Kiss This (51 page)

Teague and Camryn laughed, and even though
Melanie was trying to insult him because of all his mean comments,
Jay only smiled. “Then that makes you part lesbian since you’re so
damn attracted to me.”

Melanie scoffed. “There goes that big head
of yours. You think everyone is attracted to you. You were even
stoked that the woman next to us at the bowling alley was hitting
on you; the one with the big, hairy mole on her chin and the
lopsided breasts.”

Jay tried not to laugh but he couldn’t help
it. “That was because she had her sights on Teague and he’s a
married man. I was only looking out for my boy. Her boobs were
bigger than yours so don’t be jealous, and that was a freckle on
her chin.”

“Right,” Melanie rolled her eyes. “But hey,
whatever works for you.”

“Jay,” Teague sighed, “I think Kellie feels
left out because you don’t fight with her anymore.”

“Yeah, because I’m too worn out from dealing
with my hormonal housemate in the next room,” Jay replied.

“Well boohoo,” Melanie glared. “Too bad
Kellie moved in with her friend and you and I are both still
mooching off our family members.”

“Not for long. I’m outta here in two weeks,
honey. You’ll be the only moocher.”

“Hmmph,” Melanie replied, placing the tray
of hoagie rolls on the kitchen table.

Teague couldn’t help but laugh to himself.
His life had been completely different only five months ago, and
now he was married to the incredible woman that changed his entire
world. Kellie had moved out and Jay was next, but Teague didn’t
even care who was in or out of the house as long as Camryn was
happy. He’d been a married man for three weeks now and nothing felt
better than that.

He was about to take the steaks out to the
grill when Melanie’s phone rang in her pocket. She answered it with
a chipper “hello” and listened for a moment before her eyes went
wide. She put her hand to her mouth and glanced at Camryn in the
kitchen before she said, “Hi, Jack,” and took the phone with her to
the bedroom.

Camryn came out of the kitchen and said,
“This should be interesting.”

“She hasn’t talked to him since that night
in San Diego, has she?” Teague asked.

Camryn shook her head and her brows
wrinkled. “No, I don’t think so. Not if she reacted like
that
.”

Jay threw together a sandwich as quick as he
could. “I’ll go pick up the, you know, thing,” he mentioned to
Teague. He left the room quickly and flung the front door open just
as Brandon stepped onto the porch. “Oh hey,” Jay said. “ ‘Sup,
man?”

“Nothing new,” Brandon answered, coming
through the door Jay held open.

“Hey Brandon,” Teague said, almost on his
way out to the grill again.

“Hey you!” Camryn greeted.

Brandon gave her a hug and a kiss on the
cheek. “Happy twenty-third, Cam. Married life looks good on you.
You’re still beautiful and not at all the frumpy, angry housewife
that Mel and I thought you’d be.”

She laughed and thumped his chest. “I work,
you know.”

“True.”

“And it’s only been a few weeks, so there’s
plenty of time to turn frumpy.”

“And angry. Oh wait, you’ve always been
angry.”

She smiled at the tease and shook her head.
“Yeah, but mostly I was just sad. Problem solved.”

“Yeah, that’s good,” he nodded. “So? What
can I help with?”

Camryn motioned to Teague and said, “Ask the
man of the house. He seems to be barking out the orders today. I
need to talk to Melanie quick.”

Brandon smiled as he followed Teague to the
deck. “Nice apron,” he laughed.

Teague grinned and looked down at his front.
“You like that? It was a wedding gift from Camryn. With the grill,”
he motioned. The barbecue apron was black and it said
I Do My
Own Stunts
. There was a grill exploding in flames and a stick
figure being blasted back from it with a spatula in his hand.

“It’s awesome. So what can I help with?”

***

Camryn left Melanie’s bedroom once she heard
more people arrive. Jack wanted to see her sister again so they
could “talk.” Mel was borderline thrilled but really nervous about
it. But Camryn had to put aside her sister’s latest issue so she
could greet her guests; first Kellie, then her Uncle Tim and his
wife. Sonja came with her husband, Mimi arrived with a new
boyfriend, and a few of Jay and Teague’s friends showed
up—including Kenton.

She had even invited Teague’s dad and
grandfather, and they joined the party while dinner was being
consumed. The McCallan men had come to terms with a lot of things
but still had a ways to go. Teague and his dad still weren’t close
at all, but they were civil and the family was able to be around
each other more often. The media was still having a hay day with
anything McCallan related, but that was never going to change.

Teague’s relationship with Max hadn’t
changed much, either. Teague still had barely spoken to him since
the night of his grandfather’s party. It was Jay that gave the
hilarious but heartfelt speech as the best man at Teague’s wedding,
and it would always be Jay no matter what. But although Camryn knew
Teague had every right to distance himself from his brother, she
could tell that he wished he could find some sort of middle ground
with him because of Chase. He was still trying to forgive Max for
what he’d done, but Camryn wasn’t sure if Teague would ever trust
him again.

So when Max showed up with Chase during the
cake, Camryn hoped that Teague wouldn’t be upset. Max came through
the front door tentatively, bringing somewhat of a quiet tone to
the currently rambunctious gathering, but when Chase appeared
behind him holding a big present in his hands, it seemed to soften
the tension.

“Oh, hey there!” Camryn smiled. Max knelt
down next to him and said something in his ear, so Chase came to
Camryn and handed her the present he was holding. “For me? Oh thank
you.”

She’d already gone through the humiliation
of opening gifts in front of everyone, but Chase started to rip the
paper and said, “Open.”

“Oh, okay. Will you help me?”

Together they opened the awkward-shaped gift
and Camryn couldn’t help but say “Awww,” when it was revealed. It
was a plush dolphin.

“He actually picked it out,” Max told her.
“He likes the dolphin story you tell him and said it’s your
favorite animal.”

“It’s awesome, Chase. Thank you. Can I have
a hug?”

Hugging Chase had become the norm for
Camryn. He was at a lot of family gatherings these days because Max
had joint custody of him, and he’d warmed up to Camryn quite
easily. She knew that Teague wanted Chase in his life, no question
about it. It was taking some time to adjust to his new role as his
uncle, but it was turning out to be okay. The harder part was being
around Max, but seeing that Max was doing what he could to be a
father to Chase meant a lot to Teague. He only wanted Chase to have
a good life.

Camryn brought Chase to Teague first and he
took him out of Camryn’s arms, making him giggle instantly when he
held him up in the air like a plane. Craig and Grandpa Neil come
over to greet Chase too, and then the three men took him to get
some food.

When some of the excitement had died down a
little and she was visiting with her friends, Camryn listened
carefully for an odd sound she kept hearing from the garage. No one
else seemed to notice it, so while everyone was caught up in
different conversations, she ventured to the garage door to open
it.

“Oh Jesus Christ!” she exclaimed, when a
brown furry blob nearly knocked her over. It was pushing against
her leg, tail working like crazy as his tongue was all over her
arm. “Tucker?!” Camryn gasped with a surprised laugh.

Jay was the first to the scene and with a
crooked grin said, “Oh. Happy Birthday!”

Camryn was now petting the excited pooch and
he was finally sitting, even though his tail was still whipping
back and forth at lightning speed. “You got me a dog? I mean
Tucker
? How did you even get him? How’d you find him?”

“His owner was easily persuadable.”

“You talked to Henry? When?”

“Hey,” Jay smiled, holding out his arms.
“Are you happy about it or what?”

Camryn laughed and gave him a hug. “Actually
I am. I’ve never been a dog person but I really liked this
guy.”

“What the hell?” Teague’s voice interrupted
them. He pushed Jay away from his wife with a small laugh. “You
fucker, you told her the dog’s from
you
?”

Jay laughed out loud and replied, “I claimed
no such thing.”

“You asshole!” Camryn chuckled, punching him
in the arm. She turned to Teague and asked, “How did you manage to
find him?”

“He was outside your uncle’s gym when I was
there last week. He literally broke free from his owner to chase me
down when I was walking to my truck. The dog introduced me to
Henry, I guess. We just started talking and he said that Tucker has
been kind of depressed lately—ever since we had him, actually.
Henry admitted that he really didn’t have as much time for him as
he thought he would so… I adopted the two-year-old mutt right on
the spot. Told Henry it was your birthday soon and you’d love the
surprise since you kept saying how much you missed Tucker.”

“Oh my gosh,” Camryn sighed. “Wow. Yeah, I
do love the surprise. Thank you so much.” She pulled Teague close
and kissed him with her gratitude.

“Hey, I went and picked him up,” Jay
interrupted.

Camryn remained in Teague’s arms and smiled.
“Thank you, Jay. I appreciate your enthusiasm to receive my
praise.”

Jay grinned as he gave her a wink. “I love
pleasing women.”

***

When the last guest left after ten, Teague
scooped up his wife and said, “Next time we put an end time on the
party.”

“Oh, but I had fun. I’m tired, but I had
fun.”

“Good, I’m glad, but I’ve been dying to get
you alone.” He carried her to their bedroom and said, “Are you
ready for the rest of my birthday gift to you?”

“Ooh, do I get to see you naked? That’s like
my birthday every day.”

“Close your eyes,” Teague instructed with a
smile.

“Is it a
room
full of naked men?” she
asked with feigned eagerness.

“If it is I’ll be kicking some naked
asses.”

“Will you be naked too?”

“Maybe,” he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Now
will you close your eyes, damn it? You’re getting heavy.”

“Ugh!” she wiggled out of his arms so he set
her down. “Normally I would be offended, but yes, I have gained
some weight.”

“Aw, I was just kidding, babe.”

“I know, but I want you so bad right now I
can’t wait—”

She flung the door open and paused, her
mouth dropping open instantly. “Oh my,” she whispered, stepping
into the room. There were dozens of flowers everywhere; a vase on
each end table, one by the television, one on the dresser, and
another pair by the chair and bookshelf in the corner. There were a
dozen candles lit and the room smelled wonderfully of strawberries
and roses.

Camryn stood in the center of the room and
closed her eyes. Just the feel of being in there with Teague was
always enough, but the extra measures that he’d gone through to
make it special was incredibly romantic.

She felt his arms wrap softly around her
from behind. “Happy birthday, beautiful wife,” he whispered against
her cheek. “I am so in love with you.”

Camryn opened her eyes and sighed. “I fall
in love with you more every day. Thank you for the flowers, Teague.
I absolutely love this.”

“You’re welcome.”

She turned around and slid her arms around
his waist. “This is wonderful. Our room feels so…sexy.”

“Sexy? Mmm,” he sighed when she kissed his
neck. His hands covered her lower back and pulled her close.
Camryn’s lips came across his jaw and to his chin, and he inched
his fingers up her shirt to savor her bare skin.

She kissed him softly on the lips and said,
“There’s something I really need to tell you.”

He froze against her mouth and then pulled
back a few inches. “Okay. You can tell me anything.”

“I know. It’s something I’ve been keeping
from you, though.”

Again he was still as he looked into her
eyes. “Okay, I’m listening.”

She paused and took a deep breath. When she
let it out she pressed her face against his chest and absorbed his
scent and the love that he had for her. With her hands up his
shirt, she wrapped them around his waist to his back, and then to
his stomach again, just to selfishly enjoy his body. “I love you so
much, Teague,” she sighed.

He paused at her needy behavior, but kissed
her head. “I love you too, baby.”

“Yeah, a baby…” She sighed again. “I’m
carrying your baby, Teague.”

She pulled back to see his beautiful aqua
eyes reflecting the candlelight in the room. Then his mouth spread
into a huge smile and she could clearly see how thrilled he was.
She knew he would be and it only made her more excited.

“Camryn, I just…I don’t even know what to
say. I’m just… Wow,” he exhaled, pulling her close as he kissed the
top of her head.

“We’re going to be parents, Teague. Isn’t
that crazy?” she lightly laughed.

“Crazy
awesome
,” he grinned. “How
long have you known?”

“I found out this morning, actually. Happy
birthday to me.”

“It’s definitely one I’ll never forget.”

“I had a hard time keeping it to myself.

“Well I’ve hardly been away from you all
day. When did you take a test?”

“After you brought me breakfast in bed, when
you were cleaning up the kitchen. I just felt lightheaded and
realized I’m a few days late. And I happened to have a stash of
pregnancy tests on hand,” she added dryly.