Chapter 33
EVIE
Can a heart burst from too much happiness? Is there even such a thing as being too happy?
A year ago I had nothing, and now… now I have everything I’ve ever dreamt about.
As Miss Sebastian dashes away from us, Rhett tightens his arm around my waist. He’s never touched me so much before, and it keeps sending tingles racing through my body.
It feels surreal being his sole focus. We had some moments back when we were in school, but the way he looks at me, and he touches me… it’s different.
Every touch feels like a promise of passion, and every look weakens my knees.
I’m the one who’s been slowing down the pace between us, but now I’m no longer sure that’s what I really want.
As we walk out onto the patio, I glance around.
“Carter!” Della shrieks as he tosses her over his shoulder. He starts to stalk towards the swimming pool and a little girl jumps up and down with excitement near them.
“Don’t you dare,” Della hisses seconds before he throws her into the water, clothes and all.
“Yeah,” the little girl shrieks before she runs towards the water. Carter catches her in time, swinging her into the air.
“Not yet, Princess. You can’t ruin your dress.”
She pouts at him and crosses her tiny arms over her chest. “But I wanna swim with Mommy.”
“After we’ve eaten, you can change into your Little Mermaid bathing suit,” he tries to negotiate with her.
Della swims to the edge and drags herself out.
“But Mommy’s already getting out,” the little girl argues.
“Don’t worry, I’ll throw her back in for you,” Carter says with a mischievous grin.
At that moment the little girl’s eyes land on Rhett and she lets out a squeal.
“Put me down. Hurry!” She wiggles until Carter sets her back on her feet.
Like a little bolt of lightning, she races over to us.
“Uncle Ledge,” she cries, and she flings herself at him.
Rhett scoops her up and tosses her into the air before catching her again.
“That’s a pretty dress you’re wearing, Princess,” he says as he plants a big kiss on her chubby cheek.
Her eyes zoom in on me, and again she starts to wiggle like a little worm until Rhett sets her down.
Her eyes are huge as she watches me, and curiosity makes her little face shine with wonder.
She crooks her tiny finger at me, showing for me to crouch down.
I sink down to my knees and smile at her. She places her hand against my cheek and whispers, “I’ve been waiting for for-eeeeeever to meet you.”
My smile becomes wobbly, and I swallow hard on the lump in my throat.
“Hi, Princess Danny,” I whisper once I can trust my voice to not fail me.
“Are you finished with your adventure?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I breathe the word.
She glances up at Rhett and swallows hard. It looks like she’s just been told Santa isn’t real.
“What’s wrong?” I ask as worry curls in my stomach. If Danny doesn’t like me, I don’t know what I’ll do. She’s Rhett’s world.
Her bottom lip starts to tremble, and she whispers, “Daddy says it’s good to share my things with others.”
Not understanding, my eyes dart up to Rhett hoping he can help. But his eyes are glued to Danny’s face with such intensity it makes my heart stop.
This moment isn’t about me, I realize.
I look back to Danny, and patiently wait for her to continue.
Her shoulders slump, and placing her hands behind her back, she digs the toe of her glittering flats into the ground.
“Uncle Ledge is my fairy-godfather,” she whispers, “but it’s okay if I have to share him with you.”
“Oh, Danny,” I whisper when I realize Danny is sad because she thinks I’ll take Rhett from her.
I reach for her arm and pull it from behind her back. Her eyes keep jumping between my face and our hands as I uncurl her little fingers.
I reach up with my other hand, grab hold of Rhett’s hand and yank him down. He crashes into me but catches himself in time before he squashes me.
I place Rhett’s hand palm to palm against Danny’s, and the sadness in her eyes makes space for curiosity.
“See how big Rhe… ah… Uncle Ledge’s hand is?”
She nods eagerly.
I place my hand on the back of Danny’s, and whisper, “See how much space is still left of Uncle Ledge’s hand?”
“Yes,” she breathes.
“It’s the same with Uncle Ledge’s heart. You’re right in the center of it, and no matter who comes into his heart, there will always be extra space for them so you won’t have to ever share the space you have.”
A bright smile lights up her entire face.
“Phew.” Using her other hand, she wipes at the imaginary beads of sweat on her forehead. “It’s a lot of hard work to worry.”
I chuckle as I let go of her hand and sit back.
Rhett presses a kiss to Danny’s forehead. He whispers something in her ear which makes her giggle. She nods excitedly before she waits for him to walk over to where Carter and Della are standing, watching me with their daughter.
“Aunty-Princess-Anna,” Danny’s voice yanks my attention back to her. She giggles as she says, “Uncle Ledge asks if he can be your Kristoff?”
For a moment I have to wrack my memory to remember that Kristoff is Anna’s love interest in Frozen.
My eyes widen, and my mouth drops open, which only makes Danny giggle more.
“Silly,” Danny teases, “you have to say yes.”
“Yes,” the word is nothing but a burst of air, but it’s enough for Danny because she twirls around before running to Rhett, yelling at the top of her lungs, “She said yes, Uncle Ledge. You have to kiss her now.”
“You’re right, Princess,” Rhett says with a wicked gleam in his eyes.
As his long legs eat up the distance between us, Danny shouts, “Not too long. That will be gross.”
Rhett looks dangerously hot as he stalks right at me, his eyes locked on mine. His body collides with mine, his arm wraps around my waist and tipping me backward, his mouth claims mine.
Even though he keeps the kiss PG-rated, Rhett becomes the sole focus of my entire universe as we kiss for the first time.
He pulls me back up and keeping his arm wrapped around my waist, he ends the kiss. When my eyes flutter open, they meet his heated ones.
“Took you long enough,” I whisper, my voice hoarse from wanting this man.
A sexy grin tugs at the corner of his mouth, as he whispers, “I promise I’ll make it up to you when we leave here.”
Wow. Can we leave already?
As Rhett steps back, everyone starts to clap, making my cheeks flame with embarrassment.
Thankfully, they all have mercy on me and soon return to the various conversations they were having before Rhett and I gave them a show.
The girls all rush over, each taking a turn to hug me. Della grips the towel around her with one hand, while she holds me with her free arm.
“Thank you,” she whispers, and she doesn’t need to say more. I know she’s referring to the moment between her daughter and me.
Rhett brings me a soda while I catch up with the girls, and immediately Miss Sebastian’s eyes grow wide.
“You’re not having any wine? Is there a reason?” Her eyes drop to my stomach, and I swear I’m about to go up in flames with embarrassment.
“On no! No-no-no, it’s nothing like that,” I say quickly. “I’m not a big fan of alcohol.”
Miss Sebastian seems to deflate right before our eyes. “A girl can dream,” she whispers.
“Don’t worry, Miss Sebastian,” Rhett says as he throws an arm around my shoulders. “Soon enough you’ll have a dozen of mini-me’s running around.”
Her face brightens with hope. “Just make sure you give your little chunk of hunks a map. I’m sure by now they’ve forgotten what an egg looks like.”
I made the mistake of taking a sip of soda, and it spurts out as I laugh at Miss Sebastian’s words. Wiping the drops from my chin with the back of my hand, I whisper, “I’m sorry. I didn’t see that coming.”
“Oh, honey, I don’t blame you. My babykins took so long to go after you, I’m afraid the second his ding-dong sees your bejeweled land of fantasy, all those little chunk of hunks are going to take off like a bedazzled rocket into outer space.” She wags her manicured brows at me. “Instead of stars, I’m hoping he gives you fireworks.”
For a full minute, I can only blink.
I can’t believe we’re talking about Rhett and I having sex.
“I might need that glass of wine now,” I mutter to no one in particular.
“Thanks, Miss Sebastian,” Rhett says as he pulls me away from the girls and towards the fire where all the guys are gathered. “On that note, I’m sure Evie is ready to run screaming for the hills.”
“Don’t you go sassing me, my babykins. Someone has to prepare my angel-girl,” she calls out, making Rhett chuckle.
When we get to the guys, Jaxson and Logan smile at me, as they say at the same time, “Hi.”
It makes me grin when they scowl at each other.
Jaxson gives me a quick hug. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Logan keeps his distance though, and says, “Good to see you, Evie.”
“Hey, guys. Thanks for having me,” I say, feeling a little self-conscious as I dare a peek at Carter.
His face is so unyielding that I instantly drop my eyes to the ground. I guess he still doesn’t like me.
“Rhett, do you mind if I borrow Evie for a second?” Carter asks, and I shut my eyes, praying Rhett says no.
“Sure.”
My shoulders slump, and suddenly I wish Dad was here so I could hide behind him.
“Walk with me to the kitchen, Evie,” Carter says. “I need to get the burgers and steaks.”
I swallow hard as I follow him, wondering how on earth Danny is such happy child when her dad is so scary.
By the time we reach the kitchen I’m seriously thinking about making a run for the front door.
“It’s none of my business,” Carter says as he pins me with a daunting look, “and you know that Rhett is very important to all of us.”
I start to swallow repeatedly as my heart sinks into the shiny tiles at my feet. This is where Carter tells me I’m not good enough, that Rhett deserves more than what I can offer him.
“And I’m certain I’m speaking for everyone here, when I say,” his mouth starts to pull into a smile, which confuses me, “thank you for giving Rhett’s stubborn ass a second chance.”
“Huh?” The word bursts from me, as I stare at Carter.
“For a while there, I was really concerned about Rhett. Now that he has you, I know he has found his happiness. I’m glad it’s you.”
I still look like a gaping fish when he picks up a bowl of meat, places his hand on my shoulder and gives it a light squeeze, before leaving me alone in the kitchen.
I let out the breath I was holding.
I didn’t expect that.
Wow.
It’s a relief to know Carter doesn’t hate me.
Arms wrap around me from behind, and I know who it is without having to look.
“Are you okay?” Rhett whispers against my cheek.
I nod as I slowly turn around in his arms.
“Good, for a second there I thought you were going to climb over the counter so you could crawl away from Carter.”
I slap his chest playfully. “It was one time! You’re never going to let me forget, are you?”
Rhett shakes his head as his hands drop to my butt, and lifting my body against his, he walks us into a study. Using a foot, he nudges the door closed, then presses me up against the wall.
My stomach is alive with the buzzing of bees and fluttering of butterflies as he stares deep into my eyes.
“I knew I was done for when I saw you crawling toward the stairs,” he whispers.
“Why?” I breathe the word, not wanting to ruin the moment between us.
“Let’s just say the view was spectacular,” he teases.
He starts to lower his head, and my eyes drop to his mouth.
An inch away, he stops, and whispers, “I’m going to kiss you, Evie.”
My eyes dart to his before dropping back to his lips. As I lift my chin to nod, his mouth crashes against mine.
My hands move from his shoulders, wrapping around the back of his neck as his fingers dig into my butt, and he lifts me higher so that I can wrap my legs around his waist.
When his tongue teases the seam of my mouth, I moan softly, opening for him. Feeling his tongue brush against mine, and tasting Rhett, sets off tiny explosions of pleasure all over my body.