With These Four Rings - Book Five: Wedding Bonus (Billionaire Brides of Granite Falls 5) (15 page)

When her mother’s belongings first arrived, Tashi had found the twenty-by-twenty-six inch drawings in a boot box that had been stashed at the bottom of a larger box. Tashi had admitted to having a faint memory of sitting for the portraits during a carnival, a month before her mother disappeared from her life.

Of all Evelyn’s possessions, the portraits—along with a China doll tea set with which she used to play tea with her mom—were the only items Tashi had taken to their master bedroom. From time to time, she would lay the tea set out on a table, and take the drawings from the boot box and stare at them—sometimes for hours, as if she were sharing a cup of tea with her mother.

Last Mother’s Day, while they were out at dinner, Adam had the drawings framed and presented them to her. He’d been afraid that she’d be upset that he’d infringed on her privacy, but she was thrilled, and said they were the best gift she’d ever received. She’d proved it when she set aside the pink diamond necklace and the two ounces of rare perfume on which he’d spent a fortune, and gave her full attention to the portraits.

“I want to bring her here.”

Adam turned his head and recaptured her gaze. “What?”

“I want to bring my mother to Granite Falls. I want her to be close to me, like Erik brought up his first wife to be close to Precious after they moved back here. My dad’s living here now, so—”

“Done. I’ll make the arrangements as soon as possible. We’ll lay her to rest on the hill above our garden. And a thousand years from now when we leave this world, our children will lay us near her.” He paused. “We can make a place for your dad next to your mom, if he so desires.”

“I think he’d love that. Thank you, Adam.” She brushed her fingers through his long hair spread out on the pillow above his head.

He caught her hand and kissed the wrist. “Is there anything I can do to help, sweetheart?”

“You’re already doing it by just loving me.”

“It will only get better from here. Now we can look forward to renewing our vows without that ominous cloud hanging over our heads.”

“Let’s skip the wedding and go straight to the honeymoon. Where’re we going again?”

“I never said, you sexy temptress.”

He swallowed her chuckle when their lips connected above their son’s head. As Adam gave himself over to the sweetness of the kiss, he did think about skipping the wedding and heading for the honeymoon haven he and the boys were planning for their wives. He groaned.

“Dada. Dada. Dada.”

Both he and Tashi froze, pulled apart, and gazed open mouthed at their four-month-old baby.

“He said,
Dada
. He said,
Dada.
” Adam picked up his boy and showered him with kisses. Alex squealed jubilantly and kept saying it when he realized how excited it made his dad.

“You know he’s too young to understand what he’s saying, right?” Tashi said with a skeptical look on her face. “He’s just making sounds.”

“I don’t care. I heard
Dada
and I’m claiming it as his first word.”

“Of course you would. Michelle, Kaya, and Shaina warned me about this. Mama looks after them, gets up to feed them in the middle of the night, stays up with them when they’re sick, and the first thing that comes out of their mouths is
Dada
. What about
Mama,
huh?” she said, getting into Alex’s face and kissing his chubby cheeks. “What about
Mama
? Can you say,
Mama
?”

Alex gave her the sweetest smile and blurted, “Mama.” His gaze then dropped to her uncovered chest, and drool began to drip from his little baby mouth as he stared at her breasts. “Mama,” he said again and reached out to grab one.

“A boy after his daddy’s own heart. Daddy drools whenever he sees them, or even thinks about them, too, my boy.” Adam hugged Alex to his chest and roared with laughter that quickly turned to enchantment as Tashi leaped off the bed and began dancing around the room, her breasts bounding about, tempting father as they had tempted son, for extremely different reasons.

“He said
Mama
. He said
Mama
. My baby’s talking.” She rushed back to give Alex a hug, then stopped short and wrinkled her nose.

Adam held his breath and checked Alex’s diaper. “Uh-uh, somebody needs a change. Too much excitement huh, buddy?”

“It’s amazing how someone so sweet can produce the kind of stink that makes you want to rip your tonsils out.” Tashi took another backward step.

Adam held the baby out to her. “Duty calls.”

“Pffft!” She threw her hands in the air and smirked at him. “
I
feed him.
You
clean him,” she said, buttoning her blouse and walking toward the door. “Duty, my sweet behind.”

“
È dolce, e io sarò essere chiamandola al dovere più tardi stasera, probabilmente da dietro
.”

“
Vuoi guardare tua lingua, per favore
?
C’è un bambino in camera
.”

Adam was astonished at how quickly Tashi had mastered the Italian language. Well, with his parents and Paul as teachers, no wonder she spoke it like a native. And
he
did give her a lot of lessons in the privacy of their bedroom, teaching her dirty words and phrases that he alone would ever hear falling from her honeyed lips. She was a quick study in everything. Visions of his wife on her knees with her sweet tight
cula
pressed into his groin as he took her from behind caused Adam’s
cazzo
to tighten painfully.

“
Oddio
!” Adam rose from the bed and held his stinky son close. “My wish for you, my boy, is that you find a wife as beautiful, lovely, enchanting, and irresistible as your mama.”

“Mama.”

* * *

Three hours later, during
dolce
and
caffé
, Tashi swallowed a bite of her
cassata
, and then downed her espresso. Sounds of satisfaction filled the room as her in-laws on her left, her father on her right, and her husband, sitting at the head of the dining table were engrossed in enjoying the delicious dessert.

Cassata was a sponge cake, moistened with liqueur and layered with ricotta cheese, candied citrus, and a chocolate filling, encased in a pink and green pastel marzipan shell, colored icing, and decorative designs. It was topped off with slices of candied fruit, and in Tashi’s eyes, it had looked too good to cut when the servant brought it out.

But she, like everyone else at the table, had been hooked on the first bite. They were all on their second serving.
I’ll work it off tonight
, she thought as she took another bite and smiled at her husband.

Dinner had been delayed because Adam had sneaked up on her in the shower and taken her from behind as he’d promised. It was swift and intense and they’d thought it would hold them over until after dinner, but once they got to the bedroom, the fire started again. They’d taken it nice and slow that time.

When they finally joined the others for
aperitivo
in the great room, long after the appointed time, no one said anything, but she knew they were aware of what she and Adam had been doing in the master suite. Well at least her father and her in-laws knew that their children had a healthy marriage. The fresh hickeys on her neck and shoulders, exposed by her yellow strapless gown, proved it. They also understood that after the turmoil she’d been through that day, she needed the kind of comfort and connection only her husband could provide.

After the first awkward moments had expired, Paul had attempted to inform her of Judge Kingsley’s ruling. She’d immediately stopped him, not wishing to have any thoughts of those men in her mind while she dined with her family.

Their conversation had centered around more pleasant subjects, like the upcoming group wedding, the bachelors’ party that Paul and Steven Lynd were organizing, Mass and Shaina’s news about her pregnancy, and then Tashi and Alex’s trip to Santorini next week with Arabella and her girlfriends when Adam and Alessandro left for Tokyo on business.

Arabella had invited Paul along, dangling a carrot named Dafne Bellini under his nose. Dafne was Massimo’s childhood friend. Paul had met her several times over the years, and admitted to liking her. Unfortunately, she was involved each time he’d seen her.

“She’s been single for about a year,” Arabella said, as she stirred her espresso with a silver spoon. “She actually asked about you, Paul.”

“You’re putting me on, Bella.”

“She’s not.” Alessandro’s fingers tightened around his wife’s bare arm as he pulled her close to his side. “Bella and I ran into her when we were in Milan last month. We showed her pictures of Tashi and Alex and told her that you were family now.”

“She asked how that tower of sweet dark chocolate was doing.” Arabella added.

Everyone burst into laughter, and Tashi was tickled to see her father blush.

“She did not,” Paul protested and tried to hide his emotion behind his espresso cup.

“I’ll ask Massimo to invite her to the wedding, if he hasn’t already. You two can reconnect here if you decide not to meet her in Santorini.”

“Don’t do that, Arabella. She’s way too young for me.”

“Nothing wrong with a May/December relationship,” Adam said, joining the conversation. “As you all know, I was once involved with a woman twenty years my senior. Up until I met Tashi, my relationship with Sadie was the best I’ve had with any woman. Thanks to my wife, I’m able to keep that relationship going. Sadie and I are still very good friends.”

Tashi caught his gaze, and she smiled when his blue eyes glowed with memories of their lovemaking session that afternoon. He’d told her about Sadie and how she was the one who’d told him to open his heart to love again, and to let Tashi in. How could Tashi be jealous of a woman like that? Feeling gratitude, Tashi had given Adam the okay to continue their friendship. There was no reason not to trust him, or her for that matter.

“Since Sadie is closer to my age, maybe I should give her a call.” Paul grinned at Adam.

“You, my friend, are too old for her. She likes them young and plump. You’re pretty plump, I’ll grant you that, but you’re not young. Enough.”

Adam’s statement caused another round of laughter, and as the humor died down, Tashi took a close look at her dad. He was handsome, dashing, and one of the kindest, most caring men she knew. Some lucky woman out there deserved to have him. He’d admitted to having several relationships over the past twenty-three years, but nothing serious or recent. Now that he was retired from the FBI, and had solved her mother’s murder, it was time for him to find someone special and settle down. Tashi wanted her father to be as happy as she and Adam, Arabella and Alessandro, and her friends and their husbands.

A couple servants appeared to clear away the dessert dishes and serve the
digestivo,
the final course in a traditional Italian meal. Once the individual choices of
grappa
,
amaro,
and
limoncello
had been poured, and the containers placed on ice on the table within reach, the servants took their leave.

Tashi took a quick glance at the occupants of the table. They all seemed tired, full, and content. Perhaps it was time they all retired for the night. God knows she wanted to have another slice of her husband before they fell asleep.

She took a deep breath and turned to her father. “Okay, Daddy.” To ward off confusion, she called him
Daddy
instead of
Dad
when he and Alessandro—whom she also called
Dad
—were in the same room. “I’m ready to hear Judge Kingsley’s final ruling on the sentencing.”

Her father laid down his fork and stared at her. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. I want it over with. After tonight, I don’t ever want to talk about them again.”

Tashi could feel all eyes on her.

Paul tugged on the lapels of his suit jacket. “They got life without the possibility of parole in a maximum security prison. They will never, ever walk the earth as free men again.”

Tashi closed her eyes and inhaled deeply and harshly as the words registered in her mind. She opened them when her father’s hand closed over hers, resting on the white tablecloth.

“That’s not all,” he continued, squeezing her fingers. “Judge Kingsley ordered each of them to pay restitution to you in the amount of twenty million dollars.”

Tashi’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened to the point of pain. “Twenty million dollars for me?”

“Sixty million, my dear.” Alessandro corrected her.

“One for each year you had to live without your mother,” Arabella said.

“Plus one, just because,” Adam added.

“You’re wealthy in your own right now.” Alessandro refilled Arabella’s espresso cup, and then his own. “I already have my financial advisors on call to instruct you on how to invest that money and make it grow into billions.”

“Dad.” Adam sent his father a silencing stare.

Tashi put her hands up. “Wait up, Dad. That’s blood money. My mother’s blood money.” She looked at Adam. “I don’t want it.”

“It’s already yours,” her father stated. “They agreed to pay it immediately in exchange for not being sent to the toughest maximum security prison in Ohio.”

“She should have sent them to the toughest prison,” Tashi declared. “I don’t want any part of that money.”