“Okay, ready?” Jenna asked, waiting patiently as Josh made it up the last step. On his own. Everything was always on his own, helping hand be damned.
Josh grunted and nodded.
Jenna led the way, pausing just inside the door.
“Wow,” Josh said as he surveyed his redecorated living room.
The couches were exactly the shade of rustic brown she had been going for. Better than at the lake house. Manly, while still being elegant. Homey and inviting. Perfect.
Rugs were new and set off the art, which was mostly abstract, but a couple of mountain landscapes had been thrown in for Josh’s comfort. The muted colors of the furniture were given a lift by the décor. A different layout of the room set off the architecture, which wasn’t great, but at least it gave a sense of grandeur. Even the wood floors matched the rustic feel, though she’d done nothing but give them a mop and a shine.
“This is…” Josh paused, still looking around. “Unreal, Jenna. This… I had no idea this place could look this good.”
Jenna swelled with pride, meeting Josh’s glowing hazel eyes and falling in. She kissed him, careful not to lean into him, and then backed off.
“But wait, there’s more.” She smiled.
The dining room had a large oak table with modern chairs. The china cabinet, with a small built-in wine rack, which matched the table, stood to the side. “I’ll be transporting my fine china. It will go perfectly with everything else. I never entertain, obviously, so I thought we could get more use out of it here.”
Josh nodded, his eyes soft.
“How are you? Okay? Want to finish the tour later?”
“I’m fine.” Josh stood straighter.
She wondered if he thought he was fooling her.
She shrugged and continued on to the kitchen, which was completely unchanged except for a couple of high-end floor mats.
“I did something right, huh?” Josh chuckled as he looked over the bar chairs set up next to the island.
“You cook, so I figured you knew what you were doing. It is all very manly, but obviously useful, so who was I to judge?” Jenna laughed and led the way to the final room on the ground floor.
She had debated about this room. She needed an office and wanted a library, but she also wanted a social space where Josh could entertain. It was Josh’s house, but she was already planning add-ons—they desperately needed a wine cellar—and figured she would give Josh the run of this room.
“Behold, your man cave.”
“Oh, snap,” Josh said with exuberance. “I’m going to be the envy of the block. Wives don’t let husbands have something like this!”
Jenna felt a chill. “Well, I’m not a wife, so I guess that explains it.”
“Yet.” Josh turned sparkling eyes on her.
She thrilled and got warm in equal parts. Stupid, girly reaction. “Anyway, I figured this was just a prototype. You can change it however you want,” Jenna said, walking up to the bar that took up half a wall. “The bar is fully stocked with wine I would drink, liquor for your father, and beer for Jax. So, high end, high end, and undrinkable.”
Josh laughed as he took a seat at one of the six barstools.
“I figured you’d want bar signs, though they are ugly and I abhor them, but every bachelor seems to like bar signs so…” Jenna shrugged and poured Josh a pint of the horrible ale he liked. Then she walked to the other end of the large room, where most of the wall was painted white.
“Surround sound is top of the line. Projector is, too, and covers most of the wall, as you can see by the white. You can change the size, but right now it is beyond huge. Picture will blow you away if the sound doesn’t. Chairs are manly and comfortable—the arms have coolers inside so you don’t have to waste time getting up and getting a beer from the bar during a sports…thing.” The chairs were set up in a movie theater style so each man could have his own space while still being next to his farting, grunting buddies.
“Why not more chairs in the back instead of the couch?” Josh asked.
Currently there were five chairs next to each other in a slight semicircle, and a large, L-shaped couch behind.
“Couch is for the girlfriends. We won’t really care about the stupid sports thing, so we’ll probably just talk to each other. We can get more chairs as you get more friends. Like I said, this is a prototype.”
“Stylish man cave.”
“I couldn’t allow a true bachelor pad, now could I? You aren’t a bachelor, after all.”
“No, I’m not.” Josh got up, presumably to go to her, but she led the way out of the room instead.
“We have one more important room before you can take a nap.”
“I’m fine. C’mere.”
Jenna kept walking. She heard an exasperated sigh behind her.
They made it slowly up the steps and into the master suit. Josh surveyed it, but obviously didn’t think it was as awesome as the man cave.
“Lie down,” Jenna instructed.
“Will you lie on top of me?” Josh asked as he eased himself, painfully, onto the bed. A smile crept up his face. “You got a new bed.”
“Course. Yours was rotten.”
“I never thought a night’s sleep could be so luxurious until I slept in your guest bed. I didn’t think it could get better until I slept in your bed.”
“Luxury came home with you.”
“Marry me, Jenna.”
“With such a thoughtful, romantic proposal, how could I say no?”
Josh’s eyes got as big as the world. “Is that a yes?”
Jenna rolled her eyes. “You’ll have to try a helluva lot harder than that, cap-e-tain. Now go to sleep. I have work to do.”
“Just one more thing—when are you going to tear this all to the ground and start over?”
“I’m not. I’m going to pick a plot of land a lot closer to the tree line, and build there.”
“Atta girl,” Jenna heard as she walked out of the room. She could hear the smugness behind the tiredness and the pain. Poor Josh. He’d gotten a raw deal out of all of this, but at least he could sleep comfortably now.
With that glass-half-full thought, Jenna headed to the dining room, where she intended to set up her makeshift office.
“Josh, get a move on!” Josh heard as he stepped out of the shower. It had been a long two weeks cooped up in his house, and he wanted nothing more than to head to the woods and wander around. He missed the trees. Missed the seclusion. Missed sleeping outdoors.
Although, as they edged into winter, sleeping outdoors wouldn’t be that much fun.
And though Jenna was a stress ball that missed her office, she didn’t seem to miss her apartment all that much. As evening came and she tore herself away from her makeshift office on the dining room table, she would sink into the couch with a glass of wine and a world-weary sigh. Josh had stopped sitting in his chair, which she had left behind, opting for the end of the couch, where Jenna could curl around him.
It wouldn’t be long before he came home and found that chair had been replaced. Not that it would devastate him, exactly. It wasn’t nearly as comfortable as the rest of the furniture.
“Josh.” Jenna poked her head into the bathroom. “Seriously, we have to do that walk-through this morning because I have a conference call this afternoon. Plus, if we don’t get there before Erika and Jax, it will spoil everything.”
“Coming, dearest,” Josh said dryly, smiling at her exasperated eye roll.
Jenna had been an absolute angel. She’d cooked for him, cleaned up after him, got him whatever he needed, if not always what he wanted, and always kept an eye on him. She’d never complained. Not once. She’d ignored him plenty, snapped a few times when she was in the middle of something, but when it came to his wellbeing, she was a saint.
He’d been right in the woods. She would stop at nothing to take care of one of her own.
He made it to his Hummer, and noticed she was waiting by the passenger door in a freshly p
ressed blouse and designer jeans. This was her I-am-the-boss-but-not-completely-without-common-ground-as-the-working-man attire.
“I thought you could drive today,” she said with a raise of her eyebrows.
“You finally believe me, then?” Josh asked, heading to the driver’s side.
“That you’re recovered? No. But I have rarely driven in my life, so in your broken-down state you’re still better than me.”
“Ouch.”
Jenna laughed and climbed in. “I need to get something a little smaller.”
“Yeah. You need to drive around here. I can’t imagine you would want to take the bus, there are no car services and hardly any cabs, unlike Manhattan, and walking would have your feet mangled.”
Jenna buckled herself in. “I know. More’s the pity.”
They arrived at Jax’s house and parked by the curb. Once Josh had climbed out and taken a real look, he said, “Holy shit, baby.”
She turned to him. “Do you like it? It looked good on paper, but it is so different from the rest of the neighborhood. I feel like I might have gone way overboard.”
“No, I love it. It stands out, but in a good way. It looks like a movie star’s house. How big is it?”
Her face turned red. “His plot of land was large, so I figured he had room for a larger house. And Erika wants all those kids…”
Josh waited.
She bit her lip. “Fifty-five hundred square feet. But part of that is a granny unit, so that can be closed off. And like I said, they want a lot of kids. And they have a big lot…” She winced exaggeratedly. “You don’t think Jax will flip?”
“He definitely will, but in a good way.”
Jenna relaxed a little and kissed him. As she tried to move away, he held on, copping a feel of her glorious butt and pulling her into his growing hard-on.
“Hmmm, you are feeling better,” she said after returning the languid kiss.
“Jenna!” Gerry was jogging up to them with a giant grin. “Looking good, girl, as always. Josh, how’re things?”
Josh shook his hand. “Hey, Gerry. Going well. You?”
“Ah sure, just hanging in there, you know?”
“Any new girls on the scene?”
“Always!” Gerry laughed. “The prize is taken, so…” He looked at Jenna with devotion before laughing again.
“Flattery gets you everywhere, Gerry.” Jenna smiled. “Lead the way.”
They’d seen a lot of Gerry since they’d been in town. Often he’d come over with dinner and have beers with Josh in the man cave while waiting for Jenna to finish up and eat. He had an easy manner and the gift of the gab. He was a welcome regular.
They made their way up the walk, through the landscaped front yard with miles of grass and flowers, and met Benny by the front door. He finished yelling at someone then turned to them. “Jenna, Josh, how goes it? We haven’t much time. Jax is due in soon, so let’s do a quick sweep.”
Without waiting, Benny led the way into the house. “Henry had a job this morning, so regretfully he couldn’t be here. Have a look around and give me any questions.”
The interior was completely different from that of Josh’s house. This was all modern and sleek. Black, reds, and greens were the prominent colors, swirling their way around expensive-looking decorating. “Are those my old couches?”
“Yeah, I didn’t want them for your house, and I didn’t think you’d mind using them in Jax’s. They looked brand new.”
“I never sat on them. Good thinking. He always loved those couches. I only had them because I got a deal.”
“Figures,” Jenna said, giving everything a scrutinizing eye. “Looks good. Bold. Borderline too bold, but Erika said Jax was into that, and Erika likes bright, vibrant colors, so I think it works with the style of the house.”
“It does. You’re a genius at this.”
Without comment, Jenna moved into the kitchen, then upstairs.
While everything looked really great, it wasn’t as good as his house. It just wasn’t his style, which was interesting, because he hadn’t even realized he had a style until he saw Jenna’s makeover. Josh lost interest and headed outside. He took up post at the tree line, leaning against rough bark and breathing in the smell of pine.
Jenna met him about ten minutes later. “As good as it will get. I can’t believe they finished it on time. A week early, actually.”
“It was that visit you made.” Gerry joined them. “The boys wouldn’t stop talking about it. Pretty bosses are few and far between, know what I’m sayin’? They all started workin’ then. No messin’ around.”
Jenna laughed. “Is that all it takes for guys to work harder?”
“Yeah.” Gerry gave Josh an “is she cracked?” sort of look.
Jenna looked at her watch. “We should head to the front. They’ll be here soon.”
As they started walking, Gerry asked, “This is a surprise, right?”
“Yup. A big one,” Jenna answered.
“How’d you get him to stay away? I mean, you and Josh have been in town. Where has he been? New York still?”
“Erika guilt-tripped him into visiting her family. Then she kept him there an extra week, claiming work wouldn’t let her change locations. Thankfully you guys were early, because Erika was having a hard time keeping Jax put.”
“In-laws.” Gerry snorted. Josh agreed wholeheartedly. Dealing with Jenna’s dad wasn’t his favorite pastime.
“Agreed,” Jenna said, sparing a glance at Josh. Apparently the feeling was mutual.
They made it to the sidewalk as a cop car was pulling up. Jenna immediately stiffened, until Jax climbed out, arguing with Erika. Another cop slid out of the driver’s seat. Apparently there was no crime at the moment, because the cop car was playing airport transportation.
“Erika, where else are we going to stay? I’ll get it fixed up just as soon…” Jax turned to his house, looked at it, blinked, and then looked around in confusion. “Where are we?”
He spotted Josh and Jenna. His face widened into a smile before confusion seeped back in. Erika was behind him, looking at the house with giant eyes.
“Jenna,” Erika exclaimed. “What the fuck did you do? You idiot! I said fix it up, not uproot then plant anew!”
Jax blinked a couple more times, looked at Erika as reality seeped in, and then looked back at the house, moving as if in slow motion. “This is for me? Where did my house go? Is this mine?”
“Jenna, explain,” Erika shouted, red in the face.
Jenna couldn’t help but laugh in the face of Erika’s extreme anger. “Look, the old place was riddled with so many dangerous pitfalls I thought it better to start over. Then I was under the impression you idiots would get married, so I figured, why not make it a reward and a wedding present rolled into one, right? Although if you don’t get married, Jax and I will need to come to an understanding.”
“Jenna… I don’t… Josh, you knew about this?” Jax asked, completely dazed.
“I was the project manager.” Josh gave them a smug smile. “New business venture, I think. I was pretty good at it.”
“Too good, with her as the muscle behind you,” Benny said as he stepped up.
Jax looked at Benny, still confused. Erika pushed him out of the way and gave Jenna a fierce hug. “It’s too much. Way too much, Jenna Anderson.”
“I know, but…go big or go home, right?”
“I recognize my fairytale house in there, don’t think I don’t.” Erika had tears in her eyes. “I bet there are four bedrooms.”
“In the main house, six. One for you two and then a play room. But I was thinking, two girls in one, two boys in the other, one as an adult room, and one a guest room? You can also add on.”
“Sports room,” Jax said absentmindedly.
“You gotta see my sports room, man.” Josh clapped Jax on the back. “You’ll shit yourself.”
“She did it to you, too?” Jax asked, mystified. “Where did she find the time?”
“Just the inside. C’mon. You have faucets that turn on when you touch ’em. It’s cool. And wait until you lie down on your bed. It’ll blow your mind.”
“Jenna, I can never thank you enough for this,” Jax said gruffly, shaking off Josh’s hand and standing in front of her. “We had a rough start, but…” Jax shook his head. “I’m lucky to have you in my life, Jenna Anderson. Thank you. For this and for everything. You are an exceptional woman.”
Jenna’s eyes were puddles, Erika was openly crying, and Jax was blinking furiously. All the onlookers, as they were masculine men, had their hands in their pockets and were looking anywhere but at the touching scene in front of them.
Josh rolled his eyes at Benny before he turned back to Jax. “Christ, you too? Damn Manhattan turned us both metrosexual.”
Jax quickly wiped a stray tear and said, “Don’t I know it, man. Don’t I fucking know it.”
Epilogue
The building was just being started. The Esher Corporation were thinking it got off easy where the architects were concerned, when the Anderson Coalition hit them from the blind side. The attack was slow and quiet— a request for a meeting, papers and legal documents neatly laid out in plain black folders, smiles and handshakes, congratulations and calm words, then the mother lode of damaging information.
Bill Anderson had done his homework, and presented a case with gloss and shine, sparkling in the heated eyes of the Esher executives and lawyers. There was a brief fight back, quickly stilled with the knockout punch—Jenna’s uncovered minefield.
The settlement was quiet, and huge. Mike and Janice received one million each in addition to their inflated bonus. Erika and Jenna received two million each, since they primarily took on the largest threat. Jax and Josh, because of improperly completed paperwork, which no one remembered having filled out in the first place, received two hundred and fifty thousand each. Maurice received fifty thousand for personal damages. The Anderson Coalition got ten percent of the awarded sum.
Unexpected Guardian (Skyline Trilogy Book 3) Page 29
