A Forever Family (Forever #6) (3 page)

Collin

I took off my pants and sat down on the edge of the bed, cupping my face in my hands. Amelia emerged from the bathroom and sat down next to me, placing her hand on my back and rubbing it softly.

“Are you okay? I hate seeing you like this.”

I turned my head so I was facing her as my elbows stayed planted on my knees. “I’m fine, I guess. I knew they were going to be pissed, but to call what we did ‘stupid’ was crossing the line.”

“They’re in shock, Collin. They need time to process it all. You know people say things they don’t mean when they’re angry. Your family is so tight knit that I understand where they’re coming from.”

“So you think the things they said were okay?” I asked as I got up from the bed.

“No. I don’t think that at all. Give them time. I’ve gotten to know your mom and dad over the last several months and they’ll forgive us. They’re hurt right now and they feel betrayed.”

I sighed as I stared down at her and took her hands in mine. “I know. But I don’t regret marrying you in Vegas and I never will. I love you so much.”

“And I love you.” The corners of her mouth curved into a beautiful smile. A smile that would be forever etched into my heart and soul.

I looked down at her as I ran my finger across her lips. “I want you so bad. You still owe me from earlier when you ruined my hard-on.”

She grabbed my shirt and pulled me on top of her. “What are you waiting for, Mr. Black? You can have me anytime you want and I promise I won’t mention—”

My mouth crashed into hers before she had the chance to say it. I could feel her smile against my mouth and it excited me even more. Making love to her as my wife was even better. She was mine and I was hers and no one was going to take that away from us, especially my parents.

****

The alarm went off as I rolled over and put my arm around Amelia, giving her head a soft kiss as she reached over and shut it off. An uneasy feeling erupted inside of me, knowing that I’d have to face my dad today. I was still upset and I had no intention of talking to him, at least not yet. Hell, I didn’t even know if he had any intention of talking to me. I sighed as I gave Amelia a light squeeze.

“Do we have to get out of this bed?”

“Yep. We sure do.” She turned over, gave me a kiss, and then climbed out of bed. “I’ll start the coffee.”

I smiled as I watched her walk away in the silk nightie I had bought her in Vegas.

Stepping into Black Enterprises, my stomach was twisted at the thought of seeing my dad. I was in no mood and the first thing I had to do was fire Cara. When I walked up to her desk, she was sitting there on her phone. I shook my head.

“Is he here yet?” I asked in a stern voice.

“Nope.”

“I need to see you in my office.” I motioned for her to go in.

I followed behind and set my briefcase down on the chair next to my desk. I sat down and looked at her as she looked at her phone.

“Do you think you can put your phone away for two seconds and look up at me while we have a discussion?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“Things aren’t working out and we need to let you go.” I got straight to the point.

“What’s the problem? I think I’m doing a great job.” She chomped on her gum.

“You make consistent errors, you’re on your phone all day, you chomp your gum like some wild animal, and you sent my mother black roses.”

“Oh.” She smiled. “Did she love them?” She was clueless.

I sighed because I didn’t have time for her stupidity. “No, Cara, she didn’t. Who sends black roses?”

“I thought it was cute, considering your last name is Black and all.”

“Well, my father had a different opinion. And really? Did you just really say that?” I couldn’t believe the mentality of this girl. I am never going to live this one down with my dad.

“Yeah. You didn’t think it was cute?”

I rolled my eyes. “Cara, you’re fired. Please go collect your things and leave or I’ll have security escort you out.”

“Whatever. I didn’t like working here anyway. You’re all really uptight and boring.” She got up from her seat and I followed her out, making sure she didn’t steal anything.

She collected her things and just as she was walking down the hallway, my dad was walking to his office. It was a shit morning already and I didn’t need it to get any worse. I turned away, went into my office, and shut the door. Before I made it to my desk to sit down, the door opened.

“I take it you fired Cara?”

“Yeah.” My nerves got the best of me as I prepared for his next words and took a seat at my desk.

“I think we need to talk, son.”

“Sorry, Dad, but I have a meeting to go to in a few minutes.” I picked up the files from my desk and got up from my chair.

He stood in the doorway with his hand on the knob and stared at me. “Fine. We’ll talk later. I’m sorry, Collin.” His voice was sincere.

“Yeah, well, I don’t want to discuss it now.” I walked past him and down the hall, heading to Julia’s office.

****

Julia

As I was sitting at my desk sipping on a cup of coffee, Collin walked in and sat down in the chair across from me.

“Good morning. How are you?” I asked with sympathy.

“I’m fine.”

“And Amelia?”

“She’s fine too, but I can tell she’s just as hurt by Mom and Dad’s reaction last night.”

The sadness in his eyes was overwhelming and I hated seeing my brother like this. “Just to let you know that after you left last night, I told Mom and Dad off.”

“You did?”

“Yep. I sure did, but you knew they were going to react like that.”

He shifted in his chair. “I know, but I had a tiny piece of hope that they would welcome our marriage with open arms without calling me stupid.”

“They didn’t mean it, Collin. They’re upset. Hopefully, they calmed down and had a chance to think about it last night.”

“After I fired Cara, Dad came to my office and said we needed to talk.”

“What did he say?”

“I didn’t give him the chance. I told him I had a meeting to go to and I left the office.”

I got up from my desk and walked over to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “You’re going to have to face him at some point. Your office is right next to his.” I smiled. “I have to get these designs down to the print department. Wanna come?”

He gave me a small smile. “No. I better get back to my office. Thanks, Julia, for sticking up for me and Amelia.”

After dropping off the designs to the print department, I stopped by my dad’s office. When I opened the door, I saw him sitting, facing out the window. He turned around.

“Good morning, princess. Are you here to yell at me some more?”

“No, Daddy.” I walked over and kissed his cheek. “I wanted to know how you and Mom are doing.”

He threw the pen down on his desk and shook his head. “We had a long talk last night. Your mom is still really upset, but she’ll be okay.”

“And you?” I asked as I poured myself a cup of coffee and took a seat.

“I understand to some extent and I don’t blame him. I just wish he would have waited.”

“We can wish till the cows come home, but it won’t change anything.”

“Till the cows come home, Julia?” He chuckled.

I shrugged.

“We’ll make this right, princess. Don’t worry. Are you still bringing Brayden over for the night?”

“Yes, Daddy. You and Mom can have your grandson all to yourselves tonight.” I got up from my chair. “By the way, Collin told me he fired Cara. What are you going to do for a secretary? Are you calling the temp agency?”

He sighed. “No. I’m stealing Collin’s secretary for the time being.”

“Maybe Mom can come fill in for a while.”

“That’s not a good idea. I wouldn’t get any work done if she was here. She’d spend more time in my office and on my desk than at her desk.” He winked.

“Ugh. Why do you say those things? If you need me, I’ll be in my office wiping what you just said from my mind.”

“Bye, princess. Have a good day.” He laughed.

I secretly smiled because I loved the way my parents still felt about each other after all these years and I hoped that Jake and I would be the same way.

Connor

As I sat at my desk, I couldn’t take the silence between me and my son anymore. I walked to the closet, grabbed my gym bag, and went to Collin’s office.

“Grab your gym bag and let’s go. We’re hitting the gym.”

He looked up at me and then looked back at his computer. “I can’t. I’m busy.”

“Bullshit. You’re busy if I say you’re busy. Work can wait. I can’t, and we need to talk. Now get your bag and let’s go. Ralph is waiting for us.”

He sighed as he got up from his desk and grabbed his bag. The ride to the gym was silent. After changing into our workout clothes, we hit the treadmill.

“I’m sorry, son, and I want you to know that I fully understand why you married Amelia in Vegas.”

“Somehow, I don’t believe you, Dad. You and Mom said some really hurtful things.”

“I know and we’re sorry. We just need you to understand how hurt we are. Do you understand that?”

“Yeah, I do. But you need to understand how much I love Amelia and I didn’t want to wait. I don’t see what the big deal is. You and Mom can throw us a wedding reception if you want and we can celebrate.”

“That’s not the point. We weren’t there to watch you and Amelia say your vows. We didn’t get to witness one of the most important things you’ll ever do in your life. We’ve been there for you, helped and watched you grow into a man and it’s something we planned on and couldn’t wait for. We couldn’t wait to watch our only son marry the woman of his dreams. To witness the union of you two becoming one. I guess your mom and I are being very selfish people right now.”

“You are, but so am I. I’m sorry, Dad, that I hurt you both, but I’m not sorry I married Amelia the way I did. I will never apologize for that.”

“I know and I wouldn’t either. You were right; I would have married your mom right on the spot when I proposed to her without giving my family a second thought. You’re a lot like your old man whether you want to be or not.” I gave him a small smile.

He smiled back. “I know I am and, to be honest, that’s not a bad thing. I look up to you, Dad. I always have. How was Mom this morning?”

“She’s still upset. I wiped a couple of tears from her eyes before I left for the office, but she’ll be okay.”

“Umm, Dad.” Collin looked straight ahead.

“Oh shit. How did she know we were here?”

“Dad, she’s got that look on her face. I’m scared,” Collin expressed.

“So am I, son. Just keep running.”

Ellery headed straight for us with a mad-as-hell look on her face. “So. I see you’re having a talk with our son without me, Connor.” She stood there with her hand on her hip.

I swallowed hard. “Ellery. How did you know we were here?”

“Collin’s secretary, Laurinda, told me. I went to the office to talk to both of you, hoping we could get this resolved, and I find out you’re having a gym session with him?”

Collin and I got off the treadmill and wiped our faces with towels. “Let’s go into the locker room, Ellery. People are staring.”

“I don’t care if they’re staring. This is my gym and if I want to yell in it, I will.”

Collin walked over to her and hooked his arm around her, kissing her cheek. “Hey, Mom. Let’s go and talk.”

I let out a sigh of relief as she placed her arm around his waist and we headed to the locker room.

****

Ellery

I stood there and stared at my son as sweat dripped down his face. He was my boy and nothing he could ever do would change how much I loved him. Even though I was hurt by his decision to get married without his family, I needed to accept the fact that he was happy and that was all that mattered. Seeing him after his break up with Hailey was, at times, too much to bear. When he found Amelia, I saw something in him that I never had before. It was the same something that I had when I met Connor. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I understood.

“Go clean yourself up and we’ll talk after.”

“Okay, Mom.”

Connor walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m so proud of you, baby.”

“You’re all sweaty, Connor.” I broke our embrace.

“I thought you liked it when I’m all sweaty.” He winked.

“I do. Just not gym sweat.” I reached up and kissed his lips. “Go change.”

He slapped me on the ass with his towel before walking away and I took a seat on the bench. A few moments later, both my handsome men walked towards me in their tailored business suits. As they stood there in front of me, I stared at them with a tear in my eye. Not only did they look so much alike, they acted alike and Amelia was the luckiest girl in the world to be loved by my son. Just as I was by Connor. I stood up and wrapped my arms around my son.

“I am truly happy for you, Collin, and I want you to know how much I love you. I’m sorry for yelling at you last night.”

“It’s okay, Mom, and I know how much you love me. I love you too and so does Amelia. We just want you to be happy for us.”

“I am. I’m very happy for both of you. Please come to dinner with us tonight so I can apologize to Amelia and welcome her properly to the family. We can also discuss a date for the wedding reception your dad and I are giving you.”

“Amelia and I would love to have dinner with you and Dad tonight. What time?”

“I figured you’d say yes, so I already made reservations at Per Se for seven o’clock.” I smiled as I placed my hand on his cheek.

“Seven it is.”

“Now that we have this settled, Collin and I need to get back to the office. What are your plans for the rest of the day?” Connor asked as we left the locker room.

“I’m going to stay here and get in a workout and then go over some things with Bobby. I’ll see my two sweet men later.” I gave Collin a kiss on the cheek and Connor a kiss on the lips and watched with contentment as they walked out of the gym.

I pulled out my phone and called Julia.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Hi, sweetheart. Your dad and I are taking Collin and Amelia to dinner tonight. Would you and Jake like to join us?”

“So you’ve made up?”

“Yes. I came to my senses and had a talk with Collin. We’d love for you to join us tonight.”

“That’s okay. Jake isn’t getting home until six o’clock and then he’ll want to spend some time with Brayden before I ship him off to you and Dad tonight.”

“Okay. Then we’ll pick Brayden up after dinner. Thanks, Julia, for letting him spend the night with us tonight.”

“You’re welcome, Mom. I know tomorrow is Denny’s birthday and it’s going to be hard on Daddy. Using time alone with Jake was a good excuse. I think having Brayden there tomorrow with you and Dad, at least in the morning, will help him feel a little better.”

“I think so too, sweetheart. I’ll talk to you later. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I sighed as I ended the call. Tomorrow was going to be a difficult day for us, but mostly for Connor. He was still mourning Denny’s death and it had been emotionally difficult for him. I was hoping that he’d take the day off of work tomorrow and spend it with me and Brayden. He never read the letter that Denny wrote him. He said that he wasn’t ready and some day he would be. I had a feeling that day would be tomorrow.

****

When Amelia and Collin walked through the doors at Per Se, I stood up and gave Amelia a big hug.

“I’m so sorry, Amelia, for my behavior last night.”

“It’s okay, Ellery. I totally understand. My parents would have been upset too.”

I broke our embrace as I took her hands before sitting down. “I would love it if you’d call me ‘Mom,’ and I’m thrilled to have you as my daughter in-law. Collin couldn’t have picked a better girl in the world to marry. Congratulations and officially welcome to our family, Mrs. Amelia Black.”

“Thank you so much, Mom.” She gave a tender smile.

“Excuse me, Elle; it’s my turn.” Connor smirked.

I stepped out of the way as he hugged her and welcomed her to the family.

“What about me?” Collin asked as he held out his arms.

“We already hugged you earlier.” I winked.

He chuckled and we sat down and ordered a drink. We spent the next couple of hours talking about the wedding reception and how we were going to tell the rest of the family that Collin was already married.