“Will you keep me company while I get dressed?” Alyssa asked her soon-to-be mother-in-law as they went up the steps. “I never thought I’d ever get married and, even though doing this today was my idea, I’m a little nervous.”
“Of course you are, dear,” Rose replied. “After all, it’s not every day that you…” The rest of her comment was lost when she closed the door behind them.
“Dad,” Shane turned to his father, “care to offer any advice of your own? I suddenly feel a little shaky myself.”
“Only natural, Shane. Don’t worry. It’ll pass as soon as you get to the kiss the bride part of the ceremony. Happens to all of us round about this point. You and Flynn go on up and get changed and we’ll put out the flowers your mom picked. Just keep reminding yourself that you’ll be ending the day with that little girl as your wife and everything will be fine.”
* * * * *
Walking across the parking lot toward The Mill, Shane was lost in thought as Brett and Jesse claimed Alyssa’s attention. He did it! He actually married his Pixie Queen. And she kept telling him how much she loved him. She’d signed the paper, claiming Flynn as her own with him. Soon, his family would be on their way to bring their daughter home too. To their own home! Brett promised to arrange for Alyssa’s apartment to be packed and relocated before they got back from visiting her parents after they collected Charlie.
How had he gotten so lucky? In a few short weeks his entire life had been turned completely upside down. He was so incredibly happy. Just months before, he was a frustrated, lonely cop with nothing to look forward to at the end of the day. Now he had an amazing wife, a spectacular son, soon, a beautiful daughter, a comfortable house that his family would rapidly transform into a home and, thanks to his brilliant brother, no financial worries to pressure him to rush into another career that would take him away from his new family.
“Shane!” A squeal wrenched him from his thoughts as an overdone, bleached-blonde hurled herself at Shane, forcing him to catch her to prevent her from falling. “Shane McKade! I heard you were back. I’ve been meaning to come by and see you.” The woman arched against him and pressed her mouth to his for a kiss. “Handsome as ever too. Are you here for dinner? Perhaps you’d rather join me instead? We have so much catching up to do.” She tried to link her arm in his and tug him away with her.
Shane refused to budge. “Hello, Deb,” he said evenly as he removed his arm from her grip. “You haven’t changed a bit.”
“Aren’t you glad to see me, darling? You must be climbing the walls, staying with your parents, no offense. Maybe we can work something out to alleviate your boredom?” She leaned toward him again, pressing her breasts against his arm, pouting seductively.
Shane glanced around him and couldn’t miss Alyssa’s glare. He also noticed that Flynn moved protectively to her side. “What a generous offer,” he commented, not hiding the sarcasm in his voice. “But you’re a little out of touch.”
“Still playing hard to get?” She refused to release the arm she had claimed. “You can’t still be angry over that little thing after all this time? Really, Shane, we were kids.”
“I assure you, Deb, it’s completely forgotten.” As were you until ten seconds ago, Shane added silently, reaching his free hand toward Alyssa. “Before you continue to embarrass yourself, perhaps I should introduce you to my wife, Alyssa. And this young man is our son, Flynn.” He slid his arm possessively around Alyssa, instantly feeling the tension in her body and rested his hand on Flynn’s shoulder. “I can also assure you that I will never be stupid enough to jeopardize my future with the absolute best woman in the world by even looking at another female. No one could ever tempt me from my family.” The woman sputtered and took a step back. He motioned for his parents and friends to proceed. “If you’ll excuse us, my family and I have plans. Goodbye, Deb.”
As they walked into the restaurant, he heard her sputtering, “Wife? Son?” behind them.
“We’ll be right in.” Shane snagged Alyssa and headed for the empty coatroom. “We dated a few times in high school before she decided someone else was a more lucrative choice. After he got what he wanted and dumped her, she tried to convince me it was all a moment of temporary insanity and hadn’t meant a thing. I refused her numerous offers to give me the same and she apparently still doesn’t understand that no means no. I never did anything more than kiss her a few times, I swear.”
“This is not what I expected, McKade.” Alyssa tried unsuccessfully to pull away from him, hiding her hurt in anger. “Married less than an hour and already I had to stand by and watch some slut paw at you. You kissed her!”
“I did not! She kissed me. If you were paying attention, you should have noticed that I did not respond. I didn’t see her coming or I would have prevented that little scene.”
“As if. She was right in front of you, bouncing those fake boobs practically in your face! You expect me to believe you didn’t take note of all that jiggling? If she’d moved any faster, she would have slapped herself in the face.”
“Honest, Pixie Queen, I did not see a thing. I was too busy thinking about how fantastic my life is, thanks to you. I meant what I said to her. No one but you, ever.” He tried to pull her closer but she resisted.
“Then why did you encourage me to sleep around while I was away?” She blurted out the question that had burned her mind for weeks.
“Fear. Yep, I was afraid. Terrified that you’d fight what was happening between us by going after the next guy who showed interest in you. I knew I wouldn’t be able to take seeing you with someone else and I was scared that I would kill him when I couldn’t control my jealousy. If you had to do that to prove that you were in control of yourself, I couldn’t stand to watch. Admit it, Pix, if I had said I loved you and never wanted you to leave me that last night, you would have run as fast and far away from me as you could get. I doubt if I would have ever seen you again. You certainly wouldn’t have spent the night, letting me hold you like you did. You would have vanished before I got the chance to use my body to tell you how special you already were to me. Even while I was saying those things to you, I had to fight like hell not to scream that you were mine. What I really wanted to do was beg you to promise that you would never let another man touch you and share what we had. I already knew that I didn’t want any woman other than you. There never was going to be any career woman. All the times we joked about her, I was picturing you in my mind.”
“That night I passed out and Chris answered my phone? When I called you back and you asked my advice on how to get the woman you wanted? I forgot we were just pretending. I really thought there was someone else in your life. You broke my heart that night, McKade, just like you did when you told me to have sex with some other guy. I felt like such a fool when I remembered our conversation the next morning. When I saw that woman put her lips on you, I was so jealous and angry and hurt. For an instant, I almost forgot that you love me and just pledged to spend your life with me.” She finally raised her face so he could see her tears. “I’m so ashamed and so sorry that I reacted with anger to hide that. I trust you. Will you accept my apology and give me a chance to show you that? This commitment stuff is going to take some getting used to but I know, if you’re patient, I’ll get the hang of it.”
“Aw, Pix, there’s nothing to apologize for. I hope I show as much restraint as you did when we run into someone you used to know.” He smiled tentatively. “Did you notice how Flynn was prepared to step in and protect you? You should have seen his face.”
“He’s quite a kid.” She was overwhelmed by his transformation from the tough but aloof gang member she had met a year earlier.
“Yeah. If he weren’t my son, I’d be jealous of him. We talked about you several times right after you left. He was protective of you then too.”
“Really? We’ll have to make sure he knows that he has nothing to worry about where you’re concerned. You didn’t have to explain her. I know you had a life before m
e.”
“I don’t ever want you to have any doubts. I had a life, yes, so did you. Mine didn’t mean anything compared to what I found with you.”
“Neither did mine.” She finally laughed. “At least I didn’t slug her like I wanted to as soon as she touched you.”
“I almost wish you had. I would have loved to see my wife defending my honor.” He laughed with her.
“If she ever tries that again, she won’t be so lucky.”
“So fierce,” Shane whispered. “Beautiful, sexy, artistic, talented, passionate and possessive. Everything a guy could ever dream of finding in a wife. I love you, Lyss.” He lowered his head and kissed her. “So sweet,” he murmured against her mouth when they were both breathless. “So perfect,” he devoured her with another kiss, feeling her tremble in his arms. “So soft,” he slipped his hand into the side of her dress, caressing the curve of her breast.
“Excuse— Oh shit!” Brett turned his back on the couple. “I didn’t see that, nope, nothing at all.”
“Hey, Brett.” Shane leaned his forehead against Alyssa’s.
“I’m sorry to interrupt but your son is worried,” he explained his presence. “He’s afraid you’re fighting and are going to split up before you get started. He’s got that look on his face again. You know, the one that he uses when he’s pretending that he’s tough and can handle anything because nothing really matters.”
“It’s okay, Brett. We were just about to join you anyway,” Shane said.
“Oh. Sure. That’s what it looked like to me.” Brett chuckled. “Don’t give her another thought, Lyssa. Shane had a momentary flash for her a million years ago. She saved him the trouble of needing to end it with her, which I know he was about to do, at the time she decided the grass was greener.”
“You don’t have to defend him, Brett. We’ve already put that unpleasant bitch behind us. As you may have noticed, we weren’t fighting at all.” Alyssa giggled as they left the coatroom.
“Ah, yeah, okay,” Brett stuttered.
“Relax, Brett,” Shane draped a friendly arm around his shoulder. “My wife has no reason to be insecure. Thanks, though, for coming to get us since we can’t say the same for Flynn. We’re going to work on that with him and I appreciate the help you’re giving us. He’s going to need lots more reassurance before he lets himself get comfortable with the idea that all adults aren’t out to screw him.”
“No problem.” Brett shrugged, hiding how proud Shane’s words made him feel. “He’s a good kid underneath the attitude. He’s pretty cool when he lets his guard down.”
They reached the table. Shane and Alyssa took seats on either side of Flynn. “We’re cool, Flynn. Thanks for being ready to take care of your mom out there.”
“Whatever,” he muttered.
“Flynn McKade, listen to me,” Alyssa growled. “I love Shane. He loves me. As you know, I have a temper and I seriously doubt that it’s going to magically disappear just because of that love. I won’t promise that I’m going to stop yelling at him or busting your ass because, honestly, I’ll probably get worse. I’m moody and sometimes, I get bitchy just because I am. I know you’ve heard the explanation behind my nickname and I can’t deny that it’s appropriate. Shane has been very indulgent with me so far and let me get away with much more than he should have. He’s spoiled me and I’ve taken advantage of that. In some ways, that will continue but, I’m sure, at some point even he will try to put a stop to my overbearing behavior. We’ll clash and disagree and possibly even scream like lunatics.
“I should warn you that I slam doors and may even throw things. But, Flynn, even while we’re threatening to inflict bodily harm on each other, I guarantee that we’ll still love each other. We’ll settle whatever set me off eventually and live calmly until something else pisses me off. I’m excitable. You already know that. I’m loud and I’m determined and I’m stubborn.
“I’m sure I’ll be ridiculous and unreasonable and yell at you too, probably sooner rather than later. Never think, for one second, that it means I don’t love you. You are my family now and that’s a forever thing. I’m not going anywhere and I’d lose my mind if you ever took off. I need you to promise me that you won’t let me drive you away. I’ve never been a mom before or a wife and I have a lot to learn. I’m going to need tremendous patience from both of you until I get this right. I’ll do my best not to let you down but when I do, I’ll beg your forgiveness. I’ll beg for another chance to do better. No matter what else happens, I promise, with my life, that you can count on me sticking by you. Both of you.”
“That goes for me too, Flynn,” Shane added even though he’d already made the same promises.
“You never said you’d be bitchy for the hell of it,” Flynn commented.
“You got me there,” he agreed. “I think that’s the Queen’s specialty.”
“You’re really not pissed with each other?” Flynn peeked guiltily at his grandmother, finally realizing the words he and Alyssa had been using. When she just smiled at him, he relaxed a little.
“Definitely not,” Brett declared. “They were, ah, otherwise occupied when I interrupted.”
“They were doing it in the closet?” Flynn was horrified. “You saw them?”
“No,” Brett sputtered as Rose choked. “They were just kissing.”
“Gross.” Flynn made a face.
“Get used to it,” Jesse spoke up. “From what I’ve seen so far, they’re either biting each other’s heads off or sucking on each other’s faces. I wouldn’t be surprised if you catch them at it often. In fact, let me give you some advice. If the door to their room is closed, never open it without knocking and waiting for one of them to invite you in. And, if you’ve been out of the house for more than five minutes, make lots of noise and yell when you walk back in.”
“And if you do ever see more than you should, retreat as fast as possible. They just got together and might forget that they’re not alone sometimes.” Brett added his opinion.
“But whatever you do,” Danny said seriously, “never, ever tell your buddies that you saw your dad getting some, like your father did when he was your age.”
“No way!”
“I’m afraid so,” Rose nodded. “Imagine my surprise when Brett’s mother phoned one day to tell me what my son had been discussing that afternoon on her front porch with his brother and at least six of their friends.”
“I bet you got it good for that, Dad.”
“What I got was the most embarrassing lecture of my life from both my parents at the same time. Picture these two sitting there, explaining why couples make love and, even though everyone knows about it, it’s an invasion of their privacy for others to casually throw it into a conversation.” Shane’s expression showed that he remembered that afternoon quite clearly.
“You made quite an impression,” Brett commented to Rose and Danny. “Shane went out of his way to tell me and Jordan about that part of relationships so we would be spared the same lecture. At the time, I thought he was nuts but I learned to appreciate what he did for me.”
“I got it.” Flynn shuddered. “Jeez, can’t we talk about something else? I thought we were here to celebrate.”
“We are.” Alyssa hugged him. “We just wanted to make sure you know you don’t have to worry about us.”
“I thought you might be killing him.” Flynn finally started to relax. “What’s the story with the ho, Dad? Is that what you were into before you met up with Mom?” This time, they heard Rose groan.
“Flynn,” Shane sighed. “I don’t even know where to start with that one. How about if, for now, you accept that she was someone I barely knew a long time ago and we save the rest for a more appropriate time?”
“And how about you remember the manners I know you’ve started to learn so I don’t have to wring your neck before we even get to toast our wedding?” Alyssa whispered in his ear.
“Yes, Mom. Whatever you say,” he agreed quickly as she fought not to l
augh. When she lost her battle, he added, “You’re busting on me.”
“You got it,” she admitted. “But only because you deserve it, after that remark.”
“Mom.” Flynn rolled his eyes.
After they ordered, Flynn noticed that Shane and Alyssa were holding each other’s arms that they had resting on the back of his chair. They both kept looking around him to gaze at the other. “Dad, switch seats with me. I don’t want to be squished and you keep getting closer. You look like you’re going to kiss her with me in the middle.”
“I’m fine here,” Shane declared.
“Yeah, right.” Flynn pushed their hands apart and stood. “You guys got married today. Even I know that makes you all touchy-feely. One of you has to switch seats with me or I’m moving over there, next to Jesse.”
“Thanks.” Alyssa scooted into his chair. “But please stay here with us. I want to be able to reach my new son too.” He blushed when she kissed his cheek.
“You’re as bad as the rest of them,” he announced. “No way am I going with you tonight so don’t even bother asking.”
“We’re not going anywhere tonight,” Shane stated.
“But Grandpa and I went to that inn place and got you a room.”
“We didn’t think you’d want to spend the night with the rest of us,” Danny explained. “Your flight isn’t until three so you should go enjoy yourselves.”
“He said that way you won’t have to worry about being quiet,” Flynn added with a snicker.
“Well thanks.” Shane grinned at Alyssa. “We appreciate this.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Alyssa agreed as Shane stroked her face.
“See,” Flynn said triumphantly when they leaned in for a kiss. “I knew it was time for me to move.”
As they lounged comfortably after dinner, the entertainment began. Shane claimed a dance with Alyssa before handing her over to their son.
“Do you believe this is happening to us, Kid?” she asked as he awkwardly swayed with her.
“Kind of unreal,” he agreed. “I check as soon as I wake up to make sure it’s not all a dream.” He hesitated, nervously chewing on his lip. “I wouldn’t have killed him. I knew they were gonna do me when I didn’t but I still wasn’t gonna shoot. I was gonna run. I almost shit when he was there in the alley.”
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