Any Man I Want (21 page)

“I'm just so pleased that the truth has come to light and I hope in the future, people will stop and consider what's real before they rush to judgment. As much as I appreciate your interest, you don't mind if I ask you to continue your reporting from the staging area... outside?” I smiled sweetly. “We've provided food, drinks, and free Wi-Fi.” When they scattered, Madere, Pops, and Gramps were standing beside me and I hugged each of them happily.

“Well, that's that,” Gramps said.

Chris spoke up. “Kitty, can we get the real party started now?”

“Indeed, sir.” I smiled and called out to my brother. “Beau, cut the lights down and bring the music up.” The old Commodores song “Brick House” rang out and I sent a flirty look over to Carter. “You got your dancing shoes on?”

He took my hand and twirled me three times in fast succession. “I think I can manage a l'il sumthin' sumthin,' diva.” We led the way onto the dance floor and soon most of the party was on their feet. With the pesky distractions out of the way, we could get down to the serious business of celebrating my birthday. Year thirty was looking all right by me.

Carter—Thursday, August 4—10:18 p.m.

 

 

I
t had been close to two weeks since Katrina's party and things had been moving at a crazy pace ever since. Chris was playing preseason games, Gramps had the foundations running smoothly, and business was busier than ever for both Katrina and me.

Instead of the publicity dying down, it had scaled back up. Once the media got hold of the initial threads of the story, they started uncovering all sorts of dirt on Renee and Kevin. Every new revelation triggered a fresh wave of calls to Katrina, to me, to everyone who had been touched by the mess. Eventually it would wind down, but in the meantime, it was wearing on all of us. Katrina included. This morning, I scooped her up with Belle, Beau, Jewel, and Roman and we headed down to Stavros's vacation home in Dana Point, California.

There was financially comfortable, there was rich, and then there was this level of wealth. All of our homes combined could fit into this 12,000-square-foot property. The place was so huge that when the three couples retired for the night, we were on completely different wings of the house. We had to text each other to meet for dinner earlier. We had dined on grilled shrimp and vegetables. It was the first truly relaxing meal any of us had enjoyed in a few weeks.

A few hours later, Katrina and I sat out on the patio adjacent to our room overlooking the Pacific.

“This was a great idea, CP.” She smiled and took a sip of her wine.

“Thank you. I thought we could use a little time away from it all. Monday is soon enough to get back to the grind. We deserve the time-out for dealing with the next phase of our real lives.”

“Whatever that is.” She smiled.

“We should talk about what that will look like.” I took a deep breath and exhaled.

“What real life will look like?” She frowned in confusion.

“Yes, now that it's just you and me without all of the drama and impending doom. What's life going to be like for us? Let's get into it.”

She nodded and then her face fell instantly. “Wait, now that everything is straightened out, are you trying to back out of this?”

“Out of what?” I asked in confusion.

“Out of this relationship. Like, it's been fun but see you later?”

“Why would I do that?” I repeated, still lost. I didn't know what she was talking about, but I did know it was pissing me off.

“Yes, Carter, this is what I'm asking. Was this whole thing just about saving me and now that I'm saved, you're done? Do you want out? Have you decided you had enough? Because I have to tell you, if you dragged me halfway across the country with my friends and family just to cut me loose, you have a hell of a fight on your hands. I don't shake easy. I'm not going down without a fight. You are stuck with me. Like it or not.” She glared at me and swigged a generous portion of wine.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I still had no idea where she was coming from. This woman could take the most innocuous comment and turn it into a major thing. It was one of her less endearing traits.

She shrugged. “I assume that you've realized that it's not going to be all moonlight and roses and you're ready to go back to your old life. Well, that's just too damn bad.”

I set my own wineglass down with a snap. “Who do you think you are talking to? When has this relationship ever been moonlight and roses? You and I are never going to be a walk in the park; we just don't work that way. But I know that. And what old life am I supposed to be going back to? I haven't been that guy I think you're referring to for years. Are you crazy?”

“Are you leaving me?”

“After all of this, do you not know who I am? Have you no clue what I'm really about? Like none?” My voice escalated at the end of the sentence.

She figured out that I was upset. “Ummm. Well . . .”

I cut her off. “I am Carter freaking Parks, woman. I am in love with you and I was trying to propose before you lost your fool-ass mind. For some damn reason, I thought spending the rest of my life with you would be a good idea.” I slapped the velvet box down on the table and stomped inside the room, slamming the door behind me. If I'd said it before, I'd said it a thousand freaking times... that woman was going to be the death of me.

Katrina—Thursday, August 4—10:21 p.m.

 

 

I
squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. I stayed messing up with Carter Evan Parks. Sorry, make that Carter Freaking Parks. He whisked me off to the ocean to this beautiful state with people I cared about for some much-needed decompression time. He waited for this special moment to propose and what did I do? I promptly accused him of wanting to be free and play the field. I slapped my hand to my forehead. What could I say? For all my life experience, this was still my first real relationship with an actual grown-up. I had some catching up to do. I was programmed to expect the worst. I still had trouble embracing the best.

Reaching over, I plucked up the jewelry box and twirled it around in my hands. There was nothing else to do but woman up and face the music. I rose and headed inside, determined to restore some special to this evening.

Carter stood beside the fireplace with his hands in his pockets. “You know, Katrina, I don't know what else to do. What else to say to prove that I'm in this.”

I gave him a crooked smile. “You don't have to say or do anything else. But I do.”

He relaxed his stance and kept listening.

“I promise I'll do better. I'm spoiled, more insecure that I thought I would be, and generally when I get scared, I suck. Seriously, I get a little irrational and then I say stupid, hurtful things that I don't mean. ”

“This is an interesting tactic,” he noted with a tilt of his head.

“Be that as it may, I'm slow, but I'm not stupid. I recognize a good thing when it's right in front of me.” I stepped closer. “And you are right here. You, Carter Freaking Parks, are a very good thing.”

“Oh yeah?” He nodded slowly. “It's about damn time you recognized, woman.”

“People tell me I can have any man I want and maybe that's true. I don't know. All I know for sure is that the only man I want is you. If you're deluded enough to want to marry me, I'm selfish enough to hold you to it.” I went down on one knee in front of him and held up the ring box. “Will you do me the great honor of asking me to marry you, please?”

He flung back his head and laughed before kneeling beside me. He took the ring box from me, flipped it open, and turned it toward me. My jaw dropped open. What was
that
? It was big and pink and sparkly. Gorgeous. I wanted. I grabbed for it. He held it out of my reach. “Not so fast. Audelia Katrina Montgomery, any interest in becoming Audelia Katrina Parks?”

I raised my eyes from that magnificent ring and met his. “Every interest in the world.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. That's yes. A hell yes, in fact.” I held my hand out and he slid the ring on. It was a perfect fit. A perfect color. Perfectly me. I smiled. “I'm going to be Mrs. Sexy.”

“Yeah, you are. Katrina Sexy.” Carter snickered. “So you're sure about this. You're not going to freak out or anything? Cause this is it. You and me. No more nonsense.”

I flung myself at him and wrapped my arms around his neck. We rolled around laughing and tussling on the rug. I landed on top. “I'm a freak out. I may drive you crazy. But I'm in this. Sickness, health, all of that. Like I said earlier, you're stuck with me.”

“Looks like we're stuck with each other,” he murmured into my hair.

“How lucky are we?”

“Not lucky, blessed,” I said with a smile.

“I agree. And Katrina?”

“Yes?” I responded.

“Let's remember this,” Carter said seriously, “what this feels like, what it took for us to get here. Let's just do whatever it takes to feel a little bit of this every day for the rest of our lives. Can you do that?”

I stared into his eyes and saw all the reasons why he was the only man for me. He kept me grounded; even when I felt I was floating above the air. He kept it real; even when we were living out a fantasy. He understood me; even when I didn't understand myself. “I can. I will. Because we are so totally worth it. Now shut up and kiss me, Sexy.”

Jewel, Roman, Beau, Belle, Carter, Katrina—Saturday,
August 6—12:42 p.m.

 

 

T
he three couples sat on the back patio of the house in Dana Point by the outdoor fireplace. They'd made pizza in the custom oven outside for lunch and were lounging around for the rest of the day before heading back to Dallas tomorrow.

“God, I'm happy,” Katrina announced, holding her ring hand up toward the light for the umpteenth time that day.

“It's a damn fine day,” Belle agreed. “You put that hand down before you blind all of us, Kit-Kat.”

“Don't hate, diva,” Katrina teased.

Belle rolled her eyes. “I'm not hating, I'm just saying.” “You know, as problematic as she was, when you think about it—we all have Renee to thank for this happy day,” Jewel said, swirling the sparkling cider in her glass. Heads swiveled toward her in disbelief.

“How exactly do you figure that?” Carter asked with a glare.

Jewel explained. “It started when Renee dragged me to a basketball game where I met Roman.”

“Luckiest day of my life.” Roman smiled at her as she slid her hand into his.

Jewel continued. “And then after she and Beau broke up and he moved in with us—”

Beau interrupted. “Don't forget the part where you threw me out.”

“Right,” she said and nodded with no apologies. “But you landed at Katrina's.”

“He broke into Katrina's,” Katrina corrected, giving Beau a side-eye glance.

“Anyway, that was the day he walked in on me while I was in your shower,” Belle added.

“Luckiest day of my life.” Beau flashed his trademark grin.

“Wait,” Katrina spoke up. “You walked into my bathroom while the shower was running? What if I had company?”

“Please spare us the visual,” Roman complained. “But I suggest, Beau, that you and Belle clean up that ‘how we met story' before the kids come along. Something PG-thirteen perhaps might be more appropriate.”

“Anyway,” Jewel went on. “Then when Renee went on her vengeful rampage with Kevin, that's what sparked Carter to own up to his feelings and finally get together with Kit-Kat.”

“Oh, I owned my feelings a while back,” Carter shared, “but Beau posted the
no trespassing
signs all around his baby sister and when I asked him if I could date her a few years ago, he told me he hoped I was joking and we dropped it.”

“
What?
” Katrina whipped her head around to glare at Beau.

He shrugged. “Knowing what I knew about the two of you? It was better that you both waited. Trust me, you both needed the extra time. I gave my consent eventually.”

“Luckiest day of my life.” Carter nodded.

“See, there you go,” Beau finished. “All's well that ends well. I don't know about thanking Renee, but as least something good came out of knowing her.”

Belle nodded. “Y'all heard she took a plea?” The other five people stared at her and she raised her hands. “Don't shoot the messenger. I got the e-mail today that she's turning on everybody and saying they forced her to do everything.”

“Figures,” Jewel scoffed. “That woman has nine lives and she always lands on her feet.”

“As long as she lands nowhere near us, I'm good,” Katrina stated.

“I'm told she's moving to Los Angeles,” Belle shared.

“She'll fit right in.” Roman nodded.

“What I was trying to say . . .” Jewel raised her glass. “No matter how we got here, we made it. We're all here where I believe we are supposed to be. So, a toast to us and our continued happiness and success.”

They all raised glasses. Katrina squinted at Belle's flute. “What's that you're sipping on, Mrs. Beau?”

Belle sighed. “Mineral water.”

“Finally took the test, huh?” Jewel teased.

“Last night,” Belle admitted. “I'm officially cooking another generation of Montgomery in the oven.”

Varying forms of congratulations and we-told-you–so's rang out. Carter twined his fingers with Katrina's and pulled her to her feet.

“If you'll excuse us,” he said, smirking.

“What's the hurry?” Beau asked.

“If Carter Junior is going to keep up with the Montgomerys, we've got some catching up to do.”

“Oversharing,” Roman muttered with a grin.

“Oh, awesome. Sure, go impregnate my single baby sister,” Beau said, hiding a smile.

“Don't worry, we'll get married before the due date,” Carter promised.

“Maybe Vegas again,” Katrina said, smirking. “We had such a good time there.”

“Well, all right, get it, girl,” Jewel called out, raising her glass once again.

“We'll see y'all for dinner later?” Belle called out.

Carter and Katrina exchanged a glance. “We'll see you at breakfast.” They turned the corner and hit the stairs running. A muffled shriek and chuckle were heard before the sound of a door slamming cut off any more sound.

“Life is good,” Roman announced.

“And getting better,” Beau agreed, rubbing his hand on Belle's stomach.

Contentedly, the foursome watched the waves lapping against the shore. It was a moment to reflect on the events that had brought them here and the promise of the future yet to come. Life was good.