by L. A. Long
“Are you sure you’re okay with Nolan being here?” Nik asked.
“I’m sure if you’re sure.”
“I’m not. He won’t let me go anywhere alone. He hovers.”
“Hmm, I know the feeling,” Lenore commented as she put on her lipstick.
“I bet. MP made sure I brought you your juice and crackers.”
“He is so excited about the baby and today’s wedding, he might need to be tied down.”
“Nolan wants to get married.”
“What do you want, sweetie?”
“I want to be able to trust him.”
“Trust is a hard thing to give. I know. I could have driven Michael Patrick away because I didn’t trust him.”
“But MP didn’t give you cause not to trust him. That was baggage from BM.” Nik had taken to calling the senator that because she thought it was hysterical—he’s a real shit, she’d said. “Hubble, on the other hand, has given me, all of us actually, cause. Almost resulted in the break-up of you and your soon-to-be husband.”
Lenore nodded, looking at her maid of honor in the mirror.
“I don’t want to be his advocate. But did he do it to curry favor with you, Nik? Was he insecure with himself and thought if he made a big score, so to speak, he’d earn brownie points? Did his intentions backfire because of a volatile situation he knew almost nothing about?”
“Yeeaah!”
Lenore let out an exasperated sigh. “Think about it. Ask him.”
“We have to get downstairs,” Nikko said, effectively changing the subject. “You ready?”
“I am.”
“You nervous?”
“Nope.”
Lenore followed Nikko down her spiral staircase, which was wrapped with a garland of pink roses and baby’s breath. She carried a bouquet of white calla lilies, which she had copied from her mother’s wedding picture.
Michael Patrick was beaming at her, and she beamed back. Lenore handed Nikko her bouquet and joined him in front of the minister. He took her hands and, kissing her cheek, whispered in her ear, “You’ve taken my breath away.”
“Hey, no cheating,” Nate said good-naturedly, causing the handful of guests to laugh.
Lenore was indeed lovely. Her dress was long, comprised of ivory lace, and fit her still-slim figure like a glove. Her hair was down around her shoulders, making her look soft and sexy at the same time.
They exchanged traditional vows, and when the minister announced, “You may kiss your bride,” MP took his cue seriously.
Nikko let go with a wolf whistle, and that seemed to bring the couple back to reality.
“You are stunning, Mrs. Finnegan.”
“I think I’m stunned, Mr. Finnegan.”
They were still holding hands, looking into one another’s eyes.
“Let me be the first to congratulate the ecstatic couple,” Nate said and embraced his mother and clapped MP on the back. Nikko followed suit, as did everyone else.
For their wedding gift, Nikko had hired a photographer that the agency used to take pictures of the bride and groom.
“That was so thoughtful,” Lenore said, embracing her friend as the photographer left.
“I know,” Nikko teased. “Now you’ll have great photos to put on your book jacket. What better way to kick off your writing duet debut than with a wedding picture.”
“Always an angle, Nik,” MP teased back.
“I think it’s a brilliant idea,” Nolan Hubble put in and the other three looked at him like he had landed from outer space.
“I was not serious, Hubble,” Nik said with disdain.
MP and Lenore looked at one another, and Nik walked away to talk to Connor Walker and his wife.
“I’m sorry,” Hubble said, chagrined. “I can’t seem to do or say anything right around her.”
MP nodded his agreement, but Lenore said, “Maybe you’re trying too hard and not listening closely enough.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
“Let it be, a chuisle,” her new husband said.
“You’re forcing yourself into her life, without knowing her true character or nature. Like now with her teasing, maybe even jabbing, us about the pictures. Neither MP nor I have ever put a photo on a jacket cover. Did you know that?”
He shook his head.
“So, while I agree it would be great PR to put our wedding photo out there to help sell the new book, it’s not going to happen, and Nik knows that.”
He nodded this time.
“Part of our PR is the mystique. MP coming out as Michael Patrick is about as far as we’re willing to go. What happened with The Sentinel can never happen again. I hope that’s understood,” Lenore said, not wanting to do this on her wedding day.
Hubble looked at her.
Lenore heaved a sigh. “Listen and learn about Nik and what she does with and for her clients. She’s offbeat and so are her authors. If you blunder on as you are, you’ll shove her out of your life.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
“You’d be wise to take it. My wife is a brilliant woman.”
“Lovely, too,” Hubble added.
“See, you’ll get the hang of it.”
MP steered Lenore toward the other guests.
“Is he hopeless?” MP asked her.
“Maybe.”
****
“What a wonderful day,” Lenore said as she sank into her whirlpool bath.
“It was,” MP agreed, sliding in behind her.
“I’m sorry your cousins couldn’t make it.”
“We’ll see them when we go to Ireland.”
“Hmm.” She nestled into her husband and let the jets and warm water relax her body. Not too hot, she had told him. She didn’t want to cook the baby.
“You’re not going to fall asleep on me, are you? Not on our wedding night.”
“Worried about consummating the marriage contract, are you, Finnegan?”
“Done that already, woman, and have the goods to prove it.”
She laughed, turning to kiss and straddle him.
“No, I’m not going to fall asleep on you, mo chuisle. “In fact, I plan to wear you out.” Lifting up a bit, she eased herself down on to his erection. “I’ve been thinking of this all day,” she breathed, moving up and down ever so slowly.
“Me, too.” He took her nipple in his mouth and slipped a hand between them to find her clitoris.
She moaned, arching her back and riding him faster, water swirling around them, adding to the sensations.
“Don’t stop,” he groaned.
She gave him a wanton smile and sped up; her muscles clamped around him as she began to come. “Now, now…” she chanted mindlessly as pleasure washed over them.
Lenore collapsed against him, their arms wrapped around one another.
“I love you.”
“Forever.”
“Forever, Lenore. You’re my happily ever after.”
Chapter Forty-Five
“I smell coffee,” Lenore said, propping her head on MP’s chest.
“Ignore it. We’re newlyweds. Let the houseguests fend for themselves.”
She laughed, and he captured her mouth in a kiss and rolled on top of her.
“I plan to start most of my mornings this way, wife.”
“As you have been for weeks, husband.”
“Complaints?”
“None.”
“Requests?”
“More…”
“More what…” He’d hardly entered her, only the tip of him.
“More of that.” He slid in further. “Yes.” She was looking into his eyes.
She pulled him deeper.
“More…” he said and so it went until they were both sated.
There was increasing clamor downstairs. “I don’t want to get up.”
“I told you we should have gone to a hotel or sent the guests there.”
“You were right. I apologize.”
“
No need. I plan on keeping you in bed all week—a staymoon.”
“A hybrid of the staycation?”
“Yes.”
“I like the sound of that, but now I must get up and use the facilities. Your little brat is the cause.”
“Go,” he laughed, helping her out of bed.
She turned on the shower to warm up, and they shared it before going down to breakfast.
****
“Didn’t expect to see you two for a while,” Nate said, pouring coffee.
“We’ve gone decaf,” MP said. “I’ll make a pot.”
“Already done,” Nikko said from her perch on the barstool and holding up a carafe.
“Since when did you go caffeine-free, Mom?”
“After the last crazy weekend we had. I thought it was making me jittery because I was drinking it like water. Figured I needed to switch or I’d wear my heart out.”
“Ditto for me,” MP added. “Plus, no sense making two pots of coffee.”
“You must truly love her to give up caffeine,” Nolan offered from the other stool.
“I do at that,” MP agreed and kissed his wife’s cheek, smiling at her.
Nikko gave Hubble a dirty look.
“Hmm,” Lenore said, looking at MP who shook his head.
“What does everyone want for breakfast?” the new Mrs. Finnegan asked.
“You know my vote,” Nate said.
“I’ll go along with Nate,” Michael Patrick agreed.
“What are we agreeing to?” their agent asked.
“Chocolate, chocolate chip waffles,” Nate answered enthusiastically.
“They are to die for,” Nik raved.
“Care to weigh in, Nolan?” Lenore asked.
“I’ll go with the group,” he said.
“Good answer,” Nate said.
“I feel guilty making the new bride do all the work,” Nikko said.
“I think the new bride is the only one who knows how to cook, unless Nolan is a cook?” Lenore asked.
“Nope, the microwave is my friend,” he said.
“You have something in common with MP then,” Lenore said.
“I’m sure that’s the only thing,” Nik remarked.
Lenore raised an eyebrow that channeled play nice.
MP mischievously patted her bottom as he moved past her to get plates, silverware, and napkins. “Let’s set the table, guys,” he said.
“PW already, Michael Patrick?” Nolan teased.
MP narrowed his eyes at him and said, “Nope. I’m not a jackass who expects someone to wait on him hand and foot because he has a penis.”
Nate laughed, taking the plates from his stepfather, and departed for the dining room, MP following behind him with the rest of the items.
“Um, I’ll go help them,” Nolan said to the two women, looking embarrassed.
Lenore laughed, not being able to help herself. “How is he able to represent clients? He seems to have no filter on his mouth.”
“I don’t get it,” Nikko said. “He’s actually very good at his job, and until the thing with MP’s son, he was pleasantly annoying and funny. Now he makes me homicidal.”
“I can see why.” Lenore began to pour batter into the waffle maker. “I still think he’s trying too hard. He needs to chill.”
“He needs to be lobotomized. I’m sorry, Lenore.”
“No need. He’s your cross to bear.”
“No way, girlfriend.”
“I hope it’s that easy.”
“It won’t be but I can dream,” Nik said. “He’s not leaving the agency now either.”
“Things might get better.”
“And after the baby is born, I’ll be a size two.”
“You weren’t a size two when you got pregnant.”
“Exactly, meaning it’s not gonna happen. I was a six btw.”
“Noted,” Lenore laughed.
“You’re a two.”
“Hardly.” She took the first round of waffles, put them in the warming tray, then poured more batter into the waffle iron.
Lenore’s landline started ringing. Looking at caller ID, she glanced at Nikko and said, “It’s Connor. It can’t be good.”
“No.”
“Hello, Connor. What crisis befalls us this morning?” she asked, attempting to be light-hearted.
“I’m sorry to intrude on your day,” her attorney started.
“It’s all right. I know you wouldn’t be calling unless it was important.”
“The news is out, but your name isn’t, yet. How do you want to handle it?”
“How? When?”
“Turn on CNN and call me back. They’ve been running the story every few minutes.”
“Damn it.”
“Yes. Call me back.”
She numbly hung up the receiver and quickly relayed the pertinent details to Nik as she turned on the TV in the breakfast nook.
“Timing sucks, but it’s not surprising,” Nikko said, moving to work mode.
Connor was right—they didn’t have to wait too long for the story.
“We have breaking news here at the CNN News Center. Senior Senator Byron Maxwell from Virginia dropped a bombshell this morning. Take a listen,” the news anchor said by way of introduction.
CNN went to a video of the senator, his wife, and son Jack leaving a D.C. hospital. Jack looked hollow and haggard. His parents looked careworn.
Questions were being yelled at the family. Father and son looked stupefied to see the throng of reporters. Corrine, however, did not.
“The missus looks like she was rode hard and put away wet. I hope I don’t look like her in ten years,” Nik snarked.
“Shh,” Lenore admonished.
Reporters were jockeying for position, trying to get as close as they could to the Maxwells.
Questions were being yelled fast and furious.
“How are you feeling, Jack?”
“Are you in remission?”
“Are you happy to be taking your son home, Senator?”
“Did you find a bone marrow donor?”
Then seemingly louder than everyone else, an MSN reporter called, “Is it true, Senator Maxwell, that you asked your illegitimate son to be tested to see if he was a match for Jack?”
Corrine was doing her best to keep a poker face, but Jack looked at his father slack-jawed and pale. “Why now?” the young man uttered faintly.
Lenore found it hard not to feel sorry for him despite what Nate had told her.
She watched as Maxwell reached for a microphone and spoke in his deep, rich voice that seemed to belie his intelligence level. The crowd fell silent.
“I’m not sure where that information came from. But, nonetheless, it is true. My third son graciously agreed to testing, and while he was a match, it was at the low end of the spectrum. Jack has decided not to attempt a bone marrow transplant at this time. We would ask that you respect our privacy. I have no further comment.”
Maxwell handed the microphone back to its owner and ushered his family to a waiting limo.
The reporters went wild, screaming their inquiries fast and furious.
“Who is the mother?
“Is it true she was an intern?”
“Is it true your love child went to school with Jack at Georgetown?”
To his credit and Lenore’s amazement, Maxwell said nothing further.
The anchor was now back on screen asking the same questions. He promised they would be digging for answers and reporting additional information as it developed.
The talking head then went on to draw parallels between Maxwell and Newt Gingrich, John Edwards, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and others.
“It could have been a lot worse,” her agent finally said.
“Yes. We need to talk to Connor, and he can get with Gerald Morris, Maxwell’s chief of staff, who I’m sure is doing damage control.”
Nikko agreed.
“Corrine did it. She set it up, or one of her hired guns did. You co
uld tell by the look on her face,” Lenore said.
“Stupid, selfish bitch. Why would she do that to her gravely ill son?” her friend asked.
“Because she is those things. You got it in one, Nikko.” MP came up and held Lenore from behind. “We saw it on the TV in the den.”
“Oh, my God, Nate—”
“Mom, I’m fine. Relax,” he said from behind Michael Patrick.
Nolan trailed not far behind, looking interested but clueless. Obviously no one had filled him in, and Lenore was not of the mind to at the moment.
“Mom, I’m fine. I have good coping skills. But at the moment I’m starved. If we’re going to deal with crap, we need fortification.”
Lenore gave a nervous laugh and looked from Nate to MP to Nikko. “Plan B?” she asked.
“Yes,” they each agreed.
“I’ll go call your man, Walker, while you make waffles,” MP offered.
“That would be wonderful,” Lenore sighed gratefully. “Make sure he talks with Morris.”
“Will do.” He kissed her cheek and departed to her office.
Lenore poured more batter as Nate snagged some waffles from the warming tray.
“It will be okay,” Nate said softly to his mother.
“You’re the illegitimate son,” Hubble blurted.
“Yes,” Nate said simply and put another piece of waffle in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
“That is not for publication or discussion,” Nikko said firmly. “I hear that you’ve talked to anyone about this, and I will personally cut off your balls with a pair of dull, rusted scissors, got it?”
He nodded but persisted. “But someone will speculate about the who. I bet someone already knows the details.”
“Yes, but not you, Nolan. Got it?” Nik reinforced.
“I said I did,” Nolan answered, annoyed.
“Good.”
****
“Who’s the other woman, Byron?” Jack asked as soon as they were in the limo, being whisked back to the family home.
“I can’t tell you. I have a contract with her not to discuss the matter.”
“You mean you bought her off,” Corrine snickered.
“Do you know who she is? Who they are?” Jack directed the question at his mother.
“Yes, I believe I do. I told you he had spares out there. But it’s your father’s news to tell.”
“Did you arrange for the press, too?” Jack asked.
When Corrine simply smiled, he went off. “Why? You ignorant skank! Why would you want to be humiliated like that? Can’t even keep your own husband satisfied. That’s what a lot of your so-called friends and acquaintances will say.
