Page 39 of Drive Me Wild (Drive Me #2)

EPILOGUE

JOSIE

Twelve years later…

Open-mouthed kisses make their way down from my neck to my chest. Theo rocks his body against mine, his hardness rubbing against my core through our thin pajamas.

We both freeze at the soft knock at the door. Elois e. If it were one of the boys, they wouldn’t bother with knocking, but Eloise is a rule-follower. How a little girl so polite and proper shares genes with my in-your-face husband is truly a mystery.

“Have kids, they said…” I laugh under my breath. “It’ll be fun, they said.”

Groaning quietly, Theo rolls off me before adjusting himself through his sweatpants. “Later?”

“It’s a date.” I wink as I pull the thin strap of my tank top back over my shoulder. “You can come in, darling. The door’s open.”

A moment later, her blonde curls appear in our doorframe. Besides the hair, she’s all Theo with her gorgeous blue eyes and easy smile. “You’re up!”

Theo glances down at his crotch and whispers, “Not anymore,” which has me elbowing him in the side.

Patting the empty spot between us in bed, I say, “How’d you sleep, lovely?”

“Good.” She scrambles up into the bed, burrowing between us. “Look, Mum! I found a new bracelet. It even buzzes.”

I glance down and nearly pass out at the sight of her new “bracelet.” I’m going to kill my mother.

“Is it sparkly, Lou Lou?” Theo asks, leaning over to get a look. The poor bloke is still under the impression she’s about to show him some of the costume jewelry Aunt Charlotte got her.

“Isn’t it pretty?” Eloise holds up her arm to show him the bright blue vibrating cock ring she’s wearing as an accessory. It’s untouched and unused, but that doesn’t make it any better.

You’d think by now my mum would quit giving us things to spice up our sex life, but nope. The cock ring is the last gift of many that we’ve received at family brunches throughout the years. At least she has the courtesy to put her “special surprises” in gift bags, so I don’t have to explain what they are to my three impressionable young children. Or so I thought .

“Oh my God,” Theo chokes out. His face flushes a shade so red, I momentarily worry he’s stopped breathing. “Can I see that?”

He doesn’t wait for an answer before he slides the cock ring off her wrist, clicking the button on top to stop the vibrating. “This is actually Mummy’s bracelet, Lou Lou. It’s very special to her, so I’m going to put it away so we don’t accidentally break it, okay?”

She sticks out her lower lip in disappointment. “But you said caring is sharing. So you have to share the bracelet with me. Those are the rules.”

“Christ Almighty,” Theo murmurs under his breath as she throws our parenting rules back at us. “Do you want some ice cream? I’ll even give you extra gummy bears on top.” It’s a fair offer to distract her from the confiscated ‘bracelet’.

“Crew likes ice cream,” Eloise announces in a serious voice. Well, as serious as a four-year-old can be. “It’s his favorite. Vanilla with sprinkles and Oreos on top. He told me so.”

Theo shoots me an unhappy look. Eloise’s infatuation with Ella and Blake’s eight-year-old son Crew is adorably cute to me, but horrendous to him. It doesn’t help that Crew’s a carbon copy of Blake—down to the broody attitude—although he always goes out of his way to include Eloise whenever we get together.

“Can we invite him for ice cream?” Eloise asks. She tilts her head and smiles at Theo, knowing that usually has him melting at her every request.

“He’s on holiday with his family,” I remind her.

“Oh.” Her brows furrow together in worry. “But he’s coming back, right?”

“Unfortunately,” Theo mumbles under his breath.

I smack him in the stomach, which is still chiseled with a six-pack after all these years. “He’s a child. Be nice.”

“She’s too young to have crushes.”

I don’t bother arguing because there’s no changing Theo’s mind about Eloise’s interest in Crew. I’d love for Ella to be my in-law, but we’ve got years and years before that’s in the cards.

“How about we go out for breakfast instead?” I suggest, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. “You can get chocolate chip pancakes.”

“And then ice cream for dessert?” The last thing Eloise needs is a sugar overload this early in the morning, but as she reminds me, “Daddy said I can have ice cream and you can’t break a promise, Mum—that’s what you told me. And maybe Uncle Kelsey will be at Milkman, and we can say hi to him. Then he can let me name a new flavor like last time, right?”

Yeah, she definitely got her love of ice cream from me.

Milkman is the ice cream sandwich shop Kelsey and I opened about five years ago. My brainchild has well-exceeded expectations, and we launched two more locations last year. “Mm-hmm. Why don’t you go get the boys?”

“They’re playing video games,” she says with a little huff. “They won’t listen to me.”

The twins—Archie and Oliver—are currently addicted to the F1 driving game. They love playing as their dad and practicing their skills since they’re both “going to be World Champions when we grow up.” They have a whole plan where they’re going to form their own team so they can be driving partners. How that’s going to pan out with their ultra-competitive natures, I’m not sure, but I’m trying not to borrow trouble.

“I bet they will if you tell them about the ice cream,” Theo prompts. He ruffles her hair, which has her giggling as she speeds out of the room to get her big brothers.

“Ice cream, Theo?” I ask with a raised brow. “Really?”

“She was wearing a cock ring , angel,” Theo says, throwing up his arms. “What was I supposed to do? Her crush on Crew is bad enough; the last thing we need is to be having the birds and bees talk with her this young.”

I burst out laughing because, as traumatizing as this entire situation is, it’s also hilarious. “I need to have a serious talk with my mum.”

“We gave her three grandkids,” Theo says with the shake of his head. “I don’t know what more she wants from us.”

“Another one?”

Theo waggles his eyebrows. “You know I’m down, baby. More mini-mes and yous? Hell yeah. I think?—”

He’s interrupted by Archie and Oliver running into our room, chattering a million miles an hour. Eloise talks over them, asking, “Why did they get to name two ice cream flavors, and I only got to name one ? That’s not fair, Mum.”

Oliver smirks at his sister, his dark brown eyes twinkling with mirth. “Uncle Kelsey likes us better.”

“Yeah, we’re cooler than you, Lou Lou,” Archie chimes in.

It’s no wonder she likes Crew so much when these two tease her endlessly.

“There’s two of them and one of you,” Theo points out.

She purses her lips and then nods, accepting this answer. Archie rolls his eyes. “Whatever. We’re still cooler than you.”

“Drop the attitude,” I warn in what Theo’s labeled my “Mum voice.”

My husband nods in solidarity. “Or you can say goodbye to your Xbox.”

We rock at this whole parenting thing .

“Sorry,” the boys mumble under their breath.

“Alright, everyone, get dressed.” Theo sits up and claps his hands together. Glancing at me, he asks, “Where do you want to go to brekky, princess? Ladies choice.”

Eloise takes a step forward and holds out her hand. “That’s my nickname, Da. I’m your princess.”

I tuck my chin into my chest to hide my laugh. She’s such a daddy’s girl.

“What should I call your mum then?”

“What about queen?” Oliver suggests.

Archie high-fives his twin. “Yeah. Mum’s definitely a queen.”

Eloise twirls with her hands in the air. “And in the storybooks, the princess’s mum is always a queen.”

“You happy with that nickname, queen ?” Theo teases, pressing a light kiss on my shoulder.

I grin, looking at my family with a full heart. “I couldn’t be happier.”