Janie (The Casanova Club Book 15)

by Ali Parker

  Seeing the three of them together like this meant more to me than I could put into words. A part of me that felt strained, pulled tight like a piece of wire that had been fraying for years, had been repaired. Janie’s love had sewn me back together. Her loyalty filled in all my crevices and dark corners.

  This was the happy ending I never imagined I would have.

  The only thing better would be becoming a father while my Nana was still here to see it.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. I didn’t want to rush Janie. She and I had so much left of our life together to savor.

  I checked on the bird and found it was done. After pulling it out of the oven, I set a timer to let it rest while the rest of the dishes finished cooking. While I waited for the last ten-minute stretch before the meal was ready, I rejoined the women outside. We sipped our wine, shared plenty of laughs (mostly at my expense), and complained loudly about how hungry we were.

  Before Holly’s mood had a chance to darken because of that hunger, we made our way inside and sat down at the dining-room table. Janie had set it nicely and Nana commented on how inviting it was as I plated her meal for her.

  When we all had food in front of us, we lifted our glasses in a toast.

  “To family,” I said.

  “New and old,” Holly added, tipping her head in Janie’s direction, followed by Nana’s.

  “To true love,” Nana Ridley smiled at Janie.

  Janie beamed at me from across the table. She looked incredible in her maroon dress. Her lashes were dark and dramatic and lined tonight. She looked like a movie star. My movie star.

  She lifted her wine glass higher than the rest of ours. “To taking a leap of faith.”

  “Cheers,” I said.

  Their voices echoed mine, but as we lifted our glasses to our lips, Holly held up a hand. “One more thing,” she said, shooting me a sly look. “Here’s to lying bitches falling into swimming pools.”

  Janie giggled into her wine glass.

  I blinked.

  My grandmother turned her head to me and arched a curious eyebrow. “I smell a good story.”

  Holly wiggled in her seat like she used to do when she was a ten-year-old girl with the latest gossip from the schoolyard. “Do you want to tell her Max, or should I?”

  I scowled at my sister. “Sabotage. That’s what that was. Sabotage. And after I made you dinner and everything.”

  My subtle attempt at guilt-tripping my sister into not spilling the beans about Sienna failed. Holly launched into the story from start to finish, filling Nana Ridley in on all the drama that led up to Janie and me reuniting and making our relationship work. Nana listened in rapture, breaking eye contact only to skewer her next bite of food with her fork.

  Janie hid her face in her hands when Holly got to the part about their confrontation at the pool and how Janie had let Sienna pitch face first into the water.

  When Holly finished, she leaned back in her chair with her glass of wine. Her plate remained untouched. She’d been doing too much talking to take a bite of food. “Wild, right, Nana?”

  Nana smiled over the rim of her wine glass at Janie. “Cheers to that.”

  Later in the night once the table was cleared and the dishes were washed, Nana pulled Janie into the living room. They sat under the stained-glass window, both of them curled up on the sofa with their knees touching, and spoke quietly to each other.

  I went over to join them but Holly stopped me as I tried to leave the kitchen. “Let them talk,” she said. “They’ve both wanted to meet each other for a long time. This is their chance.”

  “They’re probably talking about me,” I said defensively.

  Holly nodded. “Yes, they absolutely are. But for once there aren’t any jokes. Look at Nana’s eyes. She sees Janie the way you see Janie. She sees your wife. Can’t you see how happy Nana is? How relieved?”

  I hadn’t been paying attention to those things. In fact, it hadn’t even occurred to me that my grandmother might be feeling that way. But it made sense. She wanted me to be happy. She worried about me all the time growing up and I doubted that worry ever went away. Now she got to see with her own two eyes that there was someone else in the world who would stick by my side forever. Who would have my back no matter what.

  Who would stand up to mean girls at swimming pools for me.

  Holly and I sat down at the kitchen island and nursed our glasses of wine.

  “Nana is happy for you and so am I, Max,” Holly said. “Seriously. You and Janie… you’re meant to be. I thought it from the first moment I met her and I’ve never changed my mind. And if I’m not in one of your bridal parties, I’m going to throw myself off a bridge.”

  I laughed.

  “I mean it, Max.”

  I laughed harder, and my sister shoved me playfully, nearly sending me teetering off my stool.

  The laughter felt good, and the way Janie and my grandmother peered over at us felt even better.

  “What are you two hooligans doing over there?” Nana called.

  “Nobody says ‘hooligans’ anymore, Nana,” I said.

  Nana rolled her eyes. “That’s something only a hooligan would say.”

  Epilogue

  Janie

  Two Months Later

  Piper led me down the hallway on the second floor of the old farmhouse. I’d been here several times before but I’d never seen the bedroom at the far end of the hall, which she and Wyatt had just finished converting into a nursery.

  A wooden plaque hung on the door. Piper tapped it with her knuckles. “When we decide on a name, we’re going to get it written on here.”

  “Open the door, woman,” I said. “I can’t contain my excitement.”

  Piper twisted the handle and pushed the door open. It creaked softly, just like all the doors in Wyatt’s old generational home, and unveiled a dreamy nursery with soft white walls, pine window trims, and forest-green accents. Gold accents added contrast and texture, and the closet, which was doorless, boasted an adorable collection of gender-neutral clothing. Piper and Wyatt wanted to be surprised the day their baby was born.

  I picked up a pair of tiny white sneakers as my ovaries screamed. “I can’t with these.”

  “Adorable, right?” Piper gushed.

  Her tummy was beginning to show. She was only four months along and hadn’t popped until about two weeks ago, when all of a sudden her belly was round and she claimed some of her pants no longer fit. She’d sent me a dozen pictures of her in front of her bathroom mirror until Wyatt photo-bombed her and the messages promptly ceased.

  Apparently, he was even more insatiable than usual and found her even sexier now that she was pregnant.

  I couldn’t help but wonder if Max would be the same way one day.

  The men were downstairs sipping beers while Wyatt barbequed dinner. While they caught up and talked about dude things, Piper and I checked out the nursery. Max and I had only just arrived this afternoon in Austin. We still had three nights ahead of us and Piper had planned out all of our activities for the three days.

  One of them was attending a neighbor’s shindig that consisted of dancing and good food. When I tried to opt out of it by saying I didn’t think a farmer’s backyard party was my scene, Piper insisted.

  Apparently, she’d gone to this very party when she spent the month with Wyatt during her time as the Casanova Bachelorette, and it was a highlight.

  Minus the barn fire that promptly followed and nearly burned her now husband alive, of course.

  She’d picked out a dress for me to wear and everything. Saying no was not an option.

  Piper showed me out of the nursery and down the hall to the room where Max and I would be sleeping. She nudged the door open. Wyatt had already brought our bags up, which sat on the end of the bed. The room smelled like lavender and hay. The pine bed matched the nightstands, and we had our own bathroom complete with a soaker tub and rain shower. The skeleton of the house was still old, but Wyatt had sp
ent a lot of time making thoughtful upgrades.

  “This is the room I stayed in when I first met Wyatt,” Piper said as she absentmindedly ran a hand over her belly. “Well, I suppose at the end of the month I’d spent more nights in his bed than in this one.”

  “Thatta girl.”

  “Let me know if you guys need any extra blankets or pillows or anything.”

  “Pipes, this is perfect. Seriously. Should we go make sure the boys haven’t lost sight of dinner and gotten distracted by something dumb?”

  Piper nodded and her hand stilled on her belly. “Good call. I’m starving.”

  My best friend and I made our way down the stairs to the main level of the open-concept farmhouse. We spotted Max and Wyatt out on the porch, where smoke gently rose from the back of the barbeque. The table on the porch was set. Sunflowers sat in silver pitchers and candles flickered in mason jars.

  Piper had really made this country life suit her.

  I grabbed my spiked iced tea off the kitchen counter as we passed through. Piper grabbed her iced water. We went out onto the porch as Max leaned against the railing. He grinned when he saw me.

  “How’s the nursery?” Max asked.

  “So charming,” I said.

  He looked me up and down. “Charming enough where you feel ready to convert that empty bedroom upstairs into one?”

  Wyatt turned from the barbeque and pumped his eyebrows. Piper moved up beside him and ran her hand across his shoulders before steering him down to her for a kiss.

  “You guys have plenty of time to make babies,” Piper said.

  I wasn’t so sure about that anymore. Max wanted babies now but he was willing to wait for me. I didn’t want to make him wait. He was ready to be a father, and truth be told, now that he was by my side, I felt ready to be a mother.

  In fact, I felt called to it.

  Wyatt opened the barbeque. Rich smells of sizzling meat and sauces overwhelmed me. My mouth started to water and Max straightened from where he was leaning against the railing to peer at the meat.

  He whistled. “This is going to be a feast.”

  “This is how we eat in Austin.” Wyatt grinned. “Ah, and here come our other dinner guests.”

  Max and I looked out across the gravel drive that ran between the farmhouse and the barn. Several pickup trucks were parked there as well as some other farm equipment I couldn’t distinguish, aside from the tractor. Boone and Dodge, Wyatt’s two young ranch hands, were weaving through the vehicles, sniffing at the air like junkyard dogs.

  “What’s for dinner, boss?” Boone called as he took the porch steps two at a time.

  “Smells like ribs,” Dodge said as he rubbed his belly and clapped his hands together.

  Wyatt swatted Boone’s hand away as he reached for the grill. “You can touch it when it’s on your plate.”

  Boone shook his hand out. “Piper, are you really gonna let your man treat me like that?”

  Piper gave Boone a sympathetic look. “Did he hurt you?”

  Boone nodded.

  She tipped her head into the kitchen. “Go get yourself a beer. It’ll fix you right up.”

  Dodge hurried after Boone into the kitchen and the two of them proceeded to goof off like teenagers.

  Piper sighed. “I don’t know how we’re going to balance two bozos and a newborn.”

  “Together,” Wyatt said firmly. “Look at it this way. At least with those two, we have built-in babysitters.”

  Piper blinked slowly at her husband. “I would rather leave our baby with the cows.”

  Laughter ensued, but nobody told Boone and Dodge that they were the punchline when they returned to the porch with beers in hand and goofy smiles on their faces.

  About twenty minutes later, we all sat down to eat at Piper’s nicely set table. We passed around dinner rolls, corn on the cob, racks of ribs, potato salad, and assorted grilled vegetables. The warmth of the evening bled away as the sky darkened and the sun dipped over the horizon, painting the sky in deep shades of purple and pink.

  Soon, the stars would emerge like a banner of glitter over our heads.

  I put a hand on Max’s knee under the table as we ate. Boone and Dodge told jokes and ate more than Max and me combined. Piper giggled at their punchlines while Wyatt rolled his eyes. She’d always found the two ragtag ranch hands endearing, and I knew they had all become thick as thieves after that night of the fire.

  Piper was one of them now.

  This country life suited her better than New York City ever had. The purple skies, grassy hills, glasses of lemonade, and evenings on the porch were much more her speed than car horns and concrete.

  As I sat there looking out at the darkening sky, I couldn’t help but think this was the perfect place to raise a family.

  Max nudged me with his shoulder. “What are you thinking about?”

  I smiled out at the first pair of stars that came to life in the north. “Our future.”

  Max and I found ourselves brushing our teeth in our own bathroom of the ranch house close to two in the morning. The six of us had stayed up well into the night sipping drinks and telling stories. We only had so much time here before we had to fly home, and Piper and I wanted to enjoy every second we had before time once again slipped away from us.

  No matter what, I was going to come here more often. I had to.

  Max leaned over the sink, spat out his toothpaste, rinsed, and gargled some mouthwash. I followed suit.

  “You miss her, don’t you?” he asked as he patted his face dry.

  “All the time. I try not to think about how hard it will be to leave every time I’m here but I can’t help it. It’s hard to go from seeing someone every day to seeing them once a month if I’m lucky.”

  He nodded knowingly. “This might be a nice place to retire one day.”

  I smiled. “Oh?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah. I’m not committed to Silicon Valley. And we both know I don’t need the money, so early retirement is a possibility.”

  “Stop saying sweet things to me, Max. I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

  He stepped toward me and held my face in his hands. His palms were cool. “Janie, my pretty girl, I won’t let you down. I’m going to be your husband. I want you to get your hopes up. If you see us ending up here, then so do I.”

  I swallowed hard. “Really?”

  He closed his eyes and kissed my forehead. “Really.”

  I didn’t need more than that from him. Just the idea of a possibility that Piper and I might live in the same city again was enough for me to hold on to. We could grow into old little ladies together, ladies like Nana Ridley, and we could spend countless hours crocheting on Piper and Wyatt’s front porch.

  Or drinking white wine and being our usually sassy selves. Who said old age and attitude didn’t go together?

  Max took my hand and led me into the bedroom, where we snuggled into bed together. He lay on his back and I hooked a leg over his while I rested my cheek on his chest and closed my eyes.

  “Max?”

  He ran a hand up my back and over my shoulder. “Hmm?”

  “I think I want to be a mom.”

  His hand stilled on my shoulder.

  I propped myself up and gazed up at him. “I mean it.”

  “I thought we weren’t going to rush things? I thought we had steps to follow?”

  I swung a leg over him and pulled myself up so I was straddling him. “Screw the steps. We’ve been all over the map since we first fell in love. We can get married later but we might not be able to have children later. And I want this.”

  Max’s hands slid up my thighs.

  I tucked my hair behind my ears. “And I know you want this too.”

  His blue eyes searched mine. “Are you sure?”

  I lowered myself so I could kiss him, gently at first, and more eagerly as the seconds passed and the bedroom faded into the background around us. “I’m positive,” I whispered. “Let’s make a baby.”r />
  Max breathed me in, rolled me over, and trapped me beneath him. I gazed up at the man who had become my world and knew he would be the best father to our little one. He’d teach them to be strong. To never be afraid to show people you loved them. To take the high road. To trust themselves. To trust us.

  “I love you,” I breathed.

  He drew my leg up and kissed me like it was the last time. “I love you too.”

  One thing was for sure. Our baby would be cherished. They would also have two crazy aunts, Piper and Holly, a cowboy Uncle Wyatt, and a badass Nana to show them that youth was eternal and age was no reason to lose one’s love of life or humor.

  The thought of the love that would surround our child made me tear up as I clung to Max. He wiped my tears with one hand while he pulled himself free of his boxers with the other. I wrapped my legs around his waist and used my heels against his ass to encourage him. He pressed inside me and we rested our foreheads together and closed our eyes.

  It was time to begin our next chapter.

  The End

  Want More?

  Checkout book 1 in the Casanova Club, Piper!

  Grab your copy HERE!

  The Casanovas.

  Twelve of the world’s most eligible bachelors are personally invited to take a seat on this exclusive, private match-making club. (Piper: Sharing is caring?)

  The purpose? To find the perfect wife. Ten women are considered, but only one is chosen. Each of these men are after one lucky girl’s heart. Vetting these ladies is a year long event. Contests. Forms. Interviews. Demonstrations. Galas. (Piper: All of which I missed. Darn.)

  The prize? One million dollars or a ring from the bachelor of her choice after the yearlong multi-engagement period is over. Lady’s choice. (Piper: Show me the money.)

  The problem? Me. I need cash more than anyone could possibly understand, and there’s no way in hell I’d ever be invited to woo twelve men for a chunk of change. (Piper: Good thing I know the coordinator.)