The Other F-Word (37 page)

I stared at him, speechless for a moment. This man was special. He had shifted my perceptions and changed me. I wanted to give all of myself to him, to share the enormous love we had for each other, and create a future for us.

“Jessie, it’s your turn to say something now.”

I dropped to my knees and took his hand.

“What the hell are you doing?” He put his hands on my arm to lift me up, but I pushed against his rock-hard abs until he backed away.

“I have some things to say too, and I need to do it from down here.”

“I don’t want you to grovel. I’m the one asking you back, remember?”

I shook my head at his signature Damien Wolfe smirk. “Shut up, and listen to me. I’ve never done this before and I’m not really prepared, but like everything about us it’s going to be spontaneous, and real and good. I love you with all my heart. You made me realise there was something missing in my life all these years. I don’t have a ring, but I will get one. Damien Wolfe, will you please be my husband? Will you please be the father to our future children? I can’t give you children in any traditional way, but hey, whoever said we were conventional.”

He fell to his knees, taking my hands. “You don’t have to do this for me, Jessie. Having you is enough for me. Having you is the only thing I need.”

I tousled his hair. “It’s not enough for me anymore, Damien.”

He swallowed, sitting back on his legs, arching his brow.

I smiled at him and his lips curled up, mimicking mine. “Fate’s a funny thing. This whole time, it hasn’t just been giving me hints, it’s been clubbing me over the head. I’ve been doing some serious thinking too, baby. I’m such a stupid woman sometimes.”

“I would have used the word stubborn.”

“No, I was stupid…so stupid that I didn’t even realise how broken I was, but your kindness and strength healed me too. There have been so many warnings that this is the right decision, but I was not listening as I should have been.”

“What warnings?”

“The love you have for me, the things you do for me, the conversations I had with my family, even the cats at play.”

He wiped my tears away. Tears of joy. He grinned. “Cats at play?”

“Um…it’s a long story, but the gist is that love will always find a way. Damien, I didn’t change my mind
for
you. I changed my mind
because
of you. I love you.”

He placed a hand on either side of my face, pulling me in for a long kiss. God, how I’d missed his mouth on mine. His body next to me. I never wanted to be without him again. When he pulled away, we were both panting, our breaths marked by the smoky puffs of cold night air.

“You didn’t answer. Will you marry me?”

“No,” he said.

My heart fell into a million pieces, but he lifted my chin, forcing my eyes to meet his.

“I want to ask you to marry me. I’m traditional that way. But first, I’m going to buy the biggest rock I can find. One that will make it difficult for you to lift this finger,” he said, holding up my ring finger. “One that will let everyone know you are mine and mine alone.”

He crushed his mouth against mine. I ran my fingers through his hair. His hand roamed up my waist and over my breast. I pulled away. “What are you doing?”

“I was just—”

“We’re outside, for God’s sake!”

He grinned. “As usual, you’re throwing me off my game.”

“I think you should meet my family now…officially. Brace yourself, we aren’t the most traditional people.”

He laughed. “Baby, that doesn’t surprise me at all.”

He stood then helped me up. I led him inside. Damien looked around the room. “What holiday are you celebrating?”

“All of them.”

Everyone in the room froze in mid-conversation, staring at us.

“Marley, why don’t you get the dessert,” Stevie said, crossing her arms. “I think we need to dish.”

I made the introductions and Damien shook everyone’s hand. My heart leapt again when I watched him shaking little Bobby’s hand. Damien repeated Rick’s name. “Rick Randy—really? Are you a porn star?” he asked.

“Naw, he just plays one in the bedroom. Right, Marley?” Adam said, patting Marley on the back.

“Adam, stop talking. You sound more intelligent that way, and we need to make a good impression here,” she replied, rolling her eyes.

“I think he’s going to fit in just fine,” Billie said, with her hand on her hips.

They insisted we sit on the couch. A plate of German chocolate cake was shoved in my lap. They all sat on the floor, except for Adam Senior and Kate, who decided they were going to retire for the night.

I stared at all their expectant faces then back at Damien.

“Why do I feel like I’m in a hostile takeover?” he whispered.

“More like a cautious merger and acquisition.”

“Dish… What are your intentions with our mother?” Dillon asked, setting the stage for what I was sure was going to be an awkward interrogation. Payback was a bitch.

I held up my hand to quiet them. “I will answer that question. Dish… Damien is an amazing man. You will all find that out on your own soon enough. We are getting married.”

Some of them shrieked with joy, some did a passionate sigh, some smiled, but every reaction was positive.

“We’re going to have children, too. This family will grow as all families do. Little Bobby’s going to have aunts and uncles that are younger than him, which will be weird, but hey, whoever said we were normal.”

“I think that’s perfect,” Stevie said.

“Me too,” Billie agreed.

“So are you going to move in with Damien now and live in sin until you’re married? Or are you going to lease the apartment still?” Dillon asked.

“Not funny, kid,” I said, shaking my finger at him. “We haven’t talked that out yet, but we will.”

“Well you’d better get started, because we’re moving you tomorrow and we need to know where,” Adam said.

“I’ll let you know by the time the moving truck gets here. So I think we’re all done with the dish session unless anyone else has anything.”

Damien squeezed my hand. “Actually, do you mind if I say something?”

“Of course, anything.”

“How does this game work? I just say dish and then whatever I want?”

I nodded. “We should have explained it to you. Sorry.”

“I’m a quick study. So here it goes, dish…I bought your house.”

My jaw dropped to the ground. “No you didn’t. Wolgar LLC bought the house.”

He grinned, taking out a paper from his jacket pocket. “I am Wolgar—actually, we are. I put the house back in your name.”

“Us?” I stared with confusion at the paperwork he handed me.

He pointed out my name on it. He leaned closer to me, dropping his voice, causing everyone else to lean in closer to us. “Wolf and Cougar…Wolgar.”

“I don’t understand. Why?”

“You love this house. That’s very apparent. No matter what happened between us, you belonged here. I signed it back over to you.”

“It’s a nice gesture, but it seems sort of silly, since you’ll be getting married now,” Dillon said.

Damien looked around the room. “I don’t know. I really like this house. It has good bones.” He turned back to me, tucking a piece of loose hair behind my ear. “It’s perfect for say…raising a family?”

I nodded, feeling the tears invade my face again. “I couldn’t agree more.”

“It’ll be odd being the only billionaire on the block,” Rick said.

“Eh, we’re already the block weirdos. This just makes us more authentic,” Stevie added. “I think it’s perfect.”

“Thanks for setting the bar so high for the rest of the men in this family, Wolfe,” Adam said, but he was smiling. “Most men would have just bought flowers.”

“I’ll remember that next time.”

“I guess we’re done with dish,” I said, wondering if it would be rude to ask everyone to leave, so I could get this man up in my bedroom again.

“Oh, but we have more,” Dillon said. Then they went down the line one by one as if they’d rehearsed this. I think they had.

Rick—“Belonging to this family is an honour.”

Dillon—“But membership is not extended lightly.”

Stevie—“You have to take care of our mother.”

Marley—“She is the most special person in the world to us.”

Adam—“And if you screw this up.”

Billie—“We will all come after you.”

Damien grinned. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

He pulled me into his embrace and whispered in my ear, “I finally found something more fierce than a cougar.”

“What’s that?”

“A cougar pack.”

We laughed.

“I love you, Jessie,” he said.

“I love you too.”

“You’re getting married and the man doesn’t even know you name?” Stevie quipped.

I was too busy kissing Damien to explain.

Epilogue

I wanted a small wedding, but Damien’s mother wanted something grand. In the end, I was happy we were getting married at the Wilston where my daughter had said her vows to Rick. It was perfect.

I stared at myself in the full-length mirror, not believing the image that greeted me. I stood in an antique lace gown with modern floral appliqués and a funky pink rose in my hair. It was a little bit Jackie Kennedy and a little bit Janis Joplin. It was me.

“I think I managed to salvage your make-up quite well, if I do say so myself,” Dillon said, inspecting my face.

I smiled, remembering the break down I’d had when I’d walked into the living room of my house…our house and saw the long wooden dining table there. It was new and familiar too.

“He made it for you,” Marley had explained.

“It’s made from the slats of our old one,” Billie had said, leading me to it.

Stevie had pointed out the long, jagged gouge I was so familiar with. “It’s his wedding present to you.”

Then I’d pretty much ruined all of Dillon’s hard work on my meticulous make-up job. They’d had to pull me away to get me into the limo because my legs hadn’t been moving. I hadn’t been scared. On the contrary, I’d felt full…so full, I couldn’t move.

“Thank you, Dillon,” I said, embracing him.

“Sure thing, Mom.”

The sounds of
Hey Mama
filled the air as my girls came bouncing into the room with their flouncy green gowns. Suddenly, my hands were clasped and we were all spinning around.

“I love this song,” Billie said.

“Me too.”

“Well, you might be living in a middle class home, but you sure are taking a first class honeymoon. Three months seems like a long time,” Stevie said.

“It is, but Damien hasn’t had a vacation since he was a kid and there are so many places we both wanted to see. Besides, my future husband’s mixing business with pleasure. He’s visiting some of his overseas properties too.”

“That’s a drag,” Stevie said.

“I don’t mind. It’s the last part of our trip that I’m looking the most forward to.”

“India is what you’re excited about? Not Rome, France or England?” Dillon asked.

“Yes, because hopefully we’ll bring someone very special back with us—our own bundle of joy.”

Damien and I had spent a great deal of time talking about our family. We’d both agreed we should get started right away, and after much debate, we’d concluded adoption was the best option for us. The paperwork was already signed and in place. The prospect of having another baby had been something I’d written off a long time ago, but now I could barely contain myself. I was going to be a mother again. It was the best job in the world. Sometimes, life threw curveballs, and Damien Wolfe was just that. He’d come into my life and changed my perceptions. I’d thought I was happy before. I realised now that I hadn’t fully understood the meaning of the word happy.

“We’re all excited about that,” Billie said, putting her arm around my shoulder.

A clearing throat interrupted us. Rick stood at the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“It’s no problem, Rick.”

“You look beautiful, Emmie.”

“Thank you.”

“There’s someone here to see you. Do you mind?”

“As long as it’s not the groom.”

“No, it’s not him.” He stepped aside, helping an elderly lady dressed in a pink suit into the room. Despite her icy blonde locks, which didn’t have a hint of grey, she was all Jacqueline Kennedy.

I swallowed hard, feeling my girls embrace me. “Hello, Mom,” I greeted the woman. I could tell by the reactions of my children that they had already met her.

“Hello, Emmie, I hope this is all right.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I think we’ll go downstairs and wait for you,” Marley said. “Come on, guys.”

Rick clasped Marley’s arm just before they walked out. “I can’t believe I married into this gene pool. Do any of the women in your family age?”

“Guess you’ll have to stick around and find out, cowboy,” she said, then kissed his cheek.

“There is no other option,” he said, following behind her.

Smart man.

Looking at my mother, I could understand the question. Despite the wrinkles in the corners of her eyes, she looked beautiful. Perhaps even regal.

They all walked out of the room before closing the door. My mom stared after them, as if she was trying to study them. She turned back to me with a sad smile.

“Stevie looks just like your father, and you.”

“She has his personality too at times. She’s very stubborn and bossy.”

She chuckled nervously. “Billie takes after my side of the family. Marley is somewhere in between, I think.”

“I’d have to agree. I don’t understand why you’re here, Mom.”

She walked towards me in trepidation. “You’re marrying an amazing man.”

“I know that.”

“Did you know he came to see me? He’s pretty stubborn himself. I was a stupid woman, exiling myself from your life.” She choked on a sob. “And my grandchildrens’, but he convinced me it’s not too late. He invited me. I didn’t want you to see me among the wedding guests when you were walking down the aisle, so I thought it was better to ask you if I should be here.”

I felt the first tear and wiped it away quickly. I had no intention of letting Dillon do my make-up a third time.

“I’m happy you’re here. You can never have enough family.”