Emmett puts his hands up. “Don’t look at me. Me and Cara are trying to have a baby.”
“What’s a condom?” Cara calls.
Jaxon sighs and rises, fishing his wallet out of his back pocket. “I got you, big guy. What do you need? I got ultra ribbed, bare-skin raw, G-spot—that one’s designed for her pleasure; Rosie’ll like it—magnum, banana flavored, fire and ice—”
“Why do you have so many?”
“You never know what she’s gonna—”
A loud crash ends his words, and we turn, watching Carter and Garrett wrestle on the grass.
“I said take it back!” Carter shouts, pinning Garrett to the ground.
Garrett rolls on top of him. “And I said no!”
“You stole my cookies!”
“Ollie said you have to share!”
“You can’t have unprotected sex! You might accidentally have a baby!”
“Proof I fucked your sister! And don’t call your daughter an accident!”
“Ireland, baby, Daddy loves you! You were a happy surprise!”
The patio door slides open, and Olivia, Jennie, and Cara step outside.
“Oh my,” Olivia murmurs, handing Ireland back to Emmett.
“Children,” Jennie mutters.
“I’ve got a hundred bucks on Gare-Bear,” Cara says. “Who wants in?”
“Not fucking me,” I grumble. Garrett’s grown a whole new set of balls since he and Jennie started dating. It’s a lot of fun to see him terrorize Carter. Also, I’ve learned not to bet on Carter. His wedding was a seven-hundred-dollar mistake I’m not making again.
“You look frustrated,” Olivia says as she takes a seat beside me, Carter’s lost box of Oreos now in her lap. “You know what’s great for that?”
“Sex?” I guess on an exhausted sigh.
She tosses a cookie in her mouth and winks. “Sex.”
CHAPTER 18
BEFORE I FALL APART
ROSIE
“Rosie’s getting laid tonight.”
“No I’m not!”
“Correction: Rosie’s getting railed six-feet deep tonight.”
I glare at Marco. “Not helpful, and not what I meant when I said no.”
He waggles his dark brows. “You’re gonna be on bedrest tomorrow. Maybe all weekend.” He props his chin on his fist and gazes at Archie. “I’ve never seen Rosie dickmatized.”
“I don’t think she’s ever really been dickmatized.”
“Hmm. Right, Brandon didn’t deliver. Pregnancy without orgasm should be illegal.”
“Okay, first of all—” I hold a finger up, one hand propped on my hip “—yes it should. Second, I’ve been dickmatized!”
Archie grins as he spoons pancake batter into a frying pan. “When?”
Crossing my arms, I point my nose to the ceiling. “Just last week, when I attempted to deepthroat his dick. That’s the only way to explain how I even remotely fit part of that thing in my mouth.” I capture my lower lip between my teeth as my thoughts wander back to Adam’s balcony, all the control I happily let go of.
“Look at you,” Marco coos. “You adorable little slut. You’re getting that dick tonight.”
“I’m not sure. Sometimes he seems content to keep things as they are.”
“A guy who likes to take it slow? Sounds like a unicorn; men like that don’t really exist.” Marco drops a bag of chocolate chips at Archie’s elbow and pops a kiss on his cheek, a reminder that he only eats pancakes when they’re loaded with chocolate. “Speaking of taking it slow, when are we gonna meet this mystery man of yours?”
“He’s not a mystery. His name is Adam.”
“He’s a mystery to us, and I’m sick of listening to Daddy Archie late at night, worrying about his sweet Rosie because he hasn’t done an ocular pat down of your boyfriend yet and cleared him to date you. Why are you keeping him from us?”
“I told you,” Archie growls, “stop calling me Daddy.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
I snicker, kissing Archie’s cheek. “I think it’s sweet when you worry, Daddy.”
Archie’s head drops back, and he sighs. “For fuck’s sake. And I’m not worried. You two have been seeing each other nearly two months now, and we haven’t met him. I just want to put a face to the name.” He flips a pancake and shrugs. “And make sure he’s good enough for my Rosie.”
“Have you met his friends?” Marco asks.
“Not yet, no.”
He frowns. “Is he keeping you in his own secret bubble or something?”
My heart patters. “Secret bubble? What do you mean?”
He shrugs. “You’ve never even been out in public.”
“You think…” My throat dries, and I scratch it. It’s not as if I haven’t thought about it, wondered when he’d introduce me to his friends. He’s with them all the time, and they seem like family to him. I’ve been waiting, anxious for them to like me, but the invitation has never come. “He doesn’t want to be seen with me?”
Marco grabs my hand. “No, Rosie. No way. I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. Really, it’s kind of sweet. Like he just wants you all to himself.”
“We really would love to meet him though,” Archie adds with a soft smile. “Why don’t you ask him to come for dinner Sunday? I’m sure meeting your friends will prompt him to introduce you to his too.”
I force the tension in my shoulders away. “Yeah, okay. You’re right. I’ll invite him for dinner.”
“Maaamaaa! ”
I smile, starting toward my bedroom. “And there’s my cue.”
Connor grins as soon as he sees me, reaching his arms up high. “Hi, Mama,” he murmurs as I scoop him into my arms. “Dada?”
“You’ll see Dada later today, honey.”
“Bear? Dada, Bear?”
My heart does something funny, a flutter that drops to my belly, erupting like butterflies.
He’s asking for Adam, not Brandon.
Connor’s grown to love Adam so much, and I can’t blame him. He gives Connor everything he needs, at the forefront of those needs being unconditional love, patience, connection, the things his own father struggles to give him. I don’t want it to be a competition; I want my child to get the love he deserves from all the important people in his life.
“Uncle Arch made pancakes,” I tell Connor as I get him dressed for the day. “Chocolate chip.”
“Pa-cakes?” he whispers with wide eyes. “Wow .”
“Rosie !” Archie calls. “Your phone! Why is the dean calling you?”
“What? The dean?”
He appears in the doorway, phone in his hand. “How’d you already get yourself in trouble? The school year hasn’t even started yet.”
I tear my phone away. “I never get in trouble.”
“Aw-chee! Pa-cakes?”
Archie swings Connor up into his arms. “Come on, little man. I made yours heart shaped.”