KNOTTED: The Manhattan Bound Series, Book Three

by Juliet Braddock

  “Mack!” an oh-so-familiar voice called out, startling them both. “Oh, love, wait!”

  Suddenly, the happy bride and groom stopped and spun around to a pair of open arms. “Oh, no more tears!” Drew said as he pulled Nanny Fi close for a hug.

  Unable to resist, Fiona reached out and tugged at his curls, just as she’d done since he was a boy. “Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie...oh, I was off jabbering with your mum and almost missed you here!”

  “Oh, Nanny Fi!” Maxine joined in, throwing her arms around both of them. “We’re so happy to see you.”

  “What am I going to do without you two for the next couple of weeks?” she implored.

  “Throw a big party. Don't break anything of real value. Make sure you clean up afterward. And do not—under any circumstances whatsoever—invite my brother,” Drew teased as he reached out his hands to the mystery woman who had been hovering behind Nanny Fi as if she were hiding. “Cat! How are you? It’s been so long…”

  Name recognition resonated immediately with Maxine, and she squinted for a closer look. Before her stood the first woman who ever locked lips with the man she’d just married.

  With a shrug of her shoulders, Fiona’s daughter Catherine smiled somewhat uncomfortably. She was medium height and build with light brown eyes and jet black, poker straight hair that cropped bluntly above her chin. In fact…everything about her was just…average.

  “And you must be Maxine,” Cat said as she took Maxine’s hand for a hearty and genuine shake. “Mum has told me so many lovely things about you. Congratulations to you both.”

  “Nice to finally meet you, too, Catherine,” Maxine said with a frosty air that almost made Drew chuckle.

  “You both just look spectacular,” Cat continued, her smile never waning. “And I’m so happy for you, Drew. No one deserves this more than you do.”

  A fleeting second passed during which guilt transcended briefly through Maxine’s mind. Perhaps she’d overreacted just a bit, but she’d heard the legends of this lady for so long. In fact, Maxine had equated Cat’s enigmatic presence in Drew’s life with the fables of the old Loch Ness Monster. But Drew didn’t know that.

  However, she could just envision a tiny, curly-haired Drew, so shy from his tortured early life but in desperate need of a friend. Equally lost and lonely—and new in this country—Cat shared so many of his emotions and fears. Both had to learn their way around not just Manhattan—but in their own lives. Together, they grew up and navigated the maze of childhood. They’d built a friendship between them that endured time.

  “Mum tells me I need to come to the show,” Cat continued on with her conversation. “She said you’re at your best, Drew. And Maxine, maybe we could go together—grab a beer beforehand or something? Mum would certainly go again…and my husband can babysit for a night.”

  Husband. In her brief but blinding envy, Maxine had forgotten that Cat was married with a family of her own. Suddenly, Maxine’s mood shifted. Just because Cat was a female…and Drew happened to share one clumsy pre-teen kiss with her…Maxine couldn’t continue to fault the woman her entire life.

  “You're a good man, Mack,” Nanny Fi told him. “And Maxine, I’m just thrilled he found you. I'll miss you both while you're on holiday.”

  “Nanny Fi,” Maxine began, “we love you. And we're so glad you're both here with us today. Let’s make that show happen when we get back. I think I know someone who can get us tickets…”

  “You’re a sweet and precious young woman, Max,” Nanny Fi caught Maxine's elbow and gave it a squeeze. “And my love to both of you.”

  As the Findlays made their way to their table, Drew folded his arms over his chest and chuckled. “Jealous much?”

  In retaliation, she mirrored his pose. “Me…was not…hey, it was…I’m Mrs. McKenzie now…”

  “Oh, it was fucking adorable!” he pulled her closer but not too tight—just near enough so that she could feel the semi-hard state into which his cock had fallen. “Your little nostrils flared. And dammit, if you don’t have the cutest nose!”

  “Kisses?” she asked, her voice barely a breath as that single word left her lips.

  “Kisses…” he groaned and covered her mouth with his, working her with the greedy hunger that had mounted for seven long days.

  “Well, if it isn’t the bride and groom….” Father McCarron’s Irish brogue rang out clearly as he walked alongside Maggie and Declan and carefully turned his head away from Maxine and Drew.

  “They’re just…” With a good shake to his son, Declan muttered, “Not in front of the priest again, Drew. He’s had enough today.”

  “Sorry, Dad…” Drew laughed, as he tickled the tip of his nose to Maxine’s cheek.

  While Maggie made it her job to occupy Father McCarron’s attention, Declan attempted to nudge the newlyweds toward their table. “Come on—you have all night and a whole honeymoon to smooch. Pay attention to the folks who have come to share your day…”

  As they stepped up beside the huge family table, Drew stopped right behind Aunt Frannie. With her giant electric blue feathered hat that rivaled those worn at the Kentucky Derby perched atop her silver hair, she stood up from her seat and bypassed Maxine and Drew in her conquest. “There’s my favorite grandson!”

  “You don’t even have children…” Drew muttered softly. “How could you have a—”

  Aunt Frannie threw her arms around Ben while he made his way with Jeffrey to join the rest of the bridal party, and he simply grinned over her head. As Maxine told him time and time again, he loved to flirt with everyone—even little old ladies.

  “Aunt Frannie, how I’ve missed you!” Ben nearly shouted, kissing one of her rouged cheeks and then the other, and then stifled a sneeze as the feathers brushed against his nose. “It’s been so long since…this morning. Wow, you look…lovely.”

  With a courtsey, she offered a coquettish grin. “Of course, I do, Barry!” she said with every ounce of pride in her soul and then turned to Drew with the glare of death. “I can pretend to have a grandson since my nephews are all assholes.”

  “Did Aunt Frannie just call you an asshole, Drew?” Maxine covered her mouth.

  Straightening his bowtie rather anxiously, Declan smiled with chagrin. “Where the hell is Adam? He’s supposed to be watching her…”

  “And you,” Frannie turned to Maxine next. “What’s with that getup? Is it Halloween already?”

  Prompted by Declan, both Jillian and Adam flanked Aunt Frannie. Maggie always kept a close watch on the flow of events against the clock, and they did have an entire evening ahead. It was Adam’s job to get things moving, but sometimes, Declan had to crack the whip behind him.

  While his brother squabbled to get Aunt Frannie to her chair, Drew asked Maxine, “Ready for your surprise now?”

  “Drew…” Maxine reached out and touched his cheek. “What did you—”

  His always seeking lips silenced her. “I won’t sing on a full stomach, little one, and I’m starving right now.” With that, he winked and turned to walk away.

  “I think you better take your seat, Mrs. McKenzie,” Jillian whispered in her ear. “It’s showtime…”

  The lights dimmed as Maxine shook her head. “Is he…he’s singing?”

  Placing his large hand over the top of Maxine’s head, Adam gentled her down to her seat. “Can’t see with you standing, Penelope!”

  “He got ya again, Max!” Jeffrey taunted while Maxine scooted around in her chair to face the small stage where the string quartet that played for the ceremony had already set up for dinner.

  Every nerve ending within her body shivered as she watched Drew, so deep in his own concentration, take to the microphone. There was just a small spotlight shining upon him. Immediately, his eyes found Maxine. The love that poured forth from his gaze caught her and held her still.

  “Maxine…my little one…” Drew began, his voice barely a murmur.

  Again, just as when he sang for her at his mother’s
party, that boyish look of almost timidity shrouded his face. His biggest fan, Maxine was the one person who always made him nervous before a performance. He knew he had to get it right.

  “I know we already spoke our vows today, but I’m not quite finished yet,” he continued on as if the entire space was empty but for Maxine. “When I met you on that rainy night…just seven months ago…I knew immediately that there was something different about you—something that I had to uncover, someone I had to get to know. You were just so lovely—and not just in your pretty face and in your sparkling eyes…but in your generous heart…”

  Behind her, Maxine could already hear sniffles—likely Maggie, Jillian, and Vicki—and she could hear her father clear his throat. Captivated, she locked eyes with Drew.

  “And tonight, I want to sing a little song for you that truly expresses everything I feel for you—in my head and in my heart. I know it was one of your mother’s favorites, too. It’s called ‘Love Changes Everything’ from the musical Aspects of Love. Mrs. Kirk-McKenzie, I love you…and you are my everything.”

  Drew felt his lips quiver as he began the first verse. For him, this was indeed the first moment of the rest of their lives. Every word truly exuded the intensification of emotions that he couldn’t merely convey in their vows. Joy, sadness, laughter, tears—all were stronger and richer under the guise of having fallen in true love.

  Maxine hung upon each and every lyric, and she swelled with emotions so intense that she had to catch her breath. This certainly wouldn’t be the last song he ever dedicated to her. However, each and every time he gifted her with his voice, her heart would flip just as it had that very first time.

  In a matter of three minutes, Drew had reduced their entire room to sobbing. Without a thought, Maxine stood up from her seat and marched up to the stage, only to be lifted into the air for another kiss from her husband.

  “Did I tell you that I married the most wonderful man in the world today?”

  “And I hear that he’s married the most wonderful woman...”

  When they both finally had a chance to sit down, Drew turned to Maxine as one of the servers filled their glasses and placed a champagne bottle in a heavy pewter wine bucket before them.

  “Happy?”

  “Euphoric....” she murmured as her lips met his yet again.

  However, their attempt to share a smidgen of intimacy vanished as one Adam McKenzie stood up and took to the stage for the regulatory best man toast. Even Jillian seemed a bit edgy, and that troubled Drew.

  Tossing her hands in the air, Jillian absolved herself of guilt by association. “I didn’t read it! I swear!”

  Clearing his throat, Adam raised his glass, and looked over so deeply into his big brother’s eyes, almost in a need for reassurance.

  “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, here on this fine April evening,” Adam began. “Thank you all for giving up a precious Saturday night to spend in celebration with my dorky brother and his lovely bride.”

  While nearly everyone in the room chuckled over Adam’s opening line, Declan McKenzie could do nothing but drop his head into his hands and hide it there. In fact, he began to wonder what the fuck Drew was thinking in allowing him to give the toast.

  “I remember the first time Drew brought Maxine home like it was only a couple of months ago,” Adam continued. “Oh, wait...it was!”

  “Oooooh...” Maxine laughed, then booed her brother-in-law.

  However, for once in his life, Drew took his brother’s ribbing in stride. In fact, he expected it. And he was laughing the hardest out of everyone in the room.

  “Now, we all got to know Maxine behind the scenes...and we discovered that she's a pretty cool chick...” Adam rambled on. “Much cooler than my brother.”

  Tucking Maxine under his chin as he pulled her closer, Drew groaned, but she reached for his hand and gave it an assuring squeeze.

  “But there’s also sensitivity beneath Penelope’s smarts and sense of humor. She’s not afraid to step up when things get rough. She’s embraced my parents and me with just as much affection as she has for her own dear old Dad, whom we’ve all come to love. And she’s always there for every one of us. That's a true sister-in-law,” he said, his tone sober. “And Penelope…you’re a perfect fit into our big, crazy family…”

  Drew’s embrace tightened, and Maxine began to relax against him.

  “And then we have my brother…”

  Maxine could hear Declan clear his throat behind them as if sending out a warning shot to his youngest son.

  “I remember when I was in college…and sometimes, I’d be out past that last train home. No matter how small Drew’s apartment was, I always had a place to stay with no questions asked. Many of those nights, he’d stay up with me, and we’d just talk about life. And at some point, we both came to the realization that we were brothers by chance...but friends by choice.”

  Adam pursed his lips together for a moment. “In the midst of all our posturing and positioning, we still enjoyed each other's company immensely—wanted nothing more than to see the other brother succeed...in life...in our chosen careers...and of course, in love...

  “And Drew, as you fell in love, so did we—your family,” Adam went on. “Mom and dad adored Penelope’s gentle ways. I enjoyed the fact that this tiny little pixie could take me down in the most eloquent fashion. And I also sort of believe that you both had a hand in bringing my own ladylove to me after all these years.”

  Even though Jillian had dropped her head in a bit of chagrin, Maxine could see her face across the table in the candlelight, her grin playing in the soft shadows.

  “Drew...Maxine...” Adam raised his champagne flute, “I toast to you two this evening with much love, and on behalf of everyone here, I wish you both a lifetime of laughter together. I hope that strength and trust you've already established in your relationship deepens with every passing year. Cheers…and congratulations.”

  With those tender words spoken by the brother whom he sometimes hated to love, Drew had forgotten about the debacles Adam caused during the ceremony. After sharing a toast and a delicate kiss with Maxine, Drew stood up, walked ever so slowly over to his brother and gave him the strongest hug they'd ever shared.

  Maxine noticed that even Tom and Declan seemed to be a bit choked up. Adam McKenzie had so sweetly surprised them all—even standing there in those damn Birkenstocks and now dirty white socks.

  When Drew finally returned to his seat, she took note that his eyes were two glassy pools of blue, almost like a lake half-frozen over in winter with a rare afternoon of sunshine beating down upon it.

  “I think maybe Adam deserves that car after all,” Maxine suggested.

  “We'll see. The night is still very young...”

  Throughout dinner—prepared by three of Drew’s favorite chefs from five-star Manhattan eateries—his theatrical friends hit the stage, serenading the happy couple with standards and showtunes.

  Just as the meal drew to a close, they shared one last glass of champagne together before the fun began. However, as they stood up to make a quiet exit before their grand entrance to the dance floor, Ben, Jeffrey and Jillian were quick to follow them outside.

  With him, Ben had brought Maxine's discarded heels in a velvety drawstring pouch. They all could see that she was having trouble reaching up to Drew’s neck throughout the photo session that afternoon. However, Uncle Benjy wasn’t about to haul in a rock from the garden for Maxine to stand upon.

  However, Maxine’s affections swelled again. It took three dear friends to replace her mother’s role that day, and they were all doing a superlative job of managing the bride.

  Meanwhile, as Maxine slipped into her shoes with Jeffrey and Ben holding her up on the grass outside the tent, Adam revved the crowd to join Manhattan’s hottest deejay of the second on the dancefloor.

  “Ladies, gentleman, kids of all ages—I present to you…Mr. and Mrs. James Andrew McKenzie!”

  From the sidelines,
both families converged and watched as Drew and Maxine stepped out to the floor to take their first whirl as husband and wife.

  One of Drew’s first memories from his childhood was of David Bowie playing on MTV in that tumbledown house in Brooklyn. As he grew up and grew older, he found comfort—if not an escape—in Bowie’s elegant freakishness and in his ability to transform and reinvent himself time and time again.

  For their turn on the dance floor as husband and wife, both wanted something fun yet sentimental in lyric. Soulful, melancholy with traces of eroticism, Bowie’s “Modern Love” was a tribute to their own very modern-day fairy tale.

  And as Maxine offered Drew her hand to guide her along, her heart quickened and her eyelids slackened with her ever-present desire for him. As they moved so sinuously and perfectly together, her shoulders, her hips, her entire body fell into that groove of Drew McKenzie all over again, just like that first date when he pulled her close. And when he kissed her, knowing full well that everyone was watching, she immersed herself in his passion right in the middle of the dance floor.

  Above them, a papier-mâché moon hovered, just like the one that lingered above Bowie’s live shows back in the eighties. And Adam McKenzie had just one more job for the evening.

  “Cue the moon…” Maxine whispered to Drew right on that exact beat they’d both rehearsed nearly every night for the last month.

  As they waited mere seconds, Drew’s impatience snapped. “Cue the fucking moon,” he said out loud.

  Scrambling yet again, Adam scurried to find the damn remote that was designed specifically for this piece of wedding décor.

  Within seconds, the moon opened, showering the dancefloor in glittery confetti. Beneath the spray of colorful, sparkly rain, Maxine decided to forego her shoes yet again as she and Drew stomped and played as if there were real puddles beneath their feet.

  Drew could have hit repeat and just allowed that song to play the rest of the night. Yet as the vibrant sax solo played out through the end, they shared one last slow kiss. He knew they’d have so many more dances to that song as the years passed on.

  As Drew passed Maxine off to Tom, he had to reach for the closest napkin to dry his eyes while he followed their elegant sweep around the floor to “What a Wonderful World.”