The Rivals - Dylan Allen Page 0,444

me to drop you off at home.” And then I hit the gas and drive like a bat out of hell.

Chapter 5

Stone

Home Is Where We Are.

I’d bet my life that it’s just a misunderstanding. I don’t know Kal as well as I know Remi, but it’s plain as day that the woman is as in love with him as he is with her. But every time I tried to assure him of that, he became even more agitated. So, I left it alone, formulated a plan and texted Regan to tell her what I needed her to do. When we pull into the driveway ten minutes later, even Remi’s dark mood can’t dampen my excitement.

I’ve had a yearning for adventure my whole life. I never imagined that anything could be more seductive than the pull of all the things I’d yet to discover. But nothing beats the singular thrill of returning to the house Regan and I call home firm in the knowledge that the four people inside are as excited to see me as I am to see them.

I’m not get all the way out of the car when Martinez bursts through the front door, running at top speed, the wind whipping his dark curls, his face alive with joy as he lets out a whoop of excitement and launches himself at me.

He wraps his arms around my neck in a too tight hold. But who needs oxygen when I’ve got him?

“Tu m'as manqué, Dad,” he whispers, and my heart and lungs expand. It never fails to humble me that Dad is the singular English word he uses.

I hug him back. “I missed you too, Ace.”

Henri piles on, talking a mile a minute and clutching me just as tightly as his twin brother.

“I’ll get your purses from the back” Remi quips and I can’t even muster enough umbrage to do anything but grin my thanks.

They’re almost seven, and normally don’t countenance being carried, but they cling to me, talking in that uncanny rhythm they have where they complete each other’s sentences as I make my way to the door.

“Okay, you two, let him breathe,” Eva says as she walks out of the front door with Bianca trailing behind her. The twins buck authority every chance they get, but their big sister’s word is law and they scramble down.

“Hello Empress Eva,” I open my arms and she walks into them.

“Hey Dadd-yo,” she wraps her arms around my shoulders and hugs me long and hard. “I’m so glad you’re back. Mom is so miserable when you’re gone.”

“She is?” I ask, pulling away so I can look into her eyes.

She rolls them at me. “Duh. She’s got it so bad.”

“I do, too,” I admit.

She grins and pats my cheek in sympathy. “I know.”

I look past her at the empty doorway. “If she’s got it so bad, where is she?”

“She went to the bathroom right before you pulled up.” Bianca steps out into the foyer from the study, and I’m struck by how much she looks like Kal. “Hey kiddo,” I wrap an arm around her for a quick hug before she makes a beeline for Remi.

My eyes, hands and mouth are all itching for a taste of my woman. With all three kids unlatched and preoccupied with searching my luggage for what I brought them, I cross the threshold into the house and go in search of her.

I’m halfway down the hall when she steps out of the powder room. Her dark eyes are wide as she takes an inventory of me. And I allow myself the luxury of the same. Dressed in pair of tiny grey shorts and my old ratty Columbia t-shirt, with her hair spilling from the huge bun she tried to gather it in, she’s never looked more beautiful. And for the millionth time I marvel that I managed to persuade this goddess to be my wife.

“You’re home,” she sighs and opens her arms wide. I walk into them, savoring the way her body curves perfectly into mine.

I nestle my face into her neck and inhale the sweet, familiar scent of her. I let it revive the parts of me that don’t know how to breathe when she’s not near. “Now, I’m home.”

She wraps her arms tighter around me and strokes her hands up and down my back. “How did live without this for a whole ten days?”

I press kisses to her neck and shoulder. “Don’t ask me. I’m wondering the very same thing.”

“Nobody wants to see all