No one who observed Joe at work would have suspected he was a changed man. He upheld his arrogant persona with ease, but around Rachel he had mellowed distinctly and it was this mesh of personalities that never failed to turn her on. Joe meanwhile, had discovered peace and companionship alongside the hottest piece of ass he’d ever had. What more could he wish for? The only blot on the horizon was his separation from Ethan and Olivia. He had hoped they would come for Christmas but their mother had made alternative arrangements with his parents. He was furious with them all for ignoring his wishes especially as they knew how much he missed his children. Ethan and Olivia were also disappointed but he promised to make it up to them and fly them over in the New Year. Once he had them in the UK he planned to call their mother and tell her in no uncertain terms that he would cut off her allowance if she ever denied him access to their children again. Considering money was the greatest love of her life, he was confident she’d obey him.
Lost in thought and trying not to let his melancholy spoil the day; he was soon roused by Rachel’s husky tones calling him again. Rachel was losing her patience; today of all days was not the time to be sleeping in. He knew it was an important day for her; everyone coming together under her roof once more.
“Joe!” she shrieked, trying to instil a sense of urgency into her yells. Hearing his deep rumble of laughter was not helping although the sexy sound did make her mouth twitch.
“I’m coming. Hold up woman!” and there he was filling up her kitchen doorway with his big beautiful body.
Rachel groaned at his gorgeousness wondering if she’d ever not notice how bloody sexy he was. “Put a shirt on big man – its bloody freezing not to mention distracting and we have a lot of work to do.”
“I’m not cold. And I like distracting you.” Joe sauntered over to Rachel who was faffing about in the kitchen. He grabbed her around the waist and hauled her up to meet his mouth planting a big wet kiss on her lips. Rachel wound her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and allowed herself a few minutes of Yummy Joe. He was indeed extremely warm and smelled delicious as usual. She nuzzled his neck and ran her jaw along his chin seeking out his mouth for a good morning kiss. Predictably, where Joe was concerned, one kiss was never going to be enough and it turned into a full on make out session up against her kitchen counter until she begged him to stop. Regrettably there was too much to do and this first Christmas get together with her friends, family and Joe, was vitally important to Rachel.
Joe pouted; he was used to getting his own way in most things and Rachel denying him was definitely not Joe getting his own way. Well, she was about to get a lot more than she bargained for.
“Merry Christmas baby. I have a present for you.” Joe was always buying Rachel gifts; he spoiled her with jewellery and perfume and designer bags. It was such a satisfying indulgence for him.
“Oh wait, wait. Let me give you yours first.” Rachel wriggled out of his grasp and opened a drawer behind her. She retrieved an envelope and placed it in his hands. Joe cocked his head frowning in wonder at what she could have possible arranged. He wasn’t an easy man to buy for – he had everything he needed. Tearing open the envelope Joe unfolded the stack of paper inside to find an email confirmation for two first class flights to New York the next day. He was speechless; she had floored him. Rachel had done this for Joe for no other reason than to bring him happiness and it made his heart swell. He was a very lucky guy.
“Rachel…” he croaked. “Baby. Are you coming with me?”
“Of course. I’m not letting you go back alone – I wish you would get it through your beautiful but thick head that we’re together Joe. Not just for the easy stuff love. And I’m dying to meet your kids. I can’t wait any longer, so I organised it with Ben who has freed up your calendar and we’re away for 2 weeks from tomorrow.”
Joe shook his head; his steely grey eyes had darkened and were sparkling with joy. “I love you Rachel.”
“I know Joe – I love you too bossman.” She took his head in her hands and kissed him affectionately all over his face, nuzzling his beard and breathing in his scent. She thought her heart would burst when she saw the look of wonder on his face.
After a few long moments, Joe gathered himself enough to take his turn. He reached into the pocket of his sweat pants and brought out a small black box. Rachel’s breath caught in her throat as soon as she saw it and a deep flush heated her cheeks.
“Rachel Renton; I want you to marry me.” He opened the box to show Rachel the ring he had bought her. It was an exquisite solitaire diamond in a traditional Tiffany setting and she had never seen anything more beautiful. Rachel didn’t even have to think about it – there was nothing she wanted more than to be with Joe for the rest of her life.
“Yes Joe, absofuckinglutely!” Joe gasped then picked her up twirling her around. “Joe! Put me down!” Rachel laughed.
“You are just perfect Mrs Mason to be; fucking perfect.” He took the ring out of its box and placed on her finger.
“Does that feel weird?” Joe looked worried and Rachel’s heart squeezed.
“Do you mean because I used to wear Nate’s ring there? Not at all. Not one bit. This ring is the most stunning thing I’ve ever seen – there are only 3 things in this world more precious to me; The twins and you, Joe. What we have is so different than what I shared with Nate. I loved him but I never knew it could be like this. I was never a great believer in fate, but honestly, I one hundred per cent believe we were meant to be together, and everything up until now was just the journey to get to this point. You are my life Joe, my here and now and forever.”
Joe raked a hand through his hair brushing his fringe away from his face. He looked bewildered. “Ok – that was deep!”
“Indeed, but I needed to get it out and I don’t want to have to keep reassuring you. What’s that famous saying; today is the first day of the rest of my life. I can’t wait to be married to you.”
“Likewise.” Joe breathed a sigh of relief and couldn’t help the massive grin that spread across his face.
Rachel poked him in the chest. “One thing though - I liked the understated proposal. A bit shocking considering it’s your first time and all.”
“Really? I couldn’t think of a more perfect moment; you here in our kitchen in your pyjamas reeking of sex; looking freshly fucked and all mine. When I think back to this moment; look what I will be remembering!”
“How romantic! Joe – you are so special!” Rachel laughed.
She stuck out her hand and they both admired the rock on her finger. “Let’s not talk weddings today; we have two whole free weeks ahead and believe me you’ll be sick of hearing about it. Oh, wait – I don’t suppose you’d consider a Vegas wedding – I’d love to be married by Elvis!”
Judging by the look of disgust on Joe’s face, Rachel took that as a no and thought it best to revert to her original suggestion of no wedding talk today. She then proceeded to put him to work laying the table. It took a little longer than anticipated due to him needing a lot of direction clearly never having entertained before. For someone that ate in all the best restaurants he clearly hadn’t paid any attention to how the table was set out or why more than one set of cutlery was required. After a while she suspected it was all just a ploy as every time she reached over the table to rearrange his pathetic attempts at place settings, he grabbed her and ground his hips into her arse. Eventually she banished him upstairs to get himself ready.
**********
CHAPTER 25
In the end it was a perfect day. The twins arrived laden down with gifts for everyone and fussed over Joe who they clearly adored. The feeling was mutual and they nearly passed out when he gave them their Christmas gifts. He had gone crazy and bought them a new car each. Rachel told him off for being so extravagant but he shrugged his shoulders muttering about being able to afford it so why not. The girls jumped on him pinning him to the couch under a barrage of hugs and kisses. It made Rachel’s heart
soar to hear the laughter and witness the mutual affection. Joe accepted their attention willingly; he never wanted to replace Nate in their hearts, but he certainly expected them to treat him as a father figure, if only because it meant he could continue to utterly spoil them. For all his faults, Joe had always been an excellent father and he’d made it known that he would be as much of a parent as they needed. He intended to support and protect them as if they were his own and he hoped that in time, Jess and Lucy would come treat him as their second father.
Next came their mother - the twins had bought Rachel a new pair of trendy Ray Bans and loads of girlie smelly stuff. They had also made her a new playlist for her iPod which she plugged in to the surround sound system straight away and started to try and sing along. The twins cracked up – Rachel was rubbish at singing and had no idea what the words were but still seemed to think she was so cool.
For Joe they had settled on a beautiful grey silk tie that made Rachel sputter and laugh although Joe clearly had no idea why. The three women tried to convince him it was to match his eyes but when Jess called him Christian he suspected it was some kind of in-joke. “Ladies, is there something I should know?” He crinkled his brow at them. Lucy chuckled, “It’s all about the ‘Grey’ Joe, no worries.” Joe shook his head and shrugged his shoulders; there was no point in trying to understand the three of them when they were together.
Five minutes later, Karen and Rory arrived with their brood and Leo, filling the house with lots of gossip and laughter. The alcohol flowed and luckily everyone including Joe was feeling a lot mellower by the time Luc arrived. Any awkward moments were avoided as George and Leo literally threw themselves on him and proceeded to claim him until lunch time. Rachel was highly amused wondering how long it would be before Luc’s tolerance levels came to an abrupt and messy halt. She’d already seen him swat George every time he got too touchy feely and Leo had somehow landed on his arse on her lounge floor more than once. Jess and Lucy finally rescued Luc by planting themselves either side of him effectively blocking the George and Leo road show from getting too close.
Joe was enjoying being part of such a normal gathering of friends and family. Everyone was relaxed with no airs and graces; well not counting George who had plenty, but he was a funny guy, not least due to the fact that he had successfully wound Luc up to the point where the boy looked like he was going to explode. Joe had no sympathy. He liked Karen a lot – she was crazy enough to be interesting and didn’t seem to be intimidated by him at all. Rory, on the other hand was much more reserved. They had met a few times previously and Rory was polite but Joe guessed it was hard for him as he had been Nate’s best friend. He would give it time and he was sure Rory would accept him eventually, after all It was important to Rachel that her friends like him and he intended to make every effort to try and fit in. It wasn’t easy for him as he’d never really had a crowd of friends before; most people just wanted to ride on his coattails for their own advancement, but Rachel’s bunch of mates were entirely genuine and wanted nothing from him other than to make sure he treated her right. In turn, Joe couldn’t wait for Rachel to meet his closest friend Ryan. Hopefully, they would be able to spend some time with him over the next couple of weeks whilst back in New York; Joe missed Ryan who’d been his best friend since primary school. Ryan was one of the few people in Joe’s life who he trusted implicitly and whom he was totally comfortable with. He was certain he was going to love Rachel – it was really important to Joe that they get to know one another and he was hoping they would become friends.
Jess and Lucy were a revelation; he absolutely adored them. Part of it was that they had a bit of Rachel in them but mostly because they were such good company and so amusing to be around. He loved to watch them interacting with Rachel – it was a good dynamic. He was anxious for them to meet Ethan and Olivia and he dared to imagine future Christmas times all together under one roof.
The only blot on the landscape of an otherwise perfect day was the ever present elephant in the room when Luc was around. Joe tried to ignore him as best he could but inevitably there were times when interaction was unavoidable; for Rachel’s sake he kept his temper under control. He got the distinct feeling though that Luc was subtly trying to get a rise out of him and it was at times challenging not to push his fist through the boy’s pretty face. Luc had bought both Rachel and Joe gift cards; Rachel’s was for Selfridges, and Joe’s was for somewhere called Primark. Joe hadn’t ever heard of Primark but judging by the shrieks of hysterical laughter coming from the twins, he guessed it wasn’t somewhere he’d be visiting anytime soon. Rachel’s mouth twitched but she had the good grace not to join in with her daughters. Gathering Luc up in her arms she kissed him on the cheek and thanked him. Joe, however, clapped him on the back playfully. Luc felt like he’d been hit by a truck but managed to keep smiling all be it through gritted teeth.
Rachel was about to announce that dinner was ready when Karen interrupted with an ear-piercing shriek. “Oh my god! Let me see that; oh my god, Rachel.” She grabbed Rachel’s hand fawning over the large diamond ring and then promptly burst into tears as she hugged the life out of her friend. Joe moved over to Rachel and placed an arm around her waist. From the corner of his eye he could see Luc perched on the arm of the sofa his leg jigging up and down fiercely. Clearing his throat and plastering the biggest shit eating grin on his face, Joe asked for silence in the room.
“This morning I asked Rachel to marry me and she said yes. We love each other; we’re good together and we don’t want to be apart. So that’s it. Well – that’s not it but no one wants to hear the other stuff!” Rachel gasped and smacked Joe on the arm. He looked at her and then in front of her family and friends kissed her like she was the air he needed to breathe. As they broke apart, their audience fell upon them wishing them congratulations and complimenting the ring.
Rachel called a halt to all the good tidings before she was totally overwhelmed. “Enough, enough. There will be plenty of time to discuss the details, but let’s eat now.”
Joe ushered everyone into the dining room and Rachel escaped to the kitchen to check on the turkey. Luc was leaning up against the fridge; his long legs were crossed at the ankles and his white t-shirt had ridden up slightly so that there was a slice of golden skin showing between the hem and the waistband of his low slung jeans. Rachel couldn’t deny herself the pleasure of a quick peak. His arms were crossed over his chest and his fringe brushed over his forehead. His blue eyes shined brightly and she lost herself for a moment in the pure exquisiteness of his beauty.
“Getting married huh?” he asked in his familiar husky tones.
“Yes.”
“It’s what you want?”
“More than anything in the world, baby boy.”
Luc sniffed. “Then I’m happy for you Rach. But Joe Mason – are you sure?”
Rachel chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure.” She looked at Luc whose expression had settled into one of acceptance. “Come and give me a hug Luc.” She held her arms out to him and he willingly folded him self into her embrace. They stood there for a few moments until Rachel felt Luc’s body tense. She whispered in his ear, “Joe’s here isn’t he?”
“Uh huh.” Luc nodded. He raised his eyes to Joe and smiled. Rachel groaned in anticipation of a shit storm. In three long strides Joe had crossed the kitchen floor and yanked Luc out of her arms by the scruff of his t-shirt.
“Joe!” she cried, “Stop it!”
“Luc Vincent – are you crazy boy, because I kinda get the feeling you want me to beat the shit out of you.”
“No, honestly Joe, it’s all cool mate.” Luc held his hands up.
“Oh so you still think we can be mates?” Joe growled out the words as Rachel rolled her eyes.
Luc placed his hands on Joe’s massive shoulders; the muscle tone under his palms was frightening there was so much power there, but Luc mentally gathered himself and looked Joe in the eye “Joe, calm down. You need to know that all I want is for
Rachel to be happy. If she thinks you’re it for her then so be it.”
Rachel held her breath. It was a snapshot moment in her life and she wanted to commit every detail to memory. The sight of her beautiful boy bravely standing up to the mountain of the man she was going to marry literally stole her breath. It was a vision she knew she would be conjuring up frequently and she mentally high fived God for this golden moment. The tension in both men was palpable. Luc’s long body was so graceful compared with the brute force of Joe in all his rigidity. Clearly, not comfortable with another man’s hands on him, he swiped Luc’s arms away.
Rachel stiffened, ready to jump between them if necessary but Joe caught her eye and she sensed that he had made some kind of peace with the situation; if only because he didn’t want to upset her.
“Rachel has told me all about you Luc.” Luc twisted his head around in Rachel’s direction. He raised an eyebrow at her and she nodded.
Mrs R (Mrs R & Mr V #1) Page 44
