She wouldn’t look at him and kept her head down—staring into the uneaten mug of soup. “Sorry. I take everything the wrong way.”
“No apologies. You have every reason to be touchy.”
The hand on her back picked up a soft tremor running through her body. In a deathly whisper, she said, “He’s coming back, right, Calder?”
“Of course, he is,” he swiftly assured her. “Wolf Pup grew into a mighty lion. A lion with nine lives. I think we’re good.” Chuckling, he jostled her a little and teased, “He’ll like that, you know. Wolf Pup to lion. It’ll suit his ego.” He carefully touched her belly. “And maybe an Alex mini-me or two is in there. A new generation of wolf pups.”
“I think you just made my day.” She picked her head up and gave him a feeble smile. “Thank you. I needed that.”
“That’s what I’m here for, darlin’.” He slung his arm around her neck and leaned in close to whisper. “Now be a good girl and ease poor Carmen down from the ledge. Let her make you a proper dinner and then eat it. Okay?”
Meghan snicker-laughed. “Okay.”
He started to pull back, but she crooked her finger and whispered, “By the way, this soup sucks.”
They both chuckled and tried unsuccessfully to appear innocent when Carmen glowered at them as she cleaned up Meghan’s mess.
“Gotta go,” he announced, kissing the side of his niece-in-law’s mass of hair. “Dinner with Ash and Cris. She’s threatening to make that god-awful tuna casserole.”
“It’s your mama’s recipe,” Carmen grumbled.
He laughed. “Yeah, and it’s from a sixties magazine article, and it’s awful.”
Carmen’s grumbling turned to a sarcastic chuckle. “Ria tried to tell her how to fix it. Guess that didn’t work out.”
“At least I’m not the only with kitchen challenges.”
He smirked at Meghan’s comment. “Tell her, Carmen.”
With an epic dose of snarky shade, she fixed them with a ballsy look and said, “When Meesus Ashleigh and Cristián settled here? We would switch out some of her meals when she wasn’t around because poor Cris couldn’t stomach her cooking.”
“I knew I liked her for a good reason.” Meghan giggled.
“I’m out,” he said and made for the kitchen door. “Oh, I almost forgot. It’s Friday movie night at Lacey’s tomorrow. Kid themed, of course. Weigh in if you have a preference. I think the votes are leaning to Finding Nemo.”
He dashed off before she had a chance to beg off. He didn’t know that she would, but he wasn’t taking any chances.
“These are really cool, Aunt Heather. Kiki will love them.”
“I thought we’d go straight to the studio and give them to her. Sound like a plan?”
Heather looked at Matty in the rearview. He gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Sliding on a pair of sunglasses, she adjusted the satellite radio and got them on the road.
God, I love all this mom stuff, she thought. Making her way through traffic, she made the turn for the road away from town and smiled.
The decision to stop working and concentrate on her family was the best thing she’d done for herself in a long time. After getting over her fear of people seeing her as selfish, Heather had decided … fuck it. Readjusting priorities was a part of living, and since we only get one life, she would do what made her happy. And right now, what made her happy was being a full-time stay-at-home mom.
With Bella at school and Kelly busy with her mail-order business, she’d been the one to take control of the kiddos. She coordinated Dylan and Daniel’s schedule, kept Bella on the ball at school, and shuffled young Matty around.
A buzzing noise made Heather look at her mounted phone. The screen lit up with a text message from Sophie. That would be her checking in with the latest news from the family center.
Heather wasn’t the only one making career decisions and life choices. To everyone’s surprise, it was Sophie Marquez who stepped in big time when Meghan couldn’t keep up. She was a smart organizer and a dynamic leader. Not too different from her brother. When she took over, the transition was so effortless that some didn’t know she hadn’t been there from the start. The Double M was in good hands under her direction.
“Hey,” she suddenly said. Matty looked up. “Wanna stop by and see Snowflake before we go to the studio?”
“Sure,” he happily shouted.
She loved the boy’s enthusiasm. He was fun to be around and a quirky young thing. Crazy smart and ready for anything. He challenged Bella in cute ways that fed her natural curiosity. Matty believed girls could do anything—a sentiment that Bella could promote and defend. He encouraged her to experiment. They shared an intense love of books and storytelling, but until Bella had pressed a microphone in his hand, he had been ignorant of things like karaoke, dance mats, and anything involving performance.
They were a kid match made in heaven.
She enjoyed the boy’s energy so much that Heather found herself thinking more and more about expanding their family. Brody was completely on board and had even followed through on his crazy idea of having water from the Villa for her to drink. Ben delivered two gallon jugs with a super-sized smirk. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot while the two of them, Ben and Brody, made procreation jokes.
The hilarious part was the farce they made of drinking the magic baby elixir. With Brody’s direction, of course. There was the flask on her vanity with a tag reading Drink Me and a vintage bottle with a stopper labeled Baby Tonic. He made ice cubes from the water and added them to her drinks. Sometimes, he’d march up to her with a shot glass and demand she toss it back.
She was also aware that her current hopeful joy was in direct contrast to the situation with Justice.
Before too long, they were at the Villa’s stable. Jace was standing near the corner of the barn as they pulled in, and he looked up and waved when he saw them.
“Hiya, Jace,” Matty shouted.
“Matthew James,” Jace boomed in a circus barker’s voice. “Gimme five, my man.”
Matty jumped high at the hand Jace held above his head. Their palms slapped together, and they both yelled, “Boom!”
“We were on our way to the Dane cabin. Kelly’s working in the studio today. Thought we’d stop and visit with Snowflake if that’s okay.”
“Sure,” he answered. “Snowflake and I would love the company. Tell you what. How about if I take young Master James for a visit, and you stick your head in my office. Remy’s in there trying to hang something. She could use a hand.”
“Deal,” Heather agreed.
Matty and Jace bolted for the stable as she turned toward the office and staff lounge. She found Remy on a ladder in the main office, mumbling to herself.
“What’s going on?” Heather asked with a chuckle. “Are you switching careers? Interior design?”
The normally taciturn, closed-off woman growled playfully and rolled her eyes at Heather. “He’s useless with tools.”
The innuendo was too delicious to ignore. Snickering, she waggled her brows. “Tool challenged, is he?”
They cracked up.
“Seriously, Remy. What are you doing?”
“Trying to hang a goddamn picture but the desk placement doesn’t line up with the middle of the wall. And he refuses to let me move it so much as an inch. Dickhead. So now I’ve got this big canvas hanging off center. If he wasn’t my cousin, I’d fucking hate him.”
Hmmm. “Is the desk in some magic spot?” she asked.
“No. He’s just being a jerk. Because he knows my OCD will go nuts, and to him, that’s funny.”
“Oh, so he’s being a guy, right?”
“Yep.”
Heather thought about it for a moment. “I have an idea.”
Remy climbed off the ladder and put down the hammer she held.
“I’m listening.”
“Let me see the canvas.”
Remy pulled an enormous painting of the de
sert just before nightfall forward and shrugged.
“That’s beautiful.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled.
“Wait,” Heather stammered. “What? Did you paint this?”
“Yeah.”
She flinched at this surprising revelation. “Okay, so as the artist, let me ask you this. Is that the wall this painting should hang on?”
Remy answered immediately. “No. I’d hang it there,” she said with a hand wave. “The light will hit it in the late afternoon.”
Heather grinned. “Okay then.” Clapping her hands together, she said, “Let’s get started.”
Twenty minutes later, they’d rearranged all the furniture in the office, but the desk hadn’t moved an inch. It had moved many feet—to the other side of the room. Now, when entering the office, the eye was immediately drawn to Remy’s dramatic painting. It was a nice touch.
Now that she’d done Remy a proper, maybe she could force a quid pro quo.
“Listen, we’re having a movie night at the Cameron’s. Kids, dogs, the whole crew. You and Finn should come by. Bring FiFi.”
Remy immediately started worrying her lip with her teeth. Heather went in for the kill.
“Bella will be there.”
“Aw, come on. That’s so unfair.”
Heather shrugged. “Maybe. But you aren’t kidding anyone, Remington. There’s a security report of all the comings and goings here, so I’m not whistling Dixie when I point out that Finn comes by every night after he’s done at Pete’s.”
Remy sniggered. “He brings me dinner from the restaurant.”
“He’s a good guy.”
Remy arched a perfectly shaped brow. “Shit,” she muttered. “Okay, okay. He’s a nice guy, and FiFi is spoiled frickin’ rotten. Bella always wins.”
“Good! Munchies at five. Movie at six. It’s not a school night, so we’re blowing up the curfew.”
“Should I, um, bring anything?”
“Hell, no. Ria and Carmen live for this stuff. There will be healthy snacks and a minimum of sugar. Your best bet is to show up hungry.”
Having forced the stubborn woman from her self-imposed isolation, Heather felt her work here was done. She wrapped things up and went in search of Matty. They had to keep to their schedule so she was in the pickup line when Bella’s school let out.
“Really? And then what happened?”
Sophie laughed at Angie’s exaggerated question. She was egging Dylan on as he toddler-talked through a long, expressive rant. Her sister would be an awesome aunt.
Bella blew past as she scooted after Finn’s lap puppy.
Across the room, Lacey sat on one of the recliners, cuddling Lily Rose in her arms. Despite everything going on, Sophie had to admit the new mom looked happy and radiant. Family Justice was really good about support, so a few weeks of forced bed rest was doing wonders for her.
At the back of the room, Finn, Brody, Calder, and Duke were attentive as Jace pulled on a stripper’s pole and seemed to be testing its sturdiness. She didn’t want to know how or why a professional stripper pole came to be tucked in a corner of the large media annex of Lacey and Cam’s home.
Jace. She watched him furtively while scoping out the long table piled with every possible movie night treat known to man—all healthy. Not even a jar of jelly beans in sight.
He’d changed so much since their Greek adventure. She couldn’t get over how different he was now from the uninspiring physical specimen she remembered. Slim fit tailored slacks and button-down shirts were at the other end of the style spectrum from worn jeans, work boots, and flannel shirts.
Plopping a yummy spinach bite into her mouth, she considered the fit of his jeans as she chewed the warm, gooey ball.
He had that cowboy look. The one that made sparkles dance on her nerves. The Euro gentleman thing was nice and all, but she was a sucker for a man who could rock a pair of jeans with no apologies.
Her eyes drifted to his zipper. That Euro chic thing hadn’t suited him anyway. I wonder if he’s circumcised. I mean, he’s European and …
Her face flooded with color. Oh, my god. What was she thinking? Seriously? Circumcised?
Embarrassed by her thought drift, she studied the food spread and tried to decide.
“Try the pigs in a blanket. Organic. Ria won’t shut up about them.”
Sophie couldn’t believe a goddamn giggle erupted from her mouth. Good grief, she was a grown woman. Thirty-six, for heaven’s sake. Wasn’t giggling at a boy sorta pathetic at her age?
Plus, wasn’t he younger than she was? And hot? She was pretty sure Jace Delacroix wasn’t hurting for dates. Or hookups. No reason for him to be checking out some older pregnant lady.
Trying to cover for the unseemly laugh, she dialed it back to a snarky smirk and told him, “Angie used to call them Hobbit dicks.”
He hummed with laughter. “She’s got a wicked mouth, that one. I’ll give you that.”
“Jace,” Bella called out. She scampered to them with her two friends in tow. “This is my friend Amy, and you know Matty.”
Sophie grinned when he made a courtly bow. “Pleasure to meet you, Miss Amy.”
“My Heather, I mean my mom, said we’re all riding tomorrow! Yippee.”
“That’s right. We’re going to take the old Conquistador’s trail.”
Sophie put a hand across her mouth to stop a laugh. There was no such thing. This was her ancestral land, so she would know.
“Wow,” the clearly impressed little boy murmured. “What’s that mean?”
She explained. “Conquistadors were brave Spanish explorers. From a long, long time ago.”
All three kids said, “Wow.”
Jace winked at her and mouthed, “Well done.”
After they scampered away to cause havoc somewhere else, she spoke what was most obvious about what just happened.
“Kids, horses, and flannel shirt. Not exactly how you saw your life, huh?”
“Can’t argue with you on that. But things happen for a reason. I’m happy here, Soph. Happier than I’ve ever been.”
She understood. “Bit of a downgrade, though, for a guy with your background.”
He rolled a shoulder. “Not a lot of large organizations around here needing a dude with global contacts and a bunch of fancy business degrees. I’m cool playing cowboy for now.”
Meghan’s forced laughter caught her attention. She glanced at her sister-in-law, who was trying overly hard to act normal. Alex couldn’t return fast enough.
Alex. Hmmm. She studied Jace as he gobbled a chicken drumstick clean to the bone in one mouthful.
“I may know a global company looking for a managing director.”
He looked at her—startled. “Are you serious? Around here?”
“Yeah,” she told him. “Let me check it out. I’ll get back to you.”
He was in the midst of an exuberant thank-you speech when Zippy hauled off and kicked her in the ribs.
“Ho boy.” She gasped. Her hand flew to her stomach, and she grabbed Jace’s arm.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” she assured him. “My goodness.” She straightened and patted her bump. “Sorry. Someone bends it like Beckham from time to time.”
“May I?” he asked with his hand raised.
“Oh, um ...” She grimaced. “Sure. I guess.”
He looked suspicious of her hesitant reply. “No, it’s okay. Go ahead,” she told him.
The stretchy, form-fitting maternity top and leggings she wore made an inspection tour of baby wonderland a strangely tactile experience. She was used to doctors and nurses touching her, but this was different.
“He’s an active little bugger, huh?” Jace asked. “I can feel him wiggling around.”
A slow smile found its way to her face. “He’s just bored. Getting antsy for his birth day.”
“Do you talk to him?”
“All the time. He’s a great listener.”
His amused chuck
le did something to her insides. “I like you, Sophie Marquez. I’m glad we met again. Aren’t you?”
Was she glad? Hell, she was ecstatic, and since ecstatic and men were something that had never intersected in her life before, she didn’t know how to react.
“I wished we’d stayed in touch.” It was the truth. A truth she hadn’t felt confident enough to say before now.
Jace crossed his heart and held up two fingers. “Absolute truth—I thought about you when I made the decision to come here. I hoped you’d had the courage to chase your dreams. It helped me make my choice.”
He hugged her briefly. And of course, every damn eye in the room was on them.
“Do you wanna hang out sometime? I mean, we talk every night anyway. Why not do it person? I’ll supply the jelly beans.”
She jumped when the opportunity knocked. “I’d like that.”
“Which? The jelly bean bribe or the hanging out?”
Laughing at the jest, she crossed her arms above her stomach. “I think I just admitted I can be bought for a bag of jelly beans.”
Jace wagged his tongue and brows. “Girl after my own heart! Maybe we could find something really awful to binge watch. Offer our unique commentary.”
“No reality shows, though, okay? I hate that crap. Everyone is so gleefully phony.”
They shook on it, and despite wanting to stand there and talk to him all night, she wandered away so the gossip squad wouldn’t have too much to discuss. Maybe she’d go taunt Finn and start some shit with him. He was playing guard dog for Jace’s cousin Remy, and she was keen to figure out why.
Zippy banged her womb like a kid on an airplane smacking the seat in front. “Easy, little dude. Your mom’s a professional snoop. Watch and learn, son, ‘cause in all seriousness—it’s not a bad skill to have.”
26
“Put me down for two of the boxes, Kelly. I wanna send one to my sister-in-law. Desi will love it.”
“Do you want the same designs?” she asked.
Tori St. John studied the small stained glass catchall box she held in her hands. It was Kelly’s new favorite design—an idea she’d had while watching the sunrise on the morning Roman left.
Everlasting (Family Justice Book 6) Page 39