It's Always Complicated (Her Billionaires Book 4)

by Julia Kent

  “For everything.”

  Dylan

  Thank God for online dating. Dylan’s hips ached with the weight of two sacks of limp concrete masquerading as toddlers, but he was used to it, the boys playing with his tie or pulling on his hair. He tried to listen to the minister’s words, but instead centered his attention on Laura.

  She was a vision. And online dating had brought her to him and Mike. They were so fucking lucky some other guy didn’t snap her up.

  The other two hundred and fifty people faded out like a blur of humanity as he watched her face, the way her eyes lit up at the minister’s words, how she dipped her chin and tilted her head to listen to Mike. The pink in her cheeks and the dimple that showed when she smiled hard made love bloom in his chest.

  More and more every year.

  What an insane day. In-fucking-sane. He finally looked out into the crowd to see Murphy, his old fire-fighting buddy, and his wife. A bunch of guys from the station, all smiling at him. Laura’s old boss at Stohlman Industries. Madge and Ed. His mom and dad and family.

  So many people who made up pieces of their life, both big and small.

  Speaking of small pieces, Adam began licking his tie.

  Fatherhood was so glamorous.

  “Do you, Laura, take both Dylan and Michael to be your husbands...”

  Husbands.

  They couldn’t make it legal, but they could make it right.

  Dylan leaned over to Laura and whispered, “I can’t get the rings out of my pocket. Front right.”

  “Is this just an excuse to get me to play pocket pool with you?”

  “Would that actually work if I asked?”

  She laughed, the sound interrupting the minister, making him frown slightly. Laura reached into his deep pants pocket, found the bundle of rings, and gave his thigh a squeeze. She was holding Jillian, who complained as Laura’s weight shifted. Laura slid their daughter down and held her in place, hands on her shoulders, Jilly suddenly serious as the minister unrolled the rings from the small pouch.

  “I want a ring,” Jillian declared.

  Uh, oh. They hadn’t considered this scenario.

  “The rings are for Mama, Daddy and Papa,” Laura whispered, bending down.

  “But I want one, too,” Jilly said, her big eyes getting wide and sparkly. Tears would come in seconds.

  “You can have one later. Remember how princesses get married and the princess and prince wear rings? These are special prince and princess rings.”

  Jillian looked at Dylan, then Mike, finally settling her gaze on Laura.

  Please let this work, Dylan thought.

  Her face broke out into an electrifying grin. “Daddy and Papa are princes?”

  He and Mike shared twin looks that said, Why not?

  “Your Daddy and Papa are the best princes in the whole wide world, sweetie,” Laura said.

  Crisis averted.

  Jillian seemed to take this as enough of an explanation, the minister continuing, holding out a ring to Laura, until their little girl interrupted again.

  “Does that mean Daddy and Papa have white horses?”

  The crowd, who seemed to be respectfully not laughing at the entire scene, burst into amused giggles.

  “No, honey, they—”

  “Can we get a pony?” Jilly gasped, just as Cyndi came to the rescue, whispering in Jillian’s ear and ushering her away to sit on Cyndi’s lap, right next to her Grandma Rose.

  “Now that we’ve established Dylan and Mike’s prince status, let us continue,” the minister intoned, setting off another ripple of laughter.

  Freed from holding a child, Laura reached Adam and took the burden off Dylan. Mike smiled and mouthed Thank you to them both, which made Dylan frown.

  Why thank them? It was just what you do.

  But the gesture was nice, anyhow.

  The cold slide of gold against his ring finger felt like the moment he slid into Laura’s wet, warm body. He tensed, vulnerable and embarrassed at how raw he felt right now. Her eyes caught his and his tension eased, but did not disappear. As she said the words and he said the words and they both felt all the things, he turned to Mike and said more words.

  And felt even more.

  His wedding to Mike two years ago had been a formality.

  This was his real wedding. This.

  For his very real, very unconventional marriage.

  ’Til death do us part had, overnight, become more immediate. It wasn’t a platitude.

  It was possible.

  Necessary, even.

  He was in Laura’s arms, people standing and cheering, whistling as he hugged Mike, Laura, Aaron and Adam, Jillian clinging to their knees, the pile of arms, legs, mouths, heads and skin making him lose himself in the divine creation of community.

  He and Mike had been searching for this most of their lives.

  Hey, Jill, he thought, looking up at the sky just as that rainbow kite’s string snapped, the wind lifting the colors ever higher.

  Mike looked up, too, and together they watched as the kite flew over the ocean, off on the horizon until it was gone, free forever, swept away by winds that took it where it needed to be.

  His eye caught Mike’s and he knew—knew—they were thinking the same thought.

  Thank you, indeed.

  Josie

  Josie caught Marlene’s eye as the minister spoke, turning away from Laura, Mike and Dylan’s ceremony and starting hers. Her mother winked. It wasn’t sarcastic or jaunty. The gesture was one of connection.

  Aunt Cathy gave her a smile that made Josie tremble inside. She hadn’t seen her aunt that happy in...

  When? When had she seen her that happy? Maybe at her wedding to Calvin, who sat like a sentry next to her, back straight and tall, his hand holding hers, Darla on the other side of him.

  Darla wept openly, leaning against Trevor, who sat next to a very uncomfortable Joe.

  She remembered that day so many years ago when they’d been on her front porch, hanging out as Alex ran past and slammed into a No Parking sign.

  Laughter came out of her, a small snicker that made Alex look down and quirk one eyebrow. She shook her head slightly and he nudged her with his elbow.

  Companions.

  Conspirators.

  Friends.

  Lovers.

  They were each other’s world.

  And the world was theirs.

  Because both Laura and Josie were fatherless, they’d dispensed with having a male father figure walk them down the aisle. The lack of that part of the ceremony had seemed like one among so many tiny details, but as she stood before the minister, a pang of grief rippled inside her.

  Daddy.

  More than two decades without him. His presence here would have been a given, she assured herself. She had been daddy’s little girl back then, and her wishful child’s mind clung to that, needing it to be true.

  She would have been a very different person had he lived.

  Alex met her eye, reaching into his jacket pocket to find the rings.

  The person she’d become was all right, though.

  “Do you, Josephine Elizabeth Mendham take this man, Alexander Edward Derjian, to be your lawfully wedded husband...”

  This was really happening.

  Uncle Mike reached across her mother to offer Darla a handkerchief, and out of the corner of her eye Josie could see her mother crying, wiping tears with the back of her hand.

  That broke Josie.

  Broke her clean in half.

  Her knees dissolved into millions of pieces of humming flesh and Alex instinctively reached for her, holding her up, giving her a look of compassion and questioning that she struggled to return. Explaining how it felt to see Marlene have feelings about Josie was like trying to describe how snow feels when you touch it for the first time.

  “What’s going on?” he whispered.

  “Too much emotion,” she said honestly.

  His throat moved as he swallowed,
those big, warm brown eyes focused on her, eyes that she would watch forever.

  “I hear you.”

  She knew he did.

  “My mom. My mom is crying,” she murmured. Alex looked at Marlene and smiled, the grin on his face so genuine it made Josie start to cry, too.

  “I’m supposed to help you, not make you cry,” he said as she wiped her eyes with the backs of her index fingers, careful not to smear her makeup.

  “Then marry me and get this part over so I can sob on your shoulder like a baby.”

  “God, I love you so much.”

  The minister cleared his throat. “Shall we continue?”

  “Yes!” shouted Meribeth.

  The crowd laughed.

  And so, it really was that simple. Alex reached for her hand and slid the ring on.

  “I had hand-written vows prepared, but I forgot every word,” he confessed.

  “Show off.”

  He laughed, but his eyes filled with great, shiny tears. “I don’t need vows for you to know how much I love you.”

  “No, you don’t,” she confirmed, her hand going to his left ring finger, sliding his thicker ring on.

  They held their hands up to each other left palm to left palm, the rings tapping each other as if they were wine glasses after a toast.

  “You may kiss the bride.”

  Alex

  Flow. The familiar rush poured over him, except there was no medical emergency. As he kissed Josie, the crowd rose for a second time, cheers and whistles puncturing the air, his mouth lost in her wet warmth, his hands buried in unfamiliarly hairsprayed hair, her new height in high heels making him feel awkwardly thrilled. His hands went lower on her body than usual, and he found himself palming her ass in front of two-hundred and fifty of their closest family and friends.

  “Get a room!” he heard Dylan shout, but it all disappeared in the taste of his wife.

  Wife.

  He had a wife.

  “You’re my wife,” he whispered into her ear.

  “And you’re my husband,” she answered back, her nose nuzzling his neck.

  “Finally,” both said at the same time.

  “FINALLY!” his mother shouted, as if she had a wire on Alex and was monitoring every word. Josie stepped back from Alex and gestured to Meribeth, who had Alex in a giant bearhug in seconds.

  “I’m so proud of you! You picked the best woman in the world!” she crowed, giving Josie a loving look.

  “I’m afraid I got that woman,” Alex’s stepdad, John, commented as he shook Alex’s hand. “But maybe it’s a tie.”

  “Let’s call it a tie,” Alex agreed pulling his stepfather in for an embrace.

  “Alex! You’re married!” his grandpa shouted. “Maybe it’s time for me to make an honest woman out of Madge!”

  “You’re crazy,” Madge said. “Everyone knows the sex dies down once you’re married. Why ruin a good thing?”

  Meribeth and Alex groaned, Josie averted her eyes, and then Marlene called out:

  “Did someone say sex?”

  “NO!” shouted Josie and Alex, who were joined in a chorus by Aunt Cathy, Uncle Calvin, Uncle Mike, and Darla.

  “Oh,” Marlene said, hanging back from the group shyly, casting little glances Josie’s way.

  Emotion ballooned inside him as Alex watched Josie walk toward Marlene with halting steps, her feet moving without thinking, her gait compromised by the unfamiliar heels—but it wasn’t just that. She walked like a newborn foal, on unsteady legs that were learning how to be in this new world.

  She opened her arms and gave Marlene her first hug in decades.

  Two, to be exact, if he had the math right.

  “Oh!” Marlene gasped, her hands hanging by her sides, her body tense. Alex felt the moment Josie almost let go, almost stepped back, almost gave in to the palpable, shrieking sense of horror that her first tentative bridge between the two of them was being rejected so thoroughly. He could feel her pain.

  And then Marlene’s hands pressed against Josie’s shoulder blades, her arms wrapping tightly, her mouth against her hair.

  “Congratulations, Josie,” her mom said. “Your daddy would have been so proud.”

  Josie lost it. Alex’s hands were on her shoulders from behind, and then he engulfed them both.

  “I wish he were here,” Josie stammered, shaking in his and Marlene’s arms, her mom smashing her face in Josie’s shoulder.

  “He is, honey,” Josie’s Uncle Mike said, his voice making it clear he was on the other side of Marlene. “In his own way, he is.” Her uncle touched Marlene’s elbow and she looked up at him, startled and then began nodding.

  “That’s right!” She fished around in a cigarette pack, the kind Alex hadn’t seen since his grandmother had been alive. Marlene extracted a wedding band.

  “What’s that?” Josie asked, unable to keep the skepticism and concern out of her voice.

  “It was Jeff’s wedding ring. Your daddy’s. When they, uh...” Marlene’s face went blank.

  “When they cremated him,” Uncle Mike said helpfully, clearly accustomed to filling in for Marlene’s lapses of memory. “They gave your mama his ring.”

  “It’s yours,” Marlene said, handing it to Josie. She looked up at Alex. “I thought about giving it to you long before the wedding, but Jeff wasn’t near your size. The ring couldn’t be thinned out enough for hands like yours.” Marlene batted her eyelashes. “Big, strong, surgeon’s hands like that.”

  Josie gave him a tight-jawed look.

  You had to take the bad along with the good sometimes.

  “Thank you,” Alex said, his politeness genuine.

  “I can’t believe you’re married!” Aunt Cathy squealed, pulling Josie in for a hug.

  “I can’t believe she wore white!” Darla shouted. “That ship sailed a long time ago!”

  “DARLA!” everyone shouted.

  “Like, in the Viking Era!” she continued.

  “Joe! Trevor!” Josie called out, incensed.

  “We’re here. We can’t keep her quiet either.” Joe offered Alex a handshake and Josie a formal hug, while Trevor hugged them both.

  “Congratulations,” Trevor said.

  “Maybe you’re next?” Aunt Cathy said, eyes dancing.

  Joe went white.

  Cathy cackled.

  And a chicken imitated her, walking through the crowd, people parting and laughing. Jillian broke free from Grandma Rose and started chasing the rust-colored hen.

  Darla joined Joe in his whiteness.

  “Is that a sign?” Josie teased Darla.

  “Shut your piehole.”

  Josie just cackled along with everyone else. They sounded like clucking hens.

  Alex watched his grandpa and Madge as they walked over to the bar, took in the assemblage of aunts and uncles, cousins and coworkers, Sandy and Pete and their family and workers all managing the details of the ceremony, the seating, the food and festivities, and he felt a great peace descend over him.

  “It’s perfect,” he whispered as Josie nestled under his shoulder.

  “You’re perfect,” she said, face tipped up to meet his eyes. “Dr. Perfect.”

  “Then that makes you Mrs. Perfect,” he said.

  And she was.

  Lydia

  “You look awfully wistful,” Krysta said, handing her a much-needed beer and a hug.

  “You know. Weddings.” Lydia shrugged.

  “This is not your normal wedding. It must make you think about possibilities.”

  “Shhhh. Don’t say that around my mother! I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  “Don’t say what around me?” Sandy asked, approaching from the buffet table. “Krysta, can you find Caleb and tell him we’re out of the toffee-pistachio cannoli?”

  “Yes, ma’am!” Krysta said, cheeks pink, brown curls bouncing as she strode off like a race walker.

  “You don’t need to be here, honey. Go back to the hospital and be with Mike.”
Sandy put her hands on Lydia’s shoulders and gave her a good look. “You need rest and time with your men.”

  “I know. I just wanted to come and check in. Jeremy’s at the hospital. He shooed me home to shower and get some supplies.” Out of the corner of her eye, Lydia saw Krysta jog back, her stride strong. She joined her and Sandy and smiled, face flushed from exertion.

  Or from seeing Caleb. Probably both.

  “Ah. Good man,” Sandy said.

  “They’re both good men,” Lydia choked out, giving in to emotion. Krysta gave her a side hug, the heat from her flushed face making Lydia relax and cry at the same time. She’d missed her best friend last night, in the nightmare that hadn’t quite yet faded.

  “They are,” Sandy and Krysta said in unison.

  “Looks like all these grooms are, too,” Pete announced from behind, approaching the crew with a six pack of blueberry beer. “Need a drink?”

  Lydia finished off the bottle from Krysta and promptly took a fresh one from her dad. “As long as someone can drive me back to the hospital, I’ll have a few.”

  “Whatever you need, honey.” He kissed the crown of her head.

  “New tray of coconut shrimp!” Caleb announced, coming in from Lydia’s left, delivering a massive platter with a new sauce—lime marmalade horseradish—for dipping. Lydia had gagged the first time he’d mentioned it, but the taste had won her over.

  “Dad? Krysta? Can you help me get another tray of lobster out here?” Caleb asked, giving Lydia small glances of concern. She ignored him. While she appreciated the support, sometimes being part of a big family was stifling.

  Pete, Krysta and Caleb huddled, whispering, then walked down toward the catering area.

  Her stomach growled as the scent from the shrimp hit her nose..

  “When did you last eat?” Sandy asked, not bothering to wait for an answer, nudging her toward the food table. Lydia looked at the sumptuous feast Grandma and Caleb had assembled. As part of the wedding preparations, Laura and Josie had basically asked that the Jeddy’s menu be recreated here, with all of their favorites.

  Coconut shrimp with various flavors of aioli. Chipotle-maple sausages on little tooth picks. Cheesy potato pancakes with a special chive sour cream paprika dip. Fried green tomatoes with horseradish sauce.