A few years later…
“We’re going to be in so much trouble!” Julie says as we change into our Halloween costumes.
All of us brought a second Halloween costume tonight. The one we wore out with the family trick or treating and the one that is the same theme but a whole lot more revealing. The husbands took the kids back to Marley and Brooks’s to spend the night so all the kids can have a sleepover there.
Marley and Brooks are Tidas and Donovan’s parents. They travel a lot but bought a home here in Hollow Oak shortly after our surprise wedding when they found out I was pregnant. Gosh, I still can’t believe my husband pulled that off.
I adore Tidas’s parents. I thought the in-laws were supposed to be scary, but they have been nothing but sweet and loving. They swear the town of Hollow Oak has healed their family and brought them all back together. I think Gracie has had a lot more to do with that than anything. Everyone needs a bit of Gracie in their lives, but Donovan needed it more than anyone. She’s brought that man back to life.
“How can my man be mad? Look at my ass in this!” I turn to show Julie, giving it a shake.
I’m wearing a skin-tight nude bodysuit. It has brown chocolate chips spotted all over it. When we’d gone out trick or treating with the kids, both Carly and I were chocolate chip cookies, and Tidas was dressed as the cookie monster. I was wearing this giant circle that really had me looking like a cookie. That was my PG Halloween costume. Now I’m a sexy cookie, obviously. One my husband is going to eat whole.
I think this is fair game in my book because Tidas enjoys getting me worked up. It’s our thing, but sometimes I enjoy getting him worked up too. It’s been a while since he’s had one of his crazy-jealous moments, and it’s time.
He’s made it super clear to everyone in town who I belong to. Not to mention I was pregnant our first year of marriage and in super-mom mode the next year. Tonight I’m going to look sexy. I’m surprised that I actually put this on, but I’m feeling myself tonight. It helps that I have a husband that makes me feel sexy all the damn time.
Tidas has really helped me come out of my shell. He’s healed a few of my past insecurities with myself, and so has my daughter. There is nothing wrong with being a bit buttoned up if it’s what you want, but there’s also nothing wrong with being a bit wild at times too. You can have the best of both worlds, just like Hannah Montana told us to.
“Boo!” Gracie jumps out of the dressing room with her hands in the air. She’s got a gold crown on her head that shines like a halo. Her short dress is tight, cut low, and covered in gold sequins. “I figured since he calls me sunshine, I can dress as one tonight,” she declares.
“I’m pretty sure your ass is the thing that’s going to be shining tonight.”
“Val!” Gracie gasps, her face flushing.
I’m guessing from her reaction that isn’t a threat right now. It’s hard for me to think of bubbly, happy Gracie getting kinky and her ass spanked, but then again I never thought I’d be into a lot of the stuff my Tidas does to me.
“Let’s go before they track us down here. We’ll never make it to Pretty in Pink if that happens,” Julie says as she slips on her shoes. I grab my nude heels and put them on too before we’re all out the door. We walk the four blocks down since the three of us polished off a bottle of champagne while we got ready.
It’s been a while since we all got dolled up and went out. Sure, we get together on the weekends, but we tend to hop from each other's houses for game nights or cookouts. When I think back on how I never thought Tidas would be into the whole marriage and babies thing, I laugh.
Tidas was made to be a father and husband. It makes all those years of thinking I’d never find someone worth it. No one would ever match me the way he does or get me either. Only Tidas can draw out all the passion I have inside of me, and it’s not only sexual either.
With him at my side, he has shown me that while I might love living in a small town, it doesn’t mean I have to think small town with everything I do. Just like with the Fall Festival. We can show the rest of the world a taste of Hollow Oak.
With my passion for designing wedding dresses and Tidas’s passion for thinking big and loving me, he opened doors I never knew were there. I ended up signing a deal to give a high-end department store in New York a handful of dresses for next summer.
I’m super excited because the line is called Little White. The dresses are fun and flirty and could be a wedding dress or a cocktail dress. I almost died when Tidas showed me what they offered me to design each one.
“Oh wow,” I say when we step inside Pretty in Pink. The place is slammed, and I don’t recognize half the people.
“Your table is reserved, ladies,” Mitchell, the bartender, calls when he sees us walk in. “I'll send some drinks over.” In no time we have our drinks and throw them back before we go out onto the dance floor. We all know our time is limited, and thinking about that already has my body humming with excitement.
The dance floor is crowded, but Gracie, Julie, and I are in our own little world having a blast.
“Where is everyone?” Julie asks, glancing around. I do the same, seeing everyone has moved away from us like we have the plague. Then I see them. Three giant men standing at the end of the dance floor closest to us and glaring our way.
Jacks has become tight with Tidas and Donovan, and the three of them are a gang. Their biggest bond is over keeping anything with a dick away from us.
“You’re scaring everyone!” I shout over the music.
“You’re the one that should be scared,” Tidas growls. Scared is the last thing I feel right now.
“Sunshine. Get your ass over here,” Donavan orders Gracie. She sticks her tongue out at him before she takes off through the crowd.
“Are you going to run?” Tidas challenges me.
“Maybe.” I smirk before I throw myself into his arms.
“Smart girl,” he says before he kisses me. “We’re leaving. I think Val needs more than a finger in her ass tonight.”
“Tidas!” I scream as he carries me out of the bar.
Some things never change, and Tidas always keeping me on my toes is one of them. I wouldn’t have it any other way.