Sage was cocky.
Flirty.
Delicious.
“Hi, Cain. Nice to meet you. Heard all about you,” Sage informed in a girly tone that made my dick twitch.
“All good things I hope?”
“Of course.”
“Great. Because you girls should come visit with them. We’ll make it a threesome. Drink, sightsee, go offshore, and if bikini tops come off and titties are free, then no tan lines.”
This. Right. Here.
This was the second moment in just a couple of minutes that I realized I was truly fucked.
I wanted to take Sage to St. Thomas and have her all to myself. I couldn’t think of a better idea in all my life.
Bathing suits.
The Caribbean.
My tongue up her ass.
It all sounded appealing.
My dream vacation with my dream girl.
I didn’t hesitate…
I went with my gut.
My instinct.
The way I felt in my heart.
I turned, looking deep into her eyes, and spoke with conviction…
“Let me take you to paradise, sweetness.”
Chapter 15
—Sage—
“I can’t believe I’m doing this, Aspyn.”
My best friend looked at me like I’d lost my mind, and maybe I had. I was sitting in the passenger seat of her car while she drove through the airport parking garage, trying to find a spot for her vehicle.
“You can’t believe what? That you’re going on a free trip to an island with a hot ass guy? Is that what you can’t believe? Because that doesn’t sound like the worst way to be spending the next week, Sage.”
“Yes, all of that makes perfect sense. Let me go on a free vacation with a man I barely know who has no idea that I’m a mother who’s freaking the fuck out she’s leaving her twins for the first time.”
“Dude, you just answered your own question. The. First. Time. Your kids are seven years old, so for the last eighty-four months, or two thousand, five hundred and fifty-five days you’ve done nothing but be in mom mode.”
“Whoa. How did you calculate that so fast?”
“Oh.” She nonchalantly shrugged. “I’ve been preparing this speech since I said we were going last week.”
“Exactly, you told them we were going. I never agreed to this. If it weren’t for you and my mom, I’d be home with my babies.”
“Thanks for the play by play, Sage. I was there, remember? Brady had to practically throw you into my car. I packed most of your clothes too.”
“Ugh … this doesn’t feel right.”
She swerved into the first spot we found after searching for the last ten minutes. “It’s just normal flight anxiety.”
“You know it’s not.”
Aspyn parked the car and turned to face me, grabbing my hands in hers. “Look, I get it, okay? Mom guilt is real, but for once, Sage. Pretty, pretty, pretty please, for the next seven days can you just enjoy yourself? Everything lined up perfectly with the twins and your work schedule. You’re both on spring break this week. Your mom doesn’t even have to drive the minions around. They’re literally at home all week. Where she is spending time just being their grandmother. Buying them whatever they want. Catering to their every need. Spoiling them until their heart’s content.”
“I know.”
She was right. I couldn’t have left them with a more responsible adult. My parents were the best substitution for me; however, I still felt awful I was going somewhere without my twins. We did everything together. What was plaguing me the most was that Ashton still didn’t know about them, about me.
Granted, I hadn’t seen him since the night we were all together. We’d spoken several times throughout the day via text or him calling me to say goodnight.
Yep, you read that correctly.
He was extremely attentive when it came to how my day was going. Always asking me what was the high and low of my day, in a genuinely interested kind of way.
“Your parents have been begging you for years to please take a vacation for yourself, and now the time has finally come to put yourself first. I’m not going to allow any more of this guilt trip you’re taking yourself on. Do you understand me?”
I opened my mouth, and she put her hand up, silencing me.
“Nope. We’re not having this discussion anymore. You’re going to get out of this car and grab your carry-on, and you’re going to live your best life.” She smiled. “Okay?”
I sighed deeply; she was right. “Okay.”
“Great. I’m glad that’s over. Now move your ass. We’re meeting them at baggage claim.”
Instead of focusing on the guilt, I shifted gears and let the excitement I felt take over. This was the first time I was going away in I didn’t remember how long. Sure, I’d taken vacations with my parents and the twins every year, but this was much different. This wasn’t Disney World or a camping trip. This was an island, where the only responsibility I had for the next week was myself. Not only that, but I was alone with Ashton.