Steele (Arizona Vengeance 9)

“Come with me,” I say, taking Ella’s hand and leading her into the kitchen on the other side of which is the dining room. I glance over my shoulder at Lucy and give her a chiding glare, to which she still smirks back.

I sweep my hand for Ella to see the dining table all set with a platter of shrimp scampi in the middle and two glowing candles on either side. “We wanted to make you a nice meal, and have it be a surprise. While admittedly, Lucy did the majority of the cooking—”

“—because you suck at it,” Ella points out.

“Yes, because I suck at it,” I continue. “It was also her job to lure you here, but I didn’t realize she’d do it in such a manner that would give you a heart attack.”

“I’m going to beat her,” Ella mutters, but her tone is soft with fondness and delight.

“Lucy,” I call into the living room. “Put Brody in his kennel and come eat dinner.”

“Coming,” she calls back.

Ella walks around the table, looking at the flowers and the candles. She notes the gift bag with a tag hanging off it with her name, and she leans over the platter of food and inhales deeply. “Wow,” she whispers.

I want to go to her, hug her from behind, and kiss her neck. Tell her that she’s the most wonderful woman in the world and I want to spoil her like this forever, but that moment is lost when Lucy comes bounding in.

“Still mad at me, Mom?” she quips.

Ella shoots a glare at her daughter that knocks the smirk off Lucy’s face, but then concedes. “Maybe next time, find a way to get me somewhere that doesn’t involve me trying to figure out how to murder your dad and get away with it, okay?”

Lucy salutes as she moves to take a seat. “Got it.”

I pull the chair out for Ella to sit in, and she lifts the bag on her plate. “What’s this?”

“Something we picked out for you,” Lucy says excitedly.

“Lucy picked it out, and I paid for it,” I explain. “It was a team effort.”

“And Dad did peel the shrimp, so he gets some credit for the food.”

“I boiled the water for the linguini, too,” I mutter.

I don’t bother sitting while Ella opens the little bag, which has a velvet box she opens to find the bracelet. “Oh, it’s perfect,” she murmurs, lifting it to examine. She then holds it out to me. “Do you mind?”

I take the bracelet, easily operating the clasp as I have, throughout our marriage, helped Ella put on countless necklaces or bracelets. I affix it over her wrist, and she admires it in the candlelight.

Her gaze goes to Lucy, then she tips her head back to see me. “Thank you. This is the nicest surprise I can ever remember getting.”

Bending, I decide to go for a full-blown display of affection right in front of Lucy. I mean, why not? She’s seen us kiss, hug, and cuddle before. She knows I’m actively pursuing her mom.

I press my lips to Ella’s for a soft but lingering kiss, and to my happiness, she doesn’t pull away but returns it.

“Ick,” Lucy mutters. Mine and Ella’s mouths grin against each other. When I pull back, her eyes are dancing with happiness.

Moving to my chair, I sit and grab the wine bottle, tipping it to fill Ella’s glass first. “Okay… let’s get this party started.”

As a family, we eat, laugh, and have an endless conversation. It’s how we’ve always been around the dinner table. Ella raves over the food, looks at her bracelet periodically, and continues to give hell to Lucy for the way she lured her here.

It’s a fantastic evening, and we even clean everything up together as a family.

When it’s time for Ella to leave—although I wish she’d just stay, but I know it’s too much for her—I take a moment to hit her up with the Halloween party.

“Dominik is throwing a huge Halloween party for the entire organization on Wednesday,” I say to her as Lucy and I walk her out the front door. “I’d like you and Lucy to come. She’s in. How about you?”

As expected, Ella doesn’t jump at it. I know she’s being cautious and coming to a family event as a family will be making quite the statement.

“Please, Mom,” Lucy begs, and I swear, she even lets her lower lip quiver a bit. I’m not sure if that’s calculated or not, but it’s enough to get Ella’s shoulders to droop in capitulation.

“Okay, fine,” she agrees softly. “Let’s do it.”

My next date with my wife settled, I happily walk her to her car as Lucy heads back inside. I open the door for her but before she can get in, I kiss her.

Ella leans into me, kissing me back. There’s regret on both sides when we have to pull away, but I’m still a satisfied man as I watch her drive off.