Tudor Redemption (Tudor Dynasty Book 4) (2 page)

“I
can’t judge. I’ve never met her.”

“Amadeus
has. What’s his take?”

“Same
as Mary’s. Thinks you need to take your time. But he’s got an open mind. He’ll
wait and see.”

“Oh
gee, I’m flattered.”

“Damien.
You don’t even sound convinced tonight.”

“I’m
not. I can’t put my finger on it, but ever since we started meeting family and
telling them our intentions, something’s been off.”

“Well,
just get through the party, sit down, and talk it out.”

“That’s
all I’m trying to do. I may be completely off.”

“But
your gut tells you otherwise.”

“Yeah,
Daniel’s words ring true.” Taking a swallow of beer, I eyed him. “Don’t say a
word.”

“Wouldn’t
dream of it.”

“I
mean it, Angus. Don’t breathe a word of this.”

If
I managed to avoid everyone for the next two days it would be nothing short of
a miracle.

Chapter
Two

My
eyes did a double take as I sat in my SUV and watched Alana emerge from the
baggage claim two nights later. She’d tried all the tricks, trying to get out
of coming, but I’d stuck to my guns. I’d met her family, now it was her turn to
meet mine.

I
slid out of the vehicle to help her with her luggage. She greeted me rather
coolly. Hell, a polar bear would have given a better hug than what I got from
Alana.

Sliding
behind the wheel, I couldn’t help but stare. “What the fuck did you do to your
hair?”

“I
dyed it, what does it look like?” she replied coldly.

“I
can see that.”

“I
take it you don’t like it.”

“No,
I don’t. It looks fake. I like your natural color better.” Alana has, or rather
had, beautiful dark brown hair that hung down to the center of her back. Now,
it was this, this Soprano’s-like, mafia black. Yeah, she looked like a mobster’s
girlfriend.

“Well,
I think this is a better choice for my career. More dramatic.”

“Who
advised you to make this change?”

“Tony.
He set me up with one of the best salons in Manhattan.”

“I
just bet he did. What’s this costing?”

“I
don’t know. I didn’t ask.”

“So,
you got your hair dyed and whatever else and never thought to ask what you were
paying for it?” I felt my blood boiling.

“What’s
wrong with you, Damien? You always object to anything I try to do to make
myself better.”

“I
only object because you think money grows on trees. You are constantly buying
stuff. Expensive stuff too. You’re not Taylor Swift or some other super star.
You’re just Alana. Trying to get your career off the ground. Act like it.”

“If
I did that, no one would notice.”

“Oh,
is that what Tony says? Buy the most expensive dress, act the part, and it’ll
instantly come true? Well, newsflash, Alana, it doesn’t work that way. Even the
super divas you envy had to work hard to get to where they are. After this
party, you and I are going to sit down and talk.” I was fuming, and I heard my
brother-in-law’s words coming back to haunt me.

She
mumbled something I partially understood and looked out the window.

“What’d
you just say?”

“Nothing.
If you aren’t going to say anything nice, can we please not talk? You’re giving
me a headache.”

“Fine
with me.”

We
arrived back at the condo. I caught her turning her nose up at everything as
she walked through the rooms. Fair enough. I hadn’t really told her how I’d
ended up with Amadeus’s old place. How the girls and I had decorated it.

“I
thought when you said condo, it would be in that place where they filmed that
movie. This needs work. A lot of work.”

“Excuse
me? Did I just hear you right? For the price of a condo in that place I could
buy a very nice house on Bainbridge Island. You need to keep your mouth shut
until you know the facts. This place might not be as shiny, but trust me, a
unit with a view like this one is far from cheap, sweetie.”

“Can
we at least look for a place of our own?”

“We’ll
talk after the party. If we do look, you can bet it won’t be in that freaking
building.”

She
was texting someone, not paying a bit of attention to what I was saying. Just
like one of the girls.

“Alana,
who are you texting?”

“Sherry.”

“It’s
three in the morning in London.”

“She’s
still up.”

Okay,
Dame, chill out. This is supposed to be a happy time. You’re planning a new
life with this woman. Yet, somehow, I wasn’t feeling it. “Would you like a
glass of wine?”

“Please.”

“Come,
pick one out. I can never keep up with which you like.”

Grabbing
her hand, I led her to the kitchen. Pointing to the rack on the counter, I
opened a drawer and pulled out the corkscrew. Has she done something to her
lips? I don’t recall them being that full.

“There
are a couple of bottles of white in the refrigerator if you’d rather have that.”

She
opened it and pulled out a bottle of Zinfandel. “Here, this will do.”

“The
girls are staying over at friends tonight. They thought we’d like it if they
played scarce for at least a night.”

“That’s
sweet,” she replied, accepting the glass from me.

It
suddenly dawned on me she hadn’t even kissed me, nor had I kissed her. I’d been
too busy barking at her. I leaned down, and she let me, but when I tried to
initiate something more sensual, she shut me down.

“Don’t
Dame. My lips are still sore.”

“They
look nice,” I lied.
They make you look
like a kisser fish, but hey, that’s just my opinion.
“Was that one of your
appointments?” Of course it was, and I wondered what this was going to cost.

“Yes.”
She shyly smiled. “I’m glad you like them. It doesn’t look too obvious, the
change?”

“No,
not at all.” Liar, liar pants on fire. Yep, kisser fish. This is one of those
maintenance things. “Come, let’s go sit down.”

Taking
her by the hand, I led her back to the loveseat. She took a drink of wine,
setting the glass down on the table next to her. Then, she yawned. Well, it is
eight hours’ time difference in London. Three in New York.

“What
are we doing tomorrow?”

“I
thought I’d show you around town. Show you where I grew up, silly stuff like
that.”

“That’s
nice. What time is the party?”

“Any
time after two on Saturday. We have to take a ferry to get to Amadeus’s place.
We’ll leave late morning...unless I can talk you into sailing.”

“No,
if the wind dies we’d never make it in time. I want to look good, not windblown,
when I meet your family.”

“Good
point.”

“Who
all’s going to be there, Dame?”

“My
two brothers and their families, my girls, my mother, and her husband, Peter
MacNichol.”

“Okay.”

“Something
wrong, Alana?”

“No.
I was curious, that’s all.”

I
decided to push her a little. See if she’d open up, or if all this was my
overactive imagination. “Have you decided on a place you’d like to get married?
Still leaning toward Paris?”

“Yes,
Paris.”

“Well,
if that’s where you want, we need to set a date. I was thinking nine to twelve
months ought to be plenty of time for everyone to plan for it. Don’t you think?”

“Yes.
You’re right. We’ll need to decide on a venue. Whatever we choose, I’m sure we’ll
have to put a deposit down to hold it.”

“That’s
fine. Why don’t you and your mom decide? Whatever you choose, I know will be
beautiful.”

“Are
you sure? You don’t mind?”

“No.
All I’ll have to do is show up. Has your dad given you a budget yet?”

“No,
nothing firm. I suppose I need to talk with him, tell him I need to get started
on this now.”

“Pick
a date, and let me know what budget your dad gives you.”

“Oh?”
She picked up her glass of wine again, taking another sip. She was nervous
about something. That’s one thing I do know about Alana. When she gets nervous
or upset, she drinks without giving a thought as to how much.

“Yeah,
a date. It would be nice if we could have one for my family when we see them.”

“Yes,
of course.” She scrolled her phone, supposedly looking at possible dates. Then,
she smiled. Perhaps that wasn’t what she was looking at. “June twelfth? It’s a
Saturday.”

“Great.
You need to find out what the requirements are for getting married there. I’m
sure, since I’m not a citizen, there’ll be some hoop I’ll have to jump through.”

“Didn’t
your brother Amadeus get married in Paris?”

“Yeah,
he and Zara did.”

“Ask
them. I’m sure nothing’s changed since then.”

“I’ll
be sure to do that.”

“Thanks,
sweetie. I’m going to be up to my neck in decisions with so many things to do
between now and then.”

“Consider
it off your list.”

I
was about to say something when my phone rang. I peered down at the caller ID.
My mother. Great. Perfect timing as always. I mouthed “my mother” to Alana,
catching an eye roll.

“Hi,
Mother.”

“You
and Alana made it in okay? I just wanted to check.”

“Yes.
We’re discussing wedding details.”

“Have
you picked a date and place yet?”

“June
twelfth next year, and it’ll be in Paris. Alana’s going to look at some places
soon and make a decision.”

“Wonderful.
If you’re happy, Damien, I’m happy. Are the girl’s there?”

“No,
they decided to give us some space.”

“I
spoke with Mary.”

“Oh
really?”

“Yes.
Daniel wasn’t pleased?”

“I’m
not sure.”

“I
understand. You can’t talk.”

“You’re
right about that.”

“Okay,
I’m going to let you go. How about the four of us doing dinner tomorrow
evening? Think about it. You can let me know tomorrow.”

“I’ll
talk to you tomorrow, Mother. Tell Peter hello for me.”

“I
shall.”

She
hung up. Yep, even she has her suspicions. This ought to be one hell of a
party.

Turning
to Alana, I found her laying back, eyes closed. Really? “Alana, babe? Do you
want to go to bed?”

“I’m
sorry, Dame. I guess everything’s caught up with me. Yes, please. Show me the
guest room so I can get settled in.” She smiled, one of those fake ones. The
ones she knew I hated.

“Guest
room? I thought you’d sleep with me.”

“With
Brittney and Courtney being present, and us not married?”

Okay,
Mary Manners, where did you come from? Normally, this chick’s all over me after
being apart even a day. Tonight she’s giving me the cold shoulder? “They aren’t
here, and they wouldn’t care anyway. We shared a suite when I took you to meet
them.”

“That
was different, Dame. They had their own room.”

“But
they’re staying over with friends tonight. What’s the deal?”

“Nothing.
I simply want to get some sleep and not be bothered.”

“Bothered?
So, I bother you?”

“Damien
you know what I mean,” she snapped, cutting her eyes at me. “Besides, I’m
having my period.”

“Since
when did that ever stop us? You know what? Fine, let me show you to the guest
room. You’ll have to do with Britt’s room, as my less than satisfactory home
only has three bedrooms.”

“You
really don’t have to be so dramatic.”

“Fine.
You want your space? Follow me, I’ll show you to your space.”

I
sprung up from the loveseat and grabbed the handle of her suitcase. I heard her
make a sighing noise behind me as I led her down the hall. I turned on the
overhead light and walked out.

“Good
night,” I mumbled.

“Good
night, Damien. Thank you.”

“Get
some sleep, Alana.”

“I
love you.”

I
was already three steps down the hall, choosing to pretend I hadn’t heard her.

Well,
that certainly went well.

Chapter
Three

When
Alana finally did get up the following morning, it was almost noon. Half the
day gone. I said nothing and was all smiles when she emerged from the bedroom.
Even though she looked as though she had just stepped out of the pages of Vogue,
I had to admit she looked hot. Overdressed, but hot. She was in jeans, skintight
jeans, everything meticulously thought out. Now if she’d just get rid of the
mafia hair and those lips.

“Morning,”
I said, looking over the lid of my laptop.

“Good
morning.”

“I
just made a fresh pot of coffee.”

“Thank
you. Would you be a sweetie and get me a cup? My nails still aren’t dry.”

“Of
course.” I stood up and walked over to her. Knowing I was going to want to kiss
her, she turned her head ever so slightly, so I only got her cheek. “Lips still
a little sore?”

She
nodded. Alana loved to be coddled like the spoiled young woman she was.

“Poor
baby. Why don’t you go sit down? I’ll be right back with your coffee.”

I
went into the kitchen. There was no half-and-half, like she preferred. The
girls must have forgotten it while shopping. Alana would be sure to point out
she preferred her coffee with it.

She
was sitting in front of my laptop when I came back. As a way to pass the time,
I’d started making spreadsheets for the wedding. I thought they’d be useful for
Alana.

“What’s
all this?” she asked as I placed the mug in her hand.

“Wedding
spreadsheets. Thought they might be helpful for us.” I showed her how I’d set
them up so she could fill in dates and other important information.

“That’s
really sweet, Dame. Really, it is, but I’m going to hire a wedding planner for
all that.”

A
wedding planner? Really? “Your Dad has that in his budget?”

“I
don’t know. I just assumed you would pay for one if it wasn’t. I really need
one, Dame. Please? Between my career and planning a wedding, it’s going to get
so stressful.”

“We’ll
talk about it after tomorrow. My thought on it is, I’ll worry about your
career, you plan the wedding. If something comes along you need to be involved
in, I’ll let you know.”

She
was trying to put on her best pouty face. Not working, Alana. Not right now. I
needed to steer this conversation on to something else.

“Drink
your coffee so we can get going. I thought we’d go have lunch down at Pike
Place Fish Market.” I got a wrinkly nose on that. Not Park Avenue enough for
her. Oh well, you’re in my world now, baby.

“I
made a list of some places I’d like to see.”

“Good
deal.” My phone vibrated in my pocket. I fished it out to see who was calling.
I’d already updated the girls on the sleeping arrangements...unless they
changed. Mother. “Have you given any thought to us having dinner with my mother
and Peter?”

Wrinkly
nose again. “Aren’t we going to see them tomorrow?”

“Yes.
I just think she’d like some one-on-one time with us.”

She
looked down at the list she was carrying. “I suppose we could. You said they
were staying in Bellevue?”

“Yeah,
at Amadeus’s other place. Why?”

“There’s
supposed to be a really hot club over there. We could go check it out
afterwards.”

Bingo!
The alternative reason—to be seen. “We have to get going at a decent hour in
the morning. We won’t have time to go to a club. Maybe next week.”

“Next
week? How long are we staying here? I thought we were just coming for this
party?”

“Alana,
I told you. A week. I want us to look for our own place.”

“Well,
then I guess we won’t be having dinner with your mother.”

“Fine.”

“And
I didn’t agree to move here, Damien.”

“We’ve
been over this, Alana. The subject is closed.” I walked to the windows so I
could calm down. Looking out at the sound always calmed me, although I wasn’t sure
anything could calm me from this mad woman and her insane ideas. “Besides, you
haven’t even seen the city yet.”

I
watched her reflection as she took a sip off her coffee. Yep, she knows it’s
not half-and-half. I texted my mother back, telling her thanks, but since we
were going to be out all day, I thought it best we stay in for the evening.

“Come
on,” I said, turning back around. “Grab your stuff and let’s go.”

A
short time later, we were in the SUV and headed out. I swung by Angus’s house
to show her where I’d grown up. She didn’t appear overly impressed. Instead,
she wanted to see the building where the fictional Christian Grey lived. Oh
well, make her happy.

That
snapped her out of her mood, and next thing I knew, she was going on and on
about it. Made me drive around the block twice for a better look.

“Can
we at least look at a unit in there, sweetie? Please.”

“Alana,
I told you. That’s about the most expensive place in town. I’m no Christian
Grey. Besides, like I told you, I’d rather use that sort of money on a house
with a yard.”

Eye
roll and nose wrinkle. Guess that idea is really not winning any points.

I
drove down in front of the market, finding a prized parking place within easy
walking distance. “Come on, you’ll like this. I thought we’d get some crab for
dinner while we’re here.”

“Won’t
they spoil before we get back to your condo?”

“I’ll
have them put on dry ice. Or I can swing by and put them in the refrigerator.”
Either way, we were having this day to sightsee and talk.

When
we reached the restaurant, I thought for sure she was going to balk. A hole in
the wall, albeit a very famous one. It was where Tom Hanks had eaten while
filming
Sleepless in Seattle
. So when
I showed her the life-sized Tom Hanks she could have her photo with, she became
chattier.

Lunch
was relaxed for the most part. She went on and on again about a new place.
Trying to convince me of something I wasn’t falling for.

She
was quiet walking through the market. I knew she’d been to ones in Europe, but
she acted like it was beneath her. We stopped at a flower vendor, and I told
her to pick out some flowers. That helped. The fishmonger was even better. I’d
been buying my seafood from this guy for years, so I knew most of the guys who
worked there. Of course, they made a fuss over Alana, which was just what she
wanted.

Last
stop was my sailboat. I pulled up in front of the marina where I kept her.

Alana
did that thing with her nose again. “Why are we stopping here?”

“I
want to show you my boat.”

“I
don’t need to see it, sweetie. I don’t care for sailboats.”

“Have
you ever been on one?”

“Yes,
but it was huge. Not one of these small ones.”

Of
course, it was. One of your billionaire friends owned it, I’m sure. Right
before Alana and I hooked up, she’d been seeing some Middle Eastern prince. Or
so the story goes. He evidently took her to exotic places, spent lavishly on
her. Wasn’t ever sure what the real story was on why she broke up with him. One
thing was true—I was learning fast that I wasn’t meeting her high standards.

“Well,
none of us have one that big. If you’re going to be part of this family, you’re
going to have to deal with the fact we love to sail. Either learn or not. Your
choice.”

“No
one has a power boat?”

“Yeah,
Amadeus has one for skiing and such, but that’s it.”

“Well,
we need to get one then. One with a cabin.”

“I
only do sailboats, Alana. I want the freedom of racing across the water under
no power but mother nature.”

“Can
we go now?”

She
was determined to have a miserable time. Yep, after this party thing, we needed
to have a serious talk. She’s turned into this person I don’t know. If she
pushes me too hard, we’ll be having our chat before then.

“Sure.
Let’s take the crab back to the condo.”

“We’re
not really going to eat those like that, are we?”

“Yes.”
I chuckled. “I could have bought them alive, and we cook them. That’s what you
do when you crab off a boat, you know.”

“Disgusting.
I’m not going to sit a table and crack crab.”

“You
know you could have told me that when I bought them, sweetheart. That’s what we’re
having for dinner. Take it or leave it.”

“I’ll
go out for dinner then.”

“You’ll
what?” I caught myself shouting.

“Damien,
I need to go out, be seen. I can’t better my career by sitting in some
disgusting condo cracking crab. I thought you knew that.” She shook her head
and looked out the car window.

“Alana,
we’re not here to work. We’re here so you can meet my family, and we can look
for our own place. It won’t hurt you not to be seen out clubbing or dining for
a few days.”

“But—”

“I
don’t want to hear anymore.”

And
I didn’t.

Brittney
was watching a movie when we walked in. She immediately put it on pause and
rushed over to hug me.

“How’s
my CEO?” I kidded her as she broke free.

“Great,
now that I’m off for four days.” She turned to Alana. “Hi Alana. Dad showing
you around?” Smart girl. Brittney said nothing about her hair or lip job.

“Yes.”

“What
you got there?” she asked, pointing to the Styrofoam cooler.

“Dungeness.”

“Yum.”

“Britt?”
Alana interjected. “I think I’m staying in your bedroom. Do you need anything
out of there? I’d really like to lie down for a while. All that fresh air’s
given me a headache.”

“Sure.
Let me grab a few things.”

I
watched my daughter roll her eyes at me as she headed down the hall. Britt had
obviously talked with her sister.

“Headache,
huh?” Headache, my ass.

“Yes.
It just came on. I’ll be fine in a while. I’ll take something and lie down for
a bit.”

“Yeah,
you do that. By then, dinner will be ready.”

“I
told you. I’m not cracking those disgusting crabs.”

“Then,
I guess you’ll be going hungry.”

“No,
I’ll go out.”

“Alana—”

“It’s
all yours, Alana. I left some Advil on the nightstand for your headache.” Britt
yelled from down the hall.

“Excuse
me. I’m going to get a bottle of water and lie down.”

I
said nothing. Instead, I turned away from her. Otherwise, I might not be
responsible for what came out of my mouth, and I didn’t want my daughter
subjected to it.

Kids
though, especially mine, pick up on everything, and since their mother left, we
don’t hide anything from each other.

“You
okay, Dad?”

“Me?
Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

“Uh,
I don’t know. It might just be the drop in temperature when Alana opened her
mouth. Oh, and what’s with her lips and hair?”

“I
have no idea, Britt.”

“You
wanna talk?”

“No,
not here. It’s what she thinks we’re doing anyway. I don’t want to add fuel to
the fire.”

“How
about we go for a sail? Just a short one. Maybe by the time we get back Alana
will be feeling better.”

“Yeah,
come on. That sounds like just what I need. Let me tell Alana we’re leaving.”

“I’ll
get ready and grab some munchies and drinks.”

I
nodded and headed down the hall. The door was closed, so I tried to open it.
Locked. What the hell? I tapped on it softly. No response.

“Alana,
I know you’re awake. Britt and I are going sailing so you’ll have some quiet.”

No
response. I turned and went into the kitchen. Britt was packing up a canvas
bag. I dug through a drawer for a piece of paper and black marker.

“What’s
that for?” my smarter-than-the-average-kid asked.

“Just
letting Alana know where we’ve gone in case she gets up before we get back.”

“Oh,
okay.”

I
wrote everything out and with thumbtack in hand I posted it on the wall
directly across from the bedroom. No way would she be able to miss that. Then, I
changed my shoes, grabbed a cap, and headed back to where Britt stood patiently
waiting.

“Come
on, let’s go sailing,” I said.

****

We
worked in relative silence preparing the boat. Hooking the sails up, doing a
checklist. The three of us had been doing this long enough we had an
established pattern of who did what. If one wasn’t there, the other two took up
the slack.

I
sat and watched Britt navigate us out of the marina and into the sound. It was
hard to believe this was the same person standing in front of me. It seemed
like just yesterday she’d been a little girl as she helped me steer the boat.