I shake my head, knowing he’s absolutely right. It’s been so long since we’ve had a night to ourselves. “I look like a disaster.”
“You’re gorgeous no matter what.” He kisses me again, and for a moment, I lose myself in him. Breaking the kiss, he says, “Now go shower. I’ll finish packing.”
“How’d you know I didn’t finish?”
“Just had a feeling,” he answers with a mischievous grin.
“Am I that obvious?”
“Go,” he pushes. “I’ll check on the baby.”
I walk down the hall to the linen closet and grab a couple of towels. Before shutting the door, I also grab a new razor, because Lord only knows how long it’s been since I’ve shaved. As I’m walking back toward our bedroom, I stop just outside of the nursery and listen to Travis’s soft voice.
“Well, hello princess.” I peek inside, and he lifts her out of the crib. “Hey, my beautiful girl.” He kisses her forehead, and she coos.
Watching as he lays her on the changing table, I lean up against the doorframe and admire my amazing man and how wonderful he is with our daughter. He’s a complete natural, just as I knew he’d be, but I know he had his own concerns, considering his relationship with his father. However, the love that pours out of him is infectious. Sometimes, I can’t even believe after all this time that we’re together, engaged with a new baby, and in our own home. It feels too good to be true at times.
“You’re going to spend the weekend with grandma, aren’t you? Yes, you two are going to have so much fun, but you better be good for Nana. No pulling all-nighters again and refusing to eat your cereal.”
She kicks her legs and stuffs a hand in her mouth as he changes her. I love watching them, even when it’s every day, normal stuff. He turns around and catches me staring.
“Viola,” he says in a warning tone. “Go take a shower. We’ll be fine.”
I scoff and wrinkle my nose. “Fine. I’m going.”
Once I’ve showered, shaved, put on a layer of makeup, and find clean clothes to wear, I head downstairs, where Travis has set our suitcases. He’s in the living room with his mother, going through the list of things we wrote down for her. I trust his mother, I do, but I don’t trust anyone alone with her just yet.
“You look beautiful,” Travis says as I sit down next to him and reach for the baby. He hands her over, and I kiss her chubby little cheek.
“I feel like a changed woman,” I say with a laugh. “Who knew a shower could feel so good?”
“You two are going to have a great time. No worries here, okay?” His mother tries to reassure me, but I still feel the nerves fluttering in my stomach.
“You sure you’ll be okay all weekend?” I ask his mother.
“Of course. Go and enjoy yourselves. You two deserve it.”
“Thank you, Mom,” Travis says as he leads us to the front door. “I’ll call you as soon as we arrive.” He grabs our luggage as I squeeze the baby one more time.
Reluctantly, I hand her over to his mother, but I don’t release her tiny little hand. “Don’t forget she needs to be rocked before bed. And you’ll need to burp her for at least ten minutes after she eats. Oh, and when she takes a bath, she needs the soap for sensitive skin.”
His mother nods and smiles, knowing that I’m repeating myself once again.
“Viola,” Travis warns in a deep voice. “They’re going to be just fine.”
“Okay, just one more kiss.”
I press my lips to her cheek and then her forehead and then her other cheek. I inhale her scent because I just can’t get enough. “See you in a couple of days, Ginny. I love you.”
Chapter 21
Travis
“Where are we going?” Viola asks, fidgeting in her seat as we hit the highway.
“Someplace quiet, with no distractions or other people around.”
“Where’s that?”
I shake my head.
“C’mon,” she whines. “Just a little hint.”
“Let’s just say…we shouldn’t have bothered packing clothes because—”
“Because you plan to fuck me six ways to Sunday?” she finishes for me with a hopeful smile.
“I plan to have you counting higher than six, princess.” I smirk over at her, grabbing her hand in mine and placing a kiss over her knuckles. “Loudly, too.”
“Okay, but I hope you plan to let me nap in between this time,” she quips, referring to the first time we had sex after Ginny was born. She’d only been two months old and wasn’t sleeping longer than three hours at a time. We’d taken advantage of an early bedtime and made love all night long. Before we even realized it, Ginny had slept six hours straight that night. Viola was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open, much less walk.
“No promises.”
“Do you really think she’ll be okay? She’s going to wonder why we’re gone so long.”
“She’s going to be just fine, Viola.” I know Viola’s going to be worried all weekend, so I’ll need to keep her distracted. “Oh, you’ll never guess who walked into my office today for an interview.” I’d forgotten all about it until now.
“Who?” She furrows her brows, and I hope I didn’t make a mistake by mentioning it.
“Alyssa Crawford.”
“No fucking way!” Her jaw drops.
“Yup. Stilettos and all.”
She laughs, and the sweet sound makes me smile. “What’d you say to her?”
“I asked her what the hell she was doing there, and once she said she was looking for a job, I told her to get the fuck out, that there was no way in hell I would ever hire her. Then of course, she offered me some special incentives, and that’s when Courtney gladly kicked her ass out.”
“Jesus.” She sighs. “Girl has no class.”
“She has no dignity.”
“Maybe she’s just one of those rich girls who’s misunderstood. You know, like Paris Hilton.”
“You can’t be serious right now.” I narrow my eyes at her, wondering if sleep deprivation has made her lose her mind.
“I’m sure she grew up in a weird environment, and it’s tainted her. In fact, I feel sorry for her.”
“Yeah?” I arch a brow. “And what about Mia? Is she misunderstood too?” I ask with a sly grin.
She cocks her head at me and scowls. “Fuck Mia. She’s just a psycho who needs her teeth rearranged.”
I laugh, and it feels good to be alone with her again after all this time. I love our little family and Ginny more than anything, but sometimes, I need Viola and me just to be Viola and me again.
Thinking back to when Viola went into labor makes me smile. We had gone over possible baby girl names for weeks, but nothing was set in stone just yet. I knew she wanted something meaningful and special. Thinking it over, I knew that any name she picked, whether it be from Harry Potter or another one of her favorite books, would be perfect for us. Growing up, Viola was glued to her books, and that’s what made me fall for her in the first place. She was a book nerd and proud of it, and I loved that about her. They made her who she is and the fact that she still quotes it every chance she gets lets me know we made the right choice.