Nip it in the Bud (Bunch-A-Blooms) Read online

  “We need to hustle if we want to keep our appointment. Carly, if you need anything just give me a call?”

  “I will. You girls have fun, okay?” They exchange hugs and kisses. “You too,” Carly says, gesturing toward me.

  I smile as I embrace her. Despite a standoffish start, they’ve accepted me into their fold quickly once we started attending family events together. My dad was warming as well. He’d never admit it, but he enjoyed having the girls around for family events. There’d been no new life’s blood in the Ridder gene pool in some time, and with my sister five hours away it was usually just the three of us.

  “Are Ms. Petunia and Ms. Olive going to be there?” Ilana inquires as we load up the car.

  “They are. It’s been a while since they saw you, and I know they’re looking forward to it.”

  “How far along is Ms. Petunia now?” Neomi asks.

  “She’s seven months, but she doesn’t look a day over five months when you see her. Remember that for me.” I pull out of the driveway, thinking about my best friend. She’s getting self-conscious about the weight gain, but she’s beautiful. Her skin glows, her hair is shiny, and she’s surrounded by an earthy energy that brings peace and positive vibes. I get what people mean about pregnant people having a certain vibe.

  “Guess what? Your dad sent me some new songs. Who wants to hear them?”

  “Me,” they squeal.

  I laugh as I turn on the playlist and Drew’s voice fills the car. When he’s on a recording, he’s an entirely different person. The bass in his voice, the snarl, and the attitude—it reminds me of other things he did with a rough touch. I shift in my seat. The tension between us continues to ramp. Lips, tongues, and fingers, can only alleviate so much, but he’s never left me unsatisfied. I clear my throat and blink to fight back the tears threatening to form as the intense longing for the other half of my soul hits.

  I take comfort in his words as he works through the drama he went through with Monica and her mother-in-law and “Good-bye. I know him well enough to read between the lines. We listen to the tracks on repeat, keeping the man who means so much to all of us close as we make the drive to the spa.

  “There’s our girls,” Olive exclaims as we enter the spa and they wave us over to where they’re seated.

  “Hey, guys. I hope you weren’t waiting long,” I say as we hug.

  “No, we just got here a few minutes before you,” Petunia replies. I hide my smirk as she practically turns to goo. “Hi girls,” she says, hugging them as much as her belly will allow. She was skeptical about everything that came with Drew, but she fell hard for the girls. It must be the motherly instincts kicking in.

  After our greetings, we’re ushered to the massage chairs we reserved weeks earlier after picking our nail color. I’m seated between the twins who are given sparkling cider, along with Petunia, instead of the champagne Olive and I drink.

  “When are you planning on going on maternity leave, Petunia?” Olive inquires.

  “I don’t know. I want to work up until the last couple of weeks some days, but other days I can’t leave soon enough.”

  “Don’t push yourself. I’m ready to take over at any moment,” I assure her.

  “I know, but it’s hard to let go of the reins.”

  “You’ve been working insane hours for years. It’s time you take a few steps back,” Olive says.

  “I know. Mason said that long before the pregnancy,” Petunia replies.

  “At least now you’ll have to slow down some,” I say.

  She smirks. “Have you been talking to Mason?”

  “Nope, but I knew I liked him for a reason,” I say with a wink.

  “He’s a smart guy when he wants to be,” Olive agrees.

  Petunia rolls her eyes. “So, tell us how school was this week, ladies,” Petunia says, shifting the topic.

  I listen as the girls light up and pull us back into the world of middle school, crushes, and mean girls in the hallways.

  “I have to tell you. You girls are adorable. You guys are lucky to have a mother who includes you in things like this,” one of the nail techs say. We all freeze. I hold my breath, praying we’re not about to backslide.

  “We know,” Neomi states, stunning me.

  “We’re very grateful we have someone so cool taking care of us,” Ilana adds.

  I sniffle, blinking to stave back the tears threatening to fall from my eyes. Reaching my hands out, I grasp their hands and squeeze. I’ve begun to think of them as mine. Apparently, I wasn’t alone in that.

  ***

  We sit backstage mouthing the words as Drew performs. He’s finally doing a show close to home, and we’re all here. I can see the pride sparkling in the girls’ large brown eyes as they sway to the music and deliver the lyrics in a manner so like their father’s I can’t believe there’s no DNA shared between the three of them.

  He ends the song and wipes his brow. “I been working on a new song on the road, and I’m going to perform it live here for the first time.”

  The crowd roars.

  “But I’m going to need someone special to join me up here.”

  I glance down at the girls, who are beaming up at me. “Did you know about this?”

  They nod their heads.

  “Willow, can you join me out here, please?”

  The blood rushes to my face as I make my way out onto the stage.

  “Ladies and gentleman, this is the love of my life.” He holds my hand, and I shake my head.

  ‘What are you doing?’ I mouth.

  He grins. “This song is called ‘Forever’.”

  My eyes widen. He is not!

  He launches into a new rap, and my head swims as the words paint a clear picture. Rings, forever, and till death do us part stand out loud and clear. He goes on one knee, and I cover my mouth as my vision wavers.

  “Willow, will you spend the rest of your life with me?”

  The crowd goes insane as I nod my head, unable to speak around the lump in my throat. A stagehand comes over and holds the mic while he removes a black box from his pocket and reveals a pink, kite-shaped diamond. My hand shakes as he slips the platinum band onto my ring finger, sealing our promise to one another.

  Epilogue

  Willow

  Our marriage was a whirlwind. Planning around childbirth, holiday seasons, baptisms, and touring was like a game of Tetris. Baby Noah is a happy, healthy, three-month-old. Petunia is back to work with her mother, and Mason’s playing the role of childcare during the day. Now we’re here in our honeymoon suite, and I can barely contain my excitement as my husband closes the door behind himself. I lick my lips, and he grips my hips, pulling me to him.

  “There’s not going to be anything slow or gentle about this, Willow.”

  “Good, because I don’t want it to be,” I whisper as I clutch his lapel.

  He leans down and captures my lips. Our tongues tangle, teeth clash, and lips move together as everything we’ve built up explodes between us. I bury my fingers in his hair as he cups my ass. My stomach erupts in fireworks. This time there will be no stopping. He cups the back of my neck and tilts his head, deepening out kiss.

  We battle for dominance, and I yield under his powerful onslaught. We separate, breathing heavily, and he spins me around and begins to unlace my corset.

  “Did you pick the most complicated dress on purpose?”

  “No,” I whimper as his breath caresses my neck.

  He nips his way down the side of my neck as his nimble fingers work their magic. Freed from the lacey creation, I find myself on display as he gently pulls it down around my body. I let my arms fall to my side, and the fire flickers in his blue eyes.

  “You are so beautiful.” He holds out his hand and helps me step from the small pile of material. I should be rushing to hang it up and preserve it, but I’m too focused on the completion of our souls joining in the physical.

  He walks me back to the bed. “I’m not going to last
this first time. It’s been too long.”

  “Good thing we have a lifetime then.”

  His lips twitch upward at the corners.

  “You’re wearing far too many clothes.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Yes, Mr. Hunter, it is.”

  “Well, I want to keep Mrs. Hunter happy, now don’t I?” he asks as I help him shrug off his jacket.

  “You do if you’re as smart as I think you are.”

  Our mouths are pulled back together like magnets as I make quick work of the buttons on his shirt. A tight ball of tension is coiled in my belly. My body is heated, and my legs are weak. We make our way over to the king-sized bed, kissing and exploring with hands and fingers. My heart is banging in my chest, and my white panties are soaked by the time we arrive at the four-poster bed, completely nude, except for a scrap of material that separates us. He goes to one knee and kisses my belly just above my bikini line before he buries his face into my clothed quim.

  I dig my fingers into his shoulders to remain upright as I gasp.

  “You smell so good.” He nudges me with his nose, brushing my swollen clit. “I can feel the heat coming off you.” He licks me through the lace, and my eyes roll into the back of my head as he sucks on me and hums. He presses his tongue to me, and I rock against it, seeking more friction.

  “No more teasing,” I say.

  “I’m making sure you’re ready for everything I have to give you,” he rasps. He grips the thin straps of the underwear and yanks. They give away with a pop that makes me jump. My pussy flexes in anticipation as he parts my lips and dives in, a man starved. I’ve never had a man enjoy eating me out so much. He delves deep with his tongue between swirls, sucks, and nibbles. My juices glisten on his face, and he holds my gaze with his stormy, pleasure-glazed eyes.

  I push his head forward, unable to keep calm as I grind into his face. He adds two fingers into the mix, and I’m shaking and crying out as he holds me in place with his large hands.

  After kissing my belly, he stands. “You back with me?”

  “Yes.” I wrap my hand around him, and he groans and pulls away.

  “Not right now.”

  “But what about—”

  “I been ready since we left the wedding hall.” I focus on his swollen cock. The thick, eight-inch shaft is leaking precome from its mushroom shaped top, and a deep shade of purple from all the blood that’s rushed to it. He stalks forward until I fall back onto the bed, and climbs over my body.

  “Open your legs, baby. Let me inside.”

  I spread them as wide as I can to accommodate his large frame.

  “Put me where I want to be most.”

  I line him up to my slick entrance, and he pushes the tip in. I moan as he spreads me and pauses to twine our fingers.

  “I love you, Willow.”

  “Love you, too.” The air is stolen from my lungs as he pushes deeper, filling me to the brim as he works into my tight core.

  I wrap my legs around his hips as I dig my heels into his back. My heart is in my throat as we find a steady rhythm that shakes me to the core of my being. This is more than sex—it’s a sealing of a vow meant to last a lifetime. Our movements become frenzied as he slams inside of me, damn near blowing my back out as he bottoms out over and over. I meet him thrust for thrust, wanting to take him in as far as possible. My body trembles and I tighten around him. Sweat drips off our bodies, and the determination in his steely gaze shortens my breath. He hits my swollen clit with his pelvis, and I’m flying. He gives two more strokes, and he explodes inside of me, filling me to the brim with his warmth.

  Wound around him as tight as possible, I feel us become one. I bury my face into his neck, trembling as the experience steals all rational thought from my brain. We come down slowly and bask in the new reality we’ve created. He slips free, and I whimper my protest.

  “Shhh. There’s plenty more where that came from,” he whispers, brushing his lips across mine.

  I smile as we face one another side by side.

  “Hi, wife.”

  “Hello, husband.”

  He pushes the stray strands of hair that’ve fallen from my upswept curls away from my eyes, and I thank the universe for putting us both in Lachey’s bar almost a year to the date.

  “I won’t say I knew the minute I saw you we were going to be married, but I had a pretty good inkling after our second date,” he whispers.

  “And you didn’t share that?”

  “You weren’t ready, and I had business to take care of before I could offer you everything you deserved.”

  “God, I love you,” I whisper, moved by his thoughtfulness. I understand now that love is wanting the best for the other person, no matter what it costs you. We’ve both worked our way through the bad to get here to a happy, blended family under one roof in a new home where we’re eager to begin expanding.

  “Was I worth the wait, Willow Hunter?” he whispers as he nuzzles my neck.

  “I’m not sure. I think I need you to show me what you’re working with one more time before I answer that.”

  He rolls me onto my back, and my laughter dies away as the heat between us begins to build once more.

  “My pleasure.”

  It’s the last words he speaks for some time as we revel in the flesh to flesh connection we’ve denied ourselves for so long. The truth is, I would wait twice as long if it landed me here every time. I’ve found the one person on this Earth meant for me, and I plan to enjoy every moment we have together.