by Nikki Larson
Obediently, with all the fight drained out of him, Harley approached Gwenna and mumbled quietly, head hung low: “I’m sorry.”
“Good boy, Harley,” Lily piped up, patting him on the back. “Good boy. You be nice to Miss Thea,” she advised him. “She’s our friend.”
“Mommy,” he piped up.
“No, not our mommy,” Lily corrected him. “Our mommy is gone.”
Chapter 12
Just then Lucas walked into the dining area to see an obviously shaken Thea holding a palm to her cheek.
“What is it?” he asked, placing his hand on her shoulder.
“Oh, nothing,” she said. “The kids were just talking about their mom.”
“Oh,” Lucas said solemnly. He offered Thea an apologetic glance and shrugged his shoulders to make less of it as he took a step back. She thought it was his wife who’d passed away. That must be awfully awkward for her at the moment, no matter what their relationship.
“I miss Mommy,” Lily said forlornly, coming to Lucas for a hug. Lily was perhaps closest to her mom out of all of them. It was she who’d never let Nichole out of her sight, clinging and affectionate as she tended to be.
“I know you do, Lily-bird,” Lucas said to her, patting her back. Normally, he tried not to get too close to the children, seeing how they weren’t actually his. But he had to be somewhat close, or it wouldn’t be believable, the charade he was supposed to be carrying on. “Don’t be sad,” he encouraged Lily. “We’ve got pictures to take.”
“Pictures!” she said, brightening immediately. “You like my hair? Daddy, you like my hair?” She patted at her updo gingerly.
“It’s lovely,” he assured her. It bothered him that the kids called him Dad. They had to do it so often, he wondered if they even remembered who their real dad was. “All of you kids are going to look great, and make Grandpa very proud.”
“I don’t want pictures!” Harley spoke loudly, with his hands planted firmly on his hips.
Lucas couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of him. “Hey, Mister,” he said, quickly putting on a sterner face. “Now, none of that. It will only take ten minutes. You can be good for ten minutes.” Lucas put a hand sideways to hide his lips and mouthed silently to Thea then: “I think.”
She raised her eyebrows as she considered it.
Hutch was playing with a rolling dog toy on the floor, one that made an annoyingly squeaky noise as it bounced up and down on its crooked axels. Thea stooped down to pick him up, which made the dog’s leash dangle from Hutch’s hand and the toy dog bump against her leg. “Is the photographer here yet?” she asked Lucas as she gathered the wooden dog by his leash and handed it to Hutch.
“Yes, I showed him around and he is setting up right now in the entertainment room.”
“Good,” Thea replied. “Let’s round up the kids and go.”
At her request, Lucas started off and the kids followed after him as if he were the Pied Piper. He thought it would be fun to play it up and march all the way across the deck and up the back stairs. He even pretended he had a baton, pumping his fist up and down in the air as he made trumpet sounds. According to their enthusiastic response, the kids ate it up. He heard their excited voices and Thea’s lyrical laughter trailing behind him and his heart soared with pleasure.
“You’re quite the good daddy,” Thea whispered to him once the kids were all placed in position as the photographer instructed.
Lucas barely noticed the set, so stunned was he by her compliment. “You think so?” he asked. If only she knew the truth.
He was sitting on a chair in the back, with Thea at his side. He never expected her to remain so close, with her hand periodically touching his shoulder as she whispered comments in his ear. Something about the intimacy of her sweet whispery voice and her lighthearted comments about the children’s poses and smiles made him nearly melt. Each time she reached for his shoulder or touched his arm, jolts of electricity traveled throughout his body.
What was up with her? It was as if they were a couple who’d been married for years, who were so comfortable in each other’s presence, they were like one person. The two shall become one. Why that phrase was in his mind, he didn’t know. Where had he heard that before?
She was acting as if that were the case, but he was hyper-alert and aware of every little movement she made, every little word she spoke. On one hand, he enjoyed the attention and the intimacy of the moment, but on the other, it unnerved him greatly.
Didn’t she just tell him she would not continue on with them when they went to Saint Cathay Island? Didn’t she give her notice that she’d be leaving in one short month?
She certainly didn’t seem like someone who was wanting to go anywhere else at all. She seemed content, gleeful almost, and like she belonged right here with him and Grunt’s kids.
It was such an awkward situation, he thought, as a strange and foreign sadness washed over him. Lucas stood. He had to get away from her. He paced the back of the room and ran his fingers roughly through his hair. What on earth was he going to do? And how was he going to replace her when he only had a month to do interviews and get somebody in here?
He guessed he could ask his bodyguard friend Gavin to fill in for a little while until he found someone. Or his sister, Stephanie, but she was unwilling to watch them for more than a few hours, and never overnight. And they were leaving so soon.
How would he find someone to travel with them to Saint Cathay Island? Certainly, he dare not wait and try to find someone who lived there. He couldn’t handle the kids by himself for any length of time. He was not good at it, and they’d get in his way as he’d try to do his work. Ideally, he needed someone who would be hired in Bonita Mesa and would be free to travel with them immediately.
Gavin couldn’t be the one to do it, that’s for sure. He could watch the kids for a night, as he had in the past, but even that was a stretch for the guy. And diaper changes were certainly not Gavin’s thing.
Picturing his friend Gavin doing diaper changes made Lucas chuckle under his breath, which prompted Thea to return to his side. “What?” she asked.
She looked so innocent and sweet there in the dimness of the room. Her face was sculptured beautifully, like a piece of artwork, and her eyes sought his attention. Her soft lips parted as she looked at him.
“Don’t leave.” The words slipped out of his mouth unexpectedly. But he felt inexplicably drawn to her at that moment, and he wanted nothing else than to have her stay with him and the children. He stepped behind her, and put his hands on her hips. The two of them were hidden in the shadows in the back of the room, while the photographer directed his lighting to the front, where the kids were set up and posing.
Lucas whispered again, this time in her ear: “Don’t leave.”
A surge of emotion wafted up in his heart and he began to kiss her neck–light, teasing kisses which explored the alluring scent and graceful nuances of her slender neck. He heard her breathing get shallow and end in a gasp when she pulled away.
Thankfully, the photographer was fully into the business of photographing the kids at the moment, adjusting their poses, switching out their props. No one was the wiser. It seemed to Lucas that they could get away with just about anything, back here in the unlit portion of the room.
“Okay,” she relented with a sigh. She had turned to face him, and was placing her hands on both sides of his stunned face. “Okay, I’ll stay,” she repeated, and he could have sworn he saw relief in her eyes.
Chapter 13
Thea had moved all of her belongings into storage except for a few necessary items which she kept with her on the yacht. Tonight, she lay in her plush new poster bed with the royal purple comforter and a gazillion fluffy pillows, which she had thrown in the corner. She couldn’t believe where life had taken her thus far. What had she done to deserve all these blessings–Lucas’ devoted and kind attention and affections; the luxurious surroundings; the beautiful, peaceful scenery; the opportunity
to travel… not to mention the four wonderful children she was growing to love more each day?
Yet she was scared.
Yes, she was rather petrified, thinking of all the changes that had befallen her.
Flynn seemed like a faded memory now, even though it had only been a short time since he’d left her stranded at the altar, alone and confused. Since then, everything had changed. And, she had gained clarity about their relationship–and it wasn’t pretty. Now she could see that she’d been foolish, co-dependent even, if she considered Flynn an addict. He was addicted to praise and accolades, accomplishments and kudos, adoration and endearments. Her lip curled in disgust as she thought of it.
She was glad now that he had run off with Persephone instead. They deserved each other, egomaniacs that both of them were.
And now she was being unfair again, she realized.
She was demonizing them, making them small in her eyes to feel better about herself.
“I’m sorry, God,” she whispered into the night. “I don’t mean to exalt myself.”
It was good of God, to show her whenever she fell into pride. It was painful to admit these flaws in herself, but it was healthy to recognize and confess them.
How quickly we fall into a pattern of letting our minds belittle others in order to build ourselves up, Thea thought. She vowed not to do it anymore, and asked God to help her.
She spent the rest of the night praying, getting clear again on her purpose in life, which was to build others up and bring out the best in them. She would write the Bible curriculum she’d been wanting to write. She’d find time in the evenings once the kids were asleep, or in the early mornings before they woke up. She vowed to shake off anything that was evil or undesirable in her, and focus on benefiting others instead of herself.
Tomorrow she would look up the verses which mentioned such things. Tonight, she could not remember the exact wording, but she remembered the essential meaning. Spur one another onto good deeds. That was one. Now she remembered…. There were more, but now she was getting sleepy and her mind was clouding up.
Within minutes, as the moonlight shone in the windows and the water lapped along the sides of the ship, she gave into sleep–a peaceful, restful slumber on her first night sleeping on the Serena Lee yacht.
Chapter 14
“How did you sleep?”
Thea met Lucas at the breakfast bar an hour before the kids usually got up. He had already made coffee and was planning on cooking her an omelet and showing off his cooking skills.
“Good,” she said. “Better than expected.”
She looked like a little girl, with her long brown hair mussed up from the pillow, and her eyes not yet fully awake, he thought as he ruffled her hair and smiled at her. She wore his blue robe, since she’d brought only a thin one, and the air on the yacht was often chilly in the early morning. He’d gotten her extra blankets, too, and had placed them on the chair in her room, in case she needed them in the middle of the night. “Want breakfast?” he asked her.
“Do we have time?” she asked, rubbing her eyes and stretching.
“Probably,” he replied. “I’d like to make you an omelet. What kind do you like?”
Her eyes lit up as she answered. “Can you make one with green and red peppers and mushrooms?” she asked. “And cheddar cheese?”
He laughed at her enthusiasm. “All this excitement about eggs?” he asked her.
“Sorry,” she said sheepishly.
“Hey, no worries,” he replied. “I’m happy.” He wanted to show off the culinary skills that he’d learned in school. “I’m glad you like food. Some women are all too careful about their diets, and they don’t take the time to properly feed their bodies with all the vitamins and minerals food contains. Food is not something to fear. It’s vital to good health. And I find your enjoyment of food, to be blunt, actually quite delightful. Hey, there’s something you don’t know about me,” he baited her.
She turned on her stool to face him. “Really, what is that?”
“Culinary school,” he told her while he started cracking the eggs he’d left on the counter for the past few minutes. Room temperature eggs were the proper start to an omelet. He reached for the butter and set the heat on low.
“You went to culinary school?” she asked, jaw dropping open. “Lucas Flaire, muscular carpenter and painter, handyman extraordinaire, went to culinary school?”
Though she was obviously teasing, he suddenly felt less than enough. “Is there something wrong with that?” he asked her. Questioning his manhood was not where he wanted to be right now. “I mean, all dignified, strong men go to culinary school, right? It’s a thing now, right? It’s cool.”
“Of course, it’s cool,” she insisted. “It’s wonderful. I always wanted a husband who would cook for me.”
“Husband?” He was quick to repeat her. Did she just say husband?
And just as he echoed the word, she covered her mouth and backtracked quickly. “That’s not what I meant,” she said immediately, looking appalled. “Oh, I don’t think of you that way at all. I mean, you’re great and all, but no, it would never work. I mean, I am not even thinking that way. Honestly.” Her eyes pleaded with him to believe her.
“Oh, really now?” he asked, completely amused. And maybe a little insulted at her backpedaling. What, was he not good husband material?
“Yes, I…” She stood up and threw her hands down at her sides like an exasperated child.
The kiss was forceful and deep. He had taken only a second to think about what he was doing before she was in his arms, trying to wrestle away from his grasp. But his hands were on her shoulders, holding her tightly. He murmured a No. “You’re staying right here,” he added. And then he pressed his mouth to hers again as she resisted.
He flitted his tongue into her mouth, teasingly, with the intention of tantalizing her. She tasted of strawberries. He had left some on the counter. She must have snuck a few while he had his back turned.
Finally, she returned his passion, at first slowly, but then with abandon.
Her mouth was warm, and wet, and irresistible. He felt himself melting into her, felt the blurring of reality and dreams.
She was breathless once he finally released her and gazed into her tawny eyes. “What was that?” she asked him.
“That, my dear, was a kiss.”
She laughed then, and her laugh was like a short burst of fireworks in a dark room. It set his heart on fire, and he feared he’d never be the same.
Suddenly they heard a loud rhythmic noise coming from the doorway. It sounded like clapping. Applause. And so it was. Old man Grunt was standing in the doorway, possibly having watched their every move. But how long had he been there? It was impossible to tell.
“Well,” Lucas said, clearing his throat. “Hello, Grunt. How’s your morning going?”
Chapter 15
Thea wanted to disappear. How humiliating to just get caught kissing her boss! She shrunk down and took a seat on the kitchen stool, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. Strategically, she had placed herself directly behind Lucas and left him to deal with the unpredictable old Grunt.
“Not too bad,” Grunt replied. “What are you two up to?”
“Not much,” Lucas answered noncommittally. “Just enjoying our morning before the kids get up.”
“I see that,” Grunt said with a chuckle. “Well, I’d better go leave you two love birds alone. I’m going to go peek in on the children while they’re asleep and angelic.” He gave a wink. “Let me know when breakfast is ready.”
Thea turned to Lucas once Grunt left and fell into his arms, wilting. A myriad of emotions washed through her–embarrassment, regret, shame, confusion. Adrenaline raced through her veins, causing her heart to pound like a runaway train. She felt like running outside and jumping into the ocean water, never to be seen again. Well, it wasn’t that bad, but….
If only she could reverse time.
“Don’t look s
o appalled,” Lucas said as he held her shoulders and looked into her eyes.
“But just a few weeks ago I was engaged to Flynn, and heading toward the altar, and now I’m kissing you, and you’re my boss. It’s just so… well–it’s foolish of me.”
“Foolish, huh?” Lucas asked her. He touched a finger to her lips. “Don’t say that. You’re hurting my feelings.”
The crinkle of his eyes told her he was half-kidding.
“No, I don’t mean it that way,” she explained. “It’s just… I don’t want to rebound, right into you.” Guilt flowed through her, constricting her throat and making it feel like she couldn’t even breathe.
“Is that what you’re doing?” Lucas probed. “Rebounding into me?”
“No. No, I don’t think so,” she answered honestly.
“Well, then, you have nothing to worry about,” he assured her.
“But I do,” she insisted. She sat on the bar stool and covered her face with her hands.
Lucas came to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “You worry too much,” he told her. “And you’re inconsistent. Very unpredictable. Hard to read. And very indecisive.”
She lifted her head and pouted, narrowing her eyes at him. “What do you mean?” she asked him.
“I mean just what I said,” he told her. “You’re trouble with a capital T.”
“I’m not trouble,” she countered angrily. No one had ever called her that before. “I’m none of those things you said. How insulting. Why are you insulting me?” She was so angry, she thought she could hear sizzling in her brain.
But no. It was coming from the stove. “The butter is burning,” she alerted him. Smoke rose from the pan as the sizzling grew louder.
Lucas swore heartily and rushed to turn the burner off. “So much for my culinary skills,” he remarked as he waved an oven mitt over the stovetop with one hand while grabbing the handle of the frying pan in the other, rushing the pan to the sink.
