In The Hands of a Billionaire

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Aiden's POV

Quietly staring at my partner in crime, I glanced from her to the hunk of wood beside her. It was painted a dark shade of red with a few white streaks lining the middle. Slowly piecing everything together, I stared at Natalie in amazement.

"You're a surfer?" I questioned as she nodded shyly while I gently moved a few stray strands behind her ear. "Babe, that is fucking awesome." I whispered as I noticed the children watching from a distance. "Why don't we go get settled over there with your grandmother and some sunscreen?" I added as she quietly nodded while guiding me with her free hand. As we approached her grandmother and the children, I helped her with the umbrella while Natalie and the children placed down the towels.

"Alright kiddos. Line up for some sunscreen. We wouldn't want you all to get sunburnt while playing." Natalie stated while placing her surfboard into the sand before picking up the spray on sunscreen. One by one, the children lined up while Natalie sprayed every piece of skin that was showing. Once they were all sprayed down and dry, she quickly started to strip from her clothes until she was standing before us in a red two piece. "Could you spray me down, please?" She questioned while looking at me as I quietly nodded before taking the spray can. As I slowly sprayed each piece of revealing skin, a part of me started to become aroused.

"I'm all done." I stated hoarsely as she thanked me with a quick kiss on the lips before grabbing her surfboard and leaving. Quickly checking myself, I was happy to see that I was okay.

"Are you okay, Aiden?" Natalie's grandmother asked as I quietly turned and looked at her. Quietly nodding, I sat down on the towels next to her while she gently covered Raigh-lee's arms and legs in sunblock. "Have you ever seen Natalie this happy before?" She inquired as I shook my head while glancing out towards the ocean. "Once before, she stopped smiling. She even stopped visiting. We went months without hearing a thing from her. It was unlike her because she'd at least call multiple times during the week to tell us about how college was going or how her and Lucy were going vacationing in France." She stated while gently rubbing Raigh-lee's curls. "I knew something had happened to her and her parents weren't telling me anything. Not even my own daughter. I didn't know what was going on until Natalie showed up on my porch with a baby wrapped in a blanket. Her face was no longer bright and the light that was once there was dim. The cheerful young girl who we once knew was no longer there. In her place was a woman so broken and bruised that she didn't even want to live anymore." She paused again as the children roared in joy while splashing about. "It wasn't long until Lucy and my daughter came. They had told me everything about what had happened and the fact that Natalie was no longer herself. She quit college, she quit surfing, she quit everything. It took us weeks on end to finally get Natalie to eat and to feed Raigh-lee. It took us another few weeks to get Natalie out of the room. From the time she arrived, she had refused to leave that room. There were a few times where she'd come out of the room to ask us for those plastic stars that you can stick to the ceiling. Over the time, she had gotten comfort from looking up at the stars in the night sky but most of the time it was cloudy at night so she switched over to plastic stars on the ceiling when she couldn't see the real ones. But, now she's back again but this time she's happy. Almost like what she used to be before. So, thank you for taking care of Natalie and Raigh-lee. We're all so very thankful for you." She stated while gently wiping away a stray tear as I quietly patted her shoulder.

"You're welcome ma'am. I would do anything to keep both of the girls happy. Even if that means being woken up at 4 in the morning by Raigh-lee. I'm glad to be in their lives. I promise you that I'll make them both the happiest ladies in the world." I stated while smiling at her.

"Ma'am makes me sound old. You can just call me Nonna or Ada. I'll go by either just anything but ma'am. I'm not that old." She laughed as I joined her before looking out towards the ocean. "Maybe we should grill some fish on the beach tonight. What do you think, Aiden?" Nonna questioned as Raigh-lee quietly made her way towards the warm sand. "I'm sure we have some fresh fish in the fridge at the shop. Let me go call my husband." She stated before standing up.

Sighing, I continued to watch as Raigh-lee fisted a handful of sand into her hand before releasing it. "Raigh-lee, want to go swimming in the ocean?" I questioned while smiling at her as she looked at me with pure excitement in her eyes before nodding.

"Water with Mommy too?" She inquired while I quietly made my way to her. Nodding with a smile, I held out my hand as she grasped my fingers before pointing at the ocean. "Safe? Safe?" She added while looking up at me as I slowly guided us towards the shore where the water crept up onto the sand, gently brushing over our feet.

"It's safe, Raigh-lee." I stated with a smile as she squealed at the contact of the water. "Cold, isn't it?" I asked as she nodded quietly while smiling. "Got your floaties ready?" I added as she checked the ones bounded to her upper arms before giving me a thumbs up with her free hand. "Deep breath in and relax." She nodded while repeating my actions as we started facing the coldness of the ocean.

///////////\\\\\\\\\\\\//////////////

Hello darlings!
Happy Thanksgivings!

I hope you all have a safe and relaxing day. Eat safely and cheers to another year almost over.

Andrea ❤️

P.S. I apologise for my absence. Everything is just so stressful at the moment but I'm hanging in there! Going to look at the better side of it.