His smile faded a bit as he got a serious look on his face. “What’s that all about? We’re doing this.”
“Are you really sure you want to marry me? And the crazy ass family that comes with me?” I had a lifestyle that might be a little hard to keep up with at times and being out on the road got harder and harder each time I had to leave. There was a lot of trust involved on both sides, and so far, we’d managed to hold it together.
Leonard gave me a sideward glance. “Are you kidding? Addie is my daughter, and I’d like her to have parents who are married to each other. As for the rest of the crazies, I think they like me, and I like them, they did help me propose. Besides, I’ve wanted to marry you since I was a gawky teen with thick glasses and braces.”
I nudged him. “Well, what took you so long?”
We both laughed, and I couldn’t help thinking about the first time we’d been together at a party when we were just eighteen. It had ended badly, with me telling him I didn’t want to be with him because it would ruin our perfect friendship. Little did I know, that statement would lead to a series of events including us hooking up five years later to conceive our daughter, only for him to do me the same way.
But thankfully, that didn’t last, and when I’d taken my manager to court, our friendship had rekindled.
“Better late than never, right?” He shrugged and drew me closer.
I laced my fingers with his. “You know how you mentioned a long rest after the wedding?”
“Yeah?” His voice was so close to my ear it sent chills down my spine.
“Well, I was thinking, if we’re planning a small wedding, then maybe we could do a nice honeymoon. Maybe go to a nice secluded island somewhere for a couple of weeks and lie out in the sun and stare at the ocean.”
“That sure sounds romantic, but what about Addie? You just got back. You can’t expect her to stay behind.”
“I don’t. She could come along with us. We’ll go away another time for romance, but I want to be lazy with my family and enjoy some time where I don’t have to hem curtains and finish the monster pile of laundry in the washroom.”
“That’s all clean. I just haven’t finished folding it. In all fairness, you did come home earlier than expected.” He chuckled softly in my ear.
I turned and faced him, brushing his hair back and planting a kiss on his mouth. “I’m teasing, Leonard. I’m not worried about that. I just want to enjoy some downtime with my two favorite people in the world.”
“I agree, but let’s get the wedding plans behind us first, okay? I know the quick walk to the altar is saving us some money, but we’ll have time to book something special, and we’ll have to see about Addie’s schooling.”
“She can take it on the road. She’s used to that kind of life, but I agree, first things first. I’ve got to take the gown in to make the final adjustments. Then, there’s Addie’s dress, and we should buy Sadie’s. With the baby coming, I think it would be a nice gesture, and I’m letting her choose something she likes with that baby bump. Now is not the time for a bridesmaid dress from hell.”
“You’re so thoughtful.” He kissed my shoulder, and his hand cupped my ass. “What do you want me to wear?”
I smoothed my hands down his bare chest. “A tux. Also, I’d like to discuss the rings.”
He met my eyes. “Bought, and I can pick them up whenever.” He kissed my neck and slowly made his way up to my ear.
“Another surprise?” I wasn’t worried that he’d managed that task alone because the two of us had already picked out the ones we liked. We’d actually done a lot of talking about how we wanted the wedding to be, so I wasn’t surprised he’d felt confident enough to take the initiative.
“Well, you keep talking, and you’ll find I’m full of them.” He gave me a wink. “Or don’t and see what else I’m good at.” He rolled his hips, and I could feel his large erection pressing into my center.
The heat blossomed between my legs, and I was overtaken with need. Exhaustion aside, I ground my hips against him, and he moved over me, nudging himself between my legs.
“I thought about you every night, even after our calls.” I had called him every night whether I was on the bus on the road or in a hotel room across the country, and I had even called him late nights after my shows. We’d mostly said our good nights, but some nights, we’d had long, naughty talks to keep the passion between us burning.
“You did?” I couldn’t wait to hear about that. “Tell me.” I could already picture him in the shower, his hand between his legs as he worked himself.
He chuckled and gave me a sly smile. “I’m sure you already know how that story ends.”
“Then show me,” I said, as I bit his shoulder. “Show me all of the things you said you wanted to do to me during those long calls.”
He reached down between the covers and rubbed my mound, his fingers slipping the lace of my panties aside to gain entrance. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Leo
I hadn’t been to my father’s office in a while, and now that I had big news, I couldn’t think of a better excuse to do a pop in. I stepped off the elevator and into the hall that used to lead to my office before I’d walked out, and as I went around the corner to my father’s end of the building, I hoped I’d caught him and Jon before they’d left for lunch.
Having worked with them for so long, I knew their routines, and neither had been in the habit of heading out early. Sure enough, when I approached his door, I could hear the two men talking.
Their heads turned as I rounded the corner and stepped into Edith’s office. My father’s secretary had announced her retirement and was going to be moving to California with her daughter’s family once she finished out her month.
“Hey, son. What brings you around?”
“Just thought I’d take the two of you to lunch and tell you the good news.” I looked around for Edith, but she must have been on an errand.
“Well, you caught us about to leave if you want to join us. I owed your buddy here steak and lobster for his recent win.” My father headed to the door, and Jon and I followed.
“Oh? Did you finally win a case?” I teased.
Jon rolled his eyes and huffed. “I’ve done quite well since your sorry ass left the firm and stopped hogging all the good cases.”
We approached the elevator, and my father pushed the button as he turned to us. “He’s done quite well filling your shoes, but I do wish you’d reconsider my offer to return.”
My father had offered me three different times to come back to work for him, but I’d refused. It was time I made my own way. Tabby and I had settled into the office, and she’d even hired a few others to come in and help us because business had picked up so well.
And even though things had been crazy playing the part of a single parent in Kya’s absence, I’d still managed to keep a high rating that I could be pleased with.
We filed into the elevator and made small talk as we headed down to the lot where I offered to drive.
Once we made it across town to the steak house, I handed over my keys to the valet, and we went inside and waited to be seated.
The hostess smiled and looked Jon up and down as she took us to our table. When she walked away, I leaned over and elbowed him. “She’s hot, and she couldn’t take her eyes off you.”
She still had his attention as she walked away, and before she slipped into the back, she turned and gave him a smile.
Jon cleared his throat. “She’s in here every time I come.”
“You should ask her out.”
“No, thanks. I’ve dated her type before. She’s probably working her way through school with a butt load of student debt and either she’d clean me out or be working so hard, I’d never see her.”
“You’re too picky,” said my father, and I had to agree.
Jon raked his hand through his hair. “I’m not ready.”
He’d had a four-month romance with a woman who’d not only
broken his heart but smashed it into a million pieces. Things had seemed good for a little while with them, but two months in, she started taking off in his car, spending his money, and apparently, it was all to impress another man. He’d walked in on them one day when he went home early from lunch. She’d been using his house while he was at work. He took the key back and kicked her ass to the curb, but he’d been miserable ever since.
“You have to get back on the horse,” Dad said.
“And you’re one to talk. You haven’t dated anyone since Mom passed away.”
Dad squared his shoulders. “I see women. Just because I don’t flaunt it in your face, doesn’t mean I’ve spent all of my time alone.”
The admission surprised me. “How come you don’t bring them around? I’d like to see you happy with someone else. It’s way past time you moved on.”
“Maybe I will.” Dad smiled and turned his eyes to the menus.
Our waitress showed up to take our order, and as she sauntered away, she had my father’s attention. The woman was attractive, but a little too old for Jon’s liking, although she was a little too young for my father.
“Seems like this place has a little something for the both of us,” Dad said.
I knew it was time to tell them the news. “Well, maybe you should both leave here with a date. I have the perfect place you both can bring a plus one. Kya and I are getting married this weekend at The Regency.”
My father’s head snapped up in surprise. “This weekend?”
“Yeah, I surprised her with the venue when she got home. It all happened pretty fast when they had a cancellation, and since it’s the place she was hoping to be married, I wanted to make it happen for her.”
Jon looked at me as if I were crazy. “Yeah, I can’t believe you got that place. But a week to do a wedding?”
“Well, the good thing about marrying in the garden is you don’t need a lot of decorations, which they frown upon anyway, and since we’ve talked about the big day on more than one occasion and bought the rings and the dress, there’s not a lot to do but gather and do the ceremony. The restaurant at The Regency will cater, all I have to do is pay for the food and choose the menu, which is being done later today.”
My father offered me a warm smile. “That’s wonderful. I’m proud of you, son. Kya is an easy woman to please.”
I couldn’t agree more. “That she is. The very best.”
“Wow, I can’t believe Leonard the Legend is officially off the market.”
I gave him a sour look. “I’ve been officially off the market for over a year.”
“Yeah, but now it’s different. You’ll be married. Like, no going back.”
“I don’t want to ever go back. Kya’s the one for me.” I had been with enough women to know when I’d found the right one. Kya was everything to me, and my only regret was that I hadn’t found her sooner. With our lives getting adjusted and the tour, we hadn’t been able to marry right away, and that was part of the reason I wanted to hurry up and get it done. The ceremony was just a formality, but I already felt in my heart that we were husband and wife, two souls connected forever.
When the waitress came to the table, Jon nudged me as my father stared at the woman’s ass. I cleared my throat and tried not to laugh as she placed our food in front of us. “Someone’s getting a big tip,” I said with a chuckle as she strolled away.
We dug into our food and continued to make small talk.
My father took a sip of his drink and then cleared his throat. “What does my granddaughter think of this rushed wedding?”
“She’s happy that we’re getting married. I don’t think she understands much else. She’s excited about being the flower girl, and Kya’s asking Sadie to stand up with her. There’s actually another thing I need to take care of. Jon, I was hoping you’d stand up with me for the service. You’re my closest friend, and I can’t see anyone else doing it.”
“Of course, man. I’d be honored.”
“Perfect. We’re going to get tuxes for the service, and if you’re not busy this week, we’ll go in for a fitting.”
Jon cut into his steak and readied the piece to his mouth. “Sounds like a plan.” He popped the piece into his mouth.
My father pointed his fork at me. “Is Kya’s parents coming?”
“If they do, it will be because I invited them, and I’m not sure it’s a good idea. They loathe the lifestyle she lives and that she had a career in an industry that’s plagued with so much scandal.”
“I remember Donald and Elise. The two of them used to be a lot of fun until Donald got caught with his pants down. Then Elise gave him an ultimatum, and they started going to church. They probably weren’t happy when Kya started playing that devil’s music.” My father got a big kick out of calling it that, and he laughed when Jon held up the horns sign.
“Yeah? I never knew that.” Kya and I had talked an awful lot about our lives at home, but nothing of the sort ever came up about her father. I’d known her parents from living next door, but it was the same way that I’d known anyone’s parents. We weren’t close or anything.
“Kya might not know it either. They eventually stopped attending, but maybe her mother just doesn’t want her to have it as rough as she’s had.”
I’d never considered why her parents were so dead against her career choice, but I guess it kind of made sense. “I just don’t want to do anything to upset Kya on her big day.”
“Then stay out of it,” Dad said. “Don’t try and fix it for her.”
Jon leaned up to the table. “Did you know her parents growing up?”
“Of course. They were our neighbors. They seemed like nice people. The mother was a little quiet and kind, and the dad worked an awful lot of hours, but that wasn’t anything too out of the norm.” Even my father had worked long hours.
I let the conversation die down, and when my father spoke again, he changed the subject. “Did you tell him what happened to Whit White?”
Jon shook his head and finished his mouthful of food. “No, I hadn’t had a chance.”
“Having trouble on house arrest?”
“He was arrested for a probation violation. He and his girl, Mona Star, they were headed out of the country. Seems he tried to cut out early on his two years and got caught. He told Jon he didn’t think anyone would notice.”
“That man has an insane ego,” I said. “I’m glad I’m not the one stuck with his bullshit.”
Dad waved the waitress over to the table and then turned to look at me. “Oh no, I told him to get a new lawyer. I’m done with his bullshit too.”
“It’s about time.” I finished the last bite of my steak and threw my napkin on my plate. “You’ve already done more for the man that I ever would. His kind is what gives us a bad name as lawyers.”
As my father asked for the check, I turned to Jon. “I’ll get with you this week over the details, and I’m sure we’ll do a quick rehearsal on Friday.”
“As the best man, do you think I’ll be able to squeeze in a quick bachelor party?”
I thought a moment about our plans, and even though I wasn’t about to get sucked into some long night out of drinking and lap dances, I knew with some traditions, Kya might not want to spend the night before together. But since this wasn’t a traditional ceremony, she might have already thrown that out the window.
“Let me ask Kya. I think she and Sadie might get together.” I turned to look at my father, who was slipping the waitress his card along with a healthy tip. “Dad, do you think you could watch Addie for us on Friday night?”
“Of course, I can. She likes to stay with me.” He smiled proudly, and it felt good that he could help with my daughter. Their relationship had already grown stronger than mine and his, and Addie had him wrapped around her little finger.
“That’s because you spoil her and let her walk all over you. You can’t let her get away with that because then she comes home, and we get to spend a week getting her in line.�
� We shared a smile.
Dad shrugged. “When she’s at Grandpa’s house, she can do and have whatever she wants.”
He had never let me get away with half the stuff he let her. “How come you didn’t ever spoil me that way?”
“Because, your mother ruined you long before I had a chance, and because you weren’t as cute.”
“Ouch,” said Jon with a laugh. “The man is brutal.”
As we chuckled, I couldn’t help but think about how much my own father had changed when it came to his granddaughter. Addison had a way of making things all better, and it was my hope that she would do the same for Kya’s parents.
Kya
After dropping Addie off at school, I ran a few errands, and by lunch, I’d already made arrangements for the cake and made an appointment to choose the menu for the big day.
I still needed to ask Sadie about standing up with me, and even though we’d talked about it since our early days on the road, I knew that her big baby bump was going to make her hesitate.
At least I’d chosen her favorite place, and if I could get a delicious diner burger into her, I could convince her of anything.
As the doorbells announced my entrance, Sadie looked up from her glass of soda and waved me over. “I hope you don’t mind this table. I know you prefer the other side, but I needed to sit down.”
I eased into the booth. “No, this is perfect. You look beautiful today.”
She rubbed her round belly. “I’m a bloated cow, and these maternity pants are cutting off the circulation to my legs.”
“That’s because its time to go up a size.” She hadn’t bought any new clothes since her second trimester started, and now that she was in her third, her pants looked like she was ready for a flood with her growing belly pulling the length up.
She shook her head. “No way. I have already gone up enough, and with just a couple more months to go, I don’t want to spend any more money on clothes.”
My One and Only: A Bad Boy Secret Baby Second Chance Romance Page 22
