

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