Page 87 of Beautiful Life

“Thanks. I’ll text you the address. See you then.” I disconnect before she has the chance to beg or argue further.

“Nice.” Tony’s smirks.

“I feel bad.” I look down at Finny who seems to be in doggie heaven, sprawled over my lap getting a doggie head massage.

“Why do you feel bad? There’s no way she could keep her mouth shut,” Tony drawls.

“Yes, she would.” I defend my friend. “I feel bad because we’re doing this without your family. I wasn’t kidding when I said your mom will hate me. I think they’ll be hurt, us doing this, getting married on the sly.”

“They’ll understand. If they don’t, they’ll get over it.” He puts a knee to the bed to climb in beside me. Finny moans as the bed moves, disrupting his massage.

“I know, I still can’t help but feel bad.”

“Don’t worry.” He pulls me up the bed and away from Finny.

His hands dip under his t-shirt I’m wearing and move up my bare back. He rolls me into the bed fitting himself in between my legs and pulls my t-shirt up and over my head.

“You know they say it’s bad luck to sleep together the night before the wedding. Or see each other, or something like that.” I smirk at him. I know there’s no way he’ll sleep away from me tonight.

“You think after our last year we could have more bad luck? After what you went through and me being shot? No way will we have bad luck after going through all that and finding each other. I’m feeling pretty lucky, Leigh,” he mutters as he lowers his head to my neck working his way down to my breast and at the same time I feel his hand dip into my panties. “Plus, I’m hoping to get lucky.”

I smile back and tease, “Tomorrow you’ll be mine, officially. Rosa won’t be able to steal you out from under my stockings. I was a little worried when she wanted your number today.”

“Jealous?” he asks against my skin before pulling my nipple into this mouth.

“Maybe.” I breathe as he slides a finger between my legs, circling my clit just hard enough to warm my body.

He pulls his head to me, his lips hovering over mine. “Tomorrow.”

I can’t help but melt into him. “Tomorrow.”

Chapter 21 – Nothing Between Us

Tony

I shrug my suit jacket up my shoulders. Lifting my leg to balance it on my office chair, I yank up the cuff of my trousers to fit my ankle harness on my leg and insert my gun. As I’m standing, my phone vibrates.

“Jude,” I answer.

“Hey,” he starts but gets right down to it. “I just got off the phone with my buddy at the PD. They sent someone yesterday to visit Preston Briggs.”

“And?”

“I don’t know what to think. They got to him at his office after he had his meet with his attorneys and the DA. He’d already signed the deal to plea to a lesser charge. He went apeshit when he found out what they were questioning him about. Said he was glad she’s gone, doesn’t give a shit about where she is, what she’s doing, plus a lot of other shit I’m not going to tell you because I don’t want you to go apeshit, too. He was adamant he isn’t stalking or threatening her. My buddy said the officer who visited him said he was so convincing, even he believed him. I don’t know what to tell you. It’s all on record, if they ever prove it’s him it’ll be considered a violation of his probation. He knows he’ll do time. It just doesn’t make sense.”

I sigh. “I agree. It doesn’t make sense, but I don’t know who else it could be.”

“Have you told her yet?”

“No, I’m about to do that, although you don’t know how badly I don’t want to. She has a shift at the hospital tomorrow, I don’t think I’ll be able to get her to back out of work and she needs to be aware. I’m going to call security at the hospital so I have to tell her. There can’t be anything between us, especially not now.”

“What does that mean?”

I shut my laptop down. “I’ll explain later.”

“Okay. I’ve got shit to get done before we meet at lunch. You know you’re driving my wife crazy asking us to meet you and not telling her why. Don’t do that shit again—I bear the brunt,” he explains, exasperated.

I smile at the thought of a secret being kept from my cousin. “She’ll live. See you at noon.”

---