Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“Okay.” She shrugged with laughter. “Perhaps he didn’t say that last bit, but come on, you and I both know James, and that would definitely be something that he would say had he been present.”
Perhaps there was a part of me that could believe that James would say something along those lines to Allegra, especially after she had spent so much time scolding him. If she were not to listen to his words of warning, I could see a small threat with a grin across his face as he laughed, causing the two of us to laugh at the same time.
That was simply James, though he had a wicked sense of humor when he wanted to, and thinking about the moments that he had made me laugh and feel warmth and comfort made my emotions start spinning out of control.
“I’m almost done packing, and then we can go ahead and leave.”
My quick response seemed to take Allegra by surprise as she furrowed her brows at me and then gave me a small hug before departing from the room. I wasn’t trying to be rude or anything, and I appreciated her help, but had she not left, and we continued talking, I would have been an incoherent, hysterical mess with snot dripping down my face.
Glancing around the room, I made sure that I had everything that I needed, and as I calculated all of the items that I needed to take with me, I flipped over the suitcase and quickly zipped it, just in time to see Neal walking through my bedroom door.
“I was just coming to check and see if you were ready for me to take your suitcases down.” His soft statement was also warming, but it wasn’t quite exactly as I had once remembered it. Instead, he seemed so bothered, so distant.
I hated it, honestly, because we had once been so very close and on the verge of being so very much in love. However, it just wasn’t the same as it used to be, and I know that with all of the trial and errors that we had currently going on, we would eventually get through it.
At least, I had hoped that we would get through it.
“Are you okay?” I asked as he pulled the suitcase onto the floor and lifted the handle to wheel it out.
“Of course I’m okay. Are you okay?” He chuckled, watching me.
“I suppose so. I’m looking forward to the vacation. I’m hoping that maybe getting out of here and doing some little adventuring through New Zealand will help to take our minds off other stuff and get us back to the way we used to be.”
Something about what I said seemed to perk up his spirits just a little bit. And stepping forward, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulling me close to plant a kiss on the top of my forehead. “I would really like that.”
“Me too. But if you don’t hurry up and get my suitcases, as well as the other things down to the car, we’re never going to make the plane in time.”
My sarcastic comment was exactly what he needed to make him find joy and laughter as the banter between us flowed smoothly. Holding his hands up, he shrugged his shoulders, nodded his head, and turned, pulling my suitcase out the door and down the hallway.
There was no going back as soon as we left, and it wasn’t like I wanted to anyways. I thought about James and all the things that he had told me before, and one thing that I knew for sure was that he wouldn’t want me to stop living my life just because he was gone.
Rubbing my hand over my stomach, I smiled and thought about the moment that we spent in the Bahamas. If James wanted me to live my life, then so be it. I would. I would live my life and celebrate him as I raised our child and his grandson.
I would show them the things that they need to see in life and teach them everything that I believed James would have wanted them to learn.
Making my way from the bedroom, I headed down the hallway to where Neal and Allegra stood at the front door, laughing and talking.
“You didn’t actually bring those shirts, did you?” Allegra’s shocked face and parted lips made me wonder what it was that she was talking about.
“Of course, I did,” Neal replied as he struggled with my suitcases and Allegra’s, sending them to the security guard at the door who was helping to take them downstairs. “Stop acting like they’re that bad. They’re just beach shirts.”
“What shirts are you talking about?”
I was curious, and as Allegra turned to me, her shocked expression became more dramatic as she threw her hands up in the air and shook her head. “Oh, you’re gonna love this one. Neal went out and bought a bunch of those touristy beach shirts, the ones with the different print patterns on them, and he says he’s going to wear them when we go on our trip.”
I was stunned at what she was saying. Neal did not seem like the type of person that would do that, but as his kind, sexy glance looked my way, I couldn’t help but burst out into laughter. “Well, I guess I better get my camera ready then because those are definitely photos that I am not going to miss out on.”
Allegra did not seem pleased with the comment that I made. Instead, she gave a dramatic eye roll and grabbed her purse, pushing past the security guard out the front door.
Neal, of course, had a smug expression across his face as he stepped out the door with the security guard making way for me to pass through. “I knew that she would be on my side.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I think those shirts are absolutely atrocious. However, I love the fun, inventive side of them, and I cannot wait to see you in something that doesn’t make you look serious.”
“Oh, you’ve seen me in many things that haven’t made me look serious.” His sly, seductive remark made my cheeks flush pink as I glanced at him from the corner of my eye with a small smirk across my lips before I continued walking.
He wasn’t wrong there. I had seen him in many things, including nothing at all, all of which did make him look not so serious but in a very much more pleasurable way.
This trip was beginning to look better and better by the minute, and the more I pressed forward, making my way towards the vacation that I had always wanted to go on, I couldn’t help but feel the positive aspect of it.
Perhaps everything would get better in the end.
Neal.
The moment that the plane finally landed in New Zealand, I couldn’t help but give a very large sigh of relief. Never in my life had it felt like I was on a plan for so long, and I had been to Australia before. Even though those flights were just as long, there was something about this flight that was just exhausting.
Perhaps it was the fact that sweet Becca decided that we would ride first class like regular people all the way to New Zealand.
I could have gotten us on a better plane—a more private plane even. But no, she wanted to have an adventure. Not that I was complaining, but my sister sure as hell was, and her complaining made Becca laugh.
“Did you see the way that guy looked at me? It was as if I was at a buffet, and he wanted something all you can eat.” Allegra’s disgusted tone caused both Becca and I to snort with laughter.
“Oh my God. It wasn’t even like that, and you know it.”
Allegra turned to Becca with a glare on her face as she used the fan in her hand to blow cool air upon her skin. She was sweating, her hair was frizzy, and her makeup was a mess, and if Allegra looked at herself in the mirror right now, she’d probably have a meltdown. But I wasn’t going to be the one to cause that.
“Come on, you two, our driver’s waiting out front. I just got a text message.”
My words seemed to be comforting because quickly, the two women followed behind me to the conveyor belt, where we collected our bags and made our way out to the drivers that were waiting on the curb.
I hadn’t expected to see two men in one car, but yet there they were, and I didn’t question it either. Instead, I let them take the bags and load them into the vehicle while Allegra, Becca, and I climbed into the back seat of the limo. Sara buckled the baby into a carseat already provided, and we all prepared ourselves for a grand journey toward the cabana that Becca had rented.
Driving down the narrow roads and through the beautiful countryside, the ocean in the distance, the wind blowing against the trees, I couldn’t help but think how beautiful the island was. It was big for sure but small enough to be remote.
The sun shining brightly in the sky warmed the world around it, and as we continued down the road, the white cabana which Becca had fallen in love with through the photos slowly came into view on its own private beach.
I wasn’t sure what it was about this place that she’d loved so much, but after hours and hours of scrolling through photos and looking at different price ranges and venues, this was the one that she kept coming back to.
It was a five-bedroom, three bath cabana with a private beach, a pool, and other luxuries.
One would have thought that she fell in love with the accommodations, but actually, it wasn’t that. It was the beach that she fell in love with. The beach overlooked the wide, vast ocean. Something in that picture of the ocean seemed to captivate her and mesmerize her in ways I didn’t understand.
It was as if she saw something within those photos of the ocean that helped her to make that final decision. “Oh, my goodness,.We’re here.”
The soft gasps that left her lips as the car finally pulled into the driveway, coming to a stop, were enchanting. As soon as the door was open, she was out of it, her eyes wide. Her lips parted as she deeply inhaled the fresh air that surrounded us.
“This is better than I could have imagined it being,” she whispered softly as her eyes turned to face me. “Look how beautiful everything is.”
She wasn’t wrong about things being beautiful, but the only thing that I thought was beautiful was her. From the small, protruding bump that she carried to the highlighted smile upon her face… she was beautiful.
“Why don’t you go inside and check out everything? I’ll help bring the bags in.”
She didn’t need to be told twice, and she turned on her heel, making her way inside as quickly as she could. The door opened just before she reached it, as the owner of the cabana greeted her with a warm hug.
I couldn’t hear the exchange of words that they were having, but from the smile on both of their faces, I knew whatever it was had to have been pleasing. But who couldn’t smile while looking at Becca and the state that she was in?