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

A huge smile spreads across my face. “What, baby?” Carter says as he looks down at me.

“I know how we’re going to sell those tickets. My mother wants to apologize and make things up to us? She will do that by getting involved in this event and helping us sell these tickets.”

“Do you think she’ll be willing to do that?”

“She has no choice. She owes me, and I’m cashing in. I’ll be letting her know that if she ever pulls anything like this again we’re done, but this will be her way of making it up to us.”

I watch as everyone gets excited because my mother and stepfather have some serious connections. My father does too, and of course I’ll be talking to him about getting some tickets sold as well, but most of this will be on my mother. The tickets are only seventy-five dollars each, and for my mother’s friends that’s nothing.

Bella pulls the lasagna out of the oven. “I’m taking care of getting some top models and agents to the event, but we really could use your mom’s help.” She pauses to check dinner. “We’ll be ready to eat in about fifteen minutes.”

“What else is there left to plan for the event, Derek?” I ask, so I can make a mental list for my mother.

“Well, Carter found us a DJ who was willing to donate his time to the cause, so that is squared away, but we need to come up with a way to celebrate the ball dropping at midnight.”

Bella scoops lasagna onto four plates, and we all move into the dining room to continue our conversation while we eat. “Do you want to watch it on a big screen in the room, or do you want an actual ball to drop?” Bella asks Derek as she sits next to him.

“I’m not really sure how we would make an actual ball drop, so I guess we need to have a screen set up to watch it on TV.”

“I’ll ask my mom if she has any ideas when I see her tomorrow. If anyone can come up with something, it’s her. It would be cool if we could set off red, white, and blue confetti poppers or something.”

“It would be pretty cool to have big pieces of confetti flying around at midnight,” Carter adds. We all eat in a comfortable silence for a few moments. I’m pretty sure we’re all thinking about the event.

“Is there going to be a silent auction?”

“I wanted to have one, but I haven’t been able to get anyone to respond with donations. I got some small ones, but they aren’t good for a silent auction. I was thinking about either selling tickets for them or putting them aside and saving it for something else. The other idea I had was to give everyone who came a ticket and pick winners as a door prize,” Carter says.

“That’s not a bad idea.” My mom can get us silent auction items too, but I won’t tell him that until I talk to her. That is right up her alley. “I’ll get some autographed book sets that can be auctioned off. Also I have a friend online that’s an artist, so I’ll see if she can get me something as well. She loves to donate to causes like this.”

Once we’re done eating, we all pitch in to clean up. Carter and I both tell them they did a great job with dinner and agree to rotate whose house we will meet up at going forward. After we’ve cleaned everything up, we sit down to a quick game of cribbage. We’re discussing plans to get together to wrap the kids gifts and get them disbursed to the appropriate families.

“I’ve told the families we would drop them off during the day while the kids are in school so they’ll have time to hide them if they would like to surprise them.”

“That was a good idea, Carter. I hadn’t thought about that. Why don’t we pick a day and we can all do it together,” Bella says as she puts her last card down to show she has a great hand. Carter groans.

“I was thinking we would deliver on the twenty-third. That way we’ll have as much time as possible to collect, and they don’t have to hide them too long.”

We all agree that sounds like a good plan, and Carter tells us he’ll notify the families this week to confirm the deliveries. This gives us a little less than a month to collect the gifts, wrap, and then deliver them.

Once we’ve lost our game, Carter walks off to use the bathroom and there is an awkward silence at the table. I know they both want to ask me how I’m doing, but neither of them can bring it up. “I’m fine, guys. Carter has been handling me with kid gloves all day. I want to go to the wake and pay my respects to his father and be done with this.”

“Okay. You know we’re here for you if you need anything, right?” Bella says.

“I know and I appreciate it, but to be honest he has taken over enough of my life. I’m done and ready to move on.”

Carter walks back into the room. “Are you ready, baby? It’s snowing pretty hard, and I want to get home. The roads are probably getting bad.”

“I am.” I stand up and hug Bella while Derek pulls our coats from the closet. As we walk back through the house, I ask Derek for a stack of tickets for us to sell. He jots down our ticket numbers and hands us a huge stack.

“There are fifty tickets there. Let me know if you need more. We can hold up to three hundred people in the room, but I only printed two hundred tickets.”

“We’ll let you know.” I give him a quick hug.

Carter shakes his hand and, as we walk out the door, says, “See you at work on Monday.”

Chapter 3

Patty

Carter has gone to the gym, so I’ve decided to take some time to work on the book. I’ll have to get ready for my mother’s arrival soon. I’m not even sure if Richard is coming, since she never specified. I hope for her sake they’re able to work things out. I’m not sure what she’ll do if he decides to leave her.

I shake off my thoughts and go back to my book. I’m almost done writing. My next step is to go through and approve or reject all of the edits my betas have suggested. As I finish the chapter, I receive a popup message indicating that I have a new email. I look and see it’s from my agent. She’s asking if I’m okay. I roll my eyes and send her off a quick response, telling her I’m fine and that I’ve finished the next chapter in the book. I let her know that I’m almost done and as soon as I finish cleaning it up, I’ll send it over to her.

I get an instant response from her telling me she’s glad I’m doing well and that the publisher is watching for an email from her with the book. I again roll my eyes because she’s once again pressuring me. I’m about to respond when I decide she isn’t worth it. Instead I return to my book to read what I’ve written and start fixing any mistakes I’ve made. This is when I tend to laugh at myself because I often find silly mistakes. I guess my fingers move faster than my brain can process.

Once I’ve finished reading, I start on the final chapter of the book. I’m in my groove typing away when Carter comes back into the house with the groceries I asked him to pick up when he was done at the gym. I can’t stop, though. I have to finish my thought or I will lose it.

“Hey, baby.”

“One minute. Don’t talk to me yet,” I say as I continue typing. He freezes in his spot with a silly grin on his face. I finally look up at him because I can feel him staring at me. “What?” I ask as his grin turns into a full-on smile.

“I’ve never seen you so intense. Were you in the middle of something serious?”

“I’ve started the final chapter of the book, and sometimes if I’m in the middle of a thought, I can’t stop or I’ll lose it and be mad. Please don’t take that personal. I didn’t mean for it to sound rude.”

“Baby, it’s fine. I didn’t know what you were doing and your look was so focused and intense. The last thing I want to do is mess you up. Can I have a kiss now?”

“Now is the perfect time for a kiss.”

I lick my lips as he lowers his to mine. He moans as I lick his lips. He opens, and our tongues tangle with one another. I love the way he kisses.

I break our kiss, and as I do he pulls flowers out from behind his back.

“Aww, thanks, honey. Let me finish typing up some notes, and I can stop for today. I’ve made some good progress and will finish tomorrow while you’re at work.”

“Okay.” He puts the flowers on the counter in front of me. “I’ll put the groceries away while you finish up, and then we can have some lunch.”

“Thanks, honey,” I say without even looking at him because I’m too busy typing notes at the bottom of my document. I need to remember what I want to say and where the book is going. As soon as I’m done, I shutdown my laptop and put it away.

I walk around the snack bar with my flowers. Carter is busy making us some sandwiches and reheating chili from the other day. While I put my flowers in water, I ask him, “How’s the weather out?”

“Snowy, but then again it’s the end of November. This is what we’re used to.”

“It’s a perfect day for chili and sandwiches, but I have a better way you can keep me warm,” I say, standing behind him and wrapping my arms around his waist.

“That sounds really good, baby, but we need to eat lunch and then I assume you need to start getting things ready for your mom to get here. I can promise to take care of you this evening after they leave, though.”

He turns to find me pouting at his rejection. He lowers his lips to mine, and I can’t help but smile. “You know I love this body, but I don’t want you freaking out later when you’re running late.”

“You’re right. I’m starving. Let’s eat, and you can show me how much you love my body later.”

“I can’t wait,” he says as he hands me my chili and sandwich. I place my plate on the snack bar and then offer Carter a drink.

“Want a drink?”

“Water is fine.” I get two glasses and pour us each some water. I meet him at the snack bar, and we both sit down to eat. “What do you have left to do for this book you’re working on, and what comes next?”

“Well, I need to finish the final chapter and then send it off to my beta readers. They’ll finish reading it and leave me some notes on what they think needs editing. I’ll make the necessary changes and send it off to my agent, who will then send it to the publisher.” I take a bite of my sandwich and continue. “The publisher will design a cover, while I go back and forth editing the book with the editor.”

“It’s amazing the amount of work it takes to create a book.” He looks shocked as he takes the last bite of his sandwich.

“That doesn’t even include the book signings my agent wants me to do once the book is out. Those are fun, though.”

“I’m sure they are. You probably have tons of fans that’ll go crazy over you.”

“I wouldn’t say tons, but I do have some,” I say as I stand to rinse our plates and place them in the dishwasher. “Are you ready for your next cooking lesson?”

“I thought you were making dinner?” I laugh at the panicked look on his face.

“Relax. I am, but I want you to help me. I thought maybe we could take a bath together and then once we’re freshened up we can make dinner together.”

“A bath sounds nice, but are you going to be able to keep your hands to yourself?”

“Probably not,” I laugh as he jumps to snatch me up but he misses and I run into our room enjoying our little flirt session.

“Come here you,” he says as he catches me and spins me in the air. “Do you have any idea how happy you make me?”

I nod. “I do because you make me just as happy.”

***

We’re getting ready to make shrimp and capers with white wine and garlic sauce over linguini. Knowing that my mother loves shrimp, I’m doing my part in making tonight as enjoyable as possible. I could make this with my eyes closed, but I want Carter to get used to following a recipe, so I printed one out for him. I go through the recipe with him while he pulls out everything we need. I help him follow all of the steps on the sheet of paper and soon our home smells delicious. Once everything is under control, he goes to the living room to start some music and I to the dining room to set the table. Since I’m not sure whether Richard is coming, I’ll set it for four.

A few minutes later, the phone rings. I assume my mother is here because he tells the doorman it’s fine to let them up.

I pull a couple of wine glasses from the cabinet while Carter meets my mother at the door. To our surprise, Richard is with her. He walks them in, takes their coats, and hangs them in the closet.

“Patricia,” she says, running over to me and wrapping me in a big hug.

“Mother, I’m fine. Please do not make a big deal of this.”

“How can you say that? This is a big deal.”

“Yes, it is for Mr. Mancini. He has to bury his son because he did a horrible thing.”

“I think your mother is feeling a bit bad for the trouble she has put you through. This is her guilt talking,” Richard says as he gives me a hug. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Thank you, but really. I’m fine. I want to forget the entire situation ever happened.”

“I’m sure you do, and hopefully we can all move on and forget everything that has happened,” My mother says, looking at Richard.

“Let’s hope,” he says as Carter announces dinner is ready.

He places the huge bowl of pasta on the already set dining room table. We already have a salad on the table with a few different dressings. My mother takes some salad, and Carter offers to serve her some pasta, which she happily accepts. He serves both Richard and I prior to taking some for himself.

We all start to eat in silence. I wish I could say it is comfortable, but the tension is so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. My mother finally says, “This is delicious, Patricia. You did a wonderful job.”

“Carter made it. I helped, but it was mainly his doing,” I tell them proudly.

“Very nice, Carter. A man who can cook,” she says, giving him a small smile.

“Thank you, Sandra.”

“I guess I have a lot to learn about you, don’t I?” She continues eating.

“How about we start over? I love your daughter, and I really want us all to have a good relationship. Our families have known each other a long time, so there’s no reason we can’t all get along.”

She picks up her napkin to wipe her mouth and says, “Thank you, Carter. I’m really sorry for everything that has happened. I felt trapped and didn’t know what to do. I should have gone to Richard sooner and discussed the situation with him. All of this could have been done with.” Richard squeezes her hand in silent support. “I’m very lucky to have him. He has agreed to try and work things out between us because I do truly love him and didn’t mean to hurt him or anyone else in my family.”

“I’m glad you’re giving her another chance, Richard. I like having you around, and you take really good care of my mother. I want you to know I appreciate it.”

“I love her, and I’m trying to forget the past so we can move forward,” he says, looking at my mom.

“If there is anything I can do to make this up to you, please let me know.” My mother has said the magic words.

“There is something you can do. We’re selling tickets to raise money for veterans in need. The event is on New Year’s Eve. The tickets are seventy-five dollars each, and we need help making this a big success. Bella is taking care of getting some agents and top models to the event and I’ll get some author friends there, but it won’t be enough.”

My mother gives me a huge smile. “Count me in. I will make this my best event yet. What do you need besides tickets sold?”

“We could use silent auction items, and we’re trying to come up with a way to celebrate the ball dropping.”

The mood in the room has turned dramatically. We laugh and joke as we talk about the event and how my mother can help. We now have the support of both my mother and Richard. It makes me really happy to be on such positive terms with her.

“I’ll not only work on selling tickets, but give me a few days to talk to some people and I’ll see what I can come up with for a silent auction. I’ll put some thought into the ball dropping as well. I have a friend who is really good with decorations. Let me see if she has any ideas.”

Once we clean the kitchen and dining room, we give my mom the tickets to sell and we let her know that we can get more if she needs them. She tells us she has a friend at the location we’re having the event. She’s going to make a call to ensure we’re getting the best rate and talk to her about the decorations for the night. She’s happy and in her element. I hope she stays this way. We all hug and say our goodbyes as my mom and Richard walk out the door with a list of things for her to do. She promises to be in touch with us later this week.

I turn around after shutting and locking the door, and Carter is right there. He pins me against the door, and I say, “I’m glad dinner went well tonight. I have to admit I was nervous, but once my mother opened up and started to be sincere, I think it all changed.”

“I think she really meant it and has learned her lesson. I hope that she and Richard can manage to move past it. I’m not sure how I would feel if I found out you cheated on me, even if I found out years later.”

“Well, it’s a good thing for you I’m nothing like my mother and would never cheat on you,” I say with a smile, trying to keep the conversation light.

“Now that dinner is over, someone promised me something tonight and it’s time I collect.” He lowers his lips gently to mine, giving me a small, soft kiss.

“I think it was the other way around. I think you promised me something.”

He scoops me up and carries me to our room, shutting off the lights as he goes. “I think you are right.”

After placing me on the middle of the bed, he climbs on top of me and starts softly kissing my lips. “I believe I promised to show you how much I loved your body.” I giggle as he kisses his way to my ear. He gently nibbles on my earlobe and whispers, “I love you so much.”

He continues kissing his way down my neck, but when he reaches the top of my shirt, he stops to pull me up off the bed. He peels my shirt off and tosses it aside and then removes my bra, depositing it with my shirt. He starts kissing me again while lowering me back down on the bed. His kisses trail down my neck as his hand slips into my leggings. He rubs my clit while he wraps his lips around my hardened nipple. I grind my hips into his hand, wanting more.

“Lay still, baby,” he says, continuing to lick his way down my stomach. As he does, he peels my leggings and panties off at the same time. He tosses them aside, picks up my ankle, and kisses the side of my leg. I laugh as he tickles me by kissing up the side of my leg. When he gets to my sex, he shifts and kisses over my hip.