Tudor Redemption (Tudor Dynasty Book 4) (22 page)

“Would you care to plan a wedding to
include all my crazy family?”

“Good point. That could snowball out of
control.”

“Exactly. It would. Let my mother get
involved, and she’d have half of Seattle and the music industry invited. It
would be a circus.”

“Yes, it would.”

“So?”

“So, what?” She grinned.

“Will you marry me Beth?”

“Suppose for a moment I said yes. Where
are we going to live? It’ll be months until your house is finished. Do we spend
part of the time at my house and the other at your condo?”

“I don’t know. We’ll figure it out. You’re
avoiding answering the question, Beth Asher.”

“So I am. Yes, I’ll marry you, but we have
much to discuss and get ironed out before we do.”

“We can’t leave for Vegas from here and
elope?”

“Only if we get things figured out beforehand.”
I couldn’t make her face out very well, but I had a feeling she had a huge
smile on her face. Mocking me.

“You drive a hard bargain.”

“Yes, I do. Now, why don’t you shut that
brain of yours off? Your cock too. And let’s try to get a few more hours sleep.
You promised to show me around today.”

****

Sitting at a table in our suite a few
hours later enjoying breakfast, I picked up my phone to begin checking
messages. Beth was doing the same.

We really must quit this ridiculous habit
and talk to each other, or we’ll end up like all those family’s I see in
restaurants. Engrossed in their phones and not their loved ones.

“Have you decided where you want to go
today?” I asked as I put mine down in favor of a forkful of scrambled egg.

She looked up and cocked an eyebrow. “I
thought you had the day planned out for us.” Her phone pinged, and she returned
her attention to her screen.

“Yeah, I thought we’d stay here and have
mind blowing sex all day.”

“That should be fun,” she replied, still
focused on her cell.

I picked up my coffee and stared at her. “Beth.”
She glanced at me. “Can you please put the phone down for a few minutes and
talk to me?”

“I’m sorry. Bad habit, but you know this
is a working trip.”

“I know, it is for me too. However, if we
want to make use of this gorgeous day, we need to decide what we’re going to do
and get going. I thought you might like to go wander around Rodeo Drive. Shop.”

“Damien, I have never worn couture and don’t
intend to start now.”

“There are other stores if you don’t want
clothes.”

A light went off in her head as she thought
through what I’d just said. “Jewelers? Damien, I thought we were going to sort
some matters out first. I appreciate you wanting to get me a ring, but I really
don’t need one to know you love me.”

She was going to have one if I had to do
it without her picking it out. “Fine. When you decide what you’d like to do,
let me know, because so far anything I’ve suggested you’ve turned your nose up
at.”

“You mentioned the beach. Why don’t we do
that? Unless of course you’re going to pout all day about it. Then, I’d rather
stay here and sit out by the pool.”

“Don’t do this, Beth.”

“Do what? What am I doing? I’m trying to
make plans, and you keep dissing them. If we keep this up, it’ll be too late to
go anywhere.”

“Okay, calm down. Let’s start this over.
Let’s rent a car and go to the beach. I’d really enjoy that. I’ve never seen it
here.” I was looking at my phone now. “Okay. I’d love to take you up the
Pacific Coast Highway, but with traffic and stuff, I don’t think we’d have
enough time. We’ll go hang out at Venice Beach. We should be right at home
there with all the eccentric people.” I gave her a grin as my cell chimed again.
“It’s Amadeus. Something about Angus. It has to be important, or he wouldn’t
keep trying to reach me.”

“Oh dear. Yes, find out what’s going on. I’ll
see about getting a rental downstairs.”

“Thanks, babe.” I began scrolling back
through my kid brother’s texts. I finally decided it would be easier just to
call him rather than try to make sense of all this. “I’m going in the bedroom to
call him. It’ll be quicker than texting.”

She nodded her head as I picked up my
phone and coffee to leave the room.

“What’s Angus done now?” I half-jokingly
asked my brother when he answered.

“He’s missing. Gone.”

“How can he be missing?”

“I went over to Bellevue. He didn’t answer,
so I let myself in. The place was empty. Like he’d never even been there.”

“Have you tried the yacht club? Maybe he
went to his boat after all.”

“Not there, and no one’s seen him.”

“Think.”

“I am. He’s not touring now, so that’s
out.”

“Wait a minute. Have you tried his house?”

“You don’t think he and Ashley have worked
things out, do you?”

“No, not at all. I just remembered that
his attorneys did some sort of courtroom posturing about the house. Told the
judge it had been in his family since he was a boy, and it was sort of a
Seattle landmark. I’m not sure. All I know is Ashley was furious. Why, I don’t
know, because he was going to give her half of what the house was worth.”

“Greedy bitch.”

“Yeah well. I can relate. Drive over to
the house, A. Don’t call. I’d just about bet he’s there.”

“But wouldn’t she still be there?”

“No. Not when she found that out. Angus
said she was raving on about getting the hell out of that miserable house as
fast as she could.”

“I’ll go check. I’ll let you know what I
find. How’d it go last night?”

“Awesome. You’ll never guess who weaseled
her way into the after party?”

“I give up. Julia?”

“Yep. Live and just as obnoxious as ever.
I’ll tell you about it when I get back. Right now, Beth and I are heading for
Venice Beach.”

“Nice. I thought you were going to dazzle
her with a ring from Rodeo Drive?”

“She says she’s not interested in that.
Just me.”

“So, when’s the wedding?” He snorted.

“We have things to discuss, I’ve been
told. So, whenever all that is in order. Whatever it may be.”

“I’m liking her more and more. She keeps
you on your toes.”

“You can say that again. Look, I hate to
cut it short, but we need to get on the road. You know the traffic here. Call
me when you find that sorry ass. I want to talk to him.”

“I’ll do it.”

“I mean it, Amadeus. I’ve been through a
nasty divorce. I know what he’s going through.”

“I will. If he’s not there, I’ll call you.
We’ll have to figure out where else he might go.”

“Trust me, if Ashley’s moved out, he’s at
that house.”

“Okay. I’m heading that way. I’ll talk to
you in a couple of hours.”

I took a swallow of my now cooling coffee
and walked back in to join Beth. She was standing at the windows with a cup of
coffee in her hand.

“Everything okay?”

“I think so. I’ll explain in the car.”

“Okay. Let me get my things.”

We were sitting at a cafe on the boardwalk
enjoying lunch when Amadeus finally got back to me. I’d explained the situation
with Angus during our drive over. Wanting her to hear what my brother had or
hadn’t found, I put the call on speaker.

“Did you find him?”

“Yep, just like you said. He was at his
house. Ashley and the girls were gone. Not a trace of them.”

I glanced over at Beth, who was shaking
her head. “Did she take everything, trash the house?”

“Amazingly the house was not trashed. His
stuff was where it was supposed to be. But yeah, she took everything.”

“Damn. What’s his mood?”

“You know Angus. He doesn’t do well alone.
Especially with something like this.”

“He doesn’t need to be alone in that
house. Not yet.”

“I know, but he doesn’t want to stay at
our condo.”

“Amadeus, this is Beth. I might have a
solution. Even if it’s only temporary.”

I locked eyes with her and smiled.

“Hey, Beth. Tell me. Anything’s better
than nothing.”

“Why couldn’t Angus stay out where you
are? He could sort of oversee what’s going on at the house. It would get his
mind off some of this other stuff. I have an RV he could stay in on site.”

“That could work, right Dame?”

“It sure could. In fact, I may have a
solution. First, I need to think it out and talk with Ethan.”

“My RV is at a storage facility in Poulsbo.
Dame and I could have it out there day after tomorrow.”

“Really? You’d do that, Beth?”

“Of course, I would.”

“Tell that sorry ass brother he just
ruined our plans to elope to Vegas.”

Amadeus busted out laughing while Beth
shot me a look.

“Don’t you listen to him, Amadeus. Family
is more important. We can elope anytime.”

“I agree. Look I’m going to take him home
with me. Let Zara coddle him a few days. Call me when you hit town. Oh, and Beth,
if you tell me the size of your RV, Logan, Angus, and I can make sure a big
enough spot is cleared off near the house.”

She rattled off some figures, said goodbyes
for us both, and hung up. “What are you looking at?” she asked, taking a bite
off her sandwich.

“You. Just how you’ve stepped in and taken
charge. You’re so sexy when you’re bossy.”

She rolled her eyes. “You really need to
stop thinking with that brain between your legs, Dame. It speaks without
thinking.”

“You know you love it. You weren’t complaining
last night.”

“Enough. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I’ve told you Angus doesn’t do well
alone. Especially with something like this eating at him. He’s been told he can’t
tour anymore, so Ashley’s divorcing him. A lot for him to stew on. I was
thinking perhaps, if Ethan and you don’t mind, of letting Angus stay out at the
house for a while. Once it’s finished. We’d still finish it the way we want it.
You know, kitchen appliances, and all the stuff you women love to pick out.”

“Where would we stay? That leaves my place
or your condo.”

“Angus’s house. But then he may get over
with Amadeus and stay in your RV for a couple of months and decide he misses
his place in Seattle.”

“Didn’t you say you had an idea to put
Angus to work with you?”

“Yes, but I need to think it through some
more and talk to him about it. I just thought it was worth a shot getting him
into surroundings that don’t remind him of Ashley.”

She covered my hand with hers. “You’re a
good brother, Damien.”

“I try. I just remember how they both
helped me out. Now, come on and finish your lunch. We need to wander down to
the beach for a while before we have to head back.”

The rest of our time in L.A. was more than
I could have wished. Perhaps Angus was actually helping Beth and me become even
closer with his drama. Ethan had absolutely no problem when I approached him
with my idea. He pointed out that being in town at this particular time was
probably what was needed. I did have a fledgling company on my hands, and a
future office space to oversee myself. The house on the island would be there
waiting when the time was right. With any luck, Beth and I would be calling it
home in another year.

That night at Ethan’s concert, Beth and I stood
in the wings watching as he and his band once more brought the house down. I
declined to join him. I didn’t want to wear out my welcome. He respected my
decision and didn’t try and coax me out from the shadows. Amazing young man to
be in the business he’s in.

Life was good and going to get better.

Chapter Eighteen

As it turned out, Angus embraced his new
bachelor pad on wheels. He took his job as overseer and on site security quite
seriously. He found fishing, along with clamming, relaxing when the weather
allowed. It was the distraction he needed until he figured out what he was
going to do at this stage of his career. We all decided to put any decisions
off about who was living where until he came up with an answer.

With the release of my CD a mere two weeks
away, I knew I had to act fast. Once it went live, depending on the response,
things would be crazy. I wanted Beth and me married by the time it happened. I
wanted to share this with my wife.

I decided to approach her on the subject
on my own again. If it didn’t work this time, whether it be Vegas or here, I’d
enlist the troops. Meaning Ethan, Brittney, and Courtney.

I’d just come back from the building on
Queen Anne Hill Having run into unforeseen building snafus—pipes and wiring
were going to have to be redone to meet code before anything else could begin.
Another delay.

Running behind, I silently cursed myself.
Beth and I were going to have a quiet dinner together at her place. That meant
a ferry ride. I texted her, telling her I had to stop by the house and at least
grab a change of clothes.

An hour and a half later, I was standing
in her kitchen. I quickly explained what I’d encountered at the office, and the
setback this meant.

“At least everything will be up to code,
and we won’t have to ever worry about it again,” I said holding the beer she’d just
handed me.

“Yes. In the long run, it’s for the best.
You look beat.”

“I’ve been on the go all day. The ride
over was the first time I’ve relaxed all day.”

“Why don’t you go take a shower and change?
Then, we can sit a bit before dinner.”

“Sounds like a plan.” I swallowed the
remaining beer and picked up my bag.

“Use the shower in my bedroom. I laid
everything out for you.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled as I headed out of the
kitchen. I stopped at the doorway and looked back at her. “Care to join me?”

“Thank you, no. Not this time. You’ll only
get my plan for this evening sidetracked.” She grinned saucily at me.

“As you wish, madam.”

When I finished my shower, I walked out
barefoot, finding her sitting in the living room.

“Would you like a hair dryer?”

“No, I’m good.” Sitting next to her, I
took the glass of wine she offered. “So, what’s on your pretty little mind?”

She said nothing for a few moments. Like
she’d rehearsed this well, but was still going to choose her words carefully. “I’ve
been doing some thinking. About us getting married.”

“Really?”

“Don’t be a smart ass, Dame.” She picked
up a legal pad off the table in front of us. It was filled with her
handwriting. “Do you know who is coming for your release concert?”

“I’m assuming you mean my family? My
mother and Peter are coming. Peter’s a surprise guest. Mary and Daniel are
joining them as well. With the triplets.”

“Oh my. Any ideas where everyone is going
to stay?”

“I imagine Mother and Peter will stay at
Amadeus’s place on the Eastside like they usually do. I doubt Mary and Daniel
will. The place isn’t equipped for three infants. Why? What are you thinking?”

“Zara and I have discussed this, as she’s
usually the one doing all the scheduling. What if we put Mary, Daniel, their
kids, and Amadeus, Zara and their three at Angus’s place. There’s more than
enough room with the basement.”

“Furniture. The house is empty.”

“Don’t worry about that. Zara and I have
it covered.”

“You do? What about Ethan and Angus? Where
will they stay?”

“Angus is going to drive the RV over to
his place and park it on that side drive. Logan and the girls can stay out
there. Ethan and Angus will take over your condo for the night.”

“What about us? Where are we going to go?”

“Got that covered, cowboy. I’ve booked us
a suite at one of the swankier hotels in Seattle.” She was grinning a huge
smile. Obviously pleased with her work.

“I’m impressed, but how does this fit in
with us getting married?”

Then, she dropped the bombshell. One that
I never saw coming. “We’re going to get married in our hotel suite the morning
your CD drops and before your show. Just immediate family. I’ve talked to a
friend of Ethan’s who’s a minister, and he’ll be happy to marry us that
morning.”

I stared at her in disbelief. “You’ve
planned all of this out? Where everyone’s staying and a wedding for us?”

“What, you don’t like it?” She cocked an
eyebrow at me, daring me to dish her plans.

“Like it? I think this is better than
Vegas, babe. I’m overwhelmed.”

“Good. The only thing we have to do is get
our license. I have that ready as well.”

“Hell, what about a party or something?
There won’t be time.”

“Again, don’t worry. After the ceremony,
we’ll have breakfast in a private room of the hotel. Then, you can scamper off
to your interviews and whatnot.”

“Not without you.” I grinned. “My bride
will go everywhere with me.”

“We’ll see. Do you have a dark suit?”

“Probably, but I haven’t worn it in ages.”

“We’ll check on it tomorrow. If we have to,
we’ll buy you a new one.”

“I really don’t wish to wear a suit, Bethie.”

“You are, or there’ll be no wedding.”

“You, my dear, drive a hard bargain.” I
reached for her hand. “Why did you pick the release day of all days? Why not
Vegas?”

“Because all your family is coming in to
support you. I thought the least we could do while they’re here is give them a
wedding.”

She hadn’t taken my hand, and when I made
a move to sit closer, she put her hand up. Then, she slapped my fingers. “Not
yet. Stay where you are. We’re not through.”

I chuckled. “You’re slapping my fingers?”

“I’ll slap more than that if you try to
take me off course.”

“What else can there be?”

“Not much. I’ll give you a schedule once
everything is in place. Be ready to go get our license next week.”

“Just tell me when, and I’ll drop whatever
I’m doing.”

“Okay. One last thing for now. Then I’ll
hush.” She sat there for a moment, not saying a word. “What if I move into the
condo with you and the girls?”

“Are you serious?”

“We can’t live here for obvious reasons.”

“We could make it work. Perhaps we could
get an exception to their fence issue.”

“True. If I move into the condo, we can
get settled in. The house isn’t quite ready. Plus, we don’t know what Angus’s
decision will be.”

“I think even though Angus would love to
move out there, in the long run he’s going to want to stay in his house. He’s
too much of a city dude. I know Ethan was trying to make it okay if we did
switch houses for a while with Angus. Angus is going to want to go home.”

“You really think that?”

“Yes, I do. He’d be bored silly after a
couple of weeks rambling around in that house.”

“Then, it’s settled. I’ll start moving
into the condo. Not everything. I’ve too much to do to get this wedding
planned.”

“Have you decided what you’re going to do
with your house?”

“No.”

“Take your time then. Nothing has to be
done overnight.” I shot her a mischievous grin. “Except the wedding.”

This woman, who had overcome any and all
fears and doubts about a relationship with me, was now planning our wedding. It
filled me with pride and a deep love I had somehow always carried for her.

****

Time was counting down. Everything was
happening fast. Out of town family had arrived and were settling in. Through it
all Beth had taken charge. With the help of Zara, of course. It was a good
thing too. I had no room for anything else on my plate.

Beth had moved in officially. It was nice
to have a woman in the house again. The four of us were now unofficially a
family. Through all the chaos of my release day and our wedding, Beth made one
rule and one rule only. We all had dinner together. No matter how busy we were,
or where we were, we all gathered for an hour, maybe more, and talked to each
other.

We were all sitting around the table
eating a wonderful meal Beth had prepared. Some sort of trout with a crunchy
crust. Whatever it was, it was delicious, and I was ravenous.

Beth and the girls were chattering about
wedding details. We had decided that choosing someone to stand up with us was
going to be a lesson in diplomacy. How did we each choose without hurting
someone’s feelings? My daughters came up with the perfect solution. They would
stand up with me, and Ethan would stand up with his mother. Problem solved.

“Daddy?” I heard Courtney ask from across
the table. I looked up and found the three of them staring at me.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Beth snorted. “You’ve been
miles away in your food.”

“Sorry. I was hungry. Haven’t eaten since
this morning.”

“That’s not good.”

“Can’t be helped right now.”

“Court has some news,” Britt said
matter-of-factly.

“Oh? Is she in love? Gotten accepted by
one of the most prestigious music schools? Or perhaps she’s going to run a
marathon?” I joked, but as I looked around, no one was laughing.

“What? I was just teasing guys.”

“Did you know Mom is in town?” Britt asked
quietly.

I set my fork down on the plate. I had to
be careful about how I answered. I had always tried really hard to never talk
bad about Julia in front of them. They were adults now, not little girls. “No I
didn’t. But then, I don’t keep up with her. What’s she doing here?”

“She has Rypp Tyde, or what’s left of them,
booked into that club my friend Lucas works at,” Courtney replied.

“Really? When?”

“Beginning tomorrow night.”

“Did Lucas call you?” I wanted to end this
conversation as fast as it began. I didn’t want Julia’s presence in town
hanging over us.

“Yes. He follows your career, so he knew
they were the band you started your career with. He found out they were playing
there and called me.”

“Well, it’s a free country. Quite a
coincidence that she chose this week to book them here. Two days before my
release.”

“There’s more,” Beth said softly.

“What else could there be? She wants to
try to salvage the band’s career by being here this week. I’m sure she’s
promoting them as my original band. Hoping people will remember that and come
hear them play.” I picked up a glass of water sitting in front of me and drank.

“She was trying to get the band an
interview. Zara said one of the stations approached her about doing a one-on-one
with them and you. Zara told them no in her most sweet voice. Said if they
tried to proceed with it, she would cancel, and their hopes of having a
one-on-one with you would disappear.”

“Look girls, I’m not going to worry about
this. I appreciate you letting me know. In case I run into one of them. If Zara’s
got an eye on the situation, then I consider the subject finished.”

Actually, on the inside, I was seething
mad, but I never would let any of them know that. I did need to let my
security, Red, know of this situation.

“Why don’t we finish up? The girls and I
can get the kitchen cleaned up so we can all go see your sister and her babies,”
Beth put in.

“Yeah, I can’t wait to see this.” I
snorted, trying to get as far away from the Julia subject as possible.

“Yes, and Zara told me Elizabeth is
fascinated by them and won’t let poor Wolfie near them.”

“Poor Wolfgang having to endure such a
bossy big sister,” Britt replied.

“I don’t expect that’ll last forever,
Britt. I have a feeling he’ll get his payback when he’s older.”

“Ewww! You mean like spying on her? That’s
so gross,” Court said, giggling. “Not that you ever did any of that, did you,
Daddy?”

“No need. Angus did it for me and Amadeus.”

“That I can believe,” Beth replied with a
saucy smile.

****

Seeing my sister and her husband again,
and under different circumstances was, well, great. Best of all, I was getting
to introduce them to the one woman I truly loved. The woman who, in two days,
would be my wife.

It was even better watching the two of
them getting along as Mary led her away to where the babies were sleeping.
Looking around the family room, I was once again amazed at how Beth had worked
magic and furnished the house, even if it was sparingly.