Initiative (Suncoast Society #31)(61)

She waited for him to speak.

“Um…Okay. I don’t want this to sound wrong, but there’s no other way to say it. What. The. Fuck?”

She finally burst out laughing, giggling and snorting her way through the entire story. At first, Darryl felt gutshot, sick to his stomach, until he realized he’d sat through the successful execution of her retribution.

“He honestly said that to you, huh? That he’d eaten better people for breakfast? Really? Who does he think he is, a Bond villain knock-off?”

She held up her left hand. “Swear to a god neither of us believe in. That’s exactly what he said.”

He grabbed her hand and stared at her ring finger. “So how much did I spend on this rock?”

She laughed. “Too damn much. It’s actually CZ, but the setting is platinum and it cost me over eight hundred. I paid full retail. I literally ran into the store, slapped down my credit card, picked something bright and shiny that I could flash in Rev. de Papio’s face, and said, ‘Gimme.’”

“Damn. I didn’t even get you a real diamond, huh?” He looked into her eyes. “Sorry I’m such a cheap bastard.”

She grinned. “You’re not cheap. You’re thrifty, and I love that about you. Besides, he couldn’t tell the difference.”

“You did get one thing wrong.”

She frowned. “What?”

He kissed her left hand and curled his fingers around it, staring into her eyes. “I never would have put the ring on your left hand. I would have put it on your right. I wouldn’t have made you take John’s rings off.”

He spotted the tears in her eyes and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry I couldn’t warn you,” she said, the adrenaline crash obviously hitting her. She trembled in his arms.

“Does Grant even know?”

“No, he’s got those meetings today.”

“Dammit. I forgot about those.” He sighed. “So Marcus peeped on us getting freaky in the pool, huh? I knew you needed better privacy screening around your lanai.”

“Yeah, you told me so.” She sniffled. “Sorry,” she softly said as she sat back.

“No, honey, don’t apologize.” He thought for a moment. “Ruth knows Chelsey’s sister. It’ll probably get back to her like that, if it hasn’t already.”

“Yowch. Double sorry.”

“What’d I just say? It’s okay. I’d rather she hear that I’m marrying you than that I’m marrying Grant.”

“I wanted you and Grant to get married. Maybe we can push this far enough into the future and then cancel it.”

“What, I’m not good enough for you to marry?”

She looked shocked. “What? No! I—”

He silenced her with a kiss. “I was kidding.” He rested his forehead against hers. “Damn, we’re both gonna get our asses caned over this.”

“It was an emergency.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly why we should have texted him. This was an emergency.”

“Tell me he would have come up with a better solution in time?”

“Probably not, but I’ll be damned if I’ll say that to him and risk an extra five on top of whatever he gives us.” He snorted. “So what, exactly, did you say to Marcus when you hugged him right before he left? He looked like you’d threatened to eat a baby or something.”

“I told him the truth. That John had warned me long ago what a royal shit he was, and that he might eat people better than me for breakfast, but that I regularly snacked on pussies like him for lunch. Oh, and that if he ever tried a stunt like this again, I’d sue him for extortion and make sure all the papers knew what a royal shit he was for trying to ruin an innocent man’s life. And that I was sure the reverend would love to find out his good friend is a pervy Peeping Tom.”

“You think that’ll keep him away?”

“Next to money, appearances are everything to Marcus. He’ll probably pay for the wedding just so he doesn’t have to look like a shit in front of the reverend.”

“No. Really? You honestly think so?”

“After the big deal I made about what great people they were? Rev. de Papio just about thinks Marcus and Joanie walk on water. I had over fifteen minutes in there ahead of you guys, layering it on thick. Marcus won’t dare try some bullshit like that now. I took away his power.”

“Rubbing his nose in it’s a dangerous game, though, babe.”

Her voice dropped, hardening his cock again. “Not nearly as dangerous as I’ll be to him if he tries to f*ck with us again.”

“Did he honestly think you’d just roll over?”

“Yes, he did. He’s used to getting his way in life. He hasn’t had to deal with me a lot. He saw me mostly in a subordinate position to John. He had no clue what I did on a daily basis running things. I had Ed deal with him to fend him off after John died. Ed and Kristin both. They ran interference for me.”

He grinned. “Ah, you sneaky wench. Rule number one, never underestimate your enemy. He underestimated you.”

“Greatly.” She leaned against the seat. “Fuck. I feel like I’ve run a damned marathon.”

He looked through the papers she had, including a marriage license application. “Wow. When you commit to a bit, you go all the way. After he canes us, Grant’s going to be so damned proud of you.”