218 First Hugs

by E. L. Todd

  “She made muffins.” I nodded to the dish sitting on the table next to the BBQ. “Celeste is an excellent baker, so I can guarantee they’re great. I eat her muffins all the time.” I realized what I said after it was too late, and I tried to hide my humiliation.

  If Mom picked up on it, she didn’t notice. “Let me introduce you to Mark, Blade’s father.”

  My dad hugged her, gave her a nice smile, and welcomed her like he did with everyone else. My dad was really easygoing and laid-back. That was where I got my personality from, thankfully. I could have brought home anyone, and my dad wouldn’t have cared—even a dude.

  My friends came around the back a second later.

  “You brought everyone?” Mom asked happily.

  “Yeah, they wanted to tag along,” I said. “They brought more burgers so there’ll be plenty to go around.”

  My mom and dad hugged all of them and caught up on lost time.

  Derek came out of the house with a beer in his hand. Celeste’s back was to him, so she didn’t notice him right away. He looked her up and down then gave me a thumbs-up with a wink.

  Asshole.

  Derek walked up to us and ignored me, choosing to address her instead. “Derek. Nice to meet you.” He shook her hand. “You must be Celeste.”

  “Yeah,” she answered. “And you must be the brother.”

  “Whoa.” Derek smiled. “Love the accent. You’re from France?”

  “Yeah,” she answered. “Paris.”

  Derek gave me an incredulous look, like he couldn’t believe I actually found a woman so perfect.

  Well, I did. Take that, bitch. My arm circled her waist, and I brought her into my side, not wanting my brother to get too close to her. Derek teased me most of the time, but I didn’t want him to make Celeste uncomfortable. She was used to guys gawking at her, but I didn’t want her to feel like prey with my family.

  My friends gathered around the table with their beers and soda, making conversation with Derek. The second my mom was free, she moved in on Celeste again. “I can’t help but notice your accent. Are you French?”

  “Yeah,” Celeste answered. “Born and raised in Paris.”

  “Ooh…that’s wonderful.” My mom continued to smile, but it quickly turned into a forced expression. “I’ve always wanted to go. Maybe one day Mark will retire, and we can finally travel.”

  “It’s a beautiful place,” Celeste said. “I’m sure you’ll love it.”

  “I would love to hear more about it,” Mom said. “I just have to get the produce and condiments out of the fridge. I’ll be right back.”

  “I can help you,” Celeste volunteered.

  “Oh, that will be nice,” Mom said. “Thank you.” They walked off together.

  Dad started manning the grill with Derek, so I took a seat with the gang. Since we were finally alone together, I cut straight to the chase. “You guys could be doing anything on a Saturday. What gives?”

  “We just wanted to hang,” Ace said.

  “Cut the shit,” I said. “We see each other more than we should, and you know it. We’re sickly codependent on each other.”

  Cypress glanced at everyone else before he came clean. “When you said you were in love with this woman, we knew we needed to step it up. We want her to be part of the group, to feel welcomed by us. We have to give her another reason to stay, to be her family away from family.”

  I shouldn’t have been surprised by the gesture. I knew my friends would do anything for me, just as I would do anything for them. Now that they knew this woman was special to me, someone I wanted to love for the indefinite future, they banded together to help. They wanted Celeste to stay as much as I did—because they wanted me to be happy.

  * * *

  Celeste was talking to my dad about soccer, and my friends were hanging out with Derek on the patio. I went inside to help my mom clean up and to gauge her impression of Celeste. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like that phone conversation ever happened. My mom didn’t mention it, and after the first hour of spending time together, it didn’t seem to be on anyone’s mind.

  “Need help, Mom?” I came next to her at the kitchen sink and started scraping old food into the garbage.

  “That’s nice of you, sweetheart. But I’m okay.”

  “Mom, you always do everything around here. Let me help you.”

  She smiled and stopped fighting me. “Okay.”

  I scraped the food into the garbage and stacked the dishes so she could rinse them off. “The burgers were good. I ate two.”

  “I know,” she said with a smile. “Ace ate three.”

  “Well, he’s a beast. That guy eats, like, ten thousand calories a day.”

  “I feel bad for his mother, having to cook so much for him all the time.”

  “I feel bad for her because he probably ate her,” I teased.

  Mom laughed.

  Now that the mood was set, I went for the answer I was looking for. “What do you think of her?”

  “You care about my opinion?” she challenged.

  “You’re my mom. Of course, I care. You know I’ve always been a mama’s boy.”

  She smiled. “She’s lovely, Blade. Truly.” A painful sigh accompanied her words, making her look as depressed as she was at her grandmother’s funeral.

  That didn’t sound good. “If that’s true, why do you sound so disappointed?”

  “I’m not disappointed, sweetheart. She’s very kind and smart. She’s a successful and strong woman, the kind of woman I’d always hoped you would be with. She’ll give you beautiful children and raise them to be wonderful people.”

  “If you like her so much, why do you sound so sad?”

  “Because…never mind.”

  “Mom, tell me.”

  “I can’t,” she whispered. “It’s selfish.”

  “Mom.” I turned off the water. “Come on. Talk to me.”

  She wiped her hands with the dish towel and set it on the counter. “Well, if she’s from France…I can only assume that’s where she wants to be. So, she’ll take you away from me.” Her voice caught with the sadness that was drowning her. “My son will be on the other side of the world, and I’ll never see you…” She was about to break down in tears.

  “Mom…” I rolled my eyes. “I’m never moving there. She and I have already talked about it, and if she wants to be with me, we would live here. I can’t leave my restaurants or my friends and family. I’m sure we’ll visit for good chunks of time, but no, we wouldn’t live there.”

  “Oh, thank god.” She gripped her chest before she hugged me hard. “You have no idea how relieved I am.”

  I patted her on the back. “Like I could do that to you, Mom.”

  She pulled away, her tears gone and her smile beaming. “Then I love her. She’s absolutely wonderful. Your father really likes her too. We hope we’ll be seeing more of her.”

  “I hope so too.”

  “How long have you been seeing her?”

  “A few months. I’ve kinda fallen hard for her…”

  Mom smiled. “Does she know that?”

  “It’s pretty obvious.”

  “Does she feel the same way?”

  “I’m not certain. She’s debating whether to go back to France or not at the end of the summer.”

  “Blade, that’s just a few weeks away.”

  “Yeah, I know.” I wasn’t going to tell my mom about Henry. That was Celeste’s business, and I wouldn’t share it with anyone. Might make her look bad. After that phone call, she didn’t need anything else to tarnish her image. “So, I’ll know soon enough.”

  “Well, she’d have to be an idiot not to love you. You’re a perfect man, Blade. Your father and I couldn’t be happier with the way you turned out. You’re handsome, successful, smart, and so sweet.”

  My mom flattered me every single time I saw her. She thought Derek and I were the most amazing people on the planet—even though we weren’t. “Thanks, Mom. But you’re a l
ittle biased.”

  “Am not.”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “Okay…I am a little biased.”

  I chuckled. “I’m glad you can admit it.”

  “Since you only have a few weeks left, you shouldn’t be in here with me.” She patted my side. “Join Celeste.”

  I looked out the window and saw her sitting with my friends. Ace just said something that must have been funny, because Celeste laughed. Her eyes lit up with joy, and she wore the cutest smile.

  I hoped I could witness that smile once the summer was over.

  And for the rest of my life.

  16

  Amelia

  Bree and Cypress came over to watch the girls for the rest of the evening. They were going to drop them off at school the next morning so I wouldn’t have to worry about being home at a certain time.

  It was kinda awkward.

  Everyone knew I was going to sleep with both Evan and Ace on separate nights. I’d never had my personal life on display like that. Even I thought it was a little slutty…but I was going to do it anyway.

  Evan got there first, looking good in tight jeans and a t-shirt. If he was going to take me out, it was somewhere low-key. “Hey.” He wore a confident smile and greeted me with a hug.

  “Hey.”

  Ace walked in a moment later, looking just as handsome with his rock-hard body. He looked Evan in the eye and greeted him with a handshake.

  Only an extremely confident man could do that.

  “I’ve got the quarter.” I held it up so they both could see it. I couldn’t believe I was about to do this. I was going to flip it, they were going to call it in the air, and whoever won got to take me out last.

  It was barbaric.

  “3…2…1.” I flipped the quarter into the air.

  Evan called it first. “Heads.”

  I caught the quarter in my hand and looked into my palm. “It’s heads.”

  Evan didn’t gloat, but a small smile crept onto his lips. “I’ll go last, then.” He didn’t make small talk or say hello to Bree and Cypress in the living room before he left. He walked out and didn’t look at me twice.

  Now it was just Ace and me.

  It took a moment for the awkwardness to wear off. Anytime both men were in the same room together, it was so saturated with unspoken tension. Both of them were calm and mature about the situation, but that didn’t mean they didn’t despise one another.

  “Are you ready to go?” Ace asked.

  “Yeah. Where are we going?”

  “I thought we would pick up some sandwiches and go down to the beach to watch the sunset.”

  Sounded romantic to me. “That sounds nice.”

  “Great.” He walked into the living room. “It’s gonna be cold tonight so grab some sweaters, girls.”

  “Okay!” Rose jumped in the air, excited she got to come with us.

  Lily immediately packed her toys into her backpack.

  Uh…what was I missing here? I lowered my voice and came to Ace’s side. “I asked Bree and Cypress to watch them because I thought it was just going to be the two of us…”

  “Well, I want it to be the four of us.” At six foot three, he looked down at me like mountain looking at a river. His blue eyes were the softest feature he possessed, and they softened even more when he looked at me. Whenever we kissed, I felt the hardness of his features melt away.

  For the first time in my life, I was speechless.

  Ace stared at me for another moment before he grabbed Rose’s backpack and helped her with her things. He pulled her sweater over her head, helped her with her shoes, and did the same with Lily.

  Bree grinned from her seat on the sofa, watching Ace take care of my girls better than I did. Then she turned to me, a knowing look in her eyes. She didn’t need to state what was on her mind. It was as clear as a neon sign.

  I had to pick him.

  * * *

  We grabbed sandwiches from the bakery then walked down together to the beach. Ace kept an eye on the girls as he continued his conversation with me, effectively juggling two things at once.

  “How was the diner?” he asked, his eyes on the girls as they walked in front of us.

  “Pretty good. I got coconut syrup all over my shirt, and I smelled like Hawaii from the rest of the day.”

  He chuckled. “There are worse things to smell like.”

  “Very true. I’m just glad it didn’t get in my hair. Would have taken weeks to get it out.”

  We walked past the other people going up the hill toward the restaurants. When we reached the sand, the girls pulled off their shoes and started to run down the hill.

  “No running.” Ace didn’t even raise his voice, and the girls listened to him.

  They didn’t obey me like that. They usually had a bit of an attitude but didn’t directly defy me…one of the perks of motherhood. We walked down the sand and moved to the left where the tourists never went. It was also a great place to see dolphins because they hunted fish in the kelp beds.

  Ace pulled out a blanket from his backpack and laid it on the ground. The girls’ backpacks were placed at the edges so it wouldn’t fly up in the breeze, and we gathered around and ate our sandwiches together.

  “Uncle Ace?” Lily asked.

  “What’s up?” he asked after he finished chewing his sandwich.

  “How do you eat so much?” She pointed at his sandwich. “You ate half of it in one bite.” She giggled at her own question.

  “I’m part bear,” Ace said with a straight face.

  “Part bear?” Rose asked. “But…you aren’t a bear.”

  “I know,” Ace said. “That’s why I’m part bear.”

  “You don’t have any hair,” Lily said.

  “Yeah,” Rose added. “Bears have hair.”

  “I transform when the sun goes down,” Ace said. “That’s why you never see me late at night.”

  Both of their eyes opened wide.

  I tried not to laugh.

  Lily looked down at her sandwich before she took the biggest bite she could. “Look, I did it too. I’m a bear.”

  Rose tried to do the same thing, but she could only take a tiny bite. “Me too.”

  “Looks like we’re all bears,” Ace said.

  “What about Mommy?” Rose pointed at my sandwich. “Be a bear too.”

  “Okay.” I shoved most of the sandwich into my mouth even though it wasn’t my best moment. I was on a date, and I smeared mayo over my mouth. I tried to chew, but so much was stuffed inside it was difficult. I wiped my face with a napkin and finally got it down. “I did it.”

  “We’re all bears.” Lily raised her arms in the air like a creature. “Roar.”

  Rose howled.

  Ace chuckled. “Bears don’t howl. Wolves do.”

  “Ohh…” Rose interlocked her fingers together. “Whoops.”

  The girls finished their dinner then carried their buckets closer to the water. They started to dig, making sand castles that were quickly swept away by the water.

  Ace and I were finally alone together, and all I could think about was how good he was with my kids. “You’re great with them.”

  “They’re easy. Very sweet.” He scooted closer to me on the blanket, his arm touching mine. “They get it from you.”

  I smiled and felt my cheeks blush. “I don’t know that…they call me Momzilla sometimes.”

  “That’s just how kids are. They complain about their mom until they become adults. Then they finally appreciate you.”

  “Well, they aren’t going to be adults for a long time, so I have a ways to go.”

  “It’ll be worth it.” He leaned into me and pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “And then we’ll have some more kids, and we’ll do it all over again.”

  “More kids?” I asked. He was pretty confident to make such an assumption.

  “It’s not that I don’t love the girls, but I’d like to have the full experience too. I’d love
to see you pregnant, waddling around the house. I’d love to get you ice cream in the middle of the night. I’d love to be in the delivery room when our kid is born. I’d love to wake up in the middle of the night when they start to cry…the whole thing.”

  I never expected Ace to say anything like that to me. He always seemed like a manwhore who didn’t care about marriage and kids. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who ever wanted a family. “I didn’t know you wanted to have kids.”

  “I do—with the right person.” He leaned closer to me and looked me in the eye.

  His gaze was so intense that I looked away. “You think about that kind of stuff?”

  “Definitely. I think we’ll have a great life together. We’ll work together, balancing our time being parents and just being us. It’ll be wonderful.”

  “You say it like it’s gonna happen.”

  “Because it is going to happen,” he said quietly.

  “I thought you said you weren’t going to interfere in my decision?” He was directly contradicting himself.

  “I’m not trying to interfere with your decision. But I know you’re going to pick me.”

  “How?”

  He looked out at the water where the girls were playing. “I just do. I wish I’d known it sooner, but now I do.”

  Lily and Rose came back after all their sand castles had been destroyed. Sand stuck to their plastic buckets, and their shovels were still wet. “We suck at making sand castles. Can you help us, Uncle Ace?” Lily asked.

  “You make the best sand castles,” Rose said.

  “Sure,” Ace said with a smile. “But Mom makes better ones. You wanna help us?”

  I knew his idea of a date wasn’t a fancy dinner with candles and a white tablecloth. He didn’t want to have a gourmet meal that was overpriced. He wanted to show me what our lives would be like every single day—the four of us. “I’d love to.”

  * * *

  When we came home, we got the girls in the bath, dried their hair, brushed their teeth, and put them to bed. Having Ace there made the nighttime ritual a lot easier. Two parents were always better than one.

  There was an extra bedroom in the house so the girls could each have their own room, but they’d wanted to stay together. I knew when they became teenagers that would quickly change. They’d want their own rooms and scream whenever the other borrowed their clothes. But for now, they were still two little girls.