TAKE TWO_ Who says you can't ma - Heather M. Orgeron Page 0,48

clear packing tape. I fight with it for a minute before retrieving the pocketknife attached to my keychain and cutting the box open. Packing peanuts tumble over the top onto the floor as I reach to the bottom. My hands wrap around a curved bottle, and I’m hella confused. “Did you buy me shampoo?” I ask before lifting the mystery gift from the box.

“Nope.” She flutters her lashes and sends me an innocent smile—one that lets me know she’s definitely up to something.

“Swear to God, you are the most infuriating woman…” I trail off when I retrieve a jumbo-sized bottle of Summer’s Eve. “This wrapping paper had nothing to do with Paco’s Tacos, did it?” I throw a wadded-up ball of it at her face.

She presses her lips into a line with her teeth and shakes her head, trying to suppress a laugh.

Chance and Hannah burst into hysterics, both having heard about the could-have-happened-to-anyone mishap, while our parents stare at us like we’ve lost our damn marbles.

“Isn’t that a…umm… a girly wash?” Pops asks with his eyes narrowed.

Oh come on! How the heck’s he even know that?

“It is…” Nya smiles sweetly at my father. “Liam liked mine so much, he used the entire bottle. Figured I’d get him his own.”

I feel my cheeks flush. “Damn bottle says five in one. I thought it was a normal bath wash. You know, the ones that you can use for hair and body and bubble bath?”

“Can you think of anything more appropriate?” Chance sputters. “A p-u-s-s-y wash for a p-u-s-s-y.”

Ellie’s jaw drops. “Uncle Chance! You know I can spell, right?”

The moms shoot him scathing looks while us guys have a good laugh.

“So, do you like your gift?” Nya finally asks when everyone’s calmed down.

“Ya done good, darlin’.” Her sense of humor is one of her biggest draws. Sarcasm has always been our love language. It actually really turns me on when she finds a way to best me.

“Open your present now, Mom!” Ellie runs over to the tree to retrieve the last box.

“Okay. Okay! What is it?” Nya shakes the package near her ear.

“Just open it.” Our daughter is more excited about giving her mother this gift than opening her own. We’ve spent the last few weeks plotting it all out together.

Excitement bubbles in my stomach as she fingers the paper. She takes her time peeling off the tape and carefully unfolding the wrapping. It’s not like she’ll ever reuse it. Why can’t this woman be like everyone else and just rip the damn thing open?

“You didn’t!” My wife leaps up out of her seat like she’s just sat on a tack, waving our itinerary in the air. “Is this for real?”

“It is.” The sight of her running in circles around the living room through mountains of wrapping paper, screeching like she’s just won the damn lottery, is one I’ll never forget.

“Bora Bora?”

I nod, smiling a big dopey smile at her enthusiasm. “I hope it’s still your dream honeymoon, because we leave in a week.”

She hops up on the coffee table, does a little shimmy, then throws herself into my lap, wrapping her arms round my neck and spreading kisses all over my face. “I can’t believe you remembered…”

“I remember everything.”

Nya

Laid in paradise

Pictures could never do this place justice. I’m pretty sure my mouth has been hanging open since the islands became visible from the air. This entire experience has already been like something out of a fairy tale, and we’ve only just checked in.

Upon stepping off the plane, we got lei’d by a beautiful island girl. Get your mind out of the gutter! There’s nothing quite like being adorned with tropical flowers by a local to really make it sink in that you’re officially in paradise. As we proceeded through the lobby, the sound of native music got my blood pumping and my hips swaying. Liam and I were handed complimentary fruity drinks by the airport staff. I’m not sure what that little slice of heaven was other than delicious, even if I was only able to get through half of mine before the hours of travel caught up to my tummy. Liam was more than happy to finish mine off, so don’t fret. No alcohol abuse here. We followed the small crowd out to the dock where our resort, Aqua Cay, had a boat waiting to transport us to our home for the next week.

I’ve never before seen water so clear. The colorful fish and stingrays made the twenty-minute boat ride