by Emma Slate
Knowing it was more important to make a sale than it was to try to talk a customer out of something, she nodded. “Do you need shoes to go with it?”
“Yes, please. But nothing too high.”
“I have just the thing.”
I disappeared back into the changing room. Looking at myself in the full-length mirror, I noticed that my auburn hair was in need of a cut, but overall I was happy with my appearance. The bags under my eyes weren’t as pronounced. The last few nights I’d slept soundly due to the exhaustion from kickboxing. The gym in The Rex was finally set up, so that I didn’t have to go far to pound on a sandbag.
I hung up the dress on its hanger before slipping back into my jeans and green cashmere sweater. I pulled back my hair and then I was out of the dressing room, handing off the dress to the newly returned Celine. She held up a pair of black pumps with a pointy toe and just enough of a heel not to be frumpy. I tried them on and deemed them worthy.
Celine gathered up my items and then carted them to the register to ring me up. I handed her my credit card and turned to Ash.
“I need a haircut,” I said. “I wouldn’t mind a mani-pedi either. Can we go to your salon?”
“Why not get all of that done at The Rex Spa?” Ash inquired.
Because the last time I’d been in The Rex Spa I’d been kidnapped from a massage table. I didn’t say that to Ash though, I just looked at her until she understood.
“Got it. I’ll call and see if Marco can squeeze us in.”
“Thanks.”
Ash stepped a few feet away from the counter to make the call. Celine handed me back my credit card. “Thank you for shopping with us.”
“Thank you for all your help, Celine,” I said kindly, taking the bag from her.
Nathan, my ever-present bodyguard, rose from his chair by the door. Daniel, Ash’s bodyguard who sat next to Nathan, also stood.
“Your husbands and very patient men,” Celine said, trying to make idle talk. Ash and I had been at the boutique for two hours; Nathan and Daniel hadn’t rolled their eyes once.
I didn’t want to correct Celine and tell her that Nathan and Daniel were our bodyguards. Instead I said, “Yes, super patient.”
Ash clicked off her phone and smiled at me. “Marco can squeeze us in now.”
“Let’s go,” I said.
With a final wave at Celine, we were out the door. The New York day was cold but clear as we navigated the busy sidewalk to our waiting town car. Nathan held the passenger door open and Daniel took my shopping bag.
I climbed inside and Ash scooted in next to me. She gave our driver the address to Marco’s salon, which wasn’t far from our current location. We hadn’t ventured outside the Upper East Side.
“What are you doing?” Ash asked as I pulled out my cell phone.
“Calling Lacey,” I said.
“Hawk is fine.”
“I know he’s fine.”
“If you know he’s fine then why are you calling?” Ash demanded.
“You’ll understand when you have children.”
“Which won’t be for a very, very long time.”
I chuckled.
“What? You don’t believe me?”
“Take it from someone who didn’t even want them to begin with. Life has a funny way of giving you exactly what you need when you least expect it.”
She glowered at me. “Shut up, Barrett.”
Chapter 41
I lifted Hawk into my arms, cooing in delight as I pressed his body against my chest. “I missed you. How was he?”
Lacey tossed down a magazine. “Your son threw up on me.”
“Oh no,” I said with a light laugh. “Is that why you’re wearing one of my t-shirts?”
She nodded. “I sent my shirt out to be dry-cleaned. I thought I’d hang out for a little while longer until it’s done.”
“Be my guest.”
“Can I see the dress you bought for the wedding?” Lacey asked.
“Sure. It’s in the shopping bag.”
Lacey was on her feet and picked up the shopping bag Nathan had insisted on carrying up for me. He was back down in the lobby, keeping guard until Cole, the nighttime bodyguard relieved him.
“I bet this looks fantastic on you,” Lacey said as she pulled the dress from its box.
“I clean up good,” I said, rubbing Hawk’s back.
Lacey folded the dress and put it back in its box and then dug around in the shopping bag. She looked at the heels, nodded, and then set them aside. “I don’t see any lingerie in here.”
“That’s because I didn’t buy any. It’s not like Flynn’s here to see it.” I set Hawk in his bassinet.
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” a masculine voice said.
I looked up sharply into the handsome, smiling face of my husband. I gawked at him.
“That’s my cue,” Lacey said with a grin. “I just wanted to see your reaction.” Even as she made her way to the elevator, I was running towards Flynn. He lifted me into his arms and I wrapped my legs around him.
The elevator doors chimed shut and my lips were on his. “I can’t believe you’re here,” I whispered in between the clashing of our mouths. “How are you here?”
He released me so that I slid down the length of his hard body. He reached for his sweater and pulled it over his head before he answered.
“Ash called me. Said you weren’t doing well—that you needed me for a few days.”
Warmth curled in my belly. “You came? Even at the cost of the plan?”
He shrugged and then removed his undershirt, showing me his taut stomach. “You’re more important than anything else. I think you needed a reminder. Now are you going to stand there gaping at me or are you going to take off your clothes?”
I stripped in record time and so did Flynn. I placed a hand on his warm chest and pushed him so that he walked backwards into the bedroom.
He took me into his arms, kissed the breath out of me, and then hoisted me up to lay me on the bed. He climbed on top of me, his hands and mouth driving me wild, making me spin out of control.
I tugged on his hair impatiently, wanting him to me fill me. But he wouldn’t give in. Not yet. His thumbs grazed my pebbled nipples and then he took a tightened bud into his mouth. He sucked and laved until I writhed beneath him.
“Easy, hen,” he said, his voice hoarse.
His hands grasped my hips as he guided his length into my body. He slid home, grew larger. My eyes rolled back into my head. He put an arm beneath me, lifting me up as he began to move inside me. I clasped him to me, squeezing him, wanting it harder and faster. Gentle could happen later.
“Oh, God,” I moaned, the tide of my release close.
“That’s it.”
I jerked as ripples of pleasure washed through me. With a groan, Flynn came, triggering another orgasm. I gasped and sighed and then bit his shoulder.
Flynn looked down at me, a smile on his lips. “I don’t do well without you, either, love. Just thought you should know.”
“How long are you in town?” I asked Flynn as I sat in nothing but his undershirt and my underwear.
Flynn looked down at his son who was drinking from a bottle. Though he was finally re-accustomed to breast milk, he preferred to take it from the bottle instead of its natural source.
Hawk let out a milky burp, causing Flynn to smile.
“Few days,” Flynn said, setting the near empty bottle aside and placing Hawk to his shoulder. “I’m not interrupting any of your plans, am I?”
“Alia’s bachelorette party is tomorrow night,” I said. “I promised her I’d go, but I can get out of it.”
“No, you should go,” Flynn insisted. “I can spend some quality alone time with my son.”
I arched an eyebrow. “You sure you’re cut out for that?”
“Sure, why not?” Flynn asked. “I am his father.”
I tried to hide the smile at Flynn’s affronted tone. “Yes, love, I’m very m
uch aware of that fact.”
“You don’t think I can do it,” Flynn said as he continued to tap Hawk’s back.
“Of course I think you can do it. It’s just that…”
“Yes?”
“Nope. You know what? I have complete faith in you.”
Flynn grinned. “I’m going to prove you wrong, you know.”
I grinned back. “Can’t wait.”
I cleaned up the remains of our room service dinner while Flynn changed Hawk and put him down. We climbed into our own bed and I snuggled into Flynn’s embrace.
“How did Duncan react when you told him you were coming to New York?” I asked.
Flynn worked his way under my shirt and trailed his fingers up and down my spine. “He was in favor of it. It meant he got to come and see Ash.”
I laughed.
“What?” he asked.
“The two most feared and strongest member of the SINS couldn’t stand to be away from their women. It’s just funny.”
Flynn chuckled, but then he sobered. “I once told you it was easy to give everything to the cause because there was nothing to come home to. But you and Hawk… if something happened to either of you, I—”
I put my fingers to his lips to stop him from speaking. “I know. Any news about Arlington?”
“Silence.”
“Really? Even after blasting Ramsey’s fake demise to the press?”
“Aye. No traitorous SINS member has surfaced. When Duncan and I get back, we’re moving forward with our plan immediately. We can’t wait anymore and I want this finished.”
“Shhhh,” I whispered, pressing my lips to his chest. “No more talking about it. Not right now.”
The next morning, Flynn and I pulled ourselves out of bed long enough to meet Ash and Duncan for brunch. There were smiles all around, even when Hawk cried in his carrier.
Luckily, we were in the corner of The Rex Bar and Restaurant, so Hawk didn’t disturb the other diners. He settled down quickly.
Duncan leaned over and whispered something in Ash’s ear that made her blush and beam, but shake her head. Duncan wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.
“Ash and I followed in your footsteps,” Duncan announced.
Flynn and I exchanged a look. “What footsteps?” I asked.
“Eloping,” Ash clarified, a grin spreading across her face. “Duncan and I got married this morning.”
My mouth dropped. “What? But how? You’re only in town for a few days and New York has a waiting period,” I said to Duncan.
“Your husband’s arrival was a surprise to you,” Duncan said. “But I let Ash know we were coming.”
“I’d already gotten the marriage license,” Ash stated proudly.
“We didn’t want to make a big fuss,” Duncan said.
“Please don’t be mad,” Ash said to me. “I just couldn’t go through with a huge wedding.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You mean, I get to celebrate your marriage with you, but not have to wear a bridesmaid’s dress? I think we both win.”
We all laughed.
“I’m so happy for you both,” I said, tears in my eyes. After Ash’s last disastrous engagement, to hear that she’d gone through with a low-key, legal ceremony, I knew it meant she truly loved Duncan.
Flynn rose from his seat and lifted his coffee mug. He said a short few sentences in Gaelic and then sat down.
“What did that mean?” Ash asked.
“It was an old Scottish wedding blessing,” Duncan explained, looking at his new bride. “He said, ‘A thousand welcomes to you with your marriage kerchief, May you be healthy all your days. May you be blessed with long life and peace, May you grow old with goodness, and with riches.’”
“Cheers to that,” I said, raising my own glass of water.
Chapter 42
I looked at Flynn one last time as I grabbed my black clutch. My husband was on the couch, the TV on mute, Hawk asleep in his bassinet.
“Go on, love,” Flynn said with a knowing grin. “We’ll be fine. You don’t want to be late.”
Though I loved Alia, I wasn’t feeling up to her bachelorette party. I was tired and Flynn was only in town another two days before he and Duncan had to return to Scotland.
“I’ll be here when you get back,” Flynn promised, reading the thoughts on my face. “Go be with your friends.”
When I got to the lobby, Nathan slid next to my side and escorted me to the waiting town car. Alia’s bachelorette party wasn’t going to be anything out of a movie—no strippers, no penis straws, no tiaras. She’d sworn to me. All we were doing was going to a wine bar in the NYU area where she and Jake had their first date.
I could do a wine bar.
When the car stopped across the street from the wine bar, I looked at Nathan. “Do you promise not to be obvious that you’re my bodyguard?”
“Promise,” Nathan said with wry amusement. “The bartender is not going to like me hanging out on a stool and not drinking.”
“Give him a few bucks.”
“Like a twenty?”
“Wow, are you this generous with the women you date?” I demanded. I opened my clutch and gave him a one hundred dollar bill, but he refused to take it.
“Have you ever heard of a joke?” Nathan asked, the smile still in place.
I stared at him a long moment and then nodded. “You’ll do, Nathan. You’ll do. Come on. Trail me at a discreet distance.”
I ducked my head to hide it from the slight wind, but I was glad I’d decided on a thicker coat. I still looked surprisingly trendy despite the fact that my usual attire geared toward comfortable stretchy yoga pants. I made a vow then and there to try more with my appearance.
The warmth of the intimate wine bar hit me and I pulled off my coat immediately. I moved deeper into the room and spotted Alia and her group of friends. When Alia saw me, she jumped up. After embracing me, she took my hand and led me back to the table.
“Ladies. The queen has arrived,” Alia said in a teasing tone.
I recognized three of the four faces immediately. Lacey sat with a martini in front of her while everyone else had wine. I hugged Renee and Shawna, two women who worked in The Rex burlesque club.
“I’m not the queen tonight,” I said with a wink as I sat down next to Lacey who moved her skinny tush over so I could share the booth.
“Alia refuses to be queen,” Shawna said. “She wouldn’t let us get her a fuzzy tiara.”
“Maybe when we do this again for my second marriage,” Alia quipped and we all laughed. Alia and Jake had been together for years already and were still in the honeymoon phase.
I looked at the woman sitting next to Alia and immediately noticed the family resemblance. Alia had a younger brother, so I assumed this woman was a cousin.
“Hi, I’m Barrett,” I said, holding out my hand.
The woman smiled. “I’m Jenna, Alia’s cousin.”
Before I could tell her I wasn’t drinking, Alia picked up the wine bottle and poured me a glass.
“Thanks,” I said, taking a tiny sip before setting it aside.
“Okay, toast time,” Shawna said, raising her glass. We all followed suit. “To Alia’s last hours of freedom.”
We clinked glasses and giggled and I took another tiny sip. Lacey glanced at me as she set her martini down. “You not drinking?” she asked lowering her voice.
“Not, not drinking,” I said. “I’m just kind of tired. If I have any chance of making it to 11 o’clock tonight, I’ll have to really pace myself.”
“Got it,” she said in complete non-judgmental understanding.
Conversation drifted away from wedding talk. Renee and I were coerced into pulling out our phones to show pictures our children. Renee’s daughter had lost her two front teeth and in most of the photos, she was grinning broadly to show the gaps.
“How much did you pay her for her teeth?” Alia asked.
“A buck a tooth. And you know what she said? She
said the Tooth Fairy hadn’t accounted for inflation and she should’ve given more.”
We all had a good laugh.
“We have a young economist on our hands,” Shawna said.
“It just goes to show you that kids listen,” Renee said. “My husband and I talk about finances and I guess Sophia pays attention. Until she’s a teenager. I’m worried she’s going to be too smart for her own good and she’s going to realize we have no power over her.”
“Just remind her who pays the cell phone bill,” Jenna said, piping up.
Renee looked at her with widened eyes. “I hadn’t even thought of that. Brilliant!”
The ladies drank on while I continued to nurse my first glass. As time went on, they grew rowdier and more forthright if that was even possible. Shawna was the worst. Already brazen and outspoken, she had very little filter. Combined with alcohol, it upped the ante.
But I was having fun and even though my phone was close by, I managed to stop myself numerous times from checking in with Flynn.
“How are you liking being awake during the days?” Renee asked Lacey.
“Still getting used to it,” Lacey admitted, swirling around the rest of martini.
“Even though I’ve been working nights for years, my managing hours are even later,” Alia said. “I’m still having a hard time with that. But at least Jake and I are on the same schedule.”
“It’s impossible to date,” Shawna complained. “Unless I go out with other people in the industry, but they’re all so crazy!”
We all looked at her for a long moment.
“What?” she demanded. “I might be crazy, but I don’t do drugs and stuff. I know people who do coke to make it through their shift and then smoke weed to be able to sleep. That’s nuts.”
“Then why do people do it?” Jenna asked. She was a graphic designer and I guessed she’d never been in the service industry.
“Do you know how much money you can make?” Shawna asked her.
“A lot, I guess,” Jenna answered. “But if all your money is going to drugs, doesn’t that tell you something?”