The Ceo's Contracted Mistress
The Ceo’s Contracted Mistress Chapter 15

Bobbie leaned in a lounge chair in the pool area and watched as Olivier and Grady played with the three kids in the water. They had spent the entire day together, having dinner as a family before heading to the pool for some fun. Bobbie, Ollie, and Max were going to have a sleepover in Olivier’s room tonight since Olivier said he had to work all day the next day just like Bobbie and Grady.

“He took to fatherhood like a fish to water.” Everly said with a smirk as he flipped Ollie high into the air in a somersault into the water.

“I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop,” Bobbie admitted as she took a sip of her bottled water trying not to ogle the muscular body. “It’s all too easy.”

“Would you rather it be hard? To be fighting and throwing down instead of making every effort to be a family?”

“No, I don’t want it to be hard but how did we get here? Friday, I hated him. Sunday I’m half in love with him again. I had s*x with him, Everly.”

“Yeah, how did that happen?”

She looked at her with a smirk, “well, like the monkeys in the zoo, the male primate puts his p***s in the female primate’s v****a…” she trailed off laughing when Everly smacked her with the book in her hand.

“I meant how did you go from avoiding him to screwing him? What happened last night?”

“We talked about what happened back then. Then he said I couldn’t leave until we sorted through our differences.”

“Or what?”

She threw her hands up at Everly appreciatively, “I asked the same thing, but he said there was no ‘or what.’ It wasn’t a punishment. Said our kids deserved both parents to get along and provide the same family dynamic you have for Lark.”

“What if you refused?”

“I wasn’t permitted to leave until we came to a compromise. He said if it took all night yelling and screaming, then it was what it would take.”

“Damn,” Everly gave an appreciative nod in his direction. “He’s good.”

“It get’s worse. He put me in the shower because I was covered in vomit. He saw my scar and cried …”

Everly cut her off, “he cried?”

“Yes.” She sighed, “then he ordered me dinner, including a banana split and wanted to look at pictures of the kids. All of them. Wanted to see every video and every photo I’ve ever taken of the kids. Sent a bunch of them to his laptop. We talked a lot, mostly about the beasties,” she smiled as she heard Max screaming for his father’s attention and Olivier’s smile in her direction at the sound of it. “He does really seem to be made for this.”

“Okay, all of this is great but sexy time?”

“It’s your fault.”

“My fault?”

“Yes. We were sharing a glass of the single best bourbon I’ve ever had in my life, and I got sleepy.”

“He took advantage?”

“No. I fell asleep. I slept well and then my best friend sent me a panicky text and woke us up. I woke up wrapped up in his arms like I’d always been there. I couldn’t fall back to sleep.”

“Ah, then sexy time.”

“Then sexy time,” she agreed with a sigh. “I forgot how skilled he was.”

“He definitely looks like a man who knows what he’s doing.”

“He knows. He really knows.”

“Gonna do it again?”

“He said we’re getting married Everly.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yup. Said we’re going to be married before the week is out.”

“Why?”

“He wants our kids to have a two-parent household. Refuses to miss another day of their life.”

“Is he pissed you kept them hidden?”

She met her best friend’s questioning gaze with a quizzical one of her own, “no, he said he was proud of me for keeping our children safe from what I thought was danger.”

“Who is he?” Everly looked back to the man playing in the water. As the two adult men shoved each other playfully she grimaced, “and why does my husband look like he’s found a long-lost brother.”

“I don’t know. They get along way too well.”

“Is he really going to retrofit our houses with security and then move into your house with you?”

“Yup.”

“Am I going to be your maid of honor?”

“Sure. We’ll get Nana Prue to marry us,” she rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to marry him. I haven’t seen him in years.”

“You boned him.”

“Technically, he boned me, and boning is very different than marrying.”

“The kids would love it.”

“I was his hooker,” she suddenly spit out angrily. “Every time I look at him, I remember I was his hooker and I fell in love with him, and he was going to fire me.”

“Bobbie,” Everly whispered gently. “Honey, anyone can see it’s not how he sees you.”

“Earlier this week, before he knew the truth, he said the contract was simply making sure my expenses were covered because he made me quit my job and it served more an as NDA. He can argue all he wants the contract was an NDA, but it was an employment contract for s*x. I was his w***e. Having s*x with him is easy,” she admitted quietly staring at her water bottle as she peeled the label off furiously. “s*x is not the problem. It’s believing I’m worth anything more than f*****g which is the problem.”

“Oh sweetie,” Everly reached out and clasped her hand. “You can’t mean that.”

“I would do anything for my kids. You know it. If he wants to move in and be a dad, I can live with it. I can live with him. I’ll pretend to be whatever he needs me to pretend to be, so I don’t have to go to court with him and lose my babies. Marriage just feels too real.”

“Did you tell him?”

“He wasn’t willing to negotiate on the marriage thing. Again, it wasn’t a choice. I either do it or he argues with me until I agree.”

“Does arguing include make-up s*x?” Everly grinned naughtily breaking the tension.

“I hope so,” Bobbie grinned, “though he’s promised the kids a sleepover in his penthouse suite tonight so not tonight.”

“Mom, look!” Ollie’s voice cut into their conversation from high up.

She looked up to see Ollie and Oliver standing on the diving platform, her daughter waving excitedly. “Dad said he’d jump with me!”

“He’s f*****g nuts,” Everly grunted and shook her head in disbelief.

Bobbie couldn’t help the smile taking over her face so wide her cheeks ached with it as her daughter gripped her father’s hand and they jumped together screaming the entire drop into the water. She looked up to see Max coming to sit on the edge of her lounger. Her son was definitely pouting.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he sighed and wrapped up in his towel and lay down on her lounger next to her. “I wish I were as exciting as Ollie. Dad is having more fun with her than me.”

“Ah,” she looked to Everly who twisted her lips trying not to laugh. Her son was jealous of Ollie’s extraverted personality. “You don’t need to be Ollie. Just be you.”

“He’s going to love her more than me,” he whispered as he curled into her side.

She cuddled him for several minutes watching as Olivier and Ollie came to the surface and Olivier looked around in confusion. She watched him swim to the edge.

A shadow fell over the chairs as Olivier approached them. “Max, where’d you go? I came up from the water and my lifeguard was gone. You were supposed to be there in case I didn’t surface. Who was going to save me?” He reached out and ruffled his hair. “Why don’t you come back and play with us?”

“I don’t want to,” he whispered keeping his head tucked on his mother’s shoulder.

“Okay,” he squatted beside the lounger, “you rest up here.” He gave Bobbie a sad smile as he stroked the thin shoulder of the boy cuddled up to her.

After Olivier went away, Max snuggled deeper against her, “Mom, can I have a sleepover at Larks’ with Everly and Grady instead of in my dad’s room?”

“No honey,” she shook her head denying his request. “It’s important you spend time with him and to get to know him better.”

“He won’t like me.”

“I don’t know. I think you’re worrying before giving it a fair chance,” Everly reached out and stroked his cheek. “Your dad looked for you as soon as he came out of the water. Just because you didn’t jump with him, doesn’t mean he didn’t want you right beside him. He came right for you.”

Bobbie nodded at the little boy, “he did.”

He sat up and sighed rubbing his eyes frustratedly, “I always wanted to have a dad. What if he figures out, I’m just a nerd?”

Bobbie grinned suddenly at the word, “can I tell you a secret your dad told me last night?”

“What?” his little eyebrows met in the middle as he stared hard at her.

“Your dad told me he has two sisters who tease him about being a nerd.”

“Him?” Max’s eyes bulged, “he’s not a nerd.”

“They think he is. He likes numbers. A lot. He does math for fun.”

“No way,” Max suddenly bounced in the seat. “Do you think he would help me with my homework?”

“I think he is very much looking forward to helping you with your homework. Maybe even,” she tickled his sides, “science fair projects.”

“He’ll be way better at it than Grady,” Everly tossed out.

Lark came running up to Max. “My dad said it’s almost bedtime because it’s a work night. He told me, me and you and Ollie are going to a museum and the park tomorrow with Nana Prue. Your dad said if we’re good for Nana Prue, he would take us for a special surprise tomorrow evening.”

“Did he now?” Bobbie grimaced.

“He did,” Lark was bouncing on her toes wrapping up in her towel, “he whispered to my dad and my dad got excited.”

Bobbie watched with a lifted eyebrow as the two men came out of the pool with arms over each other shoulders as if they’d known each other forever. “What are you plotting?”

“I’m spending your baby daddy’s billions,” Grady grinned at her as Olivier gave a shout of laughter. “Giving him all kinds of ideas.”

“Moron,” Bobbie grunted as Grady flicked his towel in her direction.

Olivier reached past Bobbie to the small table beside her and grabbed his cell phone off the table. His chest was right in her face, and he smelled of chlorine and sweat and she closed her eyes against his close proximity. His pecs were perfectly placed in her view, and she had a strange desire to flick her tongue out and lick one. She quelled her desire knowing three kids and two other adults were within touching distance and would be highly inappropriate. He was murder on the control of her libido.

She exhaled sharply as he stood up and gave her a knowing smirk. She kicked a foot toward his thigh, and he grabbed it and bit her bare toe. “Ouch!”

“Ew, Dad! You put mom’s toe in your mouth!” Max was disgustedly staring at his father who was shrugging into his t-shirt with a big grin.

“Probably not the nastiest thing he’s put his tongue on,” Grady whispered earning a fist-pump from Olivier while the two women g*****d loudly.

Bobbie got off the lounge as the three kids raced to the door and found herself pulled against Olivier’s side; his arm draped over her shoulder possessively. She started to pull away, but he kept her tight.

“The entire time I was in the pool, you were getting into your head, and I could feel you pulling away from me as if you were already in Dallas. Quit it.” He whispered in her ear before nipping her earlobe gently. “Embrace it, Bobbie. I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me until death do us part.”

“We aren’t married, Olivier.”

“Yet,” he kissed the top of her head. He looked over his shoulder and grinned when Grady was openly ogling his wife as he helped her into her bathing suit cover-up. “He really loves her to pieces.”

“He sure does,” she smiled as she thought of her friends.

“We will have that,” he said earnestly as he led her through the pool area into the main hotel.

Her heart ached at his words. How could he be so sure of himself with so much between them? “Olivier, there is so much time between us.”

“Yet, it feels like I haven’t skipped a beat with you. With them,” he nodded his head at the kids racing through the hotel lobby ahead of them, “I know nothing, and I ache to learn every single detail. You, though,” he twisted his lips with a smile, “it feels you are the part I’ve been missing too long.”

“Olivier,” she whispered turning her face into his shoulder as his words impacted her emotionally.

They reached the elevator, and she knew her face was stained red with emotion as they began the ascent to their rooms. When the elevator stopped to let Grady, Everly and Lark off on their floor, Lark protested slightly she wanted to do a sleepover too, but Grady pulled her out and the elevator continued to the rooms.

Ollie looked to her parents, “um, what about my pyjamas?”

“I had everything moved from your room downstairs to our room.”

Bobbie lifted an angry gaze to him, “you did what?”

“It makes more sense from a security perspective,” he didn’t back away from her fury.

“You didn’t even mention it to me?”

“Mom, are you mad?” Max moved closed to her and clutched her hand.

She inhaled and closed her eyes and then gave a tight smile, “no, I’m not angry.”

“You look angry,” Ollie said with a frown. “Don’t you want us to stay with our dad?”

“I do, I just was shocked your dad had our things moved without asking how we all felt about it.”

“It’s okay with me,” Ollie grinned up at him.

Max was quiet as he stood close to his mother. Before Olivier could say anything, the doors opened to the suites, and he ushered them into the space.

“Are you okay, Max?” Olivier asked keeping his eyes on the child clutching his mother.

He nodded and looked away, keeping his hand tucked into Bobbie’s elbow. Bobbie watched him taking in the opulence of the suite of rooms and studying the space. Olivier walked to the opposite side of the room to a door Bobbie hadn’t noticed the evening before. He pushed the pocket doors open and waved to the kids, “you guys can sleep in here.”

Ollie raced through the suite and ran into the room. “We get our own big beds?” she exclaimed excitedly.

Olivier looked to Max, “don’t you want to see?”

“Maybe after, I need the bathroom.” Max looked to his mother inquisitively.

“You and Ollie have your own bathroom through here,” Olivier tried again but the boy wouldn’t even meet his gaze. “Max, did I do something wrong?”

Max hid his face in Bobbie’s side, and she bent down and picked him up. “He’s just a bit overwhelmed with everything Olivier. He has never been one to deal well with a lot of change and it’s been a bit of a day.” She carried him through the bedroom and into the bathroom. She turned the shower on and motioned for him to drop his towel and get in the shower.

When Ollie peeked in, Max yelled at her and Bobbie gave her a glance, “Ollie, you don’t like it when Max sees you naked. Out.”

“Ugh, why’s he being such a baby. He’s making our dad, sad.” She stomped and turned her back to the door.

“Your father is an adult, and he can deal with it. Max needs a moment and you’re going to respect his feelings.” She reprimanded, “Ollie, go replace Max a pair of pjs and get your stuff together for your shower.”

She marched away angrily, and Bobbie rolled her eyes. She helped Max wash his hair and scrub his body and then wrapped him in a big fluffy towel.

Max rubbed his face in the towel and whispered, “these towels are nicer than the ones in our other room.”

A knock on the door frame made them both look up and Olivier interrupted, “can I come in?” He held up Max’s pjs.

Max nodded and watched as Olivier moved to sit on the closed toilet seat.

Olivier gave a sad smile, “I owe you an apology Max.”

“You owe me an apology?” Max was surprised as he made big eyes at the man.

“I did. I didn’t ask you what you wanted to do. I didn’t ask if you wanted to come here for a sleepover or if you wanted to come stay with me. I was just so excited to be with you, I assumed you wanted what I wanted, and it was wrong of me. I am sorry, Max.”

“I do want to have a sleep over and stay with you,” Max whispered quietly, correcting him.

“Then why so sad?” he reached out and touched his cheek.

“I’m not as fun as Ollie. You’re going to be bored with me.”

“You really are your mother’s kid, huh,” he grinned at Bobbie who flipped him off behind Max’s head. “Max, I don’t want you to be like Ollie. I just want you to be Max. I will always love you just for being you.”

“I’m a nerd,” he whispered, “all the kids at school say so.”

“Me too!” Olivier grinned, “do you know who else are nerds?”

“No,” Max made a face.

“Batman, Bruce Banner, Spiderman, Iron Man, any of the astronauts and scientists you saw yesterday at the Space Center,” he held up the t-shirt of his pyjamas and slid them over Max’s head, “and its far cooler to be smart than stupid. When you’re smart, you get to figure out ways to do all the things you want to do and then do it.” He helped him into the shorts under the towel the boy clung tight to his waist. “Just because you’re smart, Max, doesn’t mean you’re dull. I can’t wait to learn about the things you love to do.”

“Even if I can’t jump off towers?”

“Yup.” He pulled him into his arms and gave him a big hug, smelling his neck, the roughness of the beard he hadn’t yet shaved tickling his neck and making him giggle. “I never want you to try to be anything you are not. I love you for you Max. I will never, not ever, get bored of being with you.”

“Can I have my shower now?” Ollie grimaced at the trio in the room.

“Yes,” Bobbie grinned. “Feeling left out, Olivia?” She mocked the little girl pulling her into a hug and tickling her sides.

“No. I already know my dad loves me.” She shrugged with the confidence only she had, “I can’t wait to show the kids at school who were making fun of us for not having a dad how my dad is way cooler than theirs.”

“Kids made fun of you?” Olivier asked furiously.

“Don’t worry dad,” Ollie shrugged without an ounce of embarrassment, “I punched them in the face.” She waved at them, “can the boys get out? I don’t want anyone but girls seeing my v****a.”

Bobbie chortled as both Olivier and Max made the same facial expression of horror at her words and then rushed out of the bathroom. Ollie shook her head at her mother, “boys are weird, mom.”

“No s**t,” Bobbie grinned at her.

“Eight!” Olivier called out from the other side of the door. “You owe me a k**s.”

“Mom,” Ollie made a face, “if I get my own bed and Max gets his own bed, where are you sleeping?”

“With dad,” Olivier called again from the other side of the door.

“Like Grady and Everly?” Max’s voice carried through.

“Yes.” Olivier didn’t back down.

“Will you do what the monkeys at the zoo did?”

Bobbie g*****d and put her hands in her face as Ollie made big eyes at her.

“Can we get a baby brother or sister?” Ollie was splashing the water as she jumped up and down in the shower.

Max began to explicitly detail to his father what he had observed at the zoo asking if he was going to do to Bobbie what the boy monkey did to the girl monkey. Olivier peeked around the door with wide eyes to look at Bobby in what she could only describe as panic.

She grinned back, “welcome to parenthood.”

Bobbie leaned in a lounge chair in the pool area and watched as Olivier and Grady played with the three kids in the water. They had spent the entire day together, having dinner as a family before heading to the pool for some fun. Bobbie, Ollie, and Max were going to have a sleepover in Olivier’s room tonight since Olivier said he had to work all day the next day just like Bobbie and Grady.

“He took to fatherhood like a fish to water.” Everly said with a smirk as he flipped Ollie high into the air in a somersault into the water.

“I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop,” Bobbie admitted as she took a sip of her bottled water trying not to ogle the muscular body. “It’s all too easy.”

“Would you rather it be hard? To be fighting and throwing down instead of making every effort to be a family?”

“No, I don’t want it to be hard but how did we get here? Friday, I hated him. Sunday I’m half in love with him again. I had s*x with him, Everly.”

“Yeah, how did that happen?”

She looked at her with a smirk, “well, like the monkeys in the zoo, the male primate puts his p***s in the female primate’s v****a…” she trailed off laughing when Everly smacked her with the book in her hand.

“I meant how did you go from avoiding him to screwing him? What happened last night?”

“We talked about what happened back then. Then he said I couldn’t leave until we sorted through our differences.”

“Or what?”

She threw her hands up at Everly appreciatively, “I asked the same thing, but he said there was no ‘or what.’ It wasn’t a punishment. Said our kids deserved both parents to get along and provide the same family dynamic you have for Lark.”

“What if you refused?”

“I wasn’t permitted to leave until we came to a compromise. He said if it took all night yelling and screaming, then it was what it would take.”

“Damn,” Everly gave an appreciative nod in his direction. “He’s good.”

“It get’s worse. He put me in the shower because I was covered in vomit. He saw my scar and cried …”

Everly cut her off, “he cried?”

“Yes.” She sighed, “then he ordered me dinner, including a banana split and wanted to look at pictures of the kids. All of them. Wanted to see every video and every photo I’ve ever taken of the kids. Sent a bunch of them to his laptop. We talked a lot, mostly about the beasties,” she smiled as she heard Max screaming for his father’s attention and Olivier’s smile in her direction at the sound of it. “He does really seem to be made for this.”

“Okay, all of this is great but sexy time?”

“It’s your fault.”

“My fault?”

“Yes. We were sharing a glass of the single best bourbon I’ve ever had in my life, and I got sleepy.”

“He took advantage?”

“No. I fell asleep. I slept well and then my best friend sent me a panicky text and woke us up. I woke up wrapped up in his arms like I’d always been there. I couldn’t fall back to sleep.”

“Ah, then sexy time.”

“Then sexy time,” she agreed with a sigh. “I forgot how skilled he was.”

“He definitely looks like a man who knows what he’s doing.”

“He knows. He really knows.”

“Gonna do it again?”

“He said we’re getting married Everly.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yup. Said we’re going to be married before the week is out.”

“Why?”

“He wants our kids to have a two-parent household. Refuses to miss another day of their life.”

“Is he pissed you kept them hidden?”

She met her best friend’s questioning gaze with a quizzical one of her own, “no, he said he was proud of me for keeping our children safe from what I thought was danger.”

“Who is he?” Everly looked back to the man playing in the water. As the two adult men shoved each other playfully she grimaced, “and why does my husband look like he’s found a long-lost brother.”

“I don’t know. They get along way too well.”

“Is he really going to retrofit our houses with security and then move into your house with you?”

“Yup.”

“Am I going to be your maid of honor?”

“Sure. We’ll get Nana Prue to marry us,” she rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to marry him. I haven’t seen him in years.”

“You boned him.”

“Technically, he boned me, and boning is very different than marrying.”

“The kids would love it.”

“I was his hooker,” she suddenly spit out angrily. “Every time I look at him, I remember I was his hooker and I fell in love with him, and he was going to fire me.”

“Bobbie,” Everly whispered gently. “Honey, anyone can see it’s not how he sees you.”

“Earlier this week, before he knew the truth, he said the contract was simply making sure my expenses were covered because he made me quit my job and it served more an as NDA. He can argue all he wants the contract was an NDA, but it was an employment contract for s*x. I was his w***e. Having s*x with him is easy,” she admitted quietly staring at her water bottle as she peeled the label off furiously. “s*x is not the problem. It’s believing I’m worth anything more than f*****g which is the problem.”

“Oh sweetie,” Everly reached out and clasped her hand. “You can’t mean that.”

“I would do anything for my kids. You know it. If he wants to move in and be a dad, I can live with it. I can live with him. I’ll pretend to be whatever he needs me to pretend to be, so I don’t have to go to court with him and lose my babies. Marriage just feels too real.”

“Did you tell him?”

“He wasn’t willing to negotiate on the marriage thing. Again, it wasn’t a choice. I either do it or he argues with me until I agree.”

“Does arguing include make-up s*x?” Everly grinned naughtily breaking the tension.

“I hope so,” Bobbie grinned, “though he’s promised the kids a sleepover in his penthouse suite tonight so not tonight.”

“Mom, look!” Ollie’s voice cut into their conversation from high up.

She looked up to see Ollie and Oliver standing on the diving platform, her daughter waving excitedly. “Dad said he’d jump with me!”

“He’s f*****g nuts,” Everly grunted and shook her head in disbelief.

Bobbie couldn’t help the smile taking over her face so wide her cheeks ached with it as her daughter gripped her father’s hand and they jumped together screaming the entire drop into the water. She looked up to see Max coming to sit on the edge of her lounger. Her son was definitely pouting.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he sighed and wrapped up in his towel and lay down on her lounger next to her. “I wish I were as exciting as Ollie. Dad is having more fun with her than me.”

“Ah,” she looked to Everly who twisted her lips trying not to laugh. Her son was jealous of Ollie’s extraverted personality. “You don’t need to be Ollie. Just be you.”

“He’s going to love her more than me,” he whispered as he curled into her side.

She cuddled him for several minutes watching as Olivier and Ollie came to the surface and Olivier looked around in confusion. She watched him swim to the edge.

A shadow fell over the chairs as Olivier approached them. “Max, where’d you go? I came up from the water and my lifeguard was gone. You were supposed to be there in case I didn’t surface. Who was going to save me?” He reached out and ruffled his hair. “Why don’t you come back and play with us?”

“I don’t want to,” he whispered keeping his head tucked on his mother’s shoulder.

“Okay,” he squatted beside the lounger, “you rest up here.” He gave Bobbie a sad smile as he stroked the thin shoulder of the boy cuddled up to her.

After Olivier went away, Max snuggled deeper against her, “Mom, can I have a sleepover at Larks’ with Everly and Grady instead of in my dad’s room?”

“No honey,” she shook her head denying his request. “It’s important you spend time with him and to get to know him better.”

“He won’t like me.”

“I don’t know. I think you’re worrying before giving it a fair chance,” Everly reached out and stroked his cheek. “Your dad looked for you as soon as he came out of the water. Just because you didn’t jump with him, doesn’t mean he didn’t want you right beside him. He came right for you.”

Bobbie nodded at the little boy, “he did.”

He sat up and sighed rubbing his eyes frustratedly, “I always wanted to have a dad. What if he figures out, I’m just a nerd?”

Bobbie grinned suddenly at the word, “can I tell you a secret your dad told me last night?”

“What?” his little eyebrows met in the middle as he stared hard at her.

“Your dad told me he has two sisters who tease him about being a nerd.”

“Him?” Max’s eyes bulged, “he’s not a nerd.”

“They think he is. He likes numbers. A lot. He does math for fun.”

“No way,” Max suddenly bounced in the seat. “Do you think he would help me with my homework?”

“I think he is very much looking forward to helping you with your homework. Maybe even,” she tickled his sides, “science fair projects.”

“He’ll be way better at it than Grady,” Everly tossed out.

Lark came running up to Max. “My dad said it’s almost bedtime because it’s a work night. He told me, me and you and Ollie are going to a museum and the park tomorrow with Nana Prue. Your dad said if we’re good for Nana Prue, he would take us for a special surprise tomorrow evening.”

“Did he now?” Bobbie grimaced.

“He did,” Lark was bouncing on her toes wrapping up in her towel, “he whispered to my dad and my dad got excited.”

Bobbie watched with a lifted eyebrow as the two men came out of the pool with arms over each other shoulders as if they’d known each other forever. “What are you plotting?”

“I’m spending your baby daddy’s billions,” Grady grinned at her as Olivier gave a shout of laughter. “Giving him all kinds of ideas.”

“Moron,” Bobbie grunted as Grady flicked his towel in her direction.

Olivier reached past Bobbie to the small table beside her and grabbed his cell phone off the table. His chest was right in her face, and he smelled of chlorine and sweat and she closed her eyes against his close proximity. His pecs were perfectly placed in her view, and she had a strange desire to flick her tongue out and lick one. She quelled her desire knowing three kids and two other adults were within touching distance and would be highly inappropriate. He was murder on the control of her libido.

She exhaled sharply as he stood up and gave her a knowing smirk. She kicked a foot toward his thigh, and he grabbed it and bit her bare toe. “Ouch!”

“Ew, Dad! You put mom’s toe in your mouth!” Max was disgustedly staring at his father who was shrugging into his t-shirt with a big grin.

“Probably not the nastiest thing he’s put his tongue on,” Grady whispered earning a fist-pump from Olivier while the two women g*****d loudly.

Bobbie got off the lounge as the three kids raced to the door and found herself pulled against Olivier’s side; his arm draped over her shoulder possessively. She started to pull away, but he kept her tight.

“The entire time I was in the pool, you were getting into your head, and I could feel you pulling away from me as if you were already in Dallas. Quit it.” He whispered in her ear before nipping her earlobe gently. “Embrace it, Bobbie. I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me until death do us part.”

“We aren’t married, Olivier.”

“Yet,” he kissed the top of her head. He looked over his shoulder and grinned when Grady was openly ogling his wife as he helped her into her bathing suit cover-up. “He really loves her to pieces.”

“He sure does,” she smiled as she thought of her friends.

“We will have that,” he said earnestly as he led her through the pool area into the main hotel.

Her heart ached at his words. How could he be so sure of himself with so much between them? “Olivier, there is so much time between us.”

“Yet, it feels like I haven’t skipped a beat with you. With them,” he nodded his head at the kids racing through the hotel lobby ahead of them, “I know nothing, and I ache to learn every single detail. You, though,” he twisted his lips with a smile, “it feels you are the part I’ve been missing too long.”

“Olivier,” she whispered turning her face into his shoulder as his words impacted her emotionally.

They reached the elevator, and she knew her face was stained red with emotion as they began the ascent to their rooms. When the elevator stopped to let Grady, Everly and Lark off on their floor, Lark protested slightly she wanted to do a sleepover too, but Grady pulled her out and the elevator continued to the rooms.

Ollie looked to her parents, “um, what about my pyjamas?”

“I had everything moved from your room downstairs to our room.”

Bobbie lifted an angry gaze to him, “you did what?”

“It makes more sense from a security perspective,” he didn’t back away from her fury.

“You didn’t even mention it to me?”

“Mom, are you mad?” Max moved closed to her and clutched her hand.

She inhaled and closed her eyes and then gave a tight smile, “no, I’m not angry.”

“You look angry,” Ollie said with a frown. “Don’t you want us to stay with our dad?”

“I do, I just was shocked your dad had our things moved without asking how we all felt about it.”

“It’s okay with me,” Ollie grinned up at him.

Max was quiet as he stood close to his mother. Before Olivier could say anything, the doors opened to the suites, and he ushered them into the space.

“Are you okay, Max?” Olivier asked keeping his eyes on the child clutching his mother.

He nodded and looked away, keeping his hand tucked into Bobbie’s elbow. Bobbie watched him taking in the opulence of the suite of rooms and studying the space. Olivier walked to the opposite side of the room to a door Bobbie hadn’t noticed the evening before. He pushed the pocket doors open and waved to the kids, “you guys can sleep in here.”

Ollie raced through the suite and ran into the room. “We get our own big beds?” she exclaimed excitedly.

Olivier looked to Max, “don’t you want to see?”

“Maybe after, I need the bathroom.” Max looked to his mother inquisitively.

“You and Ollie have your own bathroom through here,” Olivier tried again but the boy wouldn’t even meet his gaze. “Max, did I do something wrong?”

Max hid his face in Bobbie’s side, and she bent down and picked him up. “He’s just a bit overwhelmed with everything Olivier. He has never been one to deal well with a lot of change and it’s been a bit of a day.” She carried him through the bedroom and into the bathroom. She turned the shower on and motioned for him to drop his towel and get in the shower.

When Ollie peeked in, Max yelled at her and Bobbie gave her a glance, “Ollie, you don’t like it when Max sees you naked. Out.”

“Ugh, why’s he being such a baby. He’s making our dad, sad.” She stomped and turned her back to the door.

“Your father is an adult, and he can deal with it. Max needs a moment and you’re going to respect his feelings.” She reprimanded, “Ollie, go replace Max a pair of pjs and get your stuff together for your shower.”

She marched away angrily, and Bobbie rolled her eyes. She helped Max wash his hair and scrub his body and then wrapped him in a big fluffy towel.

Max rubbed his face in the towel and whispered, “these towels are nicer than the ones in our other room.”

A knock on the door frame made them both look up and Olivier interrupted, “can I come in?” He held up Max’s pjs.

Max nodded and watched as Olivier moved to sit on the closed toilet seat.

Olivier gave a sad smile, “I owe you an apology Max.”

“You owe me an apology?” Max was surprised as he made big eyes at the man.

“I did. I didn’t ask you what you wanted to do. I didn’t ask if you wanted to come here for a sleepover or if you wanted to come stay with me. I was just so excited to be with you, I assumed you wanted what I wanted, and it was wrong of me. I am sorry, Max.”

“I do want to have a sleep over and stay with you,” Max whispered quietly, correcting him.

“Then why so sad?” he reached out and touched his cheek.

“I’m not as fun as Ollie. You’re going to be bored with me.”

“You really are your mother’s kid, huh,” he grinned at Bobbie who flipped him off behind Max’s head. “Max, I don’t want you to be like Ollie. I just want you to be Max. I will always love you just for being you.”

“I’m a nerd,” he whispered, “all the kids at school say so.”

“Me too!” Olivier grinned, “do you know who else are nerds?”

“No,” Max made a face.

“Batman, Bruce Banner, Spiderman, Iron Man, any of the astronauts and scientists you saw yesterday at the Space Center,” he held up the t-shirt of his pyjamas and slid them over Max’s head, “and its far cooler to be smart than stupid. When you’re smart, you get to figure out ways to do all the things you want to do and then do it.” He helped him into the shorts under the towel the boy clung tight to his waist. “Just because you’re smart, Max, doesn’t mean you’re dull. I can’t wait to learn about the things you love to do.”

“Even if I can’t jump off towers?”

“Yup.” He pulled him into his arms and gave him a big hug, smelling his neck, the roughness of the beard he hadn’t yet shaved tickling his neck and making him giggle. “I never want you to try to be anything you are not. I love you for you Max. I will never, not ever, get bored of being with you.”

“Can I have my shower now?” Ollie grimaced at the trio in the room.

“Yes,” Bobbie grinned. “Feeling left out, Olivia?” She mocked the little girl pulling her into a hug and tickling her sides.

“No. I already know my dad loves me.” She shrugged with the confidence only she had, “I can’t wait to show the kids at school who were making fun of us for not having a dad how my dad is way cooler than theirs.”

“Kids made fun of you?” Olivier asked furiously.

“Don’t worry dad,” Ollie shrugged without an ounce of embarrassment, “I punched them in the face.” She waved at them, “can the boys get out? I don’t want anyone but girls seeing my v****a.”

Bobbie chortled as both Olivier and Max made the same facial expression of horror at her words and then rushed out of the bathroom. Ollie shook her head at her mother, “boys are weird, mom.”

“No s**t,” Bobbie grinned at her.

“Eight!” Olivier called out from the other side of the door. “You owe me a k**s.”

“Mom,” Ollie made a face, “if I get my own bed and Max gets his own bed, where are you sleeping?”

“With dad,” Olivier called again from the other side of the door.

“Like Grady and Everly?” Max’s voice carried through.

“Yes.” Olivier didn’t back down.

“Will you do what the monkeys at the zoo did?”

Bobbie g*****d and put her hands in her face as Ollie made big eyes at her.

“Can we get a baby brother or sister?” Ollie was splashing the water as she jumped up and down in the shower.

Max began to explicitly detail to his father what he had observed at the zoo asking if he was going to do to Bobbie what the boy monkey did to the girl monkey. Olivier peeked around the door with wide eyes to look at Bobby in what she could only describe as panic.

She grinned back, “welcome to parenthood.”