The Rebel’s Redemption: Mershano Empire Series

by Foss, Lexi C.

I looked up at the ceiling, already over this act. They’d been at each other’s throats since Mia landed last week. I understood that she once harbored a crush for the man, but for fuck’s sake, they both needed to get over the past.

  “Just seems appropriate that the child among us would want to watch the one closest to her age,” he replied.

  “I’m twenty-seven,” she snapped. “Not seventeen.”

  His eyes danced over her summer dress. “Could have fooled me.”

  Her audible gasp had Evan stepping in. “Right, we were just leaving.” He glowered back at Garrett. “Right?”

  “Sure. The scenery at the bar is far more enlightening.” The pointed comment had Mia growling as he sauntered past her. If Garrett kept this up, she’d be feeding him his balls by the end of the week.

  “You know what?” she said, turning on her heel. “I think I’ll join you at the bar, Garrett. If anything, just to prove I can order my own fucking drink.”

  Avery cringed while Jamie’s mouth fell open. “Bad word!” he accused. “Bad, bad word!”

  Mia clenched her jaw and looked down at him. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” She met my gaze. “Rain check on babysitting?”

  I nodded. Because yeah, the mood was effectively killed, thanks to the impromptu party in the room.

  She gave me a thankful look and stalked after Garrett, no doubt with a litany of curses waiting to be unleashed on the idiotic jackass.

  “I’m not following that show downstairs,” Evan said, his arm around Sarah.

  “Neither am I,” Will agreed. “Let them argue it out. It’ll give us all a mental break.”

  Rachel and Sarah shared a knowing look, their years of friendship clear in that single exchange. Then they looked at Avery. “We’re having a spa day tomorrow in the hotel, if you want to join,” Sarah offered. “You know, and be around normal people. Do girly things.”

  “And talk about the Mershano men,” Rachel added. “Offer tips. Tell you how to negotiate. The usual.”

  Will and Evan snorted at the same time, their expressions amused.

  “Darlin’, the only thing you’ll be negotiating—”

  Rachel pressed a finger to Will’s lips. “Shh. I’m having a conversation.”

  He grinned down at her with his eyes. Then nipped the tip of her finger. “Make it quick.”

  “See what I mean?” she asked, rolling her eyes. “Demand after demand after demand.”

  Avery started to grin. “I might know something about that.”

  “Which is why you need to join us tomorrow,” Sarah said, her welcoming personality pleasing me greatly.

  Avery hadn’t admitted it, but I knew she was worried about meeting everyone. What she didn’t know—because I hadn’t really known until last week—was that Rachel and Sarah were both workaholics. Just like Avery. And none of them came from money, making this world foreign to them all. It provided the perfect ground for them all to interact and get along.

  “Is that okay with you?” she asked, glancing at me.

  “Jamie can hang out with me,” I replied, picking him up. “We can go swimming.”

  “Swimming?!” he repeated, clearly excited.

  “Yep. In the ocean.”

  His eyes resembled the size of dinner plates. “Like, with fish?”

  “He’s never been to the ocean,” Avery informed quietly, grimacing. “I haven’t had a lot of time with work, and, well, everything.”

  I leaned over to kiss her temple. “Then he’ll experience his first ocean this week. Starting with tomorrow, right, little man?” I winked at her and started walking toward the bedroom, leaving Avery to bond with the girls behind us.

  “Swimming with the fish!” he cheered.

  “I’ll have to get you some pool floaties, dude,” I decided out loud. “And maybe we’ll go out on a boat.”

  “Woooow,” he marveled. “I like boats.”

  “Then you’re going to love Hawaii.” I set him down beside the play area I’d put together for him in his room. “What do you think?” There was a racetrack, cars, and a bunch of Lego sets.

  “Yes!” He did a little jig and immediately plopped down to play. “Let’s goooooo.”

  “Isn’t it way past your bedtime, little man?”

  “Nah. I’m not tired.”

  “You always say that.”

  “But I mean it!”

  Right. Because he slept on the plane. “What about Auntie A? Did she sleep on the plane?”

  “No, she didn’t,” she replied behind me, leaning against the door frame. “And she could really use a shower and a nap.”

  My lips curled. “If only I could join you in that endeavor.” That’d been part of my plan. There was a giant Jacuzzi tub in our room. Alas, it appeared I would be staying up with Jamie for a bit. “How about you go shower and relax, and I’ll play some cars for a bit. Until he’s ready to sleep.” Which might not be for a few hours yet. Time change with him was going to be fun.

  “Your bags should already be in our room,” I added, pointing across the living area to the hallway beyond. “We’re the last room at the end.”

  Her brow crinkled. “How many people are staying here?”

  “Just the three of us.”

  “So what are the other rooms?”

  “One is empty. The other is a study. And also another bathroom.” Mershano Suites didn’t skimp on the upper floors. Hell, the entire hotel was posh and oversized. That was part of the Mershano grandeur.

  “Maybe we should put Jamie in the other room? So he’s not so far?”

  I smiled and pointed to the monitor I purchased because I knew she’d feel that way. “There’s a matching one in the master suite. And there’s security on this floor. He won’t go anywhere.”

  “What about the balcony?” she asked, eyeing the sliding glass door along the side of his room.

  “It’s bolted in a place he can’t reach. I’ll also be locking up the ones in the living area before going to bed and setting an alarm. Trust me, he’ll be fine.”

  She smiled. “You’re a good dad, Wyatt.” She sounded tired, but I caught the hint of emotion beneath the words. It was the first time she’d ever said that to me, and the proclamation caught me off guard in the best way.

  I’m a good dad.

  She thinks I’m worthy.

  And she doesn’t even know what I have planned yet…

  “You two are being we-ord again,” Jamie mumbled.

  “I’m about to kiss your Auntie A again, too,” I warned, pulling her to me and pressing my lips to hers. I kept the embrace soft and far too short due to our audience. “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “I meant it,” she replied, her palm on my chest. “You’re good with him.”

  “So are you.” I kissed her once more before releasing her. “I’ll be in bed soon-ish.”

  Now her look was one of humor. “Somehow, I doubt that. But see if you can exhaust him.”

  “I have ideas,” I admitted.

  She smirked. “Well, good luck.” I smacked her ass as she turned, eliciting a squeal from her. “Hey!”

  “That’s for being sassy,” I told her, a myriad of wicked thoughts clouding my mind. “Be naked.” I mouthed the words at her, causing her to flush a pretty pink.

  “Maybe,” she mouthed back before jumping out of my reach and practically skipping toward our room.

  Jamie sat on the floor, lost in his new toys and not paying us any mind. Aside from calling us weird, of course. Something he mentioned often. Which was why I wanted to have a little chat with him.

  I waited until Avery disappeared from view before kneeling at his side. “So what did you think of Aunt Mia?”

  He shrugged. “She’s okay.”

  “Just okay?”

  “We didn’t get to play,” he explained. “But she’s nice to me. So I like her okay.”

  “But not as much as your Auntie A?”

  “Nah. Auntie A is my Auntie A. I loves my Auntie A.” He sp
oke while zooming one of his new cars along the track, the words completely innocent and profound at the same time.

  I’d been thinking about how I wanted to approach this for weeks, without even realizing the importance of what I needed to say. Ever since Jamie claimed not to have a mom, I’d been thinking about how that just wasn’t true. One didn’t need to possess the label to already be doing the job.

  And that was what required explanation.

  When I conceptualized all of this, it’d been under the guise of wanting to make Avery feel better. However, now I realized it went so much deeper than that.

  “Do you know why you feel different about your Auntie A?”

  “ ’Cause she’s mine,” he answered simply.

  “But Mia is your aunt, too.”

  His lips twisted. “Yeah, but she’s not Auntie A.”

  “And why is that?” I pushed.

  “I dunno. ’Cause no one is Auntie A ’cept Auntie A.”

  “And she’s very special to you, right?”

  He nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Do you want to know why?” I asked, folding my arms around my knees as I shifted to a seated position beside him.

  “ ’Kay.” He finally looked at me, his car in one hand. “Why?”

  “Because she’s always been there for you. She’s taught you everything. She takes care of you. That makes her really special.” I tilted my head. “You know Momma Jean?” He nodded. “Well, she was supposed to be your mom, but she didn’t do a good job. So Auntie A took over and did it for her. Which means, she’s like your mom.”

  His forehead creased. “But Auntie A is Auntie A, not a mom.”

  “That’s because ‘Mom’ isn’t her name. She’s always been Auntie A. But I think she’s more like your mom because she acts like one and she loves you more than anything in this world.”

  “But I don’t call her Mom.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because she’s Auntie A.”

  “What if you could call her Mom?”

  His nose scrunched as he considered. “But… like… Momma Jean?”

  “You could call her Momma Avery, or Momma A.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t think she’d like it.”

  “Why not?”

  “ ’Cause whenever we talk about Momma Jean, Auntie A gets sad.”

  “Do you know why? Because Momma Jean did some bad things that upset your Auntie A. So when we talk about Momma Jean, it makes her sad. But your Auntie A loves you, Jamie. And I think she’d like it if you called her Momma A.”

  His dark eyes—so intelligent for a child his age—widened a little. “You think I can?”

  “I do. But only if you want to, little man.”

  “And it wouldn’t make her sad?”

  “I think it would make her very happy, little man. Because she’s already your mom. She loves you, takes care of you, sings to you, reads to you, plays with you, feeds you. That’s what moms do, right?”

  He seemed to really think about that before nodding. “Yeah.”

  “Do you like that idea?” I prompted.

  “Yeah.”

  “Then can I ask you something else?” This was going to be the tricky part. I’d rehearsed this in my head a thousand times over the last few days, but I doubted it would come out right.

  “Yep.” He swapped cars but kept most of his focus on me.

  “How would you feel if I came to live with you and Avery forever?”

  “And, um, never leave and stuff?”

  “Exactly like that,” I replied, smiling.

  “I thought you already did that?”

  “Not officially.”

  “What’s officially?” he asked, tilting his head.

  “It means I haven’t moved all my stuff in yet, and that I could still leave.”

  He frowned. “I don’t want you to leave.”

  “I don’t want to leave, either. That’s why I want to live with you and Avery forever.”

  “Okay,” he agreed. “I like that.”

  “So you don’t mind if I ask your Avery if I can live with you both forever?”

  “Nah, it’s good. She needs a friend. You can be her friend.”

  “I want to be more than her friend, Jamie,” I admitted. “I want to be her husband.”

  “Does that mean, like, the wedding stuff?”

  “Exactly like the wedding stuff,” I said, laughing a little at the disinterested expression on his face. “But it would mean keeping your Avery forever.”

  “So you’ll, like, move into her room and stuff?”

  “Yes.” Which I’d technically already done, but Jamie didn’t seem to understand that yet.

  “And sleep together?”

  “Yes.” Every damn night.

  “And kiss?” He sounded so disgruntled by that last part.

  “Probably a lot, yes.”

  He gagged a little. “So gross. Girls are gross.”

  I really needed to start recording him saying that, just so I could replay it in ten years. “You think Avery is gross?”

  “No, but kissing is so ughhhh.”

  I laughed a little, amused. “Well, I am going to kiss your Avery a lot.”

  More gagging noises. “Okay, but you better not make her cry.”

  “I’ll do my best,” I vowed.

  “And you have to buy her lots of pizza.”

  “I can do that.”

  “And gifts!” He seemed to really favor that idea, something I probably should never have introduced him to. The poor kid would be broke when he started dating. Well, maybe not broke. But he’d be spending a hell of a lot of money.

  That said… “I plan to give Avery a lot of gifts.”

  “Okay.” He beamed at me. “Can we play race cars now?”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, little man. We can play now.” Since he seemed to agree with my intentions. “But don’t say anything to Avery, okay?” I wanted the proposal to be a surprise.

  “ ’Bout what?” he asked, already lost in the track.

  I ruffled his hair. “Never mind.” Even if he did say something, she’d assume he misunderstood me. “I get the blue car.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s my favorite color, and I’m your dad, so we play by my rules.”

  “Rules, rules, rules,” he sing-songed.

  I arched a brow at him. “Are we playing or not?”

  “Yessss.” He bounced around. “Play!”

  Avery was right.

  It was going to be a long night.

  28

  Avery

  Jamie rocked a tux better than everyone in the room. Except maybe his dad, who had lost his jacket hours ago and rolled his sleeves to the elbows.

  Mmm. Wyatt Mershano made everything he wore—or didn’t wear—look good. His sinful gaze rose to mine as if sensing my thoughts, his resulting smile causing my heart to speed up.

  We had yet to experience any adult time this week, despite my going to bed naked each night. I kept falling asleep before Wyatt joined me, only to find myself in his arms the next morning. Then Jamie would arrive before I could follow through on anything.

  The kid loved Hawaii. He wanted to swim all day, every day. And his father was all too happy to indulge him.

  It painted a beautiful picture, watching them in the waves together. Just as it did now as they danced across the ballroom floor. They were two peas in a pod, and there was no doubt as to their relation.

  Jamie and Wyatt had captured the hearts of everyone in this room. Even Ellen Mershano smiled at them, something that didn’t seem to happen often. I’d barely spoken a word to either of his parents, not that they’d really tried to talk to me or Jamie. The disdain between Wyatt and his father was palpable. It seemed Evan felt similarly.

  Whatever their history, Wyatt wasn’t letting it bother him as he lifted Jamie off the floor and tossed him over his shoulder. I smiled at his resulting giggles while also feeling a little jealo
us that Wyatt couldn’t do that to me and carry me off upstairs. Especially with the way his muscular forearms tensed.

  I need an orgasm, I decided. Or twelve. It’d been weeks, and clearly, I was addicted to Wyatt Mershano. Something I wholeheartedly blamed him for doing to me.

  “Jamie says he’s tired,” Wyatt said, approaching me.

  “I did not!” he yelled from above, squirming. “I only yawned!”

  “It’s way past your bedtime, little dude,” I said, noting the near-midnight hour. Not that Jamie had really experienced a bedtime this week. Letting him sleep on the jet had obviously been a huge mistake that I would not be repeating in the future. However, Wyatt had done everything in his power to tucker the little guy out, which, unfortunately, left him tired as well.

  “Ughhh,” Jamie groaned, slumping over his dad’s shoulder.

  “Let’s get him upstairs.” Wyatt gestured toward the doors with his chin.

  I stood, happy to follow his lead. With a wave to the bride and groom, as well as the rest of the bridal party, we ventured out of the ballroom and toward the hotel elevators. The wedding technically wasn’t done, with us still having five days in Hawaii with the family, but the main ceremony had taken place today.

  “They make a beautiful couple,” I said as we entered the elevator.

  Wyatt shifted Jamie’s weight so he could pull out his card and swipe it to send us to the appropriate floor. “Yeah, I suppose Evan chose well.” He smiled. “My parents are thrilled.”

  I snorted. “I noticed.” At least Sarah’s parents, and her identical twin sister, appeared to be supportive. Jonah and Ellen just seemed bored. No, actually, miserable was the better term. “I like Rachel and Will, too. And Mia.”

  “Not Garrett?”

  “Does anyone like him?” I wondered aloud, only partly joking.

  “He’s not that bad when you get to know him,” Wyatt replied, his lips curling. “Actually, he’s pretty loyal. We give him a lot of crap, but…”

  “He’s family,” I finished for him.

  “Yeah. He is.”

  A ding announced our arrival, and the doors opened to reveal the foyer of our gigantic suite. I glanced at Jamie to see his eyes were closed, which explained his quiet behavior on the way up. “He’s definitely tired.”