“Not all change is bad, Bro, even when it’s unexpected.”
“She seems happy and I’m probably being a paranoid, overprotective ass of a son. You always were her favorite,” he teased.
“You’ll hear no argument from me.” Jason kept up the drumming motion.
“What’s up? Something is eating away at that brain of yours.”
“You better be ready for more changes. Cherry’s pregnant.” A grin split across his friend’s face.
Brody’s stomach dipped and his heart gave a tug he recognized as envy. Shoving that aside, he came around his desk and gave his best friend, his brother, a real hug.
“Damn. This calls for a celebration.” He cracked open the good scotch and poured them each a shot. Sitting on the edge of his desk, he couldn’t wipe the goofy grin off his face. “What is it? A niece or a nephew?”
Jason returned the goofy grin. “Too soon to know. But we’ll teach him or her to pitch better than Fubar.”
“Damn straight.” He saluted his friend. “What’s Cherry going to do about her master’s program? Won’t this put a crimp in her plans?”
“We’ll work it out. I’ve already talked to Dave about taking on more project management after the little one arrives, which will let me take care of the baby, and Cherry can work on her classes. It’s an easy sacrifice. After all, that’s what it’s all about, putting each other and their needs first.”
Brody tried to focus on the contract after his friend left, but Jason’s words kept coming back to Brody. The last couple of weeks, especially the last few days since he’d returned home, had made him think hard about the future and what he wanted. Timothy Dev’s résumé still sat on the corner of his desk and he picked it up. He read it over again and then called Angie into his office.
“I assume you’ve checked out Mr. Dev’s references already?”
She gave him that look, the one that said he was daft. “Yes, and you’d be a fool not to give him a chance.”
If there was one thing he’d learned over the past few years it was to trust his admin’s gut.
“Set up the interview.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Is he asleep?” Elysia propped herself up on the couch as Denise walked back into her sister’s living room.
“Like the angel that he is.” She grabbed her sister’s empty tea mug and headed for the kitchen. “How are you feeling?”
“Starving.”
“Good. The meds seem to be doing their job. Ready to advance past applesauce and bananas to dry toast and scrambled eggs?” Denise fussed around the kitchen, ignoring her sister’s groan.
“Can we bypass the boring stuff? I’m dying for a big bowl of spaghetti with sweet Italian sausage.” Another groan. “Or a plate of nachos with extra jalapeños and guacamole, or even better, some curry samosas. There’s this little place off Atwells that makes the best Thai food. If you called now, you could be there and back in twenty minutes.”
Setting the pan on a burner, she gave it a quick drizzle of olive oil before turning on the stove and popping a piece of wheat bread in the toaster.
“Except it’s Saturday, which means everyone is out shopping and I won’t be able to find a parking space. Plus, you’ll just throw it up. It’s too heavy, sweetie.”
“I want food with flavor.”
“Tell me about it,” Denise muttered under her breath. In the past four days, between taking care of Elysia and work, Denise still hadn’t had a chance to shop. She’d been living on Pop-Tarts, frozen pizza, and hospital cafeteria food. Funny how that was what she’d lived on before and it had never bothered her. After her sojourn to the City by the Bay and eating gourmet meals for three weeks, her usual staples tasted like cardboard.
She poured the egg mixture into the pan, giving it a good swirl. The toast popped up and Denise looked at the dry bread with distaste. “Oh, what the heck.” She pulled out the peanut butter and strawberry jam. A light layer of both wouldn’t kill her sister; it might even encourage her to eat the whole slice. She slid the eggs onto the plate with the now tasty-looking toast and walked back into the other room.
Tears sprang to her sister’s eyes when she looked at the food. “Bless you. We should rename you St. Denise.”
“Ha, funny. Now eat.” She looked at the slight baby bump and sighed. “Still can’t get over the fact that you’re having twins. Have you thought of any names yet?”
With a look of serene contentment, Elysia dug into her eggs. “Bill wants to continue with the tradition of using Greek names. He figures they have his surname to show his heritage, so why not first names to show mine? If they’re boys we’ll name them after Dad and Pappous.”
“Nico and Demitri? They’ll be thrilled. What about girls’ names?”
Her sister set down the empty plate and shifted toward her. “We talked about naming them Helena and Amara, if that’s okay with you?”
“Amara? I’m honored for my niece to have my name and Mom will be thrilled. But why not after Yiayia?”
“I like Corinne, but she hates her name, and I’m not crazy about Penelope, which rules out our other grandmother.”
“I like Penelope, but the decision is up to you and Bill. Don’t let anyone push you into a name you don’t love. Want more tea?”
She jumped up, grabbed their mugs, and disappeared into the kitchen before her sister could spot the tears. She was flattered to have the baby named after her, especially as Elysia and Chel were closer. It was just that she had hoped to pass on Amara to her own daughter one day.
“Are you sure it’s okay?” Elysia asked from the doorway of the kitchen. “I didn’t think. You probably want to use the name yourself.”
Turning, Denise saw the disappointed look on Elysia’s face and hugged her. There was no reason why her sister shouldn’t pass on the name. It belonged to their great-grandmother, and her great-grandmother before her, and so on. Given Denise’s medical history, it made sense for her sister to use the name.
“It’s a beautiful name and an honor. Thank you. I’m surprised you pick me and not Chel.”
Together they walked back to the couch and sat down. “Dee, you’ve always been there for us. Not that we made it easy for you, but we always knew we could count on you.”
“Ha.” She forced out a fake laugh. “Not according to our mother.”
Elysia rolled her eyes and blew on the mug. “Well, Mother doesn’t know everything. She doesn’t know that despite your best efforts, I flunked science because I thought yearbook and the newspaper and running for student body was more important. Especially the body of Anthony Roberts. I had such a mad crush on him.”
“You had many crushes, if I remember right.”
“And most of them caused me nothing but heartache. Like that jerk in college. I don’t know what I would have done without you. If you hadn’t found me when you did . . . I shudder to think what would have happened to me. I was so drunk. And let’s not talk about the wild child’s mistakes.”
“What mistakes?” Chel strode across the room wearing yoga pants, a workout tee, and ballet flats, which she kicked off before dropping in the chair opposite them. “I’ll have you know I’m practically perfect in every way and I do not make mistakes. Ever.”
The sisters looked at each other and burst into laughter. “It’s a special land called Denial that you live in, isn’t it?” It felt good, just the three of them together, teasing.
“I suppose you never got grounded for missing curfew either?” Elysia asked.
The dreamy smile on Chel’s face gave it all away. “Ah, yes. D’Shawn. Adorable dimples and a smile that could almost melt your panties off. Keyword being almost.” She pulled a pillow out from behind her and hugged it. “So what’s with the trip down memory lane?”
“Soothing big sister’s guilty conscience. Mom’s been at it again.” Elysia turned to Denise. “I don’t know why she’s so hard on you. You’re a freaking doctor. Isn’t that good enough?”
�
��I do. When Denise called it off with Brody, she stole Mom’s thunder. If they’d gone through with the wedding, she would have had a doctor and a lawyer in the family. Do you know what kind of bragging rights that would have given Mom over those snooty women she plays Bunco with?”
Is that what she meant the other night? Here I thought she was heartbroken at losing Brody as a son-in-law. Sheesh!
“I think it goes farther back in time than that, Chel. I’ve never measured up.”
“Oh, the asthma thing? Forget about it. Speaking of Mom and her guilt trips . . .” She looked at Elysia. “She informed me that I could not get married until the twins were six months old so you could lose your baby weight. Eloping sounds better and better all the time.”
“You wouldn’t?” both Elysia and Denise asked at the same time.
A huge, dramatic sigh escaped her sister. “Not unless I want to be banned from the family or stroke Mom out. No, we were already planning to wait until next summer because we want to save for a honeymoon in Greece.”
The talk naturally turned to wedding plans. While it was more than fourteen months away, Chel pretty much had the big stuff figured out. Both sisters agreed to wear pink and green, the wedding would take place at their parents’ church, and the reception at some lodge Jack’s dad belonged to. They wanted to keep it simple. Now if her sister could only keep her mom out of the planning . . .
Denise and Brody had wanted simple too, but shortly after announcing their plans her mom got involved. They went from a backyard ceremony and reception to a castle—a freaking castle in Connecticut. It had taken her a year to pay her parents back for what they’d spent on the venue and food alone. Next time, if there ever was a next time, she would elope to Vegas or Atlantic City and suffer her mother’s wrath afterward.
Elysia nudged Denise with her foot. “Hey, you okay?”
“Sorry, lost in my head.”
“Daydreaming about someone you met on the show?” Chel rubbed her hands together in excited anticipation, or maybe she was cold. Denise wasn’t sure, but the cheesy grin tended to make her lean toward the former.
“Yeah, with all the drama surrounding me, we never got to hear the details of the show. Did you meet anyone special? Like someone with long-term potential?”
“Actually, there were three special guys. Jordan, a forensic scientist from Baltimore, was incredibly sweet and such a gentleman. Then there was Roan, an architect from Chicago. He made me feel protected and comfortable and sexy.”
“I’m hearing a but. Who was the third guy?” Elysia asked.
She looked from one to the other. “Um, Brody.”
Chel’s jaw dropped and Elysia’s eyes popped open. Not that she blamed either of them for being shocked. They knew he’d been in California, not that he’d been on the show. She’d kept that tidbit from them. After all, what were the chances of flying across the country, going on a national dating show, and having your ex-boyfriend show up? She would think the odds were slim to none if she were a normal person who didn’t have connections.
“You’re back together?” Elysia asked.
“We are.”
“Are you engaged?” Chel dove for her hand. “Is this a ring line?”
“No.” Denise laughed and pulled her hand back. “We’re dating, that’s all. I’m not putting any pressure on our relationship.”
The soft click of the front door had them all looking up. “What relationship?”
When push came to shove, she didn’t know if she was ready to tell her mom, not that she had a choice now. The idea had been to keep things low-key for a while, let them get used to being a couple again before family interference happened.
“Mine and Brody’s. We’re dating.”
“Brody Nichols? How long has this been going on?” Her mom’s tone came out harsh and accusing, and for a moment Denise was transported back to her teens.
Chel turned back to face Denise and gave her a little smile with two thumbs-up. She glanced at Elysia, who gave her a little nod. Denise could do this: stand up to her mom and not accept the guilt load that was about to be dished her way.
“A couple of weeks.”
Her mom walked the rest of the way into the room, dropped her purse and the sack she’d been carrying onto the kitchen table, and turned back to Denise.
“How is that possible? You’ve been gone, on the show for a couple of weeks. Were you lying to us?”
Yep, first came the disappointment. “No, Mom. I wasn’t lying. Brody was one of the participants.”
Her mom sat very still, like she was trying to process what she’d just been told, and Denise waited for the biting comment. There was always a comment, but she didn’t care; this time around she wouldn’t let herself be bullied.
“I thought Dena said he went to California for work. Huh. Well, I’m happy for you, dear. Your father and I always liked Brody.” She turned toward her other daughters without another word, flooring Denise. “Elys, honey, how are you feeling today? Have you been able to keep any food down?”
“Better, Mom thanks. Denise has been taking great care of Xander and me. She needs to go home and take a nap, though.”
“You do look tired, dear. Are you back on the night shift?”
Okay, her mom was being weird. Nice even, which was so not her mother. Alien abduction? New medication? Cloning, and this was the nice clone? More like a new attack strategy and her mom was waiting for Denise to let down her guard.
“As of tonight, seven to seven.”
Her mom gathered up the empty mugs and headed for the kitchen. “Go home and take a nap, Denise. You don’t want to wear yourself out. I’ll stay until Bill gets off work. If he needs to go into the office tomorrow, I’ll come back over. Oh, and do say hello to Brody for me.”
“Is being nice a side effect of a brain tumor?” Brody tried not to laugh and draw the others’ attention away from his mom and her fiancé, Kevin.
“They can cause personality changes.” Denise tugged him down onto the ottoman in front of her. “I’m just saying. Five days ago, she couldn’t have cared less about what was going on in my life, or me. Now she’s worried about me wearing myself out?”
The confusion in her voice made sense. He’d never known Helena to be particularly warm and fuzzy with her oldest daughter.
“I’m sure she’s okay. Maybe your dad said something to her, or she realized how much she missed you while you were gone and wants to have a better relationship.”
“Maybe, maybe not. So what do you think of Kevin?”
Laughter, followed by snorting broke out across the room. Not a sound he was used to hearing in his childhood home. One look at his mom standing at Kevin’s side, their hands linked together and a happy smile on her face, spoke volumes.
“He’ll do, even with the snorting.”
“He makes her laugh.”
The man did and apparently, he made everyone else around chuckle too. They moved closer to join his friends as they listened to Kevin.
“I went into work last week and my first appointment of the day was a new patient. I take him back to the exam room, listen to his complaints, and then proceed to adjust his back. Now, mind you, he’s lying on his stomach and I’m running my hand down his spine. The guy starts to squirm. I’m thinking he’s just not used to being touched by a stranger, so I start telling him about this camping trip I took last summer. He starts giggling. Okay, I admit the skunk walking through my campsite like he owned the place was chuckle worthy, but this guy is squirming all over the place and seriously laughing.”
Everyone had their attention on Kevin, which made it easy for Brody to step back and take a hard look around him. Dave and Tawny were snuggled up on one end of the couch, his arm around her shoulders and her hand resting on his chest. Jason sat on the other end with Cherry on his lap and an arm around her waist, with his hand resting on her still-flat stomach. He didn’t know how to describe the feeling running through him, except that for the first time ever
, his life felt right.
He stepped closer to Denise, slipped his arm around her waist, and pulled her back against him. She turned her head to meet his gaze and smiled. She laced her fingers with his and he looked up to find his mom watching them. The warmth radiating from her eyes and smile told him everything he needed to know; she was happy not only for herself but for him and Denise.
He tuned back into Kevin’s story of the ticklish patient.
“I told my receptionist not to charge him because I couldn’t adjust his back. The weird part is, he called the next day and made another appointment. Said he’d never felt so good before.”
He reminded Brody of Santa with his graying hair, his round-rimmed glasses, and his belly shaking like a bowl full of jelly when he laughed.
“Will your kids be at the wedding, Kevin?” Tawny asked.
Kevin brought his and Brody’s mom’s linked hands up and kissed the back of her hand. “My daughter will be there with her husband and kids. My son, KJ, is currently working in Japan and can’t get time off.”
“Kelly, Kevin’s daughter, would have been here tonight, but her daughters are sick. She can’t wait to meet you, honey.”
“All of you, really,” Kevin said. “She’s always wanted a big family and now she’ll have one.”
And in that moment it hit Brody like a high-speed rail. It wasn’t just a stepdad he was welcoming into his life it was a whole flipping family. No longer an only child, not that he’d really felt alone with Jase and Dave in his life. He caught the two of them looking at him, Jase with his brow cocked in question and Dave with an all-knowing grin.
“Looks like Mom’s going to need a few more stockings to hang on the mantel this year,” Dave said.
“And I can’t wait.” She beamed.
“Think you’ll be able to squeeze in one more?” Jason asked.
At first his mom and Kevin looked to Brody and Denise, then his mom’s gaze shifted to Cherry, with Jason’s hand lying protectively across her stomach. A squeal of delight he’d never heard from his mom before pierced his ears.
Fiance for Keeps Page 19
