It's Always Complicated (Her Billionaires Book 4) (12 page)

Three minutes later Cyndi and Jilly were back in the van, Cyndi making efficient work of the carseat, settling everyone in and giving Mike the go-ahead.

“Everything all right?”

“She didn’t need to go after all.”

Potty training was going to kill him.

Mercifully, within fifteen minutes, Jillian did fall asleep, making the rest of the drive a reasonably enjoyable event, though Mike could have done without the first four hours of nerve-wracking hell. By the time they found the gaudy, hand-painted sign of a dolphin and a starfish and turned onto the dirt road at Escape Shores Campground, he was eager to see Laura.

And to marry her.

“This looks like such a wonderful little haven!” Cyndi exclaimed. What a treasure they’d found in her, Mike thought. Protective and firm, loving and open, she’d been instrumental in helping to make the crazy spectacle of raising three toddlers bearable and enjoyable for everyone in the Pine/Michaels/Stanwyck household.

Having Laura come up here for the night to pow-wow with her best friend, Josie, was a smart move. For weeks, Laura had been on edge. Wedding planning was getting on everyone’s last nerve. The day-to-day bustle and chaos of life was hard enough to get through; add in a two-hundred-person event and the family and friend entanglements that came with it, plus the location, and the joyful frenzy was of their own making—but would be a welcomed relief when it was over.

One issue he didn’t need to deal with: family. Dylan had been on the phone with his mother half the night as she packed to make the trek with his father. Everything from asking about tuxes for the boys (no), and ribbons for Jilly (yes), to the nonstop excited chatter of a proud mother had made Dylan cross-eyed by the time he’d crawled into their enormous bed, which was absent Laura.

But one twin and Jilly had zonked out in her place. They left them there, a barrier between them, which had been just fine by Mike. He was still pissed at Dylan for whacking off in the middle of the day, leaving him alone with the kids. What the hell had he been thinking? Dylan had refused to explain his actions, discreetly untangling himself from the sheets and running off to the bathroom, leaving Mike to corral Jilly.

This wedding was making everyone weird.

Except for Mike, of course.

The straight dirt road was stippled with “5 MPH!” signs everywhere, so he adhered to the warning, going slow. The minivan lurched and bounced on the uneven, unpaved road, but for some reason the kids stayed asleep. Thank God for small miracles.

By the time they got to the camp office, Cyndi was in love. Laura had speculated that their nanny would get along just fine with Sandy, the campground owner who coordinated most of the wedding logistics, and as a dark-haired woman with grey streaks and a friendly face approached his side of the van, his grin widened.

“Mike?” she asked. “Mike Pine?”

Just as he was about to open his mouth, a piercing scream filled the air. The woman he assumed to be Sandy covered her brow and peered through the back window. He turned around to see which twin was screaming, only to find Jillian with her face pressed up against the same glass Sandy was looking in, making faces at the poor woman.

“Jilly!”

“AIIIIIIEEE!” That was Aaron, who was red-faced and sweaty, likely upset by a wet diaper.

“Oh,
y
ou’re the other Mike, all right,” Sandy said as she pulled back and laughed. “How about I hop in and we drive right over to your cabin, so we keep it simple?” She jogged around to the other side of the van and Cyndi popped the electric door, Sandy belting herself in next to Jillian before Mike could say a word.

How did she know?

“I have six kids myself,” she said, answering his silent question as Aaron’s shrill screeches woke up Adam, making his brother join in. “The youngest is in his twenties now, but I remember. Oh, how I remember these days.” The screaming didn’t faze her one bit. Mike wondered if she was available for hire as a built-in grandma. He’d pay her triple what she made now.

“Turn right here, at the third road.” Within two minutes they had backtracked until they found a large cabin at the end of one of the side roads, a rustic place that looked like heaven right now.

Three adults and three kids made for an even score, and by the time the kids were toddling around, Laura came running out of the cabin, hair loose and streaking behind her, tight workout shorts making him
really
miss her.

Encased by small beings that came out of her body, she was in a pile of arms and squeals, fat diapers and brown hair and blonde curls, clearly enjoying her mini-reunion with the little beasts who had gone an entire day and a half without Mommy. He cracked his neck and stretched his back, the little popping sounds not really alleviating any of his tension.

A night with Laura would, though.

“Where’s Dylan? and Ellie?” she asked, looking up at him, finally free of the kids, who were off discovering sharp sticks and rocks and other calamities while Cyndi herded them through the woods around the cabin.

“Great to see you, too,” he intoned. “I missed you so much, Mike,” he added in a falsetto meant to imitate Laura’s voice.

She grinned and wrapped her arms around his waist, her kiss a little longer than usual. “Hi. I missed you.”

“That’s more like it.” He slung an arm around her shoulder, hunching a little because of the height disparity, and looked up. The pine trees went on forever, a breeze making them sway a bit like drunken soldiers. “This place looks great.”

Sandy chattered away with Cyndi, giving the kids a look Mike knew. Eager grandmas-to-be stared at the kids like this when they were out in public, eyeing the imps with such affection. He wondered if they would be so enamored if they had to deal with them in a hot, sweaty minivan for six-plus hours.

“Trip okay?”

He shot her a dark look. “Dylan won the coin toss. He and Ellie are right behind us.” He frowned and looked around. “Or, at least, they were.”

Her hand slid to his ass and gave an affectionate squeeze. He returned the favor and the second kiss they shared was slower, stronger, sweeter, with a little more punch than usual. By the end of it, he was ready to groan, and wondering how long before he could get her alone in a room with a bed.

Or just a floor and a door that locked.

“You’re relaxed,” he said, smiling down at her, foreheads touching.

“I’m actually freaking out,” she replied. “Trying to distract myself.”

“Use me.”

She burst out with giggles.

“You think that’s funny? No. That’s not funny. That’s an offer.”

“At least you’re
here
,” she said in a light tone.

His brow turned down in bemusement. “What’s that mean?”

“Oh, you know, Dylan and I had to resort to phone sex yesterday. At least with you, I can—”

He wrenched away from her, puzzle pieces clicking in place like pages being flipped in a book. “THAT’S what his nakedness on the bed was all about?”

Her eyes turned into saucers. “He didn’t tell you?”

“No! I picked the lock on the bedroom door because I thought Aaron trapped himself in there and walked in on Dylan with his hand on his cock and—you were on the phone? You were having
phone sex
with him?”

Sandy and Cyndi turned, drawn by Mike’s ever-increasing volume.

“Shhh! Could you keep your voice down?” Laura pleaded.

Any other day and he could have turned down the volume. He could have turned down the adrenaline bursting against his veins, slamming into the walls of his arteries, fueling a red rage that was out of proportion. But a night with a teething toddler, more than six hours in a van being tortured by Disney music, and the sense that life was nothing but one big fishbowl filled with piranhas taking nibbles on him 24/7 these last few months had stretched his patience and perspective to the absolute limit.

N
o.

He couldn’t keep his voice down.

Without thinking, he reached around Laura’s back, scooped an arm under her knees, and marched her up the small set of stairs into the cabin, where he dropped her on a bed, turned around and locked the door, and began undressing, livid.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m taking a nap!” he snapped, now completely naked.

Her eyebrows hit her hair line, eyes on his crotch. “One part of you is very, very awake.”

“Nice of you to notice.”

The words were out before he could stop himself. The look on her face cut through his anger and, finally, he could rein himself in.

One hand on his hip, the other buried in his hair, pulling it back from his forehead, he faced her, ready to apologize.

Splayed out on the bed, turned at the just-so angle for showing off that gorgeous, full ass of hers, mouth open in surprise and eyes bright with excitement, Laura waited.

He opened his mouth to say...what?

She interrupted him, turning her head slowly toward the window, pointing.

To a large picture window with the curtains wide open.

And Sandy and Cyndi staring, full-faced, gape-mouthed, and bright red.

This was
not
his fucking day.

Laura saved him, leaping up, offering a strangely cheery wave to the shocked women, and yanking the curtains shut.

In a very loud voice, Cyndi called out, “Jillian! Aaron! Adam! Let’s go find the big playground here so we can have some fun for
half an hour
!” Her emphasis on the last three words was so obvious that Laura burst out laughing.

Squeals of toddler delight drifted off, fading as Cyndi kept her promise and pulled the kids away.

There would be hell to pay in the form of permanent, mortal embarrassment forever. But for now...

He held his breath, counting to twenty-one before a big gust of air forced its way through his mouth, his throat making what passed for laughter.

“I don’t think any part of you will go unnoticed here,” Laura said softly, eyes on his midsection, a smile tickling her lips.

Half an hour, huh?

Dylan chose that exact moment to come into the room, eyebrows drawn down in confusion, his footsteps pinging in Mike’s ears and his body right there before Mike could react.

Their third partner stopped, dark hair sweaty, inky eyes catlike and devious.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

Mike did a facepalm.

“So
I
get yelled at when I want to have a little sexy time with Laura,” Dylan declared with an arched tone, clearly prepared to grind it in.

“Sexytime?” Laura squeaked, laughing harder.

“Yes.” Dylan looked a little hurt. “Sexy time. Even if it’s phone sex, it’s sexy.”

“You could have told me,” Mike grumbled, looking down at his rapidly deflating cock.

“Told you I was having phone sex with Laura? When? When you were giving Jillian a bath or when you were prying Aaron’s shoe out of his mouth?”

“There’s always a moment to pull me aside.”

Dylan’s eyes took in all of Mike, which took some time, given that he was closer to seven feet than six feet tall. “You seem to be evening out the imbalance.”

“What imbalance?” Mike glowered at them both. “Have you been—”

Laura took it upon herself to strip off her cotton t-shirt, leaving her on the bed in an even more breathtaking position.

Things started looking...up.

“What are you doing?” Dylan asked, head turning slightly, giving Mike a quick glance as his voice held a note of intrigue, caution, and hope to it.

She gave them both a come-hither smile and licked her lips. “Look. Sandy and Cyndi just saw Mike naked.”

“What?” Dylan sputtered.

“And,” Laura continued, “we’re already embarrassed.” She reached behind her back, unhooked her bra, and unleashed nirvana. “Might as well actually do what they think we’re doing. Cyndi said half an hour...”

“You mean, if we’re guilty in their eyes, might as well be guilty for real?” Mike asked as a rush of movement to his left showed Dylan stripping out of his clothes in record speed.

“If you’re going to do the time, you might as well have done the crime,” Laura crooned.

“You’re comparing sex to
jail
.”

“Shut up, Mike, and get in bed.” Dylan was already there, pulling Laura’s bike shorts and panties off, nestled under the light quilt and sheet with their naked wife.

Tongue rolling between his gums and cheek, Mike surveyed the moment. He’d rather have Laura all to himself right now, but this would have to do.

Poor me
, he thought. He’d
settle
for some threesome fun.

Josie

“What do you mean I have to use an outhouse?” Marlene complained, carrying her towel and a bucket filled with showering supplies.

While the campground owners had done their best to give everyone the accommodations they desired, because Josie’s mom had insisted in staying near her Uncle Mike, Calvin and Cathy, she’d gotten a tiny shed with a fridge, a microwave, a coffee maker, and a breathtaking view of the ocean.

And it wasn’t enough.

“It’s not an outhouse, Mom,” Josie explained as she led her to the community bathrooms. When they stepped inside, Josie was relieved to see polished wood floors, loveseats around a small coffee table, and a set of separate shower stalls with doors on one side, toilets on the other. “Not an outhouse. See?”

Even Marlene had to admit the bathroom was nice.

“But you have a bathroom in your cabin,” she said, as if it were an indictment. “And you and Alex have two bedrooms. Why can’t I bunk with you?”

Josie nearly choked on her own tongue. That might have been better than having this conversation.

“Because I’m getting married in the morning, Mom. To Alex. We’d like privacy.”

“Oh,” Marlene frowned. “Right. That’s right. Of course you need your own place.” Her mom picked out a shower stall and closed the door, locking it. The sound of shuffling, then the flick of clothing over the door, helped Josie to relax. her mom would shower and Josie would get thirty minutes alone.

Aunt Cathy was done with her mom. D-O-N-E done, as Cathy would say. She’d had it for years, but the threesome incident in the airplane had been the final straw. Sheer terror coursed through Josie, because she relied heavily on her mother’s sister and brother to help keep an eye on Marlene. Alex had offered to move to the Cleveland or Pittsburgh area to be closer, but Josie would rather be cooked over hot coals and fed to Ted Cruz before she’d move back home.