I lived and worked in casual clothes—much to my mother’s chagrin. This morning I’d dug through my closet for a pair of khakis, a polo shirt and my least scuffed-up pair of loafers. Yeah, I was totally sucking up to Mom for avoiding her, and Dad knew it.
“Walk with me, son.”
I eyed the bag of garbage. “Mom let you waltz through the house and out the front door with that?”
“She didn’t see me.”
“Keep telling yourself that, Dad. She sees everything.”
“Don’t I know it. Be hell to pay later, I’m sure, but I like her feisty.”
“More than I needed to know.”
He laughed. We rounded the corner on the far side of the house and he opened the door leading to the garbage bay. “Be right back.”
I leaned against the fence and gazed across the grounds. Fabian, the groundskeeper, did an amazing job keeping everything looking lush. In the last five years he’d redone the landscaping, removing large areas of manicured lawn and planting trees, shrubs and flowers in interesting configurations, significantly lowering the amount of water needed to maintain the green space. Since I couldn’t hire Fabian away from my parents, I’d sent him a few apprentices to learn from the best before they came to work for me.
The gate slammed shut. “Let’s cut through the garage to get to the patio.”
“Don’t you wanna drag me into the house so Mom can blister my ear about my selfish and rude behavior?”
“It can wait until after.”
When he didn’t elaborate, I said, “Until after what?”
“Lunch and … ah … stuff.”
I jogged around the Mercedes coupe and planted myself in front of him. “Level with me. Did Mom set me up with someone and she’s waiting out there? Is that why you’re acting so weird?”
He sighed. “And I thought Annika was the dramatic one.”
“She is the dramatic one. I’m the black sheep.”
Sorrow darkened his eyes. “You know that’s not true, Walker. But there was a time in my life I felt that way too.”
Like me, Dad was the middle Lund son. His older brother, Archer, was the Lund Industries CEO, and his younger brother, Monte, was a former pro basketball player and now the president of the LI Board of Directors. Unlike Dad, I hadn’t carved out a spot for myself in the family business between two super-successful brothers; I’d opted to forge a different path. If that decision had disappointed him, he’d managed to keep it to himself.
“Relax. There’s no woman lurking outside. Your mother and I have other things on our mind today.”
“That’s supposed to set my mind at ease?” Now I felt guiltier yet for my self-imposed family exile. “Everything is all right health-wise with you and Mom?”
“Yes. Seriously, son, the best thing you can do is grab a beer and mellow out.” He sidestepped me and exited the garage.
Mellow out. Right. He talked like that only when he was nervous about something.
I squinted in the blindingly bright sun after being in the darkness. My family members were scattered across the patio, pool and lounge areas. I ducked under the awning, reached into the steel tub filled with ice for a beer and came up with a Schell’s twist-top.
I’d taken a healthy swig when I saw my sister in a heated discussion with Nolan.
Not good.
I crossed the decking to intervene, only to be stopped by a pint-sized pixie. Jaxson’s daughter, Milora Michele “Mimi” resembled Tinker Bell in an acid green fairy costume she’d paired with a tiny pair of glittery rainbow wings and a tiara. I crouched down to hug her. “Princess, I didn’t know you’d be here today.” Jaxson’s baby mama, Lucy—aka Lucifer—was a real piece of work and tried to deny Jaxson time with his daughter. The situation sucked because Jax lived in Chicago during hockey season while Mimi lived in Minneapolis with her mom.
“I’ve been here the last four times,” she complained. “Where have you been?”
Hiding. “Working. Why? Did you miss me?”
“Uh-huh. I missed you a lot, Runner.”
Runner. She claimed the name Walker didn’t fit me since I was always in a hurry, so Little Miss Smart-as-a-Whip decided to call me Runner.
“But I forgive you.” She threw her arms around my neck and squeezed.
I closed my eyes. I loved this kid. I hated that I’d missed out on spending time with her.
The hug lasted about ten seconds before Mimi struggled to free herself. “I gotta tell Daddy something.” She raced off, making a beeline toward her father. Jaxson caught her one-handed and then dangled her upside down, not missing a beat in his conversation with his dad. But his big smile when she shrieked happily said it all.
“He’s a great father, no?”
I dropped my arm across my mom’s shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “Yes, he is. But he’s learned by example. As we all have. So don’t think for a moment I don’t know how lucky I am to have you and Dad as parents.”
She set her hand on my chest when she moved to stand in front of me.
Selka Jensen Lund was beautiful, a modern-day Scandinavian ice princess with blond hair, blue eyes and razor-sharp cheekbones. She looked a solid ten years younger than her age.
“Why the melancholy face, my boy?”
“Feeling guilty.”
“You’re here. That’s what matters.” She fiddled with the collar of my polo shirt. “I missed you. Sometimes … I’m pushy mama. I jump over the track.”
“You mean you cross the line?”
“Yah. Whatever. The point being—”
“You’re done nagging me about finding a suitable woman to settle down with?” I supplied.
“Suitable. Bah. You need woman who gives you big, messy love that makes you crazy.”
Immediately I thought of Trinity.
Something on my face revealed my thought because my mother lightly chucked me under the chin. “You have girl like this and don’t tell me?” Then she punctuated her displeasure by drilling her sharp fingernail into my chest with every curt word. “Talk. Walker. Gustav. Lund.”
Use of my full name indicated she meant business. I clasped her hand to stop her talon from shredding my shirt. “Chill out, Mom. I met her last week. So it’s … new.”
“New is good, yah? You bring her next time.”
“We’ll see. I don’t know if she’s ready for all of this.”
“All of this”—she spun her hand above her head like a sorceress casting a spell—“is what made you the man standing in front of me. If she likes that man—”
“Well, that’s the complicated part.”
Her blue eyes turned frosty. “I will meet this woman and uncomplicate for her.”
Jesus. “I appreciate you pulling out your sword, Valkyrie mama, but these are dragons I have to slay myself if I want to prove myself worthy of the girl.” Thank god none of my siblings or cousins were around to hear that, because they’d harass me endlessly for my romantic metaphor.
My mom patted my cheek. “You do that, my brave boy. Maybe find out she prefers … smooth-scaled dragon to shaggy beast, no?”
Now we were back in familiar territory. “She likes my facial hair just fine, Mom.”
“Och. This too pretty a face to hide behind grizzled Adams beard.”
“You mean a Grizzly Adams beard?”
“Yah. Whatever.”
“Selka?” Aunt Priscilla called out.
“Be right there, sugar,” she called back in a perfect imitation of her sister-in-law’s Southern drawl. Then she gave me one last chest poke. “You are not off the hanger.” She hustled away before I could correct her.
I wandered over to Annika and Nolan, noticing our cousin Ash now stood between them. “What’s up?”
“Nolan is being an asshat,” Annika said. “So really, nothing new here.”
I looked at Ash and he rolled his eyes.
“And you’re not the tiniest bit concerned about her, Ash?” Nolan asked. “You are he
r brother.”
Ash shrugged. “I learned long ago that Dallas does what Dallas wants to do.”
“Even if she wants to do a hockey player?” Nolan demanded.
“Not my business.”
“It shouldn’t have been her business either. But Annika—”
“Did not want to be alone with two gigantic non-English-speaking hockey brutes! I only had your say-so that they were decent guys.”
“So as usual, immediately discount my opinion,” Nolan shot back.
Annika got in Nolan’s face. “It’s not just you, genius. I don’t take the word of any man that ‘so-and-so’ is a great guy. It’s not something that men understand because they don’t have to worry about it. Can you imagine how you’d feel if either of them had turned out to be creeps with ulterior motives?”
“Moot point now since Dallas had ulterior motives. She’s with him today, isn’t she?” Nolan said.
“No, she’s at a mandatory cheerleading practice. Besides, how was I supposed to know they’d hit it off?”
“Who’d Dallas pick? The Russian or the Swede?” I asked.
Annika wrinkled her nose. “Igor, the Russian, of course, because Axl is an asshole. He was … pucking our waitress at the coat check during the dessert course.”
Jaxson and Mimi joined us. “Whatcha talking about?”
“Your former teammates, particularly the Swedish”—Annika considered Mimi and curbed her tongue—“meathead.”
Jaxson raised both eyebrows. “You mean Axl? He’s a great guy.”
“Game, set and match.” Annika plucked Mimi off Jaxson’s hip. “Come on, princess. Let’s find an intelligent conversation.”
Jax watched them walk away. “What did I say?”
“The wrong thing and let’s leave it at that. So Mimi looks good.”
“Because she’s been with me the last six weeks. She goes back to Lucy tonight. Then I’m flying out. Training camp starts at seven a.m.”
“When’s the next time you’ll see her?” I watched Jaxson’s brooding gaze follow Annika and Mimi.
“I’ll be here for her first day of school. Who knows after that?”
“We’ll make sure she gets to see you,” Nolan said. “And she’ll be going to Mom and Dad’s after school two days a week this year so we’ll get to keep a better eye on her.”
“Thank god for that.” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “I just miss her. I’m glad that now she’s old enough to miss me too.”
Speaking of missing … I’d been so absorbed in my own stuff that I hadn’t seen my youngest brother. “Where’s Jensen?”
Ash pointed. “Over there.”
I saw Jens pacing beside the koi pond, phone stuck to his ear. “Is he okay?”
“He’s been on his cell since ten minutes after he got here.”
Jensen hated talking on the phone. He’d drive across the city during rush-hour traffic to talk to me before he’d call. “I’ll wander over and see what’s up.”
“When’s Brady getting here?” Nolan asked.
“No idea.”
“You guys better not be wussing out on the basketball game,” Jaxson warned.
“We’re not.” My quads were screaming by the time I reached the top of the slope. I’d definitely overdone the workout today.
Jensen had stopped pacing. He stood with his left hand resting on top of his head; his phone remained pressed against his right ear. This was his “I’m about to blow” posture.
“I’m done talking about this with you, Aggie. No. I’m serious as a fucking heart attack. Last warning: Fix this or I’ll fire you.” He hung up and glared at his phone.
For a split second I thought he’d chuck it in the pond. But he shoved it in his back pocket, rolled his head around a few times as if he had a neckache.
Then he scowled at me. “Don’t ask.”
“Tough shit. I’m asking. What the hell was that?”
“A disagreement with my agent about a PR opportunity. I declined to participate. He insisted. I declined again. He insisted. Today he informed me that he’d told the PR company I’d had a change of heart and agreed to participate. And I told him exactly what I thought of that, of him and the repercussions if he didn’t get my name off that fucking list.”
Jens’s quiet anger was far scarier than I’d remembered. It’d been a long time since I’d seen it.
“What was the PR project?”
He shook his head.
“Come on. Tell me why you said no.” I crossed my arms over my chest—a clear sign I wasn’t going anywhere.
His gaze snapped to mine. “It’s an NFL calendar for charity. Twelve pro players, one for each month, the number of offensive players and defensive players an even split.”
“And?”
“And they wanted me to be Mr. December. You know, since I’m from snowy Minnesota.” He snorted. “I suspect they assigned me the last month of the year since we finished last in our division last year. Anyway, all the other months have some nudity—shirtless poses mostly—but my slot is a full nude. Not frontal obviously, but with my bare ass and bare back to the camera, looking over my shoulder, wearing a purple and gold Santa hat. A fucking Santa hat.”
Do not laugh.
“I can’t imagine why they’ve had a problem finding a sucker to pose for December, can you?” He sneered. “What pisses me off the most is now I’ll be labeled a prude or a religious freak when I never said yes to the project in the first place. So thanks for that, Aggie. But hey, it’s not like I have a shit-ton of other endorsements that decision could affect anyway.”
I waited, knowing he wasn’t done.
He set his hands on his hips. “What’s wrong with being a modest guy? It’s okay for women to be ‘brave’ and say no to nude photos, but I can’t? Because I’ve worked my butt off for years to get stronger and leaner so I can do my damn job better, that means I should be proud to let everyone gawk at my body? No. Hell no.”
“This is a serious breach of client trust, bro.”
He sighed. “I know. I hate this part of the business, Walker. Hate. It. The head games. I am a football player. Not a model. Not a pawn.”
“Nothing will get your point across faster than firing Aggie and being up front about why you did it. It’s not the nudity. He put his best interests ahead of yours. That’s not what you pay him for. Have you talked to Jax about his agent?”
“Not yet. But I will.”
“Good.” I clapped him on the back. “Enough for today. Let’s hang out with the cousins and taunt them about how badly we’re going to kick their asses on the court today.”
“Deal.”
As far as finding distractions to keep me from obsessing over Trinity, there’d been plenty at the Lund barbecue.
Jens, Annika and I were gathered at the bar when our parents strode hand in hand to the center of the patio and called for attention.
“What the hell is this?” Jensen asked Annika.
“No clue. But I hope it’s not an announcement for another mandatory Lund family enrichment course.”
I snickered. “What, you don’t want to learn to salsa again?”
Annika shoved me. “Piss off. Who lets Mom make these decisions? She had to know that making salsa and salsa dancing were two different things.”
“Yes, Roberto and Selena were rightfully confused when Mom shut off their music and banished them to the kitchen to start chopping tomatoes.”
“Hey, maybe this time she’ll mix up merengue and meringue,” Jensen said.
Annika shoved him too.
“Making their first appearance as husband and wife, we’d like to present … Mr. and Mrs. Brady Lund.”
Brady and Lennox came around the corner, waving awkwardly as the Lund collective started clapping.
“No. Freakin’. Way.” Annika beat both Jensen and me to be the first in line to congratulate them.
“Did you know about this?” Jensen demanded.
“No, but Dad was act
ing weird earlier, so he and Mom knew.”
Just as we walked up, I heard Brady say, “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. We were having a great time on vacation and I realized I already felt married to her. So we made it official.”
“But no wedding, Lennox?” Annika said with near horror. “No wedding dress or bridesmaids, or bachelorette party?”
“His spontaneous proposal and the surprise wedding ceremony were very romantic.” She reached for Brady’s hand. “I had everything I needed for the perfect wedding when I found the perfect man.”
I glanced over to see my mother crying. Annika was leaking too. I let the women hug it out. When it was my turn, I high-fived my brother. “Smart move, man. Congrats.”
“Thanks.”
That was the extent of it for us. Didn’t mean I wasn’t happy for him—I was. I just wasn’t gonna cry about it.
After the big announcement, none of us felt like playing basketball.
Annika, Mom, the aunts and Mimi gathered in the gazebo to grill Lennox. Dad, the uncles and Jax played horseshoes. Nolan and Ash had left together, mumbling about a golf game, but I suspected they’d gone back to the office for whatever mysterious project they were working on.
Brady kept an eye on Lennox as we lounged at the bar.
When he fiddled with his wedding ring for the tenth time, I said, “Think you’ll get used to wearing that?”
“I’m already used to it.”
Our youngest brother made a whip-cracking sound.
“You know what I find interesting? That for being a ‘spontaneous’ wedding, that big rock fits her finger perfectly.” I sipped my beer. “Almost like it’d been sized to fit.”
“They have jewelry stores on the island, numb-nuts.”
Jens caught my train of thought and ran with it. “But I heard you have to apply for a marriage license at least a month in advance.”
“Yeah? Who’d you hear that from?” I volleyed back.
“Guy on the team. He and his girlfriend took a vacay there, decided to get hitched and were told they’d have to wait something like two weeks.”
I shrugged. “Maybe Brady has connections.”
“Or maybe our big bro lied about the impulsive nature of his nuptials,” Jensen added.
“Fine, you nosy bastards. I planned it, okay?”
Just What I Needed (The Need You Series) Page 14