He’d enjoyed handling all of the details for her private executive sanctuary. Done in a French country design, with white bead board ceiling and walls, a rustic brick floor in shades of deep pink and light red, the room was a celebration of his wife’s femininity.
All the furniture had an elegant shabbiness and above the white, scrolled wood desk Drae made hung an antique iron light piece. The whole thing was light, pretty and lovely. He had French doors added and a private fenced in terrace that backed up to an executive parking area. Only Meghan’s walled terrace had a connecting door to her parking spot. That way she could come and go without attracting attention.
An enormous bouquet of white and pink roses sat on a round table with two champagne flutes. Next to it stood a wine bucket with a gold foil topped bottle. From his pocket he withdrew an old antique key tied with a green ribbon.
“This is for you. To open doors.”
She understood the meaning of his words and smiled at him.
He led her around the desk and helped her sit in the high back padded chair. “Behind you on the floor is a basket of small pillows if you need them for your back.”
“Alex, this is all too much.”
Her voice was choked with emotion. Pulling the bottle from the ice bucket he pointed to the sound system on the shelf of a huge built-in behind the desk. “Press play,” he said.
The sounds of a piano filled the air. He’d been working on the pretty tune for months trying to get it perfect. Recording the song was the easiest part.
“When We Met,” she sighed happily.
He was overjoyed she remembered.
Popping the pretend cork on the equally pretend champagne, he filled their glasses with sparkling grape juice and handed her a flute as one song blended into the next. He’d worked like a dog to come up with thirty minutes of pretty piano pieces he could easily learn.
“Congratulations Madame Executive Chair. The Double M Veteran’s Outreach and Family Center went from dream to reality in record time because of you. I couldn’t be more proud.”
They clinked glasses and then he went on the other side of the desk and sat. “Happy?” he asked.
She was looking around the room as she sipped the cold drink. “Are those real books?” she asked.
Inside his head Alex was doing a primal happy dance. The book display was a last minute brain fart. A search for antique hardbacks led him to a man in Chicago who was selling off dozens of old and tattered volumes from an ancient bookstore that was going out of business after seventy-five years. He hit the jackpot. Because the guy had so many he was able to pick out the ones he thought would group together nicely. When this was first thing she asked about he was enormously pleased.
“Yes. All real although picked entirely for visual appeal and not subject.”
He jumped up and moved away, centering her in a snapshot with his phone. She smiled and held up her glass of fake bubbly.
Sensing she was feeling a bit bewildered he kept up a chatty conversation while he waited for Ria to appear.
“This is for show,” he explained. “The home office behind the kitchen is where we’ll get smart. I’ve seen some great built-in ideas and storage for record keeping. I don’t know if you noticed but next door is the private nursery.” He pointed to a corner door on the far wall. “That’s your access. The outer door uses fingerprint recognition to open. On the other side is something termed the bullpen. That’s where your executive committee does their thing. Heather got a private office of course. She’s a couple of doors down, next to the kids’ corral.”
“Angie took an office, right? She’s taken on the fundraising piece for the center.”
“Yes, she did. Hers is the first door on the right when you come around the wall. She got a small conference room too.”
A light rapping on the office door got him up from his seat. That’ll be Ria.”
“What are you drinking? She rapped out immediately when she got through the door. “Alex,” she scolded with a shake of her head.
“Relax,” he smirked. “It’s sparkling grape juice.”
She bustled around the room for a few minutes fussing over his wife. The large picnic basket she brought with her was stuffed with every imaginable treat to entice Meghan’s appetite and satisfy her hunger.
“How’s everything going out there,” he quietly asked when he escorted Ria out. “She needs to rest. I don’t think my wife realizes how much effort goes into just being her.”
Ria grasped her arm and gave a reassuring squeeze. “You married a big hearted woman. Her compassion is as big as your strength, Alex. Don’t ever lose sight of that.”
As if he ever could. Without blinking an eye, she poured a million dollars into an idea and never once questioned whether it was the right thing to do.
She was finishing up half an avocado when he joined her. “Is there any cheese in that basket?” Rubbing her tummy, Meghan let loose with a sweet giggle. “Baby One likes fruit with avocado and pears at the top of the list. Baby two is all about the protein. I almost devoured half a cow yesterday.”
“No nausea?” he asked.
She grimaced at him when he handed off a container of cheese chunks.
“Sporadic but manageable. Makes me feel sorry for Lacey.”
He didn’t like the reminder. When they were with her, Cam and Dylan earlier, he thought she looked a little frail. Robust was not a word that described her pregnancy this time around.
Quickly changing the subject to avoid getting bogged down with worry, he turned her attention to Calder and Stephanie with a reminder about keeping his mom in the loop for the shower everyone was planning.
A while later after he’d made sure she ate and had a chance to freshen up, they walked hand in hand into the celebration going on. He was overcome with pride for his big-hearted Irish Goddess and was damn glad her father had been here to witness this important occasion.
Next up on their non-stop Family Justice magical fun time ride?
Thanksgiving and the St. John’s first official anniversary.
Boof.
Thwack, thwack.
Alex was trying to murder a hanging weight bag when Calder came upon him in the gym. Muscles pumped up and covered in sweat, it looked like his nephew had been at it for some time even though it was barely past dawn.
Dropping a towel on a weight bench, he walked into Alex’s eyesight but kept some distance. The ferocity rolling off him caused Calder no small amount of concern.
“Training for the purge, Wolf Pup?”
The in-your-face comment stopped Alex cold. With a final tremendous whack, he high kicked the bag and sent it flying. Dropping on a bench to unwrap his hands, Alex didn’t say anything. He was either choosing his words or too upset to speak.
Not good.
“Is Meghan okay?”
“Yes,” Alex grumbled.
Well, if it wasn’t the wife, what then?
“This isn’t like you,” he told his nephew. “Better talk about it before you explode.”
Alex grimaced and hung his head. “You’re going to think I’m a whiner having a bitch fit.”
“I think that anyway so no harm, no foul. Out with it Wolf Pup. Don’t make me give you a wedgie.”
Humor, the dry kind, generally got some portion of a smile but at the moment, his nephew only seemed capable of a snarl.
“Everything’s fucking changing,” he bit out with a snap. “It’s been one thing followed by another, boom-boom-boom. It’s all good, the family is safe and thriving, Justice is more successful than any one of us dreamed. It’s great. I know that in my head. It’s just that,” he frowned and searched the air, then fixed Calder with a pained look. “My well-managed little desert kingdom has become a small city with a growing population. Where I used to be the center of the Marquez universe? Now I have no fucking idea what the hell is going on half the time.”
A sudden burst of intuition made him blurt out, “Does this have anything to do
with your folks coming home?”
“Am I that obvious?” he groaned. “Oh my god, I’m pathetic.”
He didn’t think that at all and was quick to assure his nephew.
“Dude, for real. I get it. It’s like having a former president stay at the White House. Who’s in charge? We shoulda’ talked about this sooner, Alex. Might have saved us both a lot of angst because no shit man. I love my sister and everything but having her around and in my business again?” He snorted. “Believe me. I understand why Angie makes you want to tear your hair out.”
“Seriously?”
“Look. I really do get it. My life’s been turned upside down too. But for me it’s like a fucking Hallmark holiday movie. Me and Stephanie get to make a little bubble but you? Shit, Wolfie. You’ve got those two delinquents Cam and Drae and their families to watch over. And everyone else in this so-called small city who look to you for everything.”
Alex nodded and let out a deep sigh.
“Plus, a wife carrying twins who’s got more money than god and an enormous foundation to manage. And what about her family? You’ve got in-laws to deal with too. Then there’s Parker and your crazy as fuck sister, his folks, Jensen, Heather and Miss Bella Mia. Exhausted yet?”
“When you say it like that I don’t feel like such a crybaby.”
“Fuck, Alex. I wasn’t even done yet! We didn’t even get to the Justice end of things. Has everything changed? Yeah. Is it more than a little challenging right now trying to juggle all this shit? Absolutely. To drop your folks into the mix and probably Sophie too has to seem like overkill.”
“So I’m not having a command breakdown?”
“Nah. You’re freaked out because your parental authority units are moving home. Like I said, I’m freaking out too. But the decision to use the Sedona house is Cristián’s way of not stepping on your toes. He’s a good man, your dad. Trust him Alex.”
“Are you planning to take your own advice?”
He thought about it for a minute and rolled a shoulder. “Yeah, I am. We’re lucky as shit. Having all our family here as new members are born is way cool. Let’s make a pact to enjoy it. My sister is a pain in the ass but she loves the holy fuck out of you guys. Maybe we can help each other keep it together in the months ahead.”
They shook on it and back slapped through a fierce hug.
“By the way,” Wolf Pup drawled. The smirky expression guaranteed whatever he said was gonna be memorable. “What the fuck’s this I hear about the Justice research and development genius working on a remote control sex toy? Alpha Balls, Calder? Seriously?”
“Somebody needs to kick that St. John asshole in the head. I was joking but since he shot his fucking mouth off all of a sudden there’s a dozen over-sexed people breathing down my neck.”
Alex laughed heartily. “Is Stephanie one of the dozen?”
“Bite me.”
“Mm hmm. Just promise me if you copyright that shit, you’ll use a little discretion identifying the inventor, okay? I’m thinking patented Balls of Justice might destroy some of our credibility.”
Calder laughed and slapped Alex on the back. “Mass produce ‘em and add them to Betty’s goody bag.”
His answer was a good-natured chuckle. “I knew getting you a 3D printer would lead to fuckery of some sort but I never imagined custom sex toys.”
“Sophie, really? Oh, please tell me you aren’t kidding around.”
Angie grabbed Parker’s wrist and squeezed. He glanced at her quickly but there was a lot of traffic and he was trying to get them to the outskirts of town without getting in an accident. They were headed to the Sedona house for the fifth time to re-measure the windows in the master she was obsessively decorating for her parents when her phone rang. He wondered what Sophie was up to now but the instant cheer in his angel’s voice let him know whatever it was, she was happy about it.
He looked at her hand on his wrist and smiled when the ring he gave her glittered in the sunlight. She changed her nail color three times yesterday until settling on something called Halo Pink because according to her the pale pretty shade lent a soft light to the sparkling diamonds.
Whatever. He was willing to put up with the noxious smell of remover and polish twenty-four seven if it meant she kept that beautiful smile on her face.
Angie grumbled, “When? What do you mean it’s a surprise?”
Oh lord. A Sophia Marquez surprise. Heaven help us.
She kept her grip on his wrist through a long silence. He was surprised when she muttered, “I don’t get it. Not with Mom and Dad?”
When her hand let go and she started picking at her hair he knew something was up.
“Okay, I guess,” she mumbled. “Whatever you say, Soph. I’m just glad you’re coming home. I’ve missed you, sis. Big time.”
Parker heard the telltale throb of melancholy in his fiancée’s voice.
Fiancée.
A small satisfied smile curled the corners of his mouth. She was finally his in the formal sense with only a marriage certificate left to permanently seal the deal. He’d even locked down a wedding date and persuaded her to go full bridal crazy.
Well, okay, so maybe persuaded didn’t quite tell the whole story. After some initial misgivings about his heavy-handed behavior he came around to being glad things happened the way they did. He’d given her free rein to work out her stuff, whatever it was, and then when he’d waited way past long enough spelled it out for her in explicit and memorably erotic terms. Ever since she’d been purring with contentment.
Being his fiancée agreed with her. She made this whole engaged thing look good.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t acutely aware of a couple of things that he knew were making things bumpy for her emotionally. For all her bluster and trouble-making ways she could also be surprisingly vulnerable.
Sophie was one of those things. Angie loved her sister with a fierceness that he found endearing. They were incredibly close and she’d had a tough time being apart from her all these months. Parker would be happy if she came home too. He was excited about the prospect of his family and her family being all in the same time zone again. And of course his parents were on cloud nine about it.
When she hung up the call he gently asked if she was okay.
“Sophie’s coming home but she won’t say when. Says she wants to surprise us.”
The word surprise and Sophia Marquez seemed unlikely partners. Nobody was as dry a straight arrow as she was. He wondered if he should ask Alex what was up. See if he knew anything about a Sophie secret.
“I know how much you’ve missed her,” he said. “So why the sad voice?”
The hair picking started up again. “I do miss her terribly and I want her here.”
“So what’s the problem? If she comes home isn’t that what you want?”
He saw her shrug from the corner of his eye.
“It’s what I want,” she agreed. “But maybe I’m being selfish. I mean, think about it Parker. You’ve known Sophia her whole life too. And what she’s been through.”
That much was true. Soph was the victim of vicious bullying run amok. And in his experience bullying when it’s done by a bunch of privileged, snot-nosed college kids with more entitlement than sense could be particularly cruel and damaging. And man, had she ever been damaged. But he wasn’t sure what Angie was getting at.
“Do you think coming home will be bad for her?” Her heavy sigh cut through the air. “Parker. Family Justice is like a classic rom-com with all the usual plot devices. When Sophie gets here, she’ll be joining a tribe of overly cheerful types all flying happily ever after flags and loaded down with kids, dogs and babies on the way. Where will she fit into all of that? I don’t want her to be hurt. Ever.”
She was making a good point. One he hadn’t considered. What part would serious and sober Sophie play in their improv-theater of daily happenings?
“Was she excited about our wedding?” God, he hoped so.
Angie
laughed. “Are you kidding? She’s already planning. And she’s bringing our dream book too.”
“What’s a dream book?”
Her hand rested on his shoulder as she explained. He loved that she craved a physical connection with him.
“Couple years ago during a particularly nasty rainy season when the weather trapped us inside, we amused ourselves by making a scrapbook. Fabulous shoes. Party ideas. Recipes. Wedding stuff. A dream book.”
“Are there any pictures of Ryan Gosling or Brad Pitt in this dream book?”
Another thing he absolutely loved was her cheeky giggle. A trait she’d had her entire life.
“Ew, no! Actually, honey, it was Charlie Hunnam and Dave Grohl with a side of Matt Damon and Zac Effron.”
“Please tell me that Dave was your fantasy.”
She snickered and feathered her fingers through the hair on the side of his head. “Bad boy rockers with dazzling smiles have always been my thing.”
He flashed his pearly whites at her and winked. “I wonder why.”
“I’d almost forgotten about our scrapbook. It’ll be fun to go through it again. Maybe I’ll find some wedding inspiration.”
A dozen details flooded his mind at the mention of their wedding. Parker was fully prepared to own his part of the whole deal since he was the one with a bad case of bride. He hadn’t been fucking around about wanting the whole enchilada. Waiting at the altar while his parents looked on as his Uncle Cris brought her to him and put Angie’s hand in his? That shit had fueled his dreams for longer than he wanted to admit.
The very idea of the angelic beauty he loved with his whole heart and soul coming to him decked out in virginal white, after all these years and all the hoping, well, it was more than he could handle without getting a little misty.
Unforgettable (Family Justice Book 5) Page 45