A Torey Hope Novel Series: The Complete 4-Book Box Set

by A. D. Ellis

  Gasping for breath, I stuttered out, “I’m, I’m…..Sir, please forgive me, I’m sorry. I promise that we will quiet down and do our own serious shopping from this point on.” The man seemed mollified a bit, but he glanced askance at the gorilla. “Come on, King Kong, let’s put this away. I know you were just trying it on for the very large party we are having, but I think we can find some items better suited to our theme.” I said this in a soothing voice and noticed that the old man’s ears perked up when he heard we were buying for a large party. Ok, so it’s a dinosaur party, but we were planning on buying quite a bit of stuff.

  I held my hand out toward Jeremiah and he cocked his head and actually looked confused. I realized instantly that he was still playing the gorilla character. He tentatively reached out and touched my hand only to jerk it back and jump backwards like he was frightened of me. I took a step toward him and reached out again. He again touched my hand but didn’t jerk away this time. He slowly moved his hand up to touch my hair and then gathered me close. His rubbery gorilla nose was against my head and he….started….sniffing…..me. He made quite the production of smelling my head and then began pretending to pick bugs out of my hair and eat them! By this point, the old man was trying not to smile and the women with the panties were cackling. With no warning, King Kong grabbed me around the waist and galloped off with me. I had to bite my hand to keep from making noise since we’d just gotten a warning about our disruptive behavior. As we moved away from our audience, I’m pretty sure I heard applause.

  Once we reached the costume display, Jeremiah put me down and took the mask off. His face and hair was wet with sweat and he was dying laughing, to the point of tears streaming from his eyes. I swatted at him, “Really? The sniffing wasn’t enough? You had to eat bugs from my hair!?” I whispered this and tried to remain serious, but I was unsuccessful. He shucked the rest of the gorilla costume and hung it back up. I almost shuddered to think of how many other sweaty bodies had been in that thing.

  King Kong gone now, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the display haunted house. His body pushed flush against mine, my back against the wall covered in spider webs. I felt his hands fist the hair at the back of my neck and his mouth was mere centimeters away from mine. His warm breath, scented with cinnamon, fanned over my face as he sang part of Gorilla by Bruno Mars. “Yeah, I got a fistful of your hair, But you don't look like you're scared, You just smile and tell me, ‘Daddy, it's yours’ 'Cause you know how I like it, You's a dirty little lover” His eyes twinkled in jest while they flashed with heat. With a gentle pull on my hair, he angled my head up towards his and his lips connected with mine in a searing kiss. As his teeth nipped my bottom lip and his tongue quickly soothed the sting, I hear myself moan over voices getting closer to the haunted house. I try to stifle my disappointment as I pushed him away. With one last kiss on his magical lips, I quipped, “I may not look like I’m scared, but there’s no way I’ll ever be calling you Daddy.” And with that, I headed toward the front of the store for a cart, purposely swaying my hips as I walked away from him. Quickly, he caught up with me and chuckled as he grabbed my hand and entwined our fingers.

  “Angel, you can call me anything you want. Now, let’s get Beck some dinosaurs!” Jeremiah kissed the back of my hand and we spent the next hour blissfully shopping for the perfect dinosaur birthday party décor. No matter what happens with Jeremiah and me, I will forever remember that day as one of the best I’ve ever had. This could be a sad statement, but I chose to look at it in a positive way; I will just be happy that I got the chance to have this type of day, albeit over a decade later than it should have been.

  Chapter 21

  Jeremiah

  After they filled their shopping cart, but stayed within budget, Audrey and Jeremiah loaded all of the party goods into the Bronco and headed to grab a quick lunch. Audrey suggested that they not go to the bakery hungry or he’d have to roll her out after she ate all of the cakes in sight.

  An hour later, with their bellies full of soup and salad from a local Italian place, they headed to The Cakery. Audrey knew the owner, Janie, who also served as baker and cake artist. Jeremiah knew that Beckett liked both chocolate and vanilla cake, so they decided to do half and half. When Jeremiah spoke about all of the dinosaurs his son liked, trying to narrow down the ones that could be on the cake, Janie excitedly shared her idea of doing cupcakes and making each cupcake a different dinosaur. Jeremiah liked the idea and he could tell that Audrey did too by the way she was beaming at him. “Oh my gosh! Beckett won’t know which one to pick; he will love them all so much!” Jeremiah pulled her into his side and kissed the top of her head. This. This right here was what he thought of when he thought about parents planning a birthday party for their son. Audrey was already so much more than Shelly could ever hope to be. He wanted to keep Audrey tucked against his side forever.

  Janie insisted they each try a couple samples of cake so she could get more input on her new flavors. Audrey giggled when Jeremiah asked if Janie had pistachio or marmalade. They settled on three small pieces of lemon, vanilla bean, and triple chocolate. Jeremiah decided he was definitely about to enter a sugar coma and pushed back from the last bite of the incredible rich chocolate cake.

  “Janie, these are all delicious, but my suggestion is a chocolate toffee almond cake. I know a certain sweet angel who would buy that flavor for sure.” Jeremiah spoke to the baker with an indulgent wink at Audrey.

  Jeremiah paid for half of the cupcakes then and would pay the rest upon pick up before the party.

  The grocery store was a fairly quick trip. They both were too tired to get into much trouble so they just made note of what they wanted to purchase for food at the party and how much it would cost. One or both of them would come back and get all of the food and drink right before the party.

  Jeremiah couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed so much nor had so much fun and he told Audrey that. She blushed and smiled. “I have never had as much fun as I had today. It was the most real, most exhilarating experience for me. I enjoyed just getting to let my guard down and be me.” He wanted to ask her to keep the day going a little longer, but he knew he needed to get Beckett home. He was grateful that Nicky had been with him all day at Nate’s. Jeremiah had never had anyone to watch Beck except for his parents, so having Nicky, Nate, and Libby watch him was a weight off of his shoulders.

  “Hey, Sweets, before we go in, come here for a little bit.” He reached out and pulled her across the bench seat as close as possible to his side. His eyes locked with hers and she felt her heartbeat speed up immediately. His arm around her shoulders tightened and he kissed her temple. “Audrey, angel, I want more than anything to be alone with you. But, I’ve been away from Beck all day, you and I are both tired, and maybe not jumping right into something would be a good thing for both of us. What do you think?” His voice was strained with longing, yet sounded exhausted.

  “Well, Mr. Jordan, you seem to think that I’ve already decided there will be something between us. I seem to recall that I told you I’d give you my decision after our day together, but that you shouldn’t get your hopes up about there being an us.” Audrey’s voice stayed strong and Jeremiah pulled back from her with confusion and hurt evident in his eyes.

  “Wait, what? I thought today was great, perfect, the best day either of us have ever had?” Jeremiah seemed to be getting a little pissed.

  She put him out of his misery. “I’m joking. Today showed me that there could be something between us and I want to give it a chance. Thank you for not giving up on us.”

  Jeremiah growled and whispered in her ear, “Oh, Sweets, there is definitely something between us and I’ll never give up on us. But, if you ever play a dirty trick on me like that again, I’ll be forced to punish you the next time we are together.” Jeremiah had to laugh when he saw that Audrey’s eyes showed a bit of interest in that comment. He cut off any questions with hot lips and tongue. All too quickly, they were heading to
Nate’s door to retrieve Beckett.

  Jeremiah had to stop and compose himself when he heard his baby boy laughing hysterically and then walked in to see Beckett in the middle of the three adults and about twenty dinosaurs. Nicky was doing dinosaur voices and Nate and Libby were red-cheeked and laughing at something Beckett had done. As if she totally understood his need to take a moment, Audrey grasped his hand and whispered, “This is a good thing, baby, Beck looks like he’s had a fabulous time. Being here is good for him. It’s good for them too. You’re such a good daddy, look at your little boy over there.” Jeremiah silently cursed the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes, soundly kissed Audrey, and then went over to the group to say hello and gather up his son and the toys.

  “Daddy! You’re back! Come see my dinosaurs!” Beckett was obviously having the time of his life but having his dad there made it even more special. Audrey smiled as they both joined the party on the floor. Five grown-ups, playing on the floor with dinosaurs, all because of one very special little boy. Because of Beckett.

  Later, as Jeremiah loaded a very sleepy Beckett into the Bronco, his heart was filled. When Nicky whispered to Beckett, “Good night, little guy, I had fun playing with you. I’m glad you’re my friend.” Audrey and Jeremiah almost lost it. Beckett gave Nicky a fierce hug around the neck. “I’m glad you’re my friend too, Nicky; you do the best dinosaur voices.” Beckett’s sleepy little voice filled the night before he settled into his car seat.

  Audrey told Nicky to head back into Nate’s place. Nicky bounced a bit on his feet, almost as if waiting and wanting to say something; he giggled a little and turned away quickly. Once he was inside, Audrey turned to Jeremiah.

  “Nicky has something on his mind, I wonder what it is,” she said with an amused smile.

  “Mmmm, I don’t know what’s on Nick’s mind, but I know what’s on my mind. Or, rather, I know who is on my mind and what I want to do to her,” Jeremiah’s husky voice puddled her insides as his head bent to her neck and she moaned, bringing her hands up his arms to clasp behind his neck. Checking to be sure Beckett had fallen asleep, Jeremiah maneuvered Audrey onto the other side of the Bronco which was away from prying eyes that may be looking out from Nate’s. Audrey was grateful there was no street light to illuminate them as she anticipated his next move.

  Quickly, his hands were under her shirt, greedily taking their fill of her breasts. He pulled the cups of her bra down and groaned at how quickly she responded to his touch. His mouth was hot as he took her in, pressing the evidence of his arousal against her hip. When Audrey threw her head back against the truck, he took advantage and moved back to her neck. Roaming toward her ear, his throaty whisper made her quiver, “Soon, Angel, very soon. We will be alone and I won’t be stopping here. There’s so much more I want to do to you. Will you be ready for me, Sweets?” Audrey barely managed to strangle out a yes before his mouth was hard on hers, tongue demanding entry, completely taking control of the kiss.

  “Daddy? Are we home?” Beckett’s voice was like ice water thrown on a fire, it stopped the burning but the sizzling heat remained.

  “In just a bit, Beck, I’m saying goodnight to Audrey.” Jeremiah said this in a soothing voice, but the little boy was already back asleep.

  Audrey chuckled, “You better get him home.” She wrapped her arms around him and finished her good night with a sweet, gentle kiss. Nothing like the kiss the two of them really wanted, but it would have to do for now.

  “Goodnight, JJ.” Audrey said in a shy yet mischievous voice.

  With a raised eyebrow, Jeremiah smirked at her. “JJ, huh?”

  “Well, you have nicknames for me; I thought I could have one for you. It was JJ or the ‘Miah of Jeremiah and I thought JJ was a little less sickeningly sweet.” Audrey stated.

  He kissed her nose and said, “Then JJ it is. Anything you want to call me, Sweets, is fine by me. I’ll call you and we can make plans for our next date.”

  Chapter 22

  Beckett

  I love having Nicky as my best friend. Nate and Libby and Audrey are my friends, too, but they are more like grown-ups and Nicky is more like a kid. He plays like a kid and he does the best dinosaur voices.

  Today, Nicky and I got to spend all day with my grandparents and then we went to Nate’s house and had supper with Libby and Nate. We had pizza; it’s almost my favorite food next to hot dogs.

  Nate and Libby were kissing in the kitchen. They thought we didn’t know, but Nicky and I saw them. I liked how happy they looked. I told Nicky that my dad looked that happy when he’s with Miss Audrey.

  “We should get your dad and Audrey together. Audrey and I fixed Libby and Nate when they had a problem. You and I could make sure that Audrey and your dad start kissing. If they kiss enough, maybe they will get married. Then they can have babies. You could get a brother or sister! And then we’d be some kind of family; I don’t know exactly what kind of family but it would be better even than being best friends.” Nicky was really excited when he told me about this plan and I couldn’t help but grin and get just as excited as him.

  Would my dad want to kiss Miss Audrey? I think so. Would I like them to get married and have her be my mom? Definitely! Do I want a brother or sister? Maybe. Do I want my best friend to be my family too? Yep! This is a great plan.

  When my dad carried me in from the truck, I woke up just enough to go potty and brush my teeth. As he tucked me into bed, I put the plan into action. “Daddy, I want you to kiss Miss Audrey and marry her so she will be my mom. And MAYBE you can have babies with her. And Nicky can be my family.”

  He chuckled and ruffled my hair as he leaned in to kiss my cheek. I was almost asleep again, but I heard him whisper, “I’m working on it, buddy.”

  Chapter 23

  Audrey

  I’m still chuckling over my conversation with Nicky last night as Nate took all three of us home. It made sense that he drop Beth off at her place first, so Nicky and I sat in the Jeep talking.

  “I think you should kiss Mr. Jordan a lot and marry him and give him babies. Then Beckett and I can be family of some kind.” Nicky had been thinking on this, I could tell.

  “Well, Nick, how about we go on a few dates first before you get us married off and having babies?” I replied with a grin. I dreamily leaned my head against the window; my mind was still on the kisses that Jeremiah had given me and his promise of our next date.

  When Nate climbed back into the Jeep, I had to hide my smile at how happy he looked. I bet I know what he and Libby had been doing behind that closed door.

  “You were kissing Libby! You always smile like that when you’ve been kissing her. When will she give you babies?” Nicky, never one to hide his curiosity, opinions, or enthusiasm blasted his question at his brother before Nate had even gotten his seatbelt on.

  “Whoa there, Nick. Yes, I was kissing Libby. She’s my girlfriend and I like to kiss her. As for the babies, let’s give that some more time, ok?” Nate’s glance shifted to me and he smiled. I could tell, just from that smile, that he was more than on-board with Nicky’s plan.

  “Audrey is going to marry Mr. Jordan so he can get another baby and Beckett and I can be family.” Nate’s head jerked toward me and I just shook my head while smiling. We both had to laugh at Nicky’s planning. He sure wasn’t secretive about it.

  ***********

  The day of Beckett’s birthday party dawned gorgeous and I was so grateful. Beth and Nate had taken my list to the store to get all of the groceries. Jeremiah had taken Beckett and Nicky to get them haircuts for the party. He had a pained expression on his face when he told me what he was doing. I questioned him and he explained that Beckett wasn’t the best at getting a haircut, as in he had massive meltdowns. That’s when I suggested he take Nicky to see if it would help.

  I was setting things up in the backyard. We were using the older Jordan’s backyard, but it connected right to Jeremiah’s yard so we’d be back and forth as needed. We had a nice tent to
sit under, tables, chairs, a place for food, a place for gifts. I had a table for the kids to do crafts. I put the pin the horn on the triceratops game on the fence. Sidewalk chalk would be on Jeremiah’s front drive.

  I had everything ready so I headed home to change clothes. I’d come back when it was time to get the food ready and last minute things taken care of.

  Chapter 24

  Jeremiah

  To say that Beckett hated getting his hair cut would be the understatement of the year. For all of his sweetness and sage advice, he turned into a holy hellion when it came to getting his hair cut. This was one reason that Jeremiah didn’t keep Beck’s hair super short; letting it grow a little longer gave them more time between this hellacious experience.

  Jeremiah was torn between being glad Nicky Morgan was going with them as a buffer and being terrified that he’d end up with two head-spinning demons on his hands.

  Upon entering the salon, Beckett pulled at his hand, motioning that he had a secret. “Daddy, I’m going to act like a big guy today for Nicky. He might be scared of getting his hair cut, so I’m going to show him there’s nothing to be ‘fraid of.” Jeremiah gritted his teeth to keep from laughing out loud. That’s all there was to it? Just bring Nick with them and Beckett all of a sudden matures enough to realize the stylist isn’t trying to cut off his ears or hack into his brain? Well, then, Nick would be attending every hair cut with them from now on and Jeremiah would gladly buy ice cream all around afterwards.