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Sebastian grunted. “It was the eyeliner. That’s where we went wrong.”
Ryder took a deep breath and patted us on the backs. “That sweet woman is about to dunk me and fall even deeper in love with me, so if you’ll excuse me.”
Sebastian caught his arm. “She said she wanted to dunk me first.”
As they raced each other to the dunk tank like a couple of kids, I looked over at Brianna and shrugged. “Men. Right?”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Go on. I can see that you want to race for the win, too.”
She was right. I had a feeling that when it came to Fiona, I’d always want to race for the win. No matter what, the woman owned my heart. I took another few seconds before taking off at a sprint to beat them.
I watched as SJ took out his dad and both Roman and Racey latched onto Ryder. I was free to win but then I felt a weight land on my back and looked back to see Lucy’s grinning face as she clung to me like a monkey.
“Come on, Avery! Help!” Lucy’s call to action was answered by Avery running and throwing himself at my legs.
I went down next to Sebastian and Ryder and the kids took great pleasure in celebrating our defeat. Fiona stood over us with her sister at her back. With her hands on her hips, in the flowing white dress, she looked like a goddess. I forgot what I was doing and went still under the kids, happy to just stare at her.
Her eyes were bright as she laughed. “How are you guys going to handle two more kids? You can’t even handle this bunch.”
Sebastian, calling to some hidden strength, picked SJ up and climbed to his feet with SJ over his shoulder. He flexed and winked at Fiona. “You’d better be ready to dunk me, woman.”
“Dad! Ew. Don’t call her woman.” Sam faked a gag and then jabbed her finger into SJ’s side. “Look at you, still being held by your daddy.”
I looked over at Ryder and shook my head. “No way am I pulling something trying to lift these kids. Sebastian can win this one.”
He nodded back. “At least we know who we’ll call to carry us around when we’re old. What a show-off.”
Sebastian dropped SJ and scrambled to the dunk tank. He shouted at us over his shoulder. “I’m not carrying you two bums around. I’m going to be too busy throwing my woman over my shoulder still.”
Sam screeched as her dad embarrassed her and then her brother pushed her for her ‘daddy’ crack. “I hate it here!”
Jane sighed. “She gets that level of drama from her father.”
“What? No, she doesn’t. I’m not dramatic.” Sebastian, mid-way into the dunk tank he’d just fought to reach first, paused to scowl. “I’m not dramatic!”
Sam shrugged. “Me either. I was totally kidding. This is great. The only thing missing is three boyfriends of my own.”
I didn’t have to look back to know the splash I heard was Sebastian stumbling into the tank. Fiona held her hand out to Sam and they bumped knuckles. “Way to keep him on his toes.”
54
***Fiona***
After a long day in the sun, I was tired. When everyone but the guys slowly said their goodbyes and left, I didn’t question it. I knew I’d be with them tonight, celebrating our family, no matter how tired I was. I needed it. Mallory took Avery, Roman, Racey, and Lucy home to our house for what she called a yoga-centered sleepover. I didn’t know what it meant, but I hoped the kids didn’t end up revolting.
At some point during the day, the cabin had been transformed again. Gone were the spa essentials and in their place was a massive bed that took up most of the space. It looked so soft that I wanted to crawl in and never leave. Before I could, though, Ryder caught my hand and pulled me back onto the porch and around the back of the cabin to the outside shower.
He pulled the dress over my head, leaving me naked. When I tried to cover myself, he eased my arms down to my sides and smiled. “There’s no one around for miles. We made sure of it, angel. As sweet as you were to leave our makeup job on, it’s time to wash it off.”
I bit back a laugh. When I’d finally seen my face, I’d understood everyone’s second take at me. The guys were a lot of things but they were not makeup artists. I waited while Ryder turned on the shower and got the temperature right. Then, I watched as he undressed. My mouth watered and I cursed the days that had passed without me seeing his body. He was beautiful. There was no other way to put it.
Turning back to face me, Ryder motioned me forward until the warm water splashed across my chest. He grabbed something from the makeshift shelf behind him and lathered it between his hands. “Close your eyes, angel.”
I rested my hands on his sides to steady myself as he washed my face. I loved the feeling of his muscles working under my palms and swayed towards his warm body.
“I’m going to rinse this off.” Running the water over my face, Ryder rinsed away all the soap and then slanted his mouth over mine. My breath caught. He tasted like the cherry pie we’d eaten for dessert after dinner. My fingers tightened on his sides and I opened my mouth for his cherry tongue.
Before I had enough, he pulled back and looked down at me with water droplets clinging to his eyelashes. I wanted more and he knew it, but he turned me around and angled my head so the water reached my hair. He took his time washing and conditioning my hair before he turned me around again and began washing my body. It was heaven and it was hell as he touched me all over, dragging his sudsy hands from my throat to my toes. He paid special attention to my breasts, giving up the ruse of cleaning them and leaning down to tease my nipples with his mouth.
