I shrugged. “We’ll be up before her anyway for the sunrise, right?”
Her smile grew bigger. “Lead the way, then, handsome.”
And not another word was needed before I scooped her into my arms, walked her into my room, and tumbled into bed with her, ready to hold her in my arms all night long.
18
Eva
Idrew in a deep breath and yawned as my eyes naturally fell open. The high thread-count sheets felt amazing against my sun-warmed skin. I stretched my arms over my head, feeling the sheet fall down just past my breasts. But, when my arms dropped, I heard someone grunt beside me, and a soft giggle sounded outside the door.
“Wake up, Daddy! We gotta do more swimming!”
I clapped my hand over my mouth, and Gavin bolted upright in his bed. He scrambled for his phone and groaned, realizing we had not only missed the sunrise but probably breakfast as well.
“Shit,” he hissed.
I pulled the sheet over my head while he got dressed. And when I heard him slip out the door, I slowly peeked out from beyond the covers. I heard Gavin coaxing Asia up the steps with promises of morning ice cream cones and sweet treats, buying me just enough time to leap out of bed and throw on clothes.
Then, with my head held high and my wits about me, I started out of the room and up toward the table near the kitchen on the yacht's main level, where Asia was already eating her fill of Neapolitan ice cream with whipped cream on top.
“Figured I’d bribe her,” Gavin said with a chuckle.
“Hi,” Asia said with her mouth full.
I decided to sit beside the little girl, figuring it was the safest option for now. “Leave some for the rest of us; I was hoping to have a bowl of ice cream myself.”
Asia giggled. “There are three whole gallons. You can have your own, okay?”
My eyebrows rose. “Sounds like a plan to me. You can just sit the carton in front of me, and I can dig a spoon into it.”
Asia laughed with delight. “No, you can’t, silly! Gotta use a bowl, like this.”
She made a show of lifting her bowl before she dipped her spoon into it and scooped up a massive bite of chocolate and vanilla ice cream. She got it all over her face, trying to get it into her little mouth, and the sight made me giggle. The chef hired to be with us for the weekend set a mug of coffee in front of me before placing a little tray down with creamer and sugar on it. Then, two massive plates of food were set in front of me.
One was filled with fruits of all shapes, colors, and sizes. And the other one was loaded with eggs, bacon, hash browns, and pancakes.
“Whoa,” Asia said.
I snickered. “Whoa, is right.”
Gavin unfolded the napkin around his silverware. “Now,thisis what I call breakfast.”
Asia lowered her voice to a whisper. “Eva?”
I mocked her tone of voice. “Yes?”
“Are you gonna eat all that?”
I giggled and shook my head, still whispering. “Not at all. You wanna share?”
She scooted her bowl to me. “Share for a share?”
I dipped my spoon into her ice cream. “I love that idea. Thank you.”
“Thank you, too.”
The three of us passed our plates and bowls, sampling each other’s food and humming over how gloriously fresh it tasted. The sun rose slowly in the sky, beating down against us while the rushing ocean wind kept the napes of our necks cool. Waves sloshed against the boat as it softly rocked side to side. Asia scooted her chair close to me and tossed her legs into my lap as she polished off her great, big bowl of ice cream.
