No Reservations (28 page)

Kendal made a face. 'Of course you should go ahead now. My dad loves you. You love him enough to love us too, and to take a lot of crap from my mother. I see it, you know. It's embarrassing and I wish she would stop. I've told her to stop.

She's a good mother, she is. But this isn't right. How she's acting isn't right. It's just this blind spot she has about him and I don't know why. He was never going back to her. Even when I was just a kid and he left, I knew that.'

Kate smiled, but she wasn't going to address any of those comments about Eve. 'I do love your father. Very much.

Enough that it hurts to see him hurting -- and this wil hurt him.

But this is not your fault and, whether I like the decision or not, your sister has every right not to participate in the wedding if that's her choice. If you want, I can clear out for a while when your dad gets here. Or you know what? Why are you stuck with tel ing him? Who's idea was that?

What's up?' Dix cal ed out when he came into the house through the garage.

Kendal squeezed her hand. 'Wil you stay when I tel him? I don't want him to hear it from my mom.'

Kate nodded. Not that he would hear it from Eve as long as Kate had anything to say about it. We're in the living room,'

she cal ed out and his thumping steps neared until he came into view.

'Lookie here, two of my favourite women on the entire planet.' He swooped down and hugged Kendal and then Kate. 'Hope you're hungry. I got extra kungpao.'

'Sit down a sec'

'Uh oh.' He sat on the low table and Kate swal owed back her annoyance that he didn't use the chair or couch. 'You didn't run off to some state where you could get married underage or anything, right?' He turned his gaze on Kendal who exhaled and rol ed her eyes.

'Ew. Dad, I don't want to be married. I'm only seventeen.'

'Thank God for that. Go ahead, I've got some good Scotch for afterwards, this has bad news written al over it.

You're not pregnant?'

Again, Dad, ew. I know what birth control is.'

Kate put a hand on Kendal 's leg and one on Dix's. 'Let's stop that now, your father is going to have a stroke if we keep talking about your sex life. Or lack thereof.'

Dix shot her a look, both grateful and annoyed.

'Dad, Adrienne doesn't want to be in the wedding. And she's not coming over here this weekend either.'

Kate's heart nearly broke at the look on his face. Rage flushed through her system. This had that bitch of an ex-wife written al overit.

Why are you tel ing me, sweetie? This isn't fair for you.' 'I didn't want Mom tel ing you.'

He bit his bottom lip and Kate barely wrestled back a comment about that. This blended family stuff was complicated and tiring at timesDix heaved a sigh and stood.

'You two eat, I'm going over to deal with your sister. She's at your mother's?

Wait. Can I speak to you a moment before you go?' She stood and then looked back to Kendal . 'Honey, cal Jimmy.'

Kendal hugged her dad and moved quickly from the room.

I'm sorry about this. But it's her choice, Dix. Let her make it. As for Eve? I'l be back.' She grabbed her purse and her keys. 'This is mine to handle.

Bul shit it is. It's mine because she broke the rules about dealing with you through me. This is not about you, it's about me. It's high time this shit ends. Now, eat with your daughter.

Eve and I need to talk.'

He sighed. 'I used to think I had the perfect divorce, friendly and good for our kids. But... I think I actual y hate her. I never would have thought she'd have been capable of this.'

'But since I came into the picture, not so much. Listen, I could just walk away right now if that's what you want.'

'Don't be stupid. That would be her winning and what would it solve? I love you and I'd hunt you down anyway.'

'Good.' She kissed him and headed for the door. 'Don't worry, I won't do anything in front of Adrienne. You should probably cal her later to reassure her that you stil love her and you're not mad.'

I am mad, Kate. This is not how she was raised.'

Kate laughed. 'Dix, they've got your wil . You can't get pissed that she's a teenage girl who hates her dad's girlfriend. It's like one of the five stages of teenage girldom.'

Don't get arrested.' I'l try not to.'

Kate pul ed in the driveway at Eve's house, blocking Eve's potential retreat.

Eve had a sparkle in her eye when she opened the door.

So satisfied with herself. Bitch. It made Kate want to hit her square in the face and she had to console herself with the idea that she might have to later. 'Is Adrienne here?' Kate didn't waste time on pleasantries. No. And you're not going to yel at her.'

She shoved past Eve and into the house. 'Please. As if I came here for that. Shut the door, Eve. You and I have some talking to do.' 'I have nothing to say to you. Adrienne has made her choice. You drove her to it.

'Like I fucking care if you have something to say to me.

As it happens, I've got a few things to say to you. Adrienne has a right not to participate in our wedding. I respect that and so does Charles. No, the issue here is that it's not what Adrienne wants. It's her selfish, crazy mother who is wrecking her child's relationship with her father because she's petty.

Bravo on the parenting job. I think you should send this little gem of a story to one of those women's magazines. You know, "I Was a Selfish Cow Who Turned My Children Against Their Father Because I Couldn't Get Laid". Or something like that.' Kate threw herself onto a nearby couch.

'Get out. I only want to deal with Charles.'

Yeah, about that. Tsk tsk, you know the rules. Charles is off limits to you. Oh, and do kindly fuck off with your demands.

Sit your ass down, bitch, you and I are having a Come to Jesus and you're getting saved.'

Who do you think you are?' Eve moved from foot to foot like the nervous little bunny she actual y was. Right about that moment, Kate felt like a wolf@ 'I'm what you might cal self-actualised. Imagine that. A whole nation of women who aren't al whiny and dependent on men, especial y those who dumped us, for our survival. We can open our own jars of pickles and everything. You see, I'm not here to use a pil owcase fil ed with bars of soap to beat some sense into you. Even though it's mighty tempting. I'm here because I pity you and I figure, if another woman pitied me because I was a hag and a loser and couldn't let go of a man who clearly didn't love me, I'd want to know so I could stop being pitiable.

You're alienating your kids in this odd crusade of yours.

Sure Adrienne is backing out of the wedding and that pleases you to bring chaos into our lives. But you're destroying her relationship with her dad. Why would you want that? It only hurts her. In the end, you're going to drive one daughter away from you and the other away from her father and you stil won't have Dix. He's mine now. That's not going to change and you know that. You don't have to like me. I sure as hel don't like your worthless ass. But if you have any dignity at al , any true maternal love for your daughters, you'l swal ow your self-pity and stop involving them in things that don't have a thing to do with them.'

Kate stood and looked around. God the place gave her the wil ies.

You don't know anything about it.'

'I know al I need to know. You're a mother, why don't you act like one? Al you're doing is hurting your kids. It's not going to change anything with Dix except to drive him even further away. This isn't a contest. They're your children. They love you and their father both. But he doesn't love you, nothing you do wil make that happen. Ten years from now, he stil won't love you. Even if I walked out on him now, he stil isn't coming back to you. So what I'm saying is, al you're doing is being a shitty mother and driving a wedge between your kids and their dad.

Eventual y between them and you because they can't trust you to put them first. And you'l have nothing then. Let go and move on. Be happy, Eve. Open your own fucking pickle jars and find a man who wants you as much as you want him.'

Kate stood and brushed down the front of her pants before looking at Eve again. 'Don't hurt him again. I love Charles very much and you're hurting him with this petty shit.

You're making him feel this way towards his child. It's you, not her. Have some dignity. Stand on your own two feet and stop acting like a fourteen-year-old girl. Next time I wil bring that pil owcase, you get me?'

She sailed out the front door with a wave as Eve stood, openmouthed, watching her leave.

Arrested by the sight of his wife standing, steam rising from her body as she reached out to grab the champagne, Dix simply stood and looked at her. Her body was long and lithe, the water sliding down her skin, hair slicked back to enhance the beauty of her features. She took his breath, stole any other thoughts but the ones he had of her.

She saw him and smiled, that smile he knew was only his. That side of her he knew she rarely revealed to others.

The smile drew him in, brought him into motion as he climbed back into the hot tub with her, putting the tray of food down and taking the glass she handed him.

He clinked it to hers. 'Happy wedding day, ma'am.'

She laughed, settling back into his arm, resting her head there as she looked up to the stars. 'Happy wedding day, sir.

This place is awesome. I vote we always stay in hotels with hot tubs and private patios.'

Their honeymoon would be spent at a beautiful luxury resort, in their own private vil a complete with steps straight down a cliff to the ocean and the aforementioned hot tub right outside a bedroom the size of a smal city/state. He planned to take her in every room, on the floor, against the wal s, in the huge shower and tub, on the bed, wherever struck his fancy.

'If it means you'l always be naked, I'm total y up for it.'

'What I like about you, Charles, is how very easy and simple you are. If there are exposed boobies, you're happy.'

He laughed. 'Especial y if they're your boobies. Not that I'd write off any old breast sighting. But yours are my favourites.

By far.' They looked pretty damned good there in the water.

Good enough to touch, he thought as he moved a hand to idly brush the back of his knuckles across her left nipple.

It sprang to life, which pleased him inordinately, pleased him to know he evoked such a response from her.

She arched her back, floating a bit and he licked a line up her neck to her ear, tasting salt and that essential whatever that made him crazy to always have more.

'Thank you for the wedding present,' he murmured before nibbling her ear. When he'd seen both his daughters walk into the smal restaurant where they'd had the wedding and the reception afterwards, he'd known it had been Kate's doing. Had known whatever the hel she'd said to Eve had struck home because Eve had been more reserved of late and Adrienne had taken to spending at least one night a week at their house.

'I know you don't wear much jewel ery but you real y do need a watch. Not that I'm commenting on your propensity towards being late. Wait, yes I am.' She chuckled softly.

'Not the watch, although that was quite nice and I already promised to make an effort not to be late al the time. It's just that you're so tempting and right as we get ready to leave you get al sexy and then I have to fuck you. You can't blame me.

I'm a man in the prime of his life. I gotta get al the fucking in I can. You heard your mother on that score. It's only a matter of time before I'm taking the little blue pil and peeing on myself.'

Delightful y, she began to giggle, al her best parts jiggling as she did. She pressed her face to his neck and embraced him.

'I know I shouldn't laugh. God knows I had enough of her before you came along. But you make such great fodder to toss her way when she starts sniffing around for things to hate about my life. You're so great at handling her. Do you forgive me?'

'Ha. She tried to make a grab at my cock today. Did you see that? I needed a drink or three after that moment.'

Kate sat back, eyes wide as she tried not to smile. 'She did not! Like sexual y?' She wrinkled her nose and his cock deflated a little even just remembering it.

'She did. She was regaling your sister with tales of how old men like me can't get it up. Your sister dutiful y refrained from rol ing her eyes, but reassured your mother I was keeping you happy so she should just stay out of it. That's when your mother lunged towards my junk to emphasise erectile dysfunction. It was not my favourite moment.'

'Did she grab anything? I'm betting you were stil young enough to be spry and evade her grabbing hands. If she did get a handful of what you're packing she wouldn't be bugging me about marrying old men with flaccid peens and pee problems. Maybe you should let her cop a feel to end the argument once and for al .'

'No! I jumped back. I'm glad to see you so amused by my misfortune.'

'Whatthefuckever. Eve, Charles Dixon, her name is Eve and she's a giant, hairy, pus-fil ed carbuncle. With wrinkles because of al her looking down on things. She's so judgy she's made herself even older looking. My mom could have popped out a nipple and it wouldn't have been approaching the street of insanity your ex-wife lives on.'

He groaned. 'Back to my original point. Thank you for the watch, it's great. No, what I meant was thank you for getting Adrienne to attend the wedding. I'd made my peace with her not being there, but it sure would have hurt.'

'Oh. Wel . It's al up to Adrienne. She stil hates me so don't get excited. But she loves you. You're her father and I just assured her she's al owed to hate me and stil love you. I don't think she real y understood how much it would have hurt you for her not to come to the wedding.'

He brought her to face him, straddling his lap. 'Thank you.'

'I love you. It made you happy.' She shrugged. 'You do things for people you love.'

You love my daughter even though she's being an ungrateful brat?' His words were teasing, but there was no denying the truth of what he'd said.

'I do. I'm not their mother, they have one already. But I'm their father's wife, they're part of you, I love them for that if nothing else. Now, this is my honeymoon and I say we give up talking about any other women but Angelina Jolie for the duration. We haven't had sex in hours. Are you neglecting me already?'