Heavy: A Contemporary Romance (33 page)

Cali

I came
to slowly, my head feeling like it was stuffed with cotton wool and my entire body ached. It also felt like it was on fire. This was almost welcome given the fact the last thing I remembered feeling was numb from cold.

Wait…
where was I?

I opened my eyes and blinked against the low lights of what I immediately understood to be a hospital room.

It then all came flashing back to me. Unbelievably cold water, my muscles about to give out, the helicopter searchlight finding us, the overwhelming relief at being rescued… then… that was it. I passed out as soon as I saw Thaddeus safely in a rescuer’s arms.

“Hey,” a voice said.

I turned my head slowly, wincing against the pain shooting through it from the motion, and saw Thatch lying next to me, squished up close to my side on the twin bed.

“Hey,” I smiled back
. Or tried to. Every movement I made, including facial expressions, hurt.

The deep warmth that trickled through me at the sight of the man I loved suddenly stopped mid-flow as I remembered about Thaddeus.

“Thaddeus!” I said in a louder voice, struggling to sit up. My head throbbed loudly causing the room to rotate and blur.

“
Shh, calm down. He’s okay, Cali,” Thatch whispered, urging me to lie back next to him. “He’s in the bed over there. He just fell asleep ten minutes ago. He’s fine, thanks to you.”

I looked over in the direction he was pointing and
once my vision cleared, I saw the little boy fast asleep in the neighboring bed. His faced looked flushed and pink, and not anything like the blueish-grey it had been last time I’d seen him.

My eyes brimmed over with tears as
I thought about how close we’d come to losing him.

“If you start crying now, it’s going to ruin your cool new image as heroic superhero-rescuer extraordinaire,” Thatch whispered, kissing me gently on the neck and snuggling in closer to me.

“I’m a super… hero…?” I asked in a weak, sob-choked voice.

“Thad is thinking about making you a cape in school next week,” Thatch teased.

“He... is?” I sniffled.

“You saved his life, California,” Thatch added in a more serious tone
. “You’re not only his hero, you’re mine, too. And your dad’s, and Bernie’s, and I think even the police detective in charge is a little in awe of you,” he chuckled.

“My dad and Bernie…
are here?”

“They went to get something to eat
. They’ll be back soon.”

Thatch handed me a tissue from the stand next to his side of the bed
. I wiped my eyes and then blew my nose.

“So, do you think we can get
Thad to make a tiara to go with that cape then?” I joked, feeling so relieved he was okay.

“I think Hayley’s been put in charge of tiaras,” Thatch smirked.

“How long have I been out of it?”

“You’ve been asleep for about sixteen hours
. You had a mild concussion and after almost an hour in freezing cold water, it’s amazing you’re not more badly injured.”

“Do I still have all my toes?”

“Yes,” Thatch laughed. “You still have every wonderful, cute, and adorable part of you fully attached and good to go. But, let me tell you, California,” he began, his voice going all serious again, “if you ever give me a heart attack like that again, I’m going to kill you. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact I almost lost you two. I love you both so much it nearly ended me.”

“Wait, did you just say you loved me?” I asked in wonder
. How bad was my concussion? Had I really just heard that?

“Yes
. Yes, I think I did,” he replied.

“
If you only ‘think’ you did, maybe you should just say it one more time so that we can both be certain. I do have a concussion you know.”

Despite my teasing tone, Thatch’s face remained serious and his voice low and earnest.

“If I wasn’t such a fucking idiot, I would have admitted that I’ve been in love with you since that hotel room when we met.”

“
It was all because I called you James Dean, right?” I teased. I knew he was being serious, but I needed to see his smile. His smile did things to me that I could never fully put into words. I needed to see it.

Thatch smiled and every one of my internal organs melted into a soggy pile of goo.

“It was somewhere between James Dean and when you were watching me tattoo Max,” he said.

“The painting,” I murmured
. “Bell was right about that painting.”

“My dad has been right about a lot of things lately,” Thatch replied
. He pulled me in even closer and held me just a little bit tighter. My bruised limbs protested against his firm hold, and I loved every scream and ache they gave.

“You’re the bravest person I’ve ever met, California,” he continued, resting his head on the pillow next to mine, his unwavering gaze burning straight into me
. “I don’t mean because you risked your life to save my son, although that was pretty fucking brave… not gonna lie. I mean that you were courageous enough to come to Vegas and find me. To put yourself out there for me – vulnerable, and raw, and fearless – facing potential rejection.”

“
Potential
? You
did
reject me, if I remember correctly.”

“
Let’s not forget you have a concussion, my love,” Thatch said.

I smiled and he pressed his lips gently against mine.

“I’m being serious, California,” he whispered tenderly. “You did what I should’ve done months earlier. It should’ve been me that came to find you.”

“
Female stalkers can get away with more, though…”

“And thank God for that
. All joking aside, you really are the most fearless individual I’ve ever known. I’m completely mesmerized by you, California. I can’t imagine my life without you in it, and I know Thad feels the same way, too.”

“Good, because I wasn’t planning on going anywhere.”

Cali

Three years later…

I woke up slowly and stretched out in the bed
. I could hear the sound of activity coming from the kitchen – the low noise of the T.V. on, the chink of breakfast bowls, and the soft chatter of Thatch and Thaddeus as father and son got the eight-year-old ready for school.

The
now familiar warm and fuzzy, happy feeling seeped into me and I curled up under the comforter with a huge grin on my face. I loved the sound of my life. I loved my life, period.

I rolled over onto my side and snuggled deeper into
our warm and cozy bed. I rubbed the almost unnoticeable bump of my belly and smiled again at the thought of the baby girl I carried inside me. Thatch’s baby girl, and future little sister for Thaddeus. As I lay there, I kept my eye on the door, as Thatch always came in to kiss me goodbye before he left for the day and sometimes, depending on his schedule, I might get a little more than a kiss. I loved those days.

My cell phone on the bedside table gave a little beep to alert me that I had a
couple of text messages, and I lazily reached out to read them.

The first was from Ruby.

Ruby:
Congratulations on making the N.Y. Times Best Sellers List, girlfriend! Call me later so we can talk business!

I’d written and published a tell-all book about my struggles with bulimia and
, with ABAS sponsoring me, it had become an overnight success.

The second message was from my father.

Dad:
So damn proud of you, California. Congrats again on graduating and on the success of your book. I look forward to seeing you guys next weekend to celebrate. Tell Thad that Vera and I will definitely be there for his swim meet on Friday, too! Love you! B. H.

The fact my father
signed his texts with his initials always made me smile. He was practically a changed man from the one he’d been three years ago. His divorce from Tallulah had been messy and public, and it had helped take some of the spotlight off me, which I think my dad was pretty happy about. A year ago, my father had started dating Vera Malitzis, a stuntwoman he met on set. She was everything Tallulah was not: athletic, strong, funny, charming, and down-to-earth. She sort of brought the genuine out in my dad, and we loved her for it. Although fifteen years his junior, they had some sort of strange connection that seemed to work for both of them. Like Thaddeus and myself, she was a serious swimmer, and the three of us has bonded through our shared love of the sport.

Tallulah had quickly gone on to re-marry
. This time, it was to an Arab billionaire who owned a chain of luxury hotels. She and Lake had moved to Dubai, his base of operations, and I seldom saw Lake in the tabloid press these days. I think it had less to do with any potential taming of her wild side and more to do with being financially supported by someone with strict, or even harsh, values. Apparently, even Westernized Arab hotel moguls frowned upon women in their family drinking in public and, when she visited her dad, he was almost as strict with her nowadays. Okay, so it wasn’t that much of a comeuppance as comeuppances go. She
was
living a life of luxury in the five-star hotel in Dubai. But, I didn’t think it was really the life Lake wanted for herself.

“Well, you look very happy this morning, Mrs. Reston,” Thatch said from the doorway to our room
. He was in low-slung sweatpants, a tight T-shirt, and his feet were bare. Yummy.

“I’d be a lot happier if you were a just a little closer, Mr. Reston,” I said batting my eyelashes at him.

He laughed and took a flying leap at the bed, landing both next to me and around me, his mouth immediately covering mine in a heart-melting kiss.

“Wow
. Good morning to you, too,” I laughed as soon as we both came up for air.

“You loo
k breathtaking this morning, Mrs. Reston,” he smiled, rubbing my tummy and kissing it softly.

“Even with the morning breath and bed hair?”

“Your morning breath is sweeter than honey and I happen to adore your bed hair. Especially when I was a main contributor as to how it got that way,” he said waggling his eyebrows suggestively, referring to our bedroom activities last night.

“Damn, you
must
love me,” I giggled, running my hand down the front of his T-shirt, relishing the feel of warm muscle under the cotton.

“Oh, you know it
. In fact, I love you so much I’ve taken the day off just so we can extend the graduation slash book release celebrations.”

“Oh, really now?”
My body immediately filled with anticipation for the fact this was going to be one of those days I got more than a kiss in the morning. “Aren’t you taking Thaddeus to school?”

“Thaddeus is long gone, my sweet
. Zak picked him up and says ‘hi,’ by the way.” Thatch slowly pulled his T-shirt over his head and my mouth went dry as his taut abs and chest came into view.

“I
love
graduation slash book release celebrations,” I whispered against his neck.

“And I have a little something for you that might make you love them even more,” he replied, leisurely sucking one of my hardened nipples into his warm mouth.

“I like where this is going,” I said in a hoarse voice, arching my back slightly to give him better access.

Thatch suddenly removed his lips and I groaned at the loss of his touch.

“Patience, my lovely,” he smirked. “I have a present for you,” he added, reaching under the bed and pulling out a wrapped box.

“
Another
present?”

“This one had to be given in the privacy of our bedroom,” he winked, running his hand through his hair.

The wink meant he was going for cocky. The hand gesture meant he was nervous.

Interesting.

I opened the card attached to the box.

THIS is how much I love you…

“Color me intrigued,” I smiled, arching an eyebrow at him.

“Hurry up and open it before I change my mind,” he laughed nervously.

I tore off the wrapping paper and slowly opened the box.

My eyes widened in surprise when I saw what was inside.

“Wow,” I said in shock. “Just, wow. You certainly are full of surprises today, husband dearest.”

I was now holding a blue, strap-on dildo in my hands.

“And look,” he grimaced, “it even matches your eyes.”

This made us both burst into fits of hysterical laughter.

“You remembered what I said back on Charlie’s boat all those years ago.”

“I also remember how I wasn’t sure if you were joking or not
. I’m not saying I’m ready to use it today or anything but… if it really is a fantasy of yours, I’ll give it a go for you.”

“You’d allow me to go where no one has gone before,” I giggled in between using my best
Star Trek
voiceover voice.

“Yeah, these are the voyages of the fucking starship Enterprise and God, I love you so much, California Reston.”

“I love you too, Thatch Reston,” I smiled, pulling him in close to me so I could kiss the ever-loving breath out of him.

“My dad called this morning with yet another suggestion for a baby name,” Thatch said
when our mouths finally parted.

“Dear God, what is it this time
?” I giggled. Bellamy had come up with some doozies over the last few weeks.

“Eunice,” Thatch
deadpanned.

“Hmmm
. She doesn’t feel like a Eunice.”

“Oh yeah?”
Thatch smiled, resting his cheek on my stomach after kissing it again. “What
does
she feel like?”

“Thaddeus suggested something last night, and while I laughed it off at the time, now
that I’ve thought about it a little, I think it might be kind of perfect.”

“Where was I when all this name-storming was going on?” He asked, sitting up to look at me.

“You were late coming home from the gym, as per usual,” I fake reprimanded.

“Well, I
do
have a reputation to uphold,” he smirked.

Thatch had been the first contestant to complete Stage
Three in
Ultimate Ninja Athlete
last year. Now a co-owner and trainer at the gym across from Reston’s, I could not be more proud of what my husband had achieved over the last few years.

“So
, what’s this potential new name of Thad’s then?” he added.

“Bear in mind
, he was thinking of
my
name when he came up with this one, and the rest should follow. Nevada.”

Thatch looked thoughtful for a moment
.

“Nevada Eunice Reston,” he chuckled.

“We are not naming our daughter Eunice!” I laughed.

“But
, you like ‘Nevada’?” he asked, getting a little more serious.

“Yeah, I think
I kind of do.”

“Nevada Reston,” he whispered to my abdomen
. “How do you feel about that one?”

“I think she likes it,” I smiled at my gorgeous husband as he rubbed my tummy some more
. “I think she likes it very much.”

*THE END*