by Marie Force
Mac reached for his son and took him from Maddie. “That won’t be the first time a woman leads you astray, son.”
“Hey,” Blaine said. “There’s no way that was Ashleigh’s idea.”
“I’m afraid it was,” Tiffany said, chagrinned as she returned with her daughter.
“God, she’s more like her mother than I feared,” Blaine said, earning himself a smack upside the head from his wife while the rest of the room lost it laughing again.
“Ashleigh doesn’t have a pee-pee, Dada,” Thomas said.
“Oh my God!” Maddie took Thomas from Mac and headed for the front door while everyone else screamed with laughter. “Time to go home!”
“Yay, cuz I wanna play naked boy-naked girl,” Mac said, flashing a giddy grin.
“Does anyone have a muzzle I could borrow?” Maddie called from the foyer.
“If we had one,” Janey said, “we never would’ve taken it off him.”
“Have your laughs, citizens,” Mac said, taking the sleeping Hailey from his mother, “but when I get home, I’m having mine. I’ve been cock-blocked for days thanks to sick kids, who are apparently feeling just fine now.”
“Did he just say cock-blocked in front of Mom?” Grant asked.
“Yep,” Adam said, “and now you have, too.”
“Where did you guys find Mac anyway?” Frank asked Big Mac and Linda after Mac and his family had departed.
“At a baby flea market,” Linda said. “We’ve been trying to make him civilized ever since.”
Big Mac’s best friend Ned Saunders laughed at that. “Still got a long way ta go.” He and his wife, Francine, were holding hands like the newlyweds they were.
“I’m never having kids,” Riley said.
“You say that now, son,” Kevin said, “but it’ll happen to you.”
Riley grimaced at the thought. “Not any time soon, please.”
“I think it’s time to get our little temptress home to bed,” Tiffany said, standing to leave.
“I’m locking her up until she’s thirty,” Blaine muttered to more laughter.
“Thank you for a lovely day, Mac and Linda,” Tiffany said, kissing them on the way out.
“Thank you for the best laugh I’ve had all year,” Big Mac said.
“I’m dying,” Tiffany groaned on the way out. “If this is three, what will eighteen look like?”
“I need to start drinking more,” Blaine said.
“I haven’t laughed that hard in years,” Erin said to Slim when things quieted down again. “That was awesome.”
“I don’t know what was the best part—the reaction of their parents, or Thomas saying Ashleigh doesn’t have a pee-pee.”
“Don’t even,” Erin said, laughing again. “I can’t take anymore.”
“This is what Tiffany gets for opening a store called Naughty & Nice,” Slim said.
“A store the men in this town love, by all accounts.”
“I heard Tiffany say she had the biggest month since her opening ahead of Christmas.”
“Good for her. I love that store.”
Speaking close to her ear, he said, “Is that right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m going to need you to model some of your Christmas presents for me.”
“That could be arranged.”
The promise he heard in her softly spoken words traveled right to his cock, making him instantly hard. “Let’s go. Right now.”
“Relax, stallion. It’ll keep until later.”
“I won’t survive that long in this condition you’ve put me in.”
She glanced over at his lap, which was all it took to make his situation even worse.
“Knock it off,” he said in a low growl.
She smiled at him, and the most incredible sense of rightness overcame him, leaving him staggered by the realization that he wanted much more than this week with her. He wanted everything with her, and he’d never wanted that with anyone else.
“What?” she asked, her brows knitting with concern.
He forced himself to rally. “Nothing. Just looking forward to having you all to myself again later.”
Erin leaned her head on his shoulder and linked her fingers with his, deepening the feeling of rightness.
Before this, before her, he might’ve tried to disengage from something that smacked of seriousness. But with her, the last thing he wanted was to disengage. He wanted more, much, much more of her.
Talk turned to Evan and Grace’s upcoming wedding in Anguilla, travel plans and excitement to escape winter on the island for a week.
“Speaking of our wedding,” Evan said, glancing at Grace, who smiled at him. “Gracie and I have a little news about what’s going to happen after the wedding.” Taking hold of her hand, he said, “Buddy has talked me into riding the hit record for a while longer, and Grace is coming with me on the road. Her friend Fiona from school has agreed to come over to manage the pharmacy, and Josh will cover me at the studio.”
After a moment of stunned silence, everyone spoke at once, congratulating them on their news and firing off questions about where they were going.
“We’re joining the second half of Buddy’s current North American tour that starts up again in February, and then we’ll see what happens after that.”
“I’m happy for you, son,” Big Mac said. “As much as we’ll miss you both here, I’d hate for you to have regrets later about what might’ve been.”
“Thank you, Dad. That’s what my very wise future wife said, too.”
“I suppose I should mention that after Anguilla, Steph and I are heading to LA for a couple of months,” Grant said.
“Was it something we said?” Linda asked her husband.
“Ha-ha, Mom,” Grant said. “I’ve got some work to do with the company that’s producing the film about Charlie and Stephanie’s story, and it’s easier for me to be there for a while. Since the restaurant is shut down for the rest of the winter after this week, Steph’s coming with me.”
“Dan and Kara are going to be out there, too, aren’t they?” Joe asked.
“They are, and we’re looking forward to hanging out with them.”
“You’ll be back for the summer, though, right?” Adam asked.
“Wouldn’t miss summer on Gansett for anything,” Grant said, “and my lovely wife has a booming business to tend to.”
“That’s right,” Laura said. “I need you to feed my hotel guests.”
“I’m on it,” Steph said, “don’t worry. I’m just sorry we won’t be here when the twins are born.”
“We’ll send pictures,” Owen assured her. “I can’t wait to meet these two little people.”
“I can’t believe you guys aren’t finding out what you’re having,” Laura’s brother, Shane, said. “I’d be out of my mind with curiosity. Hell, I’m out of my mind with curiosity about your babies, let alone my own.”
“We can’t wait to know either,” Owen said, gazing at Laura, “but we want it to be a surprise.”
“Who knows what’s going on with Syd?” Abby asked. “They’ve been sticking close to home this week.”
“I heard she had a little scare with the baby,” Linda said, “but all is well.”
“Thank God,” Janey said to agreement from everyone else. “While we’re sharing news, I probably ought to let the rest of you know that Joseph has knocked me up again.”
Her announcement was met with dead silence.
“I know what you’re all thinking, and believe me, we’re thinking the same thing. We’ve got an appointment with a specialist in Providence after the holidays, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure baby number two’s arrival is far less dramatic than his or her brother’s was.”
“Janey,” Grant said, his expression agonized, “are you sure about this?”
“No,” Joe said, answering for both of them, “we’re not sure of anything other than we’re going to hope for the very best and thoroughly
prepare for every possible scenario. I’m going to see to it personally, Grant. You have my word on that.”
The brothers who so loved to razz their sister had gone silent at the thought of the kind of danger she’d faced when PJ was born.
“If I may,” Mallory said, and all eyes turned to her. “What happened to Janey when she had PJ is extremely rare. There’s no reason to believe she can’t have a perfectly normal pregnancy and delivery this time.”
“That’s very reassuring, Mallory,” Big Mac said to his daughter. “Thank you.”
“She’s right,” Katie Lawry said. Shane’s fiancée was also a nurse. “But you’re going to need to be very careful about doing anything too strenuous or lifting PJ in the last trimester.”
“If I have my way,” Joe said, “she’ll be on full bed rest by then.”
Janey’s expression told them what she thought of that.
“We’re going to be overrun with babies around here before long,” Frank said.
Abby got up and went into the kitchen. Adam went after her.
“Is she okay?” Kevin asked.
With her gaze fixed on the kitchen door through which Adam and Abby had disappeared, Linda said, “They got some news before the anniversary party. They’re both fine, but they’re facing a difficult challenge.”
Everyone pounced on Linda for more information, but she held them off with her hands in the air. “It’s not my news to tell. You’ll hear it from them when they’re ready.”
The boisterous group fell silent when Adam and Abby returned, holding hands as they came into the room.
“Abby,” Laura said. “Are you all right?”
Abby glanced at Adam, who nodded in encouragement. “Not as all right as I’d like to be,” Abby said, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “We recently learned that I have polycystic ovarian syndrome or PCOS, which comes with a variety of health complications, including fertility issues.”
“We’re going to fight it, though,” Adam said. “There’s a lot we can do, and we’re going to do all of it. If we can’t have a baby on our own, we’ll adopt. But we will have a family.”
Stephanie left her perch on Grant’s lap to hug Abby. “I’m so sorry to hear this, but if anyone is tough enough to fight it, you are.”
“I don’t know about that,” Abby said. “I’ve been a basket case ever since we got the news.”
“Stay off the Internet,” Mallory said. “Every situation is unique, and you don’t want to scare yourself with too much information.”
Adam nodded in agreement. “That’s what I said, too.”
“The one thing I want to say,” Abby said, seeming to marshal her defenses, “is I don’t want any of you to feel you can’t be excited about your babies in front of me. I can’t wait to meet all of them and to love them and spoil them. Please… Don’t let our challenges take away from your joy. Adam and I would hate that.”
Janey stood to hug Abby. “Love you. That’s all I want to say.”
“Love you, too.”
Erin leaned in to speak to Slim. “We ought to go. This is kind of a private family thing.”
“Sure, sweetheart. We’ve got important private business of our own to see to anyway.”
She rolled her eyes at him, but her face lit up with the blush he loved so much. He couldn’t wait to see more of that blush when he got her back to the lighthouse.
Chapter 15
“Why do you have to announce to our entire family that you’re cock-blocked?” Maddie asked when she came into the bedroom after getting Thomas down for the night.
Hailey had gone much easier, which was why Mac beat her to bed.
“Because I am, in fact, cock-blocked by kids lately.”
“They’ve been sick, Mac.”
“They’re not sick now,” he said, waggling his brows suggestively.
“All I want is eight straight hours of sleep.”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
“No, I’m not kidding you. This has been a hellacious week between sickness and Christmas preparations, I could sleep for a week. In fact, I might sleep all day tomorrow and let you handle things around here.”
“I’d do that for you.”
Her gorgeous caramel eyes lit up with surprise. “You would?”
“Of course I would. If…”
Hands on hips, she gave him a challenging look. “If what?”
“If you help me out with this tiny little issue I seem to have.”
“What tiny little issue do you have?”
“A hard-on that won’t quit.”
“Are pigs flying in hell? Are you actually referring to your precious manhood as tiny and little?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I’m not. My problem is little and tiny. As we both know, my manhood is massive. Now will you please get in this bed and give me the only present I really want for Christmas?”
“So I can send back that new power tool you were so excited about?”
“Absolutely not. You can come and tend to the power tool that gets you excited.”
“Honestly, Mac,” she said with a huff of laughter. “You get more outrageous with every passing day.”
“You love me.”
“You’re very lucky that I do.”
“Yes, I am. Now get over here and let me show you how lucky I am to be loved by you.”
“I need to change and get the food out of my hair that Hailey put there during dinner.”
“You don’t need to do a damned thing besides get naked.”
“Five minutes, Mac. Give me five minutes.”
She went into the bathroom, and he dropped to the pillows, resigned to having to wait five more interminable minutes. A crackle of life from the baby monitor in Hailey’s room had him holding his breath. Please, no… Not tonight, sweet girl. Give Mommy and Daddy a break. Please…
Thankfully, there were no more noises from the monitor, and Mac began to relax. Then Maddie emerged from the bathroom wearing one of the new sexy nightgowns he’d bought her for Christmas at Tiffany’s shop. Her hair had been brushed into shiny submission and fell to below her shoulders.
Game on. Hello, sexy wife.
“Wait,” he said, sitting up on his knees for a better look at the pale pink gown with the black lace accents that did spectacular things for her spectacular breasts.
“What am I waiting for? I thought you were in a huge rush.”
“I am, but I want to memorize the way you look right now so I never forget it.”
“Just when I think I’ve actually married a teenage boy, you surprise me.”
He held out a hand to bring her onto the bed with him.
She met him on her knees in front of him, her hands on his shoulders.
“I may joke around a little—”
“A little?”
“Okay, a lot, but one thing I’d never joke about is how stunningly beautiful you are. You take my breath away, Madeline, and I love you more than I can ever tell you.”
“Sometimes, especially on days like today, I can’t believe that this is my life now. You and our kids and this house and your family and mine, all together. It’s like a dream.”
“Even the naked boy-naked girl part?”
Groaning, she dropped her head to his shoulder. “We’ll still be talking about that when they’re in college.”
“We’ll be talking about that forever. And PS, it’s like a dream for me, too. I never imagined anything for myself like what we’ve found together, and that we get to share our lives with the people we love the most… We’re truly blessed.”
“Yes, we are,” she said, rubbing shamelessly against him.
He rested his hand on the small curve of her belly over the baby no one else knew they were expecting. “If you’re too tired tonight, I’ll understand.”
She glanced up at him, seeming relieved. “You will?”
Mac wanted to shoot himself for saying that. “Of course I will. If you don’t want to, we don
’t have to.”
“Oh thank God. I’m exhausted.” She withdrew from him and sacked out on her side after positioning her pillow where she wanted it.
With his cock hard enough to pound nails, he suppressed a groan and got under the covers, shutting off the light. He lay there trying not to think about the throbbing coming from his lap when he realized the bed was shaking. What the hell?
He turned the light back on to realize the shaking was coming from his wife, who was laughing her ass off. “What are you laughing at?”
“I can’t believe you fell for that so easily. You’re losing your touch, Mac.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? You faked being tired?”
“I am tired, but not that tired.”
“That was so mean! I’m hard as a rock, and you leave me hanging.”
She laughed so hard, tears fell from her eyes.
“You’re really racking up the demerits lately, Mrs. McCarthy. First the evil prank you perpetrated against me and my boys, and now this.”
“I’m very sorry,” she said, wiping the tears from her face. “Let me make it up to you.”
“I don’t know if I want you to.”
She wrapped her hand around his erection and gave it a squeeze that made him see stars. “Really?”
“Okay, I want you to.”
“Thought so.” She left a trail of kisses from his chest to his belly as she continued to stroke him.
Mac ran his fingers through her hair, watching her and loving her, even when she was mean to him.
Maddie swirled her tongue around the tip of his cock. “Am I forgiven?”
“I haven’t decided yet. All depends on how things go in the next few minutes.”
Smiling, she drew him into the heat of her mouth and nearly finished him off with the perfect combination of tongue and suction.
“Getting closer to forgiveness,” he said through gritted teeth. His hips surged off the mattress, and she took him deeper, until he nudged against the back of her throat and still she didn’t back off. “Maddie… Fuck… Baby.” God, he was going to come in her mouth if she didn’t stop right now.
A sharp cry from the next room made them freeze.
“Mama.” Thomas. And he was crying. No. Just no.
