Chapter Three

 

Under the circumstances, I let Mitch sulk the rest of the afternoon, and I hadn’t made the cancellation. Selfish, sure, but I wanted to celebrate our anniversary and figured it would be good for him. A distraction.

Besides, it couldn’t be true. The child couldn’t be his. The kid was younger than five, and we’d been together for five years, so the timing didn’t add up. Mitch wasn’t loaded, so it’s not like she – Jasmine – was coming after him for money, although I couldn’t figure out why someone would claim another as the father of their child and only announce it now. There had to be some alternate reasoning. And until we got to the truth of the matter, I was going to let it slide. At least for tonight.

Maybe it would be good if Eric and Lily joined us and helped to take his mind off this wild woman and her false accusations.

“Mitch,” I sat beside him on the couch.

He’d alternated between sitting and pacing while running his hands through his hair. He did it so often I worried he’d rub his scalp free of hair.

“How about if our friends join us tonight?”

“I don’t know.” The only words he seemed capable of.

I sighed and picked up the phone. Mitch and Eric went back further than me and Mitch. Maybe he’d have some insight.

“Hello?”

“Hey…” There was a lot of noise in the background. “Everything okay?” A baby wailed. “Is that?”

“He arrived, little baby boy.”

That was quick. He hadn’t made any mention of Lily being in labour.

“Already? Wow. Congratulations.” I turned to Mitch, ready to jump up and down with joy. “They had their baby. A little boy.”

“At least they knew about it.”

My eyes went large as saucers.

“Mom and baby are both happy and healthy. Arrived a little under an hour ago.” Euphoric wouldn’t even be the best word to describe how he sounded. “How’s Mitch?”

“Not much better. Was going to see if you wanted to join us for dinner, but I think you have other plans.”

“Another night.”

“Absolutely. Give our best to Lily, and we’ll talk to you soon.” I hung up, torn between feeling on top of the world over their news, and in the bottom of the well looking at Mitch.

“That’s it. Get up.” I smacked his leg as I jumped off the couch. “We’re going out.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him up. “Damn it, Mitch Macomber, it’s our anniversary, and we have dinner reservations waiting for us. Tonight, you’re going to put on your best suit, and we’re going to have fun and do all the things we shouldn’t, because we deserve it. Do you hear me?”

He blinked and stared at me. “Yes, I’m sorry. You’re right, today is a special day.”

“Damn right. We can deal with what’s-her-name tomorrow.” I stomped my foot for added effect. “Now go. Our reservations are at eight.”

Thirty minutes later, we were ready. Mitch cleaned up well, always did, and looked his charming best in his navy suit with matching bowtie. I opted to go with a jean jacket over my maxi dress and had my wavy blonde hair pinned up, a break from the relaxed braids on either side of my head.

My sweet man gave me a kiss on the lips, reminding me I was still his and how much he loved me. “You are gorgeous. But you’re missing something.”

I scanned myself up and down. “Nope, I have everything.”

He presented me with a long black box he’d pulled from his pocket. “Not everything.”

The lid creaked as I opened it, revealing a stunning tree of life pendant I’d had my heart set on. It was made of hand-twisted metal threads, so each pendant was as unique as the wearer.

“Those are our birthstones.” He pointed to the garnet-coloured stone for January, his birth month, and the emerald-green coloured one for mine in May.

“Help me put it on?” I tore it out of the box and turned my back to him, leaning to give him easy access to my neck. I kissed him after he clasped it and held the weight of it in my hands. It was perfect. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you.”

After this afternoon’s incident, I really couldn’t give him the old pencil case with the positive pregnancy test in it, but I had nothing else of value to give him.

“Your gift,” I purred as an idea sprung to mind, “will come later. I’m going to perform a little show for you, and I’m going to be your little slave tonight. Anything you want.”

His eyes grew large, and he pulled me close. “Anything?”

“Anything.” I needed to distract him and keep his mind off what’s-her-name and locked on me. Plus, we were adventure seekers, and I knew by the way his eyes came back to life, he had something naughty planned.

He slapped my ass. “Wear the red underwear.”

I turned around and flipped up my dress, flashing my red lace thong. “Already on it.”

“It’s going to be a quick dinner.”

“Nope.” I pushed and grinded against him. “It’ll heighten the anticipation.”

“Grr…” He growled and trailed a finger over my dress, circling my perky nipple twice.

Instinctively, I moaned, already turned on and revved up. “Not now, cowboy. Let’s go eat first. I’m starving.”

He held my hand as we walked down the street and across town, a leisurely thirty-minute stroll. We arrived late, but the hostess had our table set up for us and hadn’t yet cancelled our reservation as everything around here ran on island time, a give or take of time. We could’ve been upwards of thirty minutes late and still been safe, but neither Mitch nor I ran that far behind.

“What are we celebrating tonight?” She set menus in front of us.

“Our anniversary. Five years ago today, this beautiful woman agreed to go out with me.” He reached for my hand and kissed the top of it.

“Five years ago today you finally got the courage to ask.”

“Aww,” the hostess said. “What can I get you from the bar?”

Oh shit. I can’t drink. I looked over at Mitch, wondering how I was going to get out of this. My mind went blank thinking of drinks they could make, and I could somehow tell the waitress to make them alcohol-free. “How about a… umm… a daiquiri?”

“Really?” Mitch tipped his head to the side. “Unlike you.”

“Something different, I don’t feel like a beer.” I shrugged, hoping it wasn’t too far out there.

“I’ll have a draft. Whatever you have on tap.”

She took off, and I rose. “Sorry. Ladies room.” I caught up with the hostess enroute. “Can you make mine a virgin please, without saying anything. I just found out…” I stopped. No way was the hostess going to find out before Mitch. “I’m allergic to alcohol.”

She responded the same way I would’ve had someone told me something like that at the airport, simply nodded and said sure thing. I highly suspected she thought I was nuts.

I returned to our private booth in a few minutes and gave Mitch’s hand a rub. “Isn’t this place great?”

Patio lights dangled from the beams in the roof, and during the intense heat of the summer, the seaside breeze blew in when the windows rolled up, turning the place into a fresh air restaurant. Most tables were in the middle of the place, and usually given to tourists, but there were a couple of booths tucked away from the others, providing a lot of privacy. A candle surrounded by fresh flowers sat on top of the tablecloth adding to the romance of the place.

Our server came by and took our orders, warning us of the oncoming music performance from a local band, and how she hoped the music wasn’t too loud.

It wouldn’t be. It aided in my plans perfectly.

I inched my way over to Mitch in our circular booth and rested my head on his shoulder.

Across the space, just off to the side, the band took to the stage and the sweet bass guitar chords strummed.

“I love you, Mitch.”

He kissed my forehead. “I love you too.”

The band kicked into high gear, and a steady beat filled the area.

My hand stroked his thigh, slowly inching between his legs, and closer to the tight bulge my forearm rubbed against.

“Do you think this is the right place?” He twisted his head and whispered in my ear.

“Why not? It works on tv.”

Some of my favourite movies had the couple making out in plain sight and no one was the wiser. I repositioned myself, draping my left leg over his and pulling up the front of my dress. Naughty wouldn’t begin to describe it as tingles roved up and down my body, and my core throbbed with pulsing desire.

Mitch glanced around the restaurant, but our table was tucked off to the side and we had a pretty cozy area. For more coverage, he readjusted the tablecloth over my lap as he slid his right hand down, down, down and grazed my lacy parts as bursts of adrenaline pounded and the growing ache intensified to epic levels. If my fire wasn’t put out soon, I was going to ravage my man hard.

He knew just how to satisfy me though, and it didn’t take long for him to manoeuvre his expert fingers into a position guaranteed to make me sweat and smile. The tickling and caressing drove me wild, and in a very unladylike move, I pulled my right leg onto the booth seat and tucked it under me, giving Mitch better access, something he took full advantage of.

I twisted my head into the crook of his neck while he found my sweet spot and worked it for all he could. “Oh, Mitch,” I breathed into his ear as I peaked and grabbed his inner thigh as wave after dirty wave crashed over me. Table sex was a new one for us, but it had been so wicked, it was worth it. “Thank you. It’s your turn.” I gazed upon my lover with lust in my eyes.

“Not here.” He lowered his voice even though he whispered in my ear. “I’m not leaving with my pants all soaked.”

“Do you even know me at all?” I licked my lips and planted one on him, rubbing him back into stiffness for good measure. “No one looking?”

“Huh?”

I glanced around and lifted myself above the height of the booth to check. I was in the clear, and quick as lightning, I was crouched under the table.

“What are you doing?”

At the moment, I was unzipping Mitch’s pants and freeing the beast for a little appetizer.

His hand found the back of my head, and he scooted himself to the edge of the seat to give me more room. Expertly and rhythmically, I licked him like a sweet popsicle before I wrapped my lips around him fully, taking him all in. I was a gold medal winner at this sport, and it didn’t take long to bring him up to speed and push him over the edge.

I poked my head up from under the tablecloth. “All clear?”

He struggled to catch his breath, which only turned me on more. “Yeah. Good.” He zipped his pants back up as I slithered my way back onto the seat.

“Happy anniversary, honey.”

“I did not see that coming.”

I licked my lips, tasting another drop of him. “Good. Like to keep things fresh.” I inched my way out of the booth. “I’ll be right back.”

I wanted to freshen up and not look like I’d just done something highly illegal, but the thrill of being caught had been more of a turn on than I expected. That was one for the books.

Minty fresh, I sat back beside my guy as the music played. Our food arrived, the smells of roasted chicken and sautéed vegetables filled the air, and my tummy rumbled in delight.

“You are truly amazing.” He lifted my hand and kissed the top of it. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life.”

“I can say the same thing about you.” I cupped his clean-shaven cheek and held them in my hands while I tenderly kissed his lips, probing the depths with my tongue.

He pulled back. “What’s gotten into you tonight?”

I batted my lashes. “You don’t like?”

“Oh, I do, it’s just unusual.”

“It’s been an interesting day. Babies were born, and the air just seems filled with life and hope, doesn’t it?” I knew it was leading, but damn if I wasn’t trying to spin it into something positive. Maybe I would give him the box when we got home.

“Ugh. Babies. Don’t even go there.”

My heart snapped.

“I’m glad Lily’s having them, or had him, I guess. I’m just not ready for that kind of responsibility.”

“Never?”

“Not interested and now suddenly, here I am a father. I never wanted kids. Ever.”

How could I have been with a guy for five years and not known that? Isn’t that something that typically surfaced within a couple of months of going out? Not five years into a relationship I thought was my forever.