Page 13 of A Dye Hard Holiday
I teased the back of his ear with my nose. “Talking about your ex-lover while my dick is still inside you is as bad as talking about our parents.” I placed my hand over his chest where his heart still pounded from the excitement I gave him. “I didn’t doubt your intentions, Sunshine. Besides, your heart is all mine so that putz can stay as long as he wants.”
Josh eased himself off my dick and turned to face me. “I’m glad to hear you say that because I’m pretty sure I have to utter three words that pain me.” The grimace that followed his confession made me nervous.
“What three words?”
“I was wrong.”
I could quickly rattle off many times that I wanted Josh to say those words to me, but not in connection with his ex-boyfriend sticking around town.
“I heard that he’s looking to buy a house.” He said it so fast that it came out sounding like one, long word.
“For who? Him?” Jealousy and possessiveness clawed at my guts. “Are you toying with me right now?”
Josh’s eyes widened in alarm then narrowed in irritation. “Have you ever known me to play games with you?” Josh’s cheeks flushed a rosy red when I raised my eyebrow in response to his question. “I wasn’t playing games with you then, Gabriel. I was terrified of you and all the delicious feelings you brought out in me. I have never lied or deliberately misled you,” he clarified. “Mere told me today and now I’m telling you.”
I released a frustrated breath then ran my hands through his hair. I didn’t like that loser living in our town one bit, but it didn’t matter because I knew that Josh had entrusted his heart with me. I wouldn’t ruin that over something that was out of his control. “I trust you, Josh.”
Josh set his pencil and sketchpad on the coffee table and reached for his hot chocolate.
He curled up beside me on the sofa in the sitting area of our bedroom suite. It was my favorite room in our house because it was a retreat for just the two of us. A fire crackled in the fireplace as I watched ESPN on the flat screen television mounted above the mantel. I couldn’t tell you a thing I had watched, because I basically just looked at the television as my mind processed the revelations from that evening.
“Don’t you want our parents to move here? You’re acting kind of weird about it. You smiled like you were happy, but then you got quiet. That’s usually not a good sign.”
“Of course, I want them here. I want our children to really know them and not just see them a few times a year,” I replied. “I just don’t want them to regret it. My parents have only lived in Miami, Josh. It’s one thing to visit here and enjoy the pretty flurries, but it’s an entirely different animal to navigate through it day after day. People retire to Florida, not the other way around.”
“Our parents aren’t the kind of people who do things they don’t want to do,” Josh wisely said. “It might seem like they just decided it on a whim on the trip here, but I know better. This has been brewing since Destiny and Dylan took their first breaths. They were just waiting to spring it on us.”
I snorted. “Yeah, probably so.”
“We’re going to need to set some boundaries, I think.”
“You do?” I asked in surprise. “Like visitation times?”
“No, Gabe,” Josh said like I was a dunce. “I can see our moms deciding that they want to be the ones to watch the twins while we work. They’re going to tell us we can save the money we pay our nanny and put it toward the kids’ college funds. And while that sounds amazing, it blurs their roles in the kids’ lives. They’re supposed to be grandparents who spoil them rotten, not the person that fights them to eat their peas and take their naps. Jennifer does an amazing job of that.”
“Man, I bet she’s enjoying her paid break though.”
“Not really,” Josh said with a smirk. “She texted me five times before noon asking about them. She’s coming by to play with them tomorrow because she misses them so much.”
“They are the cutest kids in the world.” I tipped my head and thought about the point he raised. “Let’s not borrow trouble, but we should have a response preparedifit’s suggested.”
“I think we need to keep Jennifer as their nanny, but let the grandparents take them out to do fun stuff when they want to.”
“Which will be every day,” I told Josh. “I think we’re going to need to set some more specific parameters, Sunshine.”
“I don’t want to be too tough either, especially since they’re moving here to be with them.”
“That’s their decision, not ours. We must do what’s best for our family dynamic, and as much as I love our parents, under foot every day isn’t where I want them. So, how do we do this?” I asked. “We don’t want to be dicks and tell them how it’s going to be, but I don’t want them moving here under false pretenses either.”
“Well, they haven’t sold their homes yet, so let’s put this conversation off until after Thanksgiving. The last thing I want is tension in the air while I’m preparing my feast. It’ll make my turkey dry or something.”
“I hate dry turkey,” I grumbled.
“Right, so let’s not ruin the happy vibes with wild assumptions on our part.”
“Deal,” I agreed. “What else happened today beside learning that Dr. Dickheadandour parents want to move to Blissville?”
Josh snorted. “I’m such a bad influence on you.” I knew he was referencing the nickname I gave toTrent. “Doesn’t have quite the same ring as the Dr. Dimples tag name that Chaz gave Kyle, but it’s just as accurate.” Josh got quiet for a second then a goofy smile spread slowly across his face. “I think Meredith is pregnant.”