WE ARRIVED AT THE BEACH, and I introduced Monroe to my mother. “Monroe, this is Elizabeth Remington.”
“Such a pleasure to meet you.” Monroe beamed as she shook my mother’s hand. “Slate always speaks highly of you.”
Mother laughed. “Except when he doesn’t. But I’m grateful he has anything nice to say at all.” She smiled at Monroe then kissed me on the cheek. “You look very handsome, honey. But I think you look more handsome because you finally have a beautiful woman on your arm.” She turned back to Monroe. “And you’re definitely beautiful, dear.” She grabbed her arm and gave it an affectionate squeeze.
“Thank you,” Monroe said, visibly touched by the compliment.
“So, how’s Coen?” I asked, feeling obligated to voice the question.
“He’s fine. Perfectly calm.”
“That’s too bad.” He really had no idea what was about to hit him.
Mother patted me on the shoulder. “Being a mother taught me that you can’t control your kids. You guide them as much as you can, but in the end, they make their own decisions—even when they are young. They’re going to make terrible mistakes that will break your heart, but you have to let them make them—and let them learn.”
Couldn’t he make a better mistake? Like buying a sports car when he needed an SUV?
“Let it be.” She guided us to the row of chairs in the front. “Let’s take a seat.”
I sat beside Monroe and placed my hand on her thigh.
She circled her arm through mine and held on to it like a pillow.
The ceremony started minutes later, and Simone’s father walked her down the aisle. I noticed her parents didn’t say anything to me even though I had dated their daughter. I also noticed the genuine love on my brother’s face as he watched Simone come toward him in her wedding dress.
Poor bastard.
Simone kissed her father before she joined hands with my brother, looking like a woman genuinely in love.
All bullshit.
Then the pastor began the ceremony—and my brother signed over his soul to the devil.
WE HAD a private dinner together at the hotel, sitting on the balcony overlooking the water. Coen and Simone sat in the center of the long table, while everyone else was gathered around the sides. There were a few friends and other family members.
I didn’t bother mingling. I preferred the company of Monroe and my mother.
“Her gown is beautiful,” Mother said. “Truly.”
“It is,” Monroe said in agreement, complimenting the woman I despised.
My mother turned back to Monroe. “How did you two meet?”
Monroe didn’t know what to say, so she opened her mouth while she tried to find an answer.
“In a bar,” I lied. “She was sitting alone. I took one look at her and went for it.”
“The rest is history,” Monroe added, going along with the lie.
“You’re very cute together,” Mother said. “I saw pictures of you two online. You seem very happy.” She turned her head to look at me, giving me a focused expression.
“It’s pretty casual,” Monroe said. “But Slate is a great guy, and I’ve enjoyed spending time with him. He can be a little grizzled at times, but once you peel away that hard exterior, he’s a good guy underneath.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Mother said. She looked directly into my eyes. “If you find someone who likes you for you, then consider yourself lucky. And it seems like this young lady accepts you for who you are.”
More than she could ever understand. “Yes, Monroe is lovely.” My arm rested over the back of her chair. “Smart. Funny. Lovely. And she doesn’t put up with my shit…even though I wish she would sometimes.”
“Never.” Monroe smiled before she took a drink.
Mother watched us together, her eyes shrewd and observant. She said nothing more about our relationship but continued to sit there quietly, like she was thinking a million things at once.
THE EVENING FINALLY ENDED, and Coen and Simone left in a limo for the airport. The other guests said goodnight and headed to their hotel rooms.
Our room was right in front of the elevator, so I told Monroe to meet me at the room while I walked my mother to her room on the opposite side of the resort. It was almost two in the morning, and I didn’t want my mother walking outside the building alone.
I escorted her through the gardens toward the second building.
“I like her a lot, Slate.”
I kept my hands in my pockets as I walked. “I figured you would.”
“She’s perfect.”
“I think so too, but you hardly know her.”
“She’s easy to read—and she cares about you a lot.”
I already knew that. She wouldn’t put up with my bullshit otherwise. “Don’t get too attached.”
“You’d better get more attached,” she snapped. “That woman is nothing like Simone. She’s warm, friendly, and genuinely kind. You shouldn’t let the past affect your future so much, not when you have a good woman right in front of you.”
I decided to change the subject. “Where are Simone and Coen going on their honeymoon again?”
My mother didn’t fall for it. “You’d better give this woman a chance. Life is short, and you don’t want to waste time being lonely and depressed when there’s a good woman out there. You wouldn’t have brought her here in the first place if you didn’t adore her.”
“I never said I didn’t.”
“Well, you fight for her.” Mother stopped when she reached her doorstep. “Don’t do something stupid like push her away. I know you, Slate. You’ve been wasting your time with women who don’t matter. You finally find someone you actually like, so you should be everything she deserves. Otherwise…” She snapped her fingers. “She’ll replace you like that.”
I sighed but kept my annoyance in check. “I’ll consider what you said.”
“Good.” She kissed me on the cheek. “Thank you for walking me to my room. You’re always a gentleman.”
“Because you’re always a lady.”
“Monroe is a lady too. So you should be nothing but a gentleman to her.”
I WALKED into the room and found her already in her thong. She’d shed her dress and hung it up in the closet in the living room. She had the sexiest curves and the softest skin. She didn’t even understand just how beautiful she truly was.
“Your mom is wonderful.”
“You’re just saying that because she liked you.” I unbuttoned my shirt and stripped it off my body.
She shrugged. “I’m sure that has a lot to do with it.”
I undid my belt as I walked to her, seeing her in nothing but panties. “You know what we talked about during that entire walk?”
“Me, I’m guessing?”
I undid my slacks and let them fall to the ground. “Yes.”
“And…?”
“She likes you—a bit too much.”
“Wow, it’s the first time I’ve met a man’s mother, and I rocked it.” She chuckled then tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Yes, you did.” My hands moved to her hips so my fingers could feel the lacy fabric. “Thanks for coming with me to this. You could have done something better than witness my family drama.”
“What are friends for?” She rubbed her hands up my chest. “I figured I would get a night of good sex out of it.”
“You definitely will.”
“Then maybe I did this for my own selfish reasons.” She moved in and kissed me on the chest, her plump lips sticking to my skin slightly as she pulled away. “By the way, you did well today. I know this couldn’t have been easy for you…watching your brother fall for her schemes.”
It wasn’t easy at all. It was my job to protect him, but I couldn’t. Now I had to watch him make an idiot out of himself for the world to see. Simone would have humiliated both of the Remington brothers once she was finished with us. “No, it wasn’t. But it was a lot easier with you he
re.” My hands snaked up her ribs, and I rested my forehead against hers, feeling the chemistry between our bodies without actually igniting the fire.
Maybe in three months this would burn out. Or maybe in three months I wouldn’t be able to let her go. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was still going to do it. Because letting her go just wasn’t an option for me.
I didn’t want anyone else to have her.
To have my woman.
Also by Victoria Quinn
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
1. Monroe
2. Monroe
3. Slate
4. Monroe
5. Slate
6. Monroe
7. Slate
8. Monroe
9. Slate
10. Monroe
11. Slate
12. Monroe
13. Slate
14. Monroe
15. Slate
16. Monroe
17. Slate
18. Monroe
19. Slate
20. Monroe
21. Slate
22. Monroe
23. Slate
Also by Victoria Quinn
Cherry Popper Page 21