by D. A. Young
“Hey, Viv,” Sidra said as she self-consciously smoothed her hair into place.
“Don’t ‘hey’ me, Sidra. What’s wrong with you?” Vivienne asked bluntly as she looked at her suspiciously. “You’re dressed in something you would never be caught wearing in public and with no accessories or makeup. The Sidra Barton I know wouldn’t dare leave her room without being on point.” Vivienne’s eyes traveled the length of her body and then stopped at her bandaged hand. “And what the hell happened to your hand?!”
“Waxing accident,” Sidra stated defiantly as she shoved her injured hand into her pocket.
“Uh-huh, I’m going down to the café to meet Lex and the babies. We’re keeping them until Noelle’s parents arrive shortly. Come with me,” Vivienne ordered imperiously as the elevator finally opened and they stepped in.
“Oh, so now it’s Lex, huh?” Sidra asked innocently, laughing teasingly as Vivienne smacked her with her brightly colored floral patterned clutch. “How’s that going?”
Vivienne smiled at the thought of her not-so-estranged-husband, Alexei. Since accosting her in the shower three months ago, the pair had been inseparable for the most part. They’d attended plays and had lunch and dinner dates. He sent her flowers and chocolates, but there was still no sex, just the merest brush of his lips on her neck or ear as he whispered to her or his hand on her waist while his fingers dipped precariously close to her ass. He was testing her, and it was driving her crazy, but Vivienne knew that was his end game. It was another Romankov “lesson” to break a person’s will and take away their power. Only this time, Vivienne was prepared to fight fire with fire. She’d pulled out the big guns in the form of lingerie designer and client Georgina Carlton. Vivienne’s bridal shower gift to Avery was a honeymoon trousseau from Feminine Intuition, and Georgina had come to not only attend the shower but to take measurements and orders from the ecstatic bride-to-be. Then Vivienne had pulled Georgina aside and ordered an entire arsenal for herself. She definitely planned on getting some this trip and every encounter after.
“It’s actually going very well, thank you,” Vivienne replied demurely but couldn’t contain the big Cheshire cat grin spreading across her face. The elevator opened, and the two ladies exited to the resort’s deluxe café. “Why don’t you get us a table by the window, and I’ll grab us something to eat. Any preferences?”
“I’ll just have a key lime iced tea please and thank you,” Sidra said glancing at the overhead menu before picking a table that overlooked the beach. She sat down and watched as the surfers swam out to sea trying to catch a wave. But thanks to the still waters, their efforts were futile, and Sidra could feel their frustration as they smacked at the water. She knew exactly how they felt, but hers was a dreaded anticipation as she too waited for that wave to come crashing around her. But then a strange thing happened. Sidra could see a wave coming and so could the eager surfers as they prepared to ride it. They caught the wave, moved with it, and controlled it instead of the other way around. They dived in and mastered it with no fear.
“Okay, so tell me what the problem is,” Vivienne coaxed as she placed the requested iced tea in front of Sidra, and then sat down across from her with a serious expression. “I can see you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, and if you don’t stop, you’ll fall over and collapse from it. Take it from someone who’s been there. Does this have to do with Casey? Are you thinking of leaving my boy?”
“I don’t want to leave Casey,” Sidra replied honestly, “But I’m scared that if I stay, he’ll leave me.”
“Chile, that’s about as ass-backwards as it gets! What does that even mean?” Vivienne flung her ponytail over her shoulder and pointed her well-manicured index finger in Sidra’s face. “Have you learned nothing about the men of Whiskey Row??? They love hard, and for that, I’m incredibly grateful.” Vivienne pressed her hand to her chest as she blinked back tears. “I’ve overdone my fair share of suffering in silence, but no more. Every single day that I was away from Alexei, I ached for him. I kept us apart with secrets and my foolish pride instead of trusting in him! Trust in your man, Sidra. He and his brothers are a rare breed and will go the distance for their women.”
“You think I don’t want to?!” Sidra fumed. “My mom is NOT like other mothers. She’s…different, and now, I have to deal with the fact that my sorry excuse of a father will be at the wedding with my bitch of a half-sister, and it’s taking everything in me not to freak out and lose it on Casey because I can see that he knows something is up with me!”
“You’re not one of those inbred babies are you?” Vivienne asked, giving her a suspicious glare as she leaned away from Sidra in her chair. “Because that would certainly explain so many things-”
“Hello, ladies,” Alexei’s smooth deep voice interrupted his wife. The two women looked up to see him walking towards their table, pushing a stroller and holding Ruby’s hand.
“Auntie Sidra!” Ruby cheered and launched herself at Sidra who caught her and smothered her with kisses. “Kiss baby Jack too!”
“Of course, I will, my baby! I missed you so much, love muffin!” Sidra cooed to her and tickled her tummy. Ruby laughed and hugged her tighter. “Hi Alexei; how are you?”
“Hello, Sidra. I’m as well as can be expected when being conned by a toddler,” he said, and on cue, Ruby blinked her large gray eyes at him with a sweet smile as she tightly clutched her shopping bag with the resort’s toy shop logo on it.
“Hi, Nana!” Ruby wiggled down from Sidra’s arms to hug Vivienne who squeezed her tightly as she loud-whispered conspiratorially, “Papa bought you a gift! But it’s a secret! It’s a dress but don’t tell anyone!”
“Oh, did he now?” Vivienne’s voice lowered as she observed Alexei un-strapping baby Jack and carefully picking him up. On too many occasions, she’d thought he was way too damn good-looking for his own good, with his wavy black hair streaked with silver and those deep inky blue eyes. But she was finding the role of grandfather to be extremely hot on him. She watched with lustful eyes as the baby smiled at him, and Alexei’s whole face lit up as he softly tapped the happy baby’s nose. Mmmmph. Goodness.
Alexei looked up to find Vivienne watching him and never had he seen her look lovelier as Ruby sat snuggled in her lap. The white dress made her honey skin glow, as those large molasses eyes dared him to finally make a move. He winked at her, and they exchanged a deep intimate smile that was interrupted by Sidra’s snort of disbelief.
“Wow, so unfair! The two of you are soooo lucky Jack and Noelle can’t see you!” Sidra cried out, standing up to take baby Jack from Alexei and lavishing him with kisses. “You’re eye-fuc-I mean, making extremely inappropriate goo-goo eyes at each other, and I’m the one on probation?!”
She handed the baby back to an amused Alexei and waggled her fingers at Ruby who blew her a kiss. Then picking up her cup of iced tea, she raised it to Vivienne. “Thank you for the pep talk, madam. Rest assured, I now know what to do. Deuces.”
And after one last look at the confident surfers navigating the now turbulent waves, she squared her shoulders and walked away. Noelle and Vivienne were right. She needed to pull her head out of her ass and be upfront with Casey.
“You go, girl!” Vivienne called after her and then added, “And don’t come back with your crazy self!”
“I can hear you!” Sidra tossed over her shoulder.
“You were supposed to!” Vivienne sang, and Alexei laughed as he sat down in the vacated seat.
“She seems a little troubled. Anything we should worry about?” he asked casually as he gave baby Jack his bottle, which the hungry rascal eagerly latched onto.
Vivienne knew this was code for ‘Do we need to teach someone a Romankov lesson?’
She surveyed his striking face as he watched the baby adoringly and knew with regret that she had brought this side out of him again. When they first met, his comrades had only addressed him as ‘Wolf’, and he’d never corrected them, so
she’d made the mistake of asking him if it was short for Wolfgang or something else. Alexei had stared at her for a moment, before throwing back his leonine mane and laughing heartily. Vivienne could still remember his reply…
“Dear, sweet Vivi, that is not why they call me ‘Wolf’,” he’d whispered throatily against her lips, looking deep into her eyes as he held her face tightly in place. The way he stared held her transfixed; it was so predatory that she broke out in chills, even as her nipples hardened with arousal.
Licking her lips nervously, she huskily asked, “Then enlighten me. Why do they call you that?”
“Because who doesn’t fear the ‘big bad wolf’?” he asked sinisterly before capturing her lips in a feral kiss.
“No, she’ll be fine,” Vivienne finally said as she smoothed Ruby’s French braids. “I don’t like to bring this up, especially today…”
“Then don’t,” Alexei commanded, leveling his cool gaze on her. “I don’t want to disclose what was done to get the little information we have. There has been some progress, but this person has covered their tracks extremely well. It makes me wonder-”
Vivienne reached across the table and grasped his large hand in hers and mimicked his words. “Then don’t. You’re right. It’s a beautiful day; let’s not spoil it.”
Ruby also reached her hand over and touched Alexei’s much larger one with a beguiling smile. “Ice cream, Papa?”
He looked into her pretty little face even as he rose to his feet, and she scrambled down from Vivienne’s lap as he placed baby Jack in his wife’s arms. Ruby held his hand tightly. “I suppose it’s my lot in life to be surrounded by lovely women that I can’t say no to.”
His eyes locked on Vivienne’s as she placed the well-fed baby against her shoulder and burped him before falling to her soft lips. Jesus, he was going crazy fighting the urge to take her. She raised an eyebrow deliberately and purred, “Would you want it any other way?”
Covering Ruby’s ears, he growled, “Hell no, Mrs. Romankov.”
Chapter Four
Darby Sullivan watched his kid brother shave his jaw in the bathroom mirror and grinned. He and Jack often teased Casey, much to his dismay, that he was born immaculate and popped out camera-ready. “You are too damn good-looking for your own good, you know that?”
Casey scowled. “Don’t start with me, man. So, are you all set for today?”
“Hell yes, I’m ready!” Darby exclaimed proudly. “I can’t wait to see my baby in her dress and then later help her out of it!”
Casey chuckled, “I know you are, brother. Congratulations, D. I can’t tell you enough how happy I am for the two of you. Listen, I know D.J. is stayin’ with Jack and Noelle, but do you mind if I take him once in a while? Especially now that he’s on summer break? I’d like to show him the monuments in D.C. and bond with him. I haven’t really spent that much time with him, and I feel bad about it.”
Darby rubbed his beard, “I’m all for the idea; just run it by his mama. Is your woman gonna be involved? Because if so…”
“Would y’all let up about that?!” Casey howled, causing Darby to hold his hands up in mock surrender.
“Hey, I’m a parent now. Wouldn’t you think the worst of me if I wasn’t bein’ protective?” Darby asked reasonably, enjoying how easy it was to ruffle Casey’s feathers.
“Actually, I thought the worst of you when we stayed with you in Nashville, and I walked into your bedroom to find you in bed with three women,” Casey smiled with satisfaction as his brother sat up with a look of alarm. “Now you know who wouldn’t find that story funny in the least? Ms. Avery and Papa Monroe-”
“Two days, you little shit,” Darby cut him off with a frown. “How’d you get to be such a connivin’ weasel? And are you almost ready?! I told Nero to meet us here in fifteen minutes. You take longer to primp yourself than a beauty queen.”
“Hold your horses; I’m almost ready. I’m a lawyer; don’t get mad that I can present a persuasive argument,” Casey said with a laugh as he rinsed his razor and wiped his face and walked to the sitting area where Darby joined in.
“Man, I wish Ma were here,” Darby said longingly. “She would really like our women, don’t you think?”
Casey sat down across from his brother to put on his shoes. “I definitely think Ma would have liked our women. Especially Sidra’s fiery side, Ms. Avery’s sweetness, and Noelle’s charm and cookin’. We did pretty damn good, D.”
The door to the suite clicked, and they heard Sidra calling, “Babe? You still here?” She smiled at them as she turned the corner, and right away, Casey noticed she seemed a little tweaked as she greeted them. “Hey guys, what are you doing?”
“Nothin’ much, Trouble. Just gettin’ ready to play a few rounds of golf before Ms. Avery makes an honest man outta me,” Darby said cheekily.
“C’mere, baby,” Casey held his hand out to her, and Sidra gratefully reached for it. Already feeling a hundred times better when they touched, she allowed him to tug her into his lap, where she snuggled up close to him, comforted by his familiar scent.
Casey’s arms closed around her, and he rubbed her back soothingly. “What’s the matter, sugar? Talk to me.”
“I need to tell you something,” she confessed determinedly. “It’s pretty important and can’t wait until after the wedding. I should have said something long before now, but I was too caught up in my own feelings. Could we please talk before you go?”
Casey’s heart was racing as he and Darby shared a concerned look. Before he could speak, there was a knock at the door. He watched as his brother went to answer it. “I was on my way to play golf with Darby, but I’ll postpone it, okay? This sounds like something we need to deal with now. Why don’t you go into the bedroom while I excuse myself, darlin’?”
“Casey, I just want you to listen to what I have to say, especially in light of our conversation this morning. We don’t have a lot of time, so I need to at least make sure you’re not… blindsided. Can you do that for me?” Sidra asked anxiously as she looked deeply into his concerned eyes.
“I can, but I gotta tell you that you’re kinda freakin’ me out, Sid,” Casey said slowly. “Tell me what’s goin’ on so I can help you.”
They stood up just as Darby came back, followed by an older Hispanic gentleman with a deep olive complexion, and Sidra became immobile as she took him in. He was fairly fit and about six feet tall with close-cropped salt and pepper hair. He wore a pair of pastel plaid slacks and a white polo shirt.
“We ready, Case, or are you stayin’?” Darby asked with a concerned look at Sidra.
The other man spoke in a jovial tone, “Are you kidding me? Surely my protégé isn’t going to hide from me? He owes me a rematch!”
Casey turned back to Sidra with a grin and pulled her forward proudly as he shook the other man’s hand. “Babe, allow me to introduce you to an all-around good guy, and the most brilliant criminal defense attorney the world has ever seen, Nero Santos! Sir, this is my lovely girlfriend, Sidra Barton.”
The room was silent as Sidra and Nero assessed each other. He looks just the same, except older, she thought dispassionately. And it seemed no one was immune to his charm, not her mother nor the Sullivan brothers, especially Casey whose voice had been filled with blatant admiration. Dick-rider, she thought unfairly of her boyfriend, watching as Nero The Snake preened under the compliments. The thought of it made her sick to her stomach, and she wanted to smack him silly for buying into Nero’s crap.
Casey, watching the interaction and feeling the tension build, pulled Sidra closer to him protectively. “What’s wrong, baby?”
Darby moved closer as well and gave Sidra a look as he nodded towards Nero that she interpreted as ‘Do I need to fuck him up?’ She gave him a slight shake of her head.
With a big smile, Nero spoke. “Hello, mija! It’s been a long time.”
“Not long enough, Nero,” Sidra replied frigidly, pressing herself closer to Casey. Inside, she wa
s shaking with rage at the sight of the man who’d treated her and her mother so shabbily.
“What’s goin’ on here?” Casey demanded, and Nero turned back to him with a brilliantly confident smile.
“Forgive me, Casey. It would seem that today is not only a splendid day for a wedding but also a family reunion! Clearly, she hasn’t told you, but Sidra is my daughter.”
***
The wedding of Darby Sullivan and Avery Monroe was a lavishly beautiful affair to witness. From sassy little Ruby Sullivan, waving and throwing petals at people, instead of on the runner, to the tears appearing in the groom’s eyes as his lovely bride, clad in a mermaid-style strapless, white satin and lace gown with a sweetheart neckline, walked down the aisle on her proud father’s arm. Then there was the exchanging of vows in which they included their son D.J. The crowd cheered uproariously when the preacher announced that Darby could kiss his bride, and he lifted Avery into his arms and she clung to him for an extremely passionate kiss. It went on and on until Henry Monroe stood up and shouted, “Dammit, Sullivan! Save it for tonight!”