I dropped my head back against the headboard and sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“The other two times weren’t this bad. You just jerked a few times and shouted out. Amelia slept through both. This time, however….” she trailed off.
Clasping her hand in mine, I told her again how sorry I was.
“Are you going to tell me about it?” she quietly asked.
I gave her the only answer I could, “Someday, I promise.” I could see the hurt in her eyes and my heart clinched.
“Okay,” she said.
She looked exhausted and I was now wide awake. Kissing the side of her head, I told her to go back to bed. Then I quietly escaped the room to find Milly. After taking her from a cranky Sally, I rocked her back to sleep. Then I played my guitar and worked on a few songs that had been in my head. I did not revisit thoughts about the dream. I never did.
After Ibbs woke for the second time, I ran to the store for breakfast food and to grab the ingredients for her famous dip. Thankfully, neither she nor Sally brought up the nightmare again. On the drive back from the grocery store, Max called and said Garrett and Cas had some news about Dooley they wanted to share. We made plans to meet at Kurt’s house half an hour before the party. That way, we would be through with the discussion by the time everyone else arrived.
Ibby and Sally wanted to run to the store to look at swim suits. When I handed her my credit card and told her to have fun, she gave me a strange look. I thought she was going to argue with me about it, but instead she threw her arms around me and gave me a big kiss. I let out a sigh of relief. Note to self, buy her more shit.
Amelia and I hung out at home while the girls shopped. We took Brutus for a walk and watched soccer on television. By the time the girls got back, she was hungry and I was due at Kurt’s. They agreed to meet me there once the dip was ready.
As I pulled into the back driveway, I put the jeep in park and stared at the pool house. It seemed like yesterday Piper was living there while running from Dooley and Gage. It’s amazing how quickly things change. I made my way around the pool area and noticed the festive decorations. I was anxious for my friends to get to know Isabella. The sooner they learned she was an important part of my life, the better things would be.
“Knock, knock,” I called out as I stepped into the kitchen.
“We’re in the living room,” Joss yelled.
I followed the voices into the living room and stopped at the threshold. A wave of Deja vu rolled through me and I couldn’t help but remember the last time we were all together in this room. It was the night before Piper got a wild hair and took off for Texas to save Reyn. Right before the shit hit the fan.
“Everyone’s here now,” Max said. He was sitting on the sofa beside Ellie and baby Mac. It hit me that Mac and Amelia were born within a week of each other, one prematurely and both under fucked up situations.
“Take a load off, D,” Cas said. He was standing off to the side with Bobby and Garrett. Tut, Twon and Benny were sitting on bar stools. Joss and Kurt were sitting in one of the overstuffed chairs while Gage and Piper occupied the other. I crossed over to the one empty bar stool and sat.
“Where’s Isabella?” Piper asked.
“Yeah,” Joss whined. “She promised I could get my hands on Amelia today.”
“Ibbs and Sally are running behind. They are bringing Amelia over in a few,” I told them.
“First of all,” Max loudly said, “congrats to Dillon and his baby mama.” He winked at me when he said this, and I pretended to scratch my forehead…with my middle finger. Ellie slapped him on the shoulder. “Naw, really,” he continued in a more sincere voice, “Isabella was awesome last night and I couldn’t be happier for you.”
I acknowledged his kind words with a “Thanks man.”
Focusing back on the group, Max said, “On a more serious note, and why you are all here today, is because I wanted you to know after the crazy-ass shit that happened with Dooley, I asked Garrett, Cas and Bobby to dig into Dooley’s finances. Nothing tells you more about a man than the financial paper trail he leaves behind.” No one seemed surprised by this. Max and Gage had gone nuts when their women were kidnapped by Dooley and his people. Hopefully this was Max’s way of coming to terms with it.
“And?” Gage asked.
Max looked over at Garrett.
“So far, we’ve connected all the dots but three,” Garrett said. “Dooley had a shit pile of people on his payroll. That said, all of those appear to be tied to business interests and none have traveled to Charlotte recently, or otherwise appear to be likely to retaliate for his death. Only three remain that we have not yet traced. We are still working on that.”
“We don’t need to… worry, do we?” Piper quietly asked. She was sitting in Gage’s lap, so she failed see his jaw clinch and his fingers flex when she asked this.
“No, there’s nothing left to worry about,” Cas reassured. “We just want to dot our i’s and cross our t’s. The main thing we wanted to let you know is that we have been getting more information on Dooley and the preliminary results lead us to believe this whole ugly episode is behind us.”
“While we’re all together,” Garrett said, “I want you to know I’ve asked Cas to be my partner in the business. He’s going to focus mostly on Charlotte to allow me to spend more time in Kentucky. Tut is also going to train with us and come into the fold.” After everyone finished congratulating Cas and Tut, I started to ask if they had found anything on Jimmy, but the doorbell rang and I decided to shelve it for the moment.
“I’ll get it,” Kurt said.
“So other than the three, we’re good?” Max asked.
“Looks like it,” Garrett said. He opened his mouth to say something else but Ellie’s excited squeal cut him off.
“Sarah? What are you doing here?” Ellie all but tossed Mac at Max as she jumped off the sofa and ran over to the woman who was standing in the doorway and flung her arms around her. It took me a minute to realize it was Max’s little sister, Sarah. I hadn’t seen her since Max and Ellie’s wedding. I watched Sarah as she hugged Ellie and had to admit, the girl was a knock out. She had Max’s dark hair and blue eyes, only she was female and had a killer body.
“Since I couldn’t come in when Mac arrived, I decided to surprise you. If I’m interrupting, I can come back later.” she quietly said. “I was just hoping to see all of you and my new baby nephew.”
A very concerned Max, carrying a happily gurgling Mac, headed over to his sister and they all three hugged. Max pulled back and searched Sarah’s face. “What are you doing here, baby sis?” he sternly asked.
Her eyes darted around the room and settled on Cas, who I noticed was intensely staring at her. He was strung so tight I could physically see the tension in his muscles. I mentally shook my head at him. Max would kill Cas if he laid a finger on Sarah. She was not only too young, but way the fuck off limits.
Before she could answer Max’s questions, the doorbell rang a second time. Ellie, who was right next to it, leaned over and opened it. Sally came in first carting the dip. She was followed by Ibby and Amelia. My girls. They all three paused in the doorway and stared wide-eyed at the full room. Ibby’s face turned twelve shades of red and her eyes darted around. The second they connected with mine, she relaxed. I took in every inch of her, from her gypsy looking top and jean shorts all the way down to her pink and green flip flops and brightly colored toe nails. The woman was breathtaking and she was mine. I stood from my chair by the bar and headed her way.
When I reached her, she leaned over and whispered, “Do you want us to come back later?”
“You better not,” I told her and planted one right on her cherry red lips. She smiled against my mouth and I felt it all the way to my toes. I’m in love with her.
Like a linebacker, Joss shot through the crowd and snagged Amelia from Ibby’s overloaded arms. “Aren’t you a pretty little thing?” she cooed. Amelia gave her a toothless grin and my hear
t melted on the spot. Piper took Mac from Max so he could talk to his sister as Joss showed Sally where to put the dip. I pulled Ibby close and gave her another kiss.
“You look good enough to eat,” I whispered in her ear. She smiled up at me and my dick responded with a happy twitch.
“Ummmm, before the rest of the crowd shows up, Gage and I have an announcement to make!” Piper shouted. As soon as everyone stopped talking, she continued. “Gage and I want everyone to be able to join us when we get married. If we wait until October, neither of my brothers will be able to attend and that is unacceptable. Also,” she cleared her throat and shot Joss a pointed look.
“I will be as big as a house by then and won’t be able to fit into any of the cute bridesmaid dresses,” Joss sweetly added, placing her hands on her belly, “because Kurt and I are expecting.” Cheers, claps and congratulations filled the room.
“So,” Piper continued, “Gage and I have decided to move our wedding date to late July. We are thinking of having a destination wedding and getting married on the beach in South Carolina or Georgia. What do you all think?”
Everyone started talking at once. Ibby turned to me with wide eyes. “Is it always like this?”
I laughed. “Most of the time, yes.”
“Alright, guys!” Joss shouted. “People are starting to arrive. Can we take this outside by the pool? I’ve cranked on the music out there. Let’s partaaaay!” she shouted.
Threading my fingers through Isabella’s, I made my way over to Joss to get Milly and give her a congratulatory hug before heading out to the pool area.
An hour later, I finally got the opportunity to talk to Garrett about Jimmy. Ibby was over with the girls showing off the watermelon swimsuit Sally bought for Milly. This was good as I did not want her to know I was having Jimmy investigated. I didn’t want her to worry.
As soon as Garrett and I started talking, Bobby and Tut appeared.
“You can talk in front of Bobby, Tut and Cas. I have all three helping me with this,” Garrett informed. Bobby, Cas and I were friends, but I didn’t know much about Tut, except he was massive and supposedly trained as an underground fighter at some point or another.
“Be glad you got your girls here with you,” Tut said. “Ol’ James is one shady motherfucker.”
My eyes shot to Garrett and my lungs seized in my chest. “What did you find?”
“We don’t have all the details yet and will update you as soon as we do. Let’s just say that apparently James is a bad boy who has been stealing money. From the looks of it, a lot of money. Let us put it all together before discussing it further, okay?” I knew it! Fucking slime-ball.
Bobby whistled through his teeth. “Would you look at that?” he crowed.
We all turned to see what he was talking about. Holy shit! My eyes could not take it all in at once. Collectively, all the girls had decided to take off their cover ups and go for a swim. This included Ibby, who was currently standing by the pool in a red and white polka dotted bikini. A really tiny bikini. She and Piper were singing along with the music, The only word in the song I could make out was chandelier. Damn, Ibby looked hot. Way too hot. As I watched the guys ogle her gorgeous body, I fought back a possessive growl. Mine. Without thinking, I started across the yard toward her. On my way there, I heard Amelia crying in the pool house. For a second, I was torn. I wanted to strongly urge Isabella to put some clothes on, but needed to check on baby girl. Damnit!
Quickly, I skirted around the chairs and opened the pool house door. Max’s sister, Sarah was in the middle of changing Amelia’s diaper. Cas was standing off to the side with his arms folded and a big-ass scowl on his face. It was obvious I was interrupting something. Amelia spotted me and immediately stopped crying. She gave me a gurgly smile. Damn, I love this child.
“She doesn’t like getting her diaper changed,” Sarah announced.
“I’ll get her. You two go have fun.” I told them, shooting Cas a what-the-hell-do-you-think-you’re-doing look. He was too busy glaring at Sarah to see it. Obviously I’d missed something and I was betting Max and Ellie had as well.
“Are you sure?” Sarah asked.
“Positive,” I told her.
At warp speed, I finished changing Amelia and headed straight to find Ibbs. Before I could get to her, I was pulled into a debate about who would win the World Cup this year.
It wasn’t until dinner was ready that I finally caught up with Ibby. She was sitting at the table quietly sipping a glass of white wine. Piper was walking around with Milly. I sat down next to Ibby and she barely looked my way. When Isabella was abnormally quiet, I knew something was up. I asked her what gives and she just shrugged at me. She didn’t speak throughout dinner. Not long after that, Milly had a massive melt down and we decided to take her home. Sally, who was in the middle of telling everyone why she named her vibrator Big Roy, decided to catch a ride home later with Bobby. Good. This would give me time to figure out what was up with Ibby without an audience.
Amelia’s song of choice on the car ride home was Ripple. I had to admit, I liked the Grateful Dead. I was not, however, thrilled about the silent treatment I was getting from Isabella. I ran over all the things in my head that could possibly have pissed her off and came up with zilch.
About halfway home, she turned down the music and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me you and Ellie were involved?” This was the last thing I expected to come out of her mouth. Shit! What does she know? What do I say? I decided the best offense was a good defense.
I raised my brows in question. “You think I’m involved with Ellie?”
“Not right now, but you were.”
“And she told you this?” I asked, trying to figure out who spilled.
“No, but she didn’t deny it.” I wasn’t sure what to say to this. “You said you came back for me because you wanted to explore the possibilities. Yet, you were also with Dana and then Ellie?” When she put it that way, it sounded pretty bad. I should have told her about Ellie. Damn it.
We arrived home before we could finish the conversation. I carried Amelia upstairs and helped Ibbs get her into bed. I could not wait to move into the house and have some personal space. I told Ibby to stay put while I took Brutus for a bathroom break. She was sitting on the sofa drinking a glass of wine when I returned. I grabbed a beer from the fridge and joined her on the sofa. Then I explained the Max, Ellie, Dillon saga to her.
“So, you weren’t in love with Ellie?” she asked.
Lifting her from her seat, I placed her in my lap. Remnants of her perfume swirled around us and I breathed it in. “No, baby. I wasn’t in love with her. I didn’t even give myself the chance to know her,” I explained.
She turned her head and pointed those sapphire blues at me, “Why?”
My gut clinched. “Shit happened with you and then Aunt Angela died. I wasn’t handling things well. I cared about Ellie, but love her? No.” I shook my head.
“What about Dana?”
“Elvira?” I asked, and she gave me a small smile. I sighed and then told her what happened during my attempted hook ups with Dana. It was embarrassing, but necessary. “Everyone thinks I was involved with Ellie and Dana at the same time. The truth is, I wasn’t really involved with either of them. I may have kissed Ellie, but I never slept with her and I certainly didn’t sleep with Dana while I was hanging out with Ellie.”
“Did you want to sleep with Ellie?” she asked. I didn’t want to tell her yes because I knew it would hurt her. Her breath hitched as she tried to scramble out of my lap. “Wait!” I pled and pulled her tightly against my chest. “You are pissed about something that happened a long ass time ago, babe.”
“I’m not pissed,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Yeah? Then what are you?” I challenged. She stilled in my arms. “What is this about?” I whispered in her ear. She shivered and a spike of lust shot through my cock.
“She’s so beautiful. I can see why you would want her,” she qu
ietly replied.
Carefully, I shifted her around so she was straddling me and her core was pressed against my hardness. Her eyes widened in surprise.
“You feel this?” I asked.
She nodded her head.
“No other woman, except you, does this to me.” She gave me a skeptical look. “I’m not going to lie and tell you I never slept with Dana. I’m also not going to say I wouldn’t have slept with Ellie. Had the timing and circumstances been different, I would have. Regardless of what everyone thinks, I was not with them at the same time.” I grabbed Ibby’s hand and rubbed it over my hard cock. “What I will say, is that neither of them did this to me, ever. Just one look from you and I’m hard. There is not a second of the day that goes by that I don’t want you. You have a hold on me I can’t shake. Hell, I don’t want to shake it. Look, I know fuckhead Jimmy messed with your mind. I know he made you doubt how beautiful you are. I’m going to change that. If it takes the rest of our lives, I’m going to fucking change that. Do you hear me?” Tears streamed down her face and she buried her head in my neck and sobbed. “Look at me, Ibby.” She pulled her head from my neck and gave me her eyes. “I love you and only you. I need you to believe me, okay?”
She nodded her head before whispering, “Okay.”
“Good. Now kiss me.” Slowly, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine. I licked along the seam and she opened up and let me in. Within minutes, we were both naked. As she lowered herself onto me, I told her I loved her.
She lifted up and sank back down. “Tell me again,” she gasped.
“I love you,” I repeated.
She lifted up and this time she slammed back down. I could feel her tighten around me and knew she was close.
“One more time,” she panted.
“I love you,” I growled. She made that sexy noise in the back of her throat and I was there with her. Holding her tightly to my chest, I looked her in the eyes and said, “I love you Isabella Fisher.” Then, I powered my hips up one more time and poured myself inside her.
One More Time (MMG Series Book 3) Page 13