Chapter 54
Lydia
“Say aloha to Colby,” I say to the kids. I flip my iPhone around so the kids can see Colby’s handsome, smiling face, and they all wave and say aloha and good night.
“Good night?” Colby says, surprised.
“We’re three hours ahead of you, remember?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Without warning, Izzy grabs my phone from me and kisses the screen, and I hear Colby laughing wildly and kissing her back.
“Guess what, Izzy Pop?” Colby says.
“What?”
“I got you and your sister the cutest hula-girl outfits you ever did see today. You and Bea Bop a Lula will have to give me a little hula show when I get home, okay?”
Izzy squeals.
“I also got you the prettiest shell necklace you’ve ever seen, too, honey. I can’t wait to see it on your pretty neck.”
Izzy gasps. “Can I see it?”
“Nope. It’s too pretty to show you on the phone. I want to see your eyes light up in person.”
Izzy wiggles with excitement. “I can’t wait!”
Colby laughs. “God, I miss you, sweetheart. So, so much.”
“I miss you, too,” Izzy says. She sighs like a Disney princess looking into a wishing well. “I love you so much, Colby.”
My heart stops. Holy shit. Izzy’s never said those words to Colby before. Indeed, none of us has ever said those magic, sacred words to Colby before. Not even me. But, of course, leave it to Isabella Rose to lead the charge on kicking down any remaining walls.
“I love you, too, my beautiful, smart, silly, sweet Isabella,” Colby says, a huge smile on his gorgeous face. “I’m counting the days until I get to see you all again.”
Izzy coos like a pigeon and kisses the phone again and Colby leans in and says, “Mwaaaah!”
Without warning, a lump rises in my throat and I swallow it down.
“Put Theo on now, sweetie,” Colby says, his smile dazzling. “I have to go to a rehearsal dinner in a bit for my sister’s wedding tomorrow and I want to make sure I talk to each of you before I have to go.”
“One more kiss,” Izzy commands.
They kiss through the phone one last time and then Izzy holds out the phone toward her brother. “Your turn, Theo!”
Theo grabs the phone from his sister and starts excitedly telling Colby about a physical fitness test he took and passed at school today, during which he was required to climb a rope hanging from the school gym’s high ceiling.
“Awesome,” Colby says. “That’s because of all the rock walls you’ve been climbing, dude.”
“When can you start coming to C&C with Ryan and Keane and me?” Theo asks. “You won’t believe how good I’ve gotten.”
“I should be able to climb with you in a couple weeks,” Colby says. “Believe me, going to C&C with you and my brothers is at the top of my To Do List.”
“Can we maybe go just you and me for your first time?” Theo says. “I love going with Ryan and Keane, but maybe we could make your first time something special for just you and me.”
Again, I feel choked up.
“Awesome,” Colby says, smiling broadly yet again. “So, hey, Theo-Leo, you wanna see what I bought for you today in Hana?”
“For me?” Theo says, sounding genuinely flabbergasted.
“Heck yeah, for you. I’ve been missing you and your sisters all week.” Without further ado, he pans his camera to a gleaming ukulele sitting on his hotel bed and Theo loses his freaking mind.
“That’s for me?” Theo shouts.
Colby’s face returns to the screen. “Yup. It’s a nice one, too. Not a tourist piece of junk. Dax helped me pick it out. He got the same one for himself. He’s been playing his all week and loving it. He said when he gets back he’ll give you a lesson on it, if you want. He said the ukulele is a lot easier for little hands to play than a guitar.”
Theo thanks Colby and they high-five through FaceTime.
“Put on my nemesis now, please,” Colby says.
“Okay. I love you, Bee.”
Oh my God. Tears prick in my eyes. I didn’t mean for my kids to fall in love with Colby just yet. My intention was to take things slow. Keep them and their hearts guarded in case things between Colby and me didn’t work out... In case I found I simply couldn’t stomach watching him walk out the door every third day to risk his life.
But it’s clear to me now, watching them with Colby, that trying to take things slow, whether for myself or my children, is futile. We all love this beautiful man. Lock, stock, and barrel. And there’s simply no turning back. No saving ourselves from potential loss or pain. We’re all-in.
Theo hands Beatrice the phone.
“Hello, Newman,” Colby says, and I burst out laughing through my emotion. Beatrice would never get Colby’s Seinfeld reference, of course, but I sure do.
Colby tells Bea about the presents he got her—a hula-girl outfit, a coloring book, and “a beautiful headdress so you can look just like Moana.” And Beatrice loses her mind.
“I love Moana!” she shrieks.
“Yes, I know.”
“Say thank you to Colby, honey,” I say, wiping my eyes.
“Thank you, Bee!”
“You’re welcome, Bea.”
“Bea-Bee!”
“That’s right. I miss you, sweet pea. Sweet dreams. I love you.”
“Okay,” she says.
Colby laughs and mutters, “Glad I got those feelings off my chest, Newman. Put your mother on now, Bumble Bea.”
I take the phone from Bea’s outstretched hand and look at Colby’s stunning face. He looks positively euphoric.
“Hi there,” I say. “Well, that was adorable.”
Colby bites his delectable lower lip, instantly sending goose bumps of desire across my flesh. “Did you get the presents I sent you?” he asks. “I sent them yesterday via overnight shipping. Should have arrived this afternoon.”
“Oh. I saw some boxes arrived, but I haven’t opened them yet.”
“Don’t open them with the kids around. They’ll be scarred for life.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, your presents aren’t from Maui. They’re just a few things I saw online. Things I thought you might particularly enjoy while I’m still here.”
“Sounds intriguing.”
“Get the kids to bed, open your presents in your bedroom, get undressed, and FaceTime me back.”
My clit pulses. “I’ll call you in twenty minutes.”