~Seven years later~
“Okay, you ready?” I ask her with that glint in her eye as she stands there with the timer.
“No cheating this time. I swear,” she vows. I glance at Catherine as she smiles.
Yeah, I know that look. She’s already scheming.
“Mommy, push the button!” Erin yells as she starts jumping up and down.
“I thought you were on my side?” I ask the little traitor. She looks up with her big brown eyes and bats her eyelashes quickly. Her dark brown hair is in pigtails that she keeps making slap her in the face when she turns.
“Sowwy, Daddy. Mommy said we could have ice cream if she wins. If you win, we have to eat spinach. Yuck!”
Her puppy dog eyes melt me. Damn girls.
I look at my wife who shrugs with a shit-eating grin on her face. I make note to wipe it off later.
“Kennedy, whose side are you on?” I ask the other half of the demon spawn. Her blond hair is covering her face as she tries to do the same thing her sister is. She may only be three, but surely she wouldn’t leave me for ice cream. She’s honorable.
“Mama!” she calls out and puts her hands up.
Or not.
Catherine walks over as we stand in front of the obstacle course in California. “What’s the matter, Muffin?” she asks coyly. “You ready to lose to the girls today?”
“My ass, Kitty.”
“Butt,” she corrects me but lets the nickname slide. I’m sure she’ll punish me later—which I might like.
Erin spins in circles in the sand pit and Kennedy runs over to her sister. “They can’t hear.” I grab her waist and pull her against my side. “Besides,” I whisper in her ear and she shivers. “You know I like your ass and I know you like it when I swear. You had no problem telling me to fuck you harder last night.”
My dick stirs at the images, how hot she looked when she fell apart in my arms.
“You may want to get yourself ready since I’m about to kick your butt—again.”
“Over my dead body.” I snake my hand up her back and run my tongue along her neck.
“Girls!” Catherine calls over and they come running.
“Low blow, Catherine.”
“No blowing anything, baby. Other than you’re about to get blown out of the water,” she says as her fine ass starts to walk away.
“I’d rather you blow something else.” I give her a knowing look.
Her head whips around and she smirks. “You’ll pay for that.”
“I’m sure I will.”
She knows the three of them rule my world. Kennedy looks just like her mother—she’s tiny and has the biggest brown eyes I’ve ever seen. Her pout can melt me, and I’m pretty sure she’s figured out all she has to do is turn her lip down and I’ll cave. She has the same tiny cleft in her chin, which is why most people say she’s her mother’s child. I think it’s her feisty attitude and quick wit.
Erin, on the other hand, is pretty much all me. She’s tall and slender but has her mother’s facial features. I love that I can look at any of them and see Catherine. They ground me and give me a love like I’ve never known.
Even with Catherine running her own P.R. firm and my traveling, we find a way to make it work. When we fight, we have a lot of fun making up. When I found out Catherine was pregnant, I was obsessive over everything. What she wore, what she ate, if she took her prenatals, doctor’s appointments, pretty much everything she did I was on top of. Needless to say, she really hated me by month two, but she understood. With Kennedy we were much more relaxed. I actually enjoyed my very horny wife.
“Daddy, we’re ready to run the os-tickle course,” Erin calls, clearly screwing that name up.
I think my cadets need a little extra training.
“Fall in, girls!” I command and they all stand there giggling.
Fine. We’ll do this the hard way. I lift each of the girls and put them in line. Kennedy starts to draw in the dirt while Catherine crosses her arms and covers her mouth trying not to laugh.
“Kennedy, you need to stand at attention.” I huff as she shakes her head back and forth.
“This should be good,” I hear Catherine from behind me.
“Zip it, woman.”
“I’ll give you ‘woman.’”
I turn and wiggle my eyebrows and she rolls her eyes. Some things haven’t changed and I hope they never do.
“Okay, Muffin. Let’s see how a SEAL loses to his wife—who doesn’t exercise—and his two daughters under the age of five,” Catherine taunts. “This time if I win, I want something big.”
“How big? I’ve got a big prize for you.” I raise my brow and she slaps my chest.
“Idiot. Well, first I want to hear your terms.”
My cadets are now doing ring-around-the-rosey. I need a full out boot camp for these two. “Girls … you’re killing me. Killing me.” I look back at Catherine and I need to kiss her.
So I do.
I feel someone little pulling on my shirt. Looking down, I see Erin. Little cock blocker. “Is Uncle Mark coming? He always lets me win.”
“No, because he doesn’t want to lose to your amazing daddy!” I say a little too excitedly.
My beautiful, sweet, perfect daughter laughs at me. “Daddy, you’re silly. Uncle Mark always wins.”
“Do you want to ever get a present again?” I ask her. “Because I’ll make sure you never see another Barbie.” I purse my lips and she laughs harder.
I swear I was drunk when I wished for girls.
“Are you done threatening the kids with things they know you’ll never do and ready to lose?” Catherine asks from behind me, holding Kennedy in her arms.
Arguing with her is a full-time job. “Sure, baby. Let’s set the terms so we’re crystal clear on what I get when I win.”
“Let’s hear it.”
I steeple my fingers and try to make this good. When I win, I want to be sure I really come out with what I want. After the fucking play from hell, I still had to send her to a spa in Napa when I moved out here—and fly Ashton out. It’s payback time.
“I want a guys’ golfing weekend. In Bermuda. With Mark, Tristan, and Logan.”
“So you want to take all my help?” she asks.
“Fine, you can keep Tristan. He sucks at golf anyway.”
Tristan and Logan live down the street from us. Logan had a breakout role in a major film and now Catherine represents him. Tristan stays home and does … well, nothing.
“Okay,” she agrees.
Immediately my spidey senses kick in. She agreed way too easily.
“That was too quick. What did you do?” I look around and put my hand out. “Give me the stopwatch, dear.”
Catherine’s eyes widen and she smiles. “Here ya go, pumpkin,” she says sarcastically. I almost prefer “Muffin”—almost.
I look at the timer but it’s still at zero.
“I don’t trust you,” I narrow my eyes before turning around. “Erin and Kennedy,” I call them over, “Did your mommy do something?”
They both smile and shake their heads no.
“Fine. You ready to watch me teach your mommy how it’s done?”
They both give me a blank stare.
“Okay, good.”
“Ready, Muffin?”
“Sure thing, cupcake.”
“Go!” Catherine calls out and I sprint off. I get over the logs and halfway to the tunnel when I hear Kennedy start screaming hysterically.
I stop immediately and rush to her. When I get there, she stops and looks up at Catherine. “Like that, Mommy?”
Catherine looks up and tilts her head to her shoulder.
“You’re using the kids?” I ask incredulously. This means war.
“A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. You should probably get back to it, old man.”
I growl, “I’ll show you an old man.” I turn and run faster hoping she doesn’t try anything else. I leap back over the logs and get through the tube quickly.
Ha! I’m not even breaking a sweat.
I climb the rope, but when I get to the top of the wall, Erin is sitting at the bottom where I would land.
“Catherine!” I practically snarl her name.
I look at my oldest and give her a knowing look. “Sweetheart, can you move so Daddy doesn’t crush you?”
“Sorry, I was told I would get to go to Toys R Us and pick out anything I want. Grandma Nina also said if I stayed extra long she’d send me money.”
“What? She’s in on this too?”
They’re all out to get me. Next thing Reagan will somehow be involved.
I leap onto the other side and hear Catherine yell out, “That’s an extra minute, babe. You’re clearly cheating.”
I get through the next four parts of the course and make it down the tower.
Now it’s time for my wife to pay for her transgressions.
“What was so important that you wanted to win? You know I’d give you everything.”
She smiles and places her hand on my chest. “You already have.”
“Does this involve a play? Because I really don’t want to sit through that horse shit again.”
“No, but you will get to star in it.” She smiles and my mind starts to race. “I have conditions though.”
“Of course you do,” I shake my head and already regret this.
Catherine smirks and wraps her arms around my neck. “Yes, I don’t want anymore presidents. I just want one thing.”
Now she has me thoroughly confused.
“And that would be, my love?” I question while kissing the tip of her nose.
“A boy.”
THE END