Page 34 of The Forever One
“It’s gross but whatever.”
Leaning into her so my words are for her ears only, I whisper, “Your outrage makes my dick hard as fuck, you know that, right?” I bite her earlobe when she harrumphs at me.
“I was expecting something small.” She’s giving in, mostly because the deal is done and we are the proud owners of a Cloud Atlas.
“That’s where you made your first mistake.” When her head turns toward me, I take advantage of the moment and kiss the indignation right out of her.
“You’re impossible, Mr. Mancini, and I’m still mad at you for wasting your money.” The bite she had earlier has faded but her comment makes my jaw clench.
“Ourmoney.”
“Well, next time you spendourmoney,” she stresses the word our like I’m obtuse before continuing her rant. “You should probably ask my opinion first.” We stare at each other for a beat, our stubborn need to win this fight keeping us at a stand-off.
I don’t roll my eyes at her but, fuck me, I really want to. Taking a deep breath, I eat crow for the first time in my life.
“You’re right. Next time I want to make a big purchase, I will consult you.” That was almost physically painful. “Now, let’s take the tour, and as we do, you can think of all the ways I’m going to fuck you onournew yacht.”
“You’re impossible.” The corner of her mouth ticks up and I know I’ve got her. Sometimes an apology can go a very long way, it would seem.
“Some of the positions I have in mind, up there”—I nod to the upper deck—“may very well be, but we’ll have fun trying.” I kiss this argument away, our lips fitting perfectly together as our tongues delve into each other’s mouths.
As our crew captain gives us the tour and explains the different functions at the helm of the boat, River whispers in my ear. “Ev, Petal, and Kai are going to hate it.”
I scoff. “Kai is going to love it. He’smaybea third hippie. The other two-thirds belong to capitalism. Trust me.” Wide eyes and an open mouth greet me and fuck, I want to slide my cock between her lips and fuck her face. Maybe I’ll cancel our plans and take the boat out myself so I can spend the day worshiping my wife’s body and mind.
“That’s a horrible thing to say, Marco. Take it back.” I raise my brow at her because, seriously, Kai would be living the high life if he could, but his friendship with Everest and Petal is too strong for him to jump to the dark side. That said, I want today to be perfect and it won’t be if I put mydolcezzain a bad mood.
“Fine, I take it back.” River stares at me, her eyes roaming mine as she searches for my insincerity. Thank fuck everyone arrives at that moment, distracting her and saving my ass.
“Holy shit, that’s a monster boat. I thought we were going on a dinghy.”
I chuckle at Everest’s naïveté. Have they even met me?
River looks over the deck and her entire face transforms into something so luminous it takes my breath away. I love how important family is to her.
“Come on, let’s greet our guests.”
An hour later, everyone is onboard and we’re ready to head out for the day and half the night. River’s family is here, including Freya, who decided to bring a date? What the fuck is wrong with that woman? Petal’s concern when she saw River’s wound was palpable. My sister and mother are here too, but Lina isn’t her bubbly self and her clothes are a size too big from the weight she’s lost since we’ve been back. Enzo has been a tomb when it comes to her and she won’t talk to me about… well, anything. I’ve arranged for a therapist—fully vetted and researched to within an inch of her life—to come to the house once a week as well as being on call anytime Lina needs her. The problem is that patient-client privilege keeps me from knowing how she's doing. So, I do what I can by keeping her close or with Tyler.
Enzo decided he was staying on land, something about keeping an eye out. I know better. The idea of being trapped on a boat for an extended amount of time makes him jittery. I get it, for the sake of his sanity, Enzo needs to be in control of it all.
“Oh! What about Daisy?” River’s got a martini glass in her hand, two green olives firmly pierced by a toothpick. I steal a piece of pineapple and pop it in my mouth, making her grin at me from beneath her eyelashes. I know what she’s thinking about and it has nothing to do with the baby names she and her family are trying to narrow down.
“Daisy Fox? Are you fucking kidding me? That’s worse than Daisy Duke.” We all roll our eyes at Everest, who has pretty much vetoed every single girl’s name we’ve suggested, but I have to agree, Daisy won’t work.
“Sierra, like the desert. She would be calm and serene yet deadly for anyone wishing ill-will against her.” I’m expecting my suggestion to be axed once again, but am surprised when the table falls silent, all eyes on me.
“Dude. Deadly? Careful, your mafia is showing.” Fucking Kai thinks he’s funny. Har-har motherfucker. Although, he may have a point.
“No, I like it.” Now, all eyes are on Everest since he’s been the toughest one to convince.
“Me, too.” Petal pushes herself up to standing as she takes careful steps toward her husband until she’s standing right in front of him. He bends over and places a tender kiss on her big round belly, and I swear to fuck my emotions almost get the better of me. It must be the salt and wind getting caught in the back of my throat and making my eyes well up.
“What if it’s a boy?” River asks, and the baby name merry-go-round continues.
At lunch time, we all gather around the exterior table that has been prepared for us. It looks fancy, but I’ve ordered traditional Fourth of July foods like hot dogs and burgers, making sure to have vegan and vegetarian foods available, including gluten-free bread.
I’m thoughtful like that.