Chapter 39

Thirty-Nine

Everett

S ix Months Later

She’s glowing. I can’t look away.

Gemma looks utterly breathtaking as she stands with her toes in the sand, a cream-colored dress hugging her beautiful baby bump, and her blonde hair blowing in the soft breeze. Sutton’s hands are pressed against her stomach as he peers up at his mom, the sweetest smile on both of their faces.

The photographer snaps a couple of shots, and I can’t help but admire them. My family. The last six months have been nothing short of incredible. Watching Gemma grow our little baby, getting even closer with Sutton, finding my place in Blossom Beach. When I first made the decision to move here, I never could’ve imagined this is how it would have ended up. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect this.

Gemma released the book she’d been working on a few weeks ago, and it quickly became a bestseller. Not that I’m even the least bit surprised, but I am so goddamn proud of her. It was something she wanted to finish before the baby came, and she did it. Georgia threw her a huge release day party at the bookstore, and getting to watch Gemma in her element with readers who traveled from all over the state to be there was a truly magical experience.

“Dad, get over here!” Sutton calls out, making my heart skip a beat as my gaze finds his mom’s. Even from all the way over here, I can see the way her eyes well up as she tries not to make it a big deal.

Dad.

It’s not the first time he’s called me that, but it never gets old. As of last month, I put my house up for rent and moved next door with Gemma and Sutton. I considered selling it, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. That house is what gave me a family, and I can’t help but feel like that was my grandma’s purpose for me all along. Moving in with Gemma and Sutton was an easy adjustment, though. I was always over at their place anyway, and with Gemma in her third trimester, it made the most sense. About a week after that was when Sutton changed my entire life with one single word. He said it so casually, too, as he was heading off to bed.

“Yeah, Dad,” Gemma says with a smile, holding out her hand for me. “Get over here.”

Joining them near the water, the photographer snaps several more shots, instructing us on where to go or what to do. Gemma’s baby shower is coming up, and Grace insisted we get these done before then so we can have a photo of the three of us blown up at the party. Her family has truly been so supportive and amazing during the last six months. Everybody is excited. They all want to help in any way that they can, and it’s just been such a rewarding thing to experience and be a part of.

My mom is quite thrilled to be getting a grandchild. She’ll actually be coming up for the baby shower. My father congratulated me, which was nice to hear, but I don’t see any grand gestures coming from him anytime soon. I’m hoping that he’ll fly down when the baby is born, but I’m not going to hold my breath. With time and distance, I’ve come to realize that he will never be who I need him to be. He’ll never be the affectionate, put-in-the-effort type of parent. It’s not who he is.

He had a plan for me, and when I didn’t follow through with that plan, that was inexcusable to him. I wouldn’t change anything because all my decisions led me here, so there’s no sense in trying to fix it. My dad is who he is, and I am who I am, and that’s okay. I still love him, but I just don’t expect anything from him anymore. It’ll just land me feeling let down.

The sun has nearly set by the time we finish with the maternity shoot, and after we make a pit stop at Taylor’s Grill, the three of us head back to the house where we eat and watch a movie together.

As scary and unknown as moving to Blossom Beach and starting my life completely over was, I can’t help but think it was fate. And I like to think my grandma is watching over me now, smiling down at the little life she helped forge.

It’s a quarter past ten by the time Gemma and I peel ourselves off the couch and head to bed. Sutton disappeared into his room about an hour and a half ago, and Gemma put on another movie for us to watch while I rubbed her feet. She leads the way to the bedroom, and I can’t help but drink in the sight of her. In nothing more than a black pair of short shorts and a pink bralette, she looks sexy as hell. I’ve never seen a woman wear pregnancy quite as well as she does.

All of her beautiful, natural curves have gotten even sexier, her skin is glowing, and her breasts are almost a whole cup size bigger. I cannot get enough of them. Can’t get enough of her.

In the room, I shut the door behind me, tugging my shirt off and tossing it in the hamper before getting rid of my sweats. The moonlight spills in through the window, and I watch as Gemma undresses too. For the last month or so, she’s been the most comfortable sleeping completely naked, and I’m loving every second of it.

Her dark eyes find mine, and when her lips tug into a flirty grin, I already know what’s on her mind. The first trimester and partway through the second, she was horribly sick all the time. Could hardly keep anything down and had no energy. She was miserable, and in turn, I was miserable too because I couldn’t make her feel better. Then it was like a switch flipped. Not only does she feel great, but her sex drive is through the roof.

Stepping up to her, I wrap an arm around her waist, bringing my other hand up to her belly. “What’s got you looking at me like that, mama?” I rasp, knowing full well what she wants.

She doesn’t answer me, at least not with words. Bringing her mouth down on mine, she kisses me with fervor as her hand slips beneath the boxers I’m still wearing, wrapping around my stiffening length. She pumps me for a few moments, getting me nice and hard before she shoves the material down and drops to her knees.

Gripping the base, her tongue flicks out, gathering up the pre-cum pooling at the slit, groaning at the taste. Heat rushes through my body, settling in my balls as I watch the woman I love close her lips around my tip. She sucks me nice and slow, sinking down and taking more of my length, moaning around me like it brings her actual pleasure to please me, and I, without a doubt, believe it does. I know if I were to lean down right now and run my fingers through her slit, she’d be soaked.

It doesn’t take long before Gemma has me going out of my mind with need. “On the bed,” I order. “I can’t wait any longer to sink into your perfect fucking cunt.”

She giggles, doing as I say, and I allow myself a moment to take in the sight before me. She’s absolutely fucking beautiful and sexy and everything in between. Climbing on, I rest my back against the headboard as she throws her leg over my lap, straddling me. With her hand on my shoulder, she lines herself up and sinks down with ease. Just like I knew she would be, she’s fucking drenched. The moan she releases as I bottom out has my nuts drawing up tight.

“Fuck, look at you, mama,” I groan, hands roaming all over. “Do you know how beautiful you are?”

I let her set the pace. Using her knees, she bounces for a while before grinding down on me, and the sight of her taking what she needs is everything. Leaning forward, I capture her pebbled nipple in my mouth, using my hand to grope her breast as I suck on the bud. That has her moaning a little louder, her head thrown back as she grinds harder on my cock. Switching to the other side, I scrape my teeth lightly against the nipple, knowing how much she loves that, and I feel her walls constricting around my length the closer she gets.

“That’s it, mama,” I growl, wrapping a hand around the back of her neck and pulling her down until our lips brush. “Let me feel you come all over my cock.”

I grip a handful of her ass, working her from the bottom as she lets go. Ripping her mouth from mine, she buries her face in the crook of my neck, biting down to muffle her moans as she comes all over me. Feeling her pussy pulse around me sets off my own release as my muscles tense and I spill deep inside of her.

Pulling back, Gemma gives me a sleepy, sated smile as she leans down and presses one last kiss to my lips before she climbs off. After I run to the bathroom and get a warm washcloth to clean her up with, we both climb into bed, and I wrap an arm around her as she drifts off.

And just like every other night, I think about how fucking lucky I am to have her and Sutton. How blessed we are to be about to welcome another child into the world. I have never known a love like this.

It’s beautiful.

It’s crazy.

And it’s ours.