GRIT (The Silver Nitrate Series Book 2) (32 page)

T
his was her
second wedding, technically her third. And here she sat at their living room table, the one thing without boxes all over it, going over her checklist before the big day the following Saturday. Zenith hadn’t told her much, but he did push his weight around. What a complete Groomzilla he’d become. This led to small tiffs and angry sex… The angry sex was so damn good, she began to fuck with him on purpose.

Zenith was currently in Los Angeles. What was supposed to have taken a couple of days stretched into four. He called her every chance he got, and the excitement in his voice thrilled her. He spoke of how he’d walked into the Epic Records building, and the first thing he saw were huge, framed posters of Michael Jackson. Zenith went on and on, then paused to remind her to pick up her dress and check on the cake. He’d called an hour earlier but forgot about the time difference. He’d been so scatterbrained lately, but she knew exactly why. He’d been caring for a loved one, and adjusting after they were gone could leave one confused. She had to hand it to him though; he was talking to her about his feelings. He wasn’t keeping it in, at least not all of it.

Sometimes he’d roll over to her in the middle of the night, tap her shoulder and simply say, “I miss him so much, Silver…” And that’s all he needed to do. She was grateful for his current distractions, including the wedding planning. She kept all the texts he sent, mostly as reminders and to let her know he’d already taken care of the catering and paid the deposit for the venue. She was truly impressed, especially since she was swamped at work with the launch of the ‘Musical Stars’ game and honestly, it just wasn’t her thing to sit around, poking her head into florist shops and trying on dresses. She and David had gotten married at the Justice of the Peace, but this man, her determined and somewhat adorably demanding husband, wanted all the ringing bells and blowing whistles.

She didn’t say it, but she could tell by Paw’s funeral that the Taylor family tended to go all out. Therefore, she wasn’t the least surprised when her Groomzilla began to show his ass. Zenith had had the audacity to tell her that the funeral had been a simple one…

If that funeral was simple, then five million dollars is just chump change…

At the service, the dancers were dressed in beautifully ornate Indian garb and the dinner prepared afterward was unbelievable. Table after long table of food, fountains of punch, and huge baskets of assorted homemade breads took over the entire reception area. They had ceremonies even after the funeral, including special prayers, and Zenith was so happy to see that his cousins, Uncle Len’s two sons, had returned. The three danced together, chatted and exchanged numbers, vowing to stay in touch.

Apparently, they were estranged from the derelict father who thankfully had left for good, and it was no mystery as to why his children had washed their hands of him. Paw had been in communication with them, much to Zenith’s happy surprise. That made things all the more richer, savory, and wonderful.

Silver looked over her wedding app, the one Zenith had downloaded onto her phone without her permission. Her eyes crossed with exhaustion as she made her way to their bed. It was still empty, and she missed her baby. But he’d be home the following morning, and she planned to cook him a big breakfast to surprise the hell out of him.

She grabbed his pillow and gave it a hearty sniff before squeezing it real tight and closing her eyes.

I love and miss you so much, baby. We both have been so busy, but it will all be worth it in the end. I’ll see you in the morning, honey. Rise and grind!

Z
enith looked out
his truck window then down at his phone, gritting his damn teeth. He’d been sitting there for over thirty minutes, talking on the phone, texting and yelling. It was his wedding day, but that morning he’d been served papers from Uncle Len for assault. Luckily, Silver was in the shower, oblivious to the bullshit playing out. He’d opened the missive, read it, and tried to play it off until he got somewhere alone. The drunken gold digger had also gotten word about Zenith’s record deal, and got some ridiculous lawyer who apparently also believed they’d hit the jackpot. One way or another, Uncle Len was determined to get paid. He called Javier, telling him his concerns—that this bullshit could throw a wrench in everything. They were just getting started; he didn’t need any bad press or media attention. Javier emphatically told him ‘no fucking way’, to calm down, enjoy his wedding, and he’d be calling their attorney and asking for a referral.

It took all of him to not contact Uncle Len and tell him a thing or two, but that would only make matters worse. He wasn’t terribly surprised, though. He’d been alerted that Uncle Len had used two attorneys to go over Paw’s will with a fine tooth comb. There were no loopholes, nothing he could dispute; his ship had sunk. Instead of letting the matter go, he went another route, and now the number of potential casualties was far too high.

“Fuck this shit, and fuck him. This is my wedding day; well, the big version. I’m not letting him mess this up for us.” He opened the truck door and stepped out.

I’m ready to kiss my beautiful bride. This is OUR day, not Uncle Len’s. Alright, Silver. Ready or not, here I come, baby!

Silver looked across
the vast reception area and her chin nearly dropped to her wedding boots.

“Zenith, your ass has been busy!” In the final hour, she’d had it up to here with the wedding coordinator. She’d told the caterer to take their samples and shove them in an orifice below the waist, and some other incidents she wasn’t too happy about had occurred, as well. She hated all of that, but hell, she was being cooperative until some of them decided to get smart, or try to rope her into something she hadn’t agreed upon. Zenith got wind of the “disagreements” and told her she was fired.

He was then totally in charge, and she was no longer trusted. He even went so far as to delete her wedding app from her phone. He’d made her damn day…

And now, here she was, standing in the Drumlins Country Club, looking at long, sheer white linens hanging from the ceilings, gorgeous centerpieces consisting of silver spray-painted branches with crystal ornaments dancing just so, and tables that lit up in muted shades of lavender and blue. The only people mulling about were the staff; it was far too early for guests. But being the curious sort, she wanted to ensure that everything was alright, especially since Zenith had been acting rather strange.

It wasn’t cold feet; they were already technically married, but he kept a really strange cheesy smile on his face, one that seemed forced. But those dark eyes told the truth. They told her he was a troubled man, and something not to his liking was going on. She questioned him, but he decided to travel the dishonest route, so, she did what any woman in her position would do. She told him he was a damn liar, and before the end of the evening, he’d better fess up. He simply nodded, agreed to her demands, and assured her it had nothing to do with the wedding. Finally, he said he’d see her in front of the minister, then walked away…

On a sigh, she took note of the gorgeous five-tier vanilla, red raspberry, and chocolate cake displayed on the main table ahead. A handsome, tall man with a long black braid walked toward her. She caught him out the corner of her eye and turned to face him. Her face puckered with a smile as he approached. His tuxedo fit him like a damn glove.

“Damn, you sure clean up nice!”

“Why aren’t you dressed? You’re standing here in a tank top, jeans, and wedding boots.”

“Don’t worry about me, I have it under control.” She placed her hand on her hip.

“Yeah, like you had the caterers under control… You cussed out that lady. I’m lucky she didn’t keep our deposit and drop us. I had a lot of ass kissing to do, and told her she wouldn’t have to deal with you anymore.”

“Hmmm.” Silver lazily rolled her eyes. “She tried to speak to me disrespectfully. This was no black woman with a bad attitude episode, you know me better than that.”

“I do… lest I remind you of the first time we met.”

“Alright, that was low.” She giggled, seeing as she was busted.