His Reluctant Lover (16 page)

Dylan held up his hand, palm out. Zane reached up and high-fived his uncle. “Good job,” Dylan said to the little boy.

Adriana simply rolled her eyes. “Please tell me you are not teaching my son how to fight.”

Davis laughed suddenly. “Of course we are. Every man needs to learn to fight so he can protect his woman.”

Adriana shook her head, disgusted with her brother’s behavior. Turning to Georgette, she said with a harried look, “Why don’t you ride with me? That way we can avoid all of these obnoxious men.”

Georgette had no idea what was going on. She looked up at Dylan, trying to receive some form of communication from him. Dylan instantly stepped up and shook his head. “She stays with me. I don’t trust any of you guys farther than I can throw you.”

They had all started walking back towards the cars but Antonio piped up and said, “Hey, remember that time that we tried to see how far we could throw each other?”

Davis threw back his head and laughed. “Yeah. Who one that bet anyway?”

Marcus chuckled. “I think Dylan won that bet. I didn’t stand a chance since I was the smallest.”

Dylan rolled his eyes. “You’re still the smallest.”

Marcus laughed again. “Maybe we should try that that again. Georgette can be our reward. And since you’re an old man now, and I’m a young stud, I have a better chance this time around.”

Another man, just as tall as the one surrounding Georgette, pushed away from the car where he had been leaning. He reached out and took Zane from Dylan’s arms while at the same time extending his other hand towards Georgette. “I Mitch,” he said with a kind smile, “Adriana’s husband. I can also help you navigate through these idiot men, if you’d like some advice.” He winked at his young son, “Us outsiders need all the help we can get.”

Georgette opened her mouth to say that she wasn’t going to become an outsider to this gregarious family, but the words simply wouldn’t come. She didn’t know if it was simply because she was overwhelmed by everyone coming out to greet them at the airport or if there was something more to her inability to speak, but she nodded her head slightly instead of forming the automatic denial that had been on the tip of her tongue.

Everyone got right back into the cars, the kids strapped into their car seats. A few moments later they were driving through the Virginia countryside. Dylan sat in the backseat of a black Land Rover, his hand holding hers as he chatted with Antonio and Marcus about their budding businesses. Georgette listened, but they were throwing out all of those big numbers again and she tuned out the conversation, trying to get a grip on what was actually happening.

They pulled up outside of a huge, beautiful house with lush, rolling hills expanding out on each side and behind. As soon as the three cars pulled up, the front door opened and the beautiful, older woman with long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail stepped out onto the front stone steps. Right behind her, a tall man with broad shoulders and black hair, so similar to Dylan’s that she had to assume that this was their father. Which would make the tiny brunette Dylan’s mother.

Georgette felt the panic start to well up inside of her. She looked at Dylan, noting that he was trying to give her a silent message. What that message was, she had no clue because she was so overwhelmed by the idea of meeting his parents. He should’ve warned her! This was totally unfair of him.

“I know what you’re thinking. And yes, it’s all true. But you’ll understand exactly why I brought you here by the end of the night.” Dylan squeezed her hand, trying to give her some reassurance.

Marcus was driving the Land Rover and pulled it up right outside of the stone steps. By the time Georgette exited the vehicle, Ella and Zane were excitedly rushing up the stairs, giving details about Georgette to what she assumed was their grandmother and grandfather.

“She’s really pretty!” Zane was saying to his grandfather as the handsome, older man lifted him into his arms.

“Do you think she’ll let me be a flower girl at her wedding?” Ella asked her grandmother, looking up hopefully.

Georgette stood at the bottom of the stairs, unaware that her fingers were clenching Dylan’s hand nervously. Nor was she aware of the look on her face that transmitted her terror to everyone but the exuberant children.

The beautiful older woman put a reassuring hand on her granddaughter’s blonde hair. “I think that we should have dinner before we discuss anything else.” Jenna looked up and saw the relief on the auburn haired woman’s lovely features. “Why don’t you take your brother inside and wash your hands?”

The two of them raced inside, followed by their mother, father and three of their uncles. That left Georgette and Dylan staring up at the two older people.

“Mom, let me introduce you to Georgette Charding. Dad? Don’t scare her,” he said.

The two walked down the steps, Dylan’s mother smiling at her warmly. “It is a real pleasure to meet you, Georgette.” She took Georgette hand in hers, trying to give her a squeeze of reassurance. “Don’t let this rambunctious family intimidate you. And please, call me Jemma.”

The handsome man also extended his hand. “I’m Damien Alfieri and it is a real pleasure to meet you. We have heard a great deal about you over the past few weeks.”

They walked inside the big house, straight through to the large, airy kitchen. To one side of the kitchen was a dining area with a long table and to the other side was a large room filled with comfortable, yet elegant, furniture. The whole setup looked warm and inviting instead of intimidating. When Dylan handed her a glass of white wine, she took a long sip, trying to relax.

Over the next several hours, Georgette learned more about Dylan and how his family worked. She also heard the story of how his parents had met, about how his mother got pregnant and was a single mother for the first five years of his life. When Dylan’s father found out about his existence, Damien worked hard to convince Dylan’s mother to marry him. It took a great deal of convincing, but they have been together for the past 31 years.

When she heard that, Georgette knew instantly why Dylan had brought her here. Unfortunately, it still didn’t help her get over the panic of committing herself to Dylan for the rest of her life. Or more specifically, it didn’t help her trust what they have together.

Adriana and Mitch were the first to head upstairs for the night. They departed around 8 o’clock to help their kids into bed. Marcus, Davis and Antonio had all been in and out of the great room, and conversation, as they attended to business matters. Georgette learned over the course of the night that the Alfieri men, and Adriana, not to mention Mitch, were all powerful, brilliant business leaders. While Dylan and Davis had established their empires, Antonio and Marcus were just starting out but all four men had the most amazing confidence in their various capabilities. She was impressed by the entire family.

When she found herself alone with just Dylan, everyone else having gone upstairs for the night, Georgette honestly had no idea what she was going to do.

“What are you thinking about?” Dylan asked her.

Georgette bit her lower lip, trying to figure out exactly what was going through her mind. There were so many random thoughts, terrifying feelings and the need to find a place to hide away that she wasn’t exactly sure what to say to him. “You’re a very persistent man,” she finally admitted to him.

He took her hand and pressed a kiss to the palm of her hand. “I think what I’m trying to show you is that I’m not leaving you. You might have been around bad marriages your entire life, but I’ve had the opposite in mine. When you start to falter, I’ll know what to do.”

“And you’re willing to risk my crazy background on your future happiness?” She asked him.

“I think that’s what marriage is all about. Neither one of us knows what will happen tomorrow, but we have today. We only have the moment. I know that I don’t want to spend a moment away from you. I want to spend my life with you, and I know that you love me too. I’m just asking you to trust me, to trust us, and I know we can make it work.” He reached up and brushed the tear off of her cheek.

“I don’t want to be hurt,” she whispered.

“I’ll probably hurt you over the years, not intentionally, but I’ll always love you. And I have faith that you’ll always love me too.”

“Okay,” she finally said, taking a deep, shuddering breath.

Dylan held very still, his hand holding hers squeezing ever so slightly. “Does that mean what I think you mean?” He demanded of her.

The words were stuck in her throat so she couldn’t say anything, but she nodded her head.

“You’re going to marry me,” he said with a sexy grin. “You will be the most beautiful bride that ever walked down the aisle.” A moment later he stood up with her in his arms and carried her out of the house.

She looked around, surprised that they weren’t going up the stairs where everyone else had disappeared. Nor was he putting her into a car where they could head to a hotel. “Where are we going?” She asked feeling a giggle well up inside of her.

“I’m taking you down to the stables,” he said. “I’m going to make love to you until you’re screaming my name, just as I promised. And I don’t want my brothers breaking down the door, thinking they’re being funny by bursting in on us.”

That giggle that she had been trying to suppress burst out of her. And she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Are they really that bad?” She asked.

“They’re worse,” he told her. “But we will be all alone down here, except for the horses, of course.”

Georgette thought that she should object to being taken down to the stables. But if she were perfectly honest with herself, which she was trying to be now, she knew that she didn’t care at all. In fact, she might actually enjoy making love with this man in a stable. She had to accept that life with this man might not be comfortable, but it would always be an adventure. “I love you,” she said and kissed his cheek.

“I love you too,” he said and bent lower to give her a more proper kiss.

Inside the house, Damien walked purposefully down the hallway to the top of the stairs. His instincts towards his sons were right on target. A moment after he had positioned himself at the top of the stairway, he caught Marcus, Davis and Antonio trying to sneak down the hallway. Damien had to shake his head at his three large sons trying to sneak anywhere. “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked when they realized he was standing there.

Davis, Marcus and Antonio all grinned. “We just saw Dylan walking down to the stables and thought we would join him.”

Damien crossed his arms over his broad chest, shaking his head. “There is no way that I am letting you out of this house. If what I think is happening, then you are going to leave your brother alone so that he can ensure that that beautiful woman becomes your sister-in-law.” Looking at them sternly he pointed back down the hallway. “Just leave him alone until the ring is on her finger. I want more grandchildren, and you three are not going to interfere with that.”

The three youngest looked at each other and shrugged.  If things went their way, there would be plenty of opportunities to cause mischief. 

“You look incredible!” Adriana said, fluffing some of the hidden “fox tails” in the skirt of Georgette’s wedding dress.  “How in the world did you come up with this idea?  And how are these things so well hidden?”

Georgette laughed, feeling like she was a princess.  “It is a trade secret,” she explained.  In reality, she’d spent hours working on this dress, pinning the “tails” to the skirt, then taking them off and re-positioning them.  In the end, it had been a combination of science, where she’d worked on gravity issues, and art, where she’d blended the silk, satin and faux fur to create a perfect blend of textures, all in white. 

“Well, you look ready to go,” Jennifer said, handing Georgette her bouquet.  “How did you find flowers that look like a fox tail?” she asked.

Georgette laughed because the white, fluffy flowers in her bouquet were the genius of the florist.  “I have no idea.  I can’t even tell you what they’re called.  But I love them.” 

Georgette looked at Adriana, Dorothy and Jennifer, her three bridesmaids and smiled.  They were in different gowns that she’d designed for each of them specifically so their figures were set off to perfect advantage.  Adriana was wearing a crystal blue that made her blond curls look extra soft, Dorothy chose a soft pink that made her grey hair look almost white and Jennifer was in a pale yellow which was perfect for her dark hair. 

“Thanks to all of you for being here today.”  She bent down to Ella’s level. “And you look incredibly beautiful,” she said to her future niece who was acting as their flower girl.  The eight year old smiled and twirled in her pale, green dress, feeling very grown up.  “I promise that I’ll do a better job spreading the petals than Zane will do with the ring.”  Her five year old brother was the ring bearer and looking incredibly dapper in a tiny tuxedo.  Georgette chuckled and stood up, facing Ella’s mother with a happy glow. 

Adriana leaned over and hugged her.  “Thank you for falling in love with my brother.  You have no idea what you’re getting into, but I’ll help you through the rough spots with the others.”

Georgette looked at her soon to be sister-in-law with confusion.  “Rough spots?” she asked,

Adriana lifted her hand and waved it in the air dismissively.  “You’re going to be their sister now.  Brace yourself.  The horror starts probably…by the end of the ceremony.”

Dorothy, Jennifer and Georgette all looked at the lovely blond with wide, uncomprehending eyes.

But the music started and Philip stepped into the room, looking very dapper in his tuxedo.  “Goodness, dear.  You look lovely,” he told her, working hard to stifle the emotions that were threatening to embarrass him.  “I knew the two of you would work out perfectly.  From that first dinner, I knew I just needed to get the two of you alone.”

Georgette’s mouth fell open.  “Grandpapa, there was no urgent issue that first night, was there?” she demanded, her eyes narrowing at her conniving grandparent.  The anger would be so much more effective if she didn’t ask the question with her usual southern drawl and a twinkle in her eye. 

“Of course not.  You know I’d never be so rude as to leave a dinner guest.”  He chuckled at his own deviousness.

Georgette glared at him for a moment, then leaned over and kissed his wrinkled cheek.  “You’re a very bad man, grandpapa.”  Then she took his arm and followed her ladies out to the back of her mother’s house.  It was a perfect, fall afternoon.  The sun was shining, the chrysanthemums were in full bloom and the temperatures were in the low seventies.  A perfect day to get married, she thought as she walked down the aisle towards the man she loved. 

When her grandfather handed her over to Dylan, she looked up into his blue eyes, amazed that he was going to be her husband.  He squeezed her hand and winked at her.  “I knew you’d be gorgeous in this dress,” he whispered before the two of them turned to face the man who had baptized Georgette. 

Twenty minutes later, Georgette turned to face her husband, amazed that she was no longer afraid of him or the commitment they’d just made to each other.  All of her fears about being with him, about her hurting her in the future, were gone.  He’d shown her so many ways that he loved her – that he would never leave her – and she believed him. 

The reception was lovely but Georgette couldn’t understand why Dylan kept looking over his shoulders.  “What’s wrong?” she asked.  The cake was sitting in the corner of the white tent, the guests were crowding the dance floor and the food had been perfectly delicious. 

“I can’t see my brothers,” Dylan said, his eyes scanning the guests.

Georgette snuggled up closer to him.  “Adriana warned me they might pull something, but so far, they’ve been very well behaved.”

Dylan pulled her closer, enjoying the way she felt against him, but he couldn’t ignore the nagging suspicion that something was wrong.  “Do you see them?” he asked.

Georgette pulled her cheek away from his chest and looked up into his eyes.  “Relax.  We’ll leave at the end of this dance and anything they had planned will be too late.”

Dylan thought about that.  It made sense, he thought.  He pushed the nagging thought aside and focused only on this dance, on her sweet body next to his and the realization that Georgette was finally his wife. 

Georgette slipped away after that dance to change clothes but she hurried, knowing that Dylan was once again worried about whatever pranks his brothers might be working on. 

When she joined him again, this time wearing a creamy, white suit and white heels, she couldn’t wait to be alone with her new husband.  He was so deliciously, maddeningly handsome and sexy, she just wanted to…

She walked hand in hand with Dylan towards the waiting limousine that would whisk them away to the hotel where they’d stay tonight before taking off for their honeymoon.  “What in the world?” she whispered

Dylan stopped, hunching over to protect Georgette from the flying petals that the guests were throwing towards them.  Thankfully, Georgette had banned rice from their wedding, preferring the softer flower petals. 

But as they looked ahead of them, rose petals raining down on them from all different directions, they couldn’t believe their eyes.  The back of the limousine was completely saran wrapped shut.  There were several layers of the plastic wrap, even going under the car, over the top!  “I told you we should keep an eye on them,” he growled as he walked towards the limousine with a pocket knife in his hands.  Georgette just stood back and laughed along with the other guests as Dylan knifed his way through the plastic wrap.  When he finally had it all cleared away, he grabbed Georgette’s hand and pulled her toward the door, only to stop once again. 

Looking up at the dark sky, he said a silent prayer for patience even while he wrapped his arms around a laughing Georgette.  The entire back of the limousine was filled with balloons.  And not the big kind.  Nope, his brothers had blown up about a thousand tiny balloons and packed them into the passenger area of the limousine. 

Georgette was too busy laughing, actually bent over, her hand bracing on the side of the limousine to hold herself up.  She wanted to help, but this really was hilarious.  Adriana had warned her. Dylan had suspected something was up.  But never in her wildest dreams would she have thought up something like this. 

Dylan was busy popping the balloons with his little knife while pulling as many of them out as possible.  Georgette kicked a few of them while wiping the tears of laughter from her cheeks.  The guests were having a raucous time bouncing the tiny balloons around and Dylan was cursing up a storm. 

When the back was mostly empty of the balloons, he grabbed Georgette’s hand and practically stuffed her into the back, only to discover that the whole back seat, and everywhere else, was covered in black sticky notes.  As soon as they sat down, the sticky notes stuck to their clothes.  Georgette tumbled over laughing while Dylan just slammed the door shut and yelled at the driver to go.  The car finally pulled away from the curb and Dylan pulled his new wife onto his lap.  “I told you they were up to something,” he growled. 

Georgette finally got her laughter under control and wrapped her arms, sticky notes and all, around his neck. “Yes, you did.  But we’re married.  And alone now.”

That statement seemed to dissipate all of his frustration and he bent lower to kiss her.  “You’re right.  You’re my wife.”

“Forever,” she whispered, shivering with the impact of those words. 

“Damn straight,” he replied and kissed her again. 

Georgette smiled as he bent her backwards onto the plush seats.  And only because he was kissing her was she able to ignore all the black sticky notes that flopped towards her.  “You’re going to get revenge on your brothers when they marry, right?” she asked, pulling a sticky note off of his forehead.

“Well, right now, and for the next several hours, I’m going to concentrate on making love to you until you can’t see straight.”  He kissed her again with that promise.  “But yes.  Those three are going to regret ever taking me on.”

Georgette giggled, thrilled with her new life.  A fabulous husband, brothers and a sister.  She forgot about the father who didn’t want her.  She was now surrounded by Dylan’s love and a huge, fun family.  Yes, life was good.