All In (The Blackstone Affair 2)

“I won’t kiss your hand though,” Dad said to Clarkson as they shook.

“If you really want to you may,” Clarkson offered, in the ultimate ice-breaker.

“Thanks for that, mate. I think you’ve stunned him speechless,” I said to Clarkson.

Brynne looked at me and then at Dad. “I know where Ethan learned to do that hand kissing thing I love so much, Mr. Blackstone. I can see he’s been trained by a master,” she told him with a beautiful smile. A smile with the power to light up a room.

“Please call me Jonathan, and bear with me a little more, my dear, as I take a further liberty.” Dad leaned in and kissed her on the cheek! She blushed some more and got a little shy, but still she looked happy. I kept caressing up her back and really hoped it wasn’t all too much…of everything.

“Easy there, old man,” I said, shaking my head. “My girl. Mine.” I drew her very close to me until she squeaked.

“I think they get it, Ethan,” she said, pressing her hand up on my chest.

“Okay, as long as nobody forgets.”

“Kinda impossible for that to happen, baby.”

She called me baby. It’s all good now, I thought, glad I could laugh at myself as we all got down to the purpose of coming together for the evening.

“Chicken Marsala…mmmm. Brynne darling, what is that in here?” Dad asked between bites. “It’s really wonderful.”

“I used a chocolate wine to sauté the chicken.”

“Interesting. I love what it does to the taste.” Dad winked at Brynne. “So you’re a gourmet?”

“Thank you, but not really a gourmet. I enjoy it and learned to cook for my dad when my parents split. I have these marvelous cookbooks by Rhonda Plumhoff on my e-reader. She links her recipes to popular books. She’s famous from where I’m from. I just adore her recipes.”

He tilted his head at me. “Smart son I raised.”

“I’m not an idiot, Dad, and she can cook, but I had no idea about that part in the beginning. Her first meal with me was a Power Bar, so imagine my surprise when she started slinging pots and waving sharp knives in my kitchen. I just kept back and got the hell out of the way!”

“Again, you were always a quick lad,” Dad said with a wink.

Everybody laughed and seemed very at ease with each other which helped me, but I was still nervous about what I needed to tell them. Not for the security part, that I knew how to do and very well too; it was sharing the information with Brynne present that rattled me. I didn’t want to objectify her as a security job when she was so much more to me. I also didn’t want to get her all tangled up in the emotionality of the situation and have her upset, and in turn have that disturb our relationship again. I was protective of us. I was protective of her. Yes I was, with no apologies to the fact, nor would my feelings change on that front. I couldn’t bear to hurt her any more with that sordid mess and wouldn’t let anyone else do it either.

So we made a deal. I would brief Clarkson and Gabrielle together in my office while Brynne played hostess with the others, and then switch with Marie and my dad. That way Brynne didn’t have to be in there feeling uncomfortable watching the PowerPoint I’d made with timelines and photos so everyone knew faces and names. It was important for the people closest to Brynne to know all the details of who, what, where, and the possible motivations of what may come. You couldn’t get any higher political motives than a presidential election in the US. And the side wanting to exploit Brynne would work just as hard as the side who wanted her existence unknown. I didn’t know how else to protect her and get the information out to the people that mattered. Elaina and Neil were already up to speed and Brynne said she was comfortable with them and my dad knowing. The others already knew her history of course.

We had a session scheduled with Dr. Roswell to go over some things as a couple. I agreed to it when she asked me. Brynne still had this idea in her head that I couldn’t really love her enough to overlook where she’d been with those guys on that video. Like her time stamp branded her forever a whore at seventeen. It made me really sad she blamed herself. It was definitely an issue for her, not for me, but getting her to believe that I didn’t love her any less because of that foul assault she’d endured, was

the real hurdle. We had our stuff to work on and hadn’t even scratched the surface of my demons at all. And for more than the first time I wondered if I needed to talk to someone about my bits and pieces. The thought of another nightmare scared the ever living shit out of me. More so that Brynne would see me like that again.

I watched her carefully the whole night. Outwardly she looked beautiful and charming, but inside I guessed she was struggling as the evening progressed. The minute I was done with Dad and Marie I went right over to find her in the kitchen where she was getting coffee and dessert ready for our guests. She kept her head down even though she knew I was there. I wrapped my arms around her from behind and rested my chin on top of her head. She was soft against me and her hair smelled like flowers.

“What have we here, my darling?”

“Brownies with vanilla ice-cream. The best dessert on the planet.” Her voice was flat.

“It looks decadent. Almost as delicious as you look tonight.”

She made a sound and then she got quiet. I saw her wipe at her eye and then I knew. I turned her and took her face in my hands. I hated when she cried. Not really the tears, but the sadness behind them. “Your dad—” She couldn’t finish but she’d said enough. I pulled her against my chest and drew her further into the kitchen so people couldn’t see us and just held her for a minute.

“You’re worried what he thinks?”

She nodded against me.

“He adores you, just like everyone else does. My dad is not a judgmental fellow. It’s not his way. He’s just happy to see me happy. And he knows what makes me happy is you.” I put my hands on each side of her face again. “You make me happy, baby.”

She looked up at me through sad, beautiful eyes that sparkled and brightened as she comprehended my words. “I love you,” she whispered.