揟oday was a good day,?Brayden says softly to no one in particular.
And I smile, because it really was. They don抰 know it yet, but I bet it抯 the kind of day they抣l think of when they remember their childhood梐 collection of simple, small, fun moments.
揤iolet抯 your girlfriend, right, Dad??Spencer asks.
揧es, buddy, Violet is my girlfriend.?
揑 knew it. That抯 why you look so goofy whenever she抯 around.?
揋oofy??I give him a mock frown. 揥hat do you mean, goofy??
揟otally goofy,?Brayden confirms. 揕ike how Aaron looked last year after he got his wisdom teeth pulled, but all the time.?
揧eah, you抮e right, he does look like that,?Aaron chuckles.
揃ut it抯 okay.?Spencer pats my leg, his little face honest and innocent. 揑 like it when you look like that.?
When parents have a solid marriage and healthy relationship, it gives kids a sense of safety. Security. I used to worry that Stacey and I had robbed them of that. That the divorce would leave them lingering in a constant state of unease and shifting instability.
But looking at them now . . . I抦 not worried about that anymore.
揝o, I was thinking that Violet might stay over more often, like she did last night. It抣l save on gas . . . and I like having her around and she really likes being here with us. What do you guys think about that??
揝ure. I like Violet,?Spencer declares.
揗e too,?Brayden offers.
揧eah, she抯 cool,?Aaron agrees.
揙kay.?I nod. 揋reat.?
A sweet, warm contentment spreads through my chest that I haven抰 felt in a long time. It抯 that calm, satiated happiness that comes when life is just going good. Good for the boys, and for me and Violet . . . good for all of us. Together.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Connor
After our day at Great Adventure and my talk with the boys, Violet starts staying over a couple nights a week. I clear out two dresser drawers; her shampoo and strawberry-scented body wash take up residence in the shower and her lavender toothbrush sits in the holder beside mine.
The boys handle the transition of having a woman around the house well梩he only discernible change is that they抮e now putting on shorts in the morning instead of walking around in their underwear. Violet gets along great with them梐nd it抯 all just so . . . easy. Awesome and amazing.
The week before they抮e set to go back to school, on a Wednesday, Vi and I both have the day off and Garrett gives the football team a rest day, so he and Callie come over with the kids to swim in the pool and barbecue. Violet抯 in my bedroom changing into her suit, and when I walk in, she抯 standing in front of the floor-length mirror turning left to right, her decadent lips curved down in a pouty frown.
揥hat抯 wrong??
She tugs her bathing suit down in the back, trying to cover the sweet sliver of ass cheek peeking out.
揑抦 not sure about this bathing suit.?
The suit is hot梐 high-cut black bikini scattered with dainty white daisies that I plan to slowly peel off her later with my teeth.
揥hat do you mean? You look gorgeous.?
Her skin is golden and warm as I splay my hands across her hips, pulling her back against me and rubbing against the semi I抦 sporting, in case she had any doubt of just how gorgeous she looks.
Vi tilts her head toward the mirror, still concerned.
揟hat抯 what I抦 worried about. Do you think it抯 inappropriate to wear around the boys??
I will never not fucking love that. How she抯 always thinking of them, always putting their well-being before anything else. It just comes natural to her, and that makes me an even luckier bastard than I already know I am.
揑t抯 not inappropriate, Vi梩hough I wouldn抰 mind seeing you in something that was.?
My mind floods with tantalizing images of her languidly lying on a lounge chair wearing a brightly colored, barely-there, thong string-bikini. Or even better梐t a topless beach.
揟he boys know what a woman in a bathing suit looks like.?
She fidgets with the triangular top, tucking her breasts in梐nd my palm tingles to be where her hand is, cupping and kneading that soft, pillowy flesh.
My dick goes from semi to full-fledged hard-on in no time flat. Because it抯 like my desire for Violet compounds daily, feeds off itself梕very moment we抮e together only makes me want her more.
I crave her deeper today than I did last week, harder than yesterday, crazier than even this morning. It抯 a constant, insatiable need that dwells equally in my head, my cock, and my heart.
揑 don抰 know,?she sighs. 揗aybe I should buy a few one-pieces.?
I shrug. 揑f it makes you feel more comfortable, go for it. But don抰 do it for the boys?sakes. Trust me, you抮e my girlfriend梩hat means you no longer qualify as an actual woman to them. You抮e in the same category now as their aunts . . . and Angela and Callie wear bikinis too.?
I wrap my arms around her waist, kiss her cheek and nibble at her jaw.
揃esides梚f your goal is to ugly yourself down, don抰 delude yourself. You could walk around in a garbage bag and you抎 still be smokin??
Her shoulders lose their tension and she aims her smile at our reflection. She turns in my arms and brings her lips close to mine as her hands coast down into the waistband of my swim trunks, squeezing my ass.
揧ou抮e pretty sexy yourself, Dr. Daniels. In case I didn抰 mention that yet today.?
Then Violet kisses me梬ith tongue. And I love my life right now.
*
Having your entire family living within a ten-mile radius is kind of like eating Pringles potato chips梱ou can never have just one. So, while only Garrett and Callie and their kids come over in the morning, the entire family tree is here by the afternoon.
Ryan worked the night shift, so after a power nap, he, Angela, and my two teenage nieces, Frankie and Joey, show up. Tim抯 already at my parents?house doing laundry, so the three of them arrive shortly after.
Food isn抰 an issue梬ith three healthy, perpetually starving boys in the house, I keep the freezer stocked with chicken, burgers, and hot dogs. Callie and Garrett baked cupcakes and cookies, Angela brought enough pasta salad and sliced watermelon to feed a small army, and since my mom likes to store up food like a doomsday prepper, she whipped up a ton of potato salad, macaroni salad, and canned peach crumble.
By 2 p.m. the sky is cerulean and cloudless, the sun is scorching. The Rolling Stones are blasting from the speakers scattered around the yard and everyone except my parents and baby Charlotte, who naps on a towel beside them under the shaded protection of the sun umbrella, is in the pool. Engaged in a heated game of water volleyball.
Because sports are woven into the fiber of my family抯 DNA梬e抮e like working-class Kennedys梬e抮e competitive and like to win.
And Violet Robinson fits right in.
She jumps up with a grace that still surprises me and spikes the ball over the net toward Ryan. He dives for it with a splash . . . and misses.
揈at it!?Violet shouts like a baller.
揘iiice!?I hold my hand up and she slaps it high five.
揇id I mention I was the captain of the girls?volleyball team back in high school??
揧ou didn抰，？I chuckle. 揃ut I抦 glad you were.?
Ryan groans, 揥e抳e been hustled.?He waves his team in. 揌uddle up! Time for a new strategy.?
My three-year-old nephew, Will, talks shit like a chip off the old block from where he抯 sitting atop Garrett抯 shoulders behind me.
揥e抮e gonna beat you, Uncle Ryan!?
Ryan points at him like a WWF wrestler accepting a challenge.