by E. L. Todd
I returned my look to him. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I’m getting married soon.”
“We can work around that,” he said. “How about you leave after the wedding?”
“Well, how long would I be gone for?”
He looked away as he calculated in his head. “If you want to hit all the cities it’ll take you at least three months. You can’t fly directly to these places like you can in America.”
My heart stopped beating. Three months? How could I be away from Skye for three months?
Mr. Terry smirked. “Not too fond of that either?”
“I just…thought it would only be for a few weeks.”
“It takes a while to travel between different places, and then carrying all those shipments with you won’t be easy. We can only drop the supplies at certain times. There’s a lot of stuff that goes behind the scenes.”
I wanted to be directly involved in this since I designed the system myself. I wanted to see the effect it had on people. But could I really leave my fiancé for that long? It seemed like a lifetime.
“Cayson, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. I just assumed you wanted to go.”
“I don’t think I can leave my wife for that long…”
“I see,” he said with a nod. “Well, then this project won’t go through.”
What? “Sorry?”
“No one else has volunteered to do this. I assumed you would do the first trial and see how it goes. If it were successful, other people would participate. This is your baby, Cayson.”
“Are you saying this will never happen unless I go?”
He shrugged. “I don’t mean to make it sound like an ultimatum, but yes. While this is a great humanitarian project, we couldn’t get the UN on board. It’s an independent project. But hopefully everyone else will follow in our steps when they see the progress you’re making. And also, I had to ask the CDC to give this to us and they weren’t exactly thrilled about it. They only agreed because how cheap the product is. And you wouldn’t be getting paid extra for your time traveling.”
I rubbed the side of my face as I considered his words. I was grateful this project was considered at all but I had no idea how time-consuming it would be. I didn’t want to sound selfish and say I’d rather be with my girl, but that was the truth. She was the only thing I couldn’t leave behind. And I certainly couldn’t take her with me.
“Think about it for a while,” John said. “You don’t have to make a decision right now.”
“Thank you.” I straightened my tie again.
Mr. Terry stood up. “I have meetings for the rest of the day so I’ll be out of the office.”
“Okay.”
“And Cayson?” he stopped when he reached the door.
“Hmm?”
“Start looking for an assistant. When I leave, you’re going to need help.”
***
When I walked through the door I saw Slade and Trinity on the couch with Skye.
“These centerpieces are beautiful,” Trinity said. “But they’re too tall. There’s no way in hell you’d be able to see the person across from you.”
“Get something smaller,” Slade said. “It’s cheaper anyway.”
Trinity turned the page of her magazine. “And let me make your wedding dress. I promise it’ll be gorgeous.”
“And cheap,” Slade said.
Trinity turned her glare on him. “Do they seem tight on money?”
Slade shrugged. “Cayson spent a fortune on that ring…”
I placed my satchel on the table then made my presence known. “Hard at work?”
“Thank god you’re here,” Slade said as he stood up. “All this wedding crap is giving me a headache. It reminds me of the nightmare of—”
“Of what?” Trinity demanded, giving him the stink-eye.
Slade tried to brush it off. “Of my beautiful wedding…”
“That’s what I thought.” Trinity turned back to the magazine with Skye.
Slade breathed a sigh of relief then followed me into the kitchen. “So, how was work?”
I grabbed two beers and handed him one. “Eh…”
“Eh? What does that even mean?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “You need to keep this information to yourself.”
“When have I ever ratted you out?”
“You told Skye I was in love with her before we got together.” He told her several times through the years.
He rolled his eyes. “She didn’t me believe anyway so it doesn’t count. Now tell me what’s up.”
I took a long drink of my beer. “My company has approved the water purification system.”
“Really?” His eyes widened in excitement. “That’s great. Wait…isn’t it? Why do you seem so down?”
“Wait for it.” I held up a finger. “They agreed to distribute them to the countries without clean water. They are cheap and easy to make, plus they are small and easy to transport.”
“Still not seeing a downside to this…”
“They want me to lead a team to distribute them.”
“And that’s bad because…?”
“I’ll be gone for three months.” Now that Slade was married, he would understand the severity of the situation. There was no way in hell he would leave Trinity for that long. It was a quarter of a year.
“Oh…”
“Yeah.” I took another drink of my beer.
“That is a long time. Three months without getting laid…” He cringed. “I couldn’t do it. Who said you had to go? As long as they get into the hands of those who need them does it really matter if you are there or not?”
“That’s the problem…either I go or the project is cancelled.”
“What? Why?”
I shrugged. “It’s a lot of administrative stuff. I’ll save you the explanation.”
“So, it’s an ultimatum?” he asked. “Either you go or people don’t get clean water?”
I nodded.
“And you have to leave Skye for three months?”
I nodded again.
“Man…that’s rough.”
“Tell me about it.”
***
“The food at our wedding was so good,” Trinity said. “You can use the same caterers if you want. Slade and I won’t care at all.”
“It was really good,” Skye said.
“Man, I’d eat that again,” Slade said. “That shit was so good. The chicken was so tender, and dude, that vegetarian lasagna was amazing.” Slade’s eyes drifted away as he remembered the night. “And those stuffed mushrooms…and the grilled asparagus with balsamic…”
Trinity rolled her eyes. “Ignore my husband. He’s about to come in his pants.”
Slade didn’t hear her. “And that garlic bread…”
I chuckled then nudged him in the side. “Fine. We’ll hire them.”
Slade’s grin stretched wide. “Sweet. Now this wedding won’t be such a snooze-fest.”
“Excuse me?” Skye asked.
“I mean…” Slade’s eyes darted back and forth in fear. “Because nothing will compare to my own wedding.”
Skye backed off and Trinity smiled.
“Good save,” I whispered to him.
“I know,” he said back. “I’m a master at keeping my wife happy.”
“What kind of cake should we have?” Skye asked. “I love chocolate.”
“How about I take care of the cake?” Trinity gave Skye a threatening look.
Skye dropped the magazine in her lap. “Look, that was all Roland. I didn’t mess up the cake order. They said they never got it.”
Trinity chuckled. “I’m teasing.”
“I liked having a bunch of different cakes,” Slade said. “I got to try them all. They were good.”
Trinity ignored him. “Anyway…chocolate is good.”
“Ooh!” Slade threw his hand in the air like he was a student in class.
Skye narrowed her eyes on him. “
Yes?”
He lowered his hand. “Ice cream cake. Do it!”
I shook my head slightly.
“It would be so awesome,” Slade continued. “Ice cream with cake…that’s the one thing I would redo for my wedding.”
“That’s just not feasible, Slade,” Trinity said. “The cake will melt.”
“Put it in a freezer,” Slade countered.
“You think a cake that can feed three hundred people will fit in a freezer?” Trinity asked incredulously. “They aren’t doing that.”
Slade leaned toward me. “She’s just mad we didn’t have it at ours.”
“What was that?” Trinity asked.
“You look so beautiful today,” he blurted.
Trinity stared at him suspiciously before she smiled. “Thank you.” She flipped through the magazine again.
“See?” Slade asked me. “I got smooth moves.”
“Should we pick a venue before we do all this?” Trinity asked. “That tends to be the most time-sensitive thing.”
“Well, we think we’re going to get married at my parents’ house,” Skye said. “It’s beautiful there and there’s so much room.”
“And we can get married any day we want,” I said.
“Have you asked?” Trinity said.
“No,” Skye answered. “But they would never say no. We would hire someone to do everything so the burden wouldn’t be placed on them.”
“Did they offer to pay for it?” Slade asked.
“No,” Skye answered. “But I have a feeling Dad will try to pay for the whole thing.”
“He tends to do that,” I said quietly.
“If you’re buying a house, maybe you should let your dad pick up the tab,” Trinity said.
“No,” Skye said. “I would never expect him to do that. He already bought me this ridiculous penthouse.”
“Are you going to sell it?” Slade asked. “Because you should totally give it to Trinity and I.”
“We aren’t buying a penthouse,” Trinity said.
“I didn’t say buy,” he snapped. “I said give.”
“Why the hell would Skye give us her penthouse?” Trinity demanded.
Slade shrugged. “Because she likes us.”
“She likes me,” Trinity said. “Not you.” She turned back to Skye. “Anyway…are you going to sale this place?”
“We haven’t decided yet,” I answered.
“Well, why would you keep it?” Trinity asked. “If you’re going to have a beautiful house in Connecticut.”
I shrugged because I didn’t want to say the real answer.
“So, we have somewhere to screw while we’re in the city,” Skye answered bluntly.
Slade nudged me in the side and winked.
I drank my beer and ignored him.
“Well, that’s an expensive fuckpad,” Trinity said. “The Plaza would be cheaper.”
“I know,” Skye said. “I’m thinking about giving it to Roland.”
“What?” Slade blurted. “Why the hell would you give it to him?”
“Because Dad didn’t get him anything since he didn’t graduate college. And Cayson and I don’t need it,” Skye argued.
“So?” Slade demanded. “If you’re going to give it to someone it should be me.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because I’m your best friend…I’m good-looking…what more do you need?” Slade looked at me like I was the dumbest person on the planet.
Skye shook her head slightly. “Well, when you put it like that…”
“Please ignore my husband,” Trinity said. “He can be a bit crazy.”
“Crazy in the bedroom, maybe…” Slade took a drink of his beer. “By the way, I have an announcement.”
“Oh no,” Skye and I said together.
“Trinity is officially Mrs. Sisco.” His eyes lit up in happiness when he spoke. And his grin showed all of his teeth.
Trinity flipped her hair over one shoulder. “Yep. That’s me.”
“Congrats,” Skye said as she patted her thigh.
“It’s hot, isn’t it?” Slade asked me.
“I guess,” I said with a shrug.
“And she didn’t make me sign that pre-nup,” Slade said. “She was never going to ask me.”
“That’s great,” I said. “Now you don’t have to worry about it.”
“Marriage is awesome.” He leaned back and drank his beer.
I smirked at his words.
“So, I’m your best man, right?” Slade asked. “You never formally asked me.”
“Do I really need to ask?”
“You aren’t going to at least get me something?” Slade asked in surprise. “Take me out for a drink?”
“Are you a girl?” I said seriously.
“Hey, it’s a big honor,” he said. “You should treat it as such.”
“Anyway…” I looked away and drank my beer.
Trinity closed the magazine. “So, you’ll let me make your dress? It’ll be one-of-a-kind and it’ll be so pretty.”
“Of course, Trinity,” Skye said. “I would be honored.”
“Maybe you should start your own wedding dress line,” Slade said. “People would probably love it.”
Trinity considered it. “That’s an idea…”
“Not that you need to work more,” Slade said. “Take one project at a time.”
“No…” She continued to think. “I like that idea.”
“Goddammit,” Slade muttered. “Why did I say that?”
I chuckled. “Smart move…”
“Well, Slade and I are going to head out,” Trinity said. “I’ve got to get dinner on the table or my husband will get grouchy.”
“Actually, I get grouchy when I don’t get sex,” Slade corrected. “Get it right.”
“Well, I was trying to be discreet,” Trinity said. “So thanks…”
Slade didn’t pick up on the sarcasm. “You’re welcome.”
They both walked out, bickering about dinner and sex.
“I want sex before dinner,” Slade said.
“Well, I’m starving…”
They shut the door and their voices slowly disappeared from the hallway.
Skye moved to the seat beside me and rested her hand on my thigh. “How was your day?”
“I’m tired of talking.” I yanked her until she lay flat on the couch. Her hair scattered across the cushion and she looked up at me with fiery eyes. I pulled up her dress and moved her thong over.
Skye didn’t say another word as I undid my slacks and pulled my cock out. She gripped my biceps as she prepared to feel me move inside her.
I pressed my face close to hers as I entered her. Whenever we made love I didn’t think about anything outside of the two of us. I only thought of her, the beautiful woman I was going to spend my life with. I didn’t want to discuss the possibility of me leaving for three months—not right now.
Chapter Seventeen
Skye
Cayson and I went to my parents’ place for brunch. Mom had orange-dipped French toast with homemade whipped cream, and the bacon she made was the crispiest I’ve ever had. I devoured my food and didn’t feel an ounce of guilt about it.
“I miss your cooking,” I blurted. “So damn good.”
Mom chuckled. “You’re more than welcome to move in. And Cayson, of course.” She smiled like she really meant it.
Dad gave her an affectionate look. “I think they just want the food, baby.”
“If we live next door, we can eat it all the time.” I turned to Cayson with excitement in my eyes.
“I thought we were moving next door so we could see them all the time, not eat their food?” Cayson smiled like he was about to laugh.
“Hey, she offered,” I said.
“I would love it if you came over for every meal,” Mom said. “It would bring me so much joy. Honestly.” Mom beamed like her dreams had come true.
“She’s not kidding,” Dad said.
“I really hope we get the house,” I said. “I’ll kick someone’s ass if we don’t.”
Dad picked at his fruit. “I had a word with Mr. Johnson. I think you’ll be fine.”
It was times like this when I was grateful my dad was so powerful. “Thank you so much.”
He shrugged. “It’s not a problem, sweetheart.”
Mom clutched her napkin to her chest. “And then you can drop off your kids every day before you go to work and I’ll watch them. Then when you pick them up we can have dinner…” Her eyes were distant as she lived out her dreams in her mind.
Dad leaned toward me and lowered his voice. “You need to get on those grandkids ASAP.”
“Talk about pressure…” I said back.
“We’ll make them soon enough.” Cayson rubbed my lower back. “But let’s get married first and find a place to live.”
“They’ll love growing up here,” Mom said. “You got the beach just a few steps away, there’s so much space for them to run around and play hide-and-seek, and their grandparents and great aunt and uncle are right next door. I’m not sure if that penthouse would have been suitable.”
“I don’t think so either,” I said. “I love it because it’s beautiful but…it’s not a place to raise a family.”
“Are you going to sell it?” Dad asked.
“Not sure,” I said. “It’s hard to get rid of it.”
“Well, there’s no rush,” Dad said before he sipped his orange juice.
“I was thinking about giving it to Roland,” I said. “Keep it in the family.”
Dad gave me a stunned expression.
Mom was about to sip her mimosa but changed her mind.
“You’re thinking about giving it to your brother?” Dad asked incredulously.
“Yeah,” I said with a shrug. “It would be so hard to sell it. At least it’ll still be around.”
“I didn’t realize you liked Roland so much,” Mom blurted.
“Neither did I,” Cayson said with a chuckle.
“Well, he’s been working really hard and he’s made so much success,” I said. “He’s been through a lot and I think he deserves to be rewarded.”
“I can just buy him a penthouse,” Dad said. “Problem solved.”
I rolled my eyes. “Dad, we all know you’re loaded. Stop shoving it down our throats.”
He gave me a smile that told me he was amused. “I just don’t want you to give away a gift you earned when I can give him one myself.”
