Chapter 453

Olivia

Stepping off the plane and inhaling the brisk pine-scented air felt instantly rejuvenating. As much as I adored island life, it felt good to be home. Nathan wrapped an arm securely around my shoulders, pulling me close as we crossed the arrival gate together.

“Just because the honeymoon’s over doesn’t mean the romance has to end,” he murmured, nuzzling that sensitive spot beneath my ear in a way that never failed to make me shiver, as if an electric current had just run up my spine.

I tilted my face up towards his, sighing contentedly when his warm, soft lips met mine. When we finally pulled apart, I kept my arms tightly wound around his torso, my ear pressed against his chest as we waited for Angela and Levi to arrive.

“You’re not allowed to get distant and broody on me again, you hear?” I mumbled into his sweater. “No matter how stressful Alpha politics become, don’t let us fall back into our old routines…”

Nathan let out a sigh of annoyance, although it was more amused than anything else. “Haven’t I promised that a thousand times by now, Liv?” he teased. “We’ll make time for us—nothing can replace my best girl.”

I pulled back to meet his earnest green-blue gaze, my cheeks warming up a bit under his stare.

He was right; throughout the last days of our honeymoon I had been repeatedly voicing the same worry about responsibilities coming between us just like before the auction.

But my worries weren’t unfounded; I didn’t want to fall back into that old habit again. Of course I couldn’t expect every day to be like our honeymoon, but I didn’t want to feel like I was living with a stranger.

“I know, I know,” I admitted with a self-conscious chuckle. “But if you’ve already promised a thousand times, what’s one more…?”

Nathan rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless, his lips twitching upwards with affection at the corners. “Alright, alright,” he said softly. “One more time, then. I promise monthly date nights with zero distractions. Just you and me.”

“And…?” I asked, urging him on.

He laughed. “And… no more late nights at the office. We’ll both do our absolute best to be home to the twins by five o’clock sharp, just like the rest of the working world.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding at his words. “That’s better,” I murmured softly.

“But no concrete promises, okay?” Nathan asked. “The monthly date nights are one thing, but I can’t always promise no late nights. They’re bound to happen once in a while.”

I nodded. “Of course. Just so long as you come home to me at a reasonable hour more often than not.”

“Promise,” he said.

I held out my pinky. “Pinky?”

“Pinky.”

No sooner had I intertwined my pinky finger with his than a sudden shout caught our attention. “Nathan! Olivia!”

Nathan and I looked up at Levi and Angela. Angela, pushing the stroller, was practically barreling toward us. The twins looked utterly dumbfounded as they sat in their stroller, their eyes wide and their mouths agape with confusion.

I lost myself to the sensory overload of that long-awaited reunion—Angela’s arms pulling me into a bone-crushing hug, the sound of Nathan and Levi chattering away already, and the twins cooing and reaching their grabby little hands out excitedly when they realized that they were not, in fact, about to take off into outer space, but were instead being hurtled toward their greatly-missed parents.

Eventually I became aware of Angela’s eyes washing over me. “Get a glimpse of that glow!” she crowed, gesturing at my tanned face. “I swear, you look like a tanned goddess. I’m jealous; I’m so pale right now.”

I swatted her arm away but couldn’t help but grin “Don’t worry,” I teased, “I’ll be just as pale as the rest of you soon. God, a week and a half away and I feel like I just walked into the tundra…”

Secretly though, I hoped some kind of fire would continue burning between Nathan and I in order to combat the cold. I was already mourning losing our little bubble of tropical paradise...

…

The surprise welcome home dinner, courtesy of Clint and Dianna, melted away the last remnants of my post-vacation melancholy.

Over heaping plates of some of our favorite foods, we took turns passing around my phone to showcase all of the highlights captured on ‘the trip of a lifetime’, as Nathan dubbed it.

I nearly spat my drink out laughing at the image of Nathan that I had snuck right after his sea urchin incident.

“I warned him to listen to the instructor and watch out for those spiky monstrosities,” I managed between waves of giggles. “But nooo… he decided he’d rather figure it out the hard way.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” Nathan grumbled without any real irritation.

Across the table, Clint shook his head in mock dismay. “Still leaping without looking, I see,” he teased. “When will you learn?”

“Oh, please,” Nathan replied with a wave of his hand. “I’ll never learn. And for what it’s worth, Olivia peed—”

“Nathan!” I gasped, punching his arm. “Don’t you dare.”

Nathan smirked, but fell silent amidst the wave of laughs that came over the table. It was true what they said, about pregnancy; it made one’s bladder… weaker than normal.

As the night wore on, however, I noticed something: the way that Clint’s hand would secretly move over to rest on top of Dianna’s leg beneath the table. The way he glanced at her whenever she laughed. When she stifled a delicate yawn, he gazed at her with such unconcealed affection that I had to hide my knowing smirk behind my drink glass.

Angela winked at me from across the table, and I knew instantly that there was some new gossip that I had missed during the honeymoon.

Later, as Angela and I stood alone in the kitchen, I nodded my head toward where Clint and Dianna were sitting shoulder to shoulder on the couch. “Soooo, what’s the deal there?” I whispered. “And how long were you waiting to spill?”

Angela’s eyes sparkled impishly as she followed my gaze. “Oh they’re ‘just friends’, supposedly. But the romantic tension is obvious as ever if you ask me.”

I sighed happily. They both deserved a second chance at love after losing their partners. I was glad for them, truly. And perhaps...

Just then, Nathan appeared in the doorway, his mouth set in a grim line as he ended a phone call. I recognized that expression all too well—Alpha politics rearing its ugly head.

It seemed as though reality always crept back into our lives, no matter how long we tried staving it off for.

But Nathan attempted a bolstering smile regardless, drawing me into his sturdy embrace. “That was Dan calling about my meeting schedule,” he said, then caught my cautious glare. “Don’t worry, Liv. We’ve still got a few days before diving into that snake pit.”

I pulled back a bit, eyeing him suspiciously.

“Promise?” I asked.

Nathan nodded, holding out his pinky finger for the second time that day.

“Pinky promise.”