“No.”
“Half of one?”
I laugh and lean in to kiss her plump cheek. At almost five years old, she’s losing some of her baby fat and changing so quickly. I hate the thought of her growing up.
“You can have one more. Aunt Natalie is going to make sure you don’t eat more than that.”
“I won’t,” Stella promises and presses her sugary lips to my cheek. “Have you seen Julianne?” I ask Nat, who frowns and glances around.
“No, not in a little while. I saw her talking with Lia a bit ago. They’re probably down getting mimosas or something.”
I nod and walk across the wraparound porch to the steps that lead down to the gazebo.
I didn’t know it at the time, but buying this beach house was the best decision I could have made in real estate close to ten years ago. I bought it for a low price, and it’s only appreciated in value.
More than that, our family loves it and uses it often. It’s less than two hours from Seattle, making it the perfect getaway spot.
“Hey, Nate, thanks for hosting this,” Wyatt, the groom-to-be, says as I reach the gazebo and drink station. He shakes my hand. “We appreciate it.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” I reply. “Have you seen Jules?”
“No. In fact, I haven’t seen Amelia in a bit either. I texted her, but haven’t heard back.”
I nod. “They’re probably together, getting in trouble.”
“I think Amelia brought some makeup stuff for a few of the girls, so you’re probably right,” Wyatt says, physically relaxing.
“You were worried about her.”
His eyes meet mine and then he shrugs. “Of course. I love her. It’s what I do.”
“You’re going to fit into this family just fine,” I reply, clapping him on the shoulder. “I’ll go look for them.”
“I’ll join you,” Wyatt says and follows me back up the stairs.
When we reach the top, Matt is about to descend the stairs, his face tight and lips thin.
“What’s wrong?” I ask him.
“I can’t find Nic,” he replies. “I was going to check down there.”
“She’s not there,” Wyatt says. “We think the girls are checking out makeup stuff that Amelia bought. We’re going to look for them.”
Matt’s shoulders relax and he nods. “Let’s go.”
We walk into the house, past kids running about and parents sitting and talking, laughing and enjoying the day.
“Back here,” I say. “I bet they’re in the bathroom.”
I lead them to the guest bathroom, silently open the door, and the scene before us has all of us stopping in our tracks.
Three sets of legs, all long and smooth, are sticking out from under the sink. Their matching torsos are inside the cabinet, and the girls are giggling and talking.
I glance at Wyatt and Matt, and both of them just smile and shrug. Wyatt leans his shoulder against the doorframe, Matt crosses his arms over his chest, and I shove my hands in my pockets, then say, “What, exactly, are you doing?”
All activity below the sink comes to a halt as they freeze. Wyatt smirks next to me, and we wait for the girls to decide what to do next.
Julianne is in the middle. Her shoes, the ones that have kept me semi-hard for hours, are discarded on the bathroom floor. Lia is to our left and Nic is to our right.
There are wrenches on the floor.
I can’t wait to hear what this is all about.
Jules’ head pokes out from under the cabinet and she sends us a sweet smile.
“Hi.”
“Hello, my love. What’s up?”
“Oh, we’re just doing some home improvement work under here.”
I cock a brow as Wyatt snickers. Matt shifts, and when I glance at him, he’s got a huge smile on his face.
“I didn’t realize you were a do-it-yourselfer,” I reply and Jules bites her lower lip, making my cock twitch.
I’d like to make her bite that lip for more carnal reasons.
But that will come later.
“I’m usually not,” she admits. “Nic’s much better than me with a wrench.”
“I had no idea,” Matt says, and Nic’s head comes out from under the sink in surprise. “Hello, little one.”
“Hey, babe,” she says and offers him a small wave.
“Don’t you think your skirt is a bit short to be on the floor?” Matt asks her and she shakes her head.
“No, I’m perfectly fine.”
Matt tilts his head, looking up her legs, his arms still crossed.
“Really? Because I can see farther up that skirt than I’m comfortable seeing in mixed company.”
“You picked it out,” she reminds him.
“I didn’t anticipate you crawling under the sink.”
“If you’re still hiding under there because you think we can’t see you, you’re wrong, sweetheart,” Wyatt says and Amelia lets out a deep sigh before joining the other two, sitting on the bathroom floor.
Her bright blue eyes are full of tears.
“Hey,” Wyatt says, immediately concerned, and squats next to her, cupping her cheek. “What’s going on?”
“We’re trying to take the pipes apart,” Lia says with a quivering voice, “because I think I dropped my ring down the drain.”
My eyes fly to Jules’ and she grimaces. “Why didn’t you come get me?”
“We thought we could do it by ourselves,” Jules says. “But this pipe is on here really tightly.”
Matt helps Nic to her feet, kisses her cheek, then whispers in her ear and makes her face turn scarlet red. Then he squats down and checks out his wife’s handiwork.
“First of all,” he begins, “you’re doing this wrong.”
Wyatt and I help our girls to their feet, and we all stand back to watch Matt work on the pipe. Amelia is sniffling, leaning against Wyatt.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers.
“Hey, it’s okay,” he says. “We’ll find it.”
Jules leans closer to Nic. “What did Matt say to you?”
“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” Nic replies and gives Jules a smug grin. “But things are going to get interesting later.”
“Lucky girl,” Jules says, nudging her with her elbow.
I plunge my fingers into the back of Jules’ hair, fist it, and press my lips to her ear.
“You have no idea what I have planned for you later.” The words are so quiet that no one else could possibly hear them. Julianne takes a surprised, quiet breath, and I’m pleased when her cheeks turn pink.
I’m going to make her ass turn pink later.
“There’s no ring in here,” Matt announces and Amelia gasps.
“But there has to be,” she says. “I set it on the vanity.”
“Where else have you been?” I ask her.
She takes a deep breath, dries her eyes, and pulls it together.
Good girl.
“I went to the gazebo for a drink. I could use another one.”
“Okay,” Wyatt says. “Where else?”
“I grabbed something to eat, I ran out to the car for a second to grab some face cleanser for Meredith, and then I came into the bathroom.”
“Is your car unlocked?” I ask. Amelia nods.
“Okay,” I say, taking charge of the situation. “Wyatt, take Lia down to the gazebo to look around and get the poor woman a drink. Make it a stiff one.”
“On it,” he says, leading her out of the room.
“Matt and Nic, go check the car. Julianne and I will go check in with our guests and look around the food tables to see if we can find anything.”
“Sounds good,” Matt says. “Let’s go, little one.”
Nic grins and follows her husband to the front door, and I lace my fingers through Julianne’s and pull her hand to my lips, pressing a kiss on her knuckles. When the other two couples are gone, and before I lead her out to the rest of the party, I pull her into the bathroom and shut and lock the door.
Her wide blue eyes, the same color as Amelia’s, meet mine.