by Jo Willow
Deacon and I spent as much time away from the madness as we could. Our families thought we were getting the honeymoon out of the way first. Kind of like having dessert before dinner. In a way I guess we were. In reality, we were letting them have their dream wedding. He and I helped with the major decisions, but we let them row the boat.
We worked on our Compromise List and discussed our jealousy issues in detail. Insecurity seemed to be at the heart of the matter and once we identified that dragon, we began working on slaying it. Every relationship I’d ever had, revolved in someone wanting to get closer to my father or my money. For him, women wanted his money and his social connections. For those of you thinking, “Ah, poor little rich kids. People wanted them for their money.” Stop and think about that for a moment. I’m not saying that your average person working a nine-to-five doesn’t have problems, but do they have to wonder if everyone they meet wants something from them? Deacon and I lived lonely lives before we found one another. When you have to question the motives of everyone that’s friendly or wants to date you, your social circle stays small and you play your cards close to your vest. When you’re a public figure, it’s even worse. If you befriend the wrong person and they know your secrets are worth something, it’s a slippery slope to betrayal.
So recap: Our families worked on the wedding while we worked on our relationship.
As I said earlier, it was now Tuesday and it was “Final Fitting Day”. Does that need to be capitalized? Yes it does. You haven’t heard the way my sister says it. It sounds like a combination of Christmas and the moon landing. Very serious business with the potential for fun. She’s worked her ass off on this dress and I have to admit, it’s a beauty. She worked a miracle in a week and I’m sure I’ll owe her big time when this is over.
I’d just finished making coffee and putting out bagels when my sister came breezing in, followed by the most beautiful red headed woman I have personally ever seen in my life. She was carrying a garment bag that matched the one my sister was carrying, plus a rather large shopping bag, and a purse that might also be used as carry on luggage. I knew my sister, this new person intrigued me.
I walked up to her and started relieving her of her burdens. She smiled thankfully and held out her hand.
“Ayla Warren.”
“Dorothy Lincoln. Nice to meet you Ayla. Why are you tailing my sister?”
Her laughter was like the tinkling of bells and it was genuine. She followed me into the kitchen to help with the coffee and breakfast and I knew we would be friends. I like a person that can make themselves at home anywhere.
“I’m her new accountant-slash-assistant. I started last week.”
I handed her a cup of coffee that she accepted with a smile and I picked up my cup of Lemon Zing tea. She saw the expression on my face when she took her first sip and furrowed her brow.
“You’re looking at me like I’m stealing your cookie. Giving up coffee?”
“Not by choice and not forever. Between us, I may be pregnant and my fiance has decided that everything except him, water, and air are bad for the baby.”
“Oh dear. Think he’ll lighten up?”
“You haven’t met Deacon Sloan have you?”
She started to laugh as she reached for a bagel and slathered it with blueberry cream cheese.
“I don’t get out much. Your sister is keeping me chained to a desk with promises of pizza and beer if I behave.”
She took a bite and closed her eyes. A woman that enjoyed food. We were going to be good friends.
Melody joined us and grabbed her own cup and bagel, then motioned for us to sit at the table. Time for, “the talk”. “The talk” consists of her final instructions concerning the garment in question, details she’s learned about the event the garment will be worn to, and bits of gossip about anyone that might be interesting, that might see me in the garment. If I get compliments on the dress, I drop her name and praise her work. It’s only fair and I play my part well.
It started out as I knew it would, but the conversation took a turn somewhere between the antique lace overlay and the pale yellow she’d chosen for her dress.
“Dor’ did you know that both Anton and Pierce are standing up with Deacon?”
“I assumed that would be the case, why?”
She looked at me as if she were imparting the wisdom of the ages.
“You only have me Dor’. Our line will be off. The pictures will be off. The whole damned symmetry will be...off. We need to even up the playing field.”
I shrugged as if I didn’t care because frankly, I didn’t care. I didn’t have nearly the time or work invested in this that she did, and if she was stressing out over a lack of someone in a yellow dress? Then I say find someone in a yellow dress. I took a bite of bagel and smiled.
“So find someone. I don’t care. Do you know anyone that would be available at such short notice?”
Ayla shyly raised her hand and I grinned.
“You’d do it Ayla?”
“If you don’t don’t have anyone else in mind, I’d be happy to do it. Your sister kinda already made a dress for me...”
I started laughing and she laughed with me.
“That sounds like Mel’. The rehearsal is Friday night. Drive out with us and spend the night so we can get to know one another better. You can get to know the rest of the Sloans then too.”
I noticed she looked nervous about the prospect, and I reached over to pat her hand.
“Ayla, it’ll be fine. They’re good people. Grant and Bree own the farm and they’re as down to earth as you and me. Deacon is, well, Deacon. Ignore him. Pierce is the shy teddy bear and the sweetheart of the three boys. Anton is the prankster with the voodoo...”
Melody jumped in looking like she was ready to kill me.
“If you say voodoo penis I will kill you. We figured out it was your sick idea of a joke smart ass. Neither one of us even knows what a voodoo penis is. Do you know what kind of nastiness you get when you try to google it? Very funny Dorothy.”
“I know what it is.”
Ayla spoke up in between bagel bites. Melody’s eyes widened.
“You do?”
“Sure. It’s a penis so remarkably talented, that it must have voodoo magic attached to it. It’s addictive.”
Melody and I were both blinking. Her definition could not have been better if she’d written it for Webster’s. Ayla grinned and we grinned back. We were definitely keeping HER.
The dress fit perfectly and we all cried. It’s a wedding. It’s what you do. I’m not sure why and I don’t even have a theory about that, but I’ll work on it. We ended up having lunch together where we ran over music choices for the first dance, and we laughed. A lot. The three of us together felt good. It had been a long time since I’d had a day out with girlfriends and relaxed. I’d venture to say it hadn’t happened since college. Mel’ and I did okay together, but Ayla added the glue that made things fit together seamlessly.
Deacon had gone back to work on Monday and had planned on working until Thursday, when he and his brothers would head out to the farm. The bachelor party would be Wednesday night in the city. With Anton in charge, the potential for debauchery was endless and I was ready to post bail, should the need arise. I wasn’t too worried. That was mistake number one.
Wednesday morning, I was making breakfast when Deacon came ambling down the hall, impeccable charcoal grey suit in place. It set off his eyes and made me tingle.
“You’re biting your lip Dor’. See something you like?”
“If I say yes, can I unwrap it?”
I saw his eyes darken and I knew I’d hit paydirt. I slipped my arms beneath his suit coat and tipped my head up for a kiss. Never one to refuse me, he gave me something I’d remember all day and I smiled.
“You look hot Mr. Sloan.”
“Why thank-you Ms. Lincoln. I have three P.A.’s to interview today, a board meeting at ten, and a late afternoon development pow wow with Pierce. He’s
got an idea for something to compete with Amazon.”
“Nothing competes with Amazon.”
He poured himself a cup of coffee and I put a plate of food down in front of him.
“That’s what I told him, but he says he has an idea. When Pierce has an idea, you listen. The man astounds me sometimes. Nasa should have snagged him before I played the Family Loyalty card.”
I sat down next to him with my own eggs and toast. The bacon didn’t smell as appetizing as it usually did, so I took a raincheck.
“Will you be home for dinner tonight or will you leave from work?”
His bachelor party was tonight and he winced when I brought it up.
“I’m bringing a change of clothes and we’ll leave from there. The sooner we go, the sooner it’ll be over and I can come home.”
“Babe, you’re supposed to enjoy this. You only get one, have fun.”
“What are you gonna be doing tonight?”
“Mel’ and Ayla are coming over. We may go to dinner and a movie.”
“Can I come with you guys? I don’t eat much and I’ll even let you choose the film.”
I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
“No. You’ll only cry during the movie and bring us down. Go play with the boys and do boy stuff. I’ll meet you here tonight and we’ll do... us stuff.”
“I like Us stuff.”
“I know you do baby. So do I. Now finish your coffee and go to work. You have an empire to run and when you’re not there, Anton takes a shot.”
“Oh shit, gotta go.”
He gulped his coffee, looked at his watch, and grabbed his brief case. I walked him to the elevator and hit the button while he adjusted his cuffs. When he turned to me, I straightened his tie.
“Be a good little wolf and I’ll see you tonight. Love you.”
He kissed me again quickly and stepped into the elevator.
“Love you too babe. Have fun tonight.”
“You too!”
He was gone.
Deacon and I have a nice routine now. Once I made up my mind to stop fighting and let him take care of me, it’s amazing how much time to myself I actually have. I go for my daily run, but I leave my cell phone on in case he needs to get hold of me. That compromise seemed fair. The work stuff was tricky, because he unrealistically wanted me to only write about women. The compromise there, was that he meets everyone I take on to write about. That’s no big deal because he was a subject of one of my books and it’s immediate common ground. He’s practically a walking endorsement.
On his end, once ne narrows done his P.A. choices, I get to help him do the final interviews. That way they understand from the get go that I’m a looming presence in his life, and I get to pick the male if one’s on offer. He doesn’t know about that last part.
On the out and out jealousy front, we’ll have to take that on a case-by-case basis. I’m starting to think it won’t be a problem. No, I’m not being unrealistic or blind to the facts. I think that as we get closer, settle down, and have children, our security issues will solve themselves. We’ve already established a meal pattern that’s hilarious in it’s domesticity. I get up with him in the mornings and make sure he has a hot breakfast before he leaves. If we’re both free for lunch we tend to meet somewhere, or I bring something in. We’re always home by six o’clock for dinner unless one of us is out of town or a meeting runs long.
I think I’m gonna love being married.
“Do you walk in anywhere at less than full throttle?”
My sister blew in my front door as if she were being chased, poor Ayla trying to keep up.
“Hi Ayla.”
“Hey Dor’. Your sister has a plan.”
I looked at Melody for clarification.
“I thought we had a plan. Pizza and maybe a movie.”
I could tell something was bothering her by the scowl on her face and the rigidness of her posture. She was wearing a little black dress that fell mid thigh and black platform pumps. She had strands of different colored beads around her neck that fell to her waist and her long blonde hair was half up, half down in a messy bun. Definitely not pizza and chick movie attire.
Ayla was dressed in an emerald green silk blouse, tucked into a pair of jet black skinny jeans and black ankle boots. Again, inappropriate for our game plan.
I looked down at myself and then looked up at my sister. I looked like the hitchhiker they’d picked up on the way in.
“Mel’? What happened to the plan?”
“Plans change. Go change your clothes. We’re going out tonight.”
“Right...pizza and a movie. Remember?”
“Sorry Dor’, but you’re the designated driver tonight. Now hurry up, we need to be somewhere.”
I went down the hall and Ayla followed, whether to get away from my crabby assed sister, or to help me choose an outfit, I didn’t know. But it was nice to have an allie anyway.
Once we were in my room, I led her into my closet.
“What’s with her?”
Ayla picked an indigo blue blouse (one of my favorites) and held it against a pair of black flared trousers (good eye). She handed them both to me.
“If you’ve got flats, I’d wear them. She wants to dance and we may be moving fast, depending.”
I was changing clothes and reached for my favorite black mary janes.
“Depending on what?”
“Not what, who. Here, let me brush your hair out. We’ll add barrettes to the side and you’ll outshine both of us.”
I sat down and let her work her magic.
“Who’s the who?”
“Who else? Anton. I guess they had a huge fight about his plans for tonight. She wants to find him and show him that she doesn’t need his sorry ass. Her words, not mine.”
“So we’re going to find the guys so that she can start trouble?”
“That’s the condensed version, yes.”
We went back into the living room and Melody was on her cell phone laying into someone. Her inner bitch was in rare form tonight and Ayla and I tried to look interested in a bookend. When she hung up, she spun on us with her hands on her hips and fire in her eyes. We took a step back. There would be no talking our way out of this, Melody was loaded for bear.
I couldn’t prove it, but my educated guess based on knowing my sister her entire life, was that she put a trace on his phone. If they were fighting, there would be no way he’d tell her where he was going. He’d just go. At least that’s what Deke would do. Would Anton throw something in her face if he was angry with her? This speculation brought up a good point as well.
I looked in the rearview mirror at her in the back seat, while driving to our first destination.
“Since when are you and Anton a couple?”
Her eyes snapped to mine.
“Who said we were a couple?”
She shot a glance at Ayla, who kept her eyes facing forward. Smart girl.
“If we’re trailing him around while he’s hosting my fiance’s bachelor party, you’d better be a damned couple or I’m heading for the Cineplex.”
“Okay! He asked me out a few times and made me believe he was interested. Now he’s trying to friend zone me so that he can screw around tonight. Not gonna happen. Pull in here. There’s parking in the back.”
“Cloud Nine? Mel’, it’s a strip club. I am not going into a strip club. I don’t care if Ryan Gosling is on tonight giving us a Magic Mike, I am not going in there.”
We found a table in the back easy enough, all the men were crowded around the stage. Someone named Tara was sliding down a pole dressed in feathers. When I turned my head just right, I could almost see Big Bird as a fireman.
Ayla saw what I was doing and tilted her head too. I looked at her and she was grinning.
“Big Bird the fireman. Right?”
She high fived me and sipped her wine. I sipped my root beer. I was sick to death of lemon lime soda and root beer doesn’t have caffeine either, so it
was a nice change.
Melody watched us both with a scowl on her face. She fired her opening shot at me.
“You’ve got a root beer moustache and those girls work hard. Quit making fun of them.”
I dabbed at my upper lip quickly when she turned to Ayla.
“And you - don’t encourage my sister.”
When Mel’ turned to scan the crowd again, Ayla stuck her tongue out. That girl and I were gonna be besties by the end of the night.
Two more girls danced before we spotted them. They were at a table two rows back from the stage and I wasn’t sure how we’d missed them. They were easily the most attractive men in the place and two out of the three were probably the most disinterested.
Pierce looked flat out uncomfortable. He sipped his beer and blushed anytime a topless waitress or a dancer looked at him. I leaned into Ayla and pointed him out.
“See the cutie with the black hair wearing the blue sweater?”
“The one with the beer and high blood pressure?”
“High blood pressure?”
“His face is redder than a beet.”
I waved my hand and smiled.
“He’s blushing. Pierce is shy and naked women make him nervous.”
“Bullshit Dor’.”
“You don’t think he’s shy?”
“Dorothy, trust me. This is one area where I’m the expert. He wants you to think he’s shy. That smoldering slice of heaven right there is either a Dom, or he wants to be a Dom.”
I choked on my root beer.
“Pierce? Teddy bear Pierce? No way. When you meet him, you’ll understand why that’s impossible to believe Ayla. There is no way on this planet that Pierce could dominate a woman. He doesn’t have it in him.”
“Oh yeah? Introduce me to him and I’ll prove it.”
I was about to question her further, when my sister flagged down a waitress. The pretty blonde leaned over and Ayla and I both checked out our own breasts in comparison. Mel’ never took her eyes off our guys while she spoke.