Marked. Part II: Becoming Noah Baxter (22 page)

“Stop kissing me then.”

“
Not possible.”

I love it when he gets mushy.

My brothers arrive, along with my dad, Jill, and a bunch of our kids' friends. It's the exact distraction I need to keep me from molesting my husband in front of everyone.

We greet them and ask how my brothers' skateboarding shop is doing, which to no surprise is still doing well. They ask if Arianna will be here and are bummed that she can't make it this year, both loving to playfully flirt with her. Once Seth started noticing girls, the two of them became the biggest flirts. They still are, having no desire to settle down. 

Arianna's still an employee at Cole Private Bank and Trust. She figured out not long after she started there that she's a natural at drawing in new clients and has brought in accounts from some of the wealthiest people in the United States, making her an asset to the bank.

At least once a year she comes to visit us, always bringing Charlie with her as her personal body guard. She's never explained why she needs her own guard, just that Ben demands it.

We don't hear much from Ben. He's one of those people that will always remain a mystery, and I think he prefers it that way. He sends each kid a check for a thousand dollars every year on their birthday, so they think he's the coolest guy ever.

“
I think I need to have a talk with that kid about limits,” Noah growls.

I turn to see what he's focused on.

Violet and Parker are heading over to the party. Noah scowls at how close they are walking, arms brushing with every small step they are taking, prolonging their arrival, neither one wanting to partake in the party.

Violet's the only one that got my hair color and Noah's northern light eyes, ironically sometimes making them appear violet, depending on what she's wearing. Where Maggie's one of those girls you just want to pinch their cheeks they're so gosh darn cute looking, Violet is beautiful, her skin porcelain and cheeks always with a rosy glow, which you don't often see because she usually has oil smudges covering her. She doesn't smile very often, but when she does you can't help but stop and stare.

I tug Noah's arm to try leading him back to the party, “You know it's not like that with Parker. Besides, you can't keep guys aways from our girls forever.”

He scoffs, fists clenching, “Wanna bet?”

“Let's go get you that beer,” I encourage, forcing him to follow me, knowing Parker would never do anything to destroy Noah's trust.

We watch all the kids, plus my brothers, ride the go-karts. We got them around the time the kids were old enough to ride them and made it something to offer at the track a few times a month, a way for families to come together. It's been a huge success for us.

Violet even joins in, laughing and having fun with her siblings. The three of them may be very different, but they remain each other's best friends and confidants.

Noah wraps me in his arms and I can feel his smile without having to see it.

“Thank you,” he breathes into my ear.

I rest back into his firm body and sigh contently, “For what?”

“For everything good in my life,” he tucks me in tighter and kisses my head, whispering an “I love you” into my hair.

Noah and I have definitely had our fair share of struggles, as individuals and as a couple. Our relationship has never been perfect, our parenting sure isn't perfect (despite how hard we try), but the love we share is, and at the end of the day that is enough.

For more information on J.M. Sevilla visit

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/authorjmsevilla

Goodreads:

www.goodreads.com/authorjmsevilla

J.M. Sevilla's Amazon Author Page:

https://amazon.com/author/jmsevilla

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/authorjmsevilla