Page 48 of Hotwife
Desmond chuckled. “I’m glad we opted for the twelve bedroom, Ced.”
Cedric nodded. “Of course. I’ve actually enjoyed having them both around.”
Well that was easy.
“Next…” I took a deep inhale. “I think I want to go to college. I’m thinking I want to study marine life and make a career out of it somehow. I know it sounds crazy but-”
“No,” Desmond interrupted. “That sounds absolutely perfect, Queen.”
“I love that idea,” Cedric beamed. “We’ll make it happen.”
Desmond stood, gathering our empty plates. “Great, so I’ll let your parents know we’re staying put for a while.”
My mouth fell open, and I thought I must have misheard him. “You’ll what?”
Cedric shot Des a conspiratory grin. “Oh yeah, didn’t we mention we met with good ol Reverend Queen yesterday? Told him the whole plan.”
“Nice guy,” Desmond remarked, washing the dishes with a soapy sponge.
“You’re kidding,” I said deadpan. No way were they being serious.
“We’re going to be basically neighbors while we stay in Georgia, Dot. I thought I’d let him know our… unconventional… plan for a family setup from the get go. Believe it or not, he was more receptive than we thought he’d be.”
“Said he knew you were hellfire, so you probably needed two men to hold you down,” Desmond winked.
Somehow, somewhere in the middle of washing sudsy dishes and my sister coming over, literally screaming her happiness, everything clicked into place.
Pods come in all shapes and sizes, and somehow I’d found mine.
My perfect, unconventional pod.
FIFTEEN
epilogue
TWO YEARS LATER
Rumbles of the black ford mustang preceded us as we rolled down to a stop in front of our emerald green home. The color of his eyes, the eyes of the man I loved, my husband. Desmond was anything but subtle and everything from his cars, motorcycles, and daring photography challenged the world to pay attention. “He’s not here,” I remarked, clutching several boxes in my lap.
“Good,” Des murmured before getting out and walking around to open my door. “I’ll bring in our luggage later. Let’s go inside and have a drink while we wait.
Nodding, I took my first deep inhale since stepping off the plane in Atlanta. The flight from Berlin to Atlanta had been long and exhausting. My mind flew alongside us with plans for when we arrived home. I sorted over every secret, every deception.
The door flew open before I could twist the knob and two yipping terror-balls shot out like bats out of hell. “There're the newlyweds!” my sister shrieked. “Caroline is setting everything up. Of course we pulled out all the stops.”
Odette and her wife’s Yorkie pups jumped at my knees and bit at my heels. Scruffing the soft fur between their pointy ears did nothing to deter them and my calves were brightening with pink scratches from their blunt claws.
“Sit,” Des commanded, and like magic, they halted. Sitting on their rears, tails flapping like crazy. “Good boys.” He pulled out two treats from his pocket and sat them on the floor, but the canines remained steady, fixing their gaze on my strikingly handsome man.
“I still have no idea how you do that,” I remarked, giving his back a gentle rub.
“It’s all about showing them who the alpha male is,” Des said before his order. “Release.”
The pups snatched their treats and trotted off into the kitchen. “Where’d you get the treats and where’s my treats?” Odette crossed her arms at Des who rolled his eyes playfully.
“Little market in Berlin. You didn’t think I’d forget the little guys, did you?” He smirked at my sister’s pout. “And you of course,” he chuckled, taking one of the golden boxes out of my hand. “A mix of dark and milk, just like you requested.”
“Ugh, you’re the best,” Odie said, opening the box and popping a chocolate into her mouth.