His Bahamas Affair (The Albury Affairs) (21 page)

“You love it, being a
mom, don’t you?”

She nodded happily. “I
never understood Riana’s obsession with Aurora until now. It makes me wonder
why my own mother wasn’t as obsessed with me.”

“Because she’s your
real mom?”

She nodded.

“I’m sure she loves you
Lori…”

“She’s just not
obsessed.” She shook of the melancholy of the topic and said, “So when are we
leaving?”

“As soon as we can get
everything ready. I hope Tyler isn’t afraid of sailing.”

“Up until a month ago,
Tyler didn’t know what happened outside his bedroom.”

“What?”

She patted his chest.
“I’ll explain later.”

* * * *

Reno took four long
strides to and fro as he paced the foredeck of his yacht like an enraged bull
charging a matador. He knew Georgia was a selfish bitch but this…this made him
want to blow his stack. His son had been a prisoner for the three years of his
life, locked up in the attic like an unwanted nuisance. Like something to be
ashamed of. The only difference between a real cell and his room was the little
window he would spy through and the rays of sun sipped through. To imagine how
that had taunted him, jeering at him for his imprisonment made Reno wanted to
rip something apart.

“Why not just lock him
up in the basement? It would have been kinder than teasing him with freedom
they had no intention of giving him with a fucking window!”

“Reno, keep your voice
down. Tyler is asleep.”

He turned to Loraine
where she sat at the bow the sunset at her back, her hair fighting her efforts
as it escaped from the back of her ear and whipped over her face.

“Keep my voice down?”
he echoed, unable to believe she wasn’t going ballistic over what she’d just
told him. “What’s with you?”

She shrugged. “I’ve
known about this longer than you have and I’ve made my peace with it after
cursing Georgia with every insult I know and dreamed up numerous ways of
torturing her.” She stood up and made her way to him, wrapping her arms around
his waist. Reno tried to pull away but she held on to him. He didn’t want to be
held; he wanted to hit something.

“Reno, the bottom line
is he’s here with us, far away from those two monsters and safe with us. I’ve
been showing him that it’s okay to be a normal little boy and that we love him.
If he needs us, all he has to do is call. I think that’s more productive than
stomping around like big foot punching your fist in your palm like you’re
getting ready for a cage fight,” she finished with a chuckle.

Reno turned away from
her, his funny bone not feeling the tickle. He didn’t want to let go of his
anger, because if he did the guilt will consume him whole. God, he was no
better than Georgia. She might have caged him to keep him out of her and her
husband’s lives, but there was no difference from what he did. Running away,
avoiding Tyler at every turn and going as far as moving out of his own home to
avoid him seemed far worse to him.

Reno pressed the heels
of his palms in his eyes. “I’m such a bastard.”

“Hey, don’t say that.”
Loraine tugged at his hands until he lowered them. But he kept his gaze
averted, too ashamed to look into her eyes. He didn’t want forgiveness; he
didn’t deserve it. “Reno, you were scared and Tyler was a curve ball you weren’t
prepared for. It’s very understandable. What matters is that you didn’t take
long, well a month is a long time to warm up to your own kid—”

He pulled away with a
groan, giving her his back. “Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because
it’s having the opposite effect, Lori.”

She came round and
stood before him, cupping his face in her hands. “I wasn’t done talking. Yes,
it was long, but considering Georgia had over three years, you have little to
be ashamed about. You are here and you are making up for it.” She smiled up at
him and he sighed at the comfort it gave him. “He wasn’t even scared when he
came onboard. I was expecting the water works when we set sail but that didn’t
happen either.”

Reno smiled with little
humor. “You sound disappointed.”

She shook her head.
“No. I sound proud, and I feel it too. The first time I took him outside the
house and sat in the sand, I had to have Ruiz and Melody as backup. He wouldn’t
leave otherwise. The same with when we went into the water, he cried so hard, I
wanted to cry.”

Reno pressed his lips
on her forehead, falling in love with her a little bit more. “It’s hard to
believe that after I saw him in the water today. I was scared he would be
carried away by the waves.”

“You’re welcome,” she
announced with a raised brow.

Reno chuckled at the
hidden meaning. “Thank you Lori for taking care of my son.”

“I’m just glad you’re
here to give him this experience. I wanted to take him out sailing myself, but
after he screamed for you his first time in the water, I thought it best to
wait.”

Reno felt his throat
tighten around the lump in it. “What do you mean?”

“He cried for his daddy
Reno, because he was scared and he knew you would protect him from the big
unknown. Why do you think he quickly moved to your arms when we boarded, or
when we set sail?”

Oh God, I’m such a
bastard.
“I thought he wanted to be with me because he
missed me,” he whispered shamefully.

She stroked his cheek.
“Yeah he missed you. He asked for you every day. Today was like Christmas to
him. I’ve never seen him so happy. He makes such a cute little captain.”

Reno nodded,
distracted. “I thought the uniform would look good on him. Way better than the
silly sailor suits that have become a uniform for those rats they call dogs.”

Loraine chuckled. “You
mean purse dogs? Yeah, if I’m going to have a pet, I’d rather he wasn’t big
enough to be eaten in one bite by other dogs. Reno I didn’t tell you about
Tyler crying for you so that you can feel like an ass.” She smiled. “Well maybe
a little but I don’t want you judging yourself harshly. You’re here and living
up to every one of his expectations. That’s all that matters.”

Reno understood what
she was saying but he just couldn’t let go. The one emotion he has never been
able to deal well with is guilt. It ate him up after the car accident his
mother died in which he caused, to the point he was relieved when they deported
him. Anything to run as far away as possible from Riana’s tears. He’d let her
down in more ways than one and he just couldn’t face her. He’d only been able
to put his instinct to run from her aside when she came to him, her heart
shattered. It was his chance to redeem himself and he had, easing his
conscious.

Reno cupped Loraine’s
head, leaned his forehead against hers. “Lori, I’m so sorry.”

“For what?”

“For being a jerk that
night. I didn’t mean to remind you of Pierre-”

She pressed a finger to
his lips, silencing him. “Forget about him. We are starting anew tonight,
remember? This is our first night as a family and I don’t want to ruin it when
I remember this day.”

Reno shook his head.
“You are too good to me.”

She grinned up at him.
“I’m the best thing that ever happened to you, Reno Albury, and don’t you ever
forget it.”

With one hand cupping
the back of her head and his other arm wrapped around his waist he pulled her
up to her tip toes and rubbed his lips lightly over hers. He loved the hitch in
her breath and the way her pink lips parted in anticipation. He smiled against
them then nibbled at her lower lip and whispered, “It’s going to make tomorrow’s
surprise all the more worth it.”

“Aha,” she purred using
her hold on his shirt to lift herself higher to reach his lips.

He chuckled, knowing
she hadn’t heard a word he said. He gave into her, kissing her softly and
keeping it tame. If he deepened it, allow her to take it where they both
clearly wanted it to go all his plans will be ruined. Just a few left and they
would indulge in their desire. Their coupling was going to be special and if he
had to jump into the ocean and cool his libido to make sure of it.

He pulled away and she
made her displeasure clear making him laugh. “I’m going to check on Tyler. I’ll
be right back.”

She groaned, “Okay.
Just come back soon.”

He nodded, pressing a
quick kiss on her lips and walked away. He went down to the state room where
his son slept and slowly opened the door. He smiled at the sight Tyler made,
sprawled out in the middle of the gigantic bed, the covers kicked to the foot
of the bed as he slept diagonally. He moved slowly into the room and knelt on
the bed to reach him, lifting Tyler in his arms. Tyler mumbled, wrapping his
little hands around his neck tucking his head under Reno’s chin.

Reno felt his heart
expand in his chest. He loved the feel of his son’s little body in his arms. It
made him feel protective like an emperor penguin guarding his young. To say he
was in love with his kid to the point of giving his life for him was an
understatement. And to think his stubbornness had held him back from this
wonderful feeling. If it wasn’t for Loraine, he would still be holding on to
his idiocy.

“I’m sorry buddy for
being such a—” he caught himself before he cursed, “I was such a
dudu
head and I promise to make it up to you.” He kissed
Tyler’s temple. “We have a lot to thank your mommy for. I just hope she’ll love
tomorrow’s surprise. I hope you do too.”

Tyler sighed, turning
his head and rubbing it on Reno’s shoulder before he settled into sleep again.

“Okay, I guess I’ll put
you down now before your mom comes in and scolds me for disturbing you.” He
laid Tyler down, pulling the covers up around him. He sat down next to him and
watched him for a while.

Just remembering how
excited he was steering the ship’s wheel made him smile.

At first, Tyler had
been quietly sitting on Reno’s arm as they pushed out of dock, round brown eyes
watching the water ripple behind them like he was expecting it to jump a few
feet higher, pull him out of Reno’s arms and drag him under to the belly of the
ocean. But after a few minutes of playing pirates with Loraine he’d wanted a
turn on the wheel, and there Reno and his son bonded over water vessels and the
love for his yacht
Cora’s Heart
,
named after his mother.

They’d had a wonderful
day being a family and an eventful night putting a reluctant, clearly
heavy-eyed little boy to sleep. Loraine had accomplished that like a pro,
tricking him into believing it was his decision to go to bed. She had a better
handle on being a parent than he did. But he would learn soon.

“Hey, don’t wake him!”
Loraine’s rebuking tone as she whispered, made him chuckle.

He placed one last kiss
on Tyler’s head before he left the room, closing the door behind him. Reno
wrapped his arms around Loraine’s waist and walked her backwards into the
master suite. He lifted her onto the bed and followed her down, pulling her
into his side as he lay on his back.

She placed her head on
his shoulder, cuddling closer to him and he tightened his arms around her. He
loved feeling her up against him as they lay down in bed. He could get used to
this too. For forever. Coming home to Loraine after a long day at work and
holding her like a Tyler did with his elephant Nosey, the name still cracked
him up, when he went to bed because he couldn’t sleep otherwise. Or when he
carried him everywhere because the stuffed animal gave him comfort and support.
He wanted Loraine to be like that for him. For once in his life he didn’t want
to take care of someone, but to be taken care of, to have some of the weight on
his shoulders carried by someone else because she loved him enough to do that
for him. Loraine would be the type of wife Georgia could only dream of being.

How much longer to
tomorrow morning? He looked at his watch. It was midnight so he had to endure
eight hours of having this sexy siren next to him and doing nothing about it.
But come the morning, all three of their lives would change.

He was nervous;
something that never happened to him. The only other times he’d been this
nervous was when Georgia told him she was pregnant and when the resort was
finally in the black. Both times he had been afraid something would go wrong
and rob him of his stability.

Georgia had robbed him
of his family but she had given it back to him by abandoning Tyler. The deal
with Melody gave him stability in ten folds of what he used to have so he had
no reason to be afraid it would be taken from him. And lastly, Loraine. Yes, he
was nervous but he was also confident. Nothing would separate them because
they’d both fight against it. She’d probably put up a bigger fight than him and
that was what made him so confident, happy and excited about his surprise. It
was the best decision he’d ever made.

He felt the soft skin
of the back of her hand caress his cheek and he turned into the touch meeting
her eyes.

She smiled sweetly at
him and said “I loved seeing you together like that. It makes me so happy and
hopeful.”