Your Forever Love (The Bennett Family 3)

From the moment I met her, Julie struck me as a sheltered girl, even acting a little young for her age. Eric is very overprotective, which I assume is because of the accident. But she’s growing up, and he’s going to have his hands full once she’s a teenager.

“Your dad is right,” I tell her.

Julie gives a quick nod and remains silent throughout dinner. After dessert, she disappears inside briefly, returning with a kite.

“I want to fly this kite,” she announces, holding up the bag.

“You can do that tomorrow, pumpkin,” Eric tells her. “It’s almost dark. You won’t even see it.”

“No, it has to be now,” she insists. “It glows in the dark.”

Eric and I exchange looks, and I know we’re thinking the same thing. Julie could hurt herself if she runs around in the dark, because of her leg.

“What if your dad and I raise it?” I offer. “You can sit at the table, eat a second portion of ice cream, and watch the kite.”

Julie considers this for a moment. “Okay.”

Eric and I inspect the kite and read the instructions for the next few minutes.

“Have you ever done this?” he mouths to me.

“No,” I admit. “How hard can it be?”

As it turns out, it’s very hard. Getting the thing into the air truly requires a team effort. Eric holds the rope, running from one end of the yard to the other to gain traction while I give him directions, so the kite doesn’t collide with any tree.

“If I wanted to work out, I would’ve gone to the gym,” he complains after yet another lap around the yard.

“We’ve almost got it,” I encourage. I walk backward, keeping my eyes on Eric, and gesturing him to keep his current direction.

“It’s beautiful,” Julie calls to us, and Eric smiles, advancing with renewed energy.

“It’s nearly up,” I announce. “You have to—”

Splash. Splash.

***

Eric

We fell into the goddamn pool.

When I surface from the water, my daughter’s shrieking with laughter.

“You were supposed to give me directions,” I tell Pippa, who’s standing a few feet away from me in the water and laughing even harder than Julie.

“I was,” she explains between chuckles. “And I somehow directed both of us into the pool. I’m sorry. I was too busy making sure the kite didn’t end up in a tree to pay attention to our feet.”

I break into laughter too, and man, it feels good. Julie looks between Pippa and me as if we’re two big idiots—which, of course, we are. Two grown adults up to their navels in the swimming pool because they didn’t watch their step. Damn kite. Which reminds me….

“Anyone see the kite?” I ask.

Julie points to a spot beyond the pool. “There. It’s high up in the tree, though.”

“I’ll get it down tomorrow,” I assure her.

"I don't know about you," Pippa says, "but I'm cold." She swims to the steps. I suck in a breath as she climbs out. Sweet Jesus. Pippa in a wet dress is irresistible. It sticks to her body, showing off every delicious curve: her round, perky ass, her waist, and beautiful breasts. My imagination supplies images of all the other delicious parts of her that are not on display. Images so vivid that I have a full-on boner. Damn it.

"Aren't you coming out?" Pippa says, swirling around to me.