Mr. Hollywood (Celebrity #1) (22 page)

“
Technically,
I was. I
’
ll explain it all later. Right now
I want to go spend time with my family.
”
Joy infused me.
“
I love how that sounds.
”

“
Me,
too.
”
She smiled but it didn
’
t quite reach her eyes. I knew she
was worried
—
I was too. Things were so crazy
right now.
“
Go have fun. We
’
ll talk later, and I
’
ll work on your dad.
”

“
Thanks,
Mom. I love you so much.
”

“
I
love you too, honey. Have a good night.
”

I practically bounded off the front porch as I hurried
to my house with a giant grin plastered on my face. For the first time in my
life, both my boys were in there waiting for me.

I couldn
’
t imagine anything better.

“Z McCartney Soldier Force Film Still Moving Forward!”

 
~
Scoop It! Teen Magazine
~

Chapter Seventeen

Aubrey

 
“
I
’
m
home!
”
I called through the house.

“
We
’
re in my room, Mom!
”
Dustin replied and I quickly made
my way to join them.

“
These
are all great, Dustin! I
’
m so proud of everything you
’
ve accomplished.
”
Zane set the blue ribbon Dustin had
won for a science fair project down and smiled at him.
“
I bet it was cool to make that
volcano explode. You
’
ll have to show me sometime.
”

“
There
are my two favorite people. How
’
s it going?
”
I leaned casually against the
doorjamb.

“
I
was just showing
—”
Dustin broke off and stared
between the two of us before his eyes settled back on Zane.
“
What do I call you?
”

Zane glanced at me and I shrugged, deferring back to
him.
“
This is between the two of you.
”

“
Well,
I guess whatever you feel comfortable with. You can call me Zane, or Dad, if
you want to.
”

I knew he was trying to appear casual about it, like
it didn
’
t matter to him, but he was holding
his breath. The words mattered a lot.

Dustin considered this for a moment before turning
back to me.
“
I was showing Dad my volcano.
”

Slowly, Zane exhaled and glanced at me, a wide smile
creased his mouth.
“
I swear that just made me feel so
damn
—
darn good!
”
He shot an apologetic glance at me.

“
You
can swear at our house, Dad. Mom does it all the time.
”

Instantly, I colored.
“
I
wouldn
’
t exactly say
all
the time.
”

“
Don
’
t worry, Dustin.
”
Zane patted him on the shoulder.
“
I heard your mom cuss a lot last
night, too.
”
He winked at me, and I was
mortified at his blatant referral to our loud lovemaking in front of our son.

Dustin stared at me curiously and I was sure he could
see the color flooding my skin.
“
Was Mom really mad at you?
”

Zane chuckled.
“
Nope. In fact, I
’
d say she was feeling pretty damn
happy.
”

“
What
was she so happy about?
”

“
Well,
she was happy because she and I were
—”

“
Okay,
that
’
s enough chit chat,
”
I broke in, not even wanting to
know where he
’
d been about to head with that.
“
Time to go wash your hands so we
can get some lunch started.
”

“
Can
we have Ramen noodles?
”
Dustin asked, his face
lighting up.

“
Actually,
I was thinking we could do something more special, since this is the first time
your dad will get to eat with us.
”

“
I
think Ramen noodles sound delicious,
”
Zane said.

Raising an eyebrow, I stared at him.
“
You do?
”

“
I
haven
’
t had it in years. I say let
’
s do it. I
’
ve been enjoying getting
reacquainted with things from my past these days.
”

Great. Our first meal as a family was going to be
Ramen noodles. How unexciting.
“
Ramen it is, but I
’
m throwing in some grilled cheese
sandwiches, too.
”

“
Yay!
”
Dustin exclaimed, his face lighting
up even more.
“
Wait till you taste Mom
’
s grilled cheese sandwiches! They
’
re the best! She does .
 
.
 
. fancy stuff. What
’
s the word again, Mom?
”

“
Gourmet,
”
I replied supplying the word he
could never remember.

“
She
makes
gourmet
grilled cheese sandwiches. Grandpa Brent said she should open her own
restaurant and sell them. They
’
re so yummy!
”

“
Really?
”
Zane replied, seeming completely
interested.
“
Then I
’
m excited to try some of these
sandwiches.
”

“
Make
a bunch of flavors, Mom, so he can try them all!
”

Laughing, I shook my head.
“
I
’
ll
do my best. I guess you two can cook the Ramen, then. But go wash up first,
Dustin, and then get the pans and Ramen out.
”

Dustin practically skipped from the room, looking
happy as a clam. As soon as he was gone, I locked gazes with Zane.

“
He
’
s an amazing kid, Aubrey. You
’
ve done a great job
—
with everything
—
him, the home you
’
ve provided, a loving family.
”

“
And
yet, despite all that, I wasn
’
t ever able to provide him a dad.
”

Zane moved closer.
“
That
’
s because that was my job. I
’
m so sorry I messed everything up
until now. I know we both did things that lent to that, but I promise you, I
’
ll do everything in my power to be
the best dad on the planet from here on out, as long as you
’
ll let me.
”

“
Thank
you. It warms my heart to see him connecting with you so easily. I think we
need to set up some ground rules for all our sakes though, so things don
’
t get confusing for him.
”

“
I
agree, and I
’
ll do whatever you say. You
’
re the boss. You run the show.
”

I shook my head.
“
No, I want us to decide things
together. We
’
re partners in this.
”

Slipping his arms around my waist, he dragged me
closer, kissing my forehead.
“
I want to be your partner in every
way possible, if you
’
ll let me.
”

I snickered.
“
I
’
m
pretty sure you covered all that ground last night.
”

“
I
’
m hoping you let me stay tonight
and give you a repeat performance.
”

“
Hmm.
I might need some convincing,
”
I teased.

“
And
I
’
m more than happy to do any
convincing needed.
”
Nuzzling his face into my
hair, he whispered against my skin.
“
I love smelling my shampoo here.
”

Just hearing that gave me goose bumps.
“
If you stay, your hair will smell
like mine tomorrow.
”

“
Yeah,
I
’
m gonna like that, too.
”
He kissed my neck.

“
You
know we
’
re both going to have to learn to
be .
 
.
 
. quieter.
”

He glanced down the hall.
“
Which one is your room?
”

“
The
one at the end.
”

“
That
’
s good. At least he
’
s not right next door.
”

“
Two
rooms will be a good cushion for sound,
”
I agreed, closing my eyes as
he nipped at my neck.

“
Not
with the way I had you screaming last night. If you
’
re that loud all the time, everyone
on this block is gonna know exactly how often I give it to you. People will
start calling the police.
”

I snorted.
“
I wasn
’
t that bad!
”

“
Then
why are my ears still ringing?
”
Pulling back, he grinned.
“
Don
’
t
get me wrong. I
’
m not complaining. I loved every
second of it and I
’
m greatly looking forward to round
two.
”

“
Round
two? I thought we were on round twelve or something like that now.
”

“
Nope.
That was just round one. I
’
m barely getting started on all the
things I want to do to this delicious body of yours.
”
His hand slid higher and he cupped
a breast, squeezing gently.

Heat instantly flooded between my legs.
“
It
’
s
not fair for you to start this, when there
’
s no chance of us finishing it
until hours from now.
”

Smiling, there was a wicked glint in his eye.
“
Don
’
t
you know anticipation and foreplay is half the fun? I
’
m gonna have a lot of fun with you
today.
”

“
Is
that a threat?
”
I asked.

“
It
’
s a promise,
”
he replied, leaning in again.

“
I
have the stuff out, Mom!
”
Dustin called and the two of
us broke apart right before he appeared around the corner. Even though I was
sure he hadn
’
t seen us, I still felt like a kid caught
with my hand in the cookie jar.

“
Thanks,
sweetie. If you want you can try out some of the new games Zane brought over
while we get washed up.
”

“
Do
you want to play with me?
”
Dustin asked Zane.