“Well, what if I agree to you doing that?” she said.
He looked back at her for a long moment. “I wasn’t looking for your agreement on that, little one,” he told her.
“But it would make your life easier, right? If I just agreed to it,” she said, narrowing her eyes at what he’d said.
Her lack of reaction should have warned him, but he didn’t think past the look in her eyes.
“Yeah,” he said, nodding, “it would make things easier.”
“Okay,” she said, “so say I agree to that, I want something from you.”
“Like what?” he asked, his look guarded.
She stared deep into his eyes. “Marry me,” she said simply.
He looked back at her for a moment, wondering if she’d lost her mind. He started to speak a couple of times, but stopped, then shook his head.
“Tell me what one has to do with the other,” he said.
“John!” she exclaimed. “I need to know you’re mine.”
“I am yours, Cassandra,” he told her.
“But you’re going to go out there and protect other women,” she said doggedly.
“Usually women are the ones that need protecting, yes, but”
“Women like that blond bitch at the party,” she said, narrowing her eyes.
John rolled his eyes shaking his head as he blew his breath out.
“Cassandra, if I wanted a woman like that, I’d be with her okay? I want you, I’m with you.”
“Just answer my question, John,” she said, her tone darkening a bit.
“What question?” he asked, narrowing his dark eyes at her.
She looked back at him, her anger growing.
“You didn’t ask me a question, Cassandra, you issued an order,” he told her, his finger touching her lips.
She let out her pent-up breath, shaking her head, her eyes pinning him.
“John, will you marry me?” she asked softly.
He smiled softly. “You do realize I’ve done this marriage thing and failed at it before,” he told her.
“John!” she exclaimed.
He laughed, pulling her to him and kissing her lips softly.
“John …” she warned.
“Yes, Cassandra, I’ll marry you,” he told her.
“You will?” she asked, sounding surprised.
John laughed, kissing her again. “Yes, I will.”
She pulled back to look at him. “Now I feel like I forced you,” she said.
John dropped his head, shaking it. “I’m never going to win with you, am I little one?”
She smiled. “I love you, John,” she said.
“I love you too, Cassandra,” he said, touching her cheek, his eyes looking into hers. “Now, are we getting married or not?”
“Yes,” she said, her tone of voice sure.
“Problem solved,” he said, winking at her.
She laughed and hugged him, unable to believe how happy he’d just made her. She had no idea why she thought that marrying him would mean he’d never want anyone else. All she knew was that she didn’t want any other man, just him. She needed to know that was how he felt too and marrying her was proof of that to her.
They kissed for a few minutes, then he pulled her down next to him and they talked for a while. Eventually, he fell asleep again. She watched him sleep, knowing she could spend her life with him.
****
“So how does it feel to be Mrs. John Machiavelli?” John asked Cassie as they lay soaking in the huge bathtub in the presidential suite of the Hyatt Waikoloa.
Cassie leaned back against him, grinning.
“Pretty much how it felt being Cassie Roads who’s dating her bodyguard John Machiavelli.”
“No big change, huh?” he asked.
“Nope, except for new jewelry,” she said, grinning.
She held up her hand. On it she now wore a single round one carat diamond with a band of black diamonds behind it. He’d given her the band of black diamonds that day at their wedding and she’d been shocked by them.
“Black’s always been your color,” he’d told her as he slid it on her finger.
True to form, she’d worn a black gown to their small informal wedding. She’d looked incredible in it all the same. They’d discussed a big wedding but had decided they didn’t want all that hoopla. John’s attitude was that he’d been married before, and Cassie didn’t like big ceremonies anyway. So, they’d just had a few people at the wedding, and made it official.
“So,” she said, turning around to face him, “how do you feel about kids, John Machiavelli?”
He nodded. “I think they eat a lot, cost a lot, and keep adults from getting enough sleep.”
“You like them that much, huh?” she asked, grinning.
“You’re not trying to tell me something, are you?” John said, his eyes narrowed slightly.
“No,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’m just trying to get to know my husband’s state of mind, geeze!”
He slid his hand around her waist, pulling her close to him. “I want to get to know you, inside and out, thoroughly first, before I have to get to know a whole new person, okay?”
She looked into his eyes and nodded. “I love you,” she said, feeling it more and more every day.
“I love you too, little one,” he told her.
“Tell me we’re going to last forever,” she said wistfully.
“Why?” he replied, arching his brow. “You won’t believe me anyway, little miss gloom and doom,” he said, quirking his lips in a grin.
“John!” she said, laughing all the same.
“Well, it’s true, babe, you’re always waiting for the bottom to drop out.”
“So, tell me it won’t,” she said.
He looked back at her for a long moment. “I’ll tell you this, Cassandra,” he said, putting his finger to her chin. “I don’t fail at many things, and I refuse to fail at this.”
Cassie grinned. “Okay so I got your version of ‘no Cassie the bottom won’t drop out of this’,” she said, laughing softly.
“Right,” he said.
“Always have to do things your way,” she said.
“Always will,” he replied.
“Goddamned navy SEAL,” she said, grinning.
“Goddamned Gothic Princess,” he replied.
****
Tommy lay in Shannon’s bed, looking up at the ceiling. He listened to the sounds of her in the shower. They spent half their time at his place, and half their time at hers. It had its moments where it became very trying. Greg was living full time with Tammy and Shannon now, or so it seemed. He was never in his own apartment anymore.
Tommy got up as he heard Shannon open the bathroom door. He went in a few minutes later to take his shower, and as usual got cold water. Since Tammy and Greg had showered that morning too. Gritting his teeth, he finished as quickly as he could. This was getting ridiculous.
Later that morning, Shannon was driving his truck. They stopped at Starbucks to get a Frappuccino.
“You’ve got me hooked on these now, you know,” she told him, with narrowed eyes.
He laughed, nodding. “Don’t feel bad, I’ve got Cassie hooked too.”
Shannon shook her head.
As they drove out of the lot, Shannon was licking her fingers from the caramel on the top of her Frappuccino.
“You know,” Tommy said, watching her, “I can do that for you …” he said, his voice trailing off provocatively.
“Honey,” she said, giving him a deadpan look, “If you’re gonna be doing any licking, it’s not going to be on my fingers.”
He laughed, shaking his head at her.
“You’ve turned into such a bad girl …” he told her slyly.
“And you’ve turned me into such a bad girl,” she said, smiling.
He leaned across the seat, kissing her neck.
“Mmmm … don’t do that,” she told him. “I’m driving your truck …” she said, giving a low moan as h
e nipped at her skin making her shiver.
“True, I’d be wrecking my own truck, if I do that, huh?” he said, sitting back and winking at her.
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to take this today?” she asked him.
“Yeah, babe,” he said, “you’ll be done with your meeting long before I’m done at the studio.”
“Okay, I just want to make sure,” she said.
Her Mustang was in the shop getting regular maintenance. Tommy was maniacal about making sure she did all that she needed to do to maintain the high-performance engine.
“Hey, babe …” he said, then as they came to the usual LA traffic on the freeway.
“Hmmm?” she asked, reaching for her Frappuccino, while keeping her eyes on the road ahead of her.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said, “this shit with trying to share your apartment with Greg and Tammy is just getting impossible.”
“Okay,” she nodded, agreeing with him.
“So, I was thinking …” he said.
“Yeah?” she asked when he didn’t go on.
“Well, I think we should just get a place of our own,” he said.
She nodded. “Sounds like a good idea.”
“Okay,” Tommy said, giving her an odd look, “but I was kinda thinking of buying something together.”
She looked over at him, biting her lip and smiling at the same time.
“Really?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, we both need something to sink our money into, or we’re going to get killed in taxes, right?”
“True,” she said.
Fast Lane’s debut album had gone double platinum selling over two hundred thousand copies in less than a week. And the sales hadn’t slowed for months. Fast Lane was indeed the newest, best thing in rock. They’d been nominated for a number of Grammys. They couldn’t be more ecstatic if they tried.
“So, I’m thinking we should buy something nice,” he said.
“Nice?” she asked.
“Yeah, like a couple million, nice,” he said, grinning.
“Wow, we’re not playing games here, are we?” she asked, laughing.
“Nope,” he said, shaking his head.
“Well,” she said, thinking about it, “I know I can come up with three hundred to put down.”
“Three hundred dollars?” he asked.
“Three hundred thousand, you nut!” she said, laughing.
“Oh, whew!” he said, grinning. “Well, I’m pretty sure I can do another seven hundred, so that would put us up to an even million.”
“Why should you have to put up more?” she asked.
“Because, I said so,” he said, grinning. “Come on, I just had a major windfall here,” he said, smiling, “let me spend some.”
“You’re just dying to spend it, aren’t you?” she said.
“Yup,” he said, grinning.
“Well, let’s see what we can do,” she said. “If we wait, I should get an advance soon for my next movie.”
“I don’t want to wait,” he said.
“Why not?” she asked.
“’Cause I’m tired of sharing a bathroom with Greg, okay?” he said, making a face.
She laughed softly, nodding her head. “Now I know your motivation!”
He laughed too.
And so it was settled, Tommy Timmerman and Shannon Teary bought a modest $2.5 million house in the hills outside of Los Angeles.
****
The night of the Grammys, Cassie, John, Tommy, and Shannon all arrived together in a limousine. Greg and the rest of the band arrived separately with their dates. Of course, BJ was there with Allexxiss.
Fast Lane was up for Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, and Song of the Year.
George Clooney was the presenter for Best New Artist, and when he announced Fast Lane as the winner, the band was ecstatic. They went up together to accept the award and since Cassie was feeling overwhelmed, Tommy did the acceptance speech. He looked imposing dressed in all black, with his usual studs in his eyebrow and ears, and his heavy black combat-style boots, but he was surprisingly eloquent in his speech, shocking the music community.
“We really would like to thank BJ for the time and effort he put in to help us realize our potential and for giving us this amazing opportunity in the first place. I know a lot of people thought we weren’t good enough for this,” he said holding the Grammy aloft. “I’m really elated to prove them all wrong. Of course, a great big thank you to the fans, none of this would mean anything without you. Thank you again!”
With that the band raised their arms in unison, hands clasped, and the audience cheered.
The band later won Song of the Year, and again Tommy spoke for the band. He could see that Cassie was completely intimidated by the crowd and the whole scene. But when the award was given to the Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and Cassie won, there was no way to avoid giving a speech. Tommy walked her onto the stage, holding on to her hand, even from behind her as she made her speech.
“This is really amazing,” Cassie said, her eyes on the Grammy, as if she was talking to it. “I never imagined I’d end up here,” she said then, shaking her head looking wondrous. She looked over at BJ who was smiling warmly at her. “Thank you so much, BJ, for having faith in me, and to you and Allex for being there for me through everything. Thanks to my band, you guys are awesome, especially you Tommy,” she said, glancing back at him as she smiled. “I love you all. And lastly, thank you to my husband,” she said, her look softening further. “Thank you, John, for being my knight in shining armor and saving my life, literally. I love you!” The crowd cheered as Cassie and Tommy left the stage.
The last award was the Album of the Year, and when Fast Lane won it. Once again Cassie had Tommy give the speech. He was out of words by this time, so he said simply, “This is fucking amazing! Thank you everyone. I guess that’s life in the Fast Lane!”
You can find more information about the author and series here:
www.sherrylhancock.com
www.facebook.com/SherrylDHancock
Also by Sherryl D. Hancock:
The WeHo series follows a group of women from Los Angeles as they navigate the ups and downs of love, life, work, and everything in between.
www.vulpine-press.com/we-ho
The MidKnight Blue series takes us on a journey with Midnight Chevalier, the tough ex-gang leader who switches sides and works to put away those she used to fight beside.
www.vulpine-press/midknight-blue-series
In the Fast Lane Page 21
