Victorious(72)

Today, I need to put all that aside to focus on my gorgeous wife and the many surprises I have in store for her this afternoon and evening. In cahoots with my parents, I’ve ensured this will be a day she never forgets. Our argument earlier today has left me feeling unsettled, despite the spectacular makeup sex that followed.

I hate that she thought for one second I’d bring a woman I’d f*cked into our home and pass her off as hired help. Not that I think of Jas that way. She’s done massages for the Quantum team for years now and is actually a close friend of Marlowe’s. It never occurred to me that Natalie might think I’d slept with her. But, with hindsight, I can see why she’d ask even if I’d hated that she asked.

My lifestyle is still very new to her, and I’ve encouraged her to ask questions. I have to be willing to answer them, even the ones that make me uncomfortable. I’ve never been ashamed of the way I’ve approached sex and women, and I’m not going to start now with second-guessing myself or the choices I’ve made.

However, now that I’ve found the woman I want to spend forever with, I do wish there were fewer situations and people for her to ask about.

We arrive in Beverly Hills, and my parents’ street has been shut down by event security. They wave my dad’s car in.

“Wow,” Natalie says. “They closed off the street. Do the neighbors mind?”

“No, they understand, and they have full access to their homes. If the word got out about this, we’d be overrun with paparazzi. The neighbors would rather have the security than the photographers.”

My parents come out to greet us when we arrive. Wearing a champagne-colored gown, Mom is fairly sparkling with excitement. She’s waited a long time for this day, and it makes me happy to give her something she has wanted for me. Dad loves any and all time he gets to spend with his family, so he’s also beaming as he welcomes us with hugs and kisses. He’s decked out in a sharp black tux that makes him look twenty years younger than he is.

“Your mom has gone all out,” he tells me.

“I have no doubt. I warned Natalie.”

Dad’s booming laugh echoes through the foyer as they escort us upstairs to the second floor.

“Come see.” Mom throws open the doors to the small ballroom that has hosted many of the most important Godfrey family events over the years. Inside, tuxedoed workers are scurrying about, applying finishing touches.

“Oh my God,” Natalie says, her eyes glittering as she takes in the elegant, intimate scene before her.

I try to see it through her eyes, as if I’m seeing the room for the first time with its high ceilings and elaborate crown moldings. The centerpiece is a huge crystal chandelier that bathes the room in soft, romantic light. Mom has put a tasteful emphasis on Valentine’s Day through red accents but thankfully hasn’t gone overboard with the hearts. Round tables are laden with china, crystal, candles and red roses.

“It’s absolutely beautiful, Stella,” Natalie says, her eyes shimmering with tears.

“I’m so glad you’re happy with it, honey. We’re thrilled to officially welcome you into our family.” As Mom hugs Nat, I contend with a huge lump in my throat. It’s at moments like this when all the crazy shit that surrounds me fades away, and I’m reminded of what’s truly important in this life. “Come,” Mom says, taking Natalie by the hand. “You two can relax in Flynn’s old room until the guests begin to arrive. We don’t want them to see the gorgeous bride and groom before we’re ready.”

She deposits us in my old room, which is exactly as I left it, right down to the vintage poster of Farrah Fawcett on the wall, the Dodgers pennant, the surfing posters, the trophies from my short-lived career as a lacrosse star and posters of the metal bands I’d worshiped in high school.

While I flop down on the bed and wish for more time alone with my wife in my old room, Natalie looks at everything. “Metallica? Seriously?”

“It was a phase.”

“Tell me you didn’t have a mullet.”

“Okay, I didn’t have a mullet.”

“Did you?”

“I dare you to find a picture of me in this room where I have a mullet.”

“I’ll ask your sisters. They won’t lie to me.”

“Come over here, Mrs. Godfrey, and make all my teenage boy fantasies come true.”

“No way am I coming near you when I’m all ready. You like to mess me up too much.”

“You’re wearing the panties, right?”

“Yes, Flynn,” she says with a long-suffering sigh that makes me smile. “If you turn them on when I’m talking to friends of your parents, I’ll kill you. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

A knock on the door makes my heart beat faster with excitement because I know who it is, and I can’t wait to see her reaction. I pretend to check my phone. “Can you get that, hon?”

“Sure.”

Natalie heads for the door, and I keep my phone out to take pictures. I want to capture every second of this to show her later. She opens the door to Candace and Olivia, who are wearing matching red silk dresses.

“We heard you needed bridesmaids today,” Candace says.

Natalie lets out a shriek that reminds me a little too much of other times she’s made that particular noise, but I quash those thoughts to fully wallow in her joy at seeing her sisters. It’s the first time she’s seen Olivia in person in more than eight years, and the three of them cling to each other, all of them talking at once.