Grip Trilogy Box Set - Kennedy Ryan Page 0,376

that? They’re moving.”

Of course, she felt it. It’s her body, but she just laughs. It’s not the first time the twins have moved, but I always seem to just miss it, so it’s the first time I’ve felt the life growing inside Bristol for myself.

“One of them is moving.” She guides my hand to the other side of her belly. “This girl has been quiet all day.”

“Girl?” I raise one querying brow. “I thought we agreed we wouldn’t find out. You go behind my back or something?”

She shrugs, lowering her eyes to the water and brushing her fingers through the waves. “I just have a feeling they’re both girls.”

“God save me. Martin and I would be outnumbered.” I pull my son down from his perch on my shoulders and hold him under his armpits, dangling him in the water. “You hear that, lil’ man? Your mom says we’re getting two girls. What do you think?”

“Brother!” His eyes, dark like mine, stretch with excitement. Our kids can’t wait for the new arrivals, and not knowing the sex of the babies makes it that much more fun for them. Every day, each of us changes our minds about what Bristol’s having.

“You heard the man,” I tell Bristol. “There’s at least one boy in there.”

“I honestly don’t care.” She grimaces and rubs the small of her back. “I’m so big this time, I just want them out. I’ve already gained as much weight as I had by the end with Martin. I’m huge.”

I lean over to whisper in her ear. “You’re sexy as hell, Bris. Always.”

She turns her head so our faces are mere inches apart, our lips separated by a single breath. “You think so, huh?”

“I’ll show you tonight,” I whisper over her mouth. “Massage?”

“Oh.” She tips her head back and releases a sultry laugh. “I’ve had your ‘massages’ before.”

“You love them.”

“I do.” She narrows her eyes and bites down on her bottom lip. “After dinner?”

“Why wait? We can pack the little monsters up and go to the house right now.”

“Grip!” She widens her eyes and her smile.

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” Martin chants.

We glance down at our son, his eyes shifting avidly between us, and both laugh.

“You kiss all the time,” Nina mutters from a few feet away.

It’s true, tho.

“Nina, we need to get back inside,” Bristol says. “We’ve been in the water all day, and your grandma probably has lunch ready. After lunch we can get shave ice from Island Snow.”

“A few more minutes, Mommy, please? So Daddy can swim with me?” Nina asks, lips pouty and eyes pleading under a mop of hair. If she figures out she has me wrapped around her little finger, we’re doomed. Who am I kidding? This kid was born knowing.

“You think you can keep up with me?” I hand Martin to Bris and walk through the water to Nina, surprised at how deep the water gets. “Okay, little fish. Let’s go.”

Thank God Jade convinced me to drag my ass out of the studio. This day, blessed with puckered clouds kissing a cerulean sky and sunshine that dries our bodies almost as soon as we leave the water, is exactly what I needed. Once we’ve packed up, we trek through the sand back to the villa, which has seven bedrooms, a pool and sauna, game room and plenty of alcoves and nooks for privacy despite all the folks who came with us. We follow the path that leads straight to the large patio where Ma has lunch ready, as Bristol predicted.

“I see the sun all over you,” Ma says, bending to drop a kiss on each of my kids’ damp heads. “Coming in here two shades darker.”

They scrunch up their noses and lean into her affection. The same unconditional love and discipline my mother used to shape me, she pours into my children. She finally accepted a car and a house, which is in Compton because she refuses to leave her beloved neighborhood. I can’t blame her on that score. There was a lot to be scared of when I was growing up, but that community raised me, and you’d have to crowbar my mother out of it.

“I don’t want you cooking the whole time,” I tell her, kissing her cheek. “There’s a local chef I can bring in if you want.”

“And I told you I can cook some, too,” Bristol pipes up, setting a sketch pad and crayons by Martin’s plate. He loves to draw and we keep materials within reach for him all the