Choosing You: The Pierced Hearts Duet: Book Two

by M. Robinson

  I should have known better.

  Dr. Pierce repeated in a hard, demanding tone, “Cami, look at me.”

  I exhaled, giving in. Slowly raising my eyes, I peered up at him through my wet lashes.

  “You’re going to be—” he paused, gathering his thoughts. “You are the most amazing, loving mother to all my kids.”

  My eyes widened, shocked he just expressed that to me.

  “I couldn’t have asked for a better woman to come into their lives. To come into our lives. To come into my life. You are exactly what we all needed. Do you understand me?”

  I nodded, unable to put into words what he was making me feel.

  “My kids love you. They fuckin’ adore you. We’re lucky to have you, Cami. You’ve brought so much love, so much laughter, so much calm into our house. Sweetheart, you’re the reason it’s starting to feel like a home again.”

  I bit my lip to keep from crying.

  “Tell me you believe what I’m saying.”

  I nodded again.

  “Tell me, Cami. I need to hear you say it.”

  “I do. I believe you.”

  His eyes went lax as he gazed down at the beautiful baby girl on his chest.

  It was such a breathtaking sight.

  A man holding his baby the way he was embracing her.

  She was his whole world.

  They all were.

  “You know you’ve never once judged me for not holding Journey. You’ve never once made me feel like the piece-of-shit father I was. You never once did anything but try to be here for them when I wasn’t. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that. The role you’ve played in their lives means more to me than you’ll ever know, Cami.”

  Our eyes connected and that goddamn spark was right there. Right in front of us. Breathing air into our lungs.

  There was so much I wanted to say.

  So much I wanted him to know.

  We were both teetering on the edge, walking that thin line.

  This was the moment…

  The second.

  The instant where things took a startling turn.

  His kids.

  Him.

  Me.

  Us.

  They started feeling like home, like I belonged there, like they wanted me there, like we were supposed to all be together…

  Like a family.

  Chapter 17

  <>Camila<>

  “I think we should bury Mary Poppins in the sand and leave her here as shark bait,” Jackson chuckled, playfully kicking sand on me.

  “Demon Spawn! I’m tanning here, and if you throw sand on me one more time, I’m going to get up and hug you so hard.” I dropped my sunglasses down my nose. “And we both know how much you love being hugged.” Lifting my sunglasses, I closed my eyes and laid back down.

  Journey and I were sunbathing along the shoreline of Oak Island beach on a Saturday afternoon. Enjoying family time in the fresh air, surf, and sun.

  Lathered in a mixture of SPF 50 and sand, she laid on her beach chair in a cute, pink two-piece suit with a matching hat. Copying my pose under her ladybug umbrella, thinking she was tanning like me on the towel next to her.

  My mini-me once again.

  It’d been two weeks since her massive scare of a lifetime, and it was the first time we’d all been out together with their father.

  Little Miss was completely back to being her sassy little self after what can only be described as one of the worst and best days since I started working for Dr. Pierce. Except now she had her daddy wound around her chubby finger. Whatever she wanted, she got from him. Little did he know, he was creating a monster.

  Though this morning, she woke up wanting me and not her Da. Which melted my heart.

  “Jackson,” I clenched out, feeling sand on my belly again. Ready to spring up and tackle him to the ground.

  As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Aiden pick him up over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and chucked his ass into the ocean.

  I beamed, knowing he did that for me.

  Jagger quickly jumped in, and they all wrestled around in the water. While I watched the hot dad show unfold before my shaded eyes.

  His muscles flexing.

  His body wet.

  His lighthearted laughter with his sons.

  The list went on and on.

  Dear baby Jesus, help us all now. Amen.

  “What are you laughing at?” Aiden teased out of nowhere, walking toward me.

  I put my hands out. “Don’t you dare!”

  “What was that? You want me to throw you in the water too?”

  “Aiden, I’m not playing!”

  He didn’t hesitate, picking me up like I weighed nothing and flinging me over his shoulder. My ass settling right in his face.

  “Jackson, watch your baby sister. Mary Poppins wants to go for a swim!”

  “Aiden! Don’t you da—”

  He tossed me in, throwing me into the deeper part of the ocean, away from everyone.

  “You give up?” he challenged when my head came up for air.

  “Never!”

  Grabbing my shoulders, he dunked me again.

  “What about now?”

  “Never!” I shouted, catching my bearings.

  He reached for me, but this time I was prepared for it and attacked him using all my weight. Except the only thing that accomplished was me losing my bikini top.

  Instantly, I grabbed my breasts. Finding it hard to tread water. I couldn’t touch the bottom like he could, I was too short. Panic set in as I kicked my legs rapidly, holding my chin just above the water as a series of waves came in hard, dragging me under.

  “Aiden! Hel—”

  Another wave hit me hard from behind, burying my head in the depths of the ocean. Not knowing what way was up or down. Salt water quickly burning in my lungs.

  When suddenly, a pair of strong hands gripped onto my waist, tugging me toward him above the surface.

  My arms instinctively went around his neck, meaning my bare boobs were now pressed against his solid chest with my legs around wrapped his waist.

  “The kids,” I panicked, coughing up water.

  “People are blocking us, they can’t see.”

  That didn’t stop my heart rate from accelerating at rapid speed. Our eyes were locked. Fused together. Nothing could break us apart, as I struggled to find my composure.

  Feeling his heated skin on my erect nipples only stirred my panted breaths and throbbing core.

  “My top—”

  “Is in my hand.”

  “Well in that case, I surrender. You win.”

  “Your tits are on my chest, Cami. I more than win.”

  I blushed, looking down to see he was right. “No shame here. Nothing you haven’t seen a million times being a doctor,” I played it off like I was unfazed, when in fact, I was mortified.

  “My patients don’t usually have their hard nipples pressed against my chest.”

  “Now that’d be a lawsuit waiting to happen if they did.”

  “Are you going to sue me, my Tiny Dancer?”

  “Whoa. Where did that come from?”

  “Which part? The name or my hard cock beneath your ass?”

  My eyes widened. “Don’t move, Camila, whatever you do… don’t move an inch.”

  “Not unless you want me to lose the last bit of self-control I have left for you.”

  Carajo, fuck. I said that out loud.

  “Has anyone ever told you that you go from zero to a hundred in seconds, Dr. Pierce?”

  “I like it when you call me Dr. Pierce, but right now probably isn’t the greatest time to be so formal. Considering my cock is so close to your ass.” With that, he let me go into the shallow waters. Earning him a whimper from my mouth.

  He handed me my top before turning like a gentleman to block my petite frame from wandering eyes as I tied it back on.

  “Thanks,” I stated after I was done. Swimming backward out in fron
t of him.

  “You wouldn’t be thanking me, if you knew what I was just imagining while you were topless behind me.”

  I never peeled my eyes off of him, swimming back to shore. Smiling like a school girl who just said hi to a boy for the first time.

  We spent the rest of the day as a family, and weekends quickly became my favorite times.

  Unless Aiden was the doctor on call at the hospital, he started taking Saturdays and Sundays off completely. Oak Island beach was now part of our weekly routine. We’d often have lunch at this cute little restaurant out on the water that Harley’s grandparents owned.

  Where we’d watch Jackson and Harley paddle out on their surf boards. Constantly battling against each other on the waves. Those two days were reserved to spend time together with us, including Curtis and every once in a while, Danté.

  Before we knew it, another month flew by and I’d been living with the Pierces’ for almost four months and working for them almost seven.

  June was upon us.

  The boys would be going on summer break soon, which meant a testosterone-filled house for three whole months was in my future.

  I was prepared for it, but I wasn’t.

  Reminding myself on the daily it wouldn’t be so bad, what was the worst that could happen?

  Jackson Pierce.

  That’s the worst that could happen.

  If he decided to pull a prank on me every single day for a hundred and four days, I was doomed.

  There was no way I’d survive summergeddon.

  His pranks were getting better and worse, all at the same time. I couldn’t believe half the shit he kept coming up with.

  Was there a book for pranking the nanny, I didn’t know about?

  Some of his more legit schemes were changing out the sugar jar to salt. Watching me prepare my coffee with two spoonful’s one morning.

  Let me tell you, salt in coffee tastes as bad as it sounds. I spit that shit right out in the sink, causing Journey to laugh her ass off at my expense.

  “Whose side are you on, Little Miss?”

  “Da!”

  “Of course you are. I’ve been replaced…”

  On another occasion, he hid my new laptop. I couldn’t find it anywhere. I spent hours tearing apart the house and SUV, terrified I’d lost it. I’d even called my nursing school to see if I accidentally left it there, I didn’t.

  Jackson wasn’t fazed in the least when he and Jagger arrived home from school that afternoon. There I was sitting on the couch, on the verge of tears. Going through my finances, ready to repurchase it so Aiden wouldn’t think I was irresponsible and lost it.

  The little shit walked into the living room, holding it in his hand’s hours later.

  “Oh, come on. You had to know it was me. You guard this thing like it’s your most prized possession.”

  “I’m going to kill you!”

  He tossed my laptop on the couch, hauling ass out of the room with me sprinting behind him.

  “You’re going to have to catch me first!”

  Being the quarterback of his football team made him fast as fuck. I couldn’t catch him, completely out of breath while he was barely winded from running around the pool.

  I almost had him. He was in arms reach when he abruptly stopped, causing me to lose my footing and sending me plummeting into the water fully dressed.

  Jackson was at the edge when I surfaced, laughing his ass off.

  “That was not me! It’s not my fault you don’t know how to run!”

  My payback was my reward.

  I dumped out his mouthwash down the sink the next morning, substituting it with vinegar and food coloring. Hearing him cough up a lung was all the compensation I needed.

  Although things with Jackson and I stayed the same, I couldn’t say that about his father and I. Ever since my topless mishap, things between us were escalating to the point of no return. I thought about him night and day.

  My heart strings were pulled like puppet cords, dancing in my body. And he was the puppeteer.

  With another Saturday upon us, there I sat on my beach towel. Watching Aiden play football in the sand with Jagger and Curtis.

  Dr. Pierce with no shirt on was quite a sight.

  Sweat glistened off his body as he ran up and down the beach. His swim trunks hung low around his slim waist, showing off the fuck-me muscles that were proudly on display.

  I swear each passing week he appeared broader, more muscular, and well-built than I remembered from the previous outing.

  Was he working out?

  For me?

  “Oh… what I would give to run my fingers along every ab,” I stated above a whisper.

  “Da. Da. Da. Ma,” Journey replied, acting as if we were having a conversation.

  “Stop judging me, Little Miss. Nothing wrong with looking. Remember that.”

  I’d often catch women openly gawking at her dad from the shoreline in their beach chairs.

  Exactly how they were doing now.

  It always brought on a wave of jealousy and possessiveness to spew out of my pores. Not that I could blame them, the man was a tall drink of ice water on a hot, humid day.

  Sweat dripped off his chest, accentuating all the toned muscles of his defined, sculpted build as he walked his way back over to what had become our spot on the beach. My sun glass-covered eyes couldn’t help but roam every last inch of him.

  I played it off, simply continuing to build a sandcastle with Journey under the canopy.

  “Do you like what you see, my Tiny Dancer?”

  Oh, that was another new thing. This nickname he called me when the kids weren’t around, spiking my adrenaline by a mile every time those three words left his lips.

  I shrugged, as he laid sideways beside me on the towel. His muscular arm holding up his head, giving me his undivided attention.

  “You’re alright,” I lied, smirking.

  “I seemed more than alright when you were eye fuckin’ me from across the beach,” he teased above a whisper.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I bet.”

  “Anyway, you look a little tired there, Dr. Pierce. Can’t keep up with the boys’ stamina?”

  “No, but I could keep up with yours.”

  I laughed, throwing my head back.

  “Do you think I’m an old man, Cami?”

  “Not old, antiquated.”

  “What the hell? Are you listening to this nonsense, Journey?” He kissed the inside of her chubby neck, sending her into a full-out belly laugh.

  And… my ovaries just exploded yet again.

  He helped Journey and I build her sandcastle for a while, relaxing in the sun. Enjoying our time together.

  These were the moments I wished I knew what he was thinking, feeling, going through…

  Our dynamic was as confusing as it was simple. It came naturally to be around him. I never felt out of place or like I didn’t belong with him or his kids.

  Our interactions were effortless.

  The way we conveyed ourselves as if we truly were a family, was probably the most unclear, yet precise description to explain our relationship.

  Only conflicting me further.

  Truth was, I really liked their father. A lot.

  I knew the good doctor loved and appreciated the role I played in his children’s lives. He made a point to tell me often. I also felt his sexual attraction to me. His flirty, dirty banter got worse as the weeks went on.

  However, was that all it would ever be?

  I was beyond aware he liked taking care of me, but he liked taking care of everyone. It simply was who he strived to be.

  I guess the part of our dynamic that bothered me the most was how he knew so much about me, yet I still didn’t know jack shit about him.

  Especially what happened to his wife.

  The unknown when it came to Dr. Aiden Pierce was starting to take its toll.

  Mentally.

  Physi
cally.

  Emotionally.

  I was over it.

  “Cami, I can feel your mind reeling.”

  See…connection.

  How did he know that?

  “What are we doing?” I blurted, unable to hold back.

  “We’re building a sandcastle. What does it look like?”

  I rolled my eyes, about to stand. “Never mind.”

  He gripped my wrist, stopping me. His piercing blue eyes meeting mine.

  “I haven’t been to the beach in years, Cami. It never crossed my mind how much I missed it, till now. I used to come here as a boy to get lost in the waves, wanting to forget the shitty cards I was dealt. We were dealt.”

  I didn’t have to ask who he was referring to. I knew it was his wife.

  “I had to grow up fast. Promising myself I’d never do that to my kids. I’d always be present in their lives. No matter what, they had me.”

  My heart clenched, hearing him confess such deep thoughts to me for the first time.

  This was him—abrupt, blunt, and direct.

  I hung on every word as he continued, “I lost sight of that person. Of that father, of that man I worked so fuckin’ hard to become. I stopped smiling, I stopped laughing, I stopped living… coping the only way I knew how. By checking out. Leaving with her.”

  I’ll never forget the expression on his face when he asked, “What do you do when the woman you lived for, stops living for you? I wanted my heart back, Cami, but how was that possible when she took it with her?”

  I shuddered, feeling the weight of his questions in my soul.

  “I’m so sorry, Aiden.”

  I thought I wanted to know his feelings, now I wasn’t so sure.

  How could I compete with that once-in-a-lifetime love?

  I couldn’t.

  I wouldn’t.

  Making me realize…

  There might be no future for us after all.

  Chapter 18

  <>Aiden<>

  “What are you doing up?” I asked, walking into the kitchen from the garage. Quietly closing the door behind me.

  The sun was barely peeking over the horizon as I’d driven home from my midnight shift at the hospital. Never expecting to see my boys and baby girl up before Camila on a Saturday.