Legal Heirs - Box Set Edition: Books 5-8 (Surrendering Charlotte Chronicles) (11 page)

“Please, there are children present, we need to clean up our filthy language and maybe not have sex in public for the kid’s sake.”

“Oh yeah, like a five month old and a six week old really give a shit. You don’t care what we’re saying do you, Hadley? No, not at all, and let me tell you something about your mommy and daddy, if they filmed their sexy encounters they could make a fortune in the porn industry,” Amanda said, and Charlotte laughed with her because it was just so damned true.

“Are you finished having babies?” Amanda asked Charlotte, as she moved Ava to her shoulder and covered her breast, “I assure that I’m all done, JP had a vasectomy the week after I found out I was pregnant with Ava. You’ll notice I didn’t take any chances with our nannie either, did you get a chance to meet Irma?”

“Yes, the nannie who looks like Shrek was a clever move, I doubt that you could find a French maid’s uniform to fit her! No more babies for me either, my family is complete. Listen, Finn and I are going to Pass Christian for the first two weeks in June and we want you, JP and the kids to come with us. We’ve decided to close the bed and breakfast for a couple of weeks every year so we can have our family vacation and celebrate birthdays there,” Charlotte said, shading her eyes and watching JP and Finn as JP settled Atticus onto the Shetland pony.

“Hey, look Mommy! Atticus loves riding the pony, he’s a true bronc-rider,” JP called to Charlotte as he held her son on the saddle while the pony plodded around in a circle.

“That’s great, especially since he’s the only kid at this party who is old enough for a pony ride,” Charlotte said and reached for her camera to take pictures, then she saw that Finn was already filming their son.

“Hey, maybe Hadley wants to ride the pony with her brother,” Finn said, stopping to scoop his daughter up. He held her out in front of him talking to her with such a look of pure joy on his face, Charlotte’s heart felt ready to burst.

After Hadley had ridden with her brother for a few laps, Finn gathered both of them up. JP rescued Jack from his very old, very unattractive nannie, and the two men walked together laughing and talking and sharing tales about their babies.

Amanda and Charlotte watched their husbands, both of them sexy and strong and at the mercy of their beloved children.

“The Pass Christian trip is a definite yes, the Gulf water is so warm, the kids will be in heaven, count us in. Man, Angelina Jolie better watch out,” Amanda said, “just look at your daughter, and you thought a baby girl wouldn’t be lucky enough to have Finn’s scrumptious mouth. Damn, you’d better find a good convent to put that girl in when she hits puberty.”

“She looks like Finn, doesn’t she? His eyes, his mouth, she doesn’t look like me at all, thank God. I think you’re right, she is going to be a serious beauty, and I have to tell you, she has all of us wrapped around her little finger. Atticus is already such a good big brother, he lets her have his toys and now that she’s taking a bottle he wants to feed her. He’s two and a half and he already watches out for Hadley,” Charlotte said and wiped away a tear, and she and Amanda smiled at what a big softy she’d become.

“Your son looks like his father too, but as promised, it’s our dirty little secret, so we won’t go there,” Amanda said. “So aren’t you dying to hear the biggest news in San Diego? The roaring scandalous divorce of Alexander Bly and his pregnant wife?”

“What the…?” Charlotte moved to the end of Amanda’s chaise lounge, she was truly shocked. “Maddie is willing to forgo her monthly plastic surgery appointments to have another baby? Why on earth are they getting a divorce if she’s pregnant?”

“According to Alex, they haven’t had sex in over a year, so evidently his wife went the Evangeline way of getting pregnant. My mother fucked around and had me, and Maddie fucked around big time with her ex, that dick-head photographer, Spencer Beck. Now the two of them intend to take my brother to court to get a huge chunk of his money. Alex is willing to pay her more than she deserves, but she has to give up custody of the twins. It’s a complete Jerry Springer mud-slinging disaster, and you know Alex, he hates to be in the public eye. So he’s paying her off, and her cosmetically enhanced ass is moving to Los Angeles,” Amanda said, tilting her head and waiting for Charlotte’s reaction.

“Wow, not good, I thought Maddie really loved him. I can’t believe she betrayed him with Spencer Beck, I mean seriously, how can he possibly compare to Bly?” Charlotte said, then she blushed as Amanda gave her a questioning look.

“You still love my brother, don’t you? I don’t think I’ll ever understand you, Charlotte,” Amanda said, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Sometimes I wish I could trade lives with you Amanda, my life is so much more complicated than it seems,” Charlotte said, and she looked out to the lawn where Finn was feeding birthday cake to Atticus. He held Hadley in his lap and Atticus swiped a tiny finger in the icing and stuck it in the baby’s mouth. “I’ll be right back, can a five month old have cake icing? Finn, don’t let her eat that!” she called out.

Two nannies wandered over holding Mia and Holden Bly, and Mia reached out her little hand and patted Atticus on the head. The younger nannie stared at Atticus, and Finn motioned for Charlotte to come take Hadley. He whisked Atti away, saying it was time for his nap. Charlotte followed him to the car and watched him as he strapped both babies into their seats without saying a word.

“I’ll take them to my Mum’s for a nap, then I’ll meet you at the house in a while. You have your car and I have a few phone calls to make concerning Bennet Sommerfeld’s parole hearing,” he said, kissing Charlotte then putting the car in gear.

She leaned down to the open car window and placed her hand over his on the steering wheel. “I think we should go back to Surrey… to live, you know, we could be near Jude and Keller. Or to Pass Christian, we’ll close the bed and breakfast and move into the house. My dad would be thrilled to have us nearby.”

“We’ll see,” he said, and his eyes narrowed as he looked off into the distance. “No one is going to change who we are as a family. Don’t even worry about it, my love, I’ll see you at home.”

*

As Charlotte walked toward the house, her mind was on fire with the terrible weight of deceit, and she literally ran into Billy Kipling.

“Charlotte, I wondered if we’d run into each other, and now we have,” he said, and gave her a quick hug before they backed away from each other.

“Sorry about that Billy, how are you? How’s your little girl getting along, do you see her often?” Charlotte asked, and as before she was struck by the intensity of his grass-green eyes.

“Yeah, she’s great and so cute and smart, you know? I fly out to Kansas one weekend a month and I have to say, she loves me like crazy. It’s the coolest thing, being a parent, right?” he said and Charlotte could tell he had baby fever as bad as any parent.

“Do you have pictures, what’s her name? She’s about the same age as Atticus isn’t she?”

“Of course I have lots of pictures,” he grinned as he scrolled through his phone and showed her a little girl with light brown hair and his startling green eyes. “Her name is Vivi, and she lights up my life. Her birthday is May twenty-eighth, so she’ll be three in the spring.

“That’s Atti’s birthday, they were born on the same day, how cool is that? Well I’m glad it’s worked out for you to be in her life, will you bring her out here for a visit sometime?”

“Absolutely, maybe this summer or the next. Her mom can be a real bitch, but I took her to court, so I have set visitation,” he said.

“When you bring her to San Diego give me a call and she can come play with Atticus. She’s a doll, Billy, you’re both lucky to have each other.”

Charlotte went into the house, and the cheerful sound of talk and laughter echoed through the massive rooms. Babies crawled and toddled about, and parents drank champagne and compared stories of difficult pregnancies and emergency C-sections. Several nannies stood in a group, sipping their drinks and laughing, and she watched as Mia Bly yanked a toy away from her brother so that he began to cry. Charlotte picked him up and looked into his sea-glass colored eyes and smoothed his silky blonde hair. He laid his little head against her shoulder and quieted as she whispered to him.

“Shh, sweet angel, it’s alright now, I’ve got you. We’ll find you another toy, don’t be sad,” and when she peered down into his little face he had fallen asleep. He looked so much like Bly that her heart seemed to flip over in her chest and she closed her eyes and hugged him tightly to her.

“Now this is a sight I’ve dreamed of seeing, Charlotte holding my son.”

Her eyes flew open and she looked up into Bly’s face and fumbled for words.

“He was crying… he was just tired, it seems,” she said, and her face was hot under the intensity of his gaze. He looked supremely happy, and too handsome for his own good. He didn’t have the sad air of a man who was divorcing his wife for infidelity.

“Well he looks happy now, and why shouldn’t he be, with you to hold him close?” Bly said, running his hand over Holden’s downy head, then calling for one of the nannies.

The girl scurried up, red faced and tongue tied, and apologized profusely as she lifted the baby out of Charlotte’s arms. Little Mia had spotted Bly and she clung to his pants leg, she looked up at him smiling and saying “da-da.”

Bly picked her up and hugged and kissed her, then introduced her to Charlotte, “Charlotte this is my little Mia, and of course, you’ve already met my son.”

Mia had Maddie’s large brown eyes and her cheeks were the color of peaches. Her face resembled a tiny heart beneath a cap of the palest blonde hair. She pressed her little bow-shaped mouth to Bly’s cheek in the semblance of a kiss, and he spoke to her lovingly and called her his sweetheart.

“Yes, I met Holden. They’re both adorable, Bly, and I can see how proud you are. I need to get going, will you tell Amanda goodbye for me?” she asked, moving away from him and turning toward the door.

She heard him speak to one of the nannies, then Mia was crying for him as he followed Charlotte outside and shut the door.

He stopped her before she walked down the front steps, and she faced him and put her hand on his chest so that she kept some distance between them.

“I wish I had known about Bennet stalking you, I would have done more than just put him in the hospital,” he said and he wanted to push her hand away and crush her against him. The sight of her holding his son was like a dream come true. The baby had curled against her and she looked down at him with more love in her eyes than Maddie ever had.

“Finn will see to it that he never gets out of prison, although I heard his lawyers are trying to have him moved to a psychiatric facility. Finn also looked into the former rape case and found that the DNA evidence had been suppressed, he’s working with the D.A. to have it reconsidered,” she said, as Bly walked with her to her car.

“I’ll help with that in any way that I can,” he said, and his hand reached out and held hers as they walked. “I’m getting a divorce and I’m happy about it. We will be together, Charlotte, and I’m prepared to wait until you come to me.”

“Tell me about West and Evangeline and the baby. I just can’t imagine that situation,” she said, changing the subject.

They sat in her car and she turned on some music and she listened to him talk, it was comfortable being with him, although it made her feel guilty.

“You’re right, it’s damned odd that West has a child, but he really loves that little boy. My mother locked herself in her room for a week in a fit of temper when he showed up in Paris with a baby, then she got over it and welcomed them both with open arms. Beau is his name, and even though Evangeline saw to it that his nursery is in the far reaches of her house, she dotes on the kid. He has a French nannie and his first words were “papa” and “maman.” Although my mother isn’t much for being called maman, it basically means mommy. God knows my sister and I weren’t allowed to call her that. I suppose she’s mellowed somewhat, but not completely, according to West. He says she still throws fits and vases on a daily basis. They must be happy, they stroll the baby in the Tuileries and Luxemburg Gardens, and West emails pictures of him at least once a week. The child’s mother has disappeared completely, I mean without a trace. I’ve had Billy Kipling employ all of his Special Ops tactics, but the girl is a ghost, she’s just gone,” he said, and then he sat quietly looking into Charlotte’s eyes and listening to the music.

“If you want it, come and get, crying out loud, the love that I was giving you, was never in doubt, let go your heart, let go your head, and feel it now,” David Gray sang.

“Come away with me, Charlotte, have you ever doubted that I love you? Do you understand that I cannot love any other woman? It’s the way I’m made, I suppose. Without you, my life devoid of love and passion,” Bly said and he touched his lips to hers and tasted her tears. He leaned back in the car seat and ran his hand through his hair, then sighed deeply and rested his head in his hands.

“You have your babies, Bly, and I can see how much you love them. Your little boy looks just like you, except for the blonde hair. They’re so sweet and beautiful, you’re a lucky man,” and she wanted very much to put her arms around him and comfort him as she had comforted his son.

“Where are your children, and what did you name your daughter? Amanda says they are the most beautiful babies she’s ever seen, even cuter than her own. So they must look like their mother,” he said, and the look in her eyes wasn’t lost on him.