Ewan thinks for a moment, “That would never happen! First, that’s not how we are, and second...Princess is it for me, always has been; it just took me a while to figure it out.”
“Then maybe she needs to hear that from you.” My father replies openly.
With that all said, we sit back, and silence resumes as we continue to fish.
***
Returning to the campsite, the girls have lunch ready. “You ladies haven’t been cooking all morning? You did get time to relax in, right?” My father asks my mom, as he walks up and kisses her.
“No, we all pitched in and finished up quickly, then sat by the fire and had a nice chat, getting to know one another.” She replies.
I put my pole and tackle away, and then walk over to Gwen, “Hey, I was wondering, if after lunch you would like to take a little walk with me?” I ask.
Her eyes brightened, and the corners of her mouth quirked up, “Yes. I would love to.”
“Perfect.”
I turn and head to the table. As I approach, I see Thea and Bane in deep conversation. “What are you two plotting?” I ask.
Thea turns to me, “Our impending nuptials, we were thinking about eloping, any ideas?” She ends with a twinkle in her eye, and Bane has plastered a smile on his face.
My father must have heard, “Bane, so that you know, Son. Once you take her, there is a ‘no return’ policy; she is yours to keep. That being said, you have more than my blessing, is there anywhere I need to sign?”
“DAD!” “ALDRIC,” both my Mom and Thea shout!
Bane and I are in a fit of laughter, with everyone else joining in.
With Thea’s mouth set in a hard line, my father walks over, leans in, and kisses her head, “There is no man good enough for my baby girl. They will have to go to hell and back then get through me before I let anyone take you away.” Thea smiles, now happy.
After lunch, we lounge around. This is the perfect time to take Gwen on that walk. I lean over to her and whisper, “You ready Ms. Batin?”
She turns and gives me a quick nod. I lend her my hand to help her out of the chair, “Lead the way, Detective Adair.”
We walk in a little ways, before either of us speaks, “So how do you like it so far…The weekend that is?” I ask.
She looks to me with such excitement, “I love it. The girls are having so much fun. Eugenia and I got to know each other quite well while you all went fishing, and it’s been great to spend time with your Mom outside of the salon. How about you? Are you regretting us women joining your weekend?”
“Not at all! It’s the best weekend we’ve ever had up here.” I reply while noticing a smile peek through her lips.
Feeling a little more confident, I grab for her hand and lace my fingers with hers. She moves closer, showing me, she is comfortable with the gesture. “Liam, Can I ask you something a little personal?”
I look down to her, but keep walking, “Sure, ask away!”
Stopping, she clears her throat, turning to me, “Ok…Does it bother you, that I am best friends with Kai? I mean, is that why you haven’t asked me out again?”
I can see a line appear between her brows as though she is trying to read my mind.
“Gwen, I’ll be honest. I get a little jealous at times knowing he has a closer bond with you. However; I remind myself you have been friends longer, I can’t be jealous over something that isn’t mine; and no, that is not why I haven’t asked you out again.” I pause for a moment before explaining the rest, “Gwen, I needed to make sure my old relationship was over, and there was nothing left unfinished, after two years, I owed her that much. Also, I owed it to you, not to start something with my old baggage still in the way.” She nodded her head with my response and continued to walk.
“Does that mean you will ask me out again?” she asks innocently.
She can’t see it, but an ear-to-ear grin spreads across my face, “Absolutely!”
Reaching the dock where all the guys had been fishing earlier. We take a seat on the Adirondack chairs at the end of the pier.
“It’s beautiful out here,” Gwen says, and as I look over at her, I see her eyes are glossy with an appreciation of the site before her.
“I knew you would like it...it’s my favorite spot. Every year, I usually spend most of my time here, fishing and enjoying the peacefulness of it, especially in the past few years. Work is stressful at times, so this is a great place to unwind. Did you ever do anything like this with your family?” I want to learn more about her, but I do not want to seem pushy.
She looks over to me with a somberness to her face, “When I was younger Papa would take me camping, but that stopped as I got older and he became ill. After, I never really ventured out from where I lived.”
“Why?” I want to know more about her childhood, but mostly I need to find out what brought the sadness to her eyes, but she only shrugs in response.
Getting a feeling she does not want to share, I change the subject, “So, Ati grew up in Brazil; that must have been different?” Her body stiffens. Okay, apparently that isn’t a good topic of conversation either. Is there anything about her past she is comfortable discussing?
She gets up from the chair, “It’s starting to get a little chilly…maybe we should head back.”
I look at Gwen, and her demeanor has completely changed from when we first left. It’s as though she is no longer comfortable here alone with me. What is going on? I stand up, gently taking hold of her arm before she starts to walk off.
“Gwen, did I say something wrong?”
I can see the nervousness in her eyes, “No, I just don’t like talking about my past, I hope you can understand?” I nod but wonder why.
When we get back to the site, Eugenia and Kai are in an intense argument. Nothing new for me, but Gwen seems to be a little shocked.
“Oh, what a surprise, little Red’s pouting again because someone played a prank on her.” We hear Kai grumble from where he is sitting just outside his tent.
“I am not pouting, you, you, you man-child. I don’t know many people who would appreciate a toad in their shoes…and stop calling me Red.” Eugenia argues; hands fisted at her sides in frustration.
“I beg to differ; you are all kinds of red right now. Red, red, red, red, red!” Kai continues, poking the bear even more.
“You’re a pompous assjack; I hate you!” Eugenia spouts, and storms off.
My mother, hands on her hips with disappointment all over her face, yells at my brother, “Kai Alexander, I have had about enough of you continuously tormenting that poor girl. You go find her and apologize, NOW!”
“What? It’s not my fault she can’t take a joke.” Kai, now pouting himself, tries to defend.
“A joke is one thing, what you do, is with every intention to get her riled up. I don’t know why you two can’t just call a truce.” My mother replies.
“Fine, I will apologize, but she started it when she put hot sauce in my coffee.” Everyone lets out a laugh, and my mother throws up her hands in surrender.
Bane walks over to over to Gwen and me, “Hey, glad to see you two didn’t miss all the fun.” He ends with a chuckle.
“Why don’t you say something?” Gwen asks, most likely worried about what just went on.
Bane shakes his head, “Nu-un, no way am I getting caught in that cross-fire; those two can get vicious.”
Gwen, with an expression of bewilderment, looks up to me, “I’m with him, I’ll only stand quietly on the sidelines, and make sure they don’t kill each other; I don’t need the extra paperwork.”
We make our way over to everyone else, “Who’s up for a game of Texas Hold’em?” Thea asks, grabbing a deck of cards. Everyone gathers at the table and Thea deals, suddenly we all turn at the sound of a shriek from just inside the path, then quickly getting up and rushing toward to the opening.
“Red, I am going to tan your ass if you st…” Kai’s words cut off.
As we approach we see Kai
on his forearms and knees in a puddle, with Eugenia on his back, one arm around his neck, the other hand stuffing what looks like mud, in his face, both of them covered from head to toe in sludge.
“What on earth?” My mother yelps, the rest of us stand there wide-eyed at the scene before us.
Eugenia and Kai, finally notice we are there and both freeze while looking up to us, “She…he…started it.” Both of them claim in unison, now on their feet pointing at one another.
No one says a word; there is complete silence, until Grace innocently adds in, “Well it could have been worse…at least there weren’t any feathers.”
Out of nowhere, Kai runs up to her, throws her over his shoulder and gently drops her into the puddle, leans over her and covers her with mud. Ewan, at a weak attempt to defend her honor grabs a fist full of mud and trying to hit Kai, but misses and lands it on the side of Ati’s thigh. Then chaos ensues, and somehow we are all now slinging and dodging handfuls of mud left and right, my father and mother must have sensed it coming, and made a run for it, but not before my mother, cell phone in hand, starts snapping pictures of the mayhem.
***
Later that evening, after all of us had a quick swim in the lake to wash off and dinner. We all sit by the fire to wind down.
“Well, I will say this, Ginny you are the only woman, other than his mother to bring Kai to his knees.” My father, now busting out in laughter says.
Eugenia’s face beams with a smile, while Kai’s lips press into a firm line.
My mother turns to Eugenia, “So, Sweetie, how long were you planning on staying this time, not that I am in a hurry for you to leave, I just want to have an idea of how long Kai will be in hiding after this weekend?”
No one can hold it in; we are all on the ground in laughter at my mother’s words, while Kai is flushing with embarrassment.
“Not funny, Mom!” He mutters.
After we all calm down, my mother asks more seriously, “No really, I love having you here, and I got excited to hear that you may be staying permanently; is that true?”
Eugenia looks to Bane, then back to my mother, “Well, I initially came was to help out Bane when he opened up the practice, but recently, I thought maybe I would like to stay in Emerson permanently. Since Dad passed away, and Bane moving back, I’ve been alone with no real family around.”
“What about your brother?” My father asks.
Bane had mentioned to me that Eugenia and her brother haven’t been on good terms for years now, that was another reason that Eugenia’s father had asked Bane to come to California. He was hoping that maybe Bane could help them mend fences, but from what Bane has said, Eugenia’s brother has no desire to fix their relationship, especially now that her father left controlling interest of the company to Eugenia, which leaves her brother who is the CEO, with no power over her or the company.
“We haven’t been on speaking terms for a few years; he always thought that Daddy played favorites and grew to resent me. I don’t know why, my father treated us both the same, although he was harder on my brother, it was because he knew the responsibility that Seth was going to have one day with the business and wanted to make sure he was prepared, but Seth never saw it that way.” There is a hint of sadness in her eyes as she explains; you can see it hurts her that her brother is holding this against her.
“So, Bane has said that you weren’t interested in working for him long-term, was there something that you had in mind?” Gwen asks, attempting to lighten up the conversation.
It works, Eugenia lets out a giggle, “Well, my dad was good with supporting my desire to make ‘professional student’ an occupation, but seeing that may not be ideal, I’ve been looking around for anything really, but no one seems to be hiring right now.”
“What kind of work are you looking for?” Gwen probes further.
“Anything really, I have quite a few different skills, one of the perks of continuing education.” She says smiling, “Actually, I took a quick starter course in cosmetology last year, I haven’t completed my full certification, but I can do quite a bit if you are looking for any help…even part-time.”
Gwen brightens and becomes excited, “Really? I have become so busy with all the new clientele that came on, Ati was helping, but she is back in school as of next week. So yes, I have an opening, when can you start?”
Eugenia’s eye light up and then all the girls start to talk between themselves about the salon, and how good it’s going to be.
Bane looks up to the rest of us, “Leave it to Gwen, to poach my only employee.”
Kai shakes his head, “That is the least of our worries, does no one else see the problem with my best friend and arch nemesis, spending all their time together. Eugenia will poison Gwen against me, and then there will be no controlling them.”
“…or, Gwen could turn Eugenia into your number one fan, and instead of an enemy planning your impending doom, she will become your stalker and plan your upcoming wedding,” Ewan adds with gut-busting hysterics.
Kai without hesitation slaps him on the back of the head, “That will be a cold day in hell before I marry that woman, she makes my blood boil.”
My father lets out a knowing chuckle, “The best ones always do, Son!”
Chapter Thirteen
-Gwen-
“Gwen, have you seen my nude heels?”
I appear in Ati’s bedroom door; she is standing there in an explosion of couture, and about three dozen pairs of mismatched colored heels.
“There not somewhere in that mass pile on the floor?” I observe with utter disbelief. I mean she only has two feet, how many pairs of shoes does she need.
“No, they're not here, Gwen. If they were, I wouldn’t be asking if you’ve seen them.”
Leaning forward, I peer further into the black hole that is Ati’s room, “Well I don’t know, it’s not like I borrowed them, you have pontoons for feet.”
“Ahhhhh. Why can I never find anything when I need it?” She throws up her hands in frustration and disappears into the closet.
I would have suggested that maybe she should try keeping things more organized, but I didn’t think now, was a good time.
“We have to be out of here in about twenty minutes Ati. Use one of your other five hundred pairs.”
“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!”
I take that as my cue, clearing the doorway as articles of clothing and fashionable six-inch pointed weapons come flying through the air, and head to my room to finish getting ready myself.
Today is the Emerson Women's Society, Annual Fundraiser brunch. They will be auctioning off several donations provided by local businesses and a date with one of five eligible bachelors that have agreed to participate. Liam will be one of those men; this should be an eventful morning.
“OK, I’m ready.”
Ati comes walking out of her room, enters the Livingroom and I pause for a moment taking her in. Gorgeous in a pale blue short-sleeved, above the knee, bateau neck cocktail dress, paired with nude heels. Her golden hair done in a soft wave with both sides lightly pulled back in a 'half up half down' style; for a split-second I thought my mother was standing before me.
“You look beautiful, Ati!” Memories from when I was younger, when my mother was all done up for an evening out come back to me and fill me with warmth, but also sadness that she is now gone.
“Thanks, Gwen. I love that dress on you. See I was right, you do look like royalty.”
Smiling, I look down my body and let out a little laugh. When Ati and I went shopping for our dresses, she picked this one out for me almost instantly, and I fell in love with it. It’s a 1950’s V-Neck vintage rockabilly Swing style with short sleeves, and that falls below my knee in a tan color. With my nude suede pointy-toe heels, it is perfect. My hair is in a low messy curly bun with a few wisps framing my face.
“Thanks, At! Now let's get going before we are late.” We gather our clutches and head out.
***
Entering the
main banquet hall at the Emerson Golf and Country club, I can’t help but stand there wide-eyed in appreciation of the elegance that is surrounding me; Maia has outdone herself. The country club had taken over the old train station, now using it as one of the main reception halls. The large all brick building with tall pitched ceilings and dark railing throughout is now adorned with blush pink and ivory bouquets of flowers, while the tables are covered with off-white linens and touches of lace. Along with the tall floral centerpieces helping to offset the interior height of the hall, it was as if we'd transported to an elegant gala in the Victorian era.
Making our way further in, Maia greets us immediately, along with Thea and Grace.
“You’re here! How are you my, loves?” Maia, arms already out, walks over giving me a delicate embrace, then turns to Ati and does the same.
“Maia, this is remarkable. I don’t even have words to describe the beauty you have created here.” I say.
Showing an appreciation for her work, has Maia beaming with pride, I would be as well if I were the mastermind behind this transformation.
“Oh Gwen, Thank you!” Maia takes in Ati, Thea, Grace, and myself, and a large smile spreads across her face. “Look at my four beautiful angels, all of you knows how to make a mother, proud.”
The three girls all give a little curtsy with a giggle, then head off making their rounds about the room. Ati, Thea, and Grace have been thick as thieves, since the camping trip a couple of weeks ago. They were actually Maia’s designated minions all yesterday, helping her set up the hall for today’s fundraiser. Having worn them out, Ati came home mumbling something about ‘slave driver’ and ‘child labor,’ I couldn’t help laughing. Ati has taken to Maia, as Maia has to Ati, which makes me happy.
Liam & Gwen - Entirely Yours: A Romance Novel (The Adair Series Book 1) Page 12
