by Milly Taiden
What's even more startling is that his kiss is not gentle. Where Alex was a tender explorer in awe of discovering unchartered territories, Ten is a conqueror scorching the earth on his way. He bites my lower lip and then as a king warrior takes possession of my mouth with his. There's nothing tentative about his kiss. He's taking charge and it's so overwhelming that when he pulls away I draw a gasping breath.
“This is who I am in the bedroom. I'm generous but I'm also very demanding and bossy and direct. If you say yes, I expect you to surrender to me. ”
I look at this new side of Ten I've never seen before. I'm in shock. Good shock.
He looks at me intently and explains, “Out of bed you'll remain my best friend. We'll be partners and you'll own my soul. In bed, I'll be your boss and you'll be my plaything. ”
I gasp. God, I don't know what's with me. I think his bossy nature is sexy. This could work. I could learn to love him differently.
The hard look vanishes from his face and, looking very happy with himself, he gets up walks around the bed and offers his hands to help me stand, “Come on, Lovey, let's go celebrate your promotion. There's roast beef, mashed potatoes with gravy and pecan pie. ”
“Oh, I so love it when you talk dirty to me,” I say and he roars with laughter.
***
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I tackle my project with a new strength. Marc's trust in me is a real booster. I don't want to let him down. Being one year older also helps. Since my return from Florida I was afraid the Bitch would file a missing persons report and that one morning the police would come knocking on our door and that Ten would get in some sort of trouble.
As the months passed my fears dissipated but now they're completely gone. I'm officially an adult in charge of my own life. It's exhilarating. Of course this is not the life I had planned but who gets to live that life. Well, Oliver maybe. He always wanted to be a doctor and that's what he's going to be.
But I’m going to be okay even if I never go to college because Marc is giving me a better education in restaurant management than the one I could have received at any school. It's totally hands on and, instead of spending thousands of dollars to get instructed I'm getting a pay check and health benefits. What more could a girl want?
My life is good. I shudder. The last time I had such positive feeling Alexander walked out on me. I shrug my shoulders and chase my dark thoughts away. My life is good and it will stay good because I have Ten by my side.
I gather my crew and tell them about my plan for the renovation. I have a dozen guys working for me this week, all recruited by Marc. Ten jokes about my team. He says even if he were the jealous type, he wouldn't be worried about what could happen to me at work. If one of the guys takes my dress off it will be to try it on he says. He's exaggerating but he’s not totally wrong.
My boss is not simply gay, he’s flamboyantly so. He’s totally unapologetic about it. I’m not sure if it’s his French upbringing or the incredible success he achieved at a young age but it’s like he doesn’t care what people think, while at the same time, part of his success is tied to his image. Somehow his bubbling and extreme personality makes it work. So Marc strongly favors hiring gay men and claims that gay construction workers are the best because they have the strength of a man and the attention to detail of a woman.
This makes for a closely knitted community and the work atmosphere is so intimate that I actually know that two of the guys in my crew are into crossdressing. Yet I very much doubt they would be interested in trying on a maternity dress!
The guys start pulling the horrible velvet from the wall while I sit at a corner table studying the place's accounting. At the end of the day, the walls are stripped bare, ready for a nice shiny coat of washable paint, and I know why the place went under while it had almost everything going for it.
The staff has been robbing the owner blind. The numbers on the books for the last two years don’t match the results of the last three weeks and the only thing that changed during those weeks was that we had the restaurant under close supervision with one of Marc’s people at the cash register and Marc supervising the orders. During those weeks it was impossible for anybody to doctor the orders and the receipts, obviously the way they did before.
There’s more than thirty percent difference in the results! A close examination shows that the numbers for the bar have not changed significantly so I know it’s the cook and the headwaiter who were in cahoots. They probably had private deals with the suppliers. No wonder the poor guy filed for bankruptcy and had to sell his restaurant. Those two employees have to go.
Now whether they should go to jail for this is a totally different kettle of fish. Marc will decide if he wants to give this information to his seller or to the D. A. Yep, sending some one to jail is way over my pay grade. Back home, I talk about this with Ten. He agrees with me. This is not my responsibility.
For once Oliver and Andy are on the same schedule as we are. The four of us have dinner and Andy raises his hand like a schoolboy requesting permission to speak. We stop talking and look at him.
He blushes a little and seems to hesitate so I ask. “Did you register for the sergeant's exam?”
He shakes his head.
“You passed the sergeant's exam?”
He shakes his head again.
“Enough. Spit it out,” Oliver says. I laugh because he has zero patience. Maybe he spends his entire quota at work and has none left for us at home.
“Alexander called. ”
Ten glares at Andy and the silence is deafening until Ten hisses something that I don't catch between clenched teeth. Andy ignores him and continues, “He'll be back in town next month and he'll be one of the guest stars at the annual Smart and Sharp charity concert on November 8th. ”
“Good for him,” I say. That means that in two years he's become a real star.
“Yeah, it's cool, right?” Andy says. “Anyway he wanted to know if we would come. He said we'd have VIP access and backstage passes. You know, all the works. ”
Ten bangs a fist on the table and growls, “You've got to be kidding. ” I can’t figure out if Ten’s really mad or if he’s just trying to convince Andrew that he’s mad hoping that he’ll convey the message to Alexander. I don't think I've ever seen him that way.
I put my hands on Ten's arm, “Shush, you've awoken the baby. ” In a second I have three pairs of hands on my tummy feeling the baby kicking.
Andy smiles and takes his best Irish accent to say, “Hey Lass, you've got a soccer player in there. ”
Ten says, “I'm rooting for a ballerina. ”
“What's your expert medical opinion?” I ask Oliver.
He laughs, “You're not getting me in the middle of this but whatever it is, this is healthy kicking. ”
Now that I have Ten calmed down I say to Andy, “Thank Alexander for me but tell him that I won't go. November 8th is the tentative opening date for my restaurant. ”
“I have no intention of going either,” says Ten.
Andy doesn't look surprised. “That's what I thought but I needed to ask. ”
“Well I'll go,” Oliver says. “Back stage passes sound like fun and maybe I could take a girl there with your pass. ” That's my Oliver, always looking for a new way of scoring.
***
“Xander Wild has two songs in the top charts,” Marc tells me as we're walking through the kitchen for a final inspection before the opening.
“Yes, I know. He's made it now. He's playing at the big charity concert tonight. ”
Marc looks at me with curiosity. The man can crunch number faster that any calculator so deducting nine months from my due date has not taken him more than a second.
I’m pretty sure he remembers that, at the time of conception, Alexander was the one who came to pick me up at work when he kept me really late. Marc also noticed that it’s been a while since he’s seen Alexander whereas Ten has often dropped by on the site to take me home. I can see he
wants to ask me about my situation but he thinks better of it.
Like me, he loves to know everything about everybody he works with. He's a great source of information because he loves to gossip. That's why I won't admit anything about my situation to him. Oh well, chances are I will eventually tell him but for now I enjoy watching curiosity eat him up.
When the restaurant opens, he stands by the door, greets all the guests, and takes all the credit for my hard work. I’m not sure how I feel about that. On the one hand, I did do most of the work but then again, he's trained me and he's paid for all the renovation so the truth of the matter is, it's actually his creation. I decide to be gracious about it. Tonight it's his most absolute right to claim my work. I’m let him parade like a peacock. Next time I’m sure I’ll try to steal some of his thunder.
I hang around, sitting on a bar stool making sure there are no glitches. I'm so big I can't really do anything but supervise. At ten Marc sends me home in a taxi.
“I don't want to hear from you before you're back home with the baby,” he tells me.
Amazing, I'm on maternity leave! I told Ten I would let him know my decision tonight. I pat my tummy. I hated not having a father, I wonder how my child will feel if he or she ends up with two dads.
I don't have the time to enter my key in the door that Ten has already opened it for me. He takes my coat and closes the door behind me.
He looks like he’s on pins and needles. It's plain to see that he thinks I've tortured him long enough. His eyes scream to me that I have to let him know now. Like right this instant. I nod to him and he tilts his head silently begging me to say something out loud to make sure that there's no misunderstanding, that I'm really saying yes. So I say it.
“Yes, I will be honored to become your wife Mr. Tennessee Charles Clark. ”
He drops to his knees, wraps his arms around my thighs and kisses my belly. “I love you already,” he says to my belly button and his playfulness brings tears to my eyes.
He jumps back to his feet, takes my hand and brings me to his room. “Voilà!” he says as he opens the door.
His masculine, brown queen size bed set has been replaced by a California king size bed. His alarm clock and his reading lamp are on the floor on the side of the bed he usually sleeps in. On the other side there's a pretty bassinet covered with white lace.
I'm speechless.
“I thought you would like to pick the headboard and the night stands,” he says. “But I wanted a big bed where we'll be able to cuddle with the kids. ”
I'm laughing and crying at the same time. Only Ten does that to me. The baby's not born yet and he's making plans for the next one, no, the next ones with an emphasis on the plural. “You know I love you,” I tell him.
“Yes I do,” he says. “And I'm giving you a new opportunity to prove it. ”
“Your wish is my command now that you're going to be my Lord and Master,” I playfully answer.
“Come with me to Long Island tomorrow to tell Gramps and my parents. Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think you want a big wedding, right?”
I shake my head. He’s right. I’ve never dreamed of the white lacy dress or of the nuptial march and all that jazz regular girls dream about. I don’t have any family and I was never allowed to have many friends when I grew up so I couldn’t even fill the tiniest chapel. Maybe it’s not so true anymore if I invite everyone I work with. For a second I have this cute vision of Marc walking me to the altar with a feather scarf around his neck, but no, a big wedding is not my dream.
“That’s what I thought. So here’s the plan, on Monday we'll get our marriage license and we'll do it on Wednesday. ”
“Did you also pick our witnesses for us?” I joke.
“Sure did. Oliver and Andy, unless you have someone else in mind. ”
“No I don't. I think you made a good choice. ”
“So it's a yes?”
“Yes, as long as you don't plan to take me there on your bike or to make me eat at the Main Street Diner. Yes, I will go help you face the Ice Queen. Now I just want to brush my teeth and lay down. ” Actually what I badly need to do is pee. Someone’s been kicking my bladder.
I step in his bathroom, in our bathroom, and sure enough my toiletries have already been moved from the bathroom I used to share with Andrew. He smiles at me and I refrain from asking him what he would have done if I had declined. The question would be cruel and I don't want to burst his bubble. The Ice Queen will work on blowing it soon enough.
When I get back in the bedroom Ten helps me undress and for the first time I feel a little self conscious with him. I need to buy a nightgown. Just as the thought crosses my mind, I see it. On the bed, he has prepared something for me to sleep in tonight. It's the T-shirt I slept in on my first night here.
On the nightstand there’s the jewelry box with the ring and Ten kneels in front of me to slide it on my finger.
I really love that man. I pray to fall in love with him.
***
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The estate is empty when we arrive in Oliver's car. I was dead serious about not doing the ride on the bike. Anyway, I think it was not really an option; the only way I would have fit would have been side saddle. We wait in the living room for the family to return from the Sunday brunch pilgrimage. I wonder about the Ice Queen latest passion. I guess I'll see it soon enough.
The room conjures up memories. When I look at the piano, I can see myself sitting next to Alexander on the bench writing our song. I look away and then I realize that I can't look out the window either. When I do I see the hot tub. This is where Eve was conceived. I search for something safe to look at and set my gaze on the engagement ring on my finger. Ten's grandfather gave it to his wife to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.
When her arthritis had made it impossible for her to wear jewelry, Ten's granny had put that ring in an envelope and told her husband, “It’s for Tennessee. He'll know what to do with it when he comes to his senses. ”
After his grandmother passed, Ten's grandfather gave Ten the ring and the message without making any comments. If he had questions, James senior had kept them for himself. My guess is that he had no questions. His wife probably had told him what she thought.
Ten paces back and force between the sofa on which I'm sitting and the window overlooking the gravel road that leads to the house. When they finally arrive, he appears to be a nervous wreck.
I get up and go stand beside him. I thread my fingers in his and ask,, “Are you okay?”
“Sure, it's just an awkward moment but I owe it to Granny. ”
Ten steps in front of me as if to shield my body with his when his grandfather enters the room. “What a pleasant surprise,” he says to Ten. He does not hug him. The Clarks are not huggers. “Oh, and Lyv is with you. It's been…” James Senior is speechless. If Ten wasn't so tense he'd be amused. I never thought something could throw his grandfather off his game. The old man turns around and speaks to his son who just walked in.
“It seems that your mother was right after all. ”
“What are you talking about?” James Junior asks. Then he recognizes me and ascertains my condition. He stands there with his mouth open.
“She predicted that?” he asks.
I would like to gloat and say, “Yes, James, your mother knew your son would end up with the help,” but that wouldn't be very productive or mature.
James Junior just stares at me until his father makes him snap out of his stupefaction by suggesting he get his wife to join our party. “She should be here with us and not with her charlatan. ”
As his son follows his instructions, James Senior chuckles and says to Ten and me, “The man is the most expensive astrologist she’s had yet and guess what, he never saw this coming while it’s very obvious my dear, you didn't get this way overnight. ”
“It took about eight and a half months,” I say. In the right context sarcasm is a weakness of mine.
; “Right, what I said, a charlatan. ”
“Tennessee Charles Clark, what have you done?” The Ice Queen's voice is shrill. She's about to loose it and I can't say it's making me sad.
“Well I would say that's pretty obvious,” her husband tells her.
“Maybe it's been so long that she's forgotten,” mumbles James Senior.
Oh my, I’m contagious, we’re having a sarcasm fest. James Senior gives me a hard look and asks, “How long has this been going on?”
I turn to Ten and let him answer this one. “I've always loved her,” Ten says.
James Senior looks at me and I nod. Yeah, what he said. I've always loved him too. Probably not the way we want you to think we have but we’re not lying about our feelings.
“Then I guess you kids know what you're doing and you have my blessing. ”
“Thank you sir,” I say.
“Well they certainly don't have mine,” says Ten's mother.
“Alexandra! For once in your life, would you please shut up!” The woman looks flabbergasted. She huffs, at a loss for words, and storms out of the room.
I pinch myself. I can't believe my ears. Ten's father has suddenly grown a pair. I look at Ten who seems as surprised as I am by this show of courage.
“Are you married already?” Ten father’s asks.
“Not yet but we're planning on doing it before the baby arrives. Probably on Wednesday,” Ten tells him.
“Would you mind if we came?” James junior asks.
Ten looks at me. He obviously had not considered the possibility that they would want to be there.
“Of course not, Sir. ” I say. “We would be delighted if you were with us. ”
“Good, then just let us know where and when,” Ten's father says and just leaves the room. I guess this is as emotional as he can get.
James Senior is laughing as he watches his son walk out calling out for his wife. “Well that was interesting. ” He raises his glass in my direction and says, “Welcome to the crazy dysfunctional Clark family my dear. You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into. ” Oh but I do. I had the chance to observe them every Sunday morning for years. Ten turns around and looks at me.
