The Ceo's Contracted Mistress
The Ceo’s Contracted Mistress Chapter 45

“Dad, dad, look I found a lizard!” Ollie was screaming with glee as she approached Bobbie and Olivier with a reptile held tightly in her hands.

“Jesus,” Bobbie grimaced as she backed away and crawled over Olivier to escape the child with the squiggling animal trying to free itself.

“Be careful Ollie,” Olivier couldn’t help but laugh at Bobbie’s response as she trembled and clutched his arm, hissing at him to make Ollie take it away. “You don’t want to hurt him.”

“He’s really cute.” Ollie held him out for their observation and the little legs were kicking furiously.

“Take him to be cute somewhere else,” Bobbie gave a shriek as it lunged out of the child’s grip and landed right on her thigh. “f**k, get it off!”

Olivier reached out and plucked the tiny creature off Bobbie’s leg and laughed, “Chérie, he is harmless. Look at him.”

“Get rid of it.” She gritted through her teeth. A shiver of nastiness rose up her spine.

Olivier held the animal up to Ollie, “take it back towards the trees. Remember to not touch any frogs and not to touch any snakes.”

“Snakes?” Bobbie shuddered visibly.

“Relax, there is not much on the island. It could be worse. Some of the islands have pigs on them. Mine does not.”

“Pigs?”

“Yes, pigs. The tourists love them.”

“God damn,” she grunted and flung herself back into the sand. “I was so excited about sun and sand I forgot about creatures.”

He rolled over to his side and lay half on her, “are you so scared of creatures?”

“This from the guy who wouldn’t go to a girl’s dorm room?”

“There were mice droppings in her bed and maggots in the trash bin,” his face revealed his utter disgust. “It was more than fifteen years ago, and I can still smell the room like it was yesterday. I am not convinced they didn’t have a body in there somewhere.” He reached up and removed his aviators and smiled down at her, “I don’t mind creatures in their natural habitat.” He looked around and then traced his finger over her cheek, “for example, you, laying here in the shade of this umbrella with me. It is a perfect example of the beauty in nature.”

“You are a flirt,” she giggled as she slid her leg along his.

“Are you going to k**s?” Max knelt on the towel and leaned his head in between their faces.

“Well not with your face in the way,” Bobbie laughed at him. Olivier’s face was priceless as he regarded his son with annoyance.

“Do you like kissing my maman?” he asked Olivier seriously.

“I do, very much.” Olivier wondered where he was going with his questions. He couldn’t say the child’s observations were inaccurate. Since the moment Bobbie had asked him to stay after Ollie’s trip to the hospital, he had been unable to keep his lips to himself. However, Max, he was learning, was not shy about anything and even topics which would make most adults cringe he was all in. He was never sure whether to be impressed or mortified. This line of questioning could potentially be dangerous.

Max grimaced, “why?”

“Why do you like kissing maman?” Olivier asked him as he kept his arm around Bobbie’s middle, prohibiting her escape. He could feel she was ready to jump into the water to avoid the questions, but he was not facing this alone.

“Because it makes me feel better when I’m sad and it tells me she loves me.” Max had been thinking on it.

“Well, when I k**s maman, it is very much the same. It lets her know I care for her very much.”

Ollie jumped on his back, and he grunted as he tried to stop from crushing Bobbie under him, “what are talking about?”

“Why Papa likes kissing maman,” Max revealed with a shrug and some shyness. “I never saw a man k**s her until he did. It’s weird.”

“It’s not weird,” Ollie had her arms wrapped tight around Olivier’s neck as she hung off him. “It’s romantic.”

“It’s gross,” Max said suddenly. “I saw Grady put his tongue in Everly’s mouth. Do you do that?”

“Oh my god, Hoffman,” Bobbie grunted her irritation at her friend into Olivier’s shoulder.

“Max,” Olivier was trying hard to keep a straight face as his son was not backing down from his questions. “Occasionally when a man and a woman really like each other, they k**s with their mouths open, and tongues get involved.”

Ollie slid off his back and moved to kneel beside her brother, “dad, Max is right. That’s gross. I wouldn’t put a boy’s tongue in my mouth. Not ever.”

“Well, it’s not an activity you ever need to think about until you are forty and an adult.”

“Mom said you’re an adult when you’re allowed to vote. I’m allowed to vote when I’m eighteen.” Ollie argued, “so I’ll be a grown up when I’m eighteen but I’m still not going to let a boy put his tongue in my mouth.”

“I never want to put my tongue in a girl’s mouth. What if she licked something gross first?” Max asked curiously.

Olivier couldn’t stop himself and immediately regretted his question, “lick something gross first?”

“Yeah, like what if she licked a bar of soap or dog poop.”

“Okay one,” Olivier blinked unbelievably at the boy’s words, “if you’re with a girl who has licked dog poop, just leave. Don’t even k**s her with your mouth closed.” He could feel Bobbie shaking trying to control her laughter, “and two, even if your maman ate a tuna sandwich with sardines on it and her breath was really smelly, I’d still want to k**s her.”

The kids roared with laughter at his words and Bobbie shook her head at their antics. “You are all silly.”

“Mom,” Ollie asked as she pushed to get in the middle of Bobbie and Olivier, “do you like kissing Dad? Even if he has smelly breath?”

“Uh, I don’t know about the smelly breath part,” she slapped his hands as they tickled her ribs, “but yes, I like it.”

“Did you always like to k**s each other? Even before we were born?”

Olivier watched as Bobbie got up on her elbows and looked at their children with a small smile, “yes. I told you before he was my boyfriend.”

“Is he your boyfriend now?” Ollie’s eyebrows were furrowed as she considered her mother’s words

Olivier chuckled, “do you not want me to be maman’s boyfriend?”

“No,” Ollie shook her head slowly. “You’re my dad and she is my mom. Grady and Everly are Lark’s mom and dad, and Grady is Everly’s husband. Why aren’t you my mom’s husband?”

Olivier smiled softly and stroked her cheek, “we are still learning about each other again. It’s been a long time since your maman, and I were a couple, and you can’t just jump into being married right away.”

“Why not?” Max asked with lips pursed as he considered Olivier’s words. “What do you have to do first?”

“Well, before people get married, they usually spend time getting to know each other better. They go on dates, and they talk a lot, and they make sure they have interests which are the same.” Olivier smiled down at Bobbie who was letting him take the conversation over.

“Do you and maman go on dates?” Max frowned. “What do you do on dates?”

“A date can be a romantic dinner or going to the movies or going for a walk. It’s just time two people spend together to learn more about each other. We have not gone on a date in a very long time.”

“But don’t you already know everything about each other?” Ollie asked.

“No,” Olivier shook his head. “For example, I don’t know maman’s favorite color.”

“Easy, blue. She likes blue.” Max said with a firm nod of his head.

“My favorite color is also blue,” he winked at Bobbie, “like the color of your eyes.”

“My favorite color is purple,” Ollie said and then paused, “but sometimes I like red too.”

“I like green,” Max uttered quietly.

“Do you know mom’s favorite food?” Ollie queried with a wide smile.

“This I do know,” Olivier grinned, “maman likes a striploin steak, cooked to medium with a twice-baked baked potato and asparagus.”

Max grinned, “it’s true!”

Bobbie laughed, “it is true. It’s my favorite.”

“I like chicken cacciatore,” Ollie admitted. “What’s your favorite, dad?”

“Seafood. Anything with seafood. Po’boys are delicious. I like jambalaya and my grandmother Veronique makes the best gumbo in the world.” He gave a wide grin, “but, I like sweets. When I am stressed out, I eat a lot of sweets. I like donuts and pastries. It’s how I found your maman.”

“Really?” Ollie sat up straight. “How did you replace her?”

“Well,” Olivier pretended he was thinking hard, “almost nine years ago now I had a friend who told me I was working too hard, and I needed to go on a date. I didn’t want to go.”

“You didn’t?”

“No,” Olivier gave a laugh, “I had too much work to do.” He gave an embarrassed shrug, “my friend insisted and so I went on a date with a girl, and she was very rude.”

“Rude?”

“Very rude. She snapped at the server in the restaurant,” he snapped his fingers in the air in Ollie’s face, “just like that. Then she took a photo of me without my permission and when I asked her to delete it, she refused.”

“What did you do?”

“I took her phone, I deleted the photograph and started to drive her home, but she was complaining about everything, so I stopped my car and kicked her out of it.”

“You did?” Max found this hilarious and rolled onto his back.

“Yes. As I said, she was rude. Then I was driving and saw a coffee shop still open late at night, and I decided, I really needed a donut.”

“A donut?”

“Yes, or a cream puff. I walked into the coffee shop and the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my entire life looked up from behind the counter and smiled at me.”

“It was maman!” Max said excitedly.

“It sure was. There was nobody else in the coffee shop at the time of night, so I kept bothering her and making her laugh because she had the best smile. When she smiled my heart felt better than it had in a long time. I asked her to be my girlfriend the very same night. Do you know what she said?”

“Yes!” Ollie and Max said at the same time.

“No,” Olivier laughed loudly, “she told me no. She said no and told me it was time to close up and I had to leave.”

“Maman!” Max was horrified.

“Your dad,” Bobbie laughed at Max’s expression, “was a spoiled brat and thought he could come in and demand I be his girlfriend and I would just do whatever he wished.”

Olivier looked at Bobbie and couldn’t help but stare at her in this moment with the big smile on her face, the laugh lines at her eyes and the relaxed expression and paused in his story. “Beautiful.”

She looked up at him and smiled softly as he pressed a tender k**s to her forehead.

“How did you make maman be your girlfriend?”

“Well, I went back every night and then finally, she said yes.”

“But maman said she worked for you. You gave her a job.”

“It was all part of my plan,” Olivier wiggled his eyebrows. “I asked your maman to quit her job at the coffee shop so she wouldn’t smile at any other boys.”

“Dad!” Ollie protested his words. “Not nice.”

“I asked your maman to leave her job and asked her to stay with me all the time. It was her job to make sure I followed my schedule but to not work too hard. Maman’s job was to make sure I had fun and to make me laugh.”

“It sounds like a great job!” Ollie nodded her approval.

“Way better than a coffee shop barista,” Bobbie agreed.

“Your maman would tell me silly jokes when she would see me frowning at my work. She would tease me about being so serious all the time. She made me take her to the fair and didn’t let me work the entire day.” Olivier grinned at Max’s raised eyebrows, “she took my phone away from me and said I could only have it back at the end of the day.”

“Did you?” Max stared at his mother in wonder, “you would get mad if someone took your phone away for a whole day.”

Olivier couldn’t help but laugh loudly at Max’s words, “you are not wrong but back then, it was different. It was one of the best days of my whole life.”

“You taught maman how to dance and spin,” Max reminded him.

“I did,” Olivier nodded. “Your maman helped me relax and be a better man.”

“Your dad helped me remember life wasn’t always hard and it was good to laugh,” Bobbie touched his cheek softly. “I laughed more in those two months than I had in years.”

“Then the bad man came?” Ollie interrupted.

“Yes.” Olivier didn’t elaborate.

“What if he comes back?” Max made a face.

“There is nothing he can say or do to hurt any of us now,” Olivier tried to reassure him.

“Is he dead?”

“No,” Olivier scowled at his daughter’s instant deep dive into the macabre. “He’s not dead. He’s simply not in a position to cause us any more harm.” He reached out and pulled Ollie closer to him, “what is important is to focus on how special our lives are now that we have each other. All the wonderful memories I have with your maman I now get to share with you. I get to be part of your lives forever. You are so special to me Ollie and Max.”

“And maman is special to you as well?” Max snuggled in as well.

Olivier considered the umbrella on the beach had never been so tightly packed up under it as they all crowded together in a pile of coconut scented greasy limbs. “She is very special to me.”

“I don’t want you to be mom’s boyfriend,” Ollie went back to the beginning of the conversation. “Why can’t you be married?”

“Well, we need to relearn all the things we’ve forgotten first,” Bobbie offered simply. “When we’re more comfortable and we understand each other better, then we can talk about it again.”

“Alright, I guess,” Ollie whined.

“What’s with the fascination of marriage?” Bobbie asked quietly.

“How are we a family if you’re not married? Grady and Everly are married.”

“Yes, but we’ve discussed families lots of times, Ollie. A wedding doesn’t make people family. Love, respect, trusting each other and caring for one another is what makes a family. You do not need to be b***d relatives and you do not need to be married to be a family.” Bobbie spoke gently and clearly.

Olivier considered they must have discussed this at length in the past, likely due to the fact their best friend had a two-parent traditional family and they had not.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Ollie plunged her fingers into the sand absent-mindedly.

“There is something I did want to ask you,” Bobbie sat up and looked at the trio, “all of you.”

“Are we in trouble?”

Olivier chuckled at Ollie’s rapid response to Bobbie’s statement.

“No.” Bobbie laughed. She looked to the kids, “your name is Olivia Rosamunde Caron and yours,” she pointed to Max, “is Maximilian Olivier Caron.” They nodded in confusion, “how would you feel if your name was changed?”

Olivier felt his heart stop and then restart at Bobbie’s question to the kids. Never in a million years had he considered she would broach the topic so soon.

“Change it to what?” Max asked

“What if your last name instead of Caron was Caron-Villeneuve?” Bobbie asked unable to meet Olivier’s eyes but staring at her two kids with focus. “I’ve been thinking about it since we were at the hospital and the doctor asked your name, Ollie.”

Olivier could barely breathe as he waited for the children to give their opinion. He noticed his hand trembling and he flexed it into the sand to hide his nerves.

“So, we would have Caron like your name and Villeneuve like Dad’s name?” Ollie asked as she rubbed her forehead as if confused. “Can we?”

“Yes. It’s very easy to do. It’s a couple of forms and I send them in and then it would be done before you start school in the fall.”

“Dad,” Ollie looked at him with wide eyes, “do you want me to have the same name as you?”

“Absolutely I do but,” he forced his racing heart to slow, “I will not be angry if you don’t want to. Your name has been your name for eight years now.”

“What if I wanted to change my name to something completely different? Is it possible?” Max was contemplating hard all the possibilities.

Olivier was certain he could see the boy’s gears grinding in his head at the notion he could pick any name he wanted.

“When you’re an adult, if you want to choose the name Bunny Rabbit Fluffy Stockings, then I won’t argue but until you’re an adult, your name is Max.” Bobbie cut him off at the quick. “I’m offering you the chance to have both my last name and Dad’s last name. You don’t have to decide today but given how much you’re thinking about the family thing, I thought perhaps this might make you feel better. A way to be connected more with your dad’s family, the Villeneuve family.”

“Mamaw’s last name is Villeneuve,” Max considered aloud.

“Okay, I want to,” Ollie gave a shrug suddenly. “I like the way it sounds in my head. It’s like a song. Olivia Rosamunde Caron-Villeneuve. It’s fancy.”

“Yeah, it’s fancy,” Bobbie rolled her eyes. “Just like you.”

“Me too, I want to do it.” Max nodded his agreement. “I want to have the same name as my dad and my mamaw.”

“Great. I’ll message Grady later to get the paperwork started.” She made a face, “we won’t file anything though until we get back to the States because we’ll need to get passports replaced and so on.”

“Can we go look for more lizards now?” Ollie jumped up.

“Yes.”

“Are you two going to k**s while we look for lizards?” Max asked.

“Probably,” Olivier grinned unabashedly at Max who shook his head in disgust.

As they sped off down the beach Bobbie flopped back onto the towel and sighed, “f**k me they’re exhausting.”

“I will f**k you, yes please,” he laughed when she slapped at him, “and I agree. They are exhausting. I was quite concerned Max’s kissing questions were going to lead to s*x questions. Why they are so focused on reproduction blows my mind.”

She laughed and coiled her hands up around his neck, “one stupid day at the zoo. I blame Everly actually. All she had to do was lie. Instead, she thought it a good educational moment and it backfired tremendously. She should have lied.

“What should she have said? The kids literally saw monkeys f*****g.”

“Leapfrog? Scratching an itch? Cuddling? I mean, yeah, the monkey’s p***s was out and in full view, but she could have said it was a finger or something.” She shook her head in mock disgust, “she panicked and said the truth and then tried to teach them something with it.”

“Speaking of panicking, did you offer up the name change to alleviate the pressure of a wedding?” Olivier admitted he was holding his breath waiting for the response.

“No!” she denied with a shake of her head. “I had been thinking of it and it just seemed like the right time to bring it up.”

“I am very honored you would think of such a thing,” he stroked her cheek softly. “You really have the most amazing heart, Bobbie. Every day you do something else to remind me how blessed I am to know you.”

He lowered his lips to hers and just as he was about to k**s her, the shriek of his son screaming they were kissing again made him laugh against her mouth. His family was something else.