Indulge With Me (With Me In Seattle Book 10) Read online

  “Oh sweetheart, don’t talk like that.”

  “I know, it’s totally horrible to think this way, but I can’t help it. I’m terrified that I’ll be standing in that birthing room with her, and the baby will come, and the birth mom will tell me that she can’t give her to me.”

  Nic turns worried brown eyes to me. “I get it. I couldn’t give my baby up,” I reply and pet her arm, trying to reassure her. “But she’s doing this for a reason, Nic. Maybe she doesn’t have a choice. Or she just knows that she can’t provide for the baby like you can, and she’s doing the bravest, most wonderful thing in the world. She’s so fucking amazing.”

  “I know,” Nic says, swallowing hard. “We got to meet her, and she’s really nice. I’m just trying to keep it together until all is said and done and the papers are signed.”

  Lia pulls her phone out of a pocket I didn’t even know she had.

  “Shit, guys. Wyatt just texted and wants to know where I am.”

  “Back to the task at hand,” Nic says, pulling on the wrench again. “Damn it, I don’t know if I can get this fucker off.”

  “Why do men screw them on so tight? Are they just trying to prove how strong they are?” I ask.

  “Or, you know, trying to prevent leaks,” Nic says with a smirk.

  “Or that,” I agree. “Hold please.” I reach up and flip a switch. “There, the floor will heat up. My ass is getting cold.”

  “Good call,” Lia says. “But let’s hurry this along. He’ll come looking for me any minute.”

  “Should we try a different screwy thing?” I ask, checking out the pipe. “It looks like it might attach here, too.”

  “Maybe,” Nic says, thinking it over. “I just didn’t want to make too much of a mess.”

  “I don’t give a shit about the mess, let’s just get the ring out, and then we can clean up.”

  “Yes, that’s the best plan,” Lia says, nodding vigorously. “It came in a red box, you guys. This isn’t a cheap ring, or easy to replace.”

  “Okay, pass me the middle wrench,” Nic says, holding her hand out, and I pass it to her, feeling like I’m assisting a surgeon.

  “I didn’t expect to spend today like this,” I admit with a laugh. “We’ll think it’s funny ten years from now.”

  Suddenly, someone clears their throat from the doorway, and we all stop moving, staring at each other, until my husband says, “What, exactly, are you doing?”

  Nate

  I haven’t seen Julianne in more than ten minutes. It’s unlike her to disappear at a party, especially when she’s hosting, but every time I try to go search for her, I get sidetracked by another family member.

  I never expected when I was growing up with just me and my dad that I’d end up in a family with the population of Arizona. It’s everything I never knew I needed.

  “Did you have some of this quiche?” Caleb asks as he goes back for seconds.

  “Not yet,” I reply.

  “Well, you’d better hurry because I’m about to decimate it.” He laughs and digs in.

  I keep going back for the crab cakes. The spread is impressive, and I’ll have to send a personal note of thanks to the master chef, Suzanne. She’s never let me down.

  I wander over to Natalie and smile at my daughter, who’s perched on Nat’s lap.

  “Hi there, peaches.”

  “Hi, Daddy.” She smiles and takes a bite of a donut.

  “Have you been eating lots of sugar?”

  Her eyes widen and she shakes her head innocently, but Natalie laughs and nods.

  “Hmm. No more after that donut, okay?”

  Stella grins, sugar coating her tiny pink lips and bats her eyes at me. “Maybe just one more?”

  “No.”

  “Half of one?”

  I laugh and lean in to kiss her plump cheek. At almost five years old, she’s losing some of her baby fat and changing so quickly. I hate the thought of her growing up.

  “You can have one more. Aunt Natalie is going to make sure you don’t eat more than that.”

  “I won’t,” Stella promises and presses her sugary lips to my cheek. “Have you seen Julianne?” I ask Nat, who frowns and glances around.

  “No, not in a little while. I saw her talking with Lia a bit ago. They’re probably down getting mimosas or something.”

  I nod and walk across the wraparound porch to the steps that lead down to the gazebo.

  I didn’t know it at the time, but buying this beach house was the best decision I could have made in real estate close to ten years ago. I bought it for a low price, and it’s only appreciated in value.

  More than that, our family loves it and uses it often. It’s less than two hours from Seattle, making it the perfect getaway spot.

  “Hey, Nate, thanks for hosting this,” Wyatt, the groom-to-be, says as I reach the gazebo and drink station. He shakes my hand. “We appreciate it.”

  “It’s no trouble at all,” I reply. “Have you seen Jules?”

  “No. In fact, I haven’t seen Amelia in a bit either. I texted her, but haven’t heard back.”

  I nod. “They’re probably together, getting in trouble.”

  “I think Amelia brought some makeup stuff for a few of the girls, so you’re probably right,” Wyatt says, physically relaxing.

  “You were worried about her.”

  His eyes meet mine and then he shrugs. “Of course. I love her. It’s what I do.”

  “You’re going to fit into this family just fine,” I reply, clapping him on the shoulder. “I’ll go look for them.”

  “I’ll join you,” Wyatt says and follows me back up the stairs.

  When we reach the top, Matt is about to descend the stairs, his face tight and lips thin.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask him.

  “I can’t find Nic,” he replies. “I was going to check down there.”

  “She’s not there,” Wyatt says. “We think the girls are checking out makeup stuff that Amelia bought. We’re going to look for them.”

  Matt’s shoulders relax and he nods. “Let’s go.”

  We walk into the house, past kids running about and parents sitting and talking, laughing and enjoying the day.

  “Back here,” I say. “I bet they’re in the bathroom.”

  I lead them to the guest bathroom, silently open the door, and the scene before us has all of us stopping in our tracks.

  Three sets of legs, all long and smooth, are sticking out from under the sink. Their matching torsos are inside the cabinet, and the girls are giggling and talking.

  I glance at Wyatt and Matt, and both of them just smile and shrug. Wyatt leans his shoulder against the doorframe, Matt crosses his arms over his chest, and I shove my hands in my pockets, then say, “What, exactly, are you doing?”

  All activity below the sink comes to a halt as they freeze. Wyatt smirks next to me, and we wait for the girls to decide what to do next.

  Julianne is in the middle. Her shoes, the ones that have kept me semi-hard for hours, are discarded on the bathroom floor. Lia is to our left and Nic is to our right.

  There are wrenches on the floor.

  I can’t wait to hear what this is all about.

  Jules’ head pokes out from under the cabinet and she sends us a sweet smile.

  “Hi.”

  “Hello, my love. What’s up?”

  “Oh, we’re just doing some home improvement work under here.”

  I cock a brow as Wyatt snickers. Matt shifts, and when I glance at him, he’s got a huge smile on his face.

  “I didn’t realize you were a do-it-yourselfer,” I reply and Jules bites her lower lip, making my cock twitch.

  I’d like to make her bite that lip for more carnal reasons.

  But that will come later.

  “I’m usually not,” she admits. “Nic’s much better than me with a wrench.”

  “I had no idea,” Matt says, and Nic’s head comes out from under the sink in surprise. “Hello, little one.�
��

  “Hey, babe,” she says and offers him a small wave.

  “Don’t you think your skirt is a bit short to be on the floor?” Matt asks her and she shakes her head.

  “No, I’m perfectly fine.”

  Matt tilts his head, looking up her legs, his arms still crossed.

  “Really? Because I can see farther up that skirt than I’m comfortable seeing in mixed company.”

  “You picked it out,” she reminds him.

  “I didn’t anticipate you crawling under the sink.”

  “If you’re still hiding under there because you think we can’t see you, you’re wrong, sweetheart,” Wyatt says and Amelia lets out a deep sigh before joining the other two, sitting on the bathroom floor.

  Her bright blue eyes are full of tears.

  “Hey,” Wyatt says, immediately concerned, and squats next to her, cupping her cheek. “What’s going on?”

  “We’re trying to take the pipes apart,” Lia says with a quivering voice, “because I think I dropped my ring down the drain.”

  My eyes fly to Jules’ and she grimaces. “Why didn’t you come get me?”

  “We thought we could do it by ourselves,” Jules says. “But this pipe is on here really tightly.”

  Matt helps Nic to her feet, kisses her cheek, then whispers in her ear and makes her face turn scarlet red. Then he squats down and checks out his wife’s handiwork.

  “First of all,” he begins, “you’re doing this wrong.”

  Wyatt and I help our girls to their feet, and we all stand back to watch Matt work on the pipe. Amelia is sniffling, leaning against Wyatt.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispers.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” he says. “We’ll find it.”

  Jules leans closer to Nic. “What did Matt say to you?”

  “Trust me, you don’t want to know,” Nic replies and gives Jules a smug grin. “But things are going to get interesting later.”

  “Lucky girl,” Jules says, nudging her with her elbow.

  I plunge my fingers into the back of Jules’ hair, fist it, and press my lips to her ear.

  “You have no idea what I have planned for you later.” The words are so quiet that no one else could possibly hear them. Julianne takes a surprised, quiet breath, and I’m pleased when her cheeks turn pink.

  I’m going to make her ass turn pink later.

  “There’s no ring in here,” Matt announces and Amelia gasps.

  “But there has to be,” she says. “I set it on the vanity.”

  “Where else have you been?” I ask her.

  She takes a deep breath, dries her eyes, and pulls it together.

  Good girl.

  “I went to the gazebo for a drink. I could use another one.”

  “Okay,” Wyatt says. “Where else?”

  “I grabbed something to eat, I ran out to the car for a second to grab some face cleanser for Meredith, and then I came into the bathroom.”

  “Is your car unlocked?” I ask. Amelia nods.

  “Okay,” I say, taking charge of the situation. “Wyatt, take Lia down to the gazebo to look around and get the poor woman a drink. Make it a stiff one.”

  “On it,” he says, leading her out of the room.

  “Matt and Nic, go check the car. Julianne and I will go check in with our guests and look around the food tables to see if we can find anything.”

  “Sounds good,” Matt says. “Let’s go, little one.”

  Nic grins and follows her husband to the front door, and I lace my fingers through Julianne’s and pull her hand to my lips, pressing a kiss on her knuckles. When the other two couples are gone, and before I lead her out to the rest of the party, I pull her into the bathroom and shut and lock the door.

  Her wide blue eyes, the same color as Amelia’s, meet mine.

  “Put your shoes on,” I command her. Her lips tip up into a smile, and she does as I ask, slipping her slender feet into her fuck-me heels.

  As soon as she has her balance, I pick her up and brace her against the back of the door, kissing her like my life depends on it.

  Because I swear, there are moments that it does.

  Nothing is more important to me than the woman in my arms and the tiny girl outside that door.

  “You make me fucking crazy,” I growl into her ear. “It seems I can’t go six hours without wanting to be planted inside you. I love you so much I ache with it.”

  “Yes,” she pants, circling her hips and freeing my long hair, running her fingers through it. “I love you, too. So much.”

  I smile against her lips, set my cock free, and slip easily inside her, making her groan when my apa slides along the most sensitive parts of her pussy.

  “Jesus,” she whispers as I fuck her hard, one hand reaching back to grip onto her heel.

  “You’ll still wear these later,” I say, burying my face in her neck and biting her, careful not to leave a mark. “But I need this right now.”

  “Hell yes,” she says and whimpers when her orgasm moves through her. She clenches down on me, and the pressure in my spine and balls is out of this fucking world as I lose control.

  Once we catch our breath, I set her on her feet, make sure she has her balance, then tuck myself away. As she rights herself, I pull my hair back, and then, with a smug smile on her gorgeous face, we leave the bathroom.

  Jules hurries to the buffet line and quickly searches around the food, lifting spoons and spoon rests, hoping the ring fell on the table top.

  I pull the table cloth off the ground and look under it, in case it rolled beneath the food.

  Nothing.

  Matt and Nic wander out from inside the house, Nic sporting the same grin as my wife, and I assume somewhere outside of my beach house has been christened by these two.

  “It’s not in the car,” Matt says. “We’ll head down and see if Wyatt and Lia found anything.”

  “We’ll be right behind you,” Julianne says and then sighs and looks up at me with worried eyes. “She’s going to be devastated if we don’t find it.”

  “Is everything okay, darling?” Julianne’s mom, Gail, asks as she joins us. She reaches over to add some ham biscuits with fig jam to her plate. “I need the recipe for these biscuits. They’re so flaky.”

  “Everything’s great, Mom,” Julianne replies, pasting on her fake smile. “You know how it is, just making sure everyone is having a great time.”

  Gail narrows her eyes on her daughter, but doesn’t call her out on the lie. She just pats her hand and says, “Let me know if I can help. Everyone’s having a lovely time. Don’t worry.”

  She wanders back to her seat, next to Wyatt’s mom. The two have been thick as thieves for weeks.

  “We’ll find it, or replace it,” I murmur to Julianne. “Let’s go down to the gazebo and see what’s what.”

  She nods and leads me down the stairs. Wyatt is sitting on one of the deep couches with Lia curled up next to him. Her tears are gone, but she looks defeated.

  Matt and Nic are pouring themselves bloody Marys. Meredith and Stacy are chatting on the opposite couch, drinking mimosas.

  “I take it you didn’t find it,” Julianne says, her shoulders falling in disappointment.

  “No,” Lia says. “I’m so pissed.”

  “I’ll file an insurance claim,” Wyatt replies. “And I can replace it.”

  “I know, but it’s expensive, and it has an immense amount of sentimental value,” Lia replies. “I’m so sorry.”

  “What happened?” Meredith asks.

  “I lost my engagement ring.”

  “Oh, honey,” Stacy says. “I’m so sorry.”

  Lia shrugs. “You know, it sucks, but I’m not going to let it ruin the rest of this party. Everyone is here to celebrate us, and I refuse to mope about this for one more minute.”

  She stands and holds her hand out to Wyatt.

  “I want a chocolate cinnamon roll.”

  “Let’s get you one then,” he says as he stands a
nd follows Lia up the stairs.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Meredith says, looking down at her own wedding band and engagement ring. “I had a scare like that once, and I was positive my heart was going to fall out of my chest.”

  “I did lose my wedding band,” Stacy says, shaking her head. “When I was pregnant with Michael, my hands were so swollen I couldn’t wear my rings, so I put my engagement ring in the safe, but kept my wedding band out for the rare occasions that I could manage to wrangle it on my finger. I set it on the bedside table, and it disappeared. To this day, I don’t know where it is. Isaac bought me a new one, but I wish I had the original.”

  “It happens,” I reply and wrap my arm around Julianne’s back. “Things can always be replaced. Do you need anything from upstairs?”

  “No thanks,” Mer says with a smile. “We’re enjoying the ocean breeze and the company.”

  Jules leads me upstairs, and we find seats next to Natalie, Luke, Will and Meg. Stella has moved to Will’s lap, and he keeps stealing her nose.

  “You don’t have my nose!” she exclaims with a laugh.

  “Here, I’ll put it back,” Will says, and presses his fingers to Stella’s face, making her laugh harder.

  “Mommy,” Olivia says as she runs up to Natalie. “Look at my new pretty!”

  She holds her hand up to Natalie’s face, and Jules and I freeze before glancing at each other.

  “Uh, Olivia, I don’t think this is for you.”

  “I found it in the bathroom! Finders keepers, losers weepers.”

  Jules squats next to Olivia and kisses her cheek. “Baby doll, that’s a pretty ring. But you know what?”

  “What?”

  “That’s Miss Lia’s ring. She lost it earlier, and you found it for her. She’s going to be so excited.”

  Olivia’s beautiful face scrunches into a frown. “But I like it.”

  “You have lots of costume jewelry at home,” Nat says with a laugh. “Please give Aunt Jules the ring.”

  Olivia slides it off of her finger and drops it in Jules’ outstretched palm. “Okay.”

  “Thanks, baby doll,” Jules says before kissing the little girl again and turning to me with a bright smile. “Thank the baby Jesus! We found it!”

  Brunch Menu