“All right. Look,” she bit out. Her ass tightened on his thigh. He sat back and enjoyed the Kelly in charge show and fantasized about fucking her into next week the minute she gave the all clear.
“If I make nice and give this sister thing a chance, will you two shake hands and do that bro hug thing? I um,” she stammered. A quick push of some hair behind her ear and some back stiffening and she finished the thought. “I need you both.”
Impressed, encouraged, humbled. All these things swirled inside him. Her admitting to needing anything at all was huger than huge.
Liam rose and showed them the true measure of the man he was. Speaking directly to her, he said, “I was out of line. I’m sorry. Can we start over? I’d like that, Kelly. You’re…family. My family.”
Since she was nothing but a younger, female version of Liam, Kelly didn’t immediately roll over. She had a few specifics of her own to lay down before they moved forward.
With a hand on Roman’s shoulder, she spoke distinctly and clearly so there’d be no misinterpreting what she said.
“Roman is family.”
It was a challenge and a promise wrapped up in one neat little package.
Liam snickered. “Us rolling around on the floor throwing punches? That’s the stuff brothers do so no worry there. This motherfucker,” he drawled with a nod, “was already seated at the family table and not just because my fiancée wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Their eyes met, and they both smiled. Truth.
“Good,” Kelly replied. “Now let’s discuss Matty.”
Liam waved her off. “Not necessary, sis. I get it. It’s gonna be fucking weird and an interesting legal kerfuffle, but I do get it.”
Roman finally spoke. He pointed to each of them and stated their titles. “Brother,” he declared with great care. “Kiki is the mom,” he said with a gesture at Kelly. “And, whatever the fuck he wants to call me, but essentially, the dad.”
Everyone nodded and then he quickly added, “Oh, and Kelly is the decider. She made me promise.”
He stood up and helped Kelly slide to her feet.
With the self-assurance and kick-ass snarl of a drill sergeant, she told them what to do. “Now shake you two and say sorry.”
Liam, the dumb fuck, was quick to point out that he’d said sorry first. Kelly walked up to him and tugged on his ear. “What did I say?”
Her brother’s startled yelp and pissy, “Ow,” was music to Roman’s ears. These two were going to be a party in the years ahead. He wished Rhi could see this because a grumpy, pouty Liam Ashforth was front-row, comedy gold.
Kelly looked around at the big empty walk-in wardrobe and shrugged at Rhiann. They were sitting cross-legged on the floor in the middle of the big closet, picking at a plate of nachos on the carpet between them.
“Seems like overkill to me. Who needs so many clothes?”
Rhiann Baron-Wilde’s easy, amused laugh rang out. Sticking out one leg she wagged her foot. “I don’t need these suede pumps, but they look bangin’ with jeans and quite frankly, heels do amazing things to a woman’s posterior.”
“Roman hates the Uggs,” she sniggered.
Catching a glob of gooey cheese with her tongue as she held up a chip loaded with nacho toppings, Rhiann chuckled and made a face. “He told you that, did he? Idiot.”
Kelly nodded and laughed.
“I am one of three sisters,” she explained, “so relationship advice comes naturally to me. You can tell me to shut up if you want but when it comes to hacks and hints for the care and feeding of today’s modern, alpha shithead, I’m your girl. You think Liam’s a handful? Bah!” she chortled. “Wait till you meet Brynn’s husband and Charlie’s hunk of burning love.”
This was fun. She’d never ever hung out with a friend and shot the shit about men and shoes. She could get used to this.
“I’m all ears.”
Rhiann re-arranged her position and laughed happily. “First, don’t let him get his way all the time.”
She barked with laughter. “Oh shit. No worries there. Half the time I have no idea what to do with him! He acts like a knuckle-dragging caveman when I don’t ask him to open every damn lid with his manly muscles. Seriously, Rhiann. Do guys think all we do is sit around and wait for them to handle everything?”
“It’s in the alpha code of conduct. But you’ll get the hang of it. Every time he pounds his chest and plays the manly-man card? That’s generally when you have the upper hand.”
She had to give it some thought, but she was beginning to see the point. When Roman was knee deep in testosterone? She could bat her eyes, chew on a lip and pretty much get anything she wanted out of him. Men, or at least her man, was easy that way.
“The Uggs are a reminder to his bad self that a, you don’t give a shit what he thinks when your feet are cold and besides, he ain’t the boss of you.”
She arched a brow.
“Ah,” Rhiann chuckled. “I see Roman’s bad boy ways have already corrupted you.”
“I kind of like that bossy, domineering thing he’s got going on.”
“Good lord,” Rhi bawled with laughter. “Don’t ever tell him that! Keep him guessing and always on his toes. You’ll thank me later.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sweetie, I have very few filters. Sisters, remember? Ask whatever you want but just know that I will answer whether you like it or not.”
“Fair enough,” she quipped. “Rhiann, you know Roman pretty well, right?”
“I know that he’s an extraordinary man and that I trust him with my life. And Liam’s.”
She nodded and chewed a lip as she gathered her thoughts. “Do you think I’m crazy? I mean, we’re moving awfully fast. One minute we were snarling and spitting at each other and then…”
Rhiann leaned against the wall, stretched her legs out in front of her and crossed them at the ankles.
“I met Liam just out of high school and let me tell you something. Ya’ think he’s a handful now? Back then, he was a grad student with a chip on his shoulder the size of Plymouth Rock, and he had a conservative stick rammed up his butt. I remember thinking he was so tight that a quarter would bounce off his forehead.”
“Wow.”
“By then his demons were gearing up for battle, and there was a menacing intensity about him that I didn’t understand. Adam Ward did a lot of damage to a lot of people.”
“So, what happened?”
“We had a brief, wild fling. Very secret. I was far too young, and he was not in a headspace for a real relationship. And then almost as soon as it started, we were over. He pulled the plug.”
“You broke up?”
“I’m not sure that breaking up was part of what happened. We snuck around like naughty kids so it’s not like we were a couple to begin with. Even though I was monumentally stupid and in over my head, I didn’t regret any of it. That was almost a decade ago.”
“How long have you been back together?”
“Roughly?” she asked with a nonchalant shrug. “About a year. Give or take. He bought me.”
“He what?”
Rhiann laughed, smirked, and rolled her eyes. “You heard me. He bought the fashion magazine I worked for. Out of the damn blue. Hadn’t heard a peep from him in forever but in his crazy mind being my boss was somehow going to be a good thing.” She snicker-snorted and looked at Kelly. “I mean, honestly! Really? Men are so dumb.”
“Is this when you met Roman?”
“Yes, indeed. A long story best shared over a few bottles of wine. Our tale has everything. Drama. Intrigue. Danger. A crazed stalker. Bullets. Kidnapping.”
Kelly whistled and murmured, “Wow. Wild…but explains a lot.”
“I’ve never had a brother,” she murmured. “Roman would take a bullet for Liam and me, and I know this first-hand. He’s a great guy, Kelly. And he needs a good woman in his life.”
Lots to think about, that’s for sure.
“S
o, when you ask if I think you’re crazy, consider what I just shared. Is it possible for two souls to meet and instantly join? Yes, and I believe that with all my heart. In my case the bond weakened but never broke. When the time was right and each of us ready, the universe, as my hippy-dippy sister would say, brought us into the same space. What we did after that was all on us. Thankfully the love survived and now look.”
She waved a pretty sparkler in Kelly’s face. “We’re getting married in June. I can’t wait to have it be official so we can start making some bay-bays.”
Marriage and babies. Hmmm. She blurted out what shot into her thoughts. “He um, sort of demanded that I marry him. Uh, a technical malfunction. But, well…Mother Nature must not have been impressed by our antics because the problem never materialized.”
Rhiann’s jaw was hanging open.
“And since, well, the subject hasn’t come up.”
“Oh my god,” she muttered. “Do not let your brother know any of that. He’d have Roman neutered in a heartbeat.”
“Newsflash,” she drawled sardonically. “What happened? I didn’t exactly give him much choice.”
“I knew I was going to like you, Snow.”
“Snow?”
Rhiann laughed merrily. “Yeah. He described you as Snow White when I demanded he send a selfie. I can’t believe that old fart found himself a Disney princess to salivate over and that’s exactly how I’m describing you to my sisters.”
“Well, thank you for the compliment, but I’m not so sure me and my crappy second-hand jeans qualify for admittance to the romantic heroine show.”
Oh, Sweetie! Did you think I wasn’t going to do a Baron-Wilde makeover on you? We’re going shopping!” she merrily declared. “And I have the best hair and make-up people. You just let me handle that part of things.”
“I have a confession,” she muttered.
“Unless you’re secretly a dude, nothing you say could shock me.”
“Roman told me you have a mouth,” she giggled. “You must scare the snot out of those guys.”
“Serves them right. Now spill. What kind of secret?”
“Yikes,” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe these words are coming out of my mouth, but here goes. I, um…well, I’ve never worn a dress.”
Rhiann’s brows bumped together, and furrows of frown lines marred her face. “Huh?”
“Yeah, I know,” she sniggered when Rhiann’s stunned expression froze on her face. “Pathetic, right? And it gets worse.”
“I can’t see how.”
Kelly studied Rhiann’s super sexy shoes and then pulled a face. “I roll for comfort. And practicality. Farm life isn’t a fashion parade. Never have I ever…worn heels.”
Rhiann gasped and clutched her chest. “Say it isn’t so!”
She held up her hands in defeat. “My undies? Whichever five pack is on sale at Walmart or whatever looked halfway decent at the Thrift Store.”
Rhiann started fanning herself while she pursed her lips, shook her head and muttered over and over, “Nope. Unacceptable. Not on my watch.”
“Look at this place,” she lamented with a dramatic wave. “Roman is so damn sophisticated and worldly. What’s he doing with a girl in work boots and ratty jeans?”
“From where I’m sitting, he looks to me like a man finding out at long last that he’s worthy of love. Being loved and showing love. Some wounds take a long time to heal.”
“I know,” she murmured with quiet anguish. “He told me.”
Rhiann looked genuinely surprised. “Really?”
“Yeah. He has a picture in his wallet. That was more than a little sobering for me. Seeing his pregnant wife.”
Kelly wasn’t sure what was happening when Rhiann seemed to struggle, and her face went ashen for a moment. “He suffered greatly,” she quietly murmured.
“It’s because of what happened to Vanessa that he does personal security. Isn’t it?”
“He knows he can’t change what happened, Kelly. That’s not what motivates him. I’m sure you know his background and understand that it’s hardly a stretch when highly trained soldiers leave the military and take what they learned to the private sector. For Roman, security is a real, tangible thing. Unfortunately, all of his efforts to keep his family from harm’s path didn’t mean a damn thing in the face of evil. He isn’t trying to atone. He just doesn’t want anyone else to go through what he did.”
“He has control issues.”
“Don’t we all?”
Excellent point.
“Will Liam forgive him?”
“He forgave him the second you used the word love.”
“Don’t be upset with me, Rhiann, but I’m not sure about your fiancée.”
They both sighed.
“I know, and it’s okay,” Rhiann assured her. “None of us except perhaps Roman truly understands what this must be like for you. And Matthew. Leaving your lives behind. Going someplace that has to be scary. All these people sticking their noses into your business. You’re my new hero, Kelly Anne James.”
She gave a half shrug and dug around the nacho plate. “My whole life I’ve been someone else’s pawn. And I didn’t even know it. Not all of it, anyway. Then some snot-bag guy claiming to be an older brother who has some delusion about fixing my life comes along. I don’t like it.”
“You have it all wrong. He’s not trying to fix you, Kelly. Is he trying to clean up Adam Ward’s mess? Yes. But you’re not a problem. Not you and not Matthew. I think you may find when the emotional blowback finally clears and the dust settles that having an older brother who puts family far above anything else will heal inner hurts you might not realize exist.”
Rhiann rolled to her knees and crawled over, sat down next to her and put an arm loosely around her shoulders. “You’re not on your own anymore. I will do everything I can to tamp down Liam’s enthusiasm, but you need to understand that to him, finding out he has siblings is a gift. His upbringing left him feeling he was unworthy of a family. He’ll stand on his head to make sure you’re happy.”
The idea made her chuckle. “Poor Roman.”
“I know, right?” Rhiann laughed and hugged her tighter. “Shall we go see what the boys are up to? Guaranteed they’re talking sports. Or cars.”
“Or dinosaurs. Matty has a way of commandeering every conversation and steering it to his interests.”
“Just like his older brother, “Rhiann chuckled.
Kelly started to get up and then stopped and looked at Rhiann. “Oh god. Really?”
“Welcome to the tilt-a-whirl,” Rhiann laughed. “Mr. King of All He Surveys has a mini-me.”
They had a good laugh, stood up, rearranged their clothes, did some hair smoothing and grabbed the almost empty nacho platter.
“I can’t wait to set Roman’s credit card on fire.”
Kelly sneered, “I have my own money.”
Rhiann looped her arm through hers and led them from the big wardrobe. “As do I, but Kelly darling, practically rule number one with these alpha types is let them do the spoiling. It’s easier than resisting. Roman will shit a bag of rocks if you make this a point of contention. Choose your alpha battles, my dear. And choose them wisely unless you don’t ever want to sit down again.”
“Rhiann,” she gasped. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
They stopped walking, and Rhiann smirked at her. “Seriously?”
“What is it with guys and the spanking thing? I don’t get it.”
Rhiann’s delighted sounding laugh rang out. “Well, clearly Mr. Bishop has yet to put you over his knee.”
“He keeps threatening,” she drawled.
“Well, sweetie, when he does? Relax and enjoy it. And then pout prettily and make some noise about your bottom being sore. The rest will take care of itself.”
“No fucking way! Are you serious? Season tickets? Who the hell did you have to blow to score those?”
“Remember the creepy hipster dude with the
mad computer skills? I brought him up from the IT department to look at that hacking issue we talked about. He mentioned that his grandfather gave him the tickets for Christmas. Next thing I knew he’d admitted to giving less than a crap about sports of any kind and said he planned to Craig’s List the stuff and see what he could get. You can imagine how it went after that.”
Roman snickered and held his beer aloft. “Only you, man.”
“Hey. What can I say? Season tickets, dude. Center ice, fifth row.”
“I bet Rhi is thrilled,” he said with lots of sarcasm.
Liam grinned from ear-to-ear and Roman perked up. What had he done now?
“Hooked her bad ass up with VIP passes to half a dozen of her favorite designers at this year’s fashion week. Not much she could say after that.”
A belly laugh rumbled from Roman’s mouth. “That’s going to cost you a shit-ton. Rhiann and New York Fashion Week? Oh my god.”
“Right?”
“So who are you taking to the Rangers? Are these business comps?”
“Fuck no,” Liam howled. “I thought you and I…”
“Are you asking me on a date?”
Liam stammered to a halt and scowled despite the amusement pouring from his expression. “Tell me again why I put up with your fucking bullshit.”
He finished off his beer, slammed the empty on the table, let out a belch and snickered. “Because I’m not eyeing up your pasty white ass for some butt fucking.”
“Jesus lord, Roman,” Rhiann screeched when she and Kelly came around the corner into the living room. “Have you a screw loose?”
“Whaaaat?’ he teased. “No good? But I thought you knew the bears down in the parking garage, and a bunch of the dominatrix gals from payroll have a betting pool going on for who brings the lube and who does the honors.”
Kelly stepped forward wearing the stern-nanny expression he enjoyed so much and gave him a major dose of shade. “Matty better not be anywhere in this room while you two are discussing butt lube.”
“He’s sawing wood in his bedroom. The kid dropped like a rock mid-afternoon and fell right asleep. Sorry,” he added. “His naptimes are a bit off. The time change, ya’ know?”
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