“Hey there, Jacques."
Jacques looked up to find a woman bent over the table, her open invitation radiating from her heavily lined eyes to her patent leather boots. The small whip attached to her bustier was a nice touch, but he wasn’t interested. She was just another in the long line that had been hassling him since the Dungeon opened its doors for the evening.
“Not tonight, sweet thing,” Sabin drawled as he pulled her into a stand.
She turned to Sabin and ran her hand over the turquoise cross dangling between his pecs. “You sure, cowboy? The three of us could have quite a rodeo.”
The polite southern charm melted away. “I said not tonight.”
She looked at Nicolai. “Don’t even think about it,” he sneered.
Man, had things changed since Julianne came along.
Rodeo girl jacked up her chin and backed off. “Your loss.”
“What the hell are we doing here, Jacques? This isn’t the way to work things out.” Nicolai eyed the almost empty bottle sitting on the table.
Nico was right, but that was the problem. Jacques didn’t know how to work things out. Everything in his life was a mess. Total control. Hah! How about no control? He downed another shot of tequila, thinking things couldn’t get any worse. Then his worst nightmare sidled up to the table.
“Hey, pendejo,” Teo said with a smug grin, then turned to his friend for the evening. “I’ve got to talk to him for a minute. Wait for me at the bar, baby.” He swatted her ass and she giggled at him as she headed off. “And if I find you with another guy when I get there, you won’t be giggling or sitting down for a week.”
Sabin laughed at the bravado of Isabella’s brother and held out his hand. “And you are?”
“Asshole’s brother-in-law, Teo Rey.”
“Will all of you stop calling me an asshole,” Jacques snapped.
Three sets of male eyes landed on him and said in unison, “No.”
“What are you drinking, Teo?” Nicolai asked as he moved over to make room and motioned to the waitress.
Great, now his brothers from the Order were inviting his brother-in-law to join in his beat down. And wouldn’t Teo get off on that.
“I’ll have what pendejo is drinking,” Teo said as he slid into banquette next to Jacques.
Nicolai laughed and ordered another bottle of Patron.
“Alright, you want me to say it? I will. I’m an asshole,” Jacques groaned.
Sabin sat next to Nico as another woman cozied up to their little group. The sharks had been circling all night. Adding the little ensemble gathered around him now was like throwing a boatload of chum into the water. Something for every taste: custom Armani suit, black Prada couture, Tom Ford suede jacket over some serious jeans, or head-to-toe leather. Take your pick.
“Hey, honey, you keen on rejection? He already said no,” Teo said coldly and the latest predator moved away.
Jacques looked at the retreating woman, make that girl. She did look kind of familiar. At least the fuzzy pink mini dress did, but he hadn’t said a word to her. He looked at Teo with a question in his blurry eyes.
“Been watching you for about two hours. Waiting for you to fuck up even more. Kind of hoping you would so I would have a reason to beat the crap out of you, but you didn’t.” Teo nodded as if he approved of something. “Kind of cool to see, man.”
“See what?”
“How busted up you are over my baby sister. There might be hope for you yet.”
“I told you, Teo, Isabella is the only woman in my life. For the rest of my life.”
“So why are you sitting here instead of going home to the only woman in your life and getting on with the rest of your life?” Nicolai asked, using Jacques's words to make him feel stupid.
Jacques understood Nico’s exasperation. He felt it too, but he couldn’t go home. “You know why, Nico.”
“No, I seriously do not. You’ve got everything a man could want waiting for you there and here you sit like a dumb asshole drunk. You’re a lot of things, Jacques. A coward isn’t one of them.”
Leave it to Nico to hit that nerve.
“Neither is a fool,” Sabin added.
Both men looked at him, but instead of judgment or criticism, he saw how much they cared. Their bond to one another was for life. They both wanted to help him find his way back to Isabella and they would both be there whatever happened after he went home. He had no clue about Teo’s motivation, but he sported the same encouraging look.
Under their watchful eyes, Jacques took another shot and felt his gigantic ego slide down his throat with the tequila. He shook his head with a humorless grin. “Goddamn, I fucked up big with this one.”
“Yup, you did,” Sabin said as he downed another.
Teo nodded and followed suit. “But not as much as you think, daddy-o.”
The shock must have shown in Jacques’s eyes because Teo answered before he asked. “Who the hell do you think she called after she left you this morning? Nice going.” Teo started to laugh, really laugh.
Well, that wasn’t exactly the reaction he expected. “You’re laughing? Kind of thought you might, oh, I don’t know, pummel me into the ground.”
Teo only laughed louder at the sarcasm and clapped him on the back. “No need. You better look out, hubby. I’ve never seen my baby sister that mad. You’re either the bravest man I’ve ever met or the biggest idiot. I’m betting on the latter.” He nudged Jacques with his shoulder.
What the hell happened to the raging bull who ripped me a new one in Barcelona? Ice Man looked as if he actually liked his little sister’s idiot husband. Wow, I'm more drunk than I thought.
Jacques shook his head to clear the blur and everything around him started to wobble. “You know about the baby and you’re not mad?”
“When I said, ‘do it right,’ you really took it to the extreme, brother-in-law. Congrats. And no, I’m not mad. You’re part of la familia now and you know how this shit goes. We’re stuck with each other.” Teo dropped an arm across Jacques’s shoulders and pulled him into a sideways hug. “If I were in your shoes, I’d freak too, but you and Isla will work it out.”
As if that proclamation was gospel, Teo sat back, sprinkled salt onto his hand, sucked back a shot and chased it with a bite of lime.
“What did she say? Is she alright?”
“She’s holding it together.”
“You’ve got to get your head out of your ass, Jacques,” Nicolai said.
“For Isabella and for the little critter.”
Teo looked at Jacques. “Imagine how adorable Isla’s kid will be.”
“Let’s hope she looks like her mother,” Jacques found himself saying to his new brother.
“Here’s to that. To Isabella and her beautiful daughter.” Sabin poured a fresh round.
“Or beautiful son,” Nicolai added.
They all raised a glass to toast and Jacques started to think about the baby. Would it be a boy or a girl? Red hair or black? God, he hoped it would be red. With Isabella’s chocolate eyes. A drunken smile slipped over his lips.
“You know, I may be a sorry excuse for a father, but at least my baby will have a stellar mother.”
“That she will,” Teo said with pride.
“Or he will,” Nicolai added again. “Do you want a boy or a girl, Jacques?”
“Don’t care. As long as the baby’s healthy.”
Did those words just come out of my mouth?
Maybe it was the liquor talking, but the image that popped into Jacques’s head said otherwise. Ten tiny fingers. Ten little toes. Chubby cheeks. Butter-soft skin. Oh…my God. He wanted a healthy baby. He didn’t care if it was too soon or unplanned. He wanted his baby.
“Merde, I’m having a baby,” Jacques declared with a megawatt smile as he shot to his feet, only to crash back down into the banquette. “Opa!” He tossed back another shot. As if that would improve his coordination.
Teo held up a shot glass. Nicolai and Sabin jo
ined in and they all sat there, drinking and laughing like drunken idiots. No one said it, but they all felt the bond of the new life they would share in a few months.
“I call godfather,” Teo shouted.
“Not happening, Teo. I’m the godfather,” Nicolai challenged.
“You,” Sabin said to Teo, “can’t call godfather. And you,” he looked at Nicolai, “dream on. Isla’s gonna pick me.” Sabin pointed his thumbs at himself.
“I don’t deserve her forgiveness.” Jacques’s words slurred.
“Nope,” Teo said.
“Definitely not,” Sabin added.
“Agreed.” Nicolai nodded.
“But I’ll make it right.”
A thick silence settled over the men at the table. They all knew Jacques faced a huge hurtle with Isabella to correct the wrong he’d done to her. No need to say it out loud.
After they’d drained the second bottle of Patron and started on the third, Teo’s date marched up to him and slammed a fist on the table. “Hey. What’s with leaving me alone for over an hour?” She glowered at him.
“Oops. Guess I forgot something,” Teo said, offering nothing more than a dismissive shrug.
The woman looked at Nicolai. He tugged on his tie and looked away.
“You two know each other?” Teo asked, eyeing Nico.
“You might say that,” Nico muttered, obviously disgusted with himself.
Teo’s friend shifted on her heels at the sting of Nicolai’s reaction. “Go fuck yourselves,” she yelled at both of them.
“Ouch,” Teo said, laughing, and ran a hand through his hair. He clearly didn’t give a damn.
Nicolai splayed his elbows over the shiny tabletop and stared at his reflection. He clearly did.
Jacques thought about all the nights he and Nico had spent with random women in this place and felt the same sense of disgust. The thought of returning to the lifestyle he’d led before Isabella made him feel sick. He never wanted to go back, but he didn’t know how to go forward.
“All I want to do is love Isabella, but everything about that terrifies me.”
“She loves you too, brother,” Sabin said, pointing out the obvious.
“And that’s the problem. The way she looks at me, like she thinks I’m indomitable.” Jacques shook his head in disbelief. “The ironic thing is I used to believe I was. Now, I look into her eyes and all I can do is wonder if this will be the day.”
“What day?” Teo asked.
Nicolai answered. “The day when the look changes.”
“You feel that too, Nico?” Jacques asked already knowing, but oddly comforted by the thought.
“Oui, every damn day. Julianne’s too good for me,” said his ‘I’ve got the world on a leash’ high-society cousin.
Hearing Nico putting himself down shifted Jacques right into big brother mode. “That’s bullshit, Nico, you’re...”
“Shut up, Jacques. It’s your pity party, not mine.”
No way to respond to that slam down except drink.
Another few rounds of tequila.
Another few rounds of talk-to-the-hand for the female, and a few male, hopefuls in the bar.
Another few rounds of dirty jokes and barbs that form the unspoken bonding ritual of men.
Until Jacques banged his head against the back of the banquet and put the elephant right on the table. “How can a guy like me be someone’s father? I’m going to fail.”
No silence this time. Sabin jumped all over that statement. “I’ve worked with you for a decade, dipshit. I’ve never seen you fail at anything. Truth be told, y'all guaranteed your success when you married that pretty lady.”
Sabin was too drunk to lie so he had to believe what he was saying.
Teo shook his head as if he couldn’t believe he was going to join in, but he did. “Man, I’m sorry about that fight in Barcelona. Turns out, I was wrong. You might be alright. I have never, I mean never, ever, seen my baby sister so happy. Even pissed as hell and she’s glowing at how happy you’ve made her. You should have heard her voice when she told me you were married. Most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. I’m gonna write a song about it.”
The wide smile. The raised eyebrows. The shaking head. Now Teo had faith in him too? No way. He was hallucinating.
Then Nicolai hopped on the band wagon. “You want to know something, cousin?”
“Hmm?” Jacques was still lost in dismissing the votes of confidence with thoughts of all the ways he could mess up as a father.
“If it wasn’t for you growing up, I wouldn’t have made it. Life with my father would have crushed me. You saved me, Jacques. You think you won’t be a good father, but I know you will. I know firsthand what it feels like to be the one you love and protect. Believe me when I say this baby is the luckiest baby in the world to have you as a father.”
Jacques smiled, humbled by Nico’s words. God, he loved the man. Always had. Always would.
“Here, here,” Sabin yelled and raised his glass.
Teo banged his hand on the table a few times.
“We support each other. Always have. Always will,” Nicolai parroted the words Jacques had spoken to him when he was struggling to find his way with Julianne. “I’m here for you, your wife and your baby.”
“Me too,” Sabin said.
Teo’s head bobbed up and down. “And me.”
Hello, light bulb. Even the thought slurred, but that did it. Jacques might fail alone, but he wasn’t alone. Still piss-yourself terrified, but not alone. And he never would be. He had Nicolai and Sabin, even Teo. But most importantly, he had Isabella. Or would have her, after he took his cousin’s advice and got on his knees.
“I’m going to need your help,” Jacques murmured, barely able to believe that he was actually asking for someone’s help. And didn’t that little fact paint a pretty picture. Jerard had never been more right than when he said Jacques’s arrogance knew no limits.
The immediate teasing told him his expression must have exposed the seismic wave of self-doubt that churned in his gut. Sabin and Teo wouldn’t stand for it.
“What was I saying about you being a dipshit?” Sabin began. “You’ve had my help all along whether you asked or not, brother.”
“All part of being an uncle.” Teo winked at him. “Do you want to hold hands too?”
“Don’t forget our mamacita, Jacques. What d’ya say I help by letting the little woman enjoy a bit of southern hospitality?” No missing the implication in those words.
Teo’s playful expression turned lethal at Sabin’s all too eager one.
When Jacques didn’t answer, Sabin actually said, “Come on. Please.” He had it bad for Isabella.
“And I thought we were going to be friends. How silly of me.” Teo cracked his knuckles.
Nicolai’s reaction didn’t match the others. His head bowed and the voice was barely a whisper. “Anything, Jacques. Always.”
Of the two, Jacques always played the protective role. Guess it meant a lot that he was asking Nico to do it for once.
“Same goes for you, cousin.” Jacques embraced Nicolai hard, holding on for a few seconds, then broke the seriousness with a tickle under Nico’s chin. “Coochy-coo.”
Nico’s fist landed in his gut and knocked the wind out of his lungs. Sabin and Nicolai laughed as Jacques doubled over, gulping for air and choking on his own laughter. As soon as he sat up, Teo punched him again.
“What the hell was that for?”
Teo grinned. “Sorry, couldn’t resist.”
“You better man up, Jacques, or that pretty lady might just leave you standing at the altar. Ya never know who might take your place,” Sabin said, obviously referring to himself.
“You can dream, hayseed. She’s mine and in two weeks, I’m going marry her in front of the whole world.”
“I never thought I’d see the day,” Sabin joked.
“And I can’t believe the bastard beat me to the altar,” Nicolai chimed in.
�
�Jealous, are we?” Jacques quipped and struck a peacock pose.
Sabin’s hand reached around Nico, practically knocking his face into the marble tabletop, and clapped down on Jacques’s back. “Damn straight.”
“Damn delighted is more like it,” Nicolai said as he shoved Sabin’s arm away. “I’m so happy for you, cousin. You deserve her.”
“I don’t, but if she’s stupid enough to want me, I’m not fool enough to push her away,” Jacques said, dropping a loose arm around Nicolai’s neck. “If Ishabeella tries to run before I get to the altar, you tie her there, ‘kay.” He tried to point a finger into Nico’s chest and missed.
His cousin sat back with a lascivious grin plastered across his face.
“Bride fantasies?”
“Major bride fantasies. Think we can get her to wear a black wedding dress?”
“With a leather bustier,” Sabin mused.
“And a red blindfold,” Jacques sniggered.
“No, no and no!” Teo shot each of them a murderous look.
Jacques put his head on Teo’s shoulder and said, “You sshhhaid it yourself, brother. You’re sssstuck with me for the resssst of your life.”
“Christ, what have I done?” Teo’s head hit the table with a thud.
*****
A sound downstairs woke her. Isabella looked at the clock.
4:00 a.m. Hell cometh early.
She got up and grabbed her robe. As she walked past the spare bedroom next to hers, the sweet thought came into her mind again. Would they paint it blue or pink? The dream was immediately soured with the thought that her missing husband hated the idea. Pulling the belt of her robe tight around her waist, she marched toward the stairs.
“SSSSHHHH. You’re gonna wake her up, pendejo.”
“You ‘ssshhh’ and stop calling me asshole.”
“Never.”
A loud screech cut through the apartment.
Isabella stepped into the foyer to find her husband and her brother, arm in arm, scrabbling off the center table that they’d left far from center. They were cracking up and holding onto each other.
Well that's interesting.
Two sets of bleary eyes shot up when she cleared her throat.
Paradise: The Masters of The Order Novel Two Page 35
