Jeisa didn’t doubt for a second that her father would learn to love Jeremy as much as she did. Well, maybe not quite as much, but Jeremy had a way of winning over even the most reluctant. Her father didn’t stand a chance. “Christmas is next week. Could we invite him to come for a visit? We could ask your mother, too.”
“I’ll make sure his limo is full of white roses,” Jeremy said without missing a beat.
Jeisa laughed. “You’re so bad! Only you would consider teasing my father. Are you afraid of anything?”
He tightened his embrace in response, rubbing his chin on her forehead. “Yes. You terrify me. I had my life meticulously planned before I met you. I thought I knew exactly what I wanted. You changed all that. I’m really good at what I do, but you made me ask myself if it was important. And if it isn’t, what am I supposed to be doing? I’m hoping that taking classes here will help me figure that out.”
Jeisa laid her head on his chest and simply absorbed the magnitude of what he was sharing. She often thought she was the only one who struggled with finding her path. It touched her that Jeremy not only asked himself the same questions, but that he shared that side of himself freely with her. “Will you miss the hacking?”
Jeremy rubbed her back absently. “I’ll still take freelance jobs now and then, but I’ll choose them more carefully. I’ve already made more money than I could even begin to know how to spend. The work I did for Rachid and Zhang was quite lucrative. Nothing attracts new clients like a royal referral.”
Lifting her head, Jeisa spoke the truth that was welling within her heart. “I don’t care about the money, Jeremy.”
He reached up and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “Because I’m so hot?”
Jeisa pushed his side playfully. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”
He kissed her nose gently. “You should say it proudly since I’m your creation.”
With a shake of her head, Jeisa said, “All I did was add a little frosting to an already delicious cake.”
He nuzzled his face in her neck and growled, “I like the way you describe me.” He licked her skin, sending waves of hot pleasure through her. “And speaking of delicious . . .” He rolled over so he was on top of her and his hands warmed the places his lips would soon touch.
Chapter Eighteen
In late March, at the top of a long gated driveway, a driver held the door of Jeisa and Jeremy’s limo open. Jeisa didn’t move. Jeremy took her hand in his. “What is it, Jeisa?”
Just outside the tinted back window, the Andrade home loomed before them—both a welcome sight and a reminder of how close she had come to losing him. It wasn’t their first time back there, and Jeisa couldn’t imagine being happier than she was. She and Jeremy had moved into a large apartment closer to the WIT campus, where they had spent the last several months building a life together and sharing it with the new friends they’d made through the water project. She felt guilty to have hesitated at all in the face of memories from a day that no longer mattered. She looked up into the concerned eyes of her fiancé. “Do you ever think about how close we came to losing each other?”
“No,” Jeremy answered easily as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead. “Remember my first boxing lesson?”
Jeisa laughed even though her emotions were high. “How could I forget?”
“I don’t let myself think about what could go wrong. There is too much in life that can. All I thought about that day was what I wanted and what was standing between me and getting it. And then I did the only thing I could do—I stood my ground.” He kissed her lightly and said, “I may have modified my path, but not my methods. There is nothing in the past or in the future that could change how I feel about you.”
Jeisa threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss that showed him exactly how much his words had moved her. She would have never guessed by their awkward first meeting that she would learn so much from him. Problems are best resolved when faced full-on. Run toward what you want, not away from what you’re afraid of. And stand your ground.
When she broke off the kiss, his cheeks were flushed and his eyes burned with desire for her. “You know, we could leave our gift with the doorman and come back later.”
With a chuckle, Jeisa eased off him and said, “No, Abby would never forgive me for missing her baby shower, and she’s gotten more emotional as her due date gets closer.”
Jeremy stepped out of the limo and took her hand to help her out. “Which means that Dominic is going to be a wreck today.”
Jeisa warned, “If you tease him, don’t complain if you come home with a black eye.”
“Don’t worry. I’m younger, faster, and I’ve learned how to bob and weave like a professional.”
Their eyes met and they broke into laughter. They were still laughing when the door opened and Alessandro greeted them both with a bear hug. He stood back and gave them an approving once-over. “Young love is a beautiful thing, no?”
His wife Elise rushed forward and greeted them both with a kiss on each cheek. “Alessandro, can’t you say hello without mauling the guests?”
With a shrug that said his wife’s comment didn’t bother him at all, Alessandro said, “These two aren’t guests anymore, they’re family.”
Elise linked arms with Jeisa and led her into the party. “You’ll have to pardon my husband, he is getting sentimental in his old age. Come on, there is so much to talk about before Abby arrives. Everyone else is in the kitchen already.”
Surrendering to being led away, Jeisa looked over her shoulder to Jeremy, knowing that she likely wouldn’t see him again until the party officially began. He winked at her as if he’d been thinking the same thing.
Nicole greeted her with a warm hug as soon as Jeisa entered the kitchen. “Did you and Jeremy just get in?”
Jeisa eased out of the light sweater she’d worn over her boldly flowered dress. “Yes, we flew in about an hour ago on a commuter flight. With all the work we’re doing to purify water, it’s hard to justify the pollution of flying a plane back and forth just for us.”
“Now you sound like Stephan,” Nicole said with a smile. “We flew in yesterday on an airline for the same reason. Don’t get him started about diminishing fossil fuels.”
Lil bounded forward and hugged Jeisa. “You two are very admirable, but don’t you miss the privacy?” When no one said anything, Lil wiggled her eyebrows and said, “Come on, I can’t be the only member of the mile high club here.”
Nicole and Jeisa blushed. Maddy roared with laughter. Elise motioned to Stephan’s mother across the room and said, “Oh, honey, we founded that club.”
Tears of laughter were smearing the women’s mascara when Princess Zhang from Najriad entered the kitchen. “I see nothing has changed here since I’ve been gone.”
Lil bolted to her side. “Zhang!” and threw her arms around her friend. “You came!”
Returning Lil’s embrace for a moment before easing out of it, Zhang said, “I wouldn’t have missed this for anything.”
With an impish smile, Lil asked, “Zhang, tell me something. Did you fly over on a public or private airplane?”
“Private, of course,” Zhang said, and the women burst into laughter again. “I’ve always preferred privacy and now I’m married to a sheikh.” The more she spoke, the more the women laughed. “Is our desire to fly on our own plane really that amusing?”
Wiping her cheeks, Stephan’s mother, Katrine, said, “Only after Lil has been oversharing about why she prefers to fly that way.”
A slight red flush tinted Zhang’s cheeks, but she said proudly, “I’m sure I would have agreed with her reasoning.”
Everyone burst into laughter again.
“Oh no, what did I miss?” a very pregnant Abby asked from the doorway.
Elise rushed forward to greet her. “Alessandro was supposed to tell me when you arrived. I would have met you at the door.”
Abby happily received her double-cheeked kis
ses. “With all the fun you ladies are having, he may have tried to call down, but don’t worry, I’m fine.”
Lil gave her sister a huge hug. “Did you see who came?”
Abby exchanged a light hug with the princess. “Thank you, Zhang, I appreciate you coming all this way for the party. I know it’s a long flight.”
Zhang smiled and stepped back. “A very long flight. Thank goodness.”
Lil laughed so hard she was gasping for air as she said, “Oh, my God, stop, my face is starting to hurt.”
Abby looked around the room for help. “I don’t get it.”
Nicole greeted Abby with a kiss to the cheek and said, “We’ll explain later, although I suspect that you’re also a member.”
Abby turned to another source for information. “What are they talking about?”
Jeisa wasn’t sure where to begin. Instead she joined in the fun and said, “We borrowed one of Dominic’s planes, so I have to agree with Nicole. He has beds everywhere.”
Abby blushed and chided the women around her even as she began to smile. “I can’t leave you guys unsupervised for two minutes . . .”
Her sister teased her a bit more. “Don’t even pretend you haven’t gone there with Dominic. I’ll be surprised if you don’t name your baby after one of his planes.”
That had Abby laughing out loud until she stopped and held her side. “Don’t make me laugh. I’ve been having Braxton Hicks contractions for the past week and they are only getting worse.”
Suddenly serious, Nicole looked at one of the new mothers in the room and asked, “Maddy, wasn’t that what you said you were having the day I delivered your baby in my limo?”
Abby rushed to reassure her. “Don’t worry, I’ve been to the doctor, these are not real contractions. Well, they feel real, but I’m not in labor. I have two more weeks before I’m even at my due date and first-time mothers often go past that date.”
Nicole paled. “All of that sounds painfully familiar.”
Abby moved over to sit in a chair Katrine held out to her and said, “I’m not even having contractions right now, it’s just that it seems like anything can set them off lately. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
Not looking particularly reassured, Nicole waved her hand in the direction of Abby’s stomach. “I want to make it clear that delivering a baby was a beautiful, once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and I want to keep it that way—as just that one time.”
“Why don’t we change the subject before I start getting nervous?” Abby suggested. “Jeisa, I didn’t see Jeremy out there, did he come with you?”
Zhang answered instead. “Rachid asked about him when we arrived. I believe Alessandro said he’d stepped into the library to talk to someone.”
Lil and Abby’s eyes met. “It’s not Alethea,” Lil blurted then instantly looked contrite. “Oh, my God, Jeisa, I didn’t mean to say her name.”
All eyes turned to Jeisa, who smiled because she realized that Jeremy was right—there was nothing in the past or the future that could threaten their love. “You can say her name, Lil. She’s your friend. I should have trusted Jeremy that day. It would have saved me a lot of heartache. I’m not about to make that mistake again.”
Lil wrinkled her nose at Abby. “See, I told you it wouldn’t be a problem anymore. Does that mean I can invite—”
“No,” Abby said in a tone that implied that was the end of that particular discussion.
Marie walked in with Colby, Lil’s little girl, who high-stepped proudly as she clung to both of Marie’s hands for support. “It looks like almost everyone is here. How is our mommy holding up?”
Abby pushed herself awkwardly to her feet. “Ready to get this over with.”
Lil bent to rest one knee on the floor so her daughter, Colby, could take a few independent steps into her arms. She hugged her daughter to her even as she spoke to her sister above her head. “Oh, come on, Abby. This is going to be great. Imagine the presents you’re going to get.”
Abby braced her back with one hand. “Really, there was no need to register for anything. We have more than we need. In fact, I asked for donations to the maternity ward of the hospital in lieu of presents.”
Colby raised her hands greedily in the direction of a woman who had never been comfortable with children, but who now also dropped down onto her knees to greet the child. “Ni Ni!” Nicole didn’t seem to mind how her drool-covered little hands wrinkled her silk blouse. She stood and twirled with the girl on her hip and after they both came to a laughing stop, she said, “Stephan and I gave a donation, but we couldn’t help ourselves—we also bought you a present.”
Marie added, “By the look of the growing pile of gifts out on the patio, I’d say that everyone did the same.”
“Did you finally tell Dominic the sex?” Nicole asked her sister-in-law.
Abby rolled her eyes skyward. “I wanted to keep it a secret until the end, but that man is unshakeable when it comes to anything related to the health of this baby. He’s already hired a bodyguard for her. Can you imagine—she’s not even here yet and she has her own security.”
With a smile of approval, Marie said, “You know he does it out of love.”
Abby laid a hand on top of her rounded stomach. “I don’t even want to think about what he’s going to be like in the delivery room.”
Lil wrapped an arm around her sister and rubbed her belly playfully, earning a not-so-playful swat from Abby, which only amused Lil more. “That’s why you invited me to join you. I’ll handle him.”
Nicole turned to Jeisa and in a stage whisper said, “Now that is something I’d pay to see.”
Me, too, Jeisa thought. “If she’s smart, she’ll have Jake as backup.”
From a corner of the kitchen, Maddy’s husband piped in. “My money is on Lil.”
Maddy turned with her young son in her arms and admonished him playfully. “Richard, what did I tell you about listening in?”
His wide grin was unabashedly unapologetic. “You can punish me later.”
Marie shook her head while the other women gave in to laughter. “In my day we weren’t quite as open as this new generation is.”
Elise and Katrine exchanged a look and then Elise asked, “Aren’t you our age?”
Marie looked a bit flustered at the question. With her chin held high she said, “Yes.”
As Jeisa looked on with sympathy, she noticed the beautiful dress Marie had chosen to wear. It was one she’d sent her months ago as a thank-you. The dark-blue fitted top took years off her age, as did the additional makeup she’d chosen. Marie, you sly dog. “Not too old to have caught my father’s eye. You were the reason he agreed to come here for Christmas last year. He still asks about you.”
Marie flushed a bright red but said nothing.
Lil interjected her own brand of wisdom. “At your age you probably shouldn’t make him wait too long. The life expectancy of men is shorter than it is for women. However, thanks to Viagra, at least you know everything will still function.”
Abby clapped a hand on her forehead. “Lil!”
“What?” Lil asked, unperturbed. “Do you think Marie is too old to want a piece of that Brazilian stud?”
Jeisa choked on bubbling laughter as she imagined her father’s reaction if he’d overheard this conversation. Brazilian stud. You go, Dad.
Maddy clasped her hands together in excitement. “I’ve never tried my matchmaking skills on an older couple. This could be fun.”
Despite the futility of it, Abby cautioned, “Or, it could be none of our business.”
Lil’s and Maddy’s eyes met and they dismissed Abby’s advice in unison. “Nah, Marie, you’ll thank us.”
Marie cleared her throat and said, “Enough of this foolishness. We have guests arriving and presents to open.” With that, she led them to the doorway.
Jeisa spoke softly so the departing Marie wouldn’t hear. “We should invite my father to your wedding, Lil.”
Maddy b
ounced her son gleefully on her hip. “That’s perfect. He’ll be irresistible in a tux.”
Lil danced with excitement beside her. “We can figure out a way to give them some time alone—and let nature take its course.”
“Speaking of nature, I have to pee again,” Abby said as she retreated. “So, you ladies can plot away and I will waddle back to meet you on the patio.”
Being summoned to the Andrade library to speak with Dominic and Jake gave Jeremy a moment of apprehension. He ran through a quick list of what might have gone wrong that would have necessitated the privacy they’d requested. Had Sliver broken through? Had he been naive to believe a dictator like Alvo would let him live if he backed out of their negotiations?
If something bad had happened, it hadn’t stopped Jake or Dominic from enjoying Alessandro’s 1939 Macallan scotch and his Nicaraguan cigars. Still, these men might face the apocalypse with the same nonchalance, so Jeremy felt compelled to ask, “Is something wrong? What happened?”
Dominic let out a puff of smoke and asked, “Does something have to be wrong?”
No, but I don’t normally get invited unless something is, Jeremy thought, but instead asked with some sarcasm, “Oh, so you missed me? I just saw you at Christmas.”
Dominic flicked his cigar ashes in a tray and motioned to the empty chair across from him. “Have a seat.”
Jake poured a third glass of scotch and handed it to Jeremy. “We want to talk to you about something.”
Jeremy took the open seat and the drink. “I don’t need any more advice. Jeisa and I are fine.”
Dominic rolled his eyes at the ceiling, but looked amused.
Jake puffed on his own cigar before saying, “We don’t have a lot of time before the women come looking for us. Jeremy, we have a business proposition to discuss with you.”
Tempting as the idea was, Jeremy had set his course and would not be led easily from it. “I haven’t finished my first ethics course. I need some time before I attempt to play at your level again.”
The Legacy Collection Box Set Page 75