I slip his shirt on, rolling the sleeves up to my wrists, buttoning just enough, and pad down the hallway. I find him cooking at the stove in only his boxers, drowning in the sunshine pouring through the windows, like he belongs exactly right here.
He smiles at me over his shoulder, a breathtaking sight.
“Morning, sunshine.” Tugging me close, he kisses my lips, tracing the edge of my jaw, the columns of my throat. He finishes with a loud smack on my cheek and the clap of his palm over my ass. “How do you like your eggs?”
I must be some kind of stupid to consider answering fertilized.
Instead, I clear my throat, tuck my hair behind my ear, and ask the real question.
“Is in a cake an option?”
CHAPTER 36
DON’T GO BACON HIS FACE
GARRETT
I cannot believe Jennie grew up with this.
I’ve underestimated her strength, her resilience. What a grueling life she’s led. It’s as sad as it is admirable.
“Time for another classic, this one by Elton John and Kiki Dee.” Carter whirls around, cocking one ridiculous eyebrow as he stares out at his six-person audience, microphone at his mouth. “With a one-of-a-kind Carter Beckett twist that, arguably, makes it better than the original.” Music roars from the speakers, lyrics starting to roll across the TV, and Carter stares Olivia dead in the eye. “Don’t Go Bacon My Heart.” He points at his wife. “This one’s for you, Ollie girl!”
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter from behind the palm I’ve buried my face in as Carter explodes into song and dance. It’s not so much dance as it is…gyrating? I don’t fucking know, but Olivia looks like she’s gonna cry. I give her knee a shake. “You okay?”
“Of course she’s not okay,” Emmett retorts. “She’s about to bring a baby into this world that’s gonna be a carbon copy of her husband.”
Adam jogs over, handing her a frosty pint of beer. “Here. It’s nonalcoholic.” Olivia pulls an unimpressed face, and Adam offers her a pitying, gritty grin. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“The worst part is it’s supposed to be a duet,” Cara murmurs, watching Carter spin around, “but he’s singing both parts.”
“So, oooh, oooh!” He twirls, stopping in front of his wife—who looks oddly unfazed—and points at her. “Don’t go bacon my heart!”
“I’m so in love with him it’s unbelievable,” is I think what Olivia mutters beside me.
“What?”
“Oh nothing.” She smiles like she forgot I was here, then pats my thigh. “So, Garrett. How’s…everything?”
“Everything? G-good. Really good.” Why is she grinning like that, all devious and shit? Short, pregnant women shouldn’t be allowed to be devious. They’re scary enough as it is. “Yeah, everything is…so good.”
“I haven’t seen you since the restaurant on Valentine’s Day. You took off in a hurry.”
“Well, we’ve been traveling for the last three days,” I remind her.
“Uh-huh, and you were holed up the entire five-day home stretch before that.”
“Yeah, I…” I run a hand through my hair. “Busy.”
She cocks her head. “I busy?”
“Is that a hickey?” It’s Carter this time, breathless as he collapses between us. He prods my collarbone. “Yeah, it is.”
I slap his hand away. “No, it’s not.” It totally fucking is. I told Jennie not to, but does she ever listen to me? No, of fucking course she doesn’t. She’s so difficult to rein in, and I don’t really want to anyway.
Carter wags his brows. “Things goin’ good with Susie, eh?”
Cara snorts. Adam promptly leaps to his feet, heading into the kitchen. Olivia turns away, and Jaxon busies himself in his phone. Carter and Emmett are…oblivious.
It’s Emmett I’m most surprised about. Cara promised not to tell, but I guess I wasn’t expecting her to be this loyal to us. I think it’s Jennie she’s being loyal to, really.
And Olivia? She’s just perceptive, I guess. Plus, she came back from dropping Jennie off on Valentine’s Day and “accidentally” elbowed me really fucking hard in the shoulder when she sat down, so I was pretty sure she knew before Jennie even told me she knew.
Cara stands. “I’ve gotta jet. I have to meet with some clients about a charity event.”
I pull out my phone to distract from the fierce battle of tonsil hockey her and Emmett start right here in the living room.
“Is Jennie coming over?” Olivia asks.
“No,” I answer on autopilot, scrolling through the sports updates on my phone. My fingers pause for only a second before I force them to keep moving, while I tell myself to act cool. “’Cause she’s got classes, right? Hey, Jaxon, Nashville’s one and four out of their last five games. Looks like they need you back there guarding their goalie.”
The name of the game is deflection, and Jaxon plays along just fine, engaging me in a mindless conversation about hockey stats, but Carter’s not paying us any attention anyway.
No, he’s got his face pressed to Olivia’s belly, his hands cupped around his mouth as he makes these weird, deep, staticky breathing noises.
“What the fuck are you doing, dude?” Jaxon finally asks.
“Luke,” Carter speaks into Olivia’s stomach. Two more raspy noises. “I am your father.”
“Holy fuck.” I scrub my tired eyes. “Not Darth Vader.”
Olivia pushes Carter off her lap and stands. “Garrett, the things I deal with on a regular basis would bring you to tears.” Taking Carter’s frowning face in her hands, she kisses him. “I couldn’t love you more.” She starts hobbling away, one hand on her lower back. “But if Jennie’s not coming over, mama’s gonna go take a bath.” Her footsteps sound on the staircase before she calls, “Carter! Can you make sure they make the kung pao chicken extra spicy?”
“Yes, pumpkin!”
“I thought we were getting dinner from Amy’s Wok?” Adam asks, taking Olivia’s spot on the couch. Along with his tea, he’s returned with an entire box of Oreos. “Amy’s Wok doesn’t have kung pao chicken.”
“I know. Gotta order separately from Golden Village.”
“Why don’t you just tell Ollie they don’t have it instead of ordering from two places?”
Carter pulls a face, setting up the Xbox. “Have you met her? She’s scary as fuck right now.”
“She’s five feet tall!”
Carter jabs his shoulder. “Five foot one.”
I snicker, tossing a cookie into my mouth. “I agwee. Aw-wie is pwetty scawy wight now.” I take the controller passed to me and swallow. “I wouldn’t wanna mess with her.”
“She’s got these wild cravings, and nothing is ever exactly what she wants. I’ll gladly order from two different places if it means keeping her happy.”
We flip-flop between Call of Duty and NHL for an hour, and I suppress a groan when I realize I still have another ninety minutes to go before picking up Jennie from school. I haven’t seen her in three days, which isn’t a whole lot and definitely not the longest we’ve gone, but when you spent the five days before that fucking like wild animals, it feels like a goddamn eternity.
I’m not surprised Jennie’s got her kinks, given the variety and quantity of her toy collection, but I was a little surprised she was ready to jump right into the rough, wild stuff the next day. Blame my unbelievably good looks and adorable ramblings. Jennie says I’m endearing.
Plus, every time we fuck like animals, we follow it up with a round of soft and sweet. I think that might be my favorite. While I love pulling her hair and slapping her ass, I really love looking into her eyes when I tell her I love her, kissing her while we come together. Holding her is my second favorite thing to do, right after loving her.
I glance at Carter before pulling out my phone to text Jennie, but I’ve already got one waiting for me.
Sunshine: Can’t wait to see you, big guy tongue emoji eggplant emoji water droplets emoji
The second one rolls in before I can acknowledge how truly alike the Beckett siblings are, which is for the best.
Sunshine: Missed you heart emoji
“Carterrr,” Olivia’s voice calls from upstairs.
“Yeah, pumpkin?” he hollers back.