Moore Than Forever (28 page)

“Yup, our invitations are awesome. It’s a box and there’s an actual starfish in the box, but it’s not tacky or kitschy, it’s actually done in a really elegant way with gold rope tied in a nautical knot.”

“Rope?” the smile in his voice was evident over the cellular waves.

“Yes, rope,” Mia laughed, “maybe we should do a BDSM theme wedding. That might make Seth and Elan happy, my mother not so much.”

“Tell me about your dress. Am I going to want to rip it off you and fuck you?”

“Schooner Moore, where is your right hand?”

“You know where my right hand is, Baby Girl.”

“Mmm, tell me what you’re doing.” Mia reached under the summer quilt and pulled off her silk bikini underwear.

“I’m just very slowly stroking myself and thinking about you in that wedding dress with the tip of your tongue running up between my balls and around the base of my cock,” his breathing deepened, “slowly up the shaft, just like I’m doing with my hand and now I’m rubbing my thumb hard over the head of my cock thinking about your teeth scraping my skin and the tip of your tongue in my slit.”

“You already have me so wet. I love running the head of your cock along my slit when I’m this wet. Oh my God, the way it feels when it slides up to my clit and then you move it back down and push just the head into me. Oh baby, I just love the way that feels.”

“Take your clit between your thumb and forefinger and rub it in that up and down motion, the way I do it,” he could hear her breath hitch, followed by a mewling sound. “Oh Baby Girl, I love your sounds. Put the phone next to your ear and with your left hand twist your left nipple really hard for me,” her breath was catching faster, “that’s it, roll it hard and think about me sucking it and pinching the other one with you pinned down underneath me,” she was losing control, he could hear it in her moaning, “can you hear how hard I’m stroking myself. I can’t wait to have my cock pumping inside of you this weekend. We’re going to go out on the boat alone and fuck up on the deck at sunset right out there in front of all the other boats on the bay.” Hearing her go over the edge, he could feel his balls tighten and the pressure rise the length of him. Grabbing a tee-shirt, he heard his own moans as he came right after her into the shirt.

Listening to Mia regain her breath, he closed his eyes, picturing he was in their bed at the beach house, instead of being all alone in the loft.

“Will you marry me?” she asked, a devil smile in her voice.

“Yeah, why not. I’ve got nothing else going on September 27th,” his real smile was out of control.

Chapter Fifty-two

Lois had learned how to Skype. Her standing date every morning with Seth included coffee and an update on wedding details, her grandchildren and any gossip that was worth knowing.

There was a morning calm before the residents of the beach house came alive and Seth Shapiro used that time to have his undisturbed morning tête-à-tête with Lois. The sun over the ocean cast a long golden trail, like a yellow brick road leading to the horizon and the only sounds beside their computer chat were the gulls and the ocean lapping against the shore.

“She really looked beautiful. I was in tears,” Seth was speaking with his hands. Very dramatic.

“I’m looking at it on my computer. Do you think it’s too plain?” Lois’ brows were knit together and she had ‘that look’ on her face that said she was not totally pleased.

“It’s a very simple line, but it looked stunning and elegant. She’s little so we don’t want the dress to overpower her, and honestly Lois, I think she’d be uncomfortable in anything more fapitzed.” Seth lapsed into Yiddish, using the word for ‘all dolled up’. After all, this was the woman he once had to drag out of Levi’s and tee-shirts.

“I trust you on this,” Lois was sipping coffee out of a soup bowl sized cup. “I know you wouldn’t let her be underdressed for her own wedding.”

“If she looks like shit, it’s a reflection on me and that is not happening. She will be simple, understated elegance, even if it kills me. You know my motto - ‘WWJD - what would Jackie do?’. Did you get the link for the invitations?”

“Yes, they look adorable and I love how you’re able to keep the theme flowing to all the elements.”

Seth held up the box and started opening it for Lois, “They are even cuter in real life. The artist has done such a nice job on them and the materials are really high quality. I’m very impressed.”

“Ok, I’ve been looking over the menu,” Lois began, “and I think the choices for the sit down dinner should be a choice of Chicken Francaise, Pan-Seared Salmon and the Sage-Crusted Veal Chop.”

“Ugh,” the sound came from behind Seth, “no sit down dinner. Can’t we just do heavy hors d’oeuvres?” Mia emerged from the house, Nathaniel in her arms and Portia trailing behind, sipping a juice box.

“Nana,” Portia climbed into Seth’s lap to see the screen, “Mommy taught me how to ride waves.”

“Good morning, sweet girl,” Lois smiled at her latest grandchild. “Your mommy is an expert wave rider. Poppy and I used to call her a water rat when she was little because she never wanted to come out of the ocean. Are you having fun out at the beach?”

Portia nodded vigorously and climbed off of Seth’s lap.

“She can’t expect people to drive hours out to Montauk and not feed them a full meal,” Lois was not going to let this go.

“I can hear you,” Mia said loudly from the other side of the table where she was looking at the back of Seth’s laptop.

“Good, because you are not feeding people just hors d’oeuvres.”

Rolling her eyes, “We are not doing pre-arranged seating.”

In Florida, Lois sat at her table, rolling her eyes. Seth looked back and forth between mother and daughter hoping this didn’t get ugly, but was fully prepared to enjoy it, if it did.

“Ok BBC and BBC-Mama, compromise here. Sit down dinner after the cocktail hour, open seating. Does that work for you two?”

Both mother and daughter nodded their heads. Neither looked happy.

“I want Surf ‘n Turf,” Mia chimed in, determined to get the last word. “Do they have a filet mignon and lobster tail option?”

Seth scrolled the online menu, “Yes, they do.”

“Well, that’s what I want. We can get them to make you a veal chop if you want, Mom. Oh and the other thing I want, I want baby lamb chops served butler style during the cocktail hour.”

“Anything else you want, BBC?” Seth was actually sneering.

Mia got up with Nathaniel and started to walk into the house, “Nope. That’s all. Bridezilla out.”

Chapter Fifty-three

“I knew you’d like him,” Schooner sat at his desk at L9/NYC Skyping with Yoli.

“He seems like a real stand-up guy, very easy going and personable.”

“He’s smart as all hell, too. He’ll be a real steal. How long do you think you’d need to stay out there after he comes on board? If he comes on board.”

“A month, six weeks. I mean we’ll only be a phone call away and he’ll have Lucas here backing him up.”

Schooner picked up his phone to look at the calendar, as he scrolled, “So will Lucas be ok not being your backfill?”

Yoli laughed, “He will be relieved. Dealing with stress is not his strong suit.”

Looking up from his phone, “So basically I can have you here full time before the wedding.”

Registering shock, “You’ve set a wedding date and you didn’t tell me?”

Laughing, “I just found out myself. It seems Seth just advised Mia of the details. We’re getting married at a resort on the beach on September 27th out in Montauk, which is on the eastern tip of Long Island.”

“Well, then I need to get to New York before that to find a place to live,” Yoli started scrolling through her calendar.

“Why don’t you and Debbie use Mia’s old apartment when you first get here and look for a place to live once you’re here? It will be much easier and you can get a feel for neighborhoods and what you want.”

“Well thank you. I think we will take you up on that,” putting her phone down, “I have to tell you, this whole wedding thing is so odd. You and Mia relinquishing control, it’s kind of unbelievable considering both of your personalities.”

Laughing, “I know. I was thinking the very same thing last night, but we’ve got the dream team on this, two gay men and a Jewish mother, I cannot even imagine how beautiful this is going to be.”

“Well, we can’t wait.”

“And I can’t wait to get you here full time.”

Ending the Skype call, Schooner picked up his cell, “Hey there.”

“I was just thinking about you.”

Schooner laughed, “Yeah, well, I was just talking about you.”

“I had a great meeting with Yoli. I really like her. Smart, straight shooter.”

“Think you could work with her?”

“Yeah, actually I do. I think we’d make a good team.”

Sitting back in his chair, Schooner stretched out his long legs, “Excellent.”

Chapter Fifty-four

Although Schooner was angry at his older son for not returning home until sunrise, without so much as a phone call as to his whereabouts and for not answering repeated calls to his cell phone (the battery died excuse), their end of the summer dinner at Maguire’s had none of the tension as the meal they’d shared there the summer before, on the night that Zac had arrived.

Waiting up and worried that morning, Schooner railed on his college-bound son about respecting the people around him and hoped he’d gotten through to him at least a little bit. On the second to last night of the best summer of his life, Zac had been out enjoying the spoils of being eighteen, rich and exceedingly handsome, in one of New York’s most coveted summer playgrounds.

Crawling into bed as the sun came up, Zac was in that half sleep state when he instinctively felt like someone was staring at him. Opening his eyes, he was face to face with a smiling set of large, near black eyes.

“Daddy’s mad at you,” Portia lied down next to him, her head on his pillow, “he’s very, very mad.” It was the first time Portia had seen Schooner angry and she was clearly upset by it.

“Dad’s often mad at me, Po.” Not being able to say Portia, Nathaniel referred to his new sister as Po, and now both of her brothers were calling her that.

Her face took on a very serious cast, “I still love you, Zac.”

And he knew she did and always would. This sweet and well behaved little girl, who was now his sister, loved him and looked up to him. The way her face and Nathaniel’s face lit up every time he entered a room, continued to blow his mind and make his heart feel things it had never felt before. And what blew him away even more, was just how much he loved his new little brother and sister. That was a twist Zac Moore did not see coming.

“C’mere you,” he pulled her to him, “can you go back to sleep or are you going to keep me awake?”

“I’ll sleep,” and she cuddled up next to him.

Now sitting on the deck at Maguire’s, Mia, Schooner, the kids, Seth, Charles, Gaby and Paola enjoyed a relatively drama free dinner.

“Holly, I’m sure you are excited about seeing Jared again,” Gaby passed her the pot of steamers.

Pulling out a clam and dipping it in broth, then drawn butter, Holly nodded, “I can’t believe he spent the entire summer in Michigan.”

Zac snickered, “A certain manager of this very establishment didn’t seem too sad that he wasn’t here this summer.”

“Shut up, Cretin,” Holly snapped.

“No name calling around the kids,” Schooner was playing the disciplinarian.

Smiling at him, Mia could see that he was loving every minute of this, including the normal teenage banter of his older two.

“This was a really good summer,” Mia noted and everyone at the table agreed as they worked on the pots of steamers, “I wish it wasn’t ending.”

The next day Schooner would be driving Holly and Zac up to Providence and Boston, getting them settled into their dorms, and Mia would be heading back into the city with the two little ones.

“Oh don’t get all maudlin, BBC, we’ll all be together again at the end of September.” Seth turned to Holly and Zac, “I’m having your clothes for the wedding shipped to me, so all you two need to do is show up.”

They both knew better than to argue with him, especially when it came to the wedding.

“Daddy, how long will you be away?”

Schooner had just spent the last ten days out at the beach with them and Portia had been at his side the whole time. This was her first sign of separation anxiety.

“Only two days, sweetheart and then I’ll be back in the city with you, Mommy and Nathaniel,” his response seemed to allay Portia’s concern.

“So, what are the honeymoon plans?” Gaby asked, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

“We’re not…” Mia began.

“I’ve got that taken care of,” Schooner cut her off.

“You do?” Mia’s face was a picture in shock. “We’re going on a honeymoon?”

“I’ve got it taken care of,” he repeated and focused on cracking a lobster claw.

Mia turned to Seth. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, clearly clueless. Next, she turned to Charles with a questioning look, and he too, shook his head.