Easy Kisses (The Boudreaux Series Book 4) (15 page)

He plants his lips on my shoulder as he collects himself.

“Did you sleep well?” he asks after he finds his voice.

“Better than I have since…”
Since Montana.
“For a while.”

He raises his head and smiles at me with those ocean blue eyes. “Montana.” He knows.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

He kisses me soundly and lowers me to the floor. “What’s for breakfast?” I ask.

“I had a delicious breakfast about twenty minutes ago.” He winks and flips the water off, wraps me in a towel, and begins drying me off. “But I could go for some protein.”

“I don’t have much here in the house. I’ll take you out.”

“I’ll take you out.” He backs away to dry himself, then slings the towel low over his hips.

Simon Danbury is in my bathroom, well sexed, mostly naked, looking at me like I’m the best thing since Earl Grey tea.

Whose life is this?

“Are you going naked, then?” He asks, one brow raised.

“Next time,” I say, shaking myself out of my reverie and walk to the closet. “Do we know what we’re doing today?”

“Not all of it. Why?”

“So I know what to wear.”

“Just be comfortable, love. Nothing fancy today.”

I smile and reach for my favorite shorts and peach colored tank. My body feels well-used.

Thank goodness.

***

“How long have you owned The Odyssey?” Simon asks my sister-in-law later that evening. We decided to have dinner with my brother Declan and his wife Callie at the last minute.

“Well, I inherited it from my father about a year ago,” she replies with a smile. Callie is gorgeous. She’s tall and thin, with a full sleeve of tattoos, different from Simon’s but just as many. She’s all class with a sexy edge. It’s no wonder my brother fell hard and fast for her. “But I’ve been in the business all of my life.”

“I’d love to see it,” Simon says.

“Come back with us after dinner,” Declan says with a smile. Declan is my youngest brother, and the most laid-back of the three. “I’m playing tonight.”

“Charly has told me about your talent,” Simon replies. “I’d love to hear you.”

“Perfect.” Callie smiles. “How long are you in town for, Simon?”

“I have about four days left,” he replies and my stomach falls just a bit. The thought of him leaving again makes me sad. I don’t want him to go, and yet, I knew from the beginning that he wasn’t going to stay forever. He never lied to me.

“Charly told us about your retreat after she got home,” Declan says and takes a sip of his beer. “It sounds like what you do is pretty intense.”

“It can be,” Simon says with a nod. “Some of the days are more lighthearted, but yes, a good portion of it is intense. My clients are learning to trust themselves.”

I hadn’t thought of it like that, but he’s right. When you boil it down to the heart of it all, it’s about trust.

“That’s a good way to describe it,” I say with a nod. “I like that. I’ve already talked Savannah into going.”

“Good.” Declan covers my hand with his and gives it a squeeze. “If anyone needs to learn to trust themselves, it’s our Van.”

Savannah is Declan’s twin sister. I’ve often been jealous of their bond over the years, but I realize now that it’s not something either of them has control over. They’re not choosing each other over the rest of us, they simply have a connection that we don’t have.

And it’s really quite beautiful.

“I’d like to meet Savannah,” Simon replies. “I’ve heard a lot about her.”

“She’s so great,” Callie says with a wink. “She’ll keep you on your toes.”

“I’m beginning to learn that the whole family is a force to be reckoned with.” Simon laughs and finishes his drink. We finished eating long ago. The bill has been paid. We’ve just been chatting for the last half hour.

“Should we head over?” I ask.

“Yeah, I need to set up and Callie will want to make sure the place hasn’t burned down.” He turns to Simon. “She’s a bit of a workaholic.”

“Takes one to know one,” Callie replies and kisses her husband on the cheek. “And you get me, so it works.”

“Oh, I get you, all right.” He kisses her lips and his hand is traveling up her side, and I immediately put the brakes on that spectacle.

“Okay, we get it.” I cover my eyes. “Y’all have sex. You don’t have to rub it in my face.”

“What are you, nine?” Declan asks with a laugh as we stand and leave the restaurant.

“No, I’m your sister. There’s no need to get gross in front of me.”

“Being affectionate with my wife is not gross.”

“That’s your opinion, pal.”

It’s a beautiful evening. There’s not a cloud in the sky as we walk the block or so back to The Odyssey.

“This is beautiful,” Simon says we walk inside. “You’ve recently renovated.”

“Right after I took over,” Callie says with a nod, looking over her handiwork. “Everything is new except the bar. It was in good shape, and quite old even when my dad bought it.”

“This is my kind of pub,” Simon replies and he and I take a seat at the bar while Declan goes to get ready for his set. Callie walks behind the bar and begins helping her partner, Adam.

“Simon, this is Adam. He co-owns the place with me.”

“Pleasure,” Simon says and reaches over the bar to shake Adam’s hand.

“Good to meet you,” Adam says and waves hello to me. “And this gorgeous woman is my girlfriend, Sarah.”

“Oh good! I finally get to meet you! I’ve heard all about you,” I say and lean over to hug the pretty woman to my right. I was so excited, and surprised, to hear that Adam found someone.

“It’s great to meet you, too. Hi, Simon.”

“You’re meeting a lot of people tonight,” Callie says with a laugh to Simon. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m perfectly fine,” he says and takes my hand in his. He kisses my knuckles and Callie’s eyes find mine. She winks at me and nods, and I know that I have her approval.

For reasons I’m not entirely sure of, that makes me very happy.

“Well, slap my ass and call me Sally! Here come some more,” Callie says with a laugh. I spin around and find Gabby and Savannah walking to us, all decked out in sexy dresses and heels.

“Hey!” I stand and hug them both, then proceed to make introductions.

“So this is the famous Savannah,” Simon says and leans in to kiss her cheek. “It’s truly a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Oh God, what did you tell him?” she asks me, making us all laugh.

“Only great things,” Simon replies and then frowns and pulls his phone out of his pocket. The frown doesn’t leave his face when he returns it to his pocket and takes my hand in his.

“Is everything okay?”

“Fine. It’s just my mother.”

“It’s awfully late. Are you sure nothing is wrong?”

“No, darling. She’s fine. And it’s early morning there. I’ll call her later.”

I nod and turn back to my sisters. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Beau kicked us out of my house,” Gabby says and orders an extra dirty martini from Callie.

“Why?” I ask.

“Because she really needed a night away,” Van replies for her. “I’ve received at least twenty texts from her today. She was having a shitty week.”

“Do tell,” Simon says as Adam pulls a bar-height table over for us, along with extra chairs. This way, we can stay close to the bar so he and Callie can still be part of the fun while they work.

“Well,” Gabby begins with a sigh and takes a sip of her drink. “Rhys has been gone back to Chicago for less than a week, right?”

We nod.

“And I’m pretty sure my kids are already trying to kill me.”

“Come on, it can’t be that bad,” I say, but Van is already shaking her head and giving me the warning
look
.

“It’s that bad,” Van says. “Go ahead and tell them. Let it all out, honey.”

“On Tuesday, Sam informed me that he needed cupcakes for the last day of school, which was the next day, and he decided to wait until bedtime to tell me. Of course. Then Ailish came down sick the evening after we saw you and Simon. The dog decided to poop all over the freaking house while I took Sam to a birthday party on Thursday, and then later that afternoon, Sam broke another damn window.”

“How many does this make now?” I ask, trying to hold my laughter in.

“Nine,” she replies between gritted teeth.

“Sam wants to be a baseball player, like his daddy,” Van informs us all, earning a glare from Gabby.

“Rhys doesn’t break windows. Rhys doesn’t need me to actually assemble every single snack he has.” She turns to us, her eyes a little manic now. “I swear, the kids never want something simple to snack on like an apple, or some little fish crackers. No. They want a sandwich with cheese and meat and mayo. Or better yet, mac and cheese.”

She lays her head on her arm on the table and whimpers.

“All I wanted was a bubble bath.”

“Shh, it’s okay, ladybug,” Declan says as he approaches the table and strokes his hand down Gabby’s hair while the rest of us laugh with hilarity. Even Simon is chuckling, his eyes dancing with humor.

I lean in to him. “I know this is a lot. We can go whenever you want.”

“Are you kidding? I’m having a great time. I’m about to start asking questions about you as a child.”

Gabby’s head comes up. “Oh, this is a better subject by far. We have lots of stories.”

“Great.” Simon rubs his hands together eagerly and I shake my head.

“No one wants to hear this.”

“Oh, but they do,” Van says with a gleeful smile. “What do you want to know?”

“Was Charly always so confident?” he asks.

“Oh yeah,” Gabby says with a nod. “She was always the most headstrong and put together.”

“I was not. That was Eli.”

“Of the sisters,” Van clarifies. “Charly was the most organized. Even if we were playing, it had to be in a certain order.”

“No one likes chaos,” I mutter, and Simon tightens his hand on mine.

“But she has the best sense of humor of all of us, and she loves so
big
, you know?”

“I do,” Simon replies and lifts my hand to his lips. “She has a big heart.”

“She wears that heart on her sleeve,” Van says but I shake my head.

“No way.”

“For the most part,” Gabby says, agreeing with Van. “But there are times that she pulls in, and guards herself fiercely. I hate it when she does that because she’s hard to read.”

“So did she ever do something scandalous in school, that may have gotten her in trouble? Come on, girls, I want the dirt.”

“Hmm…dirt.” They look at each other, as if they’re trying to come up with something, and then shrug.

“Honestly, Charly never really got into much trouble,” Gabby says. “I was the one that got pregnant right out of high school. Van got married right away. Charly was always just career minded.”

“Yeah, I don’t think she got into much trouble,” Van says, but Declan is just smiling at me, keeping his mouth shut, but he couldn’t be more obvious.

“Clearly, Declan knows something you don’t,” Simon says. “Spill it, mate.”

“I was sworn to secrecy,” Declan says and shakes his head. “Sorry.”

“Wait, you know something we don’t?” Gabby demands. “I want to know.”

“Me too,” Van says.

“Me three,” Sarah adds, who has been watching the conversation with rapture, “and it’s completely none of my business.”

“I will pull every hair from your body with tweezers,” I say calmly and take a sip of water, my eyes on Declan. “And you know that’s not a threat.”

“I do like my hair,” he replies. “But it was a long time ago, Char. Who cares if I tell them now? Even Dad isn’t here to punish you.”

“It deserved punishment?” Simon asks and leans over to whisper in my ear. “I can spank you later.”

And cue the wet panties. Again.

“I heard that,” Declan says and scowls at Simon.

“I don’t care,” I say with a shrug, and everyone leans toward Declan in excitement.

“Charly was about sixteen,” he begins, then looks at me for confirmation to continue. I just sigh and nod.

What the hell?

“It was summertime,” he continues, “so we were all staying out in the Bayou, at the house Gabby lives in now. The nearest neighbor is about a half a mile away, and at the time it was owned by this really mean old lady with her teenage grandson.”

“She wasn’t
that
old,” I remind them all, “but to us back then, she was ancient.”

“Was this that guy, oh what was his name?” Van asks and taps her nails on the table. “Jerry? Larry? Terry?”

“His name was Eddie,” I reply.

“Eddie!” she snaps her fingers. “That’s right.”

“And we were just friends.”

“Sure,” Gabby says with a nod. “Of course you were.”

“Anyway, Charly told Mom that she was going to a friend’s house for a sleepover and instead she snuck out with Eddie to go camping.”

“In the swamp?” Sarah asks.

“No, just in his backyard. I wasn’t that adventurous, but he had a really cool telescope, and you could see the planets and stuff.”

“Sure, he was going to show you his
telescope
,” Gabby says with a snort.

“Do you like looking at the stars, darling?” Simon asks and kisses my cheek.

“Yeah, it’s kind of fun.” I shrug and prepare myself for the rest of the story.

“Well, all I know is, in the middle of the night, I can’t sleep, and I’m sitting up, looking out my window, and I see Charly running over the grass, under the trees, to the house. And I mean she’s
running
. I don’t think she’s ever run that fast.

“So I go downstairs, and she is sneaking in the front door, trying not to make any noise, but then she turns around and sees me and lets out a scream.”

“You snuck up on me!”

“So I put my hand over her mouth and she fucking bites me.”

“Again, you snuck up on me.”

“And when she finally calms down and stops being so freaking dramatic, she tells me that Eddie’s yard is haunted and it scared her so she ran home.”

“Yep, that’s what I told you.”

“But I don’t believe that was true.”

Now all of the eyes swing toward me and I’m left squirming in my seat.

“Not really, no.”