The Exception by Lauren H. Mae

Twenty-five

Water activities had never really been Sonya’s thing. She much preferred sitting on the shore with a fruity mixed drink and a good book. So why hadn’t she stayed back at the cabin with Cat and Emma? Oh, that’s right. Because she’d somehow transformed into a sixteen-year-old who wanted to spend every free moment with her crush.

God, she needed help.

Said crush was still enjoying his turn on the water skis, and Sonya was certainly enjoying watching the show from behind her dark sunglasses.

Trav said it had been a long time since he’d water-skied, but you’d never know that from watching him out there. He was no expert by any means, but he handled the skis well.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason her eyes hadn’t left him the entire time he’d been in the water.

She’d known Trav had a nice body in abstract—by the way his clothes fit, by the way he’d felt when she’d practically climbed him like a tree during their kiss—but seeing it in all of its glory was something else completely. He was all lean muscle, defined in all the right places with a smattering of hair on his chest that she thought about running her fingers through.

He also had a few more tattoos across his shoulder blades, wings this time, and she wanted to find out the story behind them.

Tattoos, hard bodies, and hairy chests had become turn-ons for her and honestly, Sonya was starting to have a hard time recognizing herself.

“You watch him any harder, he’s going to spontaneously combust.”

Sonya blinked away from Trav’s abs and looked over to Dani who was sunbathing on the seat next to her.

“What are you talking about? I’m reading my book.”

She held up the paperback she was holding as if that proved her point, but Dani just chuckled.

“That page must be really interesting because you’ve been on it for the last ten minutes.”

Sonya sighed. There was no point in trying to hide it. Somehow Dani seemed to have a weird sixth sense about her current situation. Might as well go with it while Dylan was busy driving the boat and Josh and Adam were acting as watch at the other end.

“He’s… very nice to look at,” admitted Sonya in what was undoubtedly the understatement of the year.

“You can say it, Sonya. Now that you’ve seen him practically naked, you want to grab a handful and see how it feels.”

She swatted Dani with her book.It was a good thing the motor was loud enough that the guys couldn’t hear her.

“That’s not going to happen.” For the first time, Sonya felt a slight pull in her chest when she said that. Before, it was just a fact. Now, saying it out loud felt like a punishment.

“I know you have all these plans for how you see your life playing out, but what if he’s the exception?”

Dani adjusted her cleavage in her bikini and Sonya started to wish she’d packed something a little sexier than a plain, halter-top one-piece.

“That sounds like something Em would say.”

Dani shrugged. “I guess it’s sunk in over the years. Osmosis or something.”

A yelp followed by loud splashing and the boat slowing down pulled Sonya’s attention back to the water where she saw skis floating, but no Trav.

Oh no. Where is he? Is he okay?

Sonya’s heart pounded in her ears and she was about to jump up to look off the side when he popped up out of the water laughing like a little kid. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until it came rushing out.

Josh extended his hand to help Trav back onto the boat, laughing like they hadn’t just scared the crap out of her. “Man, that was an epic wipeout.”

Trav ran a hand through his wet hair and grinned. “It was pretty awesome, right?”

Dylan made his way to the back of the boat and congratulated Trav with a high five after Josh and Adam described what had happened.

Sonya rolled her eyes. Only men would consider almost killing yourself on some damn water-skis “awesome.”

Dylan tugged Dani’s ponytail. “You’re up, Dani-pie.”

Dani rolled over on her stomach and settled in. “Nah. I’m good right here.”

Dylan pretended to wrestle her into the water while Dani threatened his life.

“You want to give it a go, Sonya?” Adam asked, ignoring their friends’ vaguely violent flirting.

Sonya groaned. “I’m starting to think that we need to plan a trip to Wintergreen this year considering how obsessed y’all are with skiing.”

There was no way that she was going out there. First, she’d never done it before and second, she’d have very little control of the situation once the boat started moving. Her brain was practically short circuiting as it calculated all of the potential risks.

Josh spoke up. “You know you had fun on the jet skis.”

“I survived the jet skis, and like I said then, being a nurse does not allow me to save myself from drowning.”

Dylan slapped Trav on the back. “But that’s a non-issue because now we have a paramedic.”

“Almost.” They’d said it in sync and when Sonya’s eyes met Trav’s, her grin stretched to match his.

Adam chimed in, “C’mon! You’re always skeptical at first, but you end up having a good time. Besides, you’re the most athletic one out of all of us. You’ll be fine.”

“Peer pressure doesn’t work on me, Adam. You know this.”

Trav moved between Sonya and the guys and held up his hands. “Guys, come on. If Sonya’s scared, we shouldn’t make her do it.”

Sonya folded her arms over her chest. “I didn’t say I was scared.”

“Oh. Are you worried that I might finally be better at something than you?”

She snorted. “Definitely not.”

“Prove it.”

“I don’t have to prove anything to you.”

“No,” he said, that damn twinkle back in his eye. “But you want to.”

Damn it. Peer pressure may not work on her, but challenges did. It was her weakness and Trav already knew that about her and was apparently not afraid to use it.

“Fine. But if I die, I’m coming back to haunt you, soldier.”

A few minutes later, Sonya stood still as Trav strapped her into her life vest, trying not to be affected by his hands on her. She was already sweating and it wasn’t because of the heat. Hell, he’d been carrying her that morning and this wasn’t even close to that, but it seemed more intimate somehow. Maybe it was because she couldn’t stop thinking about what Dani said about her wanting to see how it felt?

She literally had to clench her fists at her side to stop herself from touching his pecs.

Trav's eyes met hers as he tugged on the last strap.

“You know I was only kidding. You don’t have to do this.”

“Who’s worried about which one of us is better now?”

“I’m serious, Sonya.” He punctuated his words with another firm pull on one of the straps.

“You should know by now that I never back down from a challenge.” She moved away from Trav and walked to the back of the boat where Josh and Adam were waiting with the skis.

“Ready?” Adam asked, once she was all locked in.

She nodded and swallowed the anxiety that had crept up into her throat. “Let’s do this.”

* * *

The boat wasn’t going as fast as before, but Sonya was out there doing her thing and Trav couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Part of him was watching her so he could jump in if there was even a hint of something going wrong, but he was also enjoying watching her more than he’d admit. She’d been tense at first, her muscles tight and her face hard with concentration, but after a few minutes, it all melted away and that megawatt smile she had was clear on her face.

“I knew she’d be good at it,” Adam said.

Trav nodded. “What isn’t she good at?”

Before Adam could answer, Sonya raised her hand in the stop gesture they’d taught her and everyone started working to bring her in. She was on the boat a few minutes later, laughing and high-fiving her friends.

Trav loved seeing her this way. She looked free, like the weight of everything she carried around with her had been lifted. It didn’t hurt that she was wearing a swimsuit that made her look like a fifties pin-up model with those curves. He had to jump in the lake to recalibrate himself when he’d seen her step out of the cabin.

Clearly, his military discipline was down to its last thread.

Finally, her eyes found his and she walked over to him, her excitement lighting her up like a Fourth of July sparkler.

“Proof enough for you?”

Damn, she was cute.

He grinned right back at her, wrapping her up in a hug and bringing his lips close to her ear. “You killed it.”

When Sonya’s arms found their way around him to return the hug, Trav took a deep breath of the sweet scent that always seemed to follow her around, letting himself enjoy the way her bare skin felt against his.

“Thanks for pushing me,” she said.

“Figured it was about time I returned the favor.”

He squeezed her tighter, lifting her slightly off the deck and drawing one of her rare giggles out of her. Even though the hug had gone way past a normal hug, he had no intention of letting her go.

That is, until the clearing of throats brought him back to reality. If that wasn’t enough, the shit-eating smirks on the faces of the other guys meant Trav had just revealed all of his cards, and Sonya’s awkward smile as she stepped away from him was more proof that he’d gotten carried away.

He took a step back and cleared his throat. “I should’ve known you’d be a badass even at something you’re doing for the first time.”

“First and last.” She offered him one of her half smiles before grabbing a towel and taking the seat next to a grinning Dani.

“We’ll see about that.”

Trav joined the other guys who were busy getting Dylan strapped in for his second run. Adam gave him an amused side-eye. “That hug was… something.”

Trav’s face heated, but he figured playing dumb was the way to go. “What are you talking about?”

The guys all chuckled and shook their heads.

“Damn, you’ve got it bad,” Dylan snickered.

Am I that damn obvious?

Mike had always told him his poker face sucked and apparently, it was true. He did have it bad and if the guys all saw it, he was pretty sure the women had been on to him from the minute he’d walked through the cabin door.

Trav glanced back over to the seats where Dani giggled uncontrollably while Sonya wore that slightly exasperated expression she’d perfected as she squeezed water from her wet braids. Was Dani giving her shit about the hug too?

Sonya swatted Dani with her towel which made the blonde laugh even harder and Sonya covered her face with her hands.

Maybe…

He turned his attention back to the skis and the other guys. His willpower was definitely on its last legs but after that hug, maybe Sonya’s was too.

* * *

“Are you sure you’re okay babysitting? Cat and I are more than happy to stay back.”

Sonya nodded and took Lucia from Josh. “Of course! I always want more time with Lulu, and you deserve a night out. Have fun.”

Besides, after spending the day on the water, she didn’t have drinking and dancing in her. She was looking forward to using this place for its intended purpose—relaxation.

Cat appeared at Josh’s side, leaning over to plant a kiss on the baby’s forehead before grabbing her husband’s arm. “You heard the woman. Let’s go before she changes her mind.”

Josh looked down at Cat in the adoring way he always did, and Sonya hid her smile by snuggling Lucia closer. Yeah, they were sickeningly cute, but even she couldn’t look at Josh and Cat and not want a little bit of what they had.

The other two couples emerged from their rooms and stood near the front door.

“Let’s go, people! 90s night at The Lakefront Pub waits for no one,” Dani announced. “You sure you don’t want to come, Trav?”

Sonya turned around to see Trav leaning against the wall. She’d expected to be on solo babysitting duty that night, so finding out that he was staying behind too was a little surprising. At least that’s what she told herself when her heart sped up at the thought of him purposely choosing to be alone with her for the evening.

Trav shook his head. “I’m good here. Thanks, though.”

After a few more goodbyes and promises not to be out too late, her friends were all gone. Feeling awkward for some weird reason, Sonya sat on the couch with the baby.

“Are you hungry?” Trav asked. “I was going to throw something together from last night’s leftovers.”

She nodded. “I could eat.”

Trav headed into the kitchen. “You two should come keep me company while I cook.”

Sonya took one of the bar stools, Lucia on her lap, while Trav gathered containers from the fridge. He loaded leftover chicken and veggies onto a cutting board, making faces at the baby as he chopped and diced, and threw everything into a pan.

Happy with whatever he had sizzling on the stove, he turned to Lucia and attempted to juggle two tomatoes. Luckily, she was more entertained by the ones he dropped, because he wasn’t very good at it.

“Look at her,” he said, beaming at the giggles he was getting. “She’s really beautiful.”

Sonya snuggled her closer. “Yeah, there was no way those two weren’t making a gorgeous baby.”

He put the tomatoes back in the fridge and filled a cup with the fruit puree Cat had left, making a little airplane noise as he gave Lucia a bite.

There was something about watching an attractive man with a baby that made your ovaries explode, and Sonya was not immune.

“You look like you have some experience with kids,” she said, trying to keep her voice unaffected.

He gave her a mischievous smile. “I’ve been one for thirty-two years.”

“Okay, Peter Pan.”

He handed her the baby spoon and opened a bottle of wine, pouring Sonya a glass. “Mike has a couple. I miss them. Kids are so innocent, you know? They don’t need anything but love and attention, and some fruits and vegetables. Everyone always talks about how hard parenting is, and I don’t doubt it. I definitely watched my dad fail hard, but it always seemed to me like raising good people was something we were all born equipped to do.”

Well, that was a deeper answer than she’d expected. She hid a grin with a sip of wine. “Do you want your own?”

“Oh yeah. A whole house full of them. You?”

Sonya ran her fingers through Lucia’s silky hair while the baby chewed her fist. For some reason, Cat’s daughter had busted a hole in Sonya’s heart and burrowed her way in. Maybe it was the surprise way she’d arrived in all of their lives.

Cat and Josh hadn’t planned on having a baby so soon after they got married. Lucia had been a little pre-wedding whoops that had thrown Cat into a tailspin at first. But now they couldn’t imagine it any other way.

She chuckled to herself, thinking how similar it was to the way her life plan had blown up. The re-route had definitely turned out well for her friends.

“I’ve only recently started thinking about it since this one came along,” Sonya said. “Emma’s kids are older. We were all so young when they were born. I love her boys, but I was too busy to let Baby Fever catch on back then. Besides, she has Adam who’s like Dad of The Year. Marcus was gone all the time. It wouldn’t have gone the same for me.”

Trav looked over his shoulder from the stove. “Things are different now.”

“They are.”

He took the pan off of the heat and spooned the mixture into a flour tortilla, taking the baby while Sonya dug in. Lucia’s giggles filled the kitchen, getting louder with every tickle or tummy raspberry he gave her. If the conversation wasn’t enough to put thoughts in her head, that did it.

He glanced up and caught her watching him, but she didn’t look away.

“I think seeing my dad ruin all of his marriages and maintain a clinical detachment to his only kid could have gone either way for me,” he said. “I could have ended up the same. But my step-mom, Marielle, she changed my view on that. I wasn’t her blood, but she was a mother to me. Made me see how a functional parental relationship was supposed to look.”

Sonya smiled. “I’m glad you had that. Some kid someday will be better off for it.” Someone’s kid.

She finished her taco, taking the plate to the sink. “That was amazing.”

Trav smiled at the compliment. “Where’s Lulu’s bottle? I’ll feed her.”

“You haven’t eaten yet.”

He shrugged. “I’m not hungry.”

“You just wanted to feed me?” Sonya fetched the bottle from the warmer, testing it on her wrist.

“And her.” Their fingers tangled as he took the bottle from her and she was sure he could see every runaway thought in her brain. Here they were on a friendly weekend away, practically playing house with Cat’s daughter.

This was too much. She went back to the dishes because she wasn’t about to sit there and watch that man rock a baby right after he’d just finished cooking her an amazing meal.

It was adorable, he was adorable. It made it way too easy to look at that scene and imagine a future that had always seemed a little cloudy with Marcus. She’d always reasoned it away by telling herself it was because she hadn’t completely developed her plan for that part of her life. But watching Trav interact with Lucia, hell watching him this entire weekend, had the whole picture coming through in high definition. It was an image she struggled to shove away.

When she finally ran out of housework to distract herself with, Trav was sitting on a barstool at the island with Lucia sound asleep on his shoulder.

They grinned at each other. “I can’t believe she’s asleep already,” he said.

“Now we know why her parents had no problem staying in tonight.”

“That’s true. So what are we going to do with all this free time?”

She should’ve said something like play cards or watch a movie. Those would be friendly things for them to do until the others came home, and friendly was what they were supposed to be there for.

She pretended to clean a spot on the counter, avoiding his eyes. “I don’t know. It’s a beautiful night. We could take the monitor down to the dock. Maybe look at the stars.”

As soon as the words left her lips, her entire body tensed.

Where did that come from?

Trav with a baby had not only destroyed her ovaries, it had melted her brain. Topping things off, that damn breathy voice was back and Sonya was starting to think that was just going to be her normal whenever she was alone with him.

Trav gnawed on his bottom lip and she could almost see the wheels turning in his head, proving that she was being more than a little confusing. The dock… the lake at night… stars… Damn it. Her offer sounded like the lead-in to a teen movie love scene.

Talk about sending mixed signals.

Her instincts screamed at her to revise the idea to almost anything else, but that wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to go down to the dock with Trav and talk like they had the night of the benefit. She wanted to have that connection with him again, and for once, she was going to listen to the voice telling her to stop overthinking things.

She was going to just… go with it. And that was terrifying.

Trav must’ve finally worked through whatever he’d been chewing on because he finally nodded. “That sounds like a plan.”

Sonya didn’t know why she was so relieved to hear that, but she was. That was something else that she would normally dissect, but not tonight.

“Let me put her to bed and I’ll meet you down there.”

Trav argued, “I can take her upstairs.”

Sonya frowned and held out her arms for the baby. “You’ve already hogged too much of my Lucia snuggle time. Besides, you might want to change your shirt. Your shoulder is soaked with baby drool.”

Chuckling, he glanced at the wet spot and shook his head.

“Yeah, I’ll change and head outside.”

He stood and carefully lifted Lulu from his shoulder, passing her tiny body into Sonya’s arms. After lingering a moment to brush his hand over Lucia’s dark curls, he turned to head to his room.

As he walked away, he reached over his shoulder and tugged off his shirt in that move that men did just to drive women crazy. It worked. You would think she would’ve spent enough time ogling him on the boat that afternoon, but here she was staring at his back like she’d never never seen one before. She didn’t blink out of it until he disappeared into the hallway.