30. Austin

CHAPTER 30

AUSTIN

Katherine had warmed up to me in the days following the wedding, providing Greer a little solace. He took her to breakfast in order to spend some time with her, while Fisher and I hit the waves as promised.

After two hours of low-wave surfing, I had a new best friend who reminded me a lot of myself at his age... until he started talking.

"Dude, we need to go to Hawaii and surf over there," he said, as we bobbed on our boards in the water. "The waves are killer. I've watched the surfing championships on YouTube. We could so do that."

I grinned. "And you think you can handle that from watching YouTube?"

Fisher ran his hand through his blond hair and grinned. "Yeah, why not?"

"And you do a lot of surfing in Chicago?" God, he was killing me. It was like talking to Dreamboat.

"Yeah," he gushed. "Well, not actually in the water. But we do a simulator and go to a big wave pool."

He was fucking serious. It was hurting me to hold in the laughter. "Wave pool? On a surfboard?"

He nodded, his blond locks falling in his eyes. "Boogie Board."

Rolling my lips in, I tried not to laugh in his face or crush his surfer dude dreams, but I couldn't be irresponsible and let him just think he could manage this without surfing lessons. "You realize there is a distinct difference in the height of the waves here compared to Hawaii, right? Some places have waves like these, but the swells you're talking about get really big."

Fisher grinned at me like he knew exactly what I was talking about. I had to remember to talk to Greer about all of this. "It'll be gnarly, dude."

I grinned every time he called me that. "Yeah, dude. Okay. But you've got to have real surfing lessons before I go. Not just YouTube and wave pool experience. Your uncle would kill me if I let a shark eat you like that."

"You could do your SEAL thing and save me."

I rolled my eyes, but didn't bother explaining that sharks loved seals. For dinner. All I could do was keep the kid alive here in Costa Rica until my husband returned. But damn, the kid was funny as hell.

When Greer and Katherine returned, I pulled him to the side. "You've got to talk to your sister about Fisher."

He frowned, then softened his gaze. "Why? What did he do?"

I ran a hand over my dark hair. "The kid is wanting to go surf the big waves in Maui. He said he surfs on a simulator and a wave pool. On a Boogie Board! He's going to kill himself. And I won't have my new nephew's death on my hands. He told me if a shark got him, I could do my SEAL thing to save him."

While I fretted, my husband laughed at me. And by laughed, I mean he was having trouble breathing as tears leaked from his eyes. "Why are you laughing?"

When he could breathe, he looked at me. "Baby, he's shitting you. You think my sister would allow him to do all that?"

I propped my hands on my hips and hung my head. The kid had played me. "I hate that kid."

Greer laughed harder, then wrapped his arms around me. "No, you don't. You love him already."

I kissed him hard, then stomped off, ready to seek revenge on a teenager who got me all stirred up. He was just like Dreamboat.

When I calmed down, we spent the afternoon on a private tour scuba diving off the Catalina Islands. The water was crystal clear and teaming with sea life. We saw everything from sea turtles to giant manta rays. Our guide stuck by Fisher's side, allowing Greer and me time to explore.

When everyone had cleared out two days after the wedding, we spent three more days in Costa Rica. Blissfully alone, we enjoyed being married and the privacy that came with our honeymoon. We knew when we returned to Portland that life would be different with the upcoming football season.

We had a lot of logistics to work out, and telling our friends and my brother about us was at the top of the list. I rarely spoke to my parents or my older sister, but I was still close to Carter.

"How do you think he's going to react when I tell him I married his younger brother?"

Propped up on my right arm, I was busy trailing the fingers of my left hand down his picture-perfect torso. He shivered as I tried to memorize every defined line and the feel of his soft skin under my fingertips. No matter how I tried, I couldn't keep my hands off him. Every simple touch lit me up.

When I'd failed to answer, Greer shifted his body to mirror mine, leaving only centimeters between us. Heat radiated off his skin onto mine as he finally settled between my thighs.

"Sweetheart," he said against my lips, "did you forget the question?"

I laughed as his right hand skimmed over my bare shoulder, distracting me again. "I think he'll be surprised and ask a lot of personal questions about what the fuck we've been doing."

Running my left hand over his muscular back, I pulled him closer, needing to touch him at every possible point. All I wanted to do was roll him back and plaster my body to his, but I craved more of the unguarded intimacy of the moment and the way he touched me too much to stop.

Greer must have agreed. He wrapped his long fingers around my neck and pulled me into another sensual kiss that made my skin tingle.

Fuck talking. We could talk later.

On our last night in Costa Rica, we went out for dinner at a local restaurant before heading to a club. I wanted to take him dancing to get him all sweaty before going home to get into the infinity pool. The freedom to do as we pleased and how we pleased was coming to an end, and it made me want to stay in our perfect paradise.

"Do we really have to go back? Can't we just stay here, just like this, forever?" I asked against the back of his neck as I gently rocked into him. Greer's head lounged back on my shoulder as I fisted his cock in rhythm to my thrusts. His prostate was easy to graze from this angle, and the silicone lube had proved to be very useful in the pool.

"More. Just a little more," he panted, bouncing on my cock.

I tightened my hold around his waist as I slowed my movement.

"No, wrong way," he moaned as I bit his shoulder.

"I'm not ready to come yet. Any harder and I'll blow inside that fine ass of yours."

He laughed. "Can't say I've ever heard that before."

I growled, my possessive side coming out. "Don't you even think..."

Greer stood and turned to face me.

"Babe, I was only..."

He climbed back on my lap, sunk down on my cock, and shoved his tongue in my mouth. We let the intense feelings wash over us as we fell apart together. I held him in my arms as he clung to me.

"I love you, I love you," I murmured along his skin at every opportunity, making sure he never had to doubt how I adored him.

When the passion had waned, we got out on weak legs and grabbed towels. Neither of us said anything as we padded back inside, hand in hand. He stood by my side as I locked the doors and turned off the lights, leaving only a single one lit in the kitchen.

I led him up the stairs in comfortable silence as we made the way to our bed, where I'd wrap him in my arms as we fell asleep.

The next morning, we walked around the house, making sure we had everything we needed. Greer looked around the bedroom, evidently looking for something.

"Did you pack our marriage certificate?"

"Yep. It's in my bag, right on top. Would you rather hang on to it?"

My husband smiled as he zipped up his bag. "Nope, not as long as you have it."

I nodded. "MariaJose texted to let me know she hand-delivered it to the U.S. Consulate. We should have it in a couple of months."

"We've got the original, so I'm happy with that."

Greer took one more look around. "I think we've got everything. Want to go have some coffee before the car arrives?"

"Yeah," I said, "sounds good."

The car arrived to take us to the plane at nine a.m. I carried our bags out to the driver while Greer secured the house and the garage. He stopped and looked up at it, giving me the opportunity to take some photos of him. I could tell we were both a little melancholy over leaving our paradise hideaway, but we'd be back soon.

When he turned around and made his way to the car, I handed my phone to the driver. "Would you take a picture of us?"

"Certainly, Mr. Rowan."

I wanted a photo of us to remind me of our honeymoon on my desk in the office, and I was sure he might want one too.

"Here you go, sir," the driver said, handing it back to me.

Climbing into the car, I got settled, then looked at the photos on my camera roll. He'd had taken quite a few candids before we were ready. Looking at them now made me wonder how I'd lived without him for so long, and reminded me what a fool I'd been to be so fucking stubborn.

Greer leaned over and looked at them with me. "Those are great. Can you send me some of them?"

"Sure, baby. I'd be happy to," I hummed, kissing his cheek.

The ride to the airport passed too quickly for my liking. It was strange how different the world looked this time. The trees were greener, the sky bluer, and my heart happier. I reached for his hand as we leaned toward each other, drawn together like we'd been all those years ago. Lifting it to my mouth, I kissed the top of his hand.

"I love you," I said, when he met my gaze.

"And I love you, probably more."

I shook my head. "Not possible."

We settled back in the leather seats and said our own private goodbyes to our honeymoon. I was such a fucking sap, but I didn't care anymore. I had him and that's all I wanted.

When the driver pulled up to the plane on the private landing strip, I let go as we got out and headed to the back to collect our bags.

Greer looked at me as I handed him the hanging bags. "Next time we come down, pack a bag to leave at our house."

I smiled, unable to speak. I hung my duffle over my shoulder and picked up his LV to carry up the steps.

We'd just stepped inside the plane when Sandra greeted us with a big smile. "Good morning, gentlemen. Did you have a good week?"

I cut my eyes to Greer, who was rubbing his chin with his left hand. "I'd say so. How about you, Austin?"

Sandra's eyes caught on his ring before she could look at me. They went wide as she looked over my shoulder for someone else to board the plane.

"Greer? Did you get..." she asked, almost giddy, pointing to his ring.

My husband gave her that smile that turned me inside out. The one that said he was stupid in love, just like me. "What? Married?"

She nodded, almost ready to bounce. "Yes! Did you get married?"

He looked down at this ring, then nodded. "Looks like I did."

Fighting a smile, I placed the bags in the closet, then reached for the hanging bags he was still holding. When his eyes met mine, his little game was over. "Thanks, babe."

The squeal she emitted took both of us by surprise. "Oh, my god! I knew it. All that arguing you two did was just a prelude!"

Greer laughed as I draped my left arm over his shoulder, showing her my ring. Another squeal burst from her, causing her co-pilot husband to hurry out of the cockpit.

"What's wrong?"

Sandra shook her head, then grabbed my husband around the neck. "Nothing!" she said, before pulling me into the group hug. "These two got married, Bill! Can you believe it? Our Greer got married!"

He smiled, rolling his eyes. "Calm down, woman. Let them breathe."

She released us from her death grip of a hug, then hugged her husband.

Bill held his hand out to shake. "Congratulations, Mr. Rowan, and Mr....." he trailed off, waiting for me to reply.

"Rowan works. We've not decided on that part yet."

"I want to know everything! But we've got to get in the air. Gentlemen, take your seats, and the boys will get us ready to take off."

I laughed and pulled Greer with me. "Yes, ma'am. We're sitting."

This time, I chose a different seat and plastered myself to his side.

Once we were in the air, Sandra served us a late breakfast that Greer insisted she join us for. When she sat down, we told her our story. She listened and cried happy tears, looking back and forth from me to Greer.

"You two were star-crossed lovers and meant to be together all along. How many years separate you?"

"Twenty-two," I said, looking at him. "I'm thirty-six, and he's fifty-eight."

She grinned and clasped her hands together, looking at us as if she couldn't stand another moment without knowing more.

"Are you going to have children? Please say you are." Sandra looked back and forth between us, waiting for an answer.

"Uh, we don't know," I said, shifting my gaze to Greer. "Maybe?"

He looked at me, but didn't answer that question. "We've got to make sure his brother doesn't kill me first."

She waved her hand in the air, as if dismissing his statement. "Excuse my language, but fuck what anyone else thinks. Life is short. You live it to please yourselves. Plus, the two of you would make beautiful babies. Bill and I will be happy to babysit."

We laughed, not bothering to explain it didn't work that way.

"Well, I'm going to clear this all away and leave you alone for a while. Just let me know if you need anything." She looked at her watch. "We should arrive in Portland about seven p.m."

We thanked her, then moved to the comfortable seats for the ride home. For the rest of the flight, I thought about what our life would look like if we had a child. I'd never considered it, but GQ and Dominick made it work with Livie. I didn't have to work, especially with the Commander coming on board.

Could we do that?

Would Greer even want to do that again after losing one?

"I've been thinking," I said to him, "about what she said about a baby. Would that be something you'd want?"

Greer took my hand. "Do you want kids?"

Did I? Before him, I would have said no. But now... "I like the idea of having a little Greer running around. Not a Katherine, but a Greer would work."

He laughed at my remark. "I guess it's something to think about. But my age..."

"...is not an issue. We'll put it on the back burner for now. We've got plenty of time."

But did we? Greer looked at me warily, but nodded. "Okay, sweetheart." I could see the doubt in his eyes, and it concerned me.

"I guess we better figure out our last name, huh?"

He smiled. "That's a great place to start."