CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
LEO
ICAN TASTE THEseawater in the air so vividly that my brain conjures the sounds of gulls on its own. The beach in Bronze Bay is just as I remembered it. Actually, it’s better. It’s where I asked Kendall to marry me a couple of days ago. It’s where she said yes. Asking her parents Aidan and Magnolia for her hand in marriage was akin to going on a mission with unknown targets. I expected a bit of hostility from Aidan as he’s never been a fan of me, but I think, at this point, the dust has settled and he knows where I stand. My love for Kendall is something no one can ignore. They’re both more than supportive of a union. I also brought up the fact that Magnolia asked me to meddle to get her a job in the first place. And how Kendall brings that shit up anytime she’s mad at me.
Kendall is admiring the round diamond on her left hand. “I can’t believe we have to go back to the Cape tomorrow. It’s so nice here,” she exclaims, remembering to sign the last bit of her statement. I’m good now. Well, I’m good when it comes to reading Kendall’s lips. Everyone else is a little sketchy, but I pride myself on being able to hold almost normal conversation with the woman I love.
“Call work and see if you can stay another week,” I say. “I bet I can get more time off, too.”
She shakes her head, stooping down to pet Coal. She has a leashed cat on the beach. I’d care what other people thought if I wasn’t madly in love with this woman. The cat, much to everyone’s surprise, loves the fucking beach and sand. He rolls over in the sand, requesting belly pets. Kendall strokes his fur, and remembers to look up at me before speaking. “I have so much planning to do. I want to get married as soon as possible. Before you change your mind.” Kendall winks and smiles wide.
I melt a little. “You think I’d spend all that cash on a diamond if I was going to change my mind?”
She cocks her head. “Funny guy, huh?”
I hold out my hands. She slips the long leash around her wrist and wraps her arms around my neck. Her body is against mine, and my dick hardens. She knows she has this power and uses it anytime she sees fit. While I’m in the kitchen with her parents. Or standing in the coffee shop line waiting for our coffee. Or best, when I’m wearing board shorts on the beach. She kisses me deeply to drive her point home. Having sex with her in her parents’ house was such a challenge because Kendall has loud…orgasms, or so I’ve deduced from her mortification after sex. I moved us to the Inn down the road. Magnolia wasn’t even upset, and Aidan must have heard and offered to foot the bill for our stay. Kendall was embarrassed for a whole six hours before she attacked me at the hotel.
Each time we make love, it’s better than the last. We took the first month of our relationship, before I started contracting in the language department at Harbour Point, to explore each other fully. We fucked everywhere. If I didn’t give her two orgasms, it didn’t count. There was a point during the fourth week that my cock was sore. Insatiable in every way. It still hasn’t worn off or down, the kiss we’re participating in at this moment is enough to let me know she wants to fuck right now.
Breaking the kiss, I say, “Listen, Coal doesn’t want to see that mess. What would he think?”
She kisses me again, on the mouth. “This beach brings me back to the olden days. When I couldn’t kiss you.”
That’s why I proposed to her here. Where it all started. Before everything fell apart. When I thought about what would mean the most, it’s where I wanted her to feel free of shackles. I’m coming around to the idea that we will eventually have to move back here, to Florida. It’s where her family is. It doesn’t carry the same weight as Cape Cod does. Nothing binds me to a location any longer. Natalia is free and Kendall is my life now. Her happiness is what gives me life. That smile I can see, the laugh that haunts my dreams. I can still hear it if I concentrate hard enough. It’s the one noise on Earth I’d give up everything to hear once more. Kendall backs away from me. “You always could have kissed me,” I finally say. “You’d have gotten us both in a lot of trouble, though.”
“I make a lot of trouble no matter what,” she says, signing as courtesy.
“You’re so good at this,” I remark. “The whole deaf beau thing. I don’t think any other woman would fall into this role so effortlessly.”
She squints against the sun, holding her hand up to shield her eyes. “It’s you.”
Pausing for a beat or two, she licks her lips. “I’d do anything for you. I love what’s inside,” she says, laying her hand on my chest. “Outside, too.” Her smile widens. “You lucked out translating is sort of my specialty.”
Not a day goes by that I don’t think about the coincidence of everything that brought us together—kept us together. “I am a lucky son of a bitch,” I reply.
“Let’s bring Coal back to my mom’s and head over to our room,” Kendall says. The cat is staying in Kendall’s childhood bedroom instead of the hotel.
“Is that code for something?”
Kendall scoops the cat up and faces me. “It’s not code for anything. I want you. I will never get enough of you.”
“Well, then. When you put it that way, how can I resist?” The walk back to her house isn’t long, and we’re entering in the back door in no time at all.
“Honey, we’re home,” I say to Aidan who is at the sink washing out one of those misshapen baby cups that leak everywhere. I only know this because I’ve seen Aidan lose his mind four times in one week about apple juice spilling across the floor when Weston tosses the cup.
Aidan looks to the door. His eyes light up when he sees Kendall. “Hey, you guys. How did the cat walk go?” He quirks a brow, making fun of his step-daughter.
I watch Kendall say, “He loves the beach, thank you very much. He’s ready for a nap.” I swallow hard. Kendall would make a knock-down-drag-out mom. We all see it. Know it. Would never dream of broaching the subject after what she’s been though. “I’m going to put Coal upstairs. Where is Mom and Weston?”
Aidan was uneasy not knowing sign language, at first, but he’s loosened up and speaks freely. I’m able to pick up things here and there, and Kendall does an amazing job of translating when she knows someone is speaking and I can’t see their mouth. “Magnolia is trying to put him down for a nap. Maybe you can read to him. I tried. He wasn’t satisfied with that, though. He’s obsessed with her. I bet if I left tomorrow, the kid wouldn’t even care.”
Kendall laughs. “Stop it. Moms and boys. I read something about that one time. They have some weird connection. When he gets older he’ll be obsessed with you. Don’t worry. Until then you can parent me.”
Aidan rolls his eyes. I laugh. “You need parenting. Look what you bring home on your own.” He gestures to me, smirking. “Just kidding,” Aidan adds, setting the cup in a drying rack and wiping his hands on a dish towel. “What do you need parenting help with?”
She shoves Coal into my arms and approaches her stepdad. When she stops in front of him, she spins so I can see both of their faces. She signs as she says, “Well, I was sort of hoping you would walk me down the aisle.”
Aidan chokes up. I see the tears spring to his eyes. His weathered face breaks out in a beatific smile. “Yes. Yes. Yes,” Aidan says, pulling Kendall into a hug. Shaking his head, he looks at me.
