31 Days of Summer (31 Days #2) (39 page)

‘Is Oliver’s door still intact?’ she mumbled,
still half asleep.

‘Yes and he’s fast asleep, like you need to be.
I’ll go to him if he needs us tonight. I love you, Ellie Baxter.’ I kissed her
again, waiting for her usual response, but she’d already fallen back asleep. I
sighed and tightened my grip on her. All those years alone, in my own fortress
of solitude, supposedly manly, strong and independent, and now my nights
weren’t complete without hearing three damn little words from her.

Friday 24
^th
June ~ Year Three

Ellie

‘Come on, baby,’ I coaxed,
as he chortled and moved his chubby legs as fast as he could to keep up with me,
as I left his new bedroom and headed through the play room to the kitchen. I
laughed as I watched him move with his arms held out, which made him laugh even
harder.

‘Mama,’ he squealed, as he lifted his podgy arms
in the air for me to pick him up.

‘Oliver, you should be walking everywhere not
asking mummy to carry you,’ I told him, but picked him up regardless. I
couldn’t resist cuddles with him and soon he’d be too big for me to carry
around, I wanted to make the most of it. The last ten months living with Dan
had flown by and so much had happened. Oliver had started walking just before
his first birthday, wobbly walking of just a few steps, but Dan had been the
proudest father alive and I was so happy he’d been home to witness it. I’d
missed his first words as I’d been at the hotel with clients. He and Dan had
bonded so well that naturally his first words were Dada, but Mama came soon
after. He was growing up each day and was no longer my sleepy, cuddly little
baby, but an inquisitive, boisterous, constantly on the go little fourteen
month old boy. I had to keep my eye on him all the time, if I looked away for a
minute he was off.

The extension had finally been completed. Regardless
of how much money Dan had, Scottish weather didn’t care and we’d had another
horrendous winter and early spring, which had hampered progress. The house was
simply amazing now though, with so much room, light and space and looked as if
the extension had been here all along. We’d all moved into our new bedrooms,
Dan and Oliver loved spending time together in the playroom and it warmed my
heart to hear them in there while I was cooking meals. Dan had reclaimed his old
office and I’d moved over to our old bedroom which he’d had kitted out for me.
Mrs. McAdams would look after Oliver downstairs while we were both upstairs
working, but it was great to be able to hear his squeals of laughter and to
look across the house to see Dan smiling as well.

I felt my heart skip a beat as I thought of Dan. I
was even more in love with him than I’d ever been, and I felt like I was making
real progress with him. He was only visiting Moira now on a Tuesday and
Thursday, so we had the weekends to ourselves and there wasn’t so much pressure
if we wanted a long weekend trip, or for our monthly stays down in London. He’d
finally come around to agreeing for me to try for another baby, though I could
tell the thought still scared him to death. I knew if I was lucky enough to get
pregnant again, I was going to be under twenty-four hour watch and molly-cuddled
to death, but it would be so worth it in the end.

I smiled again as the word “molly-cuddled” made me
think of Molly and Brooke. They were regular visitors, and we still texted or
emailed at least once a day, at a minimum, with facetime calls every few days
too. Molly had accepted Brooke’s proposal in Paris, Brooke having set up her
iPhone to record the moment during dinner up the Eiffel Tower, so I could watch
it back. I was looking forward to a facetime catch up with her later. I’d
convinced Dan to go to the pub to play pool with Pete and Conn. While his best
friend Logan tried to come up as often as he could, and we saw him the odd time
in London, his busy “work” schedule prevented them from getting together as
often as they’d like. I felt it was important for Dan to socialise more and it
seemed to help. He was far more relaxed and we hadn’t really had any major blow
outs since last year, when I’d locked myself in Oliver’s room.

‘Mamamamamam,’ Oliver chanted, as he tugged at my
hair to get my attention again.

‘I’m sorry, I was ignoring you wasn’t I?’ I smiled
and gave him a kiss, which made him beam. He really was a miniature Dan, though
not so much with the miniature. He was tall for his age with a stocky frame. He
had Dan’s facial features, dark hair and a mixture of my clear green eyes and
Dan’s with the amber flecks. He was a simply gorgeous looking boy. I heard a
noise upstairs and looked up to see Dan leaning over the bannister of his
office watching us.

‘How’s my favourite girl and boy doing?’ he
called.

‘Dada,’ Oliver screamed and nearly deafened me.
Dan laughed and strode around, zipping down the fireman’s pole as I put Oliver
down on the floor. He did a stompy run to his father who caught him in his arms
and launched him up into the air making him scream with delight. Dan sat him on
his hip and headed over to where I was standing, feeling all choked up watching
them both. My two gorgeous men, I was so lucky.

‘You look mighty fuckable this morning,’ Dan
announced, as he dipped his head and kissed me. I laughed and slapped his
shoulder.

‘I’ve already “been done” this morning and I told
you, no language like that in front of him. Not now he’s learning to talk and
picking up words. Can you imagine Luiza or Magda’s face if he came out with
that word?’

‘They wouldn’t be impressed,’ he laughed.

‘And you can tell Logan to stop repeating the
phrase “I’m just a love machine” to him when he calls. He thinks I can’t hear
him, but I can.’

‘You tell him, he doesn’t listen to anything I
say,’ Dan scoffed. ‘He’s intimidated by you.’

‘Seriously?’

‘Hmmm. You’re one of the few women he’s ever met
who doesn’t swoon at his feet. It’s not a reaction he’s used to.’

‘Well he has some serious competition doesn’t he?’
I smiled as I smacked his bottom. ‘I doubt there’s a man on the face of the
planet who could make me feel the way you do.’

‘There better not be, but I love it when you know
all the right things to say,’ he sighed as he kissed me again and Oliver burst
into a fit of the giggles. ‘You won’t be laughing so hard when it’s the girl of
your dreams you’re kissing my boy,’ his dad advised him with a serious look on
his face.

‘Which will be many, many years down the line,’ I
warned. ‘After we’ve met her and given our approval on her suitability for you
and don’t go getting any ideas of following your uncle Logan in his dubious evening
profession either.’

‘Over my dead body,’ retorted Dan. ‘He’s going to
take over Davenport Technologies if I have any say in the matter.’

‘I’m so proud of you,’ I advised, as I got the
eggs out of the cream ceramic chicken on the worktop. His new software launch
was rivalling the market leaders and had catapulted his company into the top
five. We had to make a visit to San Francisco every two months for him to meet
with his tech experts to review progress on updates and new innovations. His
home overlooked Golden Gate Park and the roof terrace had the most amazing
views of the ocean and the bridge. I loved our visits there and he always made
sure he allowed some time to go sightseeing with me. Magda usually accompanied
us to give us some alone time for hiking, running or evenings out, as Mrs.
McAdams had a fear of flying. Oliver certainly wasn’t lacking in love from all
the women in his life.

‘As am I of you, NYT bestselling author,’ he
grinned, as he put Oliver in his high chair at the island and sat down next to
him.

‘Thanks,’ I blushed. My book had done far better
than I’d ever imagined and I’d been paid another advance on a manuscript I’d
just finished. My sex life with Dan was all the inspiration I needed for erotic
romance novels and this book featured a dominant businessman who pursued one of
his geeky lab techs.

‘Soon you won’t need me for my money.’

‘I never needed you for that,’ I smiled. ‘Just
your super-hot body and that face that still stops traffic.’ He laughed and I
went about making us all breakfast, feeling so damn happy and wishing my
parents were here to see me now.

‘Babe,’ grinned Brooke as she answered her iPhone.
‘Where is he, I haven’t missed bedtime have I?’

‘Great, nice to know where I stand in your list of
priorities,’ I laughed.

‘You know I love you, but you’re not on a time
limit, my little man is.’

‘Big man,’ I corrected. ‘As it happens he’s not
in. He’s gone with his father for his first ever visit to the pub, as everyone
was desperate to see him and Dan thought it would give me a break.’

‘O,’ she sighed as her face fell. ‘Well I’ll try
him there when we’re through, I can’t not have a bit of Ollie love. So, still
running you ragged?’

‘Like you wouldn’t believe,’ I groaned. ‘He’s like
a whirling dervish and toddles until he sways on his feet then keels over and
falls asleep. It doesn’t matter where. He fell asleep on his potty the other
day, I looked away for a second to get some baby wipes and he was face down on
the floor covered in his own wee.’

‘I so love these in depth discussions,’ she
laughed.

‘Please, like I haven’t endured your poo talk for
the last nine years,’ I scoffed.

‘Fair point,’ she replied with a grin. ‘I do have
to tell you we had a slight situation in the night. I produced a chocolate
laser and could shit through the eye of a needle it was that bad.’

‘Really? How lovely for you.’

‘It wasn’t actually,’ she stated looking all
serious, totally missing my sarcasm. ‘Hell knows what I had to eat yesterday
that made me squirt, and not squirt in that seriously good way when Molly has
her tongue working overtime, but OWWWW that stings like a mother fucker.’

‘Brooke,’ I laughed. ‘There’s a nasty sickness bug
going around, maybe you had the other end of the deal. Mr. McAdams has had it
with a high temperature, I’m just praying Oliver doesn’t get it.’

‘Well I’d better be rid of it by next Friday. Can’t
go wedding dress shopping when I’m on brown alert can I? It will end up like
that scene in
Bridesmaids.
’

‘O God, please don’t joke,’ I shuddered. We’d
booked in at a designer store for her dress search. I really didn’t want her
having the shits in there, her potty mouth was bad enough, we didn’t need to
add her flatulent bottom to the mix.

‘You’re still coming right?’

‘Of course I am, try stopping me. No way you’re
picking something without my input. I have the partners meeting on Thursday
afternoon, but I’ve booked Friday off, so I’m yours all day. We can do dress
shopping in the morning, lunch with cocktails and maybe fit in some sexy
underwear shopping. I need to stock up.’

‘Yeah right, Dan buys you loads of stuff.’

‘He does,’ I agreed, as I thought of my custom
drawers in the new dressing room filled with beautiful luxury lingerie. ‘But he
rips a lot of them off, and sometimes I like to surprise him with a little
something new he hasn’t purchased or seen.’

‘Sex still as hot huh?’

‘O
yeah
,’ I nodded with a wide grin. ‘Scald
your fingertips hot, impaled by a red hot poker hot.’

‘Bet Zac’s a long distant memory now,’ she nodded.

‘I forgot to tell you, I had an email from him the
other week.’

‘Noooo,’ she exclaimed looking at me stunned.
‘It’s been nearly two years.’

‘I know. I was kind of intrigued so I opened it,
don’t tell Dan or he’d flip.’

‘Don’t tell Dan? He puts James Bond in the shade
for covert sneakiness with secret files. He’s probably already hacked your
email and seen it,
or
it’s really him, pretending to be Zac to see if
you’ll fall into his cunningly designed trap,’ she nodded looking all smug.

‘And what exactly would he have to gain by telling
me he’s in the Philippine’s selling shares?’

‘Zac’s in the Philippines?’

‘Apparently so.’

‘Selling chairs? Don’t they have shops and stuff
over there to buy their own?’ she asked looking puzzled.

‘Shares, not chairs,’ I laughed.

‘Well I was thinking I’d never heard of a chair
salesman. What’s he doing out there?’

‘Didn’t say, but I’d imagine he had trouble
getting a new job in Finance over here, given his track record. Maybe they’re
less selective over there.’

‘Plus isn’t the place known for its ladies of the
night?’

‘How lucky was I to walk in on him fucking those
hookers?’ I asked with a shake of my head.

‘Damn lucky, even though it may not have felt it
at the time. Did you ever sell your engagement ring?’

‘No,’ I sighed as I felt my cheeks flush. I’d
hoped never to discuss this with anyone.

‘You’re not being sentimental over that arsehole
are you? Not when you have overbearing dominant kill anyone who hurts you gives
you multiple orgasms and showers you with gifts and babies, Dan?’

‘Well firstly he’s only showered me with one baby,
the other is a work in progress, but no, I’m not being sentimental.’

‘Then why didn’t you sell it?

‘Because it wasn’t real Brooke, alright? It was a
silver ring with a cubic zirconium made to look like the real thing.’

‘What a fucking cheap skate,’ she gasped. ‘You had
such a lucky escape there. Dan’s engagement ring won’t be fake, in fact you’d
better move into the Tower of London so you can lock it up every night with
those Crown Jewels.’