“I understand.” He cleared his throat, hope rising within him that she hadn’t flat out rejected him. “You look like her. Your mom. It’s how I recognized you.”
“C-can, I keep the photo?” she asked. “If it’s your only . . .”
“No, please do. I have others. I can send them to you. But, I’d like a copy of that one sometime.”
Fiona nodded, still staring blankly at the images before her. It was a quiet, poignant moment. It wasn’t every day you met your father for the first time.
The congressman pulled out a card from a different pocket and slid it across the table to her. “These are my numbers and I wrote my address on the back. Call me when you’re ready?” he stated, breaking the silence.
Fiona slipped the card into her purse. “I don’t feel much like eating now. I think I’ll go.”
“We’ll walk you to your car, Fiona, or you could leave your car here and I’ll drive you home,” Julie offered.
“No, I’ll be fine,” Fiona insisted.
“Please let us walk you to your car,” the congressman spoke again. He knew his daughter had been through a lot in her young life and guilt racked him for not being there to protect her. He wanted to be there now in whatever capacity she would allow.
Fiona agreed this time and he was there in instant to pull out her chair for her. She allowed him to guide her as she curved her arm around his forearm and held on. Strange, she thought, holding this man’s arm, and he claimed to be her father. Her thoughts were so muddled.
Percy helped to steady his daughter as she walked through the restaurant and lobby to the parking lot. She had parked quite a distance away. “I want you to know one more thing, Fiona. I loved your mother dearly and I regret every day of my life that I didn’t take her with me, or that I didn’t tell her I’d come back for her. I never married either because she was the only one for me. I’m so glad you found that kind of love with Hunter.”
“I did,” she whispered and indicated her car. He opened her car door for her.
“Daddy, I’m going to follow her home just to make sure she makes it. Okay?” Julie explained to her father and he gave her a quick kiss.
“Sure sweetie, and call me when you get home, and let me know everyone made it home safely today.” He glanced at Monica once before walking to his friend and standing beside him to see the girls off.
“I will, daddy.”
Again, Monica missed her dad in that moment. She felt like a fly on the wall watching these two men acting so protectively over their daughters. She was so caught up in the moment she didn’t even realize they all were being watched.
CHAPTER NINE
The past two days had been a flurry of activity for Victor, but he was glad he and Monica had some time together each night when he finished work for the day. But this evening found him hanging out with the SEAL team he had been learning from all week once more. The team’s leader, Matthew “Wolf” Steel, had invited him to a barbecue at his house for the evening. It was a potluck and he had volunteered to pick up drinks since he couldn’t cook something for the group from his hotel.
“Have you heard anything from Cookie about Fiona?” Monica asked. She’d been spending her afternoons with Julie, but neither of them had gotten word from Fiona about what had happened at the luncheon at the Riverton Golf Club.
She’d been asking Victor every day, but he didn’t want to bring it up to Cookie. When Monica told him about what happened at the luncheon he had been blown away by the revelation that Fiona’s father was a congressman.
Victor didn’t blame the man for wanting to know his child. Family was the most important thing. He also felt bad for the man who had never been informed that he had a daughter to begin with. He had lost so much time. Secrets like this could destroy people and he was glad the man had come forward as soon as he had put two and two together. He hoped for Percy Reynolds’ sake that Fiona would come around and want to get to know her father. He was happy he had some news to share this day. “Actually yes. Cookie did mention that Fiona had questions and was going to call him. I think she was going to ask you and Julie to go with her tomorrow when she sees you both this evening at the potluck.”
Monica was relieved. “Oh, wonderful. And Julie will be so relieved. She was really blaming herself for letting Fiona walk into that without any kind of preparation. ”
“She couldn’t have known what would happen.” It had been seriously bad timing on the congressman’s part, but he didn’t know the background there.
“I know and I told her that, but when it comes to Fiona, Julie hangs on to guilt like a shield. She told me she even yelled at her father for not preparing her ahead of time for the big secret that was about to be exposed. Her dad knows what Fiona has been through and he knows Julie blames herself for a lot of it.”
“I hope she made up with her father. Us guys, we don’t talk like you ladies do, but from what I have picked up on from working with these guys this week is that Fiona has recovered and doesn’t blame Julie for what happened in the past any longer.”
Monica chewed on that for a moment. “Well, you and I both know the only way to clear up any kind of miscommunication is to talk it out. And I don’t think those girls have ever done that. Just the two of them, face to face.”
“Maybe you could suggest that,” Victor offered.
Monica turned towards her husband in their rental. “I don’t know. It’s not something you can just arrange. Sometimes it has to be organic. Do you know what I mean? It’s not something that can be forced.”
Victor didn’t get women. You had a beef, guys put it out there on the line. “Sure it can. If your sister and my friends hadn’t made us face the truth, we wouldn’t be here.”
“I know. But women are very temperamental creatures and you can’t just throw them in a room together and say talk it out.”
Victor laughed at his wife. “Sure you can. We learned that the hard way. Just think of all the time we waited.”
“True.” She agreed. They had wasted so much time and had gone through so much pain and confusion before finally ending up together. “But not about something like this. A few beers might help loosen them up though,” she teased, thinking about the previous evening. She wasn’t much of a drinker, but a few drinks sure helped her to lose her inhibitions.
Last night they had walked along the pier together and went for a midnight swim in the Pacific Ocean. Suffice it to say, he’d never forget this trip. When she was feeling tipsy Monica always got a bit more daring.
Victor was thinking about last night, too, and Monica’s gorgeous lips all over his body. “Loose lips,” he teased.
Monica sounded aghast when she spoke next. “Don’t you dare go there?”
“Is that a threat?”
“Take it whatever way you want?” she threw back at him, but she was still smiling.
They drove in silence for a few moments while Victor checked the GPS and made two more turns onto what looked like a long secluded road.
“I wonder why Fiona wanted Julie and me to come with her to meet with Congressman Reynolds again.”
“Probably moral support. And you were both there during the initial meeting.”
“Well I know that will make Julie happy. To be there for Fiona.”
“I really like Julie and Patrick,” he said aloud. “They’re good people. Dependable and loyal.”
“I do, too.”
“I let Commander Hurt know that if they were ever in Florida for anything we would love to have them stay with us.”
“Absolutely. Julie has been a lot of fun. She does so much for her community, too, and I respect that.”
Monica saw a house up in the distance and assumed it was their destination. There were a lot of cars parked on the lawn and in the driveway. It looked like another fun evening and though she missed her twin sons, she was really enjoying this week with Victor. All of this adult time away from her toddlers was quite the reprieve.
She
had called her sister, Ana, every day, sometimes twice to check in on them even though all of her sister’s posts to Facebook kept her updated on their minute by minute week of absolute spoiling. When she saw the picture of her twins covered in chocolate syrup on her sister’s timeline, she almost made Victor get her a plane ticket home. But he must have seen the photos earlier in the day and knew what her reaction would be, because his response was to pull out a bottle of Hershey syrup from the bag he was carrying. They had fun with that before they went out to dinner last night.
As soon as they found a place to park, the car was surrounded by five burly men who popped the hatch on their rented SUV. They began to grab the cases of beer, soda, and water Victor had purchased for the occasion.
“Hey guys, Matthew put four coolers on the back porch. So take everything there,” Benny stated, taking charge of the situation. He directed as the four others each carried two or three cases. Monica was glad Victor had bought so much because the lawn was crowded with people and she knew there must be more people inside the house getting all of the food ready. She also heard noises coming from behind the large ranch style house. A small barbecue was what Victor had been told, but she had a feeling these people did nothing small. By her count, there were probably 40 people including the children of the couples here.
“What can I do to help?” Victor asked.
“I’m the one handling the barbecue as I’m the chef extraordinaire in these parts,” Benny joked. “But I know some of the guys are setting up a volleyball net in the backyard for the kids and then we still need to get the fire pit ready for roasting marshmallows later.”
“I’m on it,” said Victor, turning to give Monica a quick kiss.
“I’m going to head into the kitchen and see if the girls need any help,” she replied after receiving his token of affection.
“Okay, babe. I’ll meet you out back in a bit,” Victor stated, ruffling one kid’s hair on his way to the back yard. He grabbed a football that fell near his feet when he turned the corner of the quaint house Matthew shared with his wife, Caroline, and tossed it back to the kid who had thrown it.
Monica headed inside enjoying the whole family feel of the event. Just like she had assumed, the women were all crowded around Caroline’s kitchen island prepping side dishes for the barbecue. “Can I help?” she asked as Caroline made room for her near the large butcher block that sat on one side.
“Almost done, but you could finish slicing those tomatoes for the hamburgers,” she indicated with her chin while swiping away a lock of her hair. She was mixing a massive bowl of macaroni salad that could feed an army, or rather a SEAL team.
Monica picked up a nice cutting knife she saw and began to slice beefsteak tomatoes into thin slices. Summer handed her a plate to put them on, and then took several bowls of chips for people to munch on outside. “Thanks.”
“No problem, Monica.”
Fiona approached from her left. “Hey, Monica, did Victor mention that I wanted you to come to lunch with me tomorrow when I go to meet my father for a second time?” Fiona’s voice was full of confidence. She sounded very different from the woman she had been two days ago when that bombshell had been dropped in her lap.“
“Yes, he did, and I’d love to go with you. Thank you for asking.”
“Well, you were there when he made the big reveal. The girls here suggested that you and Julie would be great to have for moral support, too,” she added as an afterthought.
Monica caught Caroline and a woman named Cheyenne exchanging a look. It was quick, but she noticed the exchange. It was obvious all of these women knew what the situation was like between Julie and Fiona. They were good friends and in their own way they were trying to put Julie and Fiona together to help them both get over the mistakes of the past. Monica nodded and winked at Caroline understanding that she was the buffer. Another woman being there would put Fiona at ease.
“Definitely. I think it’s a great idea to bring along some friends. Plus, we could always ask questions you might have forgotten to ask. Or maybe something you haven’t even thought to ask.”
“That’s exactly what Caroline said.” Fiona smiled at Caroline. She was the unofficial matriarch of the group. She could tell all of the women looked to her for guidance. “She said I might get emotional and leave before I got all the information I needed, and you and Julie, because you were there to hear all the original details, might hear something different than before.”
“Well, I think Caroline is a genius for thinking of it. It’s like when I go to the doctor with the twins and the doctor is talking and giving me so much information that I forget half of the stuff I wanted to ask him in the first place. Great idea to have back up!” Caroline patted her arm before she handed the bowl of macaroni off to Summer who was making a third trip outside.
“I called Julie earlier and asked her to come, too. She is going to set it up with congressman . . . um . . . my father for tomorrow at the Golf Club again. Can you make it?”
“Absolutely. I wouldn’t miss it.” She set down her knife and wiped her hands on a paper towel she tore from the roll sitting handily on the counter.
Fiona gave her a quick hug, and picked up the plate of tomatoes. “Great. I’ll take these out. I need a drink.”
“Don’t we all!” clamored Cheyenne. “I’m with you.” Grabbing several bottles of condiments from the refrigerator, she followed Fiona as one after another the girls finished their tasks, and began to head outside to join the growing crowd.
Monica was right behind Caroline, offering to carry the potato salad she took from the fridge, and she followed her out a set of double doors behind Caroline’s living room sofa.
Within minutes the party was in full swing. Two boys were throwing around a football with a guy they called Dude. Three little girls were playing with dolls on the steps of the porch. The women grabbed seats on benches and chairs that had been previously set up as the men passed out drinks to anyone who wanted them.
The smells coming from the grill we’re making Monica’s mouth water. She and Victor had worked up quite an appetite when he got finished working early that day. Their play time had left them just 30 minutes to get ready and head out from the hotel to pick up the drinks and drive over to the barbecue.
When Julie and Patrick showed up with desserts of all kinds, the guests began to fill up their plates with all of the scrumptious food everybody brought or Benny had cooked on the grill. When he walked by, he asked if she liked the chicken and something about the way he said it triggered a memory. “Hey wait a minute. I feel like such a moron, but I just realized you’re that guy from the cooking show,” Monica said, her voice louder than she had expected it to be when dawning had come. Maybe it was because he was wearing an apron, but she now remembered seeing him about seven months ago on TV.
The crowd within hearing distance burst out laughing. “That’s my man,” the woman named Jessyka who ran Ace’s laughed.
“Oh my God. I loved that show. I love the Cooking Channel. My husband’s family is Italian and I’m always watching it to learn new recipes for our Sunday dinners. I made your soup. It was a big hit.”
“That is just too funny,” Jessyka laughed. “I love it when he gets recognized. I love it more that he is mortified each and every time.”
“Benny is definitely a celebrity ’round here!” Cookie teased.
“Shut it!” Benny called from the grill. He was waving the spatula threateningly at his friends.
“Get to cooking, Ramsey. Aren’t those ribs done yet?” Cookie teased back.
Benny just shook his head knowing this was going to be a losing battle. When the guys got on the subject of his winning The Cook Off, if he resisted, it just made them continue with the torture for hours.
“You ever think of writing a cookbook, Benny?” Monica asked. “I would buy it.”
Benny groaned really loud and the crowd burst into laughter again. “You wouldn’t be the first person who suggested i
t,” he said morosely.
Victor leaned forward and whispered in Monica’s ear. “I think we touched a sore spot with our friend, Benny, here.”
Matthew must have overheard because he burst out laughing and said, “You think?” which just got the crowd laughing even more.
One of the kids popped over and grabbed Mathew’s hand to go play ball as promised, and so he trotted out after the teenage boy.
“Come on guys,” Matthew called and several more men, including Victor, followed suit for a quick game of touch football on the side lawn.
“Nobody better get hurt again?” Caroline yelled at their retreating backs, leaving the women to tidy up and continue socializing.
* * *
The evening had been incredibly enjoyable, and it passed very quickly. Soon it was time to roast marshmallows with the kids. Victor though, decided it would be a good time for him and Monica to head out. He enjoyed hanging out with the guys, but he wanted to spend as much alone time with his wife as possible.
He didn’t know when he would have a chance like this again. After another nice long walk along the beach, he would take his wife back to their suite and show her why she wouldn’t regret her decision to make an honest man of him. He had something incredibly fun in mind, too.
CHAPTER TEN
Victor held Monica’s hand as they walked along the beach. The simple act of being with her, having her near was satisfying. The stars, the waves, and her. It was beautiful, but most of all it was her. He could watch her for hours. The week was coming to an end. It was going by so quickly.
“It’s been a great week so far, Monica.”
“It most definitely has had its moments,” Monica said softly as the wind blew her hair around her face. She was enjoying herself, especially all the special attention her husband had been giving her.
Victor thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. From the moment he first laid eyes on her in that bar, he knew she was the one. He fought it for so long because he had commitments he thought he had to keep. Ending his first marriage had been one of the toughest decisions of his life. It had been incredibly difficult for him. But it had been the right choice.
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Secrets (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Secrets & Seduction Book 4) Page 5