Live-In Position (63 page)

With Victoria on her way to Tacoma with my father and Carla, Collin drove us back to the beach house. Stepping into quiet was wonderful, but the surprise of everything being cleaned and back to normal was even better. Ilene and Juliet were on top of their game.

“So, I have you for over a week, all to myself,” Collin hummed into my ear and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Tomorrow we leave for Hawaii.” He kissed behind my ear.

“Mm-hmm…” I lay my head back against his shoulder and closed my eyes when his mouth moved down my neck.

“I want you,” he whispered.

My thighs instantly tingled and a pulsation began between them. A small shriek squeezed from my lungs when he whisked me up into his arms, just like a bride, and carried me up the stairs to our room.

He was slow, agonizingly slow, and sweet in his touches. My body felt like it would absorb him into my skin. As we calmed our hearts and breath, we lay in each other’s bare embrace, our bodies twisted around one another. For the first time, I fell asleep in my husband’s arms.

C
hapter
F
orty

STRETCHING THE NEXT morning, I realized I was alone in bed. With a toss of the covers I sat upright. Dizziness struck, and my stomach gave a familiar gurgle. Lying back onto the pillows I covered my face with my hands, hoping I could stop the dizziness.

“Are you alright?”

I couldn’t respond. It was too late for me. Rolling to the edge, my feet hit the thick carpet and dug in as I darted for the bathroom where my morning offering was made to the porcelain god. Collin’s warm hand rubbed along my back. I attempted to swat him away, but he stood stoically beside me until I was finished.

“Are you alright?” he asked again, handing me a cold damp washcloth. I nodded and wiped my face off. “I have breakfast waiting for you, come on.” He stood and extended his hand to me.

“I’ll be right there. I want to brush my teeth first.” Grabbing my toothbrush and toothpaste, I began scrubbing away the residual sour taste from my mouth. I stepped into the bedroom after a good rinse and found Collin, my husband, waiting to escort me down to breakfast.

The smell of eggs, toast, pancakes, and bacon made my stomach growl with anticipation. Sitting in the spot Collin had set for me, I began to dig into the plate of food. Collin chuckled quietly as he sat next to me.

“Shush it.” I pointed my empty fork at him. “You have no idea how gross it is to empty your stomach one minute and then want to eat the entire menu at IHOP the next.”

After breakfast, we packed up our things, and Collin started taking the luggage to the car. Slowly, I walked from the bedroom and down the stairs. As I looked through the house, I smiled at the memories of getting married. The utter joy of my wedding day had successfully buried all of the drama, anger, and sadness that had been so prevalent over the summer.

Collin stepped back into the house. My eyes shifted to his face and my smile grew.

“What are you smiling about?” He came closer to me.

“Because of how lucky I am.” We wrapped our arms around each other. He planted his lips firmly to mine.

“Mmmm,” he pulled back, “I believe I’m the lucky one, Mrs. Bishop.”

“I think I like the sound of that.” I bit my lip.

“I love the sound of it.”

With a small dip in his stature, he picked me up once again and carried me to the packed car.

“Aren’t you supposed to do that on the way into the house?” I giggled.

“In, out,” he shrugged, “doesn’t matter, just has to be a threshold from what I’ve heard.” He winked and closed my door.

During the drive to the airport, I called my father. Victoria was with him and Carla for the afternoon but needed to be back in Seattle for school. He was supposed to drive her to meet Larissa where she would be staying while we were away. Having only boys, Larissa was looking forward to the girl time she would get. Amber, too, had gratefully taken on helping with Victoria.

“Hello?”

“Good morning,” I sang through the phone. Carla laughed.

“Are you two on your way?” Excitement filled her voice.

“Yes, we are. I’m just calling to check on Victoria and to make sure Dad didn’t try to kidnap her longer.”

Carla laughed again. “She has been wonderful, and it might be me you need to worry about. It’s been so nice having her.”

“Is that Mommy?” Victoria’s anxiousness was apparent in the background.

“Yes, it is,” Carla answered her. “Hold on a second, someone wants to speak with you.”

“Okay.”

“Mommy?”

“Hey baby, are you having a good time?”

“Yes! I made pancakes this morning, and we are making cookies now. Last night, Pawpaw taught me how to play war with cards, and he promised to teach me poke today.”

“Poke?” It took me a second to figure out what she meant. “You mean poker?”

“Yeah, that’s it!”

“You tell Pawpaw that he better not cheat.” She giggled.

“Tell her hello and I love her,” Collin whispered from the driver’s seat.

“Daddy says he loves you.”

“I love him too, but I still don’t know why I couldn’t go on the honeymoon with you.” I could hear the pouting in her voice.

“We will only be gone a week. It won’t be too long. Be a good girl for Pawpaw and Carla, and for Aunt Rissa and Uncle Max.”

“Okay. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“You still there?” Carla returned to the phone. I wiped my eye.
Damn hormones!

“Yes, we are only a half hour away from the airport now.”

“Okay, well, I’ll let you get going. Have fun and stay safe. I promise we’ll return Victoria to Seattle today.” She chuckled.

“Thank you, Carla. Talk to you soon.” The phone went silent.

“Everything okay?” Collin’s hand rested on my left thigh. I nodded.

“Yeah, I just miss her. She said she loves you too, by the way.” I rested my head back against the seat. There was a comfortable silence for the rest of the drive.

The flight landed at Honolulu International Airport on time. Collin had a car waiting for us just outside the terminal. We drove twenty minutes until we reached the main building of the resort.

Inside, people were rushing around in white shorts and Hawaiian shirts, all eager to take our luggage and welcome us with Leis. We were shown to a large desk made of bamboo where an exotic brunette welcomed us. I looked around while Collin checked us into our room. I was anxious to go see our room.

“Right this way, Mr. and Mrs. Bishop.”

Collin wrapped his fingers around mine as we followed a short, tan man. Two other men fell in step behind us with our luggage. When we walked back outside, I turned and looked up at Collin. He gave me a sly smile.

“Where are we going?” I whispered.

“To our bungalow,” he answered with not one more hint.

The man motioned for us to climb into a golf cart as our bags were placed in the rear. I stepped into the cart and took a seat. Collin slid in next to me.

We didn’t have to drive long. After turning around a bend lined with palm trees, a group of bungalows built over the water came into view. Winding through a few paths, we reached a long wooden dock. The men hurried down the dock with our bags.

Collin extended his hand to me once he was out of the cart. I took it and climbed out next to him. His arm wound around my waist as we followed the men.

“This is amazing,” I breathed out.

“I hoped you would like it.”

“Like it? I have never been anywhere like this. I love it.” I snuggled into his side and he held me tighter.

If I thought the view from the dock was amazing, I was corrected once we were shown into Bungalow Nine. The living room area had a large sliding door opening to an attached deck with a window in the floor allowing for a view of the water and sea life below.

“This is fantastic.” Stepping into the bedroom, I was a loss for words. The bed faced an open wall with a view of the ocean and the horizon. I spun and looked at Collin with a large grin before quickly walking out onto a small deck off the bedroom.

The soft warm breeze blew around me, tousling my sundress around my legs. Rays of sun warmed my skin, a welcome feeling in comparison to Seattle’s cooler climate. I heard Collin’s approach and looked over my shoulder at him.

“It is so beautiful.”

His arms wound around me from behind. “I agree.”

“This is perfect, Collin. Thank you so much.”

I turned in his arms and kissed his chin. He returned the appreciation with a kiss to my lips. I opened my mouth the moment his tongue slipped over my bottom lip. The moan I heard could have come from one or both of us—it didn’t much matter.

“Collin,” I gasped and looked around us. There was no one in sight, at least, not at the moment. “We can’t, not here.” I was barely able to get the words out.

“I want you,” he growled against my neck, “right now.”

“Oh god,” I gasped, gripping his shoulders tightly.

HAWAII WAS AN amazing place. The weather, the food, the entertainment, the snorkeling, the beaches, the dancing, and every view—all of it was spectacular. Even with all of that, it was the conversation I loved the most.

Though reluctant at first, Collin talked in depth about Grace and their relationship. He told me about when Victoria was born, and what happened after Grace first left. He talked about his childhood, growing up privileged and with such high expectations. I told him about growing up with a sick mother, losing her early in life, and spending a great deal of my childhood in police stations and fishing boats. Eventually he also let me know how he felt about his family. This trip gave us the longest, uninterrupted time we had ever shared. I felt like we were getting to know each other on a completely different level.

While we did not agree on whether Allison should go back to Jonathan, we did agree Ilene had become far more tolerable and had changed from the fierce matriarch she had once been. Collin was happy for his father and Juliet but also a little hurt his father had cheated on his mother and held such secrets from the family. One evening, while lying in bed, watching the sunset, he placed his hand on my stomach, fingers spread. I placed my hand over his.

“Do you have any names picked out?”

“No, not yet.” I leaned my head against his shoulder.

“Would you be opposed to a junior?”

“Of course not,” I giggled. “Is that what you would like, Collin Bishop Junior?” I looked up to his face where I found a large smile.

“Very much,” he sighed. Leaning his head down, he kissed my forehead.

“What if it’s a girl?” I lifted both eyebrows at him.

“Hmm, I’m not sure. Any names you prefer?” He settled in closer next to me on the bed.

“I’ve always liked Kaitlin.” My eyes began to feel heavy.

“That’s pretty. I actually like that a lot.” My eyes began to droop and close. There wasn’t anything after that besides peaceful dreams of a baby girl.

Before I knew it, we were back in Seattle, arriving home. Victoria ran out the front door and almost tackled me in the driveway. I hugged her tightly, never wanting to let her go.

“I missed you so much.” I squeezed her.

“I missed you too!” She squeezed back.

“Easy on Mommy,” Collin warned. He was a little over-protective with the pregnancy.

“Come on, I want to hear all about…”

My sentence died off as I took in the foyer. There were brown boxes, neatly wrapped boxes, vases filled with flowers, gift baskets, and a stack of cards. I scanned the room for an end to the madness, but I couldn’t seem to find one.

“These all started arriving about three days ago,” Larissa said with a large smile. “I bet there are some wonderful things in them, but you should get settled in before you worry about it. Give yourself a couple of days.” She kissed my cheek and began putting on her coat. “I need to get back to my boys.” She knelt down to Victoria. “Thank you for having girl fun with me this week.” She hugged her and stood back up. “I will stop by in a couple of days. We can work through all of these gifts and start thank you cards. It will be an afternoon date.” With a wave, Larissa was out the door.