Thunderstruck (Providence Family Ties 3)

Leaning down until my mouth was next to my fiancé’s ear, I whispered, “We need to take a trip to San Diego to visit Dad’s restaurant. I swear you’ll love the food.”

His head jerked back until he met my eyes. “His restaurant? Is that a side business?”

“No, that’s his job. He runs it with my uncles.”

Slowly, almost like he was slowing his movements down, so he didn’t lose his mind, he turned around with me still in his arms to face my parents.

“Was he ever an anger management therapist?” I shook my head, pressing my lips together, so I didn’t start laughing, making his eyes narrow on me. “That was cruel, Addy. I’d crossed San Diego and the surrounding area off my list of places to go to because I didn’t want to bump into any of his patients.”

“I’m sorry. I’d forgotten you didn’t know the truth until I saw him giving a clown-type smile at everyone just now so Mom doesn’t stab him with her spork.”

His eyes moved over my shoulder again, but then his expression morphed from anger to one that looked downright smug.

“Hey, glad you could be here for it. We were just talking about your menu. What would you recommend when we come to visit next month?”

Twisting to see Dad’s face, I avoided Mom’s, knowing that seeing her expression would have me laughing my ass off, and I didn’t want to add fuel to the banked fire between him and Marcus.

“You told him?” Dad snapped, scowling at me. “I thought we had an unspoken agreement.”

Shooting back the half-full glass of wine she’d been holding, Mom cut in. “Now you’re just being stupid. Let’s go and get some of the cake before it’s all gone and let these two celebrate their engagement.”

Looking at Marcus, she smiled brightly. “Welcome to the family, dear. I was going to wish you luck with us all when I first realized you were the man Addy would be spending the rest of her life with. Now that I’ve met your own, all I can say to you both is: may the odds be forever in your favors.”

And with that, she dragged Dad off, both of them disappearing in the crowd of people around us.

“We’re so screwed,” Marcus groaned, shoving his head in my neck. “I’m going to build a wall around the ranch so they can’t get in.”

“Your family or mine?”

“All of them.”

Epilogue 2

Marcus

Seven years later…

Addy was at the premiere of the latest movie she’d written the theme music for, and because our son, Sebastian, was teething and having issues with his stomach, I’d stayed home to look after him.

In the last seven years, she’d become well known for her work, and she’d always managed to remain out of the limelight, but this movie was different. The budget for it brought it in as one of the most high-budget movies to date, and all of the reviews from the previews had been outstanding.

Because of all the attention it’d been getting, she’d been advised to attend the premiere… at only two months pregnant with our second child.

Like when we discovered we were expecting Seb—a whole fifteen weeks into the pregnancy, like the dumbasses we were—we didn’t want to find out the gender before the baby was born.

It was still early days, so not many people knew, but it’d torn me apart when she’d left yesterday, worried that she’d overdo it or not feel well while the public eye was on her.

Marni and ‘Skull’ were still in prison, both of them serving their sentences, but the worry from what they’d done to her would stick with me for the rest of my life. Her being pregnant and us having Sebastian added to that fear, but I did my best not to smother them. I’m not saying I achieved it, but I still did my best.

A month after we’d gotten engaged, Remy had pulled me aside to say he’d looked into the two people responsible for spiking her drinks in San Diego, too. They’d still been carrying on and had been questioned over similar incidents with three other women, except it’d happened in bars and a club.

The reports hadn’t cleared them, but there’d been insufficient evidence to charge them for it. So, he’d decided they’d needed a bit of a shake. Their bank accounts had been frozen, the tiny amount of a credit score they had was obliterated, and the house they’d been living in had been condemned. Sometimes it took losing things to find your way back.

The problem was, while some kids got upset stomachs when they were teething, Seb became constipated. He hadn’t pooped for four days now, and the pediatrician had suggested a couple of things, including soaking him in the tub with me, so that’s what I was doing just now. The poor kid had been miserable, his cheeks were bright red while he chewed on a frozen teething ring after I’d given him some painkillers to help, but the second we’d gotten into the warm water and I’d started making boat engine noises as I swished him around the water, the smile that I loved more than oxygen itself reappeared.