She preceded him into the house and stalked straight into the kitchen. When she produced a large crystal vase from a cabinet, Drae could only shake his head with wonder. He’d lived in this house for years with the bare minimums but ever since Victoria shook up his life suddenly he had fancy china and cloth napkins. No more disposable plates and a roll of paper towels.
“I thought there was a nursery in the works for that back room at the admin building. Lugging all kinds of baby stuff around doesn’t make sense—not with how much time you’ll be spending there.”
“Oh, we’re on it. Believe me. Poor Lacey,” she grumbled with an anxious sounding sigh. “I admire her for sticking with the student teaching assignment at Bella’s school. I know how much she wants that degree. It’s just bad luck that this time around she’s battling hyperemesis gravidarum. The constant nausea and dehydration is a real worry. Now that the outreach center is finally opening, we can focus our energies on the nursery. Try to do whatever we can to make things easier for her.”
Depositing Danny in the pack and play they kept in the kitchen and handing him some toys, he went and leaned against the counter next to her and crossed his arms. She’d given him an opening that was so perfect it felt custom made.
“Look,” he began. “I think there’s something we could do that will be a real help. At least Cam thinks so. But it’ll mean some play-acting for us. Interested?”
Fluffing the arrangement with her hands she kept removing and re-inserting stems until whatever design she saw in her head was achieved.
“She was a rock for me when Daniel’s pregnancy got rough. I’d do anything for Ponytail.”
Cam was gonna’ thank him for this and not only that, he’d found an inventive way to force something on Victoria he knew she’d resist.
“Cool. Well, here’s the deal. Cam feels she’d be resistant to having a bit of assistance.”
Victoria’s one brow went up. She was intrigued. He had her.
“You know. Think… Carmen-light. Someone to handle the daily grind but without the live-in arrangement.”
He watched her brain process the scraps of information. If additional persuasion was necessary, he had a few more good points to use. Like the fact that her mom was on board after Calder also put his foot down. Nobody was keeping score and they were all in a position to farm team the household running so the Justice ladies weren’t overwhelmed. There was no shame in asking for help and the other side of that argument was that they’d be giving a job to someone who needed it.
“A mother’s helper,” she muttered after one final redesign of the flowers. “Not a nanny though, right? A nanny will never happen.”
Drae anticipated this argument. Letting someone else do the laundry and mop the floors was smart home management. But there was no way ever that handing the kids off to a nanny would happen.
He remembered his dismal childhood of being passed from one childcare person to another. Nannies, teachers, private schools. The same for his sister. It was at the heart of his antipathy toward his parents. Breaking that chain was important to him and Desi. Rescuing the name of St. John from the dustbin of tired, worn out socially acceptable families with more money than sense, was important to him.
Things would be different in this St. John home. He was one hundred and fifty percent hands-on-deck at all times. Fuck his cold-hearted parents.
“There will never be a nanny in Family Justice.”
She actively bit back a snicker at his profound declaration. His wife was well aware of his feelings on the subject.
“Good,” she cooed with a cheeky smirk.
Gathering her against him he felt her relief. “In that case a mother’s helper would be great around here. Do you guys have someone in mind cause if you do, I’ll start laying the groundwork.”
Winning! Part of him couldn’t believe she went for it so easily. Drae breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t think it was jumping the gun at all to step in from the start of Victoria’s second pregnancy to avoid the problems they faced the first time. Granted, so far she’d only been knocked up for ten minutes, but he wasn’t waiting around this time for problems to crop up.
Ensuring that this pregnancy was drama free and easier on his little wife than the first was his top priority.
They talked some more. Made a plan for the day. Victoria for her part shimmied and rubbed on him like a cat using a scratching post. He encouraged her, of course. Eventually she climbed on him and wrapped her legs around his waist. Being big and strong while having a tiny but almost as strong wife meant getting randy in a standing position was no problem.
One thing led to another, it always did, and before long his dick was out, her panties pushed aside and unf.
He’d moved them across the kitchen and put the big island in between them and the pack and play. Their son watching Mommy and Daddy get their freak on made both of them uncomfortable.
“The pantry,” Victoria panted. “Go in the pantry—leave the door open.”
She was gyrating on his fierce erection, bouncing up and down with increasing abandon. Shuffling them into the semi-privacy of the big walk-in wasn’t easy with his jeans below his knees but he managed. Once they were out of Danny’s eyesight, she went wild.
Hot, fierce lust on both their parts turned the quick coupling into a dirty, grunting, fuck. He held her hips and aided her frantic thrusts. The sheer carnality of standing up while his wife’s glorious pussy drained his cock was fucking awesome.
She came first—he was a gentleman that way. Fire burned his eyes as he watched her tremble and writhe through a ferocious orgasm. Victoria had an amazing spirit. She loved fiercely and so completely that those emotions came through when they made love.
He joined her straightaway, pouring the result of his desire into her hot depths as she whimpered his name and clung.
Separating afterwards was a bitch. She didn’t want to release him and very nearly started the whole thing all over again with her greedy pleas, incessant mouth and wandering hands. But Daniel hollering from the kitchen robbed them of another round.
Since snapping her picture while she was pouting would earn him an elbow in the ribs, he committed her adorable petulance to memory. The woman he had the unbelievable good fortune to find and marry did not take kindly to having her naughtiness checked.
“I’m going upstairs to freshen up.”
He leered at her with a macho eye wag so there’d be no mistaking his pleasure. Tag him as a pig if necessary but he got off on the raunchy stuff.
After she dashed off he sauntered into the kitchen, made sure Daniel was cool and then bellied up to the sink. Shoving his briefs and jeans down slightly, he wet his hands and set about cleaning up as best he could. The moment had a distinctly vulgar feel to it. There was something about wiping the mess off his dick that didn’t do a lot as far as calming down his libido was concerned.
Glancing across the island as he did his thing at the sink, he found his son standing while he gnawed on the padded top of the pack and play.
“Sorry you have to see this son but keeping Mommy happy sometimes means doing dirty stuff.”
Keeping a firm grip on the pack and play, Danny bent over, picked up a squishy toy and sent it sailing through the air. “Dog!”
Drae chuckled. With a wad of paper towels, he dried his hands and tucked the St. John cock into his pants and quickly cleaned up the area. “My boy, you have no idea how spot-on you are because yep, Daddy is a dog. A major hound dog.”
Daniel laughed and then a toy at a time emptied the playpen—sending them flying.
“Dog!” he chirped happily.
Dog, indeed.
“Meghan!” she heard a loud voice holler. “Over here.”
Her eyes swung in the direction of the sound but there was so much going on she couldn’t see straight much less take it all in. A colorful, lively and completely surprising event, overflowing with excitement and high-energy, was in full swing as far as the eye co
uld see.
Feeling a little like a spectator at a surrealist’s convention, her eyes bounced from one fantastic visual to another. She couldn’t believe what Alex and her Justice family had pulled off, while keeping her completely in the dark.
Knowing about the different facilities and spaces in the sprawling complex that she thought up and sank a fortune into wasn’t the same as seeing it come to life.
She waved to the invisible voice but stayed glued to her husband’s side. Feeling a little overwhelmed, she needed his solid presence and wasn’t going anywhere.
Putting her head on his shoulder, she enjoyed the firm squeeze of his hand before he raised her fingers to his mouth for a kiss.
“Are you truly surprised?”
God. He was so cute. She heard a tiny sliver of uncertainty in his question. This is what it’s like to be loved by such a man, she thought with a short, contented sigh. All that mattered to Alex Marquez was her happiness and well-being.
She raised her head and gave him a beaming smile followed by a confessional shrug.
“No idea but…” she said with dramatic slowness. “I did start to get a clue after seeing the logo.”
“Disappointed that it’s not a leprechaun adventure?”
Her inelegant snicker-snort rang out and caused her to immediately blanch. “Sorry.”
It was all almost more than she could take in. With facilities for workshops and meetings, there were counseling suites, a technology center, and a pole barn that made her swoon. When a hard push for a sports gym butted heads with a secondary need to support the arts, the end result was a gym complete with basketball hoops that could be raised and a moveable wall which when opened revealed a small stage.
And not only that! The commercial kitchen had an attached space for vocational opportunities. It was a lot to take in. But the best part? All the façades resembled a hobbled together western town. From the outside the effect was charming and would draw people’s interest. But once you stepped through the doors, the interiors were modern and decorated in an eclectic style. A classroom outfitted with white boards and audiovisual equipment looked like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise while right next door was a craft room and a pottery studio with an art deco vibe.
She absolutely loved it and was staggered by the whole thing now that it was a reality.
“Want to see your office?”
She laughed, gasped and chuckled at the same time. “I get an office? Oh my god. For real?”
“You’re the executive chair of the organization. Did you really think an appropriate office didn’t come with the responsibility?”
She wanted to see it but was also aware that most of the eyes in the large crowd kept drifting to her. If they wandered off, no matter how innocent the wandering, people would assume they couldn’t behave.
Without warning a flash mob started in the center of the western town. Automatically the crowd of onlookers stepped back and cleared the space. She spied Brody going through the routine. Plus Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan! How funny.
When it was over she enthusiastically pushed her way through the crowd to grab Duke’s friend Ingrid.
Squeezing her to death in a fierce bear hug, she exclaimed, “That was all you, wasn’t it? I loved it Ingrid! You bring such fantastic energy to everything you do. Thanks, lady. And I’m so glad you’re cool to volunteer at the center. Basketball isn’t enough. I want people to get up and move. Joyfully.”
Ingrid smiled broadly. “Us redheads have to stick together. And I’m your girl for whatever you think of Meghan. It’s so simple. Have music, will dance, ya’ know?”
Alex stood nearby with that watchful thing he does so well. From the first moment of the first day when they’d gone public with her idea to open an outreach center where local vets, families, and especially the kids could go for everything from tax help to computer cases to book clubs, he’d taken a deliberate step back. He let her have the entire spotlight – something she wasn’t entirely okay with. Sure, she had the idea, but without the Major’s support and leadership, it would have remained a dream.
And right there is everything in a nutshell. She wished she could point out this moment to Heather because it explained so much about her and Alex’s unique relationship dynamic. She gave him unconditional love and devotion and he gave her the world. With him guiding her Meghan experienced purpose and fulfillment in ways she never imagined.
Ingrid left after another hug to gather her dancing team for a group picture. She watched her go and when Meghan looked back at Alex she saw his attention elsewhere so she swiveled to have a look.
Was she hallucinating? Walking toward them was Finn and her dad. Nothing unusual about that. What startled her completely was Remington Bissett at Finn’s side.
What?
The?
Hell?
“Meggie,” her da exclaimed as he swooped in for a hug and kiss. “Look darlin’. Your brother made me get a real cowboy hat.”
Alex shook her father’s hand and slapped him playfully on the shoulder. “Dublin cowboy?”
She laughed. He was so right. Her dad looked like the Mayor of Dublin at a dude ranch.
“Remy,” Meghan said with a welcoming smile. “Are you babysitting these two?” She looked to Alex who winked at her joke.
“Babysitting? No. Blackmailed?” the dark haired woman drawled. “Yes.”
“Hey now,” Finn whooped as he flung an arm around the woman’s neck. “Be nice Ms. Bissett. Remember our deal. I’ll show you how to break it down and have some Guinness-infused fun, and you surgically remove my fondness for assholery.”
She noted her brother winking at Remy and saw the answering eye roll. Whatever was going on with these two they were already at the private joke portion of the program. This really was turning out to be a bangtastic day.
Da slung an arm around her. “Meggie. It’s getting old, I know, but seriously daughter. It needs to be said again and again. Your mom and I are so damn proud of you.”
She enjoyed his warm hug. Having him here on this big day was a real treat. “When do you head out? Boston calls, right?”
“Tomorrow afternoon,” he answered. When he chuckled she looked at him. “Your husband is all bent because I’m flying commercial.”
“Don’t do it again,” she sniggered with a playful rib poke.
Lowering his forehead to hers he mock growled, “Understood.”
From the corner of her eye she saw Remy push her brother’s big paw off her shoulder with enough force to make Meghan stifle a laugh. Oh yeah. Something extremely interesting was up with those two.
“Mrs. Marquez,” Remy said. “What you’ve done here is fantastic.”
“Oh god, Remy. Please! Don’t with the Mrs. Marquez, okay?” Alex chuckled at her side. “You’re part of the inner circle, like it or not.”
Finn groaned. “Meggie. Good lord. Illuminati, much?”
His teasing warranted a sisterly response so she made a sorry face at her husband and then turned on Finn. “Shut up, you.”
Her dad did more than chuckle, offering a fist bump to Finn as he snickered, “Illuminati. Good one.”
Poor Remington. She observed the comical back-and-forth of the O’Brien family dynamic with a puzzled frown.
“Anyway,” she enunciated pithily while arching a brow at her brother and father, “I insist you call me Meghan.”
She’d been around enough military types to recognize when someone wasn’t entirely okay with informality in the face of authority. Well tough, she thought. Patting her tummy with a very effective moan-sigh, she pouted like a champ and with two sentences smashed through the enigmatic woman’s reserve.
“I’m pregnant. That means I get whatever I want.” She shrugged.
Remy’s face was priceless.
Her father nodded. So did Alex who added, “She’s right. Resistance is completely futile, I’m afraid.”
There was a moment of tension and then Remy started to laugh. So did Finn
who reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.
Her dad put his hand out and snapped his fingers. “Let’s go, son,” he demanded with a gesture. Finn fished around, pulled a five-dollar bill from the wallet and slapped it into their dad’s hand.
“Shit, Meggie. Cost me five dollars, you did,” he howled with outrage.
Da had a good laugh and so did her husband. She gave them each the eye.
“Sorry, my boy,” Da smirked. “Doesn’t matter what level of ball buster our Meggie is. Get used to her playing the fragile pregnant lady card every chance she gets.”
Meghan’s mouth dropped down as all three of the men broke down in a cheesy pantomime of what catering to a mom-to-be entails. She caught Remy’s gaze and rolled her eyes above a grin that showed how cute she thought they were.
When Alex made an attempt to recover from the laughter she nailed him with a pointed glare. “You will pay for that later.”
His wide grin told her what he thought of the threat.
“Um, Meghan,” Remy began awkwardly. “I love the handbills and posters for the opening. All the visual stuff, actually. Did you have an artist come up with the look?”
She made a face and shook her head. “All of this is a complete surprise.” She curled her arm through Alex’s and hugged him tight. “My husband is the man to ask, although I agree Remy that the whole look is incredible. The authenticity is mind blowing, huh?”
“The person you want to ask is my sister, Angelina. This is what she does,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Events, particularly big events. Business and community stuff mostly. We did have the assistance of an artist though. Charlize Wilde. She’s here someplace.”
“Well I would definitely like to meet her.”
“Oh,” Alex suddenly barked. “Wait. Have you seen the mural?”
“Mural?” Meghan asked.
“In the business office. All the walls in the main area connect to form an unreal visual. You have to check it out,” he told the others.
Unforgettable (Family Justice Book 5) Page 43