Estelle In Denver (In Denver Series Book 2) (18 page)

These last two weeks since I saw the love of my life being put into the back of a patrol car handcuffed and taken to the police station for questioning in a shooting she was involved in have been strange. She seems unaffected. I'm not sure if it’s an act or if she is desensitized to violence. We have been spending as much time together as possible. She’s been super busy with the girls and working, therefore we spend a lot of our time at her new house. It has a homey feeling to it that my apartment doesn’t have. Hopefully tonight, we are getting together. I get an instant smile on my face when I see her face on my phone.

“Hello Princess. Are we still on for tonight?” I say when I answer the phone.

“Babe,” she pauses and I instantly go on alert.

“Is everything ok? What’s going on, Princess? Talk to me.” 

I listen as she tells me what’s going on and I ask to speak to Katie.

“Hey Katie, are you ready this time? You didn’t see him last time when he got there. When you weren’t there it almost killed him. I won’t do that to him again." 

“I’m here and I'm not going anywhere. I want to deal with this before this gets any uglier than it already has,” Katie responds. I tell her I will be at the bakery shortly before hanging up, my next call is to Michael. 

“Michael,” I say, “I'm coming to get you. Be downstairs in five minutes.” 

“What’s going on? Is everything ok?” He asked. 

“Yes, I need you to meet me downstairs. You’re not returning for the rest of the day, so let your secretary know. I’ll be out front.”

I hang up and take a calming breath, getting involved in his drama and my reaction before, has lost me Estelle. I need to be there for my brother, but let him deal with this on his own.

I pull up in front in front of the Kerrigan Real Estate offices, just as Michael is coming out the building.  He gets in the car and puts his seatbelt on.

“What’s up with all the cloak and dagger?” He says, looking aggravated.

I drive the three miles to The Mad Batter.

“Katie and Michael Jr. are in there with Estelle. I know you're upset, but I need you to go in there and not make a scene. You don’t want Katie upset, but more importantly you don’t want Michael Jr. upset.” 

I see him take a deep breath. 

“I’m going to meet my son. What if he hates me, Rhydian?” I can feel the pain and sorrow rolling off of my brother. What I didn’t expect to see in his eyes was guilt.

“He won’t hate you. He’s just a kid who needs his father. And to be honest, you never got over Katie. Maybe this is your second chance.”

“No, it won’t be. I can never forgive Katie for lying to me and keeping my son from me, from us, Rhydian. She had nine years to tell me about him. I wouldn’t have known about him, if you hadn’t seen them. She had been going out of her way to hide him. I will never feel anything, but hate for Katie and what she took from me.”

We get out the car and walk into the bakery. Seeing Katie and Michael Jr. is still shocking, Katie looks even thinner since the last time I’ve seen her and she has dark circles under her eyes like she hasn’t been getting much sleep. When she introduces Michael Jr. as Michael Blackwell, my heart hurts for my brother. I watch him embrace his son and I get a sudden feeling of longing. I want that, I want what Easton, and now Michael, have. I want a child and I want one with Estelle.

I know we have been taking things slow, getting to know each other, but I'm all in. I want her to marry me, and I want her pregnant with my child. I want to take care of her and love her. I just need to show her, I'm ready and she can trust me with her heart. The first thing I have to do is show her that she is my priority; that she and her needs and wants come first. I make my way over to where she is sitting, and when I tell her it’s time to go, that we have an empty house to christen, she hands me a key to her house and tells me to give her a twenty minute head start. I kiss her before she leaves.

“Michael, I'm heading out. Don’t call me. I love you, but I have alone time with my girl for the next twenty-four hours. Tell everyone I have gone Dark Thirty” I say as I'm rushing to the parking lot towards my girl and the future Mrs. Kerrigan.

It feels great unlocking the door to her house with my own key. If I do this the right way, this will be our house soon. I make my way up the stairs to her bedroom, and see she is laying on the bed in a lacy scrap of material. There is soft music playing in the background, when I look through the room, I see she has all kinds of sex toys laid out. I see a video for anal first timers, and I realize that this is her way of letting me make her mine.

I get to have something no other man had; this is just for us. I haven’t ever been a huge fan of anal, mostly because it’s hard for most women to take ten and a half inches in their ass, but I know I can get her body ready. Also, the fact that I will be the first man to ever have her ass, is making me eager. I walk over to the night stand and pick up our new toy in my hands. I look at her and tell her this is going to be fun. I lay the toy down by her head and slowly start to kiss her. As I'm doing that, I'm also grinding my cock onto her warm heat. I want her to get so worked up that she won't even notice when I start to use the toy. I get out from between her legs and lay off to the side of her while she gives me a puzzled look, but I just smile at her. I go back to kissing her like my life depends on it. I take my hand and slowly start to caress her body, getting her nipples to a nice hard peak, then down her stomach, giving a slight tickle as I caress from hip to hip, and then move lower. 

Once I reach her pussy, I cup it through her panties. I can feel how wet she already is. I slowly start to pull them off her and once that is done, I go back and play with her clit. Working my hand back up her body, I grab the toy, turn it on a low setting, and slowly rub it up and down her body, following the same path that my hands did. When it reaches her clit, I take the head of it and rub it there for a minute. I glance down and notice it's not a typical vibrator, but a rabbit with an anal attachment on it and can't help but think to myself SCORE. I position the vibrator at the opening of her nice, wet pussy and slowly start to insert it, making sure both the clit and anal attachments are hitting their marks. 

She is starting to buck, which tells me she is enjoying it, so I bump up the speed. Her breath is starting to become labored, she's getting close, and I pull the toy away. She gives me a disgruntled look and to stop her from saying anything, I begin kissing her again. I go through this process a few more times, but soon realize both her and my cock can't take much more. I stand up from the bed, strip the rest of my clothes off, and rejoin her. I know if I dive right in that it will be the end for both of us, so I have her get up on her hands and knees, saying I want to take her this way.

She does as I ask and I position myself right behind her. I grab my cock and stroke it against her clit a few times, then push into her dripping pussy. At the same time, I work the smallest plug in and out of her ass. She is soaking wet and moaning. I know she is loving the sensation of having my cock in her pussy and the plug in her ass. I pull my cock out, get down, and lick her pussy from behind, while I continue to work the plug in and out. When I see it’s going in with ease, and she is enjoying the sensation. I grab the next plug size and work it in slowly. At that I can feel her tense up.

“Princess, are you ok? Is it too much?” I stop all my movements.

“No baby, it feels so fucking amazing. Please baby, I need to feel your dick inside me, please,” she begs. I give her pussy one more long slow lick before sliding my cock back inside her. She starts rocking back and forth, increasing the friction. After a few deep, hard thrusts, I pull out and line myself up to her tight hole. I pause for a minute to make sure she is certain this is what she wants. She gives me a look over her shoulder, letting me know I'm good to go. I’ve worked her up so much that my cock is nice and slick from her pussy, so I start to slowly enter her. I can feel her tense up again. Knowing I need to keep her relaxed, I grab the rabbit, reach around, and put it back on her clit. It works and I'm able to slide past the tight rings of her ass and right into the warm tight heat. She starts to moan a little louder, so I say fuck it and try something. While fully seated in her ass I pull her up slightly and insert the rabbit into her pussy. She's moaning loudly now; saying how full she feels. I leave the vibrator in place, but turn it up, and slowly start to fuck her ass again. It feels amazing, and with the vibrator inside, I can feel it on my cock. It’s causing me to want to explode. After a few more strokes, she cums so hard I can’t hold back anymore and follow right behind her. After we’re both spent, I lay with my chest on her back, I can't move, but I check her to make sure she didn’t pass out from what just happened. Everything about my girl is just too fucking good. After a few minutes, I take the vibrator out and pull myself from her. I climb off the bed and reach for her. When I have her up in my arms, all I can think about it that this is where we both belong. After a few minutes of rest, I head to the bathroom, grab a warm washcloth, and clean up the mess we both created.

During the last month a lot has changed for the people around me. Zasha is now living with Renegade and Brenda. She started tenth grade last week and is adjusting to the life of a typical teenage girl.

Oksana has started community college, and hopes she is able to transfer to DU next fall. She and Bison seem to have that ‘make up to break up’ kind of relationship going on. I think a lot of it has to do with women constantly throwing themselves at him, and he enjoys the attention. As far as I know, she still hasn't slept with him, and I'm sure that's hard on any twenty-one year old guy with unlimited access to an easy lay. I'm not sure what will happen to those two, but time and maturity has a way of making things super clear for people. Maybe he will wise up, maybe he won't.

Anastasia is nursing a broken heart courtesy of my brother, who decided it was best for them to go their separate ways with no explanation at all, only a text message that said he didn't think they should see each other anymore. Anastasia has gone back to live in the guest house on Anderson Street.

I’ve tried not to get involved, but I’ve asked Vaughn why, and he just said they were in different places in their lives right now. As much as I’ve felt like that was just a bullshit answer, I really couldn’t blame him for not wanting to talk about his private life.

The Hope Gala is two days away. With everything on schedule and going perfect, my only issue is whether or not Rhydian is able to be my date. There has been something going on at work lately with the government contracts he’s been working on. He seems to always be too busy to talk or too preoccupied to pay attention to me. I look at my dress hanging on the back of my closet doors. I’ve thought I would finally have my Cinderella moment, but the way things are looking, it’s highly unlikely. Again, I go to bed tonight with no word from Rhydian, just a text that said he would call me tomorrow. 

The next day, I head to The Hope to make sure everything is being delivered and set up properly. I need to make sure the tables are set up according to the seating chart and that the temporary stage is in the right place. The kids from last year will be the entertainment for the evening. Making my way into the banquet hall, I hear giggling and then I hear Rhydian’s voice and next I hear Hadley, one of Kennedy’s teachers, giggling again. I can’t hear what’s being said, but I’m about to go in there and kick someone’s ass. I pace outside the banquet door, trying to get ahold of my emotions. When the doors open and Hadley steps out, she looks me dead in my eyes, like I just didn’t her giggling like a schoolgirl with my boyfriend.

“You aren’t supposed to be here for another hour!” she says with a look of shock on her face.

“Really? Why is that, Hadley?” I step towards the door, but she blocks my path.

“Hadley, you’re only going to get this one warning. Back the fuck away from the door.”

“No,” she say defiantly. “Estelle, please don’t ruin this. Come back in an hour, please” she pleads.

“Have you lost your fucking mind? I know my boyfriend is in there, and I just heard you giggling like some schoolgirl. And you have the nerve to come out here and tell me to come back in an hour?” I hissed in an aggravated tone.

Just then the door opens and Pins walks out. “Oh fuck! You aren’t supposed to be here for another hour!” He says and grabs Hadley around the waist, kissing her neck. “Come on, baby, we have to go do that thing, remember?” He’s making a weird head motion.

“I’m not leaving until Estelle leaves. She isn’t ruining this!” she responds, obviously exasperated about this conversation.

I look to Pins, and I know I have misjudged the situation somehow. 

“Okay, fine. I will be back in an hour. I have to be here to meet the delivery men.”

“Wait!” Hadley yells, “Before you come back, you may want to change. You know, your clothes, put on some lip gloss, maybe brush your hair. You look like hell.” She says with a worried looked on her face. I catch my reflection in the glass of the door. She is right, I do look like hell.

I go back home and hop in the shower. I call Kennedy to see if she is able to meet the delivery men, but she doesn’t answer, I could really use a nap. Things with Rhydian are still up in the air, which is causing me to lose sleep. I throw on a cream sweater dress with my brown knee high riding boots, and I instantly feel better. I add a touch of mascara and some lip-gloss, toss on the earrings Kennedy gave me last Christmas, and the necklace I got as a gift from my dad—I feel a million times better. I look in the mirror and grab my favorite knit hat and purse, and I’m back out the door.

Parking in front of The Hope, I notice that The Mad Batter is closed and I give Frankie a call before going into the building. I'm concerned because the bakery is never closed, so it must mean something is wrong with Sebbie. After she doesn’t pick up the first time, I try her again and still no answer. I walk to the door, but for some reason the front door is locked. Now I’m pissed. Who the fuck would lock the door? I walk to the side door, which is propped open. I pull it open cautiously. 

Walking into the building, I see a white runner on the ground with pink, yellow, and white rose petals on it. I follow the runner to the banquet hall, were I see four tables filled with my family and friends. On the temporary stage, Tristan is sitting with his guitar, and off to the side are Isabel, Max, Jax, and Hadley sitting at their instruments. When I walk in, soft music starts to play. I’m not sure which song it is, but it sounds like a country song. I look around confused while my family smiles at me. I see Uncle Sal give me the thumbs up. Rhydian walks towards me and asks me to dance. When Tristan starts singing, I know the song, it’s ‘Wanted’ by Hunter Hayes. As we dance, Rhydian sings into my ear, as Tristan sings to the room. At the end of the song, Rhydian gets down on one knee.

“Estelle Roux, for me, it was love at first sight. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. Will you marry me?” he says getting choked up.

“Yes”, I say without hesitation, and the room erupts into applause. When he stands up, he hugs me, and lifts me off the ground, spinning me around, I have never felt so happy in my entire life, and my heart is jumping with joy. I catch Hadley’s eyes and she winks, mouthing ‘told you so’. Everyone gathers around us to look at the ring, and give me hugs. Soon after that, the caterers come out. 

“I’m sorry, Princess. I know I’ve been weird the last few days, but I was trying to plan this surprise engagement party for us.” He said with a look of satisfaction on his face. He is happy because I am happy.

“It was everything I could have ever imagined, Rhydian. It was perfect, you're perfect.” I say.

“No, Princess. I’m not perfect, but every day I’m with you, I’m the best me I can be.”

We spend the rest of the night celebrating and dancing, while Isabel, Max, and Jax perform. I can’t believe how awesome they are. I look over at Hadley, who dances with Pins. I look around and see Crash dancing with Rhydian’s mom, Elena. Bison watches Oksana dance with a friend she brought from college. Frankie and Tristan are dancing and whispering to each other, while Sebbie is dancing with Stacy and her boyfriend Avery’s little girl. Everything is great, I beat the darkness, faced all my demons, and won—finally, I feel relief. 

“Can I have this dance?” I hear my dad ask from behind us. We are dancing when he clears his throat to speak. “Princess,” he said, “Rhydian is a good man. I know he made some mistakes, but I think you two are going to be very happy together. I know you don’t need me to, but I would really like to pay for your wedding.” 

“Dad, I’m going to pay for my own wedding, but I would love if you walked me down the aisle.”

“Estelle, you're my baby girl, I would do anything for you.” He gives me a hug and returns to his table. 

I know he would, he has thrown a man off a balcony for me. I know there would never be anything he wouldn’t do for me.

I look around at the people in this room, and my heart swells with joy. I’ve come a long way from where this all began. This is my new life, one I start as Estelle Kerrigan. I will never think of Stella Mayò or Estelle Roux again. My past will be in the past, I will be Rhydian’s—mind, body, and soul—and he will be mine. I’m sure Elena Kerrigan wants a huge wedding, considering Liam and Rose had a small courthouse wedding with the justice of the peace and a secretary as the witness. Easton and Kennedy have had a wedding that never actually happened, but were married on paper. I know this wedding is important to Elena. I have only two requests; that the kids be the entertainment, being the entertainment at the biggest wedding in Denver could be a huge step for them, and that the food be kept super simple. I don’t want anything fancy. The event itself can be as fancy as she likes, but you want the food to actually be enjoyable. I make my way over to Elena.

“So how much of the wedding do you have planned already?” I smile as I inquire.

“Well funny you should ask,” I could actually see the twitch on her face, trying to suppress her smile. “I started planning when Rhydian bought the ring. I knew your separation was only temporary, so I went about with my plans as usual. You know me, dear, once I get an idea in my mind, I make sure it happens. You becoming Rhydian’s wife was decided that night we saw you at the farm. I just needed to get all
your
ducks in a row. And look how things have worked out? Quite lovely, wouldn’t you say?”

“Elena,” I try to ask again, but I'm too busy laughing. “How much of the wedding have you planned?”

She has the good sense to look sheepish. “Well about that, dear, you have about eight weeks to find the dress of your choice. However, I noticed you had your eye on a particular dress when we were looking for a dress for Kennedy. It was on back order for 10 months, so I took the courtesy of ordering it. You don’t have to wear it of course, but you know it's an option for you.” 

I feel the tears welling up in my eyes. “The Spring in the Lela Rose Collection, that’s the dress, isn’t it?” I have to sit down at that, and can’t control the sobs that rack my body.

“I can’t wear it, Elena, the back isn’t covered.” She pulls me to my feet, marches me to the bathroom, and sits me on the bench.

“You will wear that dress, that’s your dream dress. I saw the way you looked at it and I saw the way you held it before putting it back on the rack. That is your dress, now fix your face. Those scars don’t matter worth a damn. You survived those scars, and the men that gave them to you. Kerrigan women don’t buckle, and we don’t let anything stand in our way.”

She walks over to the sink to get some wet paper towels. Then she continues, “When you marry my son, it will be in that dress, and you will walk down the aisle with pride. Anyone that has a problem with your scars, can go straight to hell. Now, wipe your face, blow your nose, and get your ass on the dance floor with your fiancé.”

I do as I'm told, fixed my make-up, and made sure I looked normal before going back out to the party.

“You ok, Princess?” Rhydian asks, standing outside the door.

“Yes, I’m great. Your mother set me straight.” I say with a smile. He nods, steps towards me, entwines both my hands in his, and kisses me.

“Princess, you don’t have to deal with anything alone anymore. You have a room full of people who love you. Let’s go celebrate.”

I give him one more kiss before rejoining the party.