“Thanks for the confidence.” Mia wraps her arms around the old lady and holds her tight. “I’m so grateful you could come.”
“Oh, Tino flew me in last night. I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Granny’s voice trembles. “That boy has been nothing but good to me, and now it’s your turn.”
“That’s about enough,” I say, breaking them apart. “It’s getting a little too emotional right here. We got about twenty minutes before everybody has to board the jet, and it’s about ten minutes to the airport so I say we best be getting our butts in the limo.”
Granny shakes her head. “Somehow we gotta work on this boy’s language.”
“Oh, I’ll take care of that.” Mia slaps my backside without anybody seeing.
I pucker my lips and blow her a kiss. “Is that a promise?”
“After everybody’s gone to bed.” She winks.
I’ll be looking forward to that.
I’ve had Lucas on my shoulders for about an hour now walking around this park full of animation. I’m just now wondering if this was a huge mistake. I just want to be alone in a luxury suite with Mia’s legs wrapped around me like the waistband of my trunks.
“I want to go on the pirate boats!” Lucas shouts.
I head toward that pirate ride, flexing my calves as I pick up the pace. I guess I could say I’m sprinting to get to a cool, dark place where I can sit next to Mia and get a little of her action when nobody is looking.
“You in a hurry?” Mia grabs the back of the waistband on my light, cotton shorts. “I thought we promised to stay together.”
Something about the way she says stay together has me aware she ain’t comfortable with all the cameras that have been following us today. I spin around and scoop her up with my right arm. She laughs. I love that playful sound.
“Yo, if we don’t hurry we’re gonna lose a good place in line. That’s all I’m saying.” I flex my bi-cep so it presses against her ribcage. “I thought you was a runner. What happened to all that marathon talk? And here I am thinkin’ you’re a fighter the way I saw you beat Whiteboy’s ass.”
“Oh, trust me, when you grow up in a house with two cousins about your same age, you learn how to fight unfair. Anything goes with Nikki. She’d leave bruises just because she could. It’s just the rules of engagement with girls,” she says, barely able to breathe.
I set her down in line. “Was I squeezing you too much?”
“Maybe a little,” she confesses.
“Bashful, you gotta tell me when I’m hurting you. Sometimes I forget my own strength.”
“Yeah, tell Nikki that when she has you in a headlock with her legs.” She smiles and turns her head to stare in wonder at all the cool details the ride has to offer. The mechanical pirates are bantering as we wait. “You know, this is actually a perfect place for a honeymoon.”
“Oh, so that’s what this is?” I chuckle, staring at all the black she has on. “I sorta thought you were dressed for a funeral.”
“I just don’t want to stand out so much,” she lowers her voice and checks over her shoulder.
So that’s what’s with the black floppy hat, shades, and outfit. She don’t want the paparazzi noticing how fine she is. And that’s why she’s packing all that black in her luggage. Ain’t no way in hell I’m telling her I took a peep while she was down getting her hair done.
“Bashful, there’s gonna be a lot of this. You may as well get used to it now.” I roll my neck to the side and hear it pop. “I ain’t ever gonna let you or the kid get hurt. We always got people watching our backs.”
“You seriously trust Ricardo and his posse of wife beaters to save us?” She checks the side of the ride in the café next to the line. I can’t even believe she would compare Ricardo’s boys to Sully’s skid row junkies. I stare at the group of guys.
Then I get a whiff of those churros they got outside and lose my concentration. I shake my head and try to dismiss the sweet taste I’m craving to watch the three men with their arms folded leaning against the fence that separates us. They’re in killer mode.
“Those boys are dope. Nothing’s gonna get them to betray my trust. I ain’t kidding around this time. I ain’t wasting my time on Sully’s punk ass sell outs. I needed to get me some men that respect family life. They all got a few kids of their own.” I jut my chin to Felix. He’s the leader of the pack. His code of honor is so heavy, that boy would take a bullet for me, and the wife and kid. “Nothing is going to happen. Just try and relax so Lucky can see you having a good time. You gotta remember, this is his big day too. He’s a part of us.”
“You’re the best.” She nuzzles into my chest and makes my heart buzz about a million-miles-an-hour. The smell of her soft perfume is about enough to make me want to rip her clothes off right here in line.
I pull Lucky off my shoulders and put him in the boat before I hold Mia’s hand to help her inside, and then I hop in faster than she can sit down so I can stick my hand under her ass. The boat rocks like crazy at my little stunt.
Mia stands there for a second to stabilize it.
“Sit down,” I chuckle.
She sits exactly where I intended.
“Seriously?” she sighs, turning her face to me.
“Hey, Big Daddy has to take an opportunity any chance he’s got,” I whisper in her ear.
“Big Daddy? Is that what you want me to call you?” she asks with a soft edge of sarcasm to her voice.
“Baby, you can call me anything you want as long as you keep pouring on the sugar.”
Lucky leans over. “What are you talking about? I want to sit by Dad.”
“Not right now.” Mia straightens his little body behind the bar pressed over us. My legs don’t let it squeeze as tight as it should around the little man.
“It’s fine. Hand him to me.” I reach out my arm and grab him. “I can’t handle when he calls me Dad. I ain’t ever heard anything better.
“You know you’re spoiling him.” Mia shakes her head. “We’re gonna have to work on this.
All in good time, Bashful. All in good time.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I
’m actually loving the Mickey Mouse ears Tino bought at the gift shop. Who knew a grown man with tattoos could look so good in Mickey?
“Do you think Granny is okay to walk the park this much?” I stare at Lucas tugging on her stylish sports apparel she has on. Tino must’ve hooked her up from his women’s clothing line.
“That woman is loving this.” Tino shakes his head. “She’s been trying to get me on It’s a Small World since I was just a punk kid. And I ain’t doing it.”
“What’s wrong with that ride?” I ask.
“About a million creepy little dolls singin’ a creepy song. Yeah, um, hell no.” He bounces on his toes like a boxer. “It’s straight out of a horror show if you ask me.”
I giggle.
“I ain’t kidding. All you gotta do is fall asleep in there and you know who comes to get you in your dreams along with all them dolls singin’ that song.”
“That’s ridiculous.” I narrow my brows. “Do you need me to hold your hand?”
He pokes my side.
“I’m serious.” I squirm from the tortuous game of his tickling. “I’ll even squeeze it when you look so drowsy so you won’t fall asleep.”
“Girl, you just won’t stop.” He tosses me over his shoulder and bolts to Lucas and Granny. “Yo, we ain’t riding that one.”
“Yes, we are!” I shout, and kick my legs like crazy.
He wraps his hand over my feet. “Nah, I gotta get me one of those churro things.” He juts his chin to the food stand near the exit of the ride. “It’s right over there. We’ll wait for you to get done with that doll nightmare, and meet outside.”
Granny shakes her head and takes Lucas by the hand.
Tino doesn’t set me down until we get to his cinnamon and sugar dream bar. He orders six of the crispy sticks and pays the woman behind the cash re
gister, holding all of them in his giant hands. He quickly takes a bite of the one closest to his face and basically eats more than half of it in one chomp.
“Easy there, Big Daddy. You gonna share any of those?” I reach over to snag one, but he puts up a fight.
“You wanna brawl?” He smiles. “Haven’t you ever heard, never take a man’s churro from the happiest place on earth?”
“Are you serious?” I scrunch my forehead.
“Yo, I just be playin’ with you.” He hands me a couple.
“One is plenty.” I hand him back the second treat, but not before I smear the sugar crystals all over his face. “That’s what I think about men being stingy with their churros.”
“Oh, now it’s on.” He lunges towards me.
I jump out of the way and start to run. “Stop,” I beg.
His face is so tender I can’t even stand it.
“Girl, I ain’t playin’. You get over here and lick this off.” Tino picks up the pace.
I’m pretty sure I have it in me to wear him out if I need to run clear across the park. He lacks in cardio, remember? I turn back to see if he’s close. Flip, run. He’s faster today.
Just as I turn back forward to pick up speed, I feel a heavy thud. My body slams to the ground.
“I’m so sorry,” I say, and blink from all the flashing cameras. I reach up to cover my eyes from the bright lights.
Tino’s voice is growling like a bear, and then he grabs my wrist, pulling me to my feet so he can cradle me in his arms. “Get yo dirty ass out of this park,” the words come out so hard he’s spitting. “I’ll break every one of these cameras. You know I will.”
“Mommy!” Lucas screams in the distance.
My heart pounds.
I whip my body around to see if I can find him.
My eyes scan the area before Tino starts to move toward the sound of Lucas screaming.
There’s a guy laying at Felix’s feet while Tino’s gangster-looking friend has his hands up like he’s protecting his face from a boxing match. Tino lets go of me and runs over to back Felix up. He grabs a few guys holding cameras by their backpacks, and flings them over his shoulders like toys he’s not interested in playing with anymore.
I suddenly see Lucas, and Granny fanning herself.
“Baby,” I call to him.
He wiggles through the crowd and runs over to grab my leg, clutching so tightly it makes me more upset. Who does this kind of stuff to children? Can’t the paparazzi leave us alone? I reach down and pick him up.
“Baby, it’s okay. You’re safe,” I promise him and kiss his cheek. I run my fingers through his hair and close my eyes. How is this going to work? The smell of his little sweat has me worried. I can’t live like this.
“Stop,” Granny shouts.
I look back over to her and notice Tino hitting a guy so hard in the face it’s bloodied. No. I panic and rush over to him, holding Lucas.
“Tino, stop,” I beg and kneel down by his side still holding Lucas. “Stop hitting him!”
He shakes his head like he’s snapping out of the insane trance that’s captured his consciousness. His body is wringing wet with sweat. I stare into his eyes to let him know we’re okay.
“He took pictures of the kid,” Tino sighs. “I don’t want him to have pictures of my son.”
A flood of reporters began spouting off questions.
“Tino, how long have you been married? Why were you keeping your wife and son a secret from the world?” A man holds out his phone with a recorder displayed on the screen. “Can you tell us why you’ve hidden them for so long?”
Tino steps back.
I can see he’s flustered.
Do something.
I reach over to help the guy that’s bleeding to his feet.
“The Death Tank isn’t so great at sharing his personal business with the world,” I say, peeking over at Granny. Hopefully, she’ll read my body language that I need help. “He needs some space. Everybody please back up.”
Granny rushes next to me and pulls a handkerchief from her purse. She blots the man’s face.
“We’re planning a press conference so the world will know he’s retiring,” I blurt out before really thinking about what I’m doing.
The entire crowd gasps.
“As his wife, I can’t handle the fighting. I need my husband around to raise our son, Lucky.” I glance back at Tino. He takes Lucas in his hands practically covering the little boy’s body with his solid muscles. “Tino is a good man. He’s the greatest husband a woman could ask for, and a champion father to our son.”
“Is this true?” The man holding his phone leans in closer to Tino.
“Right now I’m ‘bout to take Ricardo on as a client,” Tino speaks clear enough the entire crowd can hear him. “My fighting days are over.” He faces the man that he about pounded into the ground. “I need to get this gentleman to the hospital and take care of the liability I have caused here today. I’m asking that you’ll just respect my privacy until I can talk at a press conference and explain the changes in my future.”
I take his hand and squeeze his fingers. “I promise I’ll always keep you awake,” I whisper.
He chuckles under his breath. “Now I just gotta get ahold of Sully before this hits the newsstands.”
“You can’t,” I assure him. “He’s in jail. Arrested on a DUI charge.”
“What?” Tino scrunches his face.
“I had Nikki get a hold of her lawyer last night. Sully won’t be able to contact you unless it’s through him. They’re working on a heavy case of client harassment and embezzlement. He could be there a long time. Tino, you can’t imagine the things they found on him. He’s harassing more clients than just you. He’s embezzled so much money, they told me to have you check your accounts as soon as possible, but I wanted today to be special so I didn’t say anything. I didn’t even allow myself to think about it until now.” I can feel my lip quivering.
“Bashful,” he whispers against my lips, slowly cupping my face in his hands. “Did I ever tell you that you’re the woman of my dreams? You got that little shy girl thing going on, but I sure as hell would bet on you. You got a toughness about yourself that I ain’t gonna ignore.”
I wink at him and press my lips against his soft pout.
He respects me.
I smile as we stand there kissing.
I couldn’t be with a man that doesn’t.
“I got so many ideas you’re going to grow tired of me,” I mumble through the soft taste of sugar still stuck to his mouth.
“Baby girl, that ain’t possible. I ain’t ever gonna grow tired of you. Not ever.” He slaps my backend and Granny nudges us to remind us there’s a crowd of people watching.
How in the world did I get this lucky? Right now I don’t care. I just want to feel the joy in this moment. I want to burn it into my memory. I refuse to forget this perfect day—my wedding day—my perfectly relaxed, with a tiny bit of crazy, wedding day. Just the way I always dreamed of having it. For better or worse till death do us part. And even after.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“W
here we going?” Mia asks, but I can see on her face she knows exactly where she’s at by the way her toe is tapping faster than the wheels turning on the Bentley.
“I wanted to do something for you after you took care of all my Sully crap.” I make sure to clean up my language since that’s a new rule in the house with the kid living there and all.
“Tino, I’m not interested.” She folds her arms across her chest as I park in front of a small, remodeled house. “I’m not going in there.”
I jump out and jet around the vehicle to open her door. “Just give it a chance.”
She flips around and checks to see if Lucky’s still asleep in the back.
“I promise it’s gonna be alright.” I tug at her hand.
“Have you talked to him?” She holds a tight grip with her arms. “I haven’t been here since Is
abella’s wedding. I’m not going in there.”
Lucky starts to rustle around.
“Bashful, you are damn lucky to have family this close. I ain’t about to blow a few more years of this kid not seeing his grandpa.” I jut my chin to the little man. “We’ll just go in and check things out. If it don’t work out, I’ll knock his ass out and we’ll leave.”
She chuckles.
Her arms soften.
I’m getting through to her.
“Ten minutes.” She reaches over to grab her purse. “And I’m not holding your hand.”
I shake my head. “I’ll carry Lucky.”
I take the kid out of his booster seat, and he rests his little head on my shoulders. Mia is barely out of the Bentley. She’s staring at the place like it’s a world of broken memories.
“Yo, girl, you got this.” I grab her hand and clutch it tight enough that she can’t get away. “All you gotta do is knock. That’s the first step.”
Her lower lip trembles. “Where was he when I needed someone knocking?”
“Bashful, that ain’t fair. Men don’t think like that.” I try and ease the situation, but deep down I really want to beat his ass for making her cry. If I’d been there through it all I’d probably be in prison, but today I gotta focus on forgiveness. Mia needs that from me.
“Mommy, where are we?” Lucas asks as I tap the front door.
“We’re at your granddad’s place,” I answer before Mia gets a chance to get cold feet. My calves flex and I feel the need to bounce around on my toes. Even my shirt is gonna pit out in a few more seconds. And it don’t have anything to do with the late afternoon heat. I’m getting ready to brawl. Cool it. I remind myself of the purpose of our visit.
“How did you find him?” Mia squeezes my hand, taking in a labored breath.
The door opens.
“I asked Nikki for the address,” I reply as the older man stares at Mia like he’s seeing a ghost.
He doesn’t make a sound, but that doesn’t keep him from opening the door wider to invite us in.
“Yo, I’m Tino.” I hold my hand out to introduce myself and take the first step inside.
Pretty Woman: Mia (The Billionaire Bachelor Series Book 2) Page 12