Kit and Ivy: A Red Team Wedding Novella (4 page)

“No. This is too much. I’ll take the other one.”

“Owen can buy your outfit. I’ll buy the brooch,” Val said.

Selena shook her head. “You don’t get to buy me things.”

“You don’t get to tell me how to spend my money.” He stared at her, daring her to argue with him. “When did you last—or ever—have an outfit as perfect as this for an event?”

“I don’t go to events.”

“You’ll be at one on Saturday.” He grinned. “I want to see Owen’s face when I get the first dance with you.”

“I don’t dance.”

Val’s smile died as the edge in his eyes tightened his face. “First time for everything.”

She unpinned the brooch and set it back on the tray. She started to unbutton one of the three buttons fastening her jacket. Val’s eyes were on the skin her hands exposed. “You want to go broke to torture the boss, find a different plaything. I’m wearing the freakin’ rose.” She turned from the group and went back to the dressing rooms.

Selena dove into the pool in the gym building later that night. It was late. The house was quiet. Her time was finally her own. Spending the day with Val and the girls had left her edgy. She thought a few laps would help work out the knots. She’d gotten only two laps in when someone else dove into the pool. She looked into the lane next to her. It was one of the guys.
 

She wasn’t swimming in a rush, more leisurely enjoying stretching out in the quiet solitude of the water. The other swimmer was going in the opposite direction. When he hit the other end of the pool and turned around, she saw him lift out of the water to pull air.
 

Owen.

Selena focused on her strokes. He passed her. She sped up, catching up with him before the end of the lane. They turned and kicked off the wall at virtually the same time. Then for six more laps they kept pace. Selena was beginning to feel winded. She imagined Owen was as well. She kicked forward, pushing hard, wanting to beat him to the end of the pool. As soon as she thought it, she worried about beating her boss. Outperforming your superiors was rarely a good thing. She was so damned competitive. There were few men who could outdo her in most endurance sports. She didn’t like yielding, but this was her freakin’ boss—albeit a temp boss.
 

She ended up slowing down for just a fraction of a second, long enough for him to finish before her. They both stood up. She looked up at him and smiled, then swallowed the gesture when he didn’t return it. He looked angry, actually. Great. Was this his private pool time?

He gripped the edge of the pool and hoisted himself out. She watched a pair of long, lean legs pull out of the water, capped by a tight ass in a Speedo. She hated male bikinis, even though he had the body for it with his V-shaped chest, lean hips, and taut thighs. He walked straight over to the bench and grabbed his towel, giving her an eyeful of the rest of his body when he turned around. And wasn’t that just what she’d needed to know: her boss was hungsome. The cold water had caused no shrinkage. How he kept it all in there, she didn’t know. He was toweling his hair. God, she hoped he hadn’t seen her sneak a peek. He moved the towel. His mood didn’t look much improved. She kept her eyes at his face, going no lower than his mouth. Well, to the cleft in his chin—

“You held back.”

He’d caught that? “Yeah.” She grinned. “Didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

“Fuck my feelings. I’d rather be beaten by someone better than me than forfeited to by that same person. Feels like cheating. Don’t do it again.”

“Roger that.”

They exchanged a look. Eventually, he nodded at her, then started for the locker room door.
 

“Hey, Owen.” He stopped and looked back at her. “Thanks for the outfit today.”

“You find something you liked?”

She lifted herself from the water. He apparently had none of her reservations about doing a once-over. She picked up a towel, dried her face, then draped it over her neck; she’d be damned if she’d hide behind it. Even if his gaze fired up her nerves in strange ways. “Yeah, but it was expensive.”

Owen shrugged. “Your money.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll be providing you with a bonus equal to the cost I’ll be deducting from your next check.”

“Huh. Maybe you coulda said something sooner. I might have decided to use that money differently.” She walked up to him.
 

“That wasn’t an option.” He looked down into her eyes. “I’m glad you’re coming to the wedding.”

“Why’d you ask to have me sit at your table?”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. Perhaps she wasn’t supposed to know that. “You’re a guest on the team. It’s my job to see that you adjust to your assignment here.”

“I don’t understand what my assignment is.”

“You will.” He walked into the men’s locker room, and damn if she didn’t watch until he disappeared behind the door. She sighed. It would be a good thing, a really good thing, if she finished up here before everything got weird.

* * *

Ivy pulled the latest secret wedding samples out of the fridge and handed them to Kathy. The two of them had kept the guys from grazing on Ivy’s test recipes through the week by getting them out of the house as soon as possible each day.
 

“I know you’ve been testing more dishes than you’ll actually serve, Ivy, but you’ve got enough food for an army here!” Kathy commented as she filled a shopping bag with plastic containers full of Ivy’s delicious test recipes.

“I know. I just want everything to be perfect.”

“It will be. Carla and I will handle the serving and Dennis will man the bar.”

“No.” Ivy looked over as she shut the fridge door. “You and Dennis are going to join us, aren’t you?”

“We’ll be there. But I don’t want you worrying about anything or running around and not enjoying yourself. Leave the running to me and Carla. That way we don’t need to have strangers here. It’s best, really, given the situation.”

“But I wanted you to enjoy yourself, too. After all you do for us—”

“There’s nothing I love more than a party. Let me do this for you and Kit.” She reached over and took Ivy’s hand. “Ivy, the people who care about you get to pitch in and help. That’s what family does. And right now, we’re family.”

Ivy had to fight back tears. “Thank you.”

“What have you decided about decorations and flowers?”

“We ordered the flowers from the florist in town. They’re being delivered Friday.”

“And music?”

“Greer’s playing DJ.”

“Have you decided if you’re going to set up tables outside or eat in the dining room?”

“I think we’ll be setting up tables outside on the lawn, then we’ll use the terrace for dancing.”

Kathy nodded. “I’ll be sure to get the tablecloths ready. How many tables will you need?”

“I think we’ll have about forty here.”

“Oh! So many. I’m glad I asked. I’ll need to rent place servings, then.”

“I know. I wanted to keep it small, but I can’t ignore my crew from the diner. And there are a couple of folks in town who are coming—the sheriff and the doctor and their dates.”

“That’s wonderful. I only knew about your parents. I guess we’ll need seven tables, then.”

Ivy went still. “What do you mean my parents?”

“Well, of course they’ll be here. They’re your parents.”

“I didn’t invite them.”

“Oh. Oh.” Kathy went pale and gave her a panicked look. “I must have gotten something mixed up. Don’t worry about it--mistake. We have enough of everything if we have to make last-minute adjustments. I know where we can rent covers for folding chairs—same place as the dishes. We’ve had to do that a time or two for Ty’s father.” She paused, then corrected herself. “Or the man we thought was his father.”

Ivy was rattled by the mention of her parents, but Kathy seemed to be truly thinking out loud, not speaking from actual knowledge. Or was she? “I think we’re all set. Can you and Carla handle that many people?”

“Absolutely. Dennis will help, too. But if you like, I could see if Carla’s two daughters are available to help?”

“Yes. I think so. Be sure to give their information to Greer, though. Just to follow protocol.”

“Of course.”

“Good night, Kathy. Thank you for taking care of the food. I’m glad you have people to give it to.”

“Oh, yes. The folks at the retirement home in town have been enjoying your hard work all week. They’ll be sad to see the end of your samples. Good night, dear. I can’t wait for Saturday.”

“Night, Kathy.”
 

* * *

Kit was in the hallway when Ivy stepped out of the kitchen. He pulled her into a hug then kissed her forehead. “We need to talk.”

She drew back and looked up at him. The tension in his face set off alarms. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s really
wrong
. There are just some things we need to discuss.”

“About the wedding?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re not postponing, are you?”

“Never.” He took her hand and led her through the kitchen to the large patio in the back. He took out his phone and tapped an app.

“What are you doing?”

“Just giving us some privacy. Greer set up an app to manage our security systems. I’m shutting down the eyes and ears out here.”

Ivy folded her arms and tried to keep herself calm. “Kit, you’re scaring me.”

He faced her and took hold of her hands. “You’re not going to like what I have to say to you.”

“I’m not really liking the anticipation either. Just say it.”

“I reached out to your parents.”

“No.” His steady gaze told her he wasn’t making it up. “Why would you do something like that?”

“I invited them to the wedding.”

The air left Ivy’s lungs in a huff of disbelief. “You did what?” He didn’t repeat himself. He didn’t need to. His words lingered in the air between them. “How could you do something like that without talking to me?”

“Because it was the right thing to do. And if we had discussed it beforehand you would have nixed it. Besides, there was no point having this discussion if they weren’t coming.”

“Oh. My. God. They’re coming?”

“Yes.”

Ivy pulled her hands from his and shoved them into her hair, grabbing fistfuls of it as she stepped away from Kit. “How could you do something like this without talking to me?” She looked over at him, but he offered no explanation, begged no pardon, just stood unshielded in the storm that was about to break. Ivy’s rage was spiraling upward, outward, far beyond her ability to contain it. “How could you do something so inconsiderate? I thought—I thought we were in a partnership. I thought we were in this together?”

She looked at him, wondering how to make him understand the magnitude of his misstep. “I’ve accepted that we live where we live because it’s imperative to your work. I’ve accepted that the nature of the work you do defines the type of life we can live. I’ve accepted that Casey and I have to surrender to the dictates of your security concerns, for us, for you, for your team. But within those extreme constraints, I thought—I’d hoped—that you and I would work together on the things we can control. The optional aspects of our life. But I don’t even have input into those, do I?”

She shook her head, having a hard time believing he’d done what he had without even discussing it with her. “You know how I feel about my parents. You know that. Why couldn’t we have waited a month or two or a year before we dealt with my parents? Why did it have to be now, on a day that means so very much to us, a day you know they will ruin?”

“We don’t know they’ll ruin it.”

“When have they ever not ruined something that had to do with you and me? But that’s not even the point of what I’m saying.” She paced the width of the patio and back. Looking up at him, she said, “I need to know that you will not be running our lives unilaterally. My father did that, and look how it turned out for them. I need to know I have some say in the elements of our lives that are optional. This was optional.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“It is. We could have dealt with them at any point in the future. It didn’t have to be now.”

The patio was lit only by the glow that spilled out from the kitchen and living room, but it was enough to see the look in Kit’s eyes. He’d had the same expression so many years ago when the Army and the sheriff had dragged him away from her. It hurt to look at him now, as it had then.
 

She felt his pain, but did he feel hers?

“We are only ever going to be married once,” he said in a quiet voice. “One time, Iv. One time. Your parents have missed all of your adult life. And all of Casey’s life. I don’t want them to miss this.”

Ivy swiped the tears from her cheeks with both hands. “Kit, they’re toxic people. They are not good for us or for Casey.”

“Maybe so, but they’re the only parents we have.”

“They aren’t parent material. They’re not even fit to be called parents. How can you want to bring them here?”

The light caught a spill of moisture on his cheek. Ivy drew a ragged breath.
 

“I never had parents, Ivy. My dad spawned me and that’s it. I was taking care of my mother when I was five. I need your parents, Iv. I
need
them. I want to try to find a way for us to be a family. Please.” He blinked. More tears spilled down his cheeks.

“Oh, Kit.” Ivy shut her eyes. “I can’t do this. It terrifies me.”

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. “Me too.”

“What if it’s a really bad idea? What if they do their typical, hateful nonsense and make problems?”

Kit sniffed. “I gave your father clear guidelines for the way I expected him to behave. I told him if he couldn’t control himself, I’d have his ass on a plane faster than he could blink.”

Ivy gasped. “You didn’t.”

“I did. And I meant it. But we have our side of that bargain to uphold. We have to at least be polite to them. And maybe, just maybe, we can find a way to move forward. As a family.”

Ivy sighed. She leaned more fully against him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Okay. Okay, Kit. We’ll make this work. For you, I will do this. But I swear, if they let you down,
I
will have them on a plane so fast.”