Wilde Magic (Wilde Women Book 3) (34 page)

Glancing at the lists scattered on the table Jax shook his head and a corner of his mouth lifted. She was making wedding lists of course and another one that kept getting longer and longer with a running inventory of baby crap for the nursery.

“Is that your way of telling me I’m helming the grill tonight? You do realize don’t you that Caleb arrives today. He’s driving in from New York after lunch. I’ve promised to get him settled in the rental down by the river.”

“Oh shit. Your brother.” She smacked her forehead. “Duh. Pregnant blonde moment—a double whammy!”

Waggling his eyebrows and pretending to twirl an imaginary villain’s mustache, he drawled, “I’ll double your whammy anytime.”

Brynn wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face as laughter ensued. “Is that some wham bam reference?”

“Yep, yep! And thank you, ma’am.”

She was laughing hysterically now. “I cannot believe we are going to be parents! Seriously, Jax. How the hell are we supposed to raise a kid the way we are?”

“Well you turned out all right,” he quipped. With a finger under her chin, he raised her face so he could get lost in her eyes. “And I’m okay except for the dents and dings and the PTSD and the, well… you know. Anyway, babe. We’re okay and we came from some seriously inappropriate-loving families. Have you met your parents?”

Brynn chortled and stuck her tongue out. “I don’t know what you mean. My mother is a god damn saint and my father a prince among men.”

“I could say the same,” he chuckled. “But that doesn’t mean the Merrills and the Wildes aren’t bumping uglies. Even at their advanced ages.”

“Advanced ages my ass,” she cried. “And bumping uglies? What the hell husband-to-be. You listening to Stern in the morning again?”

“Nah, but I’m serious, honey. We’re gonna be great parents and if our folks are any sort of signpost for what’s down the road, our bedroom activities certainly won’t suffer from parenthood.”

“Oh God. I hear that tone,” she said with a starchy uptight hilarious sniff. “What are you keeping from me? What do you know Jackson Merrill?”

Jax pulled her up from the chair and plastered their bodies together in a fearsome embrace.

“When we went to Penn State and spent the weekend with your folks?”

“Yeah …” She sounded unsure and hesitant. He was dying with laughter inside.

“I stumbled upon Professor Wilde instructing a very naughty sounding Darcy Wilde how to, and I quote, ‘hold the edges of the table’ as he bent your mom over and went for his zipper.”

“What? You’re joking, right?”

“Uh, nope. In the library. After everyone went to bed. The bump wanted chocolate milk so I went to raid the kitchen, remember? Heard a noise down the hallway and went to investigate.”

It was all kinds of cute and sexy when she blushed beet red. “Please tell me you didn’t actually see anything.”

“Oh God, no. Shit, babe. The second I heard that zipper I ran like it was the Olympic track and field time trials and got the hell out of there. Jesus. Got my own parents and their crazy fuckery to contend with. Don’t need a Wikipedia entry on sex in the Wilde household too.”

She snuggled into him and hugged tight. “Thanks. Just the reminder I needed. My folks have always been open and loving to each other. I guess to me, that’s just the norm. I never thought to look deeper, although I do remember a camping trip when I was a kid and some very strange sounds coming from their tent.”

“Mommies and Daddies fuck. Shocking, I know—but true. And don’t worry darlin’. I’m on it. Always thinking ahead, you know. Gonna build a secret panel in our closet. Someplace to hide the equipment. The kids’ll never know how much Mommy likes being spanked and tied to the bed.”

“Or how much Daddy likes Mommy on her knees with a mouth full of cock.”

“I thought you’d never ask,” he taunted with a surge of his hips.

“Seriously?” Brynn snickered.

God. He loved when she was playful and snarky at the same time. Really fired him up, so he needled her and gave it a shot.

“Aw, come on. You know you want to. I’ll be tied up with Caleb all day and you’ll be emptying our bank account with the ladies. Why not start with my dick tickling your tonsils?”

She reared back and roared with laughter. “I can’t even with you,” she drawled. “Tickling my tonsils? Is that the polite way of saying …”

He shut her up with a fast kiss. “You know exactly what I’m saying.”

“Well, all righty then. One tonsil tickle coming up.”

She reached for his hand and pulled him behind her into the walk-in pantry. Uh, this so was not what he envisioned. Shutting the door, she flipped on the overhead light, pulled a rolling footstool out from under a shelf and unbuttoned her top.

“Something for you to look at.” The leer in her expression made him instantly forget what his objection had been. After that, he got his pants undone and shoved down his legs in record time.

She lowered onto the stool—damn thing was the perfect height—and went about blowing his … mind.

It was going to be a great day.

“H
OPE THIS IS OKAY,” JAX
muttered as he stuck his head in the bathroom and looked around. “Not what you’re used to, I know—but we’re in that halfway no-man’s land between Philly and New York. Nearest hotel is booked for the holiday.”

Cal laughed good-naturedly and slapped his brother on the back. “Relax, man. The prospect of another hotel was almost a deal breaker.”

“This place belongs to Brynn’s assistant. Her family rents it out for day trippers and stuff like that. They were happy to offer it up. Bit small, but it’s not like you’re gonna be entertaining. Mom and Dad and Brynn’s parents are holding court in a nearby B&B. Oh, here,” Jax said as he picked up an envelope off the kitchen counter. “For you. A formality—but thought you might give a shit about our wedding invitation.”

Cal snagged it quickly and ripped open the envelope. “Hope you didn’t have anything to do with the details, bro. You suck at making nice.”

“Getting better at it,” Jax grumbled. Shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans, he rocked back on his heels and smirked. “Whatever makes Brynn happy is fine by me. Told her a bunch of times. Don’t care if the seven goddamn dwarfs show up and do the ceremony. All that matters is finalizing the contract and making sure her ass is tied to mine.”

He shook his head. “God. That’s so romantic. Ass tied to yours? Brynn must be out of her mind for putting up with your tired shit.”

The invitation was pretty, he guessed. He was a guy, so what the fuck did he know? Glancing at the wording, he picked out their parents names and smiled. Mom must have lost her shit over this! And then he saw the first line and stopped dead.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Baron-Wilde request the honor of your presence …

Baron-Wilde.

Baron-Wilde?

As in the Baroness of Wild?

Wait.

No.

What?

Fuck.

He needed to get it together and stop imagining things. She was gone from his life and there was no changing that. It’d be ironic if it didn’t bother him so damn much. Something he wasn’t looking for, and had no reason to believe even existed outside love stories and rom-com flix, came along and blew his life up in a substantive way. He only wished they’d had more time together. More time to see if the red-hot physical attraction wasn’t the only thing worth hanging on to.

“Brynn has a thing for roses. They’re everywhere. She even bakes with rose water or some such shit like that.” Jax chuckled and it struck Cal that he’d never seen his brother so … together.
Might be because with me hiding in Europe while big brother picked his way through a PTSD minefield back home, we haven’t done much quality connecting.
Grim thought, but absolutely true. Cal had a lot of work to do which might be less difficult if he hadn’t bailed on everyone to begin with.

“It being Christmas and all, the girls have this red and white theme going on and I think she commandeered every rose on the east coast for the wedding. But just for you little brother, I managed to pin down a white posy for you to give her tonight.”

“What the fuck is a posy?”

“No idea, but Amy, Brynn’s assistant, and your temporary landlady, nodded and smiled when I asked her so it must be okay. I think it’s a bouquet, a small one.”

Cal loved seeing his brother relaxed and happy. This woman must be quite something to bring about such an epic metamorphosis. No wonder their parents were over the moon.

Nodding his understanding, he dropped the invitation onto a counter and went to grab his bag.

“Whadaya think of this?” he asked. Handing a jeweler’s box to Jax, he grinned broadly. “Picked it out myself.”

“Whoa. Caleb. It’s fantastic. For Brynn?”

“No. It’s for you, ya’ dumb shit. Of course it’s for Brynn!”

“Holy fuck.”

Cal gave his brother a lopsided grin and an ‘aw shucks’ shoulder roll. “I come bearing gifts. And in this case, since you guys are making it official in December, I just figured something with the stone for this month would be cool. A reminder.”

“What is that? Turquoise?”

“Yeah. Looked it up and everything. Bunch of hipster speak about the stone signifying love and a symbol of fortune and success. I did okay then? Tiffany’s bro! It’s an egg charm necklace. For your pregnant bride. Get it?” he elbowed Jax playfully.

“You looked it up,” his brother muttered. He heard the incredulity in his voice and grinned ear-to-ear.

“Farmer’s Almanac—and I shit you not! Great book. Full of information.”

Jax snapped the lid shit on the box and handed it back. His eyes gleamed with amusement. “When did you become so, uh … what’s the word I want? Evolved?” he quipped before covering his mouth in a fake cough and grunting out “Pussy.”

“Fuck you, ya asshole. You’re just jealous because I got all the manners and you got the uh, charm,” he chuckled. “Mom says ladies love manners, so there you go.”

“Nah, nah, nah,” Jax snickered. “Nice try. Manners shmanners, dude. You looked it up?” An echo of disbelief bounced off the walls. “Caleb Tyler Merrill. Cut the crap. There’s only one reason why a guy looks shit like that up! So out with it, man. Who is she or better yet. Why the hell isn’t she with you?”

It felt like his composure just spun out-of-control and went sideways while, at the same time, a pack of speeding cars headed straight at him.

“Fuck,” he groaned. His head hung and for a minute Cal worried he might let loose with some waterworks. Trying to pretend he wasn’t whacked out of his mind over an affair gone wrong would never work around Jax. But he didn’t want to get into it until he had a firmer grip on his emotions.

“Don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Tough.”

They’d go back and forth like this forever if he didn’t nip it in the bud—it was the only way to move forward.

“Abridged version is all you’re getting. We should be celebrating your wedding and that baby you’ve got on the way. Not crying Rocky-style tears over my love life.”

His brother’s entire face changed. “You mean …
Adrian
!” he bellowed in a damn good re-enactment of the famous movie’s emotional scene.

Instead of nodding, he shook his head and glared. “Don’t be an asshole.”

“
Pfft!
Too late for that!”

Dammit. Jax looked and sounded like a man who’d just heard the funniest joke ever told.

“So, continue. You’re wailing like a crybaby bitch on the sidewalk, why?”

He really should just punch his lights out but kept his cool because it really was him who was fubar.

“Suck my dick, Jackson.”

“Waiting.”

“Fine,” he yelped, throwing both hands up in frustrated surrender. “Met a girl and,”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, brother. Pump the brakes. Slow it way down. Is girl an operative word or a slip of the tongue?”

Huh? Confusion swirled in Cal’s brain. And then it hit him broadside. At twenty-three, she was a little on the young side for him. Girl? Woman? What’s the difference as long as it’s legal and not a pervy thing. Well, fuck. There was a big difference and he’d just inadvertently revealed his predicament to Jax.

“Shut up or you get nothing else.”