“You did well and will be rewarded by Lars later.” Ronan puts his son to his feet. “Off you go, my second in command.”
Remi stands upright and makes a salute. “Yes, sir.”
Everyone laughs as he runs at full speed and crashes into Brandon and Eli.
Everyone except me, because I’m contemplating a way to kidnap Elsa out of here and have her all to myself.
After Eli falls asleep.
I pull out my phone and email Jonathan because he dislikes texts. Usually, I would purposely text him, but I need him for grandpa duties this weekend.
It’s been some time since I had Jonathan’s island all for me and my wife.
From: Aiden King
To: Jonathan King
Subject: Don’t You Miss Your Grandkid?
I’ll bring him over this weekend.
From: Jonathan King
To: Aiden King
Subject: Don’t You Miss Your Grandkid?
No.
He’s probably planningto go to the island with my stepmum himself, and he can get stiff as fuck when it comes to her time. I smirk as I type.
From: Aiden King
To: Jonathan King
Subject: Don’t You Miss Your Grandkid?
You had your chance. I’m calling Aurora.
From: Jonathan King
To: Aiden King
Subject: Don’t You Miss Your Grandkid?
Don’t.
I pullAurora’s number and text her.
Aiden:Elsa needs time to decompress. Can you have Eli this weekend?
Her reply is immediate.
Aurora: Absolutely! I miss his face.
My smirk widensas I pull back the exchange with my father.
From: Aiden King
To: Jonathan King
Subject: Don’t You Miss Your Grandkid?
Already done.
“What are you plotting?”a soft voice whispers from my right as I tuck the phone in my pocket.
Elsa stares at me with slightly narrowed eyes, as if she knows exactly what I’ve done.
“Just some negotiations with Jonathan.”
She raises a brow. “Just Jonathan?”
“I might have deferred to Aurora.”
“Aiden!” She clutches me by the shoulder. “Stop using her against your father.”
“I’m not using her. It’s mutually beneficial. It’s not my problem that Jonathan doesn’t see it that way.”
She chuckles under her breath. “You’re awful.”
“But you still love me?”
Her lips brush against my cheek as she whispers, “When did I ever stop?”
“I never stopped loving you since that day I first saw you when we were just kids, sweetheart.”
Kimberly
Itug on Xander’s bicep. “Let Cecily go so she can play with the other kids.”
“You mean so they’ll hurt her?” He tickles her tummy. “Not that I would let anyone hurt my little Cecily.”
She breaks out in giggles, dimples creasing her cheeks as she holds on to him with all her might. “Daddy!”
I shake my head as I take her from his arms and put her to her feet. She staggers for a bit before she breaks into a run towards the others. He’s making her so spoilt, it’s on a whole different level.
“Why did you do that?” He frowns, following her with his gaze as she stands beside Remi, holding on to him as she did to her daddy.
I smooth a crease in his shirt on his shoulder, and yeah, it could be just an excuse to touch him. Truth is, I can’t stop touching Xander. So what if we’ve been married for nine years? When in his presence, I feel like the little girl who snuck into his house to sleep beside him.
“You, Kir, Dad, and Lewis are turning her into a spoilt little princess.”
“Which she should be.” He grins, showing his own dimples as he palms my cheeks. “You don’t have to be jealous, Green. If you want attention, all you have to do is ask. Actually, scratch that. I would give you attention without you having to ask.”
His lips meet mine and I pull back before he deepens the kiss in front of everyone. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Yeah, right.”
“You’ll come back to my words one day and by then, it will be too late.”
“It will never be too late, because Cecily won’t leave my side. Kir agrees, by the way.”
I sigh, thinking of my baby brother. Although he’s twenty and at university now, so he’s not exactly a baby anymore.
Xan’s lips brush against my temple. “You miss him?”
A small period of silence is all he needs to know there’s something up. Xan is the one person on this planet who can read me better than anyone. Just like I have the ability to read him.
Leaning my head on his shoulder, I sigh. “I do. Do you think he’ll kick me out if I go visit?”
“You saw him last weekend, Green. And you say I’m spoiling Cecily? Look at you with Kir.”
“I worry.”
“He’s a grown man. Leave him be.”
“Fine. I will go to visit next weekend, I guess.”
He laughs. “You’re so fucking adorable.”
I wrap my arms around him as we re-join our circle of friends. We’ve come so far in the twelve years since we left Royal Elite School.
My demons are in the past, and although the scars have never disappeared, they’ve faded away and I can now breathe properly. Sometimes, I wonder what would’ve happened if I’d stayed in that black hole. Other times, I completely forget about the what-ifs and remain in the present.
I wouldn’t have gotten this far without the man holding on to me as if I’m his world.
I followed my dream and became a sociologist who’s able to help kids who are like I once was. Kids who’ve been mentally or physically abused. Kids who need help but don’t know how to ask for it.