Authors: Rochelle Alers
He stood up. “It better not be that Randy Mann, or whatever the hell his name is.”
Ana stuck her tongue out at Gabriel. “You don’t have to worry about him, because Jason ran him away.”
Gabriel nodded. “Good.”
“What’s not good is having two brothers who are determined to keep me on lockdown in the love department,” she said, scowling. Whenever she was annoyed Ana reminded Gabriel of their mother.
“That wouldn’t be a problem if you honed your skills in the judgment department. What I can’t understand is that you can negotiate a contract with the best entertainment attorney in the business, yet you lose it whenever you’re attracted to the flavor of the month.”
“Bite me, Gabriel Morris Cole,” Ana drawled, rolling her head on her neck.
“Not!” he shot back. “I don’t bite my sisters, thank you very much.”
Everyone turned to look at Summer. “Don’t look at me,” she said, holding up her hands.
The table erupted in laughter. It ended suddenly once Clayborne gave Kim her plate and Jason served his twin.
Summer felt as if she had been adopted into a small segment of the Cole’s extended family. Despite their wealth, she found them to be down-to-earth and unpretentious.
Having assuaged her temporary pangs of hunger, Alexandra dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “Summer, you can share my room tonight, because Kim will be in Ana’s. Let me know if you need a massage, manicure, pedicure, or if you want your hair styled. Mom has contracted a group of beauty consultants to hook us up tomorrow morning.”
Summer flashed a wide grin. “Count me in for the massage and hair.” She had gotten a manicure and pedicure the day before.
“Good.” Alexandra stood up. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I must get some sleep.”
Pushing herself into a standing position, Summer said, “I think I’m going to join you.” She smiled at Ana and Kim. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night.”
Ana and Kim also stood up and followed Summer and Alexandra.
It was near midnight by the time the seven men sitting around the table lifted glasses filled with brandy and toasted Merrick Grayslake.
Jason offered the first toast. “To Merrick, my soon-to-be brother-in-law. May your days be sunny and your nights warmer than my esteemed older brother’s.”
“Here, here,” came a chorus of deep male voices.
“What’s the matter, Gabe? You got a drought going on?” Christopher Delgado asked after he’d taken a sip of the quality liqueur.
Jason stared intently at Gabriel’s brooding expression. “He and Summer are just
friends
.”
“No!” they all chorused.
Leaning forward, Michael Kirkland rested his elbows on the table. “
Primo
, please don’t tell me that Summer hasn’t given you any. I don’t know about anyone else, but I think she looks as hot as her name.”
Dr. Tyler Cole nodded. “I’ve go to agree with you there, Michael. She is gorgeous.”
Gorgeous and dangerous
, Merrick wanted to tell them, but he didn’t say anything. All he could do was smile.
“How long have you known each other?” Silah asked Gabriel.
“We met at a teacher orientation in late August.”
“That is not too long,” Silah said.
“That’s too long for me,” Tyler added. “I’d met, bedded, wedded, and gotten Dana pregnant in about six weeks.”
“That’s because you were over forty, and afraid that you would be shooting dummy sperm if you had waited any longer,” Gabriel said, his expression completely deadpan.
Tyler’s large dark eyes narrowed. “I don’t intend to get into a pissing contest with you, cousin, but you have no right to speak about anybody’s sperm because I definitely don’t see any little Gabriel juniors running around here.”
“Here! Here!” Michael, Chris and Silah chanted,
slapping their palms on the table. Merrick hadn’t joined in because he was laughing too hard.
“Hold up,
primos
,” Jason said, waving his hand above his head. “Perhaps my big brother needs a little incentive before he can do the nasty. Now, you know he moved up to New England where it’s winter for at least ten months of the year, and I believe the cold weather has turned his family jewels into a Popsicle. What this man needs is sun, palm trees and tropical breezes to thaw him out.”
Michael rested an arm over Gabriel’s shoulder. “Your brother’s right,
primo
. And I’m going to help you out. Why don’t you take Summer down to Ocho Rios for a long weekend? That’s where Jolene gave me some for the first time.”
Christopher raised his glass. “I’ll second that. It was at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s that Emily gave me her virginity.”
Michael glared at his brother-in-law. “Hey, you’re talking about my sister.”
“Give it a rest, Michael,” Christopher drawled. “After pushing out three babies your sister is far from being the virgin you want her to be.”
“I have to agree with Jason,” Tyler said. “I remember my father telling me that he got my mother pregnant for the first time at that house in Ocho Rios.”
“Think about it,
primo
,” Michael said in a quiet tone. “Anytime you want to use the house just call me, and I’ll make certain it’s aired out and made ready for you.” He had inherited the house from his parents as a wedding gift after he’d married his social worker girlfriend, Jolene Walker.
Gabriel thought about Summer’s promise to spend a weekend with him anywhere he wanted. Perhaps, just
perhaps he would take Michael’s offer to take her to Ocho Rios.
“I will think about it,” he promised.
The mock bachelor party continued well into the night as everyone toasted Merrick over and over for having the good sense to marry into the family. Sometime around three in the morning, Gabriel crawled onto one of the loungers set up around the pool and fell asleep.
It was Serena Cole who found Christopher, Gabriel, and Silah asleep by the pool. Michael, Jason, Merrick, and Tyler had managed to make it into the house, falling asleep where they lay. None had made it to their designated bedrooms.
The Coles, Spencers, Lassiters, Delgados, and Sterlings had begun arriving early Saturday afternoon, and by the time of the judge’s anticipated four o’clock arrival, David and Serena Cole’s property was crowded with five generations of family.
The ages ranged from more than a hundred to a mere six weeks. Marguerite Josefina Diaz-Cole, the family matriarch, looked forward to celebrating her 104
th
birthday on Christmas, while Timothy Cole-Thomas, CEO of ColeDiz International, Ltd. had become a grandfather for the first time.
Summer’s presence had become the source of talk and much speculation as Gabriel introduced her to his grandmother, aunts, uncles and many cousins. The whispers of
Gabriel brought a girl
on everyone’s lips was tantamount to the announcement of another engagement.
She sat next to Dana Cole, Tyler’s wife, holding a nine-month-old little girl Dana and Tyler had adopted the month before. Dana told Summer that the baby’s mother, a foster child herself, had died in childbirth. Her son, Martin II, had just celebrated his first birthday earlier that spring. Everyone sat on tufted chairs
under a large white tent to escape the blistering rays of the sun, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
David Cole, his brothers, sons, Matthew Sterling, and Merrick Grayslake, who were summoned to meet in David’s study, were all in formal attire.
Merrick had been the last one to enter the masculine, air-cooled room. He met David’s fathomless black gaze without flinching. All of the men staring at him radiated power and danger, and if he hadn’t been who he was he would have been sorely intimidated. But he had experienced too much in thirty-seven years to be intimidated by anything
or
anyone.
He had been abandoned at birth, having grown up being shuttled between dozens of foster homes. He knew he was of mixed blood, but had chosen to be African American despite the texture of his hair, features, and eye color. After graduating high school, Merrick enlisted in the Marine Corps where his life changed dramatically. He was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency once they were made aware of his superior I.Q. and his ability for total recall. His overall physical appearance also proved to be an asset because of his ability to blend in well with many other ethnic groups. Within seconds, he could become a Spaniard, Italian, Turk, or a Jordanian.
His career ended after he was mugged and left on a street corner in Washington, D.C., to die. Michael Kirkland had found him, taken him to a hospital where doctors repaired his spleen but could not save his left kidney. The gunshot had mangled the kidney. After recovering, he returned to the Agency, and was transferred
from the field to desk duty. Three days later, he walked into the director’s office and resigned.
“Merrick, I’ve asked you to come in here because there is something I must say to you,” David said, speaking for the first time. “I’ve asked my brothers, sons and a lifelong friend to be here because I want them to be aware of what’s in my heart at this moment. In fifteen minutes I will place my daughter’s hand in yours. And when that happens I will relinquish all claim and responsibility for Alexandra. My wife and my children are my most precious gifts, and I’m generously offering you the gift of my eldest daughter.
“I will say this only once, Merrick Grayslake. Love her, and protect her with your life. But, if you fail to do this, then look for me to come after you.”
The nostrils on Merrick’s aquiline nose flared slightly as he let out his breath. “Warning heeded, David.” His eyes widened. “You’ve had your say, so let me have mine. At four o’clock Alexandra will become
my
wife, and therefore it will become
my
responsibility to protect her.
“I love her and the child she carries in her womb. And because I love her, I’ve broken a vow I made three years ago when I said I’d never go back to the CIA. I’m going back because I have a wife and a child to support. So that should put your mind at ease as to whether I have a job.”
Everyone turned and stared at David, who managed to look sheepish.
“No, you didn’t, Dad,” Gabriel said softly.
“Damn, brother, that’s cold,” Joshua Kirkland whispered, shaking his head.
Martin Cole and Matthew Sterling dissolved into a
paroxysm of laughter that left them with tears in their eyes.
A sly smile played at the corners of Merrick’s mouth. “I don’t have as much money as Alexandra, but I can assure you that I can support her and the children we plan to have.” He had made a small fortune in the stock market. He glanced at the watch under the cuff of his dress shirt. “I don’t know about you guys, but I have a wedding to go to in three minutes.”
Turning on the heel of his patent leather dress slipper, Merrick walked out of the study, leaving his bride’s family members staring at his broad back.
Martin Cole’s silver hair was a startling contrast to his deeply tanned olive-brown skin. Shaking his head, he stared at his younger brother. “David, you never cease to amaze me. Why the hell did you have to ask the man if he had a job?”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Joshua Kirkland continued to stare at his half brother, green eyes twinkling in amusement. “If you had wanted to know about Merrick you could’ve asked Michael.”
“Dad would never do that,” Jason said. “Whenever it concerns Alex or Ana he goes straight for the jugular. He wasn’t even diplomatic about it. He could’ve said: by the way, my man, are you a scrub?”
Matthew Sterling stared at Jason. “Scrub?”
“Pimp, gigolo, deadbeat…”
“I get the picture, Jason,” Matt countered.
Martin patted David’s back. “I know all of this is new for you, but you’ll get through it.” All of Martin’s children were married and had made him a grandfather of five.
Joshua took David’s arm. “Come on, brother. After the first time it gets easier.”
David glared at his brothers. They had teased him for years about his children not wanting to marry and have children. But all of the teasing would come to an end in a few minutes.
He shook off his brothers’ arms and walked out of the study to give his daughter away in marriage to man whom he now respected enough to think of him as a son.
Summer closed her eyes, holding Astra Cole to her breasts, and mouthed the words along with Gabriel singing the Whitney Houston hit “I Will Always Love You.” Alexandra had requested he sing it for her wedding, but she clung to her father’s arm sobbing against his chest while Merrick waited for her at the opposite end of a red carpet with Michael Kirkland and Ana Cole.
The last note flowing from the powerful sound system faded in the still afternoon air, and still Alexandra hadn’t moved when Gabriel began to play the familiar chords to the
Wedding March
on his keyboard.
There came soft gasp as Merrick strolled down the carpet and placed a hand on Alex’s back. Her head came up and she smiled through her tears at the man with whom she had fallen in love.
David took Alexandra’s hand and placed it in Merrick’s outstretched one. “Take her.”
Reaching into the pocket of his dress slacks for a handkerchief, Merrick blotted the tears on his bride’s face, then led her to where the judge waited to begin the ceremony that would make them husband and wife.
David sat down next to Serena, smiling broadly. His eyes caressed her face, remembering a time when they
had taken a vow to love each other until death parted them.
Curving her arm through her husband’s, Serena lay her head on his shoulder. “Who do you think is next?”
“It has to be Gabriel.”
Serena nodded. “One down and three to go,” she whispered. “I have a good feeling about Gabriel and Summer. But, what are we going to do with the twins?”
David kissed her forehead. “Give them eviction notices. We’ve made it too comfortable for them. We should’ve set them up with their own apartments once they graduated college instead of telling them they could move back. The longer they stay, the harder it will be to get rid of them.”
“Don’t say it like that, David. You make it sound as if they were kittens we’re trying to give away.”
“I want my house back, darling. I want to be able to make love to my wife on the dining room table if I want to, and not have our son or daughter walk in on us.”
Serena gasped softly. “We’ve never made love on the dining room table.”
David wiggled his eyebrows. “See what I’m talking about? We’ll try it Sunday night. Gabriel and Summer are leaving Sunday morning, and Ana and Jason plan to drive up to West Palm tonight and spend time with Eden before she returns to Brazil with Regina and Aaron next week.”
“Are you sure your heart is up to the task, darling?”
“I’ll ask you the same thing after I have my dessert before the entrée.”
Serena giggled like a little girl. “I like it when you talk dirty.”
David pulled her closer. “That’s because I’ve become a dirty, old man.”
Tilting her chin, Serena kissed her husband at the same time Merrick lowered his head to kiss Alexandra. Flashbulbs popped as everyone stood and applauded another generation of Coles who dared risk everything for love.
The partying began in earnest as taped music blared from speakers set up throughout the expansive property. Alexandra looked ravishing in an off-the-shoulder platinum gown with a sunburst-pleated silk-chiffon bodice topping a silk-satin skirt. The garment was perfect for her petite figure. Tiny white rosebuds, pinned into her black curly hair, took the place of a veil. Three inches of jeweled Manolo Blahnik wedding sling-backs put the top of her head at six foot, three-inch Merrick’s shoulder.
Summer felt the press of a hard body against her back. Smiling, she rested the back of her head against Gabriel’s shoulder. “You made your sister cry.”
“She was the one who requested the song, sweetheart.”
“It was you who sang it with so much passion that Alexandra wasn’t the only one in tears.”
Wrapping an arm around her waist, Gabriel pressed his groin against Summer’s hips, permitting her to feel the swelling he found hard to control.
His mother woke up him earlier that morning to tell him to go into the house and sleep in a bed. He woke up at noon, looking for Summer, and was told she was at a salon. When he saw her again, she was sitting with Tyler’s wife holding their daughter. He’d stared, stunned by her beauty and the image of the child in her
arms. The sight stirred paternal instincts for the first time in his life.
A smile curved his mouth as he stared at her hair styled in a French braid entwined with white flowers. In that instant, he knew that Summer would make a beautiful bride.
Summer closed her eyes, her breasts rising and falling heavily. “No, Gabriel,” she whispered.
He pressed his mouth to her ear. “I can’t help it. Don’t move!” His breath was heavy against the side of her neck. “Please, don’t move until it goes down.”
She disobeyed and moved, turning around and pressing her breasts to his chest. “Dance with me.”
He held her, staring down into her dark eyes and seeing his unborn children in their satin depths. “I love you, Summer Montgomery.”
Summer lowered her gaze, staring at his brown throat over the black and gray striped silk bowtie. His declaration of love was so simple and unadorned that she wanted to weep.
Pressing her forehead to his shoulder, she smiled. “I love you, too, Gabriel Cole.”
He swung her around and around until someone tapped his arm. Holding Summer to his chest, he smiled at his brother-in-law. “I take it you want to cut in?”
Merrick smiled, nodding. “I promised myself I would dance with all of the women tonight, and Summer is next on my dance card.”
Merrick bowed from the waist, then reached for Summer’s hand. His lids were lowered, making it impossible for her to see his gaze. A minute elapsed before he said, “Do you know you’ve become a legend?”
She lifted an arched eyebrow. “No.”
“I have friends in Washington who still talk about
you. The way you took down Richard Robertson’s operation was a brilliant piece of undercover work.” Attractive lines fanned out around Merrick’s eyes once he smiled.
Sighing audibly, Summer glanced up to find Merrick staring down at her. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
Lowering his head, he pressed his mouth close to her ear. “Are you on the job?”
Summer stared out over his shoulder, her lips compressed tightly. “Not today.”
“When?”
“Monday through Friday. I work at a high school in Massachusetts.”
“Is that where you met Gabriel?” Merrick had asked her a question to which he knew the answer.
“Yes.”
“There’s high volume dealing at the high school?”
“That’s what I’ve been told.”
“It’s not going to get any easier, Renegade.”
A shudder shook her. “I know.”
“When are you getting out?”
“Soon.”
“Soon?”
“After this one.”
“Does someone named Gabriel have anything to do with your decision?”
“Yes and no. I wanted out before I met Gabriel. And …” Her words trailed off.
Merrick dipped his head lower. “And what?”
“I’m in love with him. I want what you and Alexandra have. I’m tired of the aliases and living a double life. I live in fear that someone will recognize me and blow my cover.”
“That won’t happen if you get out now.”
Her eyes grew large. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because … because I can’t, Merrick. You of all people should know why.”
Swinging her around, he dipped her. “Get out before you lose everything.” He eased her until she was upright, affecting a smile for those who were watching them. “If you want what Alex and I have, then leave now. You can be replaced.”
Their conversation ended when Salem Lassiter tapped Merrick on the shoulder. “May I have the next dance?”
Merrick relinquished his claim to Summer, bowing slightly. “Thank you for the dance.” He gave her a penetrating stare before walking away.
Summer looked up at Salem, holding her breath for several seconds before she exhaled. She had found herself staring at him each time their paths crossed. After a while, she realized it was the long hair qued at the nape of his neck that had attracted her. Navajo and African American, Salem had inherited the best of both races: black silky hair, dark skin and cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass.