The Secrets We Hide: Book One of the Wicked Entanglements Series

Chapter 1

"Noah!" I shout at my husband. "Don't! I said don't!" I repeat myself. But he ignores me. I'm giggling the entire time, my arms wrapped tightly around his neck while he hold me in his arms. One thing I'm sure of, if he throws me into the pool, I'm taking him with me. "Better make sure you don't have your phone in your pocket, old man," I tease. Truthfully we're the exact same age, thirty-one.

We've been together for a decade, married for seven years and are as in love as ever.

"Do it!" Evelien, my three year old daughter's squeaky toddler voice shouts at her father.

"It's about to be three against one," he whispers into my neck. "What do you think, Kevin? Should I toss mommy into the pool."

"Do it!" Our four year old shouts. There's barely a year between them, thirteen months. We hadn't been trying for a second when I'd gotten pregnant with Evie, just drunk and careless.

"You're teaching them a bad example," I whisper playfully. "If a woman says no, a man should stop. Even if he is her wife."

"You're absolutely correct," he agrees immediately. "But in this case, we'll have to correct that assumption later. Besides, you know I can't resist an opportunity to make you wet."

With those words, he steps off the edge of the pool deck and dunks us both into the water, completely clothed. When I come up for air I'm sputtering and pushing the hair out of my face. Noah grins at me widely, his boyish charm on full display. How can I ever be mad at that face? He's so damn handsome. Our kids are giggling and clapping at the edge of the shallow end. "Traitors," I mutter under my breath. They are both in swimsuits, pool floaties on their arms. Fully clothed and soaking wet, I swim towards the shallow end.

Hearing something wet slap against the concrete, I turn to see Noah, taking off his t-shirt and shorts, tossing them onto the hot as coal concrete of our pool deck. When he's down to just his boxers, he starts swimming. Following his lead, I pull my t-shirt off and wrestle my way out of the jean shorts that are clinging to me like a second skin.

"A thong?" Noah says, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around me. "If I'd known tossing you in would get you half way naked I would have done it sooner."

Ignoring him, I playfully wiggle my way out of his arms and walk towards our kids. "You wanna swim?" I ask them.

"Yeah!" They shout simultaneously. I hold my arms out and watch them jump in, full of trust in me and Noah. We spend the rest of the afternoon playing games in the pool, Marco polo, which is contained to the shallow end for the sake of the kids. Noah is a cheater and constantly climbs out of the pool whenever I'm the one shouting "marco" with my eyes closed.

"What do you guys want for dinner?" I ask when we're climbing out.

"Tacos!" Evie screeches. We're working on getting her to control the volume of her voice, even outside. Her enthusiasm for everything in life is precious, and I hope she never loses it, but it hurts my eardrums.

"Pizza!" Kevin counters.

I look to Noah, my dear husband, asking him which of our children he agrees with.

"Evie," he says squatting down to her level. "The pizza place is closed tomorrow." The local pizza place, which made the best pizza in the state, maybe the country, was always closed on Monday. "So how about we have pizza tonight and tomorrow you can help mommy make tacos?"

Her little brows furrow, an act of contemplation as a crease forms between her pale blue eyes. "Okay," she concedes. "Can we get cheesy bread too?"

"Of course."

She wraps her little body around him, arms barely able go get around his neck. Standing, he cradles his arm under her butt, holding her with one hand while he sticks his hand out to Kevin. "Clean up here?" He asks me. "I'll order pizza and get them dried off. Then I'll take them to pick it up. I'm sure you could use an hour to yourself."