by Force, Marie
“Absolutely no improvements needed.” When he held out his arms to her, she leaned over to kiss him as he turned them so he was on top. “I love you, and I can’t believe this has happened. I was so determined to avoid anything like this, until you came along and were constantly up in my grill, making me hard as a rock every time you pointed that finger at me.”
“This finger?” she asked, poking his chest.
“That’s the one.” He grabbed it and pretended to bite it as he moved in her. “I wanted to grab that finger and pull you close enough to kiss the sass right off your sexy lips.”
“Like this?” She drew him into a deep, tongue-twisting kiss.
“Just like that.”
Sex had never been fun like it was with her. Everything was fun with her, even arguing. She was so incredibly responsive, and when Noah felt her inner muscles contract around his cock, that was all it took to fire his release right along with hers.
He landed on top of her, and when he tried to move so he wouldn’t crush her, she tightened her arms around him so he couldn’t get away.
“That was…” She sighed deeply.
“Not good?”
Snorting with laughter, she said, “Incredible. You’re making me realize that my definition of good sex needed some serious calibration.”
Noah pushed against her. “Happy to calibrate you any time.”
She smiled up at him as she smoothed the hair back from his forehead. “And it was fun.”
“Funny, I was thinking the same thing.” He kissed her, lingering for a second before he reluctantly pulled back. “I want to take you to meet my aunt and uncle and see their barn.”
“I’d love to meet them and see their barn.”
* * *
Grayson waited outside Melinda’s home until five minutes past nine. He figured with a small child in the house, they would certainly be up. He took one last moment to gather his thoughts and remind himself to stay cool, no matter what she said or did. It was up to him to help Noah gain access to his child. He needed to remain calm and get the job done.
He walked up to the front porch of a well-kept house, painted dark gray with maroon shutters and window boxes. As he reached out to ring the doorbell, he noticed outdoor toys stashed on the far right-hand side of the porch.
The maroon door swung open, and Noah’s ex-friend Miguel’s face immediately registered shock when he saw Grayson. Tall and muscular, Miguel had light brown skin, dark hair and eyes and stubble on his jaw. He quickly schooled his features to hide the surprise, but it was too late for that.
Miguel opened the storm door. “Help you?”
They’d met a few times in the years that Miguel had been friends with and worked for Noah. There was no way he could pretend not to recognize him. “Let’s not play games, Miguel. You know exactly who I am and why I’m here.”
Melinda came up behind Miguel. “Who is it?” When she looked around Miguel and saw Gray standing on the front porch, she gasped. “Gray.”
“Melinda.”
She glanced at Miguel. “Will you please give us a minute?”
He stared at Gray for a long moment without blinking. “Yeah, sure.”
After he stepped back, Melinda came outside. As she pulled two sides of a long cardigan together, Gray noticed her hands were shaking. “What’re you doing here?”
Melinda had light blonde hair and green eyes. Gray had always thought she was pretty, until he heard what she’d done to Noah. “My brother wants a divorce.”
“You didn’t need to come here for that.”
“And he wants to see his son.”
A whimper escaped from her before she seemed to recall that she shouldn’t give anything away. “He’s my son.”
“And Noah’s.” When she didn’t immediately deny it, Gray knew a moment of relief. “He wants a divorce and joint custody of his son.”
She affected a mulish expression.
Before she had a chance to say anything, Gray said, “He hasn’t ruled out full custody, and after hearing that you denied him his son for more than two years, the courts might give it to him.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Noah told me to go away and never come back. That’s what I did.”
“The second you learned you were pregnant with his child you were obligated to tell him.”
She looked down at the porch. “I… I wasn’t sure…”
“You didn’t know whether the baby was his or Miguel’s.” Gray made no effort to hide his disgust. “But it couldn’t have taken long after he was born to know for certain who his father is. At that moment, you owed my brother a phone call.”
“He wouldn’t have taken my call.”
“You could’ve sent a certified letter, called my mother or me or done something to make this right.”
She swiped at tears.
“Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to give my brother an uncontested divorce. You’re going to agree to joint custody, and within the week, you’re going to make it possible for Noah to meet his son by bringing the child to Butler. You’re going to allow Noah to see him any time he wants to and to be part of every aspect of his life, or we’ll sue for full custody. Is there any part of that you don’t understand?”
After a long pause, she said, “No.”
Gray handed her an envelope. “You’ve been served. I suggest you move very quickly to fix this egregious omission. You’ve got one day to contact Noah and arrange for him to meet his son, or we’ll see you in court.” He started to walk away but turned back. “What’s his name? My nephew?”
“Elliott.”
“I look forward to getting to know him. We all do.” Grayson turned, went down the stairs and was halfway down the walk when she called out to him. Turning back to her, he said, “Yes?”
“Tell him…” She shook with sobs. “Tell him I’m sorry.”
Grayson wanted to tell her to fuck off with her apology, but he didn’t do that. He bit his tongue and continued to his car. When he drove off a minute later, she was still standing on the front porch. “Well,” he said, “that went well.”
He was thankful she hadn’t tried to deny that the boy was Noah’s.
His brother had a son named Elliott.
Grayson was one hundred percent confident that she’d be calling Noah to set up that meeting. A half mile from Melinda’s house, he pulled over to send a text to Brianna’s phone.
I served her with divorce papers and put her on notice that we intend to file for joint custody. She has twenty-four hours to contact you to arrange a meeting with your son, whose name is Elliott. She understands that she has very few options here unless she wants us to sue for full custody. I believe you’ll hear from her sooner rather than later. She said to tell you she is sorry. Congratulations, Dad.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Lips that taste of tears, they say, are the
best for kissing.”
—Dorothy Parker
“Oh my gosh, it’s gorgeous,” Brianna said when she got her first look at the outside of his aunt and uncle’s home. “It really is a barn!”
“It used to house cows. They said they could still catch a faint whiff of cow shit years after they moved in. It was a wreck when they bought it, and they did most of the work themselves.”
“That’s amazing.”
“The joke in our family is if you’re going to have ten children, you have to buy a barn.”
“Ten children. I can’t imagine that.”
“I wonder how Gray is making out,” Noah said.
“I’ve got my phone with me, and we’ll ask your aunt and uncle for the Wi-Fi log-in.”
Noah parked behind his uncle’s Range Rover. “I suppose I’ll find out soon enough.”
“It’s going to be fine. She doesn’t have a leg to stand on in this situation, and Gray will certainly tell her that. He’ll make sure she does the right thing.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I’m alwa
ys right. I’ve proven that to you repeatedly.”
Grinning, he said, “I walked straight into that, didn’t I?”
She shrugged. “Truth hurts. Take me in and show me this beautiful home. I can’t wait to meet your aunt and uncle, the parents of ten children.”
They got out of the truck and met in front of it.
Noah extended a hand to her and led her into the house. “Hello? Are you guys decent?”
“Just barely,” a man’s voice called.
Noah chuckled and took her coat to hang it on a hook. “Check that out.” He nodded to a row of ten hooks on the other side of the mudroom with names above them: Hunter, Hannah, Will, Ella, Charley, Wade, Colton, Lucas, Landon, Max. A second row was underneath the original: Caden, Callie, Chase, Savannah, Stella, Sarah, Carson.
“That’s adorable,” Brianna said.
“Carson already has a hook, and he was only born this week.”
“His grandfather did that last night.” The woman in the doorway had long gray hair, a youthful face and a warm smile. Brianna immediately noticed her resemblance to her sister, Hannah. “This is a nice surprise.” She came to hug and kiss Noah. “Can’t remember the last time you stopped by out of the blue.”
“It’s been too long. Aunt Molly, meet Brianna Esposito. Brianna, my aunt Molly Abbott.”
“The mother of ten children.” Brianna shook Molly’s hand. “Nice to meet you. I bow down in awe to you—and your sister with the eight children.”
Molly laughed. “A girl has eight or ten children, and it becomes the headline of her life.”
“Not to mention two sets of twins for you guys,” Brianna added as they followed Molly into a cozy kitchen. “That’s a feat in and of itself.”
“Are we talking about my wife’s extraordinary baby-making skills?”
“We most certainly are not,” Noah said.
“Damn, that’s my favorite subject.”
“Brianna, meet my uncle Lincoln. He’s known for being the father of ten children, the CEO of the Green Mountain Country Store and the Beatles’ number one fan.”
“Oh, I love the Beatles,” Brianna said, reaching out to shake hands with the handsome man with silver hair and sparkling blue eyes.
“Then we’ll be best friends,” Lincoln said. “Have a seat. Can we get you some coffee or hot chocolate? My Molly’s hot chocolate is the best you’ll ever have.”
“I can’t say no to that,” Brianna said. “If it’s not any trouble.”
“No trouble at all,” Molly said. “Some for you, too, Noah?”
“I’d love some. Thanks, Auntie. Could we trouble you for the Wi-Fi log-in? We’re waiting for some news.”
“Of course.” Linc helped Brianna log into their Abbey Road network. “All set.”
“Thanks,” Noah said.
“The inn is looking great, you two,” Linc said. “Coming right along.”
“Yes, it’s going well,” Noah said. “We’ve got the plumbers coming in this week.”
“That’s wonderful. Mrs. Hendricks is eager to reopen.”
“Hopefully by late spring, she’ll be back in business.”
Molly made the hot chocolate and brought two mugs topped with dollops of whipped cream to the table.
Brianna’s mouth watered at the smell of chocolate. “That looks wonderful. Thank you.”
Molly put a plate of cookies on the table and took a seat. “The secret is to heat the milk before you add the chocolate.”
“Oh, I’ll have to try that.”
“Knock, knock,” a male voice said from the mudroom. “Is everyone dressed?”
“For now,” Molly said, smiling. “Come in, Dad.”
“I’ve learned to be careful coming in here unannounced,” Elmer said.
“That’s right,” Linc replied. “Your daughter and I are almost empty nesters. You never know what might be going on here.”
“That subject is firmly off-limits,” Elmer said as he took a seat at the table. “Nice to see you, Noah.”
“You, too, Gramps. This is Brianna Esposito. Brianna, my grandfather, Elmer Stillman.”
“Such a pleasure to meet you,” Brianna said. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“All good, I hope?” Elmer asked with an adorable grin that made his eyes twinkle with delight.
“Of course,” Brianna said, charmed by him.
“I just came from Hunter and Megan’s,” Elmer said. “That little one is a cutie.”
“He sure is,” Molly said. “Did they get any sleep last night?”
“Not much, but they don’t seem to care. They’re madly in love.”
“Happens to all of us,” Linc said with a smile.
A young, handsome man came into the room, carrying a blond little boy.
“Brianna, meet my cousin Max and his son, Caden.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“You, too,” Max said.
“You want some cocoa, Dad and Max?”
“I’m good,” Elmer said. “I had some earlier.”
“I’ll take some, Mom, if you don’t mind,” Max said.
“No problem.”
As Molly got up to make more cocoa, Brianna noticed Noah staring at his cousin’s son. “How old is he, Max?” Brianna asked.
“Almost fourteen months.”
“He’s adorable.”
“Thanks, I think so, too.”
When Brianna’s phone buzzed, she picked it up and devoured Gray’s message before handing the phone to Noah so he could see it.
Noah’s eyes flew over the screen and then flooded with tears when he got to the part where he learned that his son’s name was Elliott.
“Everything all right, son?” Elmer asked.
Noah made a visible effort to pull himself together. “It seems I have a son I’ve just found out about.”
“Oh my goodness!” Molly said.
“When Melinda and I split, she was pregnant.”
“And she never told you?” Linc asked, his expression hardening.
“No, she didn’t. I asked Gray to find her because we never actually got divorced.”
“I figured you would’ve done that right away,” Molly said.
“I should have, but that would’ve meant having to deal with her. That was the last thing I wanted to do. I just pretended like I’d never met her and went on with my life. Gray hired an investigator to track her down, and he was the one who told us there was a child. When Gray and I saw the photos of him, we knew he was mine. He looks just like I did at his age. My mom has a picture…” His voice caught. “His name…”
“His name is Elliott,” Brianna said.
“Elliott,” Elmer said. “That’s a good, strong name.”
“When will you get to see him, Noah?” Molly asked.
“Soon. Gray told her she needs to make that happen, or we’ll sue for full custody.”
“You ought to think about that anyway,” Linc said. “It’s outrageous that she kept him from you for all this time.”
“I agree, but Gray says it wouldn’t be in his best interest to take him from the only home he knows. Even if he’s living with my ex-friend and foreman, Miguel, the guy Melinda cheated on me with. The three of them are one big happy family.”
His words dripped with bitterness, but who could blame him?
“Jeez,” Max said, “that’s completely effed up.”
“Sure is. I need to call my mom and tell her the latest.”
“Use the phone in the den,” Molly said. “Make yourself at home.”
“Thanks. I wanted to show Bri your super-cool house.”
“And I’m dying to see it,” Brianna added.
“After you talk to your mother, I’ll take you on a tour,” Molly said.
“Sounds good.”
Brianna got up and went with him into the den, sitting next to him on the sofa.
After he dialed his mother’s number, Brianna reached for his hand and cradled it between both of hers. She wa
s determined to be there for him every step of the way in this situation, the same way he’d been for her.
* * *
“They seem cozy,” Elmer said, his eyes gleaming the way they did when one of his grandchildren found love.
“Don’t get all crazy, Gramps,” Max said. “You know how Noah can be. If we make too big of a deal about it, he’s apt to decide not to bother.”
“I don’t think he’s going to do that with this young lady,” Linc said. “There’s a real spark between them.”
“You two are so ridiculous,” Max said. “You have a few matchmaking successes, and now you’re suddenly experts.”
“We’ve had more than a few, my dear boy, and we had a hand in this one, too,” Elmer said.
“Why am I not surprised?” Max said, rolling his eyes at his mother.
Molly took it all in, amused as always by her matchmaking husband and father, who did, indeed, think they were the shit for all the successful matches they’d helped to make for their kids. They’d now turned their attention toward the Colemans.
“And from what I hear,” Elmer said gleefully, “Cabot’s shacked up with Izzy at her place, determined to nurse her through her recovery. I saw that coming a mile away.”
“Sure, you did,” Linc said disdainfully.
Not only were they matchmakers but also competitors, each trying to outdo the other in their quest for true love throughout the land.
“What I want to know,” Max said, “is when you’re going to use some of your matchmaking mojo on me.”
“When you’re ready,” Elmer said.
“I’m ready,” Max said emphatically.
“Not yet,” Linc said.
“Why do you guys get to decide that?” Max asked.
“Because, my boy, we’re the experts,” Elmer said, “and you need to trust us on this.”
“Do they honestly believe this BS they’re spewing?” Max asked his mother.
“I think they do, sweetheart. You can’t take issue with their track record.”
“That’s right,” Linc said. “We know what we’re doing, and don’t you worry, my boy, we’re going to take good care of you when the time is right.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
