El won’t stop staring at her ring.
We are in the backseat of the car heading to the hotel for dinner when she reaches up to give me a kiss. Leaning on me, she smiles at her ring again. I think I did right by her. Her mother will be happy. We had a long, loud, argument about this. About the vow renewals too but that will be after El delivers.
“I have two rings,” El says, hand stretched out in front of her. She rolls Mother’s ring on her middle finger. “Does that make me Lord of the rings?”
“Lady of the rings, maybe.”
My phone vibrates with a text from Joshua. He wants to know if I did it. I facepalm at his request of a picture. It’s one more thing I have to get better at. Capturing the memories on camera. I nudge El with my elbow to show her the text. Her hand eventually lowers, she nods eagerly and strikes a pose, flashing her teeth in all the selfies. She knows she is pretty.
Her ring never goes out of sight in all the pictures. It almost feels like she’s a newly engaged bride.
I receive thumbs up for the pictures I send to the Stark family group chat. The group chat is really boring. Joshua and I are the most active. Mother hardly checks her messages. Father’s assistant handles his socials.
Joshua sends another text to know my location. El pushes away from me so I can type faster and I put my phone away after replying him. The girls should be here by tomorrow. We will have a family dinner.
The car hits a bump and El giggles. Placing her hand on my leg for anyone who cares to see her ring, she pouts. “Baby, I didn’t give you a ring.” That doesn’t matter as much as her presence. “It’s not fair.”
“It’s more than fair.”
I make a face when she tugs on my beards. It is no use talking to her about it. Like her daughters, they consider my facial hair good for practice.
My eyes flutter open when the car stops. We are at the hotel. El gets out before me, she keeps the door open until I am out. I rub a hand over her belly and smile. Brandon juniors will be here soon. My wife is doing fine, the babies are great but I am anxious and always checking on them. I can’t wait.
With my arm on her lower back, I guide her to the elevator. “I think I’ll add men’s wear to the clothing line,” she says after inputting the number to our floor. “It was supposed to wait till the launch of the second season but why wait?” She giggles again and grabs my hand, leaning back with a foot on the metal wall. “Do you want to model for your wife?”
“That depends.” Her nose crinkles. It has gotten bigger. But it’s one of the things I can’t tell her. Her looks and weight are a no-no. “It depends on how much the wife is willing to pay.” The elevator pings. We step out with my hand in hers. At the door, I slide the key card in. “How much will you pay me?”
“Pay you?” My eyes darken as she traces a circle over her belly. “I guess it also depends.”
The click to signify the door is open echoes in the empty corridor but we are too focused on us. A hint of a challenge lights up her eyes. I love challenges. She sways till her back is resting against the wall.
I place one hand on the door. “Depends on what?”
El unbuttons my shirt. I swallow hard when her hands lower to my buckle. She winks. Her fingers brush the bulge growing in my briefs and she bats her thick lashes at me. I take a whiff of her perfume. She changed it once the doctor confirmed her pregnancy. My other hand meets the wall but her gaze doesn’t falter.
Her knee rubs against my growing erection. I curl a finger under her jaw and she licks her lips.
“On the type of payment you want.” Her eyes flit to my bulge, she cups my length through my trousers and a whimper escapes me. My thumb traces the outline of her glossy lips, she shakes her head when my head dips for a kiss. I don’t like this game anymore. I want a goddamn kiss. “Cash or kind?”
“Kind,” I breathe out.
Prying my hands off her, she laughs. Her hand closes around the knob. “Nope. You are getting cash.”
The door opens before I form a response. I don’t need cash, I want it in kind and I know a lot of ways she can repay me. In kind or no deal. I sweep her off her feet from behind. Finding our way in the mild darkness is hard, the light flickers to life and the cry of: “Surprise!” snaps us out of our bubble.
Our twins run to us. I lower El to the floor, making sure to stand behind her to hide my boner. Joshua helps Brianna to her feet, he claps my back and I force myself to continue smiling. What the fuck are they doing here?
I love them but today is about me and El.
The twins take turns to greet their brothers. A “how do you do today?” and a kiss on El’s belly. I lead El to the couch when I notice the first sign of fatigue. She tries to wave off my concern but I force her to sit. The twins finally recognise their father after the chitchat with their brothers. The boys aren’t here but they already got the attention.
Wyn kneels between my legs, Bren pushes herself between me and El while Brianna sits on my left. I give them a group hug. I missed my girls.
I throw Joshua a look and he shrugs. He has a lot of questions to answer. Questions that have to do with their unexpected presence. The plan was to be here tomorrow because the pilot came down with a flu. Wyn tucks a piece of hair behind her ear, for the fun of it, I ruffle her hair and she slaps my hand.
El gives me a warning look but because I can, I do it again. This time, my wife slaps the back of my head. Bren sticks her tongue at me and Wyn snickers. I look to Brianna for support and she shrugs. Unfair.
Since my girls ganged up on me, I go in search of my brother. Sadly, he has nothing but pitiful smiles for me. The twins slide in bed beside their mother who crawls under the covers. So much for our dinner plans. El pulls the cover over her chest, showing off her rings and my frown fades. This is so much better than a dinner plan.
Joshua sets up his phone for Brianna to watch a movie, then we leave the room.
We take our seats on the single sofas in the balcony, my hands clasp behind my head and I kick out my feet. I’m still in my shirt but the buttons are down and sleeves rolled to my elbow.
“Aren’t you going to ask?” Joshua says. One brow lifts. He shakes his head and we fall into silence.
The balcony overlooks one part of the city, I start counting the buildings in sight to keep my mind busy. My eyes flutter close and my breathing slows. If they are here now, they will need a room to sleep. I want to be with my wife.
“I thought the plan was to come tomorrow,” I mutter under my breath. A yawn escapes me, I stretch my hands and he crosses one leg over the other. His jeans is faded, same with his shirt. I didn’t see any luggage. “Did you even plan for this trip?”
“Nope. Vincent offered and we took it.”
There, that’s my brother. Spontaneity King.
“You’re a fucking idiot,” I murmur.
“Why, thank you, brother.”
His laughter breaks the silence, seconds later, both of us are laughing at ourselves, at the world. I don’t know. He pushes his sunglasses over his hair. I listen to him explain how they were planning to come tomorrow as planned until Vincent showed up to drop Brianna yesterday. She must have told him.
“You’re finally getting the happily ever after you deserve,” he mumbles seconds after. I tilt my head. His eyes are closed. “I’m happy for you.” I’m happy for myself too. I pat his knee twice. He will get his soon. We will have double dates with our wives. El will love that. “Blinded has been cancelled.”
There’s a sad note in his voice but I’m not exactly unhappy about the cancellation of the dating-cum-reality show. I don’t believe he can find love on a show but I am a bit old school. It might be different for him.
“Sorry,” I say for lack of words.
Joshua snickers. “Fakest sympathy I ever received.” He punches me gently on my arm. “Not to worry, the show will air next year.” Oh, man. No. “Fuck you, brother.” I stifle a laugh. I shouldn’t have said that out loud. “They are not that bad,” he says, “most of the proceeds go to charity. It’s a good one.”
“I guess so.” On a more serious note, I say, “You will find love, Joshua. Don’t rush it.”
“Yeah.”
To cheer him up, I say, “El thinks you should be their godfather.” He beams. We think he is the perfect fit for the role. Clarissa played the role of godmother for the girls but she is not as present in their lives. “What say you?”
A wedge appears between his brows as he pretends to think about it. He wouldn’t dare say no. “I have a question.” I nod for him to continue. His grin tells me it can’t be a serious one. “If I’m their uncle and also their godfather, does that make me Uncle Godfather?” A small smile tugs on my lips. Fucking idiot. “Can I pick out their names?”
“Nope.” His smile falls. “Fine, you can pick out their middle names but you have to run it by El.” His shoulders rise with pride. I already feel like I’m making a big mistake. “They cannot answer your name. I mean it, Joshua.”
He grins. We both rise to our feet at the same time. “We will see about that, brother.”