Chaos (28 page)

As they walked into the restaurant, he heard her sputtering,
“Wife? Son?” behind them.

“We’ll be right in.” Shane snagged Alyssa and headed for the
empty coatroom. “We dated a few times in high school before she decided someone
else was a more lucrative choice. After he got what he wanted and dumped her,
she tried to convince me it was all a moment of temporary insanity and hadn’t
meant a thing. I refused her numerous offers to give me the same and she
apparently still doesn’t understand that no means no. I never did anything more
than kiss her a few times, I swear.”

“This is not what I expected, McKade.” Alyssa tried
unsuccessfully to pull away from him, hiding her hurt in anger. “Married less
than an hour and already I had to stand by and watch some slut paw at you. You kissed
her!”

“I did not! She kissed me. If you were paying attention, you
should have noticed that I did not respond. I didn’t see her coming or I would
have prevented that little scene.”

“As if. She was right in front of you, bouncing those fake
boobs practically in your face! You expect me to believe you didn’t take note
of all that jiggling? If she’d moved any faster, she would have slapped herself
in the face.”

“Honest, Pixie Queen, I did not see a thing. I was too busy
thinking about how fantastic my life is, thanks to you. I meant what I said to
her. No one but you, ever.” He tried to pull her closer but she resisted.

“Then why did you encourage me to sleep around while I was
away?” She blurted out the question that had burned her mind for weeks.

“Fear. Yep, I was afraid. Terrified that you’d fight what
was happening between us by going after the next guy who showed interest in
you. I knew I wouldn’t be able to take seeing you with someone else and I was
scared that I would kill him when I couldn’t control my jealousy. If you had to
do that to prove that you were in control of yourself, I couldn’t stand to
watch. Admit it, Pix, if I had said I loved you and never wanted you to leave
me that last night, you would have run as fast and far away from me as you
could get. I doubt if I would have ever seen you again. You certainly wouldn’t
have spent the night, letting me hold you like you did. You would have vanished
before I got the chance to use my body to tell you how special you already were
to me. Even while I was saying those things to you, I had to fight like hell
not to scream that you were mine. What I really wanted to do was beg you to
promise that you would never let another man touch you and share what we had. I
already knew that I didn’t want any woman other than you. There never was going
to be any career woman. All the times we joked about her, I was picturing you
in my mind.”

“That night I passed out and Chris answered my phone? When I
called you back and you asked my advice on how to get the woman you wanted? I
forgot we were just pretending. I really thought there was someone else in your
life. You broke my heart that night, McKade, just like you did when you told me
to have sex with some other guy. I felt like such a fool when I remembered our conversation
the next morning. When I saw that woman put her lips on you, I was so jealous
and angry and hurt. For an instant, I almost forgot that you love me and just
pledged to spend your life with me.” She finally raised her face so he could
see her tears. “I’m so ashamed and so sorry that I reacted with anger to hide
that. I trust you. Will you accept my apology and give me a chance to show you
that? This commitment stuff is going to take some getting used to but I know,
if you’re patient, I’ll get the hang of it.”

“Aw, Pix, there’s nothing to apologize for. I hope I show as
much restraint as you did when we run into someone you used to know.” He smiled
tentatively. “Did you notice how Flynn was prepared to step in and protect you?
You should have seen his face.”

“He’s quite a kid.” She was overwhelmed by his
transformation from the tough but aloof gang member she had met a year earlier.

“Yeah. If he weren’t my son, I’d be jealous of him. We
talked about you several times right after you left. He was protective of you
then too.”

“Really? We’ll have to make sure he knows that he has
nothing to worry about where you’re concerned. You didn’t have to explain her.
I know you had a life before me.”

“I don’t ever want you to have any doubts. I had a life,
yes, so did you. Mine didn’t mean anything compared to what I found with you.”

“Neither did mine.” She finally laughed. “At least I didn’t
slug her like I wanted to as soon as she touched you.”

“I almost wish you had. I would have loved to see my wife
defending my honor.” He laughed with her.

“If she ever tries that again, she won’t be so lucky.”

“So fierce,” Shane whispered. “Beautiful, sexy, artistic,
talented, passionate and possessive. Everything a guy could ever dream of
finding in a wife. I love you, Lyss.” He lowered his head and kissed her. “So
sweet,” he murmured against her mouth when they were both breathless. “So
perfect,” he devoured her with another kiss, feeling her tremble in his arms.
“So soft,” he slipped his hand into the side of her dress, caressing the curve
of her breast.

“Excuse— Oh shit!” Brett turned his back on the couple. “I
didn’t see that, nope, nothing at all.”

“Hey, Brett.” Shane leaned his forehead against Alyssa’s.

“I’m sorry to interrupt but your son is worried,” he
explained his presence. “He’s afraid you’re fighting and are going to split up
before you get started. He’s got that look on his face again. You know, the one
that he uses when he’s pretending that he’s tough and can handle anything
because nothing really matters.”

“It’s okay, Brett. We were just about to join you anyway,”
Shane said.

“Oh. Sure. That’s what it looked like to me.” Brett
chuckled. “Don’t give her another thought, Lyssa. Shane had a momentary flash
for her a million years ago. She saved him the trouble of needing to end it
with her, which I know he was about to do, at the time she decided the grass
was greener.”

“You don’t have to defend him, Brett. We’ve already put that
unpleasant bitch behind us. As you may have noticed, we weren’t fighting at
all.” Alyssa giggled as they left the coatroom.

“Ah, yeah, okay,” Brett stuttered.

“Relax, Brett,” Shane draped a friendly arm around his
shoulder. “My wife has no reason to be insecure. Thanks, though, for coming to
get us since we can’t say the same for Flynn. We’re going to work on that with
him and I appreciate the help you’re giving us. He’s going to need lots more
reassurance before he lets himself get comfortable with the idea that all
adults aren’t out to screw him.”

“No problem.” Brett shrugged, hiding how proud Shane’s words
made him feel. “He’s a good kid underneath the attitude. He’s pretty cool when
he lets his guard down.”

They reached the table. Shane and Alyssa took seats on
either side of Flynn. “We’re cool, Flynn. Thanks for being ready to take care
of your mom out there.”

“Whatever,” he muttered.

“Flynn McKade, listen to me,” Alyssa growled. “I love Shane.
He loves me. As you know, I have a temper and I seriously doubt that it’s going
to magically disappear just because of that love. I won’t promise that I’m
going to stop yelling at him or busting your ass because, honestly, I’ll
probably get worse. I’m moody and sometimes, I get bitchy just because I am. I
know you’ve heard the explanation behind my nickname and I can’t deny that it’s
appropriate. Shane has been very indulgent with me so far and let me get away
with much more than he should have. He’s spoiled me and I’ve taken advantage of
that. In some ways, that will continue but, I’m sure, at some point even he
will try to put a stop to my overbearing behavior. We’ll clash and disagree and
possibly even scream like lunatics.

“I should warn you that I slam doors and may even throw
things. But, Flynn, even while we’re threatening to inflict bodily harm on each
other, I guarantee that we’ll still love each other. We’ll settle whatever set
me off eventually and live calmly until something else pisses me off. I’m
excitable. You already know that. I’m loud and I’m determined and I’m stubborn.

“I’m sure I’ll be ridiculous and unreasonable and yell at
you too, probably sooner rather than later. Never think, for one second, that
it means I don’t love you. You are my family now and that’s a forever thing.
I’m not going anywhere and I’d lose my mind if you ever took off. I need you to
promise me that you won’t let me drive you away. I’ve never been a mom before
or a wife and I have a lot to learn. I’m going to need tremendous patience from
both of you until I get this right. I’ll do my best not to let you down but
when I do, I’ll beg your forgiveness. I’ll beg for another chance to do better.
No matter what else happens, I promise, with my life, that you can count on me
sticking by you. Both of you.”

“That goes for me too, Flynn,” Shane added even though he’d
already made the same promises.

“You never said you’d be bitchy for the hell of it,” Flynn
commented.

“You got me there,” he agreed. “I think that’s the Queen’s
specialty.”

“You’re really not pissed with each other?” Flynn peeked
guiltily at his grandmother, finally realizing the words he and Alyssa had been
using. When she just smiled at him, he relaxed a little.

“Definitely not,” Brett declared. “They were, ah, otherwise
occupied when I interrupted.”

“They were doing it in the closet?” Flynn was horrified.
“You saw them?”

“No,” Brett sputtered as Rose choked. “They were just
kissing.”

“Gross.” Flynn made a face.

“Get used to it,” Jesse spoke up. “From what I’ve seen so
far, they’re either biting each other’s heads off or sucking on each other’s
faces. I wouldn’t be surprised if you catch them at it often. In fact, let me
give you some advice. If the door to their room is closed, never open it
without knocking and waiting for one of them to invite you in. And, if you’ve
been out of the house for more than five minutes, make lots of noise and yell
when you walk back in.”

“And if you do ever see more than you should, retreat as
fast as possible. They just got together and might forget that they’re not
alone sometimes.” Brett added his opinion.

“But whatever you do,” Danny said seriously, “never, ever
tell your buddies that you saw your dad getting some, like your father did when
he was your age.”

“No way!”

“I’m afraid so,” Rose nodded. “Imagine my surprise when
Brett’s mother phoned one day to tell me what my son had been discussing that
afternoon on her front porch with his brother and at least six of their
friends.”

“I bet you got it good for that, Dad.”

“What I got was the most embarrassing lecture of my life
from both my parents at the same time. Picture these two sitting there,
explaining why couples make love and, even though everyone knows about it, it’s
an invasion of their privacy for others to casually throw it into a
conversation.” Shane’s expression showed that he remembered that afternoon
quite clearly.

“You made quite an impression,” Brett commented to Rose and
Danny. “Shane went out of his way to tell me and Jordan about that part of
relationships so we would be spared the same lecture. At the time, I thought he
was nuts but I learned to appreciate what he did for me.”

“I got it.” Flynn shuddered. “Jeez, can’t we talk about
something else? I thought we were here to celebrate.”

“We are.” Alyssa hugged him. “We just wanted to make sure
you know you don’t have to worry about us.”

“I thought you might be killing him.” Flynn finally started
to relax. “What’s the story with the ho, Dad? Is that what you were into before
you met up with Mom?” This time, they heard Rose groan.

“Flynn,” Shane sighed. “I don’t even know where to start
with that one. How about if, for now, you accept that she was someone I barely
knew a long time ago and we save the rest for a more appropriate time?”

“And how about you remember the manners I know you’ve
started to learn so I don’t have to wring your neck before we even get to toast
our wedding?” Alyssa whispered in his ear.

“Yes, Mom. Whatever you say,” he agreed quickly as she
fought not to laugh. When she lost her battle, he added, “You’re busting on
me.”

“You got it,” she admitted. “But only because you deserve
it, after that remark.”

“Mom.” Flynn rolled his eyes.

After they ordered, Flynn noticed that Shane and Alyssa were
holding each other’s arms that they had resting on the back of his chair. They
both kept looking around him to gaze at the other. “Dad, switch seats with me.
I don’t want to be squished and you keep getting closer. You look like you’re
going to kiss her with me in the middle.”

“I’m fine here,” Shane declared.

“Yeah, right.” Flynn pushed their hands apart and stood.
“You guys got married today. Even I know that makes you all touchy-feely. One
of you has to switch seats with me or I’m moving over there, next to Jesse.”

“Thanks.” Alyssa scooted into his chair. “But please stay
here with us. I want to be able to reach my new son too.” He blushed when she
kissed his cheek.

“You’re as bad as the rest of them,” he announced. “No way
am I going with you tonight so don’t even bother asking.”

“We’re not going anywhere tonight,” Shane stated.

“But Grandpa and I went to that inn place and got you a
room.”

“We didn’t think you’d want to spend the night with the rest
of us,” Danny explained. “Your flight isn’t until three so you should go enjoy
yourselves.”

“He said that way you won’t have to worry about being
quiet,” Flynn added with a snicker.

“Well thanks.” Shane grinned at Alyssa. “We appreciate
this.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Alyssa agreed as Shane stroked her face.

“See,” Flynn said triumphantly when they leaned in for a
kiss. “I knew it was time for me to move.”