CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Cat
I woke to kisses moving up my bare arm. It wasn’t the first time, and it wouldn’t be the last. It was a better wake-up call than any device on the market. As I started to wake, I smelled the scent of coffee and smiled.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
I smiled, my eyes still closed. “You really do love me.”
“More than yesterday, Kitty Cat.”
I sat up, the white sheet falling from my chest and revealing my bare breasts. Seth’s gaze honed in on them as he sat up on the side of the bed and stared. “More than my boobs?”
“Your tits are a part of you, and I’m not biased.”
I took a sip of the coffee, instantly feeling as though the caffeine entered my veins.
“I had coffee with Joss.”
“Everything good with the case?”
“DA struck a deal. Bryce got five years, but might get out sooner for good behavior.”
“For murder?” I balked.
“I read once that the FBI had covered up twenty-two thousand crimes in four years a few years back. They have their ways.”
“Wow. That’s crazy,” I breathed. “And Joss is one of them.”
“Sometimes the rules need to be broken. Are you sad that Tony is dead?”
“Of course not.”
“None of us are losing sleep over what Bryce did. In fact, it saved taxpayers money because now we don’t have to pay for that asshole to be in prison.”
“I never thought of it that way.”
“Anyway, I need to talk to you about something.”
My stomach sank. I didn’t like that sentence. “Oh—kay?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Joss offered me a job.”
My eyes widened. “She did?”
“Well, not with the FBI, but here locally with VICE.”
“Here … In Vegas?”
He nodded, and my heart sank to meet my stomach. “I don’t know all the details, but I’d be working on cases about prostitution and trafficking.”
“Like I was trafficked,” I whispered.
“Now you know why I’m considering it.”
“You’re considering it?”
“How could I not, Kitty Cat?” He reached up and brushed my hair behind my ear. “I have the chance to take more traffickers and pimps off the streets.”
I turned my gaze from him. I knew Seth was looking for a job. Now he was offered a position over twenty-five hundred miles away. We were talking double what it was from D.C. “What are you going to do?”
He grabbed my hands, and I turned to look back at him. “What do you want me to do?”
“Why are you asking me?”
“Because you’re my fiancé. This affects both of us. Would you move here? Joss and Paul are here. Autumn and Gabe, too.”
“But my friends and family are back in Miami.”
“And I left mine in D.C.”
A lump started to form in my throat as I felt our worlds breaking apart again.
“The difference though, baby, is you have friends here too. I moved to Miami and only had my grandma, and she’s all for knitting and shit. That just ain’t my thing.”
I chuckled slightly. “But I’m supposed to take over my father’s practice.”
“Is that what you want?”
I blinked. It was always the plan, but I hadn’t really thought about it being what I wanted. I went to school to be a dentist so I could take over the practice. I enjoyed dentistry, and I wanted money like my dad. I had nothing else to fall back on.
“Think about it. I want to make the decision together, but this is an opportunity that will save lives. I’ll help you start your own practice here if that’s what it will take. I’ll make the entire precinct go to you. I don’t care. I love you, and I want to marry you.”
“I want to marry you too.” A tear slid down my cheek. He was right, this could help save lives, but I didn’t want to let my dad down.
Seth kissed my lips. “We’ll work this out. It’s not the end of the world.”
Things weren’t the same after our talk. Whenever we kissed, touched, had sex, it felt as though we poured everything into it because it could be our last. When we got back to Miami, I went back to work, and Seth did whatever it was that he did all day. I wasn’t sure if he was looking for a job or not. Things were just off.
“You’re becoming quite the traveler, Ruthie.” I looked up from my desk to see my dad standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.
“I think that’s coming to an end.”
He uncrossed his arms and moved to sit in the chair in front of my desk. “Why’s that?”
“Seth got offered a job in Vegas with VICE. I feel like we’re going to break up.”
Dad sighed, nodding his head slowly as though he was trying to come up with what to say. “The world works in mysterious ways, Cat. You’ve wanted this guy for your entire life. I know it, your mom knows it, and you know it.”
“I don’t want to break up with him,” I corrected.
“Then what’s the problem?”
I blinked rapidly, confused. “Um … This.” I waved my arm around to indicate the office.
“So you take the boards in Nevada and get licensed there.”
“Wait. What?”
“What’s the confusion about?”
“You!” I hissed. “You want me to take over the practice so you can retire. I don’t want to disappoint you.”
Dad reached forward and placed his hand on mine. “I’m retiring next year even if you take over or not. I’m sure I can find someone to take over a successful practice.”
“So you don’t need me?” I leaned back in my chair and crossed my hands over my chest.
“Of course I need you. You’re my daughter, but this is just a place to work. Is it worth giving up the love of your life for a job?”
“It’s not just a job, Daddy. You’ve had this place practically my entire life. I know it like the back of my hand.”
“So go start your own. You’ll know that one like the back of your hand too.”
“Seth told me that he’d help me.”
“Let him. I’ll loan you money to start it. I’m on my way out. Your mother and I will be traveling. Don’t do this for me. Do it for you.”
I thought for a moment and then said, “Well, I guess I’m moving to Vegas.”
Three Months Later
A month after my talk with my dad, Seth and I drove to Vegas with our entire lives in a giant moving truck. We’d hired a company to pack and load our life, and Seth was driving his truck while towing my car. Moving across the country was a lot of work.
Dad hired a temporary dentist to take over my patients, and I was certain that he was trying to see if the guy was a good fit to take over when he’d retired. I tried to tell my father to keep his name on the door and to let other dentists work for him. He said he’d think about it. I didn’t blame him. He wanted to retire and not have to worry about staff or paychecks or keeping the lights on.
Joss had found Seth and me a place to rent until we were able to buy a house. Seth’s condo in D.C. sold, and my house was on the market. We joked that with the combined proceeds we might be able to afford a rooftop garden house. If anything, we could make one if we got a flat topped roof. It was on my must haves.
Seth started his job with VICE, and I searched for a commercial office to rent or buy while I waited to take the Nevada boards. Living in Vegas was different from Florida for sure. There were no gators, and the only place I might see a snake would be on a hike in the desert. I could live with that. The more days that passed, the more I realized moving was the right thing to do. I was happy for the first time in eleven years.
Today we were going to Autumn and Gabe’s wedding. Seth was bummed he’d missed , but, of course, the boys told Seth that he would have a night he’d never forget. I didn’t even want to know. When that night came, I was flying Nathan and Hannah into town, and we were partying it up. No cabs, of course. One of the guys would have to be the designated driver or something because I would never take a chance like that again.
Since this was Autumn’s second wedding, and Gabe didn’t care as long as he got to give her his last name, they were having a small wedding at the Anthem Country Club. The lush greenery and rolling mountains in the background were stunning. A circular patio overlooked a pond, and burnt-orange roses were scattered down the sides of the chairs, making a walkway for Autumn.
“Are you Cat?” I turned to see an older woman with Liam in her arms speaking to me.
I smiled. “I am.”
“Would you mind watching Liam until I’m escorted in? I’m Autumn’s mother, and I’m helping—”
“No need to explain. I’ll take him.” I held out my arms as she passed Liam to me.
“Thank you so much.”
“No problem,” I cooed, rubbing my nose on Liam’s. He smiled, revealing dimples that matched his father’s. He also had his dad’s green eyes, but everything else resembled the dark haired beauty who was his mother.
I held Liam in my arms while all the hot gigolos and call girls said hello to us. I held Liam in my arms even after Autumn’s mom was escorted to her seat. And I held Liam as we watched his mother walk down the aisle wearing her princess style wedding dress with capped sleeves, a scooped neckline, and beading that sparkled in the evening sun. She was stunning and looked like an angel. Gabe wasn’t bad to look at either in his form fitted black tux.
Mark was the officiant again, and when he started, my gaze moved to Joss. She was standing next to Autumn’s friend Brandi and was staring at Paul, who was standing next to Gabe and one of the current Saddles & Rack’s gigolos, Vinny. I didn’t know why Gabe had chosen him to be the other groomsman, but he had. Maybe one day, now that these people were becoming my friends, I’d get to hear Vinny’s story and find out why he was a part of the crew.
“Are you ready for one?”
I turned my head slowly, my eyes wide as I looked at Seth. “A baby?” I whispered.
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Are you?” I countered, continuing to whisper.
He put his arm behind my back along the chair, and whispered in my ear, “Yeah.”
I blinked at him. “Can we get married first? Not that there’s anything wrong with Autumn and Gabe having this guy before now—”
“And when will that be?”
I frowned. We hadn’t picked a date because of the move and his new job. “Soon?”
“How soon? ’Cause all these weddings are making me want to do it tomorrow.”
“By Elvis?” I teased, still whispering.
He grinned. “Well, we are in Vegas.”
I chuckled, low. “Joss wasn’t okay with having Elvis marry her, and neither am I.”
“Pick a date, any date, Kitty Cat. And make it soon.”
I smiled. “Okay, but for now, before we have a family, let’s enjoy you and me.”
“There will always be a you and me.”