Page 18 of Momcom Vacation

Beckett glares at him. “Because unlike Shay, Delia won’t keep her mouth shut. She’ll tell Liv, and then my lovely wife willcastrate me. She’s already complaining that I’m smothering her, and she thinks I’m in Boston.”

“You need to talk,” Cortney, who’s been silently sipping his coffee and watching us, says softly. “Communicate. Discuss your needs. I know it’s hard, but honesty and vulnerability are the foundation of a solid relationship.”

Fuck. He’s right. The idea scares the shit out of me, but I’m a forty-year-old man. I have to take responsibility for how things are going.

“I’m still on team kidnapping,” Beckett says into his coffee mug.

Cortney shoots him a disapproving frown before he turns back to me. “What if…” He taps his chin. “You took her out for the day? Alone. No distractions, no kids, just the two of you. And focused on relaxing and resetting.”

“Sounds like kidnapping.” Beckett smiles.

I ignore him. Man Bun’s suggestion isn’t a bad one.

“Let’s see what this weekend brings,” he says. “Maybe we can find a way to get you two alone for a while.”

A thread of guilt works its way through me. “What about the twins?”

Beckett shakes his head. “I’ll give them each ten grand to day trade. That’ll keep them busy. The person who makes the most gets to keep it for their satellite team.”

He rubs his hands together, his green eyes gleaming.

“Good plan, team. We’ll lure Medusa away, then Enzo here will man the fuck up and get it done. Once they’re set, I’ll fix everyone else’s problems, then go home to my wife.”

He claps me on the shoulder, his phone already at his ear again. “Go team.”

My stomach twists itself into a knot. What the hell did I just agree to?

Chapter 10

Beckett

“Bossman!” Finn hollers. “The twins called me stupid!”

“We did not.” Phoebe strolls into the kitchen, shoulders pulled back and head held high.

I turn my head and spit out a mouthful of coffee into the sink. I can handle being crammed into the caretaker’s house with three other grown men and eight kids, but I draw the line at decaf coffee.

“They did too.” Finn’s face is red and his fists are balled.

Collette appears behind him. She plops Willow into Cortney’s arms without so much as a word, before turning to me. “All we said?—”

I hold up my hand. “I thought I bribed Liam into watching all of you. Do I have to do everything myself?”

The sound of Cortney’s laugh makes my hackles rise. “You made us come.”

“He kidnapped us,” Enzo reminds him.

“You’ve got to move past that.” I dump the coffee down the drain and put the cup into the dishwasher. Spinning, I brush my hands together. “Let’s do something. That should stop all the whining. We’re on an island—it’s beautiful here, we’ve got our kids and each other?—”

Enzo scowls. “I want my girlfriend.”

A huff of a laugh escapes me. “You should appreciate the break from all her barking.”

Chuckling, Cortney buries his face in Willow’s neck. Damn. I wish I had a baby to hide behind.

Soon I’ll have two of them. Then even Enzo won’t be able to glare at me the way he is right now. Shit, he looks like he might take a swing at me. For the most part, I know how to stay on his good side, but sometimes I slip. He gets touchy when I call Phoebe and Collette the Shining Twins, so I make sure not to use the nickname in front of him. But it’s almost impossible not to taunt Medusa. And it’s fun, because she gives as good as she gets.

Enzo takes a step in my direction, and my balls ascend back into my body. The motherfucker is a big guy, and he’s scrappy.

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