Passion, Vows & Babies_Raising Veeta Read online

  “Are you kidding? I love everything about it and you for bringing me here.”

  I wanted to explore that one part that sounded like Celeste said she loved me. Instead, I enjoyed her in my arms and took full advantage of the situation. My one arm wrapped around her body while my free hand went to the back of her head, my fingers entwined in her mahogany hair. I angled her beautiful face perfectly and captured her luscious mouth with my eager one.

  Drinking her in, tasting her lips and mixing it up with her tongue, was my favorite part of being in the cottage. My mind was remembering how Celeste had responded in the wine cellar and I wanted to make her come undone all over again. There was no stopping...unless she protested. Something told me there was no risk of that as she held on to me tightly.

  She wasn’t letting go and neither was I as she was being backed to a more comfortable spot. I knew the layout of the cottage very well and where the best spot was to appreciate her, thoroughly.

  “Don’t stop,” Celeste whispered against my lips as we fell onto a soft bed.

  “Don’t worry” was my only response.

  The only reason I stopped kissing her was to help her out of her clothes and to get my own off. We had the wrong items on to easily undress while lying down on the bed. I should’ve been thinking clearly and left our shoes, jeans and t-shirts on the wood floor of the living room before wandering into the master bedroom.

  It all worked out in the end. Our two warm, naked bodies clung to each other and it was everything I had hoped for and so much more. I had envisioned working her out of her clothes slowly after wining and dining her, but right inside the front door, the minute we were alone worked too.

  I was loving the closeness. I was in the moment. I was loving her, enjoying her, smelling her, tasting her, but it was the sight of her that captured me.

  Celeste is a woman.

  The little farm girl and teenager was gone.

  Her body was so curvy. Her breasts were so full. Her smile was so bright when she looked up at me with lust decorating her beautiful face. Her skin felt so wonderful under my touch. Her need and vocalness was far more open than I ever remembered. Maybe it was because we had no idea what we were doing back then. Neither of us had been very experienced since we lost our virginities together.

  Thinking about her with someone else wasn’t a pleasant thought, but I was realistic and had to view it another way. Life experiences made us who we were and contributed to make us better people. Bad and good. It enhanced who we had become and that, truly, couldn’t be a terrible thing. But, maybe it should’ve been slipped to the back of one’s mind when living in the moment.

  Loving Celeste was all that mattered.

  It appeared that I was doing a good job by her moans. “Yes, just like in the cellar... you’re amazing.”

  I could say the same for her when she had me grinning, groaning and exhibiting a lust-filled pained look on my face when I finally connected us with a thrust of my hips. She was perfect in every way. I looked forward to feeling her tightness dragging me in deeper for the rest of my life. I never wanted anyone other than her ever again. “I love you, Celeste.” There was no reason to pretend I didn’t still feel the same way about her as I always had.

  “Don’t say that.” I didn’t necessarily like her reaction, but I would prove it to her if she had doubts. “Just us now...” She was panting. “Leave it at that.”

  No way in hell was that just a moment. It was the start of the new us.

  No pressure. No conversation. Just getting lost in that moment... I could be that for her I told myself as I moved faster and harder as she begged. Meeting each other’s needs was the only thing that controlled my thoughts and actions until we released, collapsing side by side.

  “I had pictured that happening later tonight. You are surprising, Celeste.”

  She laughed breathlessly. “I don’t know how you can say that... You surprised me first at Saphyre.” She had a point. I had started things, but it hadn’t involved an amazing full connection. Partial participation had been a bit painful until I could get back to my apartment to relieve the tension that had built in my groin area.

  “This was more enjoyable.” I rolled on my side and sat up. “As enjoyable as it was... let’s go get that seafood and wine I promised you.”

  I could’ve happily stayed right there and rolled into round two and three, but I wanted more than sex with her—I wanted everything. To get everything, I was pretty sure we needed to go back to the past before we could move forward and beyond the shit that had driven us apart years ago.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Celeste

  My heart raced whenever Skeet told me he loved me. He had practically walked back into my life claiming to love me and that he always had... I wanted to tell him that I felt the same way, but things had changed and I had to think of Veeta and her safety. She was always in the back of my mind when I thought about totally giving into the love of my life.

  Until things were made right...until I got the signal, I had to keep them apart. I had kept Veeta out of the picture whenever Skeet came around. Before heading to Tybee, I had my parents leave town a day early so we were all alone when he picked me up. He was smart and once he heard her call me “Mommy,” he’d have a million questions. It was bad enough that we hadn’t talked about the reason he ran off to California.

  Part of me didn’t want to go back to the past but not because I didn't want to talk about what had happened between us. I learned all about the truth and results of the situation once he was gone. Without him knowing it, I forgave him and moved on quickly to help my best friend, Martina. What had happened between them wasn’t important when Veeta arrived...and when I had to take full responsibility for her.

  It was nice to be with Skeet in Tybee and not responsible for anyone. I loved Veeta more than anything and loved being her mommy, but time to myself was very nice. Being alone with Skeet felt like I was turning back the pages of my life to when it was just us. I just wanted some time to pretend. Just a weekend away before I started unraveling the web I had spun around my heart and Veeta.

  So I enjoyed walks on the sandy beach hand in hand with Skeet along with eating incredible seafood, drinking great wine, shopping and great sex. We lived in the moment, taking advantage of freedom and I let myself go. I still can’t believe that I was the one that got the ball rolling. A grin greeted my face every time I thought about my boldness... Well, maybe I could’ve been more forward and dropped my clothes the minute we walked inside the adorable cottage.

  The excitement of him renting a dreamy cottage stopped me from disrobing quickly. “How did you find this place? It’s like my vision. My picture board.” I asked him once we had dressed and headed out to a crab shack.

  The cottage—he told me—had been recently updated. It was even better than my imagination. Painted a dove grey with white trim and the roof had been changed from wood slats to a tin roof. The decorations, furnishings inside and out were so bright and cheerful. Just like in my youthful years, I could see myself living there forever.

  “How could I not remember your dream? You carried around photos for weeks when you came back from your family vacation before you pinned them on your wish board.” His smile made me melt a bit, sitting across a table from him in a funky little place that had sand on its patio deck.

  That was the last time we made a complete family trek to Tybee. We were all growing up and had school or sports...kid obligations. We had started going when we were little. I think I was around Veeta’s age—the baby of the family until Caprice arrived.

  “Whatever happened with Caprice?” Was he reading my mind, I wondered. “Did she ever come back home?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. We haven’t heard from her since she left.” I took a big swallow from my wine glass. “We only know that she’s alive according to banking records. She does draw cash out of her account monthly.”

  I was never very close to her even though we were only t
wo years apart. Since Caprice first arrived on our doorstep, she kept pretty much to herself. She only spoke when spoken to and never did anything wrong. I wasn’t shocked when she announced that she had been accepted to a college practically on the other side of the country in Arizona. She left and never looked back.

  I did my best to never make Veeta feel unwanted. That was what I assumed my cousin felt once she was no longer in the room next to mine. Maybe I was right or maybe I was wrong, but the situation I was in reminded me of Caprice and also had me changing the subject so we didn’t head down another path I wasn’t ready to visit.

  “What’s going on with Clancy and your pop?”

  Apparently, that wasn’t a subject he wanted to talk about either. “What do you say we finish here and go get an ice cream cone to eat on the beach in one of those bright colored Adirondack chairs?”

  “Love that idea! But...” I stifled a giggle and felt heat on my face. “...we can walk on the beach the next time we’re down here.” Bold or hopeful of me to think there would be another time. “Eating ice cream on the cottage porch swing...or in bed sounds better.”

  “Your idea is much better.” Skeet smirked. “Check please!”

  I loved how fast we got out of there. We didn’t agree on an ice cream to share, but we did come away with two pints of our favorites. “I don’t know how you can eat that bubble gum ice cream, is it even safe to eat that stuff?”

  “Well, there was no way I would eat your cherries jubilee... And it’s like eating Razzles.” I smiled at him and I could tell we were thinking about the same memory.

  “I remember when your mother told us about those and bought all of us our own little packages.” Skeet laughed. “You were happy when I gave mine up to you.”

  “I love when you give in to me.”

  “Always.”

  I hoped that was a true statement. I was pretty sure he took it to mean the ice cream we were having in bed while being entangled naked. My mind was racing away again... Maybe his was too.

  “You know I never meant to hurt you and if I could change things—”

  “I know things weren’t your fault.” I rolled onto his chest and put my fingertip to his yummy full lips. “Let’s leave the past in the past for this weekend.” He nodded and I replaced my finger with my eager lips to silence any further conversation.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Skeet

  What was Celeste saying? When had she learned that things were out of my hands...out of my control—totally not my fault. I happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Did I leave town too soon? Could we have worked things out? I had so many questions fucking with my mind that I could barely focus on pleasing the beautiful woman beneath me. But, I had promised her to stay in the now and leave all of the shit that ripped us apart for another time.

  She said no past, but what about the present? There were things I needed to know about her daily life. I had witnessed some elements in her life that I was unsure about... Like her involvement with another man I wasn’t fond of.

  “What’s going on with you and Dale?” I, smartly, inquired while we were having breakfast in a little café after we had rolled around in bed for a bit.

  “You should know me better than to even ask... If there was anything between us, I wouldn’t be here with you.” She slathered peach jam on a slice of sourdough toast and took a bite looking at me. “We’re just friends.”

  “Conrad said—”

  “Conrad? Seriously?” She was shaking her pretty head. “My brother likes to get you riled up. Haven’t you learned that yet?” She paused to sample her poached eggs on a bed of avocados with chopped salsa. “Next you’ll tell me that you spoke to Clancy who definitely pulls your chain every chance she gets.” She sipped her vanilla latte. “Before you ask more people about me, I can give you a list of the men I slept with after you... I can assure you that Dale is not on that list.”

  I nearly choked on my bacon and maple soaked French toast when she spoke about having a list. I, silently, hoped that it was a very short list. Not that I could say anything. After I left town on my motorbike, alcohol and women were a vice I used for a while to fill the void in my life.

  “We said no past. I’d like to leave the others in your past to never be visited again.” She grinned at me. I was sure she heard an uneasiness in my tone. Jealousy. “And, I’m happy to hear that Dale is nothing more than a friend.”

  “So...back to our time freeze here and now, what do you want to do today?”

  I was put in check again.

  Not a total fool, I was able to tune into Celeste’s needs while abiding her request. With no intention of ruining the rest of our stay, we spent our hours together laughing, talking and loving each other before we had to board a plane back to reality.

  Back in Atlanta, I left Celeste at the peach farm and returned to my furnished apartment that felt like a cold hotel room. There was no warmth like there had been at the cottage...and no woman. I needed to rectify that as soon as possible and that was the reason for my trip to California after a long conversation with my friendly bartender, Dean.

  “What the hell? You look miserable!” Dean didn’t pull any punches. “You just got back from a weekend with Celeste. I’d expect to see a goofy grin on your mug. Not doom and gloom.”

  “Maybe she dumped him again.” I hated Nora’s assumption.

  “It was great, but it wasn’t enough.”

  “Oh! The taste left you starving for a whole meal.” Nora was making points with me with her new words. “Like you, babe...” She knocked her hip into Dean as they both stood on the other side of the bar next to each other. “You can’t live without me.”

  Dean leaned down, confirming her words, “you’re right,” and then he planted a big smooch to Nora’s lips before she moved out from behind the bar to go help other customers. They looked so happy together.

  “Yes, it needs to be a daily thing with Celeste. We need to be together night and day. I’m tired of things the way they are. I want more. I don’t like things the way they are now. I thought coming back would be easy. It’s not exactly what I thought it would be. I need to get back to the vineyard and get things in motion. I don’t want to be in this town anymore. Need a new start in a new place. No more bad memories...”

  “Don’t forget you had a lot of good memories here too.” Dean was right. “But, you have to do what you have to do to be happy.”

  I knew exactly what I needed to do and that was why I took off to meet with Claude Beauclaire. He would understand my need to start new and to make my own way in the world. I had heard all about how he had left France to start a winery in the United States. As I had expected, he was completely agreeable to my propositions.

  “I knew being on the road wasn’t for you, but it was good for you. You learned another element to the wine business.” Claude had all of the right words and he was encouraging. “I will support your decisions and move.”

  “Claude knows what it’s like to fall hard for a woman.” Vonnie smiled at me and then turned her attention to her husband. “He made sure I was happy and fulfilled every promise. Make sure you do the same and you and your Celeste will have as many happy years as we have had together.”

  “Don’t let her fool you. It’s not easy and you will mess up.” Claude laughed, heartily and then they treated me to an incredible dinner at the bistro next to their property.

  Watching the older couple together made me wish that Celeste was with me. I, definitely, couldn’t wait to get back to her side. I had so much to tell her. We had so much to talk about and I hoped that we could get through the shit storm unharmed.

  We needed a new start and a happily ever after.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Celeste

  “What are you doing here, Celeste?” Owen asked me as I was going through my wine lists in the cellar. It wasn’t my day to do inventory, but I needed the distraction after I dropped Veeta off at school.

  “I
thought we were getting new wines in.” I lied.

  “Let me take over, my hot husband.” Sienna walked in and slipped her arms around the waist of her husband. He didn’t mind a bit. In fact, he turned his body around in her arms to face her and gave her such a passionate kiss that I swear even I felt it.

  “I know when I’m not wanted,” Owen’s voice rang out as he slowly faded out of view, leaving the two of us alone with thousands of bottles of wines.

  “Oh my God, what’s wrong? Why are you here, Celeste?” Andy came whizzing in the room. I figured that Owen must’ve told her there was a girl meeting in the cellar room.

  There was no point in stalling. Maybe it would be good to get it off of my chest. Not that it would help... “Skeet’s not happy with me.”

  “No!” They both said in unison.

  “Dale heard him talking to his good friend Dean who owns a bar near where Skeet grew up.” I moved toward the table where the girls had parked themselves on two stools and set down my clipboard. I used my hands to steady myself on the table as I took a few deep breaths before launching into the whole fucked up speech I had heard the day before. I had barely slept a wink and I was dragging as I got Veeta ready for school.

  “Basically, Skeet went out to California to make arrangements to go back to working on the vineyard. He was talking about things not being right. That he couldn’t go back to living here. And the worst part was that he told me we had to talk once he got back. He wanted to talk things out before, but I had put him off—”

  “Boy, oh boy, did you ever put him off.” Sienna laughed.

  “No way is he leaving! Not after the weekend you two spent together.” Andy spoke up. “All of the sexy fun!”

  “She’s right. No man does and says those things and wants to run away.” Sienna was shaking her head as she slid off of her stool and walked toward a wine rack where she and Owen had their own reserve. “We need some wine.”