Fake Love Turned Real [ A Barson Fanfic]

26

Rafael's POV

The girls were out of school about a week after the anniversary of Javier's death. We got back on track, and our first summer with two little girls was very exciting and tiring. They were always wanting to do something, and most of the time I felt bad when we couldn't do everything they asked us to do.

"God, it's hot." Olivia grumbled as she walked back to where the girls, my mother, Abuela, and I sat. I had rented a house on the beach for the Fourth of July holiday. I couldn't find one in New York that had availability, so we traveled to New Jersey and were having a ton of fun so far.

"We can go back inside, Liv." I offered, as I stood and grabbed the cooler from her. She had insisted on going to get the cooler herself, even if I had offered to do it myself. Lately, she has been more on edge, especially since Camille Rose was just a few days shy of arriving.

"No, it's okay." Olivia sighed weakly. She gave me an awkward smile, before looking at where the girls sat and built a sand castle.

"You are so uncomfortable, and I am incredibly sorry about that." I frowned.

"It isn't your fault completely. I got myself into this situation." Olivia breathed. I gave her a soft kiss before leading her back to our chairs. 

Once she was sitting under the umbrella and drinking lemonade, she seemed to relax some more. Morgan and Annie took a break from playing to eat lunch and get more sunscreen applied, before running out to the water with her their life jackets on. My wife and I followed them and sat on the edge of the water, just close enough that the water washed onto our feet.

"Are you still excited?" I asked, as I glanced over at my wife. Olivia kept her eyes locked on our daughters as she nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I am. Right now I'm not even close to enjoying being this pregnant, but I can't be angry about it. I was lucky that I didn't lose my ability to have a baby after what happened last time. Camille is a blessing, and I am so glad that I get to be her mama." Olivia smiled, her focus turning to me.

I slipped closer to Olivia and wrapped my arm around her waist as the girls squealed and started to splash water at each other. 

"When do you think she'll decide to come? Because we don't have much time left." 

"Probably sooner than expected."

"Like, today?" I asked, my eyes wide. Olivia laughed softly and shook her head.

"No, not today. But sometime this week is all I'm predicting. So you better not go into some meeting and turn your damn phone off. Otherwise, I will send Alex or Amanda to find your ass and drag you to the hospital. Got it?"

"Yup, we are good. I don't wanna face your wrath or the wrath of your blonde besties."

///

Fireworks were the best part of our day. The girls sat snuggled up on one of their grandmothers' laps and watched as a ship out in the ocean let off the fireworks. Morgan and Annie would squeal about how one display was so cool, and then get even louder with the next one. As they settled down for bed that night, they hadn't decided what was the best.

"Can we come back here next year, Daddy?" Morgan asked me, as I helped to put her and her sister down for the night.

"I don't know, honey. I don't think any of us had fun." I teased. My daughter kneaded her eyebrows together and frowned.

"But don't we wanna show Cami how fun it is here? Especially with Nana and Abuela!" Morgan exclaimed.

"I agree with Morgan." Annie smiled as she came back from the bathroom with Olivia.

"Mama, what about you?" Morgan asked. Olivia gave her daughter a tired smile before nodding.

"I really enjoyed these last few days, too. It's been nice, especially since you all know I hate not working."

The girls gave us a recap of their favorite parts of their day before settling down for the night. I lead my wife from the room and down the hall. We said goodnight to my mother and Abuela before moving into our bedroom. 

"I get that not working is driving you bonkers, but are you just as least enjoying spending time alone with the girls?" I mused softly, once Olivia and I were laying together. We didn't really get a chance to talk or cuddle that often anymore, and most of it can be blamed on Camille. So I was using this time when Olivia wasn't dozing off to my advantage.

"I am enjoying my time, especially when we went to get our nails done. Or Morgan and Annie convinced me to get our hair cut. I'm just not used to not working for this long of a span of time. Even when we adopted the girls I didn't take a lot of time off." Olivia yawned.

"Is it worth it?" I mused, and Olivia grinned tiredly and nodded.

"Every second I get to spend with our daughters and with you is more than worth it." Olivia smiled tiredly. 

My wife fell asleep a few moments later, and I just laid and listened to her breathing.

I still catch myself wondering how I got so lucky. What happened to lead my best friend to end up being my wife. To being the mother to my four children. Ever second that I get to spend showing her my love and spoiling her and our daughters makes me realize that I am truly the luckiest man out there.

Thanks to art1929 for the name recommendation!