Fulfillment (Book 3 in The Temptation Series) (12 page)

“Yes,” he
snapped out before I even had a moment to break their alliance.

“When?” she
blurted out quickly.

“Soon,” he
answered, just as fast.

“How
soon?”

“Charli!” I
interrupted. Nate laughed.

“Soon, soon,”
Bryce continued.

“Bryce!” I
poked him.
He is just as bad as both of my kids.

“Are you going
to have a baby?” Charli continued.
Whoa! Okay, game
over.

“I think
that’s enough of truth or dare for tonight.” I switched my tone of
voice to the game’s-up-I’m-now-serious one.

“Awww,” they
all whined.

“Maybe. Would
that be okay?” Bryce continued to answer Charli’s question,
ignoring my request that we end the game before the
baby-in-my-uterus cat was let out of the bag.

“Yeah. That
would be awesome,” Charli added. “I love babies, but only if it’s a
girl baby. Boys are crap sometimes.” She poked her tongue out at
Nate. He responded by throwing his dirty socks at her. “See what I
mean? They are disgusting. Yuck!”

“What about
you Nate? Would that be okay?” Bryce queried my son.
Oh Shit! Do
I want to hear this answer?

“I guess...but
aren’t you too old, Mum?”

“No. I’m not
too old, and anyway, it’s bed time. Come and give me a kiss then
hop back into bed.”

Both Nate and
Charli climbed onto our bed and gave me a kiss. Charli even climbed
over to Bryce and placed a peck on his cheek then bumped fists with
him, in a modern high-five gesturing kind of way. I shook my head
at the realisation that he had successfully been able to infiltrate
my children’s brains in order to have them side with him and gang
up on me. I shot a baffled smile at him, turned off the light and
snuggled into to his chest.

He wrapped his
arms around me, lightly kissed my neck then whispered into my ear.
“I had a really great time today, thank you for sharing your family
with me.”

I smiled
although I knew he couldn’t see it. “What’s mine is yours,
remember?”

His grip
tightened.

***

Lying in bed
the following morning had me thinking about what Bryce said before
we had drifted off to sleep. I realised that the reason he’d
confessed to having such a great time the day before was because he
had missed out on having similar family experiences himself. Where
I took our family gatherings for granted or saw them as everyday
events and not giving them much emphasis, he had thrived on
them—enjoying that contented feeling he’d never had the privilege
to be surrounded by.

I hugged him
incredibly tight, loving him for being in my life; loving him for
having such a great relationship with my kids; loving him for
loving me, and loving him because he deserved it. My tight
squeezing stirred him from his sleep, filling me with joy at being
able to stare at him as he returned to the conscious world—usually
it was the other way around. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him
wake, watching his face come to life when his eyes met mine.

“Hey, Mr.
Clark. Fancy helping me be an Easter Bunny?” I whispered.

“Sure. As long
as we can breed like one?” he whispered back.

I giggled. “We
already have.”

He smiled with
his eyes closed. “Mmmm.”

“Come on,
you.”

We snuck out
of the room to help hide all the Easter eggs that Mum, Jen and I
had stashed away. Jen artistically hid foil covered chocolate
bunnies in potted plants, on chairs and under tables. Jake arranged
two chocolate bunnies on top of each other in a compromising
position, and Bryce and I tossed handfuls of little foil covered
chocolate eggs out onto the lawn. When we were all satisfied that
our Easter Bunny duties were complete, we sat down at the dining
table with well-earned cups of coffee and tea, then waited for the
sleeping children to wake up.

“Why is it
that on Easter, Christmas and birthdays our little rascals sleep
in?” Jen huffed. “I might as well go back to bed.” And on cue the
twins started crying. She stood up and stretched. “Ahhh, they are
just like clockwork.” She turned to Bryce and smiled at him,
raising her eyebrows. “Bryce, do you want to give me a hand?”
Jennifer, don’t you dare do anything stupid.
I shot her a
warning look.

“Sure,” he
said.

Steve grinned
and leaned back on his chair, glad he had been let off the hook.
“Sweet,” he uttered, happily.

“Don’t tell me
you breastfeed too, Bryce,” my smartarse brother teased. I grabbed
an apple from the fruit bowl and launched it at him. He caught it,
and laughing, took a bite. “Thanks.”

I looked to
Bryce. “Whatever you do, don’t change Jack.”

“Who said
anything about changing them?” he answered, appearing to now regret
his acceptance.

“Come on.” Jen
put her hands on his shoulders and ushered him toward the waiting
bundles of cuteness—and their inevitable soiled nappies.

Moments later,
Jen returned to the room, smiling and holding the ‘blue one’. Bryce
followed shortly after, his face half displaying adoration of the
‘pink one’ and half distaste.

“Was that a
set up?” he asked me.

Jen cracked up
laughing.

“Was what a
set up?” I asked, slightly confused.

“Elise’s nappy
was far from clean,” he blurted out as he bounced her on his
hip.

“Oh.
Sorry...but shit happens...literally.” I giggled at my lame joke
and walked over to him, stopping to take Elise into my arms. “Did
you give Uncle Bryce a nice Easter present?” I babbled to my
niece.

The entire
room fell silent at my choice of words, and I very quickly felt as
though I had five pairs of eyes burrowing into my back. I looked up
at Bryce who was standing directly in front of me, his face
elated—thank goodness.

“Yes, she did.
So next time, I choose Jack.” He kissed me on the top of the head
and proceeded to sit back at the table, unperturbed at the fact I
had just declared him a surrogate uncle. My family, too, continued
their discussions and all was well.

Nate, Charli
and Olivia woke up shortly after and scoured the gardens
surrounding Mum and Dad’s house for treats the Easter Bunny had
left behind. When they were sure all traces of foil-covered
chocolate had been found, we all sat down and enjoyed another meal
together—this one just as entertaining as the night before. After
lunch, we sadly said our goodbyes with kisses to the cheeks, warm
embraces and promises to see one another soon. Jake had shook
Bryce’s hand and warned him—in a friendly manner—to take care of
me, and not because he would have to answer to my brother if he
didn’t. Instead, because he’d have to answer to me, as I apparently
was the scariest one of us all—Bryce tended to agree.

***

Easter Sunday
night was spent at the apartment with Lucy, Nic and Baby Alexander.
Bryce was once again so natural when it came to handling a baby; it
was an incredible turn on. I couldn’t help but formulate a picture
in my mind of him holding, hugging, kissing and fussing over our
baby. And as a result of this beautiful piece of imagery foresight,
I had a ridiculously large smile plastered on my face.

“You seem
happy,” Lucy smirked as she gave me a nudge while we made a cup of
coffee.

“I am, very
happy. Your brother is essentially all one could ever wish for in a
man, and I can’t for the life of me remember making that wish or
being lucky enough to deserve it being granted.” I looked up from
the bench while stirring the mug, noticing Bryce enthralled in a
game of peek-a-boo with Charli and Alexander.

“True love is
not the result of a wish, Alexis. It is found by those who have
open eyes. Unfortunately, so many people are blind—and because of
that—will never experience it.” She put her mug to her lips and
blew gently. “I will be forever grateful to you for opening your
eyes. My brother deserves the love he has found with you.”

I turned to
face her, a small tear in my eye. I also stupidly placed my hand on
my abdomen. Her eyes twinkled and her mouth opened, and that’s when
I realised what I had done. So I said the first stupid thing that
came to my mind.

“Oooh, I think
I have a bit of wind.”
Nice, Alexis! After that heartfelt
declaration, the first thing she hears you say is you have
wind.

She squinted
her eyes at me ever so mildly then sipped her coffee. “Better out
than in I’ve always said.”

She picked up
Nic’s cup, smiled at me and walked back into the lounge area.
Shit! Crap! Balls!
I picked up Bryce’s mug and followed her,
feeling like a bloody idiot with a flatulence problem. I handed him
the mug and sat down beside him on the sofa, red-faced and morbidly
embarrassed. Lucy was still smiling at me.
Fuck, I think she
knows.

I diverted my
guilty you’ve-busted-me face and addressed my kids. “I hate to
break up your game, but Charli and Nate, your father will be here
bright and early in the morning to pick you both up. So it’s
bedtime. Say goodnight and get yourselves ready for bed. I will be
up to tuck you both in shortly.”

“Is RJ gonna
be there? Because if he is, I’m not going,” Nate said firmly.

“No, he’s not.
But you are going to have to meet him soon Nate. You can’t avoid it
forever, and besides, you will probably really like him.” I kissed
him on the head as he fist-bumped Bryce.

“I doubt it,”
Nate murmured.

“He likes
caramel and so do you. And he barracks for the Bombers like we do,”
Charli offered. I winked at her and gave her a kiss, again while
she and Bryce fist-bumped.

“Whatever.”
Nate shrugged his shoulders and headed upstairs after saying
goodnight to Lucy, Nic, and Alexander—Charli right behind him.

***

The next
morning, Rick was at the apartment at the crack of dawn like he
said he would be. I had barely registered the daylight when the
buzzer to the foyer sounded. Nic, Lucy, and Alexander were still
sound asleep. The kids were finishing packing their bags for their
stay with Rick, and Bryce was in the shower.

I opened the
door still in my satin nightie and robe. “Hi,” I said as I let him
in. “Since when did you become a morning person?”

“Since you
left me.” His response was flat, with a cutting tone.

I glared at
him. “Well, it doesn’t agree with you.”
Bite me and I’ll bite
back.

“So what the
hell was that the other day?”

“What?” I
asked bemused.

“Kicking
Claire out of my house.”

Oh, yeah. I
forgot about that.
I walked into the kitchen, motioning him to
follow me. I didn’t need anyone else hearing this conversation,
which was obviously about to get nasty. Once he was around the
corner and I was satisfied that we were alone, I answered him.

“For starters,
Rick, it is not
your
house until you pay me for
it.” He gave me a hostile look. “And secondly, she was wearing my
fucking dress. How did you expect me to react?”

“Oh, I don’t
know...maybe like an adult. You didn’t even let her get her shoes.”
Really? Oh! Bahaha that’s fucking funny. No, Alexis, it’s
not.

“She surprised
me, Rick. I was not expecting her there. I just wanted to get the
rest of my things.”

“You took the
couch cushions, Alexis. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Nothing, they
are my couch cushions. I chose them. I bought them.”

“You’re acting
like a child.”

“Yeah, well
you’d know all about that,” I yelled at him

“Are you
finished?” he asked quietly.

“With you?
Yes. I don’t even know you anymore, Rick.”

“I’m not the
one who has changed, Lexi.”

“Yeah I guess
you’re right. Maybe I just didn’t know the
real
you in the first place.”

“Don’t label
us and our marriage as not ‘real’. You’re mad, I get that, but you
and I were ‘real’. You can be angry with me all you want—I deserve
it—but you can’t take it out on Claire like you did. You’ve moved
on—clearly. I’m just trying to do the same.”

I moved to the
kettle and switched it on. “Well, I’ve made an appointment to see
Berny. I suggest you find a lawyer as well. We both can’t truly
move on until we’ve legally gone our separate ways.”

“If that’s
what you want, Alexis, fine. I’m done.”

“Good. I was
done a long time ago. I just didn’t know it.”

Rick and I
were staring each other down when Bryce walked in with Nate and
Charli behind him.

“Hi, Dad,”
Charlie said with a small smile while looking from Rick’s face to
mine. We both snapped out of our showdown and switched
personalities.

“My Princess,
I’ve missed you.” He lifted her up. “Ready to go to Grandma and
Grandpa’s?”

“Yes,” she
said excitedly.

I blew Charli
a kiss and cuddled Nate. “Have fun. I’ll see you after school
tomorrow.”

“Wednesday,
after school on Wednesday if that is okay. I would really like to
have them for the extra day this week considering I missed out over
the weekend.”

I breathed in
deep and closed my eyes momentarily. Bryce came around behind me
and put his hands on my shoulders. I exhaled.

“That seems
fair,” Bryce added. He gave my shoulders a gentle squeeze. “We’ll
both pick you up after school on Wednesday. How does that sound?”
he asked Nate and Charli.

“In the limo?”
Nate suggested.

“No,” I said
at the same time as Rick.
Hang on a minute, where does he get
off saying ‘no’ to the limo.
I should say yes now! No,
Alexis you’re just being bitter.
“We’ll see you Wednesday.” I
kissed Nate’s head.

As they walked
out into the foyer, I waved, then headed upstairs to my shower—my
emotion-venting, steamed-filled, head-clearing shower.