She wanted me to tell our baby I loved her. Saying that aloud would make it real. It would make the fact that I was once again vulnerable to another person real. How could I keep her safe, too? What if I had to do it alone? Closing my eyes, I pushed that thought away. I wouldn’t think about it. I refused to.

“I love you, Lila Kate. I can’t wait to hold you and watch you sleep in your mother’s arms. If you’re lucky, you’ll look just like her.” There, I’d said it. Exactly what I was thinking. Exactly how I felt. I had laid myself bare.

“I hope she looks like you,” Harlow said, cupping my face in her hands. “You’re the pretty one.”

I lowered my mouth to hers and whispered just before I captured her sweet lips, “No one will ever be more beautiful than you.”

Harlow lifted her sudsy, wet arm and wrapped it around my neck and deepened the kiss while I soaked in the silky warmth of her touch. She could make everything better with a kiss. Fear and worry vanished when she was close to me.

“Get in with me,” she said, and started tugging on my shirt. I didn’t argue. I removed my shirt, then got rid of my jeans and boxers, before climbing in behind her. She turned around to straddle me, her ever-larger br**sts covered in bubbles. This was quite possibly the best bath product ever invented. At least, for the male species. I filled my hands with her tits just as she sank down onto my hard length. When she had me completely buried inside her, she arched her back, causing those fantastic play toys to jiggle and sway.

“You’re in control, sweet girl. Take it how you want it,” I told her while enjoying the beautiful view.

She leaned back and put her hands on my legs. I couldn’t have asked for a better position. Then she took it a step further and began to bounce slowly up and down on me. I wanted my hands full of her boobs, but then they’d stop that hypnotic movement, so I grabbed her waist instead and helped her ride me.

“I could watch these titties all damn day,” I said as she moaned and slammed down on me harder.

Unable to withstand it any longer, I reached out and squeezed them, feeling the pebbled hardness of her ni**les against my palms. She cried out my name, and it made me even crazier.

“Ride it, sweet girl. Show me what makes you feel good. That hot little pu**y is my f**king nirvana. You know you’ve got me so wrapped up in you I can’t see anything or anyone else. Just you. Just you.”

“Oh, God, I’m gonna come. Keep talking naughty,” she panted as she reached up and covered my hands with hers.

“Soaking-wet pu**y is swollen and horny all the damn time. I want to slip my fingers in those tiny panties and play with it every time I look at you. Taste you and smell you. You smell so incredibly sweet.” My dirty talk sent her over the edge.

She grabbed my shoulders and began calling out to God and me all at the same time. “That’s it, come on my cock,” I encouraged her as she trembled and shuddered. “My sweet pu**y.”

“Oh, God! Stop! I can’t take it. I’m so close again,” she moaned, leaning into me. Then she clamped down on me, and I lost my restraint.

Grabbing her hair, I yelled out her name and followed her into ecstasy.

My sweet Lila Kate,

Your nursery is almost ready. It’s fit for a princess, but then, you are a princess. You’re our princess. There has never been another baby girl who is as loved as you are. I’m secretly hoping you look just like your daddy. But no matter who you look like, you will be beautiful.

We can’t wait to show you the things we’ve bought for you. We bought you your first Christmas ornament today. It’s white with pink polka dots and your initials monogrammed on the front. When I saw it in all of its sweet little girlie cuteness, I wanted to make sure you had it to hang on the tree every year. That way, if I’m watching from the clouds, you can remember that I picked it out for you. Daddy had the idea to get your initials painted on it. But then, he’s a smart man.

I hope that we hang it on the tree together each year. I’ll bake cookies, and you can decorate them with icing and sprinkles. Then we’ll string the popcorn and make a mess with glitter and glue as we decorate our own ornaments. It will be the most loved tree in Rosemary Beach. We’ll invite Nate over to help us. I’m sure he’ll enjoy making a mess as much as you will.

I’ve been stocking your library with all of my favorite picture books. I’ve written a note in each one from me to you, and I’ve added the dates that I bought the books, in case I’m not there to share them with you. Your daddy will read them to you. He can tell you about all the places I took him to in search of the perfect books for you.

The weeks are ticking by, and before I know it, I’ll see your face. If we have a lifetime or only a few moments together, you will be the most important thing that ever happens to me in this life.

Love you always,

Mommy

Harlow

We were attending a fund-raiser ball at the club tonight to raise money for the local fire department. Rosemary Beach wasn’t a big town, and the nearest big city was a forty-five-minute drive away, so the volunteer fire department was very cherished and necessary.

Woods had decided to host the ball, though the truth was, many residents had plenty of money to give to the fire department outright—and many did. That’s how it had gotten its start. But they liked to attend big galas so they could dress up and spend the evening with important people like Rush’s dad. Dean Finlay, the drummer for Slacker Demon and my father’s best friend, was on the board of directors for the Kerrington Country Club. He wasn’t your typical board member, but then, neither were Grant and Rush, and they were also board members. When Woods had inherited the club from his father after he died, he fired all of the other board members and chose his own. He and his father had never seen eye-to-eye on anything.