The Artist's Provocateur

by Fine, L. J.

  "That's right, you heard me. My girlfriend." His expression turned smug. "Got no jokes now, huh?"

  Ignoring him, Emma turned to Marie with a joyful smile before pulling her into her second surprise hug of the day. "No, no jokes. I'm just so happy to meet you!"

  "It's nice to meet you, too." Marie couldn't help but laugh at the other woman's exuberance and turned to Adam with raised eyebrows when she finally pulled away. "Family of huggers. Who knew?"

  Ben frowned. "A family of huggers? Oh..."

  "Tyler," Ben and Emma said at the same time.

  Speaking of the devil, Tyler wound his way over to them with a pretty brunette in tow. When he got to them, he stood with his arm draped around the woman's shoulders, a happy smile on his face. The smile faded a little around the edges, though, when they all stopped talking and looked at him.

  "What? I got something on my face?" He swiped his free hand down his cheek with a frown.

  "Nah, man." Adam smirked. "We're all taking you in. You're like Mary fuckin' Poppins right now."

  Tyler snorted. "You think this is bad? Wait until she's officially my wife. You're all gonna get so sick of me, and I don't have a single fuck to give about it."

  "Ugh, you're impossible," the woman in his arms – presumably Mina – said. Though the words conveyed a little bit of embarrassment, Marie could see the pride and happiness in Mina's eyes as she looked up at her man. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that all the love Tyler seemed to feel went both ways. "I came over here with the promise that I would get to meet Adam's new girlfriend, not to talk about my fiancé's overbearing tendencies."

  "Oh, you like saying that word, though, don't you? Fiancé." Tyler bent to kiss her lips. "Wait 'till you get to say husband. Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about."

  Mina's cheeks darkened and the two of them shared a secret smile before she turned back to the group and mouthed the words 'he's impossible'. Marie laughed at the intended joke, but she could see that Mina enjoyed every minute of it.

  Adam made the introductions and they all stood together and chatted for a while before the double doors from the kitchen flew open. A petite blonde entered the room to the fanfare of oohs and ahs over the tiered cake she carried. It looked like something right out of one of those cake decorating shows. The top layer was a boxing ring with perfect likenesses of Tyler and Mina in the center, holding their combined hands in the air like a victorious fighter at the end of a bout.

  The blonde, who Marie now recognized as Brandon's wife Kim, set the cake down on the dessert table amid accepting congratulations for a job well done. Kim owned a small bakery downtown that Marie had visited a time or two. Almost couldn't help it. The confections that woman created were addicting and called out like a siren song. Marie couldn't help but follow here and there when her willpower broke down. She should have guessed that Kim would be making the cake for this party and most likely the wedding too.

  Brandon, who she hadn't even seen enter the room, stood on a chair and tapped the side of his beer bottle with a fork to get everyone's attention. "First off, I'd like to thank everyone for making it out tonight. I can speak for Tyler and Mina that it means the world to them to be surrounded by their friends and family as they celebrate. I know you're all anxious to tear into the cake that my gorgeous wife whipped up for the occasion, so I'll make this short and sweet. Mina, you're already a Serano in our eyes, but we couldn't be more pleased or grateful to have you become part of our family. Officially. And Tyler, you better thank every lucky star you have that this sweet woman is willing to take you on and put up with your sorry ass."

  Laughter rumbled through the crowd as Tyler pulled Mina close, grinning from ear to ear. "I say a prayer of thanks every night, brother!"

  More laughter filled the room and Brandon raised his beer while everyone followed suit. "To Mina and Tyler! Prayers go up and blessings come down!"

  The crowd cheered and toasted the couple, and soon after a line formed to get at that cake. Through the whirlwind, Marie found herself seated at a table with all four Serano brothers, their women, and Chloe and Brian, talking and laughing and each praising Kim on the delicious white chocolate raspberry cake.

  Marie couldn't remember the last time she had had this much fun at a family get together. As much as she loved her own family, they didn't spend a lot of time with each other. The Seranos, though? Not only were these men brothers, they were best friends. Being together like this wasn't some sort of familial obligation. It truly was a joyful celebration among people who genuinely enjoyed being in each other's company. They razzed each other, everyone giving everyone else a hard time, but the affection in this tight-knit family felt palpable. That Adam wanted her to be a part of this, was free and attentive to her through it all, filled Marie with so many emotions she couldn't begin to name them all. She couldn't deny, though, that the emotion above all the others here was love. She had fallen for him. Hard. There was no more getting around that fact, but she didn't know how to tell him. Or even if she should.

  The party lasted well into the evening and a little after midnight, the guests slowly started to trickle out. She and Adam stayed, along with the rest of the Serano clan, to clean up. The DJ played for a little while longer, but eventually announced that the next two songs would be his last of the evening.

  Marie followed Adam around with a garbage bag, table to table as he threw away empty beer bottles and paper plates that the guests left behind. But when Tennessee Whiskey began to play, he took the garbage bag out of her hands with a smirk and pulled her out onto the empty dance floor. She had a moment to feel a little guilty about goofing off when they should have been helping everyone else, but then he wrapped his arms around her waist to bring her in close to his body. As he swayed with her to the sultry rhythm of the song, all sense of responsibility went out of her mind. She'd take this – the feeling of being the center of his world – over cleaning any day of the week.

  It blew her mind to think of how far they had come, how close they had gotten since the last time they danced to this song. It hadn't been that long ago, either, when she thought about it.

  Speaking of that night, another thought then struck her and she craned her neck back to look at him. "You know, it really isn't fair. You know my drink and how to mix it like a pro, but I don't know yours."

  "Not true." He shook his head. "What have you seen me drink every time we go out together?"

  Tilting her head to the side, she guessed, "cheap beer?"

  "Yup. So, now we're even." He tried to tug her back in to rest against him, but she gently resisted.

  "No, we aren't. I know you have to have a go to drink that you love more than just whatever they have on tap."

  "What can I say?" He shrugged. "I'm a man of simple taste."

  Resisting the urge to snort, she called him out instead. "Bullshit."

  He stared her down for a moment but, obviously realizing that she wouldn't drop it, he rolled his eyes. "Fine. I like Blanton Gold bourbon. But that shit is expensive and knocks me on my ass if I'm not careful. So, I stick to the cheap beer."

  "Hmm," she hummed and traced a finger over his lower lip. "I've never seen you knocked on your ass before. Might be fun to get you to lose a little of that control. See how much trouble we can get into."

  Those dark eyes of his went almost black as a wicked smile curved his lips. She traced the movement and he lightly bit the pad of her finger. "You want to get into trouble, darlin', all you gotta do is say when."

  Getting to her tiptoes, she grazed his lips with hers. "When."

  "All right, then." He took her hand in his and she giggled as he pulled her off the dance floor toward the back office.

  As they passed the front door of the bar, it opened and the person that walked in had Adam stopping in his tracks. Not expecting him to halt so suddenly, Marie almost ran into his broad back, but caught herself at the last second. A frown pulling at her brow, she peered over his shoulder to
see a trim, petite woman standing just inside the doorway. She looked to be in her mid-fifties, her dark brown hair cut in stylish waves that barely met her shoulders. Though her blue blouse and dark-wash jeans seemed to be casual enough, they looked expensive, no doubt designer made, and everything matched perfectly from her jewelry to her purse all the way down to her shoes.

  Before it could even occur to Marie to question the identity of this woman, Adam uttered a single word that turned the blood in her veins to ice.

  "Mom?"

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  He didn't shout. That one syllable passed his lips as a staggered husk of breath, but the sound carried well enough. All chatter ceased as the other three Serano brothers became aware of who stood, without one hint of shame, in the doorway.

  "I thought the place was open for business. I didn't realize you were having a party." A bright smile lit her face and, for a second, Marie could see where the brothers had gotten their good looks. "I am glad that you're all here, though. I'm so happy to see you!"

  Janice Serano moved further into the room, arms and legs loose and easy as though she expected her sons to bound over to her in child-like glee. Like they might once have done when they were small. But too much time had passed in the absence of their mother, and these men were no longer boys.

  None of them moved. They eyed her warily, at first with dumb-struck expressions until the numbness seemed to wear off and varying levels of anger and indignation set in. Adam's hand tightened around Marie's, not painful but near enough to it that she winced. Marie ran her free hand up the tense muscles of his arm in a motion of silent support and his death grip loosened, but he didn't let go. Nor did she want him to.

  Seriously, what fresh hell was this? Everyone had been in such high spirits, all of them jovial and content and together for the first time in a long time. And now this woman had the audacity to show up after all these years and expect, what? A happy family reunion?

  "What the hell are you doing here?" Brandon growled out from somewhere behind her.

  As expected by the rational adults in the room, a cheerful homecoming was not in the cards.

  Janice's expression fell into a frown as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I haven't seen my boys in so long and this is the kind of greeting I get?"

  "I'm sorry," Adam said. "Exactly what kind of greeting were you expecting? Balloons and fanfare?"

  "Something a little more welcoming than this wouldn't have been out of line. I thought you all would be happy to see me. Or at least be in better moods. I saw the sign outside." She searched Tyler out with her gaze as that ridiculous smile reappeared on her face. "Tyler, you're getting married? Introduce me to the lucky girl!"

  Instead of bringing Mina forward to do his mother's bidding, Tyler moved to put his big body between his fiancé and the older woman. "No, you don't get to meet her, Janice. You don't get to be here right now, celebrating with us. In fact, you don't even get to know what's going on in our lives. You lost that right the day you walked out on our family."

  Moving a dainty hand, bejeweled with a diamond the size of a quarter, up to her chest, Janice gasped as though Tyler's words had stung her. "That's a little too severe, isn't it, Tyler? I am still your mother, and we are still a family."

  "It isn't any more severe than the way you abandoned us to go start a new family with that douche bag you ran away with to New Orleans." It surprised Marie to hear all this coming from Ben. It was the most she had ever heard him speak in one clip.

  "Yeah, where is that asshole, anyway?" Adam sneered. "You finally get sick of him and bail on him, too?"

  Marie could feel the anger vibrating off Adam in waves. She had never seen him like this, had never seen such barely checked violence on his face before, and she hoped to God she never did again. Nothing should ever cause him this much pain. He'd had enough of it to last him a lifetime. After the conversation they'd had this afternoon, Marie had been hoping that they could move forward, see where this thing took them and try to find their happiness...together. Why did this cruel woman have to come back into their lives? Why now?

  "Which brings us back to my original question. Why are you here?" Brandon asked, echoing her thoughts.

  Expertly manicured fingers played with her necklace as her dark brown eyes filled with, what had to be, misplaced warmth. "I wasn't aware that you boys knew about Frank. But I guess it shouldn't surprise me that you came looking for me. What does surprise me is that you never let me know that you were there. Why didn't you come say hello?"

  Was this woman for real? Was it possible that she was so narcissistic that she didn't understand what her actions had done to her children? If Marie didn't have a firm sense that it was not her place and not her business, she would have gotten right in this vile woman's vacant little face.

  Turned out, she didn't have to.

  "We didn't stay long enough. And it wasn't like we were keeping tabs on you or some shit. All it took was for me to see once – one time – that you had moved on with your life. Without your children. I was fucking done with you. We all were. You weren't worth any more of our thoughts or time."

  The force of Adam's words, the severity of the anger burning in his dark eyes, would have been enough to give any rational person pause. For her part, Janice seemed to sense that, and began to back-peddle a bit, finally ridding herself of the delusion that her boys should be happy to see her.

  "You don't understand what it was like for me back then." Pleading desperation laced through the soft tone of her voice. "I was so young, I had so many dreams, and when I settled down with your father, I was forced to sacrifice them all. I tried to be the wife he wanted, the mother you needed. I tried so damn hard, but I was overwhelmed and had zero help from anybody. Least of all your father. Every day felt like I was slowly suffocating until one day I snapped, and I had to get out of there. It wasn't premeditated or some long drawn out scheme. One day I walked out the door, and then kept going."

  A big, fat tear welled up in the outside corner of her left eye, and as her shoulders slumped, it broke through the prison of her eyelashes to trail in a wet line down her cheek. It might have been convincing if it weren't for the fact that none of the other signs of emotional distress accompanied that lone, singular tear. No redness of nose, no wobble to her speech and for all their dampness, her eyes remained flat. Not what Marie would have expected the heartfelt entreaty for forgiveness from a mother to her estranged sons to look like.

  "I had always meant to come back for you boys, but the more time that passed, the more impossible it seemed that I could actually come back. I thought about you every single day, and I...I...regret...all the lost time between us."

  Janice could barely even get it all out. Marie could see her roll the words around in the back of her throat like some bile-inducing medicine she had been forced to swallow. This woman didn't regret a thing and, at least from Marie's vantage point, that much was obvious. She hoped the men closest to the pain could see it too.

  Adam looked down at her as his fingers tightened on hers, as though to make sure that she still stood there with him. She squeezed right back and held his gaze as long as he needed, until he broke the contact on his own. The hurt and uncertainty she saw in that brief moment broke her heart and she wished she could make this stop. Kick that bitch out and erase all this pain from his mind.

  Was he wavering? Were his mother's disingenuous words starting to take root somehow? Marie was about to speak up, say something to reveal her for the liar she was, when Brandon beat her to it.

  "That is such bullshit, mom. You might have been able to convince them that you really did care about us and you never wanted to leave us and blah blah blah." He gestured to his brothers as he moved out from behind the bar to stand in front of her. "But you forget that I was thirteen when you left. Old enough to understand what all that fighting you and dad did behind closed doors meant. Old enough to recognize how cold and distant you were with all of us, unless you were bitchi
ng at us about something. Dad did everything he possibly could to make you happy. He worked at a shitty job that he hated just so he could afford to keep you in all your creature comforts, because you refused to go out and get a job yourself. All you ever did was complain and belittle him at every turn and, for some unfathomable reason, the man still loved you. You never gave a shit about any of us, and in the long run, we were better off when you left."

  Straightening her spine, Janice shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "That all sounds like the lies your father told to twist your memories into what he wanted you to think. All those years, he turned you against me and you never even knew my side of the story."

  "I remember the morning you left," Adam said softly, drawing all eyes to him. His eyes shown bright and intense in the light of the bar as the muscle ticked in his jaw. "You were so happy that day when you packed us all off to school. I had never heard you hum before, and I could count on one hand the number of times you ever hugged me or told me to have a good day as I left the house. That whole day at school I wondered if you had been body-snatched, and then when we came home and found you gone, I thought, ah that's it, she must have finally done it."

  Frowning, she turned to him. "Done what?"

  A wry smile twisted his lips, but that intensity never left his gaze as he stared her down. "See, I remember how you always talked about New Orleans, all dreamy-like. I heard you talking on the phone to fuck-knows-who about all the things you would do when you got there, how great your life would finally be. How do you think Ben and I tracked you down? Saw you with douche-bag-Frank? So, I know. I know that you only stayed with us until it wasn't convenient for you anymore, until you couldn't wring any more out of dad for your benefit. I know that you had been planning to leave us for months before you actually took off. So, don't you dare stand there and tell us that you were in so much pain that you left on an impulse. You knew exactly what you were doing. Probably much like you thought you knew what you were doing when you came in here. But I have to tell you, there's nothing for you here. We aren't going to give you whatever it is you came for, so you might as well go back to douche-bag-Frank."