Page 81 of Wanting What’s Wrong
Fifteen
Jackson
T en years later
They’re my world.
My team may have won the Superbowl with me as the star player.
Mina may have just had her fifth season at New York fashion week, with her designs gracing red carpets and royal events the world over.
My dad may have just sold his controlling interest in the business he and Harson set up ten years ago for a fortune that even he can’t blow through.
Mom may have got her wish to travel the world, photographing every endangered species, bringing notice to the masses through her charities.
But I’d give it all up in a heartbeat if any one of my family needed it. There would be no contest. Because as nice as those things are, they’re meaningless without love.
Just watching Mina with our three children, Lana, Stefan and two-year-old Dean. Watching the way she grins as they splash and dive and laugh. This is what it’s all about. This is life.
I don’t think my wife’s fear of water will ever quite go completely, but she’s at a point now where, so long as she stays to the shallow end, she can get in the pool. And that’s massive progress.
“What do you think, son? More oregano?”
Dad’s making his famous burgers. Well, famous among our little tribe anyway. His own blend of herbs and spices, something he’s been working on for years, and he’s never quite satisfied with the result.
I grab the proffered burger out of his hand and take a bite, closing my eyes in bliss. “It’s good.”
“Sure? More salt? Less pepper?”
I shake my head. “Seriously, Dad, I think this is the one.”
He frowns. “Maybe just a touch more chilli powder.”
Mom meets my eyes as she steps out of the house in her bathing suit, with a towel wrapped around her middle, and before we can stop ourselves we’re both chuckling.
“Don’t even try, Jackson, your father is never going to be happy with those things. Now, where are my favorite grandchildren?”
She puts a hand on my shoulder as she passes, and I watch as she drops her towel and gets into the pool with Mina and the kids.
Honestly, they’re both the best grandparents we could wish for.
They’ve sold their house in the city and moved out here permanently now that Dad’s retired, and I think it’s the best move they could have made.
I mean, technically they’re on the wrong side of the lake, especially given just how wealthy they are now, but who gives a shit? They love this place and that’s not going to change. And the kids love coming here to visit their gran and gramps.
As Mom pushes off from the side to swim over to join the others, Mina meets my eyes, and I hold her with mine.
God, she’s beautiful. Somehow she seems to grow more fuckable with every passing year, twice as much when she gets pregnant.
She’s not even showing yet, we haven’t even told anyone, and damn, I swear she’s gained another cup size.
I nod toward the house, and she smiles as she murmurs something to her mom, then makes for the side. Watching her body glisten with pool water as she climbs out is almost more than I can take, and right now I’m sporting a fearsome boner. But I don’t care. It’s all for her, and I make no apologies.
“Just going to head inside for an hour, if that’s okay, Dad? Mina and I are still exhausted from the drive down here. You’re okay to watch the kids, right?”
He nods. “Sure, sure. We love looking after them. Save you a burger?”
“Definitely.”
“Three for me,” Mina says as she puts an arm around my shoulders.
Dad looks at her for a moment, then down at her belly, before making a clucking noise in his throat. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear anything, because if I find out before your mother like last time, I’m going to be in the doghouse for a week.”
Mina grins. “I can neither confirm nor deny—”
“Just get into the house, both of you. Before you get me in trouble.”
“Come on, you heard him,” I say, grabbing her around the waist as she giggles and leans in close.
“Yes, Daddy,” she whispers. “Is it playtime?”
I slap her ass as we step in through the door, and delight at the gasp it elicits. Life is good, it’s nice to have nice things. But playtime? That’s the best.