Forever My Soldier (Love Conquers Life Book 3) (15 page)

“You don’t have to worry. I’m keeping a close eye on her, I promise.”

Patty kisses me on the cheek. Knowing Patty, that was a thank you for trying to settle her father down.

“That was delicious, as usual,” Derek says as we all chip in to clear the table. Bella, Patty, my mom, and Sandra are in the kitchen, putting leftovers away and washing the dishes so we won’t be left with a huge mess. I tried to offer my help, but Patty kicked me out. I’m with the rest of the guys in the living room, talking about sports.

We hear the girls giggling, and when I look toward the kitchen, I find them putting out plates for dessert. Patty’s opening the various pies that our parents have brought with them. When we all walk over to get some, Patty stands beside me and says, “I want to thank you all for being with us on our first Christmas. It truly has been the perfect day. This is my favorite holiday, and I’m happy that I get to spend it with the people who mean the most to us.”

My father holds up his glass of scotch and says, “To many years of happy, healthy, and successful Christmas dinners.”

Everyone shouts, “Hear, hear!”

My mother yawns. She apologizes and tells us that they’re going to get going. She’s tired and apparently didn’t sleep well last night. We say goodbye to them as they slip on their coats and make their way home.

After they leave, the wedding talk starts again. Troy tells us that he wants us to have whatever we want for the wedding. He doesn’t care about the cost. He wants Patty to have the wedding of her dreams.

“Daddy, you’ve all done plenty with the money for the house. You don’t need to worry about the wedding.”

“Patty, I agree with your father.” Richard turns to Troy. “I don’t want to step on your toes, she’s your daughter, but we’d like to help too.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that, Richard. I don’t mind the help as long as we’re doing what she wants for the wedding. We all need to remember this is her day.”

“Thanks, Daddy.” She gives him a big hug.

“We really haven’t talked about it much, but we will discuss it. I’m okay with having it at the club if Carter is.”

She looks at me. “Fine with me. Do they have a room big enough to hold everyone? I have a feeling it will end up being a rather large wedding.”

“Yes, they have a room that holds up to three hundred people,” Richard says.

“I don’t think it’ll be that big, but good to know.”

“Leave Sandra in charge and I bet she can fill the room,” Richard says as he squeezes her hand.

“Ha, ha,” she says with a small grin.

“He’s right,” Bella say. “You know how to pack them in.”

“We’re a very popular family,” she says proudly. “We do a lot in the community, and my daughter is a popular author. Of course people will want to attend her wedding.”

Patty starts laughing. “Mother, we’re not inviting my entire fan base.”

Sandra rolls her eyes, laughing. “I know! Okay, I’m getting tired too and clearly tonight's tease Sandra night. That said, I’m ready to go. We can have lunch and talk about the wedding some more.”

“Okay, Mother.” Patty gets up to give her a hug.

Sandra lifts her chin. “And for the record, you can cut anyone you would like from the guest list. I will make a list of those I would like to invite, but you have the final say.” She kisses her on the cheek and tells us to have a good night.

Shortly after Sandra and Richard leave, Troy, Derek, and Bella follow with a promise to see us at the New Year’s Eve event.

“Now it’s just you and I, baby. Thank you for making this the best Christmas ever.”

She gives me a warm smile. “I promise to give you years and years of amazing Christmases.”

I lean in to kiss her. “Let’s go to bed. I’d like to make love to my fiancée.”

Chapter 14

Patty

The fundraiser is here, and we’re all so excited to see how this event will turn out. Derek and Carter have gone to the hall to ensure everything is going smoothly as far as the setup goes. While they’re there, Bella, my mom, and I are going to have our usual spa day together, and this time we invited Mia to join us.

I take a deep breath as I grab my coat and make my way downstairs. Because of Joan texting me and leaving me messages on Facebook, I’ve agreed not to leave the house alone. That means Bella is picking me up. I want to be ready and waiting at the door for her when she gets here. Of course she’s supposed to have some sort of security too, but I haven’t had a chance to ask her about it yet.

When I get downstairs, Darryl is in his usual spot. “Good morning, Darryl. How was your holiday?”

“It was great! I even took a few days off to spend some extra time with the kids.”

I give him a warm smile. “I had been wondering where you’ve been.”

“Are you and Carter doing something fun tonight?” he asks, glancing at the ring on my finger.

“Well, we have been planning this rather large fundraiser to support military veterans, and the event is this evening. I’m sure we’ll have fun, but we’ll be somewhat working too.”

“That sounds like a nice way to bring in the New Year. Are congratulations in order?”

“Carter asked me to marry him on Christmas Eve. He was very sweet, and of course I happily accepted.” I glance out the door to see Bella pulling up. “That’s my ride. I’ll be back in a little bit to finish getting ready for the event.”

“Have a great afternoon, ma’am.” He opens the door for me. I walk out, feeling happy and excited for tonight. I climb into Bella’s car and buckle my seatbelt as she pulls away to take us to the spa.

“How’s the bride-to-be?”

“Good. Carter and I have started talking about potential dates to have the wedding. I need to have my mother run them by the club to see what works for them.”

“How quickly do you guys want to marry?”

“Carter would marry me tomorrow if I let him. I told him I needed a few months to plan. At first I was thinking a winter wedding, but now I’m thinking early spring. I don’t want to make him wait too long.” I wink at her, and she giggles as she pulls away from the traffic light.

“By the way, did your agent set up security for you yet?”

“Yeah, but I told them I didn't need them today because we were going to be together and there will be tons of security at the event tonight.”

“As long as you use them when you're alone. I don't want this creep getting to you.”

Bella simply nods, and like that the conversation is dropped.

When we pull up to the spa, we see Mia walking in. We wave as Bella pulls into a parking spot, and the three of us walk in together. My mother is already waiting inside for us, so we all quickly say hi and then check in to let the receptionist know we’re all here. Since it’s New Year’s Eve and everyone has plans for this evening, the place is pretty busy. We all take a seat and wait for them to call our names.

While we wait, my mother says, “Patricia, I put a list together for you and will email it to you tomorrow so you can look it over. Have you talked about dates yet?”

“We have. I was originally going to go for March in hopes of having a winter wedding, but I don’t want to be too rushed in planning, so I’m thinking April or May. We don’t have an exact date because we thought it might be easier to see what the club has available at that time and then pick a date.”

“That works. Mia, are you good with that?”

“It’s their day. If spring is what they want, then spring is what they get.”

“I will call the club on Monday, darling, and see what they have available and then you can decide what you’d like to do.”

I’m thanking my mother when someone calls our names. We all get up and walk toward the woman who called us. She says to us, “We do not have a room big enough to give all four of you massages at once, so two of you will get your massage while two of you are getting your facials and then we’ll have you all together for your pedicures.”

“Why don’t you and Bella go,” my mother says to me as we debate how to split up.

“Mia, are you okay with that?” I ask. She and my mother used to be friends, but they haven’t been close in a long time.

“That is fine. You two go enjoy yourselves, and your mother and I can catch up and maybe chat about ideas for the wedding.”

I hug them both, and then Bella and I follow the girl into our massage room. When the girl leaves, closing the door behind her, I turn away from Bella as I strip to get onto my table.

“I hope they start to get along again. From what I understand, my mother and father split quickly, and Mia didn’t agree with the way my mother handled things, but we’re all going to be family now.”

“Mia is too sweet to not get along with your mother. She would play nice to keep the peace in the family,” she says as she lies down on the table.

“I know, but that’s not really fair to her either. I want them to get along because they’ve work out their differences, not for the sake of the family.”

“That’s because you look at the world and want to see a happy, peaceful place, but it doesn’t always work that way. Trust me, I hope it all works out too, but to be honest, even if they only get along enough to be civil at family functions, you need that to be enough. You can’t force them to be friends again.”

“I know, you’re right. I guess we’ll see what happens,” I say, lying under my blanket.

“Now, what color am I wearing for this wedding?”

“Easter pale purple?” I say, totally teasing her. She looks up at me in total fear. “I’m kidding. I haven’t even thought about that yet.”

“I’m glad you’re kidding because I would look really bad in pale lavender.”

“You’re the fashion expert,” I say. There’s a knock on the door. We tell them to enter and continue our conversation with our faces buried in our pillows. “What color do you want to wear?”

“I don’t know. If you’re going to give me a choice, I’d have to think about it and maybe try some different colors on.”

I typically hate talking during a massage, but hey, this is my wedding we’re discussing. “I like the idea of sage and black. I was looking at some color combos online, and they looked really nice together. I also like gray, yellow, and black, but not for me. I’m really not a fan of yellow, even though I do like the look.”

“I like the sage idea better. I would look a little more until you find something you’re really excited about. I’ll wear whatever you want me to because it’s your day and I want you to be happy.”

“I also saw a coral color setup too that I thought was pretty, but it was more for an outdoor wedding, not an elegant wedding like my mother will want me to have.”

“You could do rose and gray. That would be pretty, and we could make it very elegant.”

“We’ll have to plan a day to go look. It’s so hard to decide.”

We both fall silent as we really start to enjoy our massage. Different colors run through my head. Part of me says screw a spring scheme and do red, white, and blue for my Army vet, but he can’t wear his uniform, so that kind of ruins that idea. I’m so deep in thought I don’t even hear the girls walk out of the room when they’re done.

Bella says, “You going to get dressed?”

“Huh? Yeah, sorry. I guess I was so relaxed I hadn’t realized we were alone.”

She rolls her eyes. Excited, she says. “It’s time for our facials!”

I enjoy our time at the spa, but I’m not as crazy about it as Bella is. She eats this stuff up, but I could take it or leave it. I do it because my mother enjoys this time with us.

When we walk out the door, we find my mother and Mia having a great time, laughing as they wait for their turn for a massage.

***

Carter

Derek and I arrive at the hall together, and the place is coming along nicely. The entrance is decorated in a red, white, and blue theme. There’s even a sign that says,
‘Thanks for helping our veterans.’
In the ballroom, the tables are being set with white table cloths and blue and red napkins. Although the silent auction items are not there yet, there’s a table in place for it. Derek and I are quite happy.

The manager is walking us around the room. “This is where the dessert table will be set up.”

“Okay, and what about the buffet?”

“Mrs. Fitzpatrick-Carmichael has set it up with us that we will do family style instead. There will be three main dishes put on each table with sides after we serve soup and salad.”

“She did, huh?” I ask, totally shocked.

“Yes. I had no idea you boys were affiliated with her. She is a big client of ours.”

“She’s my future mother-in-law,” I say proudly.

His brow shoots up in shock. “I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”

“No need. Had I known to mention her name, I would have done it long ago.”

“We’ve given you the bigger round tables so there will be plenty of room for your guests to eat comfortably.”

Derek and I point out to the manager which tables we want for our special donors, and I hand over the table tents for them to put on each of those three tables. The manager carries on, telling us that he’s been in touch with the DJ and has confirmed his arrival at four. He also tells us that we’re all set for the ball drop at midnight. They have arranged for some fun goodies to be handed out just before midnight.

Derek and I both smile and nod, proud of how this event is turning out, though I have to admit we owe a lot of this to Sandra. Once we’re satisfied that everything is coming along smoothly, we both agree we should go home to shower and get ready for the night’s event. Hopefully our women will be home soon so we can get back here prior to time the doors will open to guests.

Derek and I walk out together, and when we get to our cars, he says, “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Yes, you will.” I climb into my car, but before heading home I decide to make a quick stop.

My fiancée needs something special to wear with her new beautiful dress tonight. I pull up to the local jeweler, the same place I bought her ring from, and when I walk in, the guy who helped me pick the ring is here.

“Hello, Carter. Did she like the ring?”

“She loved it, thanks. But listen, we have a special event we’re attending tonight, and I’d like to get her something special to wear with her dress.”

“What do you have in mind?”

I smile. “I think she needs a new necklace. Her dress is strapless and very simple, so I’d like to get her something that will sparkle and dress it up a bit.”

“What color is she wearing?” he asks me as we walk toward the necklace collection.

“She’s wearing navy blue.”

“Perfect. We have an excellent collection of sapphire necklaces that will dress her up beautifully.”

He shows me a few different necklaces, and I smile when I find the right one. It has diamonds and sapphires in a leaf motif that will dress up her neck but not overdo it. “Perfect. Now how about some earrings?”

“I have the perfect pair.”

He walks across the room to get them and comes back to show me. He’s right. They’re a great match.

“I’ll take them.”

He takes the necklace to the counter and boxes it up. Then he adds the necklace to my line of credit.

I take the bag he hands me and walk back out to my car, checking my watch. I have just enough time to get ready. I hurry home, and as soon as I get there, I run past Darryl, yelling a quick, “Hello.”

I rush to the elevator. Locking my front door behind me, I quickly hurry to my room. My tux is hanging from the bedroom door, all ready to go, so I go to the bathroom. I turn on the shower and check my watch one more time. Patty is going to be home soon, and I really want to be ready when she gets here so I can surprise her with her new jewelry. I shower in record time, quickly washing my body and my hair. With my towel around my waist, I quickly shave and put on Patty’s favorite aftershave.

I’m slipping on my pants when Patty walks into the room. I check my watch. She’s home early.

“Hey, honey. Looks like I’m late.”

My brows shoot up. “You’re early. I had fifteen more minutes before you were supposed to be home. You look beautiful,” I say as I gently plant a kiss on her glossed lips.

“We finished earlier than we thought,” she says as she slowly runs her fingers up my abs and over my chest.

“Oh baby, please don’t start something we can’t finish. I really can’t be late tonight.”

“We may have to have our driver take the long way home then.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me.

She strolls off to the closet to pull out her dress, unbuttoning her shirt as she goes and letting it fall to the floor, revealing the beautiful lace strapless bra she’s wearing. She peels her leggings off and tosses them over her shoulder. I’m instantly hard and need to adjust myself in my slacks as I watch her model the matching thong. I take a deep breath as I try to gain some control.