“I’m okay financially,” he said. He hadn’t told his parents about his new business venture. Wasn’t sure how to broach the subject, actually. What would he say? Yo, Mom and Dad, I’m making millions inventing and selling Bangin’ Toys, high-end sexual aids. Don’t worry about me. At least not financially. Morally? Well, that was a different matter entirely.
A few minutes later, Melanie joined them. She hugged his parents and Leslie. Stars were dancing in her eyes, her head no doubt full of all the sights they’d see in Europe.
“My parents should be here soon,” she said. “They got hung up in some road construction in Oklahoma this morning and are running late. I can’t wait for them to meet you all. They’ll be excited to find you don’t all have Mohawks and tattoos on your scalps.”
His family members stared at her with wide eyes. His dad blinked first and turned his gaze to Gabe.
“Are your future in-laws having a difficult time accepting your poor sense of style?” he asked.
Gabe snorted and wrapped an arm around Melanie’s waist to draw her against his side. Even though the July heat was sweltering hot, he wanted her close.
“If Leslie or Jennifer brought home a guy who looked like me, wouldn’t you be reluctant to accept him as the future father of your grandchildren?” When Dad opened his mouth to protest, Gabe lifted a finger at him. “Be honest.”
“It might take me a while to get used to the idea,” Dad said.
“They’ve already come around,” Melanie said. “I didn’t give them a choice. I love Gabe. I choose to love him and at the same time have no choice in the matter. So they both know love me, love my rock star.”
His mom and sister practically melted on the spot, and Gabe doubted it had much to do with the brutal midsummer heat.
“You see why I have to marry her?” Gabe said, turning his head to brush his lips against her hair. “You just don’t pass up a love like hers.”
“So when’s the big day?” Mom asked, her smile lighting up her eyes. “We keep hearing you’re making plans, but haven’t heard any concrete date.”
“The last Saturday in August,” Melanie said.
Mom’s bottom lip quivered. “That’s less than six weeks away.”
“I couldn’t stand to wait any longer than that,” Melanie said, glancing up at Gabe and gifting him with her most dazzling smile. “We have an important reason to get married as soon as possible.”
Because he was impatient. That was a very important reason.
A sudden hush fell over the mingling partygoers. Gabe turned, looking for the source of everyone’s sudden attention. Owen was wheeling his older brother down the makeshift plywood ramp that had been built over the back steps of the house.
“I can do it,” Chad grumbled testily, and Owen lifted his hands from the wheelchair grips. The chair zoomed down the ramp until Chad caught the wheels with both bandaged hands. In fact, there wasn’t much of him that wasn’t bandaged. Half of his dark blond hair had been shaved, and a large white bandage covered one side of his head all the way to the corner of his eye and the top of his ear. He had another bandage on his neck and probably more beneath his loose baby-blue T-shirt and gray running shorts. The most gut-wrenching bandage was the one that encased the stump of his right leg that now ended just above the knee.
Gabe swallowed the sudden knot in his throat, trying to process what this damaged war hero had gone through over the past few weeks and what he’d continue to go through for the rest of his life. Gabe was so utterly shocked that he couldn’t help but stare, awash with sympathy.
Chad looked from one solemn face to the next. “I told Owen this was a mistake. Sorry to ruin your fun.” He spun his chair around, but his path was blocked by Lindsey, who did indeed look like she was about to pop that baby out right there on the patio. Gabe knew she still had a good two months before she was due; what kind of giant newborn was she incubating? Lindsey leaned forward and touched Chad’s cheek, whispering into his ear. He shook his head slightly, his gaze trained downward.
“Hey, Chad,” Gabe shouted, not sure what had come over him. “Nice haircut. You don’t mind if I steal that style as my own, do you?”
Half the crowd gasped. The other half gaped at Gabe as if he’d just challenged Chad to a one-legged ass-kicking contest. Chad’s head whipped around, and Chad leveled Gabe with a challenging stare.
“Banner, you aren’t cool enough to pull this off.”
Gabe’s feet were moving forward on their own, and he was tugging a reluctant Melanie along behind him. “That’s a fact. Chad Mitchell has always been the coolest guy on this block.”
“That’s because only old ladies live on this block,” Kellen quipped. “Oh, and Owen here.” He clapped Owen on the back, and Owen immediately drew away, as if Kellen were wearing a leprosy-infected glove.
A few nervous laughs twittered through the crowd.
“I’m glad you made it home,” Gabe said when he stopped in front of Chad’s chair.
He hated that Chad had to crane his neck to look up at him, so he crouched down and took Chad’s hand for a punishing handshake. Chad gripped Gabe’s fingers so hard, Gabe would probably never play drums again, but he got it. Chad needed to feel strong, to feel whole. Gabe held his grip and urged Melanie forward with his free hand.
“This is Melanie. My fiancée.”
Chad smiled up at her guardedly. “So this is the girl who stole Gabe Banner’s heart.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Melanie said. “I now see why Owen sent you off to fight the bad guys overseas. There’s no way he’d ever get laid in the shadow of a hot-looking brother like you.”
“Don’t I know it,” Owen said, and he actually grinned. His gaze shifted to his brother and his smile vanished before he ducked his head and glanced away.
“Eh, he might have a chance now,” Chad said.
Melanie’s smile faltered, but then she shook her head. “I doubt that. And thank you for fighting to keep us safe.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I know those words don’t mean much—”
Chad released Gabe’s hand and took Melanie’s. “They mean more than you realize.” He then released her hand to push his chair back several inches and said, “What does a guy have to do around here to get himself a cold beer?”
Owen practically tripped over his own feet trying to get to the nearest tub of ice.
“Thanks for coming, Chad,” Gabe said. He left the I know it wasn’t easy part unsaid.
“Thanks for having me. And congratulations. I’m glad you found someone who loves you.”
The sadness in Chad’s eyes stole Gabe’s breath, but the display of his grief was gone in an instant as he claimed his beer from his brother and wheeled off to mingle.
Lindsey appeared at Gabe’s elbow and squeezed his arm with both hands. “Thanks for making him feel normal.”
How else should he make him feel?
But before Gabe could even open his mouth to comment, Lindsey hurried after Chad, barely acknowledging young Jordan, who was all smiles as he made his move to talk to her.
“I think Lindsey likes him,” Melanie said quietly.
“Who? Jordan?” Gabe asked, watching Lindsey walk away from the young, blond-haired roadie without so much as a glance in his direction.
“Not in the slightest. I think she likes Chad.”
“What’s not to like?” Gabe shrugged.
Melanie suddenly squeaked with excitement and darted off toward the grassy area of the yard. She hugged her mom first and then her dad, who both looked road weary. Gabe headed in that direction, his thoughts turning to Jacob for some reason. Probably because Melanie’s parents could drive ten hours to make it to the party, but Jacob couldn’t even be bothered to drive across town.
“Thanks for coming,” Gabe said. “How was the drive?”
“Summer road construction is utter hell,” Melanie’s dad grumbled.
“Oh, Mark. Just think of how nice the roads will be when they’r
e finished,” Linda said.
“The problem is they’re never finished,” Gabe said. “They just move to a different section.”
“Truth!” Mark said. He shook Gabe’s hand. “I hope you’ve been taking good care of my little girl.”
“She does an excellent job taking care of herself,” Gabe said, earning a bright smile from Melanie. “I just try to stay out of her way.”
Mark chuckled. “She gets that from her mother.”
Gabe glanced around for his parents and found them walking toward their small group. Dad was limping along slower than usual, which surprised Gabe. The warm weather was usually good for his joints. Sometimes it struck him that his parents were aging. There was no getting around that fact.
After introductions were made, Gabe attempted to break the ice. “So Melanie’s got an appointment tomorrow to get her first tattoo. I do think my name in bold letters across her forehead will look amazing. So glad she thought of it.”
Without missing a beat, Melanie said, “I just can’t decide on a color. Do I go with fuchsia or neon green?” She tilted her head and tapped her cheek reflectively.
“Oh, honey,” Mom said, a hand over her mouth.
“Over my dead body,” Mark bellowed.
Dad and Linda exchanged eye rolls before trying to calm their respective mates.
“It’s a joke, dear,” Linda said, patting Mark consolingly.
“I don’t think she’s the type to get any tattoo,” Dad said, smiling at Melanie.
“Actually,” Melanie said, “I’ve been thinking of getting one on my back. But no names. Not even Gabe’s. And definitely not one anywhere near my head.”
Gabe felt awkwardly aroused by the idea of Melanie getting a tattoo on her back. It would be a bit of added scenery for him to admire during her continued drum lessons. But he had one condition.
“The only way I would ever let you get a tattoo—”
“Let me?” Melanie’s eyebrows rose.
“—is if I get to watch,” he finished.
She grinned. “You can even help me pick it out since you’ll be seeing it a lot more than I will.” She flushed and then turned wide eyes toward their parents. “I mean because I can’t really see my back, can I?”
Especially not during those drum lessons.
Mealtime was announced by Caitlyn, and Melanie visibly relaxed. She’d totally backed herself into an embarrassing corner with that tattoo announcement.
“Does this mean you’re completely over your aversion to tattoos?” Gabe asked her as they made their way to the end of the chow line. Their parents were walking and chatting directly in front of them. He was glad they all got along. It would make those huge holiday get-togethers less stressful.
“I love your tattoos,” she said, and left it at that. He wouldn’t push the envelope by getting some barbwire inked around his wrist. He knew it was her main trigger.
A breathless Nikki got into line behind them. She was talking animatedly to Adam.
“And so then I was like, I have got to try this thing. If it can make Melanie scream like that, it has to be pretty amazing.”
She was blabbing about their business enterprise to Adam? Who’d be next, Gabe’s mom?
“Uh, Nikki . . .” Gabe tried to catch her attention.
“Holy fuck, I came so hard I thought I was going to explode.”
Adam chuckled at that and grabbed two plates—the second presumably for his injured fiancée.
“So,” Nikki continued loudly, “after I caught my breath, and trust me it took a while, I went and got my camera phone and set it up to record—”
“Nikki!” Melanie shouted.
“Oh, hey, Mel,” she said. “I was just telling Adam about how we all became millionaires thanks to your fiancé’s dirty mind and my moment of genius.”
“You’re telling more than Adam,” Gabe said, glancing ahead. Sure enough, two sets of curious parents were hanging on Nikki’s every word.
“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson,” Nikki said, throwing them a cheerful wave. “When did you get here?”
“About half an hour ago,” Mark said, his tone rather cold.
“That’s nice.” She turned back to Adam. “So anyway, I’m bucking around on Gabe’s invention, getting off like you would not believe. Actually, I can show you the video if you’re interested.”
“I don’t think Madison would approve,” Adam said with a smirk.
“Right. I always forget about her.” Nikki glanced toward the tree where they’d last seen Madison. “So my video went viral on this website and everyone wanted to—”
Melanie grabbed Nikki’s arm. “Could you keep it down? There are respectable people here.”
Nikki snorted and busted out laughing. “Where?” She looked around, and her gaze landed on the four real adults at the party. “Right. I guess I’ll have to finish telling you about it later,” she said to Adam. “If Madison will let you off your leash.”
Adam stiffened slightly, but then his gaze found the woman who held his leash and he smiled. “I wouldn’t count on it,” he said.
Gabe grinned. Madison was trying to glare a hole through Nikki’s narrow back.
“So,” Dad said, falling back in line to stand beside Gabe, “what’s this about an invention?”
Gabe could feel his ears burning with embarrassment. “It’s nothing. Nikki’s crazy, you know.”
“I am not crazy,” Nikki shouted. “I’m an addict. Like Adam.”
Adam huffed. “Not like me, sweetheart.” Then he shrugged. “Well, maybe a little like me.”
“Exactly like you, except sex is my drug of choice.”
Every man within earshot perked up at that news.
“And just like Adam, I’m rehabilitated.”
The attentive male perkiness flattened, and people began to fill their plates again.
“Best not to draw attention to your addiction,” Melanie advised quietly.
“Why not? How can I ever get better if I don’t admit I have a problem?”
“But you don’t have to admit it to everyone,” Melanie said.
Nikki looked to Adam for validation, and he nodded. “Yeah, it does work best that way. The worst thing she can do is hide her addiction. That makes it too easy to slip back into old habits.”
Melanie straightened, and Gabe was pretty sure she was about to go off on yet another member of his former band.
“But you do need to be careful,” Adam said. “Some people will use your problems against you, rather than trying to help you out.”
Melanie smiled at Adam, but he was looking the other way. She lifted a hand and stroked the back of Nikki’s head. “Whatever you need to do to heal, honey,” she said. “I just worry about you. Adam’s right. You have to be careful.”
Nikki melted. “I know, Mel. And I know it’s hard for you to understand what it’s like for me because you’ve never had an addiction. But Adam understands. He gets it.”
So that was why she always glommed onto Adam the second she saw him. Her trust in him was actually kind of sweet. One look at Madison told Gabe that his fiancée didn’t think Nikki’s budding friendship—or perhaps, sponsorship—was sweet in the slightest.
“Well, long story short, we’re making sex toys now,” Nikki said. “Melanie runs the business, Gabe invents the toys, and I do PR. Pretty neat, huh?”
“That’s a lot to have accomplished in a few weeks,” Adam said.
“I know, right?” Nikki beamed with pride. “And we’re just getting started. You should see all the pervy stuff Gabe has invented.”
Adam snorted. “I can only imagine.”
Gabe very much wanted to get the hell out of the line. Especially since he was sure that not only had his parents heard Nikki’s entire spiel, but so had his future in-laws.
After filling his plate, Gabe found a shady patch of grass and sat down. Melanie and both sets of their parents sat in a little circle facing him. Leslie was chatting with Caitlyn at the end of
the buffet line. Nikki had gone off with Adam, which meant the subject of his new business venture might actually be dropped.
The six in their little group ate in terse silence for several long minutes.
“You know, son, they say you should never mix business and pleasure,” Dad quipped. He set his plate down so he could release a deep belly laugh without dropping his food.
“Luke,” Mom said, “this isn’t funny. This is our only son’s future.”
“Are you having fun, son?” Dad asked.
“Inventing things?” Gabe intentionally left out what those things were and nodded. “Yeah, I’m having a ton of fun.”
“And do you feel challenged by your work? Do you feel passionate about it?” Dad pressed. Though he’d recently retired, he was clearly wearing his college advisory professor hat at the moment.
“Absolutely.”
“And do you honestly think this venture can financially support your new family?”
Gabe glanced at Melanie and smiled. “I do.”
“Then I’m proud,” Dad said.
Mom reached forward to pat Gabe’s knee. “I’m proud too, but I’ll crow about your success quietly to myself, if you don’t mind.”
Gabe laughed. “I don’t mind.”
“What exactly are you tangled up in, Melanie?” Mark asked his daughter.
“It’s just a business, Dad. You know how much I’ve always wanted to run my own business. I just never had a product worth producing and selling. And well . . . Now I do.”
“Kids these days,” Mark said, shaking his head, but the subject shifted to the weather, and Gabe felt an immense sense of relief.
His parents claimed to be proud of him even though they knew all about—well, maybe not all about—his new business venture, and Mark hadn’t hog-tied Melanie, thrown her in the trunk of his car, and hauled her back to Kansas, so all was right in his world. Well, almost everything was perfect. His band was still a mess, but if they never got back together, he could have a long and satisfying, truly happy and blessed life with Melanie at his side.
A tall figure moved into his peripheral vision, and Gabe glanced up into a pair of mirrored sunglasses. Jacob crouched beside him.
“So a little birdy told me that you were in need of my services,” Jacob said. He peered around Gabe and waved at Melanie. “Hello there, little birdy.”
Trust Me (One Night with Sole Regret Book 11) Page 23