Creed shrugged, his anger fading to indifference. “Marquette’s is partly yours.”
“Then if you don’t want to come…”
Creed’s gaze flew to Damen, and his eyes widened. “Are you saying you don’t want me here?”
“No, of course not. I want my brothers here with me and Heaven.” Damen shifted against Heaven’s back, and she knew what was coming—more evidence the man was bonkers. “In fact—”
“Damen,” she interrupted, jittery. “You don’t need to—”
“I’d like you to give Heaven away, Creed.”
The office where they stood at that moment was silent as a tomb. Creed stared at Damen. Damen stared back, and Heaven was wound so tight, the strings of her mental faculties were about to pop. She licked her lips and drew in a steadying breath, which did zip to pull her together. Damen’s hands slid up to her shoulders to give them a gentle squeeze.
He continued. “She doesn’t have family who can support her or that she wants here. Her friends are coming, but I suggested you.”
“Why me?” Creed frowned. “She’s not mine to give to you.”
“It’s ceremony, a symbol.”
Creed ground his teeth.
“But if you’re not coming, then we can think of someone else,” Damen finished.
Heaven wanted to look into his face, but he was holding her too close to see now, standing behind her. His voice sounded steady enough, but she couldn’t be sure.
“Don’t be stupid,” Creed snapped. “I’m not going to miss your wedding. Contrary to what some feel about me”—he glared at Heaven—“I’ve never not been with you and Stefen, in everything, even when I didn’t like what you were up to.”
Damen chuckled. “That’s true, and we’ve dragged you into a lot. This shouldn’t be anything new.”
“It’s not!” Creed scratched the back of his head. “Let me think about this other thing.”
“By all means, bro. I’m expecting you to do it.”
Creed swore. “You’re a pushy bastard.”
“Yes, I am,” Damen said proudly. “Good, that’s settled. I’ve got a couple things to attend to.” He turned Heaven to face him and kissed her lips. Creed left the office. Heaven nuzzled closer into Damen’s arms and shut her eyes.
“Are you sure about this, Damen?”
“We’ve been over it. It’s the only way to force Creed out of his shell.”
“I wasn’t aware he was in one.”
“Yeah, no one knows my brother like I do.”
“Shada might have a thing or two to say about that.”
He raised her chin. “Trust me?”
She studied his face. “Yes, I do.”
“Good. Now, I have a couple things to check out. Do you want me to take you home?”
“No, I’ll stay longer, and I have my new bodyguard here.” She had met the man who was not much taller than she was and who was wiry, but she sensed strength about him. His alert gaze said he saw everything that was happening around them, and he had come highly recommended by Guy. Best of all, Weaver didn’t scare the crap out of her with height and bulk, so he worked.
“Okay, but no leaving Marquette’s without him. Agreed?”
“I don’t feel the need to show my independence by being stupid. I’ll keep him with me.”
“Good girl.” He kissed her and hugged her tighter. “I’ll call you.”
She nodded and watched him go. Heaven checked her messages and found a couple texts from the planner. She answered the questions as she left the office and then paused in the hallway at a sound coming from the bathroom. A knock on the door produced nothing, and she tried the doorknob to find it locked.
“Hello?” she called though the door. “Are you okay in there?”
At first there was no answer, and then the lock clicked, the door swung open, and she was dragged inside. Shada slammed the door again and winced. Heaven stared at her. Shada’s eyes were red and wet as if she had been crying, and she looked pale.
Heaven frowned. “I thought you and Creed were back together. Did you break up again?”
“No.” Shada spun away to the sink and washed her face. Heaven handed her a few paper towels, and Shada mopped her forehead. “We still have our issues, and we fight like cats and dogs, but…”
“But what?”
Shada moaned.
Heaven walked over to her and touched a hand to the woman’s back. They weren’t friends, but since that talk at the café, they weren’t enemies either. Heaven had spoken with Shada a handful of times on the phone during the planning of her wedding. Shada had agreed to make the cake, and Marquette’s was catering.
“What is it?” Heaven pressed.
“I screwed up,” Shada said. “I screwed up big time.”
“How?”
Shada met her gaze in the mirror. “I think I’m pregnant.”
“Whoa! How awesome. Congratulations.”
“No, it’s not awesome.” Tears spilled down Shada’s cheeks. “It’s terrible. I’m…I don’t want…I’m freaking scared. What if something happens to me?”
“You mean because of your age? Just eat right, get rest, and don’t miss any of your doctor’s visits.”
“You sound like a commercial,” Shada complained. “You don’t know my issues. I lost my parents when I was young. It about killed me. Then I had a sister. She died last year. I vowed I wouldn’t love anyone else and risk getting hurt. If I lose the baby, or if it’s born… All kinds of thoughts are running through my head, chief of all, why the hell didn’t I make sure the pills were working right after I went back on them before I spread my legs for Creed?”
“Um, okay. Well, what’s done is done. You’re having his baby, and the fear will at some point be taken over by the love. I know from experience. Just grin and bear it.”
Shada flared her nostrils. “You suck at advice.”
“You just don’t want to hear the truth.”
Shada moaned again. “I’m still really early. Maybe I should—”
Heaven didn’t say a word, but she knew just what was on Shada’s mind. She was considering an abortion, and Heaven, who considered children to be gifts wasn’t hearing it. She knew what she’d said was true. From what Shada had said, Shada wasn’t against kids. Her fears were just so big she couldn’t see around them. Heaven believed without a doubt in her mind that little infant would cure Shada in a heartbeat. If nothing else, she would do everything in her power to stay well for the baby, so she could be around until the baby was grown.
“Are you feeling sick?” Heaven asked.
“No, I just know my body, and something wasn’t right. I suspected it, so I took a test. It came out positive.”
“If you want, we can sit down and talk about it. I can tell you some of what to expect.”
Shada’s chin dipped to her chest. “I’m not ready to come out of this bathroom. I might move in here.”
Heaven laughed. “Let me get you a bottled water.”
“Make it alcohol.”
“Water,” Heaven repeated and left the bathroom. She didn’t think twice about her decision. Shada needed help, and if she wasn’t forced at this point to move past her issues, she wouldn’t. Later, she would regret a bad choice made out of fear. Heaven had acted on fear for years—or didn’t act because of it—and that had gotten her into trouble. Well, she would do what she could for Shada, even if they ended up as sisters-in-law but never friends.
Heaven moved by the arriving kitchen staff for their afternoon and night shift, and headed out to the dining room. Weaver stood near the front entrance, chatting with Pete. Heaven caught their attention. “Creed?”
Weaver pointed toward the ceiling, and Heaven swung away to head up the back stairs. The second floor held the second biggest dining room with double French doors leading into it. These stood open, and Heaven walked in to find Creed discussing something with one of the waiters. She figured someone had reserved the room for a private party, which ha
ppened pretty often. Marquette’s was the best restaurant in New Orleans. Heaven was glad that in marrying Damen she wouldn’t have to lose access to such a great place. Marquette’s, in the short time she had worked there, felt like a part of her family.
“Can I talk to you?” she asked Creed and stood quiet while the waiter left. Creed narrowed his eyes. “If you’re up here to pressure me about giving you away, you can just wait until I’m ready to give you my decision.”
“It’s not about me.” She wanted to tell him it wasn’t about him either, maybe dump him off his high horse, but that would be silly. “It’s about Shada.”
He stiffened. “What about her?”
Heaven watched for his reaction. “She’s pregnant.”
Creed paled. “What?”
“She’s pregnant, I said. Right now, she’s in the bathroom downstairs, probably wondering why I’m taking so long to come back.”
Creed took a second to confirm she was serious, and then he tore off toward the stairs. From the racket he made, she figured he either rolled down the stairs or jumped down every other one.
“What’s going on?” someone shouted, coming into the hall.
“Move,” Creed bellowed and must have thrust through them all. Heaven grinned. Shada might be mad at her, but it wouldn’t last. Whether Creed would drive Shada crazy from then until the baby was born was the real question.
Heaven took her time descending the stairs. When she reached the bottom, all lay in silence. She decided whatever she intended to do at the restaurant could wait, and she had Weaver drive her home. They were only halfway there when Damen called.
“Didn’t you just leave?” she asked when she answered.
“I wanted to let you know I just talked to Creed. He said Shada’s pregnant and that you were the one to tell him.”
“Ah. Did he sound happy?”
“Delirious. My brother was almost intolerable when he and Shada broke it off. I have a feeling she’s going to kill him before the baby is born.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because the bear is now a daddy. He’s going to be overprotective.”
Heaven laughed. “I’ll bet. Poor girl.”
“Well, now he tells me he’ll do whatever you want. He’ll give you away. He’ll dance and sing at our wedding.”
Heaven winced. “Okay.”
“See what I told you? He’s deliriously happy, and it’s all because of you, beautiful.” His voice dropped low, and she got the impression he was happy too and put the reason at her feet.
“I can’t take credit. He did the ‘work.’”
Damen chuckled. “I guess you’re right. I need to go. Can you take care of picking up the kids today?”
“Nita too?” She was surprised. “Am I on the list to get her?”
“Yes, I added you a couple days ago.”
She had done the same for him before Gideon had been transferred to the new private school. After her ordeal with Leon, she didn’t want her son’s safety to ever be an issue, but they had picked up the kids together before today.
“Okay, that’s fine,” she said.
“I might be a little late.”
“What are you doing, Damen? I know you’re not at Marquette’s.”
“Later,” he insisted.
“Fine.”
They both rang off, and Heaven realized she had been close to ending the call with “I love you.” She wondered if there would ever come a time when saying it would be the norm for them. Or would they continue as friends and lovers for years as their kids grew up together. Being Damen’s friend wasn’t a bad deal, except that loving him made it harder and left her unsure. As she thought of what Shada had shared of her life, she considered she was doing what was right for herself and for Gideon. Even if her love was unrequited, it was far better to love someone deeply than to love no one for fear of loss.
I love Damen. Admitting it to herself felt good and somewhat satisfying. In that moment, she decided, she would admit it to him and shower him with all she had in her heart to give.
Chapter Thirteen
“Girl, breathe,” Jada demanded, studying Heaven’s face in the mirror. “If you pass out, I think I’m going to join you. Then what’s going to happen?”
“Daddy will stop being a blinking robot,” Nita said.
Heaven snorted and covered her mouth. Jada pointed at Nita. “You stop being funny. Now I have to redo her lipstick, and quit pulling at that collar before you break the buttons.”
Nita rolled her eyes. Lace and ruffles swished as she changed positions. Jada shook her head.
“You’ve got a handful in that one. Too much attitude, and she’s not even a teenager yet.”
Heaven glanced at Nita. She looked like an angel in her tulle ball gown with cap sleeves, her dark hair swept up from her neck with a few tendrils hanging in the back and a lilac flower and baby’s breath at the side of her head. True, the attitude could use checking. “Leave Nita alone. We’re getting along better now, aren’t we, Nita?”
Her soon to be stepdaughter shrugged.
“What did you mean Daddy is a blinking robot?” Heaven tried not to laugh again, but she had to hand it to Nita. The girl had broken some of the nervousness that had clung to Heaven ever since she woke up that morning. The day had finally arrived, and she was soon to be married.
Nita pushed her face toward Heaven, raised her hands, fingers straight and thumbs tight at the sides. She blinked rapidly. “Daddy is like this. Uncle Stefan said he’s nervous, and every time Uncle Creed asks Daddy a question, Daddy blinks some more.”
Heaven and Jada broke up. They couldn’t help it. Heaven raised her hand to cover her mouth again, but Jada caught her. She looked at her palm and saw that she had smudged her lipstick the first time. After a few minutes, Heaven got herself together. She touched a finger to the corner of each eye and sighed.
“I needed that.” She fanned her face. “I just hope he loosens up by the time we take pictures and video. You’d think this would be old news to him since it’s the second time.”
Her friend hugged her. “Why shouldn’t he be nervous? He’s marrying the woman he loves, my beautiful friend, who deserves this happiness.”
Heaven hadn’t shared with her friend that theirs was basically a marriage of convenience, to give the kids a stable home. She’d let Jada believe an old love had been reignited, and since they both found themselves in the right place in their lives, Damen had asked her to marry him and she had said yes.
The door opened, and Shada came in. Heaven had feared Shada’s anger toward her after she had run to tell Creed about the baby. Shada had just waggled at finger at her a few days later and said, “I’m going to have to watch you. You’re a sneaky one.”
The comment had been light, and Heaven figured out that the first weight had been lifted off Shada’s shoulders. She was beginning to accept that she would have a loving family with all the insecurities that came with it.
“Oh, you look so beautiful, sis. Damen is going to have a fit.”
Heaven started in surprise. She had never had a sister or a brother. “S-sis?”
“I’m testing it out,” Shada said. “We’re going to be sisters-in-law.”
Heaven’s eyes widened as Shada held up the ring. “You took it back?”
“I didn’t have a choice. I was starting to suspect Creed might kidnap me and threaten not to let me free until I went through with it. He said in no uncertain terms am I going to be a single woman when our baby is born. So damn controlling, he makes me mad.”
Jada sniffed. “I want to be a Marquette. All y’all are so cute!”
Heaven shook her head. “Did you forget you’re married, and you love your husband?”
Jada rolled her eyes. “I can dump him.”
“I’m going to tell Marco you said that.”
Jada waved a hand. “Go ahead. The man knows better than that. Besides, we’re too old to start over.”
“How ol
d are you?” Nita wanted to know.
“Be quiet, you,” Heaven told her. “You don’t ask older ladies their age.”
“Why not?”
“Because we’re liable to get blinky to hold back the tears.” Jada imitated Damen, and they were all cracking up again.
“What’s so funny?” Shada demanded. “I want to know too so I can laugh.”
Heaven looked at Jada, and Jada looked at Nita. “Ask your niece.”
“What?” Shada insisted.
Heaven explained, and Shada almost shouted in laughter. “Y’all better leave Damen alone. He can’t help himself. Wait, never mind. I’m going out there to make fun of him.”
Heaven grabbed her arm to stop her. “Don’t do that.”
Shada winked. “Me and Damen have had our issues. If I don’t embarrass him, he’ll think I’m going soft. I have to do it, Heaven. Don’t hold me back.”
“For me,” Heaven begged. “You can dig at him when we get back from our honeymoon.”
Shada groaned. “Fine, but I’m going to tell the videographer to get some extra close-up shots of the groom.” She slid out the door before Heaven could stop her.
“That’s a hardcore one,” Jada commented. “She’s going to make a great sister. I’m so happy for you, Heaven. You deserve this and more.”
Tears pricked Heaven’s eyes, but she swallowed the emotion. “Thank you, Jada. Well, I guess we’re ready to go. Let’s do this.”
* * * *
Heaven stood in front of Damen in the most beautiful white dress she had ever laid eyes on. The lace ball gown with beaded appliqué around the neckline and a deep V back fit her curves just right, although they had to call in a seamstress at the last minute to make adjustments. Shada had claimed the food she prepared over the days of preparation for the wedding was so good Heaven couldn’t help gaining weight.
Heaven knew the food remark was true, but what made even more sense was that she felt safe. Marquette’s was jam-packed with well-wishers and family and friends. Security guarded the corners of the place, gazes sharp. Heaven had noticed all of this in passing. What she focused on now as she stood before the altar was her fiancé.
Damen (The Marquette Family Book Two) Page 14
