25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

ALEX

W ednesday’s deposition, if that’s what we’re calling it, left a bad taste in my mouth. One that has me wondering if my attorneys and Roman think Tanner will get off scott free. It’s too late now because I don’t care anymore. My mind is already made up that it doesn’t matter what happens in that courtroom, I’m going after Tanner my way and he will get everything he deserves and more.

My team and I got a lot of things done on Wednesday, despite the trip to the police station. Friday Amelia and I put together invitations for the Burrow Township residents to attend the renovation meeting for District 5 in two weeks. That should give us enough time to get through this court hearing and get the auditorium ready. Amelia was good at planning that sort of thing, according to Roman, so that was going to be her job and she was more than happy to do it.

By the end of the day my mind was totally focused on what we were going to get at the store for dinner and what our plans were with the kids tonight.

I walked into Roman’s office, and he seemed more relaxed than he had been this week. He was laughing with whomever was on the phone and he winked at me, patting his lap in invitation. I walked over, accepting his invitation as he wrapped his arm around my waist before hanging up the phone.

“Who was that? That must’ve been a good conversation.”

“It was Matt. I was just getting a little info on the kids for tonight. He basically said you’re their favorite person in the world and I will not be able to compete, so don’t bother.”

That made me giggle. My interaction with Matt was just like having an argument with one of my brothers. In the moment it’s heated and bitter but over as soon as we all cool off, realizing each of us was never really the target of our anxiety.

“You know what? He might be right, but I’ll try to convince them you’re not so bad.” I gave him a little poke to the chest.

“Hey, I meant to ask you about something.” I pulled away to get a good look at his face.

“Oh yeah. What’s that?” I asked curiously .

“When we were at the Santoros the other night, that dog was all over you, and you were totally fine with it. Do you really like dogs that much or were you just being polite?” I laughed.

“That’s a weird question, but, no, I really love dogs. I love dogs and I love children. I just feel like I’m too selfish for either right now.” He frowned.

“At your dad’s house you don’t really engage Sadie, you just pat her on the head and then leave her be. Is there something about her?” I winced at the memory of Sadie getting hurt after playing with her.

“Sadie’s old. I love Sadie, but when she gets too excited, she gets hurt. The last time I played with her like I did Sage, she blew her knee out, so now I just try to keep her calm and relaxed and that requires me to ignore her mostly. I hate having to do it because we were so close, but I want her to have a good painless life for whatever she may have left.”

He hugged me and said, “That’s music to my ears. Maybe we can get a dog to start.” I remember Roman’s mom telling me they used to call him Dr. Doolittle because he loved animals so much.

“To start what?” Play coy.

He smiled and said, “Our life together.”

“Maybe someday. Right now, we need to make sure we have everything we need for a kiddie sleepover.”

***

ROMAN

When we arrived at the office, Alex went straight into the conference room and I went into my office.

Harrison called .

“Hey, we just landed. We should be there in about forty-five minutes. How was it without us this week?”

“It was fine. We have a new winery project that sounds exciting.”

He laughed. “Yeah, you better do a good job on that.”

No shit.

“Don’t I know it. Thankfully we seem to be on the same page with ideas so it should turn out well. I’ll have to bring you and Amelia to see the place— it’s incredible.”

“Sure, why not. I like to live on the edge.”

We laughed and I said I would see them soon. I wondered about what they said about Grant having skeletons in his closet. Seriously, what else could the guy have going on that was shadier than what he already told me?

Do I even want to know? Probably not.

Amelia and Harrison walked in and briefed me on what happened at their meetings in Texas. Nothing exciting to report other than the project had gotten underway, and the new state of the art neighborhood was now in the building phase. Lots and homes were selling out. I asked them who had gotten arrested, and he said a couple clerks, maybe a police officer or two and a property inspector. That’s just insane. All that for money. I guess I could say the same thing about myself, except, I feel like everything I did brought me to Alex. In the end, the residents of Burrow Township are going to be better off because of her. It had nothing to do with my good deeds. If it wasn’t for Alex, I wouldn’t be having this conversation with myself, I’d still be making money and not worrying about any damage I was causing while doing it. Not to mention working with criminals.

Around four I called Matt. “Hey man, you ready for us to drop these little monsters off yet?” he asked before I could even say hello .

“Absolutely, but first I need to find out if there’s anything I should know before you do.” I’ve never watched kids before.

“Nope, kids are a total surprise. I could tell you Cam and Soph like pizza and when they get there, and you give them pizza, they’ll tell you they like burgers not pizza.”

This was going to be fun wasn’t it. Can I cancel? I rubbed my forehead.

“Is there anything I should do as far as sleeping arrangements go?” I have plenty of rooms for them to sleep in, so that’s not a problem, but do they even like sleeping in strange people’s houses?

“Nope, you can just do a pillow fort or tent in the living room for these kids. They’re easy and they’re used to Alex and her silliness, so there shouldn’t be anything special you’ll need to do for them. If you can keep up with them, they’ll be fine. Are you guys going to take them to the park?”

You mean take them out of the penthouse and have not only Alex to watch but three children as well. Oh shit, I haven’t thought this through, have I?

“I guess I’ll see what Alex has planned first. We haven’t had a chance to talk about it this week yet.”

“Don’t stress about it. Like I said, they’re easy kids, really. Plus, Alex is their favorite person on this planet, so they probably won’t even know you’re there and you’ll have nothing to worry about.”

We were both laughing and that’s when Alex walked in with a smile on her face. I winked and patted my lap for her to come sit. I hung up right as she sat down.

“So, Alex, what are we going to do with the kids tonight?”

“First we’re going to go upstairs and change.” She said as she batted her eyelashes at me. I knew that look and realized that we may not have time for each other at all while we had these kids tonight, so I jumped up and grabbed her hand and ran out the door.

***

ALEX

Let’s not talk about the future please. Let me get through the next week and see how that goes before I can think of anything like getting a dog and doing the happy family thing. We’re going to have a houseful of kids tonight, so I want some alone time before they get here. I think we have plenty of food and snacks in the house and we can turn the living room into a pillow fort teepee campground with popcorn, movies and lots of fun.

He grabbed my hand when I said we needed to go upstairs and change then dragged us both to the elevator. He was all over me in there.

Then he took a deep breath and pulled me against him as he leaned against the glass and said, “Did I say something wrong in there?”

Stop trying to ruin the moment.

“No, I just wanted to get you alone for a bit before the kids get here. We won’t have any alone time once they do.” He shook his head.

I took off one of my heels and dangled it in one hand then dropped it. I stared right at him when I reached down and took off the other stiletto, throwing it into the penthouse as soon as the doors opened. He laughed, shaking his head at the obvious change of subject.

“You coming?” I kicked my other shoe into the house and tossed my purse on the kitchen island as I ran down the hall with him close behind.

Holy hell .

That was awesome and way better than that conversation he was trying to have. I know I said I wanted to be chased but that was figuratively. I didn’t realize I wanted to really be chased.

When he caught me, he threw me on the bed, practically tearing my clothes off. I don’t know if it was frustration or some serious caveman shit but that was fun. I actually told him to fuck me like a caveman.

We’ll need to mess around like that more often. It really gets the pent-up energy out of me like training, only without the bruises. I laughed thinking I could’ve been doing this to get all that anxiety out of my body instead of getting my ass beat.

He yanked me out of the bed and said, “Come on let’s get a shower, we have visitors in about an hour.”

Later, in the kitchen I asked, “Are you nervous?”

“Not really. It’s something I’ve wanted to observe.”

Observe? How strange.

I said with a snarky tone, “What is it that you’ll be observing?”

“The way you interact with the kids. I’ve seen it before at their house but I’m curious to see it here.”

Oh, he’s doing research for his future baby mama. I wish I’d been that thorough before I got married and watched Luke with kids. I would’ve had kids with him not knowing what kind of father he’d be. He was a horrible husband, so that kind of terrifies me now. I guess I should be watching the way Roman interacts with the kids too.

“Research, huh?”

“Maybe, but even if I thought you might eat your young, I would probably still keep you.”

I laughed hysterically. “Oh well, that’s not at all unnerving and just plain wrong.”

“I can already tell that you’ll be an amazing mother one day.” He hugged me and I got lightheaded .

“You have to stop talking about things like dogs and kids please. This is getting to be too much for me to process with everything going on.”

“That’s what I was trying to find out.”

“What do you mean?”

“You just dodge topics that make you uncomfortable. I was just trying to get some sort of idea where you were on the subject of kids and dogs, that’s all. You refuse to talk about it. No big deal, I’m not in a hurry, I promise.”

It would seem I have a bit of a communication issue— I needed to work on that. Glad he’s not pushy but he could be more direct rather than beating around the bush until I say what he wants me to. Or have a freaking mental breakdown.

***

ROMAN

This is the kind of chasing I really want to do with her. I caught her right at the door to the bedroom and picked her up, throwing her on the bed. I had my shirt off in seconds grabbed her by the ankles and pulled her down toward the end of the bed, removing her clothes with urgency. I had so much adrenaline running through my veins right now. I wonder if this is how she felt in those training classes because I think some of this was coming off of her. I felt like she wanted me to be rough and aggressive, so I gave her what she wanted. and she was totally into it. I’m pretty sure she asked me to fuck her caveman style. I’m not sure what that is but I think I accomplished the mission.

Now we have kids to get ready for.

“What time is it babe?” I yelled to her from the kitchen .

“They should be here in about thirty minutes, so we have time to get some snacks out and get the pillows and blankets ready for the living room par-tay.” She yelled back from somewhere down the hall.

“What snacks?”

She listed off some healthy snacks and a few not so healthy ones as she came bounding down the hall with pillows and blankets stacked in her arms. I took the pizza out of the freezer, placing it on the counter

My phone was ringing with Matt’s name scrolling across the screen. “Hey Matt, you guys on your way?”

Maggie responded, “Hi Roman, it’s Maggie. Yes, we’re on our way. We’re all coming together. Is it cool if we have a drink at your place before we head out? We can talk about what the kids might need.”

“Of course. That sounds good and we’ll see you all when you get here.”

Alex made another trip down the hall, coming back with pillows and blankets stacked up to her face. “Who were you talking to?” She mumbled through the pillows, before tossing them on the sofa with the first batch.

“Matt and Maggie are on their way. They’re all coming together and are going to stop in for a cocktail before they head out.”

“Okay, but why are they calling you and not me?”

“No idea. Did you check and see if they called you?”

She picked up her phone and said, “Sorry, they did try to call me. I was a little distracted.” The girl is territorial about her friends, that’s for sure. She seemed upset they called me.

“So, what do you think we should have for everyone to drink?”

“Just open the bar and let them pick.”

Great idea.

“Would you like a drink now?” She shook her head .

“I’ll just have one with everyone when they get here. I won’t be having anymore tonight. Not with all the kids here.”

That was very good to hear. She was responsible with the kids around. I can mark that in my research of pros and cons.

When the elevator doors opened, I heard children yelling loudly, “AUNT ALI!!!” They ran right in and found her immediately.

“Hey Roman, are you really ready for all this?” Matt asked with a shit eating grin on his face.

“By the looks of it, it will be like I’m not even here.”

They all laughed, and I ushered them to the bar.

***

ALEX

Oh yes! Here they are. My little munchkins. Let’s get the party started. The kids tore off down the hall to check the place out.

Abby asked, “So, what’s it like living together?”

“It’s already had its adjustments, if you know what I mean?” I rolled my eyes.

Maggie seemed to understand, “You mean like now he’s super overprotective rather than whatever that was before?”

“Exactly.” I raised my eyebrows and let out a sigh.

At that moment Jack yelled across the room, “Hey Alex, congratulations!”

Maggie and Abby whip their heads in my direction.

I held my hands up in protective mode. “I was going to wait to tell you on Sunday. It’s not something that congratulations are in order for.”

Abby said, “Well, what the hell is it?” I glared at Roman .

“I agreed to move in permanently.” I mumbled while keeping my eyes locked on his.

Maggie’s mouth hit the floor, “ What? Are you together now ?” I shoved her shoulder.

“Shut up.”

Abby doubled over laughing and said, “This is fabulous news. Are you happy?”

I smiled, taking a sip of wine.

“Yeah, of course or I wouldn’t have done it, right?!”

Now the girls were looking at me like something was up.

I shook my head and said, “Brunch. I have kids to play with.”