Simone blew her father a kiss. “I love you, too, Daddy!”
“Well, I don’t know about anyone else,” Ellington said, “but now that Simone isn’t holding up the meal, I’m hungry!”
They all laughed.
“The food is ready. We can all eat,” Judith said.
Laughter was infectious as it spread from one room to the other, everyone filing into the dining room to eat. Simone sat back and took it all in. Her hand rested on her abdomen and she sensed that her little bundle of energy was as excited for the experience as she was. She felt Paul looking at her and when she turned to meet his gaze, there was an overwhelming look of love across his face.
“You good?” he asked, leaning to kiss her cheek.
She nodded. “I’m better than good. And as soon as I get some of my mother’s lasagna I’m going to be great!”
“I love you,” he said, every ounce of his emotion shimmering through his expression.
Simone lifted her face to his, kissing him gently. “I love you, too!”
Jerome suddenly slammed a palm against the table. “Since there’s so much love going around the room, someone tell me when you plan to make an honest woman of my daughter. And Mingus, what the hell are you waiting for? Women like Joanna don’t grow on trees, son!”
Mingus choked on the glass of tea he’d been drinking. He shot Joanna a look, amused by the heat that colored her cheeks a vibrant shade of red. “How did I get drawn into this?” he said, laughing.
“Well, someone needs to do something. Your mother’s ready for another wedding. And more grandchildren!”
The low murmur in the room rose to a thunderous ruckus as they continued to tease and joke with each other. Another thirty minutes passed as they finished off the vegetable lasagna, Caesar salad and homemade crusty bread. Dessert was peach cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream.
As forks dropped against empty plates Judith cleared her throat for their attention. She and Jerome exchanged a look and as Simone watched them, she sensed the mood had suddenly turned serious. Her siblings sensed it as well, quiet rising through the room like a morning mist.
“What’s wrong, Mom?” Davis asked, eyeing both of his parents with concern.
The matriarch shook her head. “I’m very happy,” she said softly. “Nothing could bring me greater joy than to be surrounded by my family and our friends.”
“Then why so melancholy?” Vaughan questioned, she and Simone exchanging a look.
Jerome stood, moving to stand behind his wife’s chair. He pressed his hands to her shoulders, and you could feel her fall back against his strength for support. “Your mother has something she wants to share with all of you.”
Oliver held up his hand. “Judge Black, Liam and I can excuse ourselves if you’d prefer. We wouldn’t want to intrude...”
Judith shook her head. “Oliver, you’re as much family to us as Paul is. And I have a good feeling about Liam.” She gave the two men a smile. “In fact, I imagine we might be planning your wedding before I can get Simone or Mingus to even consider the idea.”
Everyone around the table laughed. Neither Mingus nor Simone was amused.
“I’ve considered it,” Mingus muttered as he pulled Joanna into his arms and hugged her warmly.
Judith continued. “I’m being blackmailed,” she said, the words falling from her mouth with a loud clatter.
Her children all sat upright, shifting forward in their seats.
“I’m telling you this because I have no intentions of giving in to the demands. Your father and I have reached out to the FBI and they’re working on the case, but you all need to be prepared because you’re going to hear some things about me.”
“What kind of things?” Ellington questioned.
“Things in my past that I had hoped would never come to light.”
Jerome gently kneaded her shoulders. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“But Daddy knows, right?” Simone asked.
Jerome nodded his head. “Yes, I do,” he said.
Armstrong reached for his mother’s hand. “What are we going to hear, Mom? You know you can tell us anything, right?”
A tear rolled over her cheek. “Recently, I asked Mingus to find someone for me. A young man named Fabian Scott. Mingus discovered he lives very near here, in Saint Louis.”
“So, who is this Fabian Scott and what does he have to do with you being blackmailed?” Parker asked.
Judith swept the table with her eyes, pausing to give them each a look. “Fabian is my son. My eldest son. I gave birth to him when I was seventeen and I gave him up for adoption.”
“Whoa,” Davis muttered, everyone else falling silent as shock swept through the space.
“Someone has been threatening to expose that information if your mother doesn’t vote favorably on a case that’s coming up in her jurisdiction,” Jerome said. “Your mother wants to reach out to the boy so that he isn’t blindsided by the news.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Ellington said.
“Me, neither,” Simone added. “If the adoption was closed and he’s not listed in the mutual consent registry, he may not want to be contacted. That might blow up into an even bigger problem for you. And, if your methods to find him were slightly shady...” She hesitated, shooting her brother a look.
“He’s registered,” Mingus interjected. “He filed to have his information released to his birth parents ten years ago.”
“Who’s his father?” Davis suddenly questioned.
Judith shook her head. “That’s not important right now.”
Her youngest son persisted. “I think we have a right to know.”
“I think you better check your tone,” Armstrong snapped at his brother.
Jerome gave his youngest son a look that sat him back in his seat.
Contrition washed over the younger man’s face and he apologized. “I’m sorry,” Davis said softly.
“We’ll support whatever you need to do,” Vaughan said. She rose from her seat to give her mother a hug.
Judith pressed a cloth napkin to the moisture that dampened her cheeks. “I know you all have questions and I’ll answer them for you in due time. I promise. Right now, though,” she turned toward Ellington, “I need you to sit down with me and your father so we can decide the best way to approach this.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ellington replied.
Judith rose from her seat, turning to wrap her arms around her husband’s shoulders. Jerome hugged her tightly before she pulled herself from him. She rounded the table to give each of them a hug.
She paused to whisper in Simone’s ear. “No matter what your circumstances, you will always do whatever you need to do to protect your child. Just keep trusting your instincts and you, Paul and Nino will be just fine! I love you!”
Simone nodded, fighting back her own tears. She turned to kiss her mother’s cheek. Minutes later her parents and Ellington had disappeared up to her office, the door closed firmly behind them.
Parker directed his attention to Mingus. “How long have you known this?”
“A few weeks. Mom asked me to do a little digging and she swore me not to discuss it with anyone.”
“What do you know about him?”
Mingus shrugged. “He’s an English teacher and he’s written a few books.”
Vaughan was suddenly looking up Fabian Scott’s name online. “I don’t see anything published by anyone called Fabian Scott.”
“I never said he published under his name.”
“Is he married?”
“Where did he go to school?”
“Does he have any kids?”
They were all throwing questions at Mingus like wild darts being tossed at a country bar. But it quickly became obvious that he had nothing else left to share. He s
tood up, extending his hand toward Joanna. “We’re out of here. I’ll catch up with you all later.”
“We’re leaving, too,” Danni said as she and Armstrong exchanged a look. “I’m working a case tonight, so I have to get to the precinct.”
“I’m staying,” Parker said. “I want to know what the FBI is doing about mom being blackmailed.”
“I have questions, too,” Davis said. “And she owes us some answers. How could she just give up her child?”
“Don’t do that,” Vaughan said. “Until Mom’s ready to share the details with us you have no right to judge her!”
“Like hell I don’t!” Davis snapped.
“What’s wrong with you?” Armstrong questioned, eyeing his baby brother suspiciously.
Mingus was still standing in the doorway, Joanna leaning into his side. “You need to tell them,” he said, the comment directed at Davis.
“Shut up, Mingus!” his brother snapped.
“Tell us what?” Vaughan asked.
“Nothing!” Davis said. He grabbed a stack of plates from the table and headed into the kitchen to do the dirty dishes.
Silence descended on the room, everyone looking at each other but no one saying anything. The awkward moment passed as quickly as it had arrived.
Paul nodded, changing the subject. “Well, Simone needs to go get some rest. So, we’re headed home, too.”
“We’ll catch a ride back to the hotel with you, if you don’t mind,” Oliver added.
“I don’t recall anyone asking Simone what she wanted,” Simone quipped.
Paul met the look she was giving him. “You can’t stress yourself out, Simone. You haven’t been out of the hospital a full day yet.”
“I still want me another piece of cobbler and ice cream,” she said.
Vaughan laughed. “She is eating for two now!”
“Simone has always eaten for two,” Parker said. “Now she’s eating for an army!”
“Whatever! One of you just put me some more dessert into a container, please!”
* * *
The ride home was relatively quiet. No one mentioned Simone’s mother or the bomb she’d tossed into the room leaving everyone reeling from the fallout. Instead, Simone peppered Liam with questions and by the time they reached their hotel destination, she too was convinced that Liam was a keeper. She liked the man and it was obvious he cared about Oliver.
After saying good-night to the two men, Paul turned the car toward home. He’d just exited off the interstate when Simone grabbed his arm, startling him out of the calm that had surrounded them.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I feel fine. But I don’t want to go home.”
“Excuse me? Simone, you need to rest.”
“I need to be married. How far are we from Vegas?”
Paul laughed. “We are not driving to Vegas!”
“Why not? Don’t you want to marry me?”
“You know I want you to be my wife more than anything else in this world. You don’t need to even ask that question.”
“Then let’s just do it. Let’s elope! Make an honest woman out of me!”
“Is that even possible?” Paul asked, chuckling softly.
“Your father said that,” Simone replied, speaking at her stomach. “Never let him forget it, Nino!”
Paul reached a warm palm out and placed it against her tummy. She still wasn’t showing but both were acutely aware that their future lay snugly beneath the palm of his hand. Simone was typing into her cell phone, waiting for a page to load. She suddenly waved the device excitedly.
“Okay, so a road trip might be a bit much but there’s a nonstop flight leaving at seven tonight. We can be there in four hours and married in five!”
“You’re serious?”
“I’m very serious. If I’m going to be divvying up my time going around the world with you, we might as well start now.”
“You don’t want your family there?”
“They’ll be there with us in spirit and we can always Skype them in.”
“What about your mother?”
“What about her? My mom has everything handled. You can bet that telling us tonight was only a formality. She already knew what she was going to do and how all of this is going to play out. I’m sure we’ll meet my new brother in due time.”
Paul hesitated. “I don’t know, Simone...”
“Paul Reilly, I love you. I want to be your wife. Will you marry me?”
“I love you too and yes, I will definitely marry you.”
“Then you better do it now before I change my mind,” Simone said definitively.
Laughter rumbled from Paul’s midsection. “Okay, but I’ll do all the packing. Let’s go to the house—you need to put your feet up, and I’ll throw some things into a bag for us.”
Simone began to type again into her device. “Good! That’s settled. Tickets have been purchased. We can pick them up at the gate.”
“And I have one more condition.”
“Really, Paul? These tickets are nonrefundable.”
“Send a message to your family, and my brother, please. If anyone wants to join us, I’ll pick up the tab for their plane tickets, too. We might as well make this a party!”
Simone grinned widely, her smile spreading like a canyon across her face. “I do like how you think, Dr. Reilly!”
* * *
Shortly before midnight on the fourteenth of the month, Paul Reilly married Simone Black at The Little White Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. She wore a champagne-colored satin gown borrowed from her mother’s closet and courtesy of the hotel’s concierge and a talented tailor named Alberto, it fit her to perfection. She carried a bouquet of classic red roses to match her red-bottomed high heels and her mother had finger-waved the short length of her hair into a style reminiscent of the 1920s flapper era. She was stunning and Paul proclaimed her the most beautiful bride he had ever seen in his lifetime.
Paul looked dashing in the one black tuxedo he had owned since forever. As he stood at the chapel altar, waiting for her to descend the aisle, he knew beyond any doubt that he was the luckiest man in the whole wide world. His brother Oliver stood beside him as his best man. Simone’s sister Vaughan was her maid of honor.
Her parents had been the first to accept the invitation and they had flown back immediately after the ceremony. Simone’s brother Armstrong and his wife were the only ones unable to make it to Vegas, their responsibilities to the Chicago Police Department claiming their time. But they watched the ceremony on their iPads in Armstrong’s office at the police station as Davis streamed it to them live.
It was everything any of them could have ever imagined and Jerome giving Paul his blessing just minutes before the ceremony was icing on some very sweet cake. Hours later they lay side by side in the Piazza suite at The Venetian Resort. The luxury accommodations, with marbled floors, oversize king bed and jetted tubs, were the epitome of grace and elegance and afforded them the highest level of comfort. Simone had already decided they wouldn’t leave that bed for at least a week.
“You have to be exhausted,” Paul said, as he lifted himself up on his elbow, resting his head in his hand as he stared down at her.
“I’m tired, but I feel amazing.”
Paul leaned to kiss her lips. “I’m glad we did this. It was the most perfect wedding and I’m happy our family could be here to celebrate with us.”
“I love my people and I’m glad they’re now your people, too!”
Paul kissed her again, leaning over her gently as she pulled him down against her.
Outside, a partial moon was beginning to disappear behind a cluster of clouds. The evening air was warm, and a gentle breeze blew through the opened balcony door.
Breaking the kiss Paul rolled from her, lowering himself against her s
ide. He wrapped his arm around her torso and hugged her to him. His hands danced lightly against her back and waist, his fingers teasing like the easy caress of a down feather. Simone’s eyes closed and then opened and closed again. She turned, pressing herself tightly to him as she tossed her leg over his hip, her naked body kissing his sweetly. Heat billowed between them feeling like someone had lit a match to the furnace.
A few short minutes passed before she was sleeping soundly, whispery snores blowing past her parted lips. Paul took a deep breath as he watched her, feeling his own body beginning to slide into a gentle state of warmth and calm. His own eyes fluttered back and forth, open and then closed. Like every night prior, he lifted her in prayer and thanked God for the blessings that had been bestowed on them. He was grateful. Love had torn them apart and love had reunited them. Life just didn’t get any better.
* * *
Don’t miss the previous volumes in
Deborah Fletcher Mello’s
To Serve and Seduce miniseries:
Tempted by the Badge
Seduced by the Badge
Available now from Harlequin Romantic Suspense!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Colton Family Showdown by Regan Black.
Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!
Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards
http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010003
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Romantic Suspense title.
You want sparks to fly! Harlequin Romantic Suspense stories deliver, with strong and adventurous women, brave and powerful men and the life-and-death situations that bring them together.
Enjoy four new stories from Harlequin Romantic Suspense every month!
Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
Join Harlequin My Rewards and reward the book lover in you!
Reunited by the Badge Page 25
