His Temporary Wife (The Brides of Sunflower Falls #2)

Chapter 11

eleven

Tony scanned the parking lot as Zach parked his SUV outside of Geraghty’s. He spotted both Eric and Melody’s trucks near the back of the lot. Even recognized Ana’s little sedan. They were the last ones here thanks to a call he’d gotten from the DA’s office.

“You know you have to tell her.”

“Not yet. I want to have tonight with her.”

Zach rubbed the back of his neck. “Why do you keep trying to put things off?”

Tony snorted. “Maybe I’m an optimist thinking everything will just work out if I avoid the hard stuff?”

Zach pinned him with a glare. “Seriously, man. I’ve never known you to put things off like this. When you caught Robert, we were meeting with the cops and DA’s office within forty-eight hours.”

Tony let his head fall back against the headrest and stared at the car parked across from them. “I told her not even a week ago that I had at least a month to be here with her. If I leave now…” He cleared his throat as something had gotten stuck. “If I leave now, I don’t know that she’ll ever le t me back in. She’s giving me space to make it up to her, but it’s because of her mom. And probably Ana. I can’t lose her, Zach.”

“Then let her know that. Be honest with her.”

Tony snorted again. “Being honest with her is one thing. Her believing me is a whole other thing.”

“Come on. We’ll get you a burger and a beer, and you’ll figure it out.”

As they were walking in, a text notification beep came from his phone. Tony looked down and read the text from Damien. Swore. And realized Zach was also swearing.

He looked up and tracked Zach’s line of sight to where Aspen was sitting with Eric and Libby, Melody, and Ana. The kids were racing around the pool table, rolling a couple balls into the middle of the table.

The rest of tonight’s diners at Geraghty’s ignored what was going on. Kids horsing around were a regular occurrence this time of day, but it was like no one recognized Aspen. Admittedly, she’d dressed in a graphic t-shirt advertising a beloved hot sauce and jeans, and had her hair pulled back into a ponytail. But the woman still radiated charisma.

How anyone missed the fact there was an award-winning actress, one who routinely showed up in the tabloids whenever she left the sanctuary of her home, he couldn’t figure out.

Aspen spotted them and waved. Hannah saw what her mom was doing and looked over. “Uncle Anthony!”

She had her mom’s lungs and projection skills.

Zach rubbed his hand over his face. “I’m going to kill Damien.”

Both Hannah and Kieran ran over, and Tony crouched down to pick them up in his arms. They kept getting bigger every time he saw them. Everyone said kids grew like weeds. He swallowed down the thought of seeing his own kid so infrequently that he noticed how much they’d grown every time he saw them.

“Hey guys. What are you doing here?”

Hannah’s expression clearly communicated how tired she was of dealing with mortals. “To bring you home. At least that’s what Daddy says. Mom says we’re here to scope out your love life and get you back on track.”

Off to his side, Zach tried to cover a snort with a coughing fit.

“I promised Daddy to keep Hannah from getting arrested.”

Tony glanced down at Kieran. “Really?”

“Yep. He says that Mommy can handle things, but I think Hannah still needs a reminder.”

Hannah rolled her eyes and pushed away from Tony. He set her down, and she stomped over where Aspen waited with her arms held out. Tony shook his head and then looked back at Kieran. “You know, bud, sometimes we’re not supposed to let the women in our lives know we’re watching out for them because they can handle themselves just fine.”

Kieran shrugged. “Daddy said the same thing, but if Hannah knows I’m watching, she tries better.”

Tony swallowed his own snort and set Kieran down. The little guy reached for his hand, so he let his fingers twine with Kieran’s as the kid skipped over to where everyone waited for them. Including Harry.

“What’s everyone having?”

Aspen looked up. “Do you have a kids’ menu?”

“Kids’ menu is chicken tenders or a burger with ketchup only. Both come with fries. ”

Aspen grinned. “Can we have one burger without the ketchup and an order of the chicken tenders?”

Harry nodded. “What do you want?”

Aspen looked around at them. “Anthony?”

“She’ll have the same as me.”

Harry nodded again. “Everyone else good with the usual?”

Everyone chimed in with yeses, and Harry headed back to the bar to put in the order. Aspen grinned at him. “This is so fascinating. I love it.”

Tony let his frustration bleed through. “I’ve been to your cabin. There are a few places like this in that town.”

Aspen’s grin widened. “But this place is on a lake. Not up in the mountains.”

He grabbed the open chair next to Melody and sat down. Feeling the brush of her leg against his as she shifted in her seat soothed the anxiety he was feeling. One day, he wanted to walk into a situation like this and pull her into his lap for all the world to see. “What are you really doing here, Aspen?”

His friend’s eyes twinkled. “I figured I’d take the kids on a little adventure, and find out more about the place you’ve been staying.”

Getting into a fight with Aspen was always a losing proposition. Mainly because she never fought back. She didn’t consider fighting worth her time, so she didn’t do it. She just steamrolled over you if she thought it was in your best interests.

He looked over at Melody who had one eyebrow cocked at him. “Having fun?”

She nodded. “Aspen’s been very informative.”

He looked between the two women and covered his face. “Shit. ”

Aspen leaned in. “It could be worse. I could have been your parents.”

Cold settled into his gut. “You haven’t been in touch with them, have you?”

Melody shifted next to him and he glanced over at her to see her brows raised.

Aspen shook her head. “It’s been a couple weeks since I talked with your mom. The last time I talked with her, she was taking a day trip up to Milan to talk with a few designers.”

Tony gave a silent prayer of thanks. If his parents showed up, he wasn’t sure what they’d try to do in the interests of “helping out”. He didn’t want Melody feeling overwhelmed because he damn well knew what would happen then.

She needed to be given as much space as he could manage without completely disappearing. And he wasn’t sure how to explain to her he wouldn’t be exactly disappearing tomorrow morning.

But he was going to be gone.

Aspen helped Hannah down from her lap as Harry returned with a tray of drinks. There were a couple waitresses working the room, but whenever their group showed up, Harry inevitably took over the service of their table.

He set down two glasses full of water next to the beer Aspen had apparently ordered. “For the kids.”

She grinned up at him. “Thank you. You have a lovely establishment.”

Tony thought he was hallucinating, but he caught Melody staring at Harry, too. The man was blushing.

“Appreciate it. Your kids want to play pool?”

Tony caught Zach’s eye and did his best to not burst out into laughter. Harry’s rules regarding the pool table were legendary. The fact he was offering it up to kids, and kids he didn’t know was both a surprise and not. It was rare for someone to not fall under Aspen’s spell.

She glanced over her shoulder to where Kieran and Hannah had gone back to rolling the balls that had been left out. “Thank you for offering, but I probably shouldn’t be putting sticks in their hands. Hannah would just as likely try to start a sword fight as to figure out the physics of a perfect run.”

Harry blinked and then grinned. He slapped Aspen on the shoulder. “You’re welcome back anytime.”

She grinned back up at him. “Thank you. I definitely need to bring my husband with me if we’re ever back in the area.” She stared dead at Tony when she said the last bit.

He picked up his own beer and avoided her gaze. He hadn’t exactly told Damien that not only had he married Melody under his assumed name, but he’d also been buying property while he was here. That at least was all under the holding company he and his parents owned, so there was no reason to amend any of the legal documents.

“Food will be out soon.”

After Harry left, Aspen propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. “Anthony, why have you been holding back from me? This town is lovely.”

All his friends were now staring at him. Even Hannah and Kieran had stopped pushing balls around to stare at him.

The only way to block Aspen was to fight fire with fire. “Does Damien know you and the kids are actually here?”

She waved one hand. “He arranged for the jet.”

Eric choked on the beer he was sipping. “Jet? You flew a jet here?”

Libby patted his hand, then leaned in to whisper something in his ear. His face went pale, and Tony guessed he hadn’t realized who Aspen really was beyond being a friend of his from California until now.

Aspen smiled at him. “It was the most direct route, and I find it easier to manage the kids, especially Hannah, when it’s just me traveling with them. Please, tell me what each of you do here.” She pointed at Ana who got a deer in headlights look on her face. “You first. Ana, right?”

Ana cleared her throat. “I’m sure someone, anyone, else would be more interesting than me.”

Aspen winked at her. “Everyone’s fascinating in their own way. Did you grow up in Sunflower Falls?”

“Yes. I’ve lived here all my life. Went to the county’s community college and then got my bachelor’s through an online program.”

Aspen’s brows rose. Then she looked at Melody. “Did you do the same?”

Tony felt the muscles of Melody’s back tighten. Not a good sign, but when she spoke, her tone was even. “Not quite. I also got an associate’s degree, but then I followed Eric and went to trade school.”

“Interesting. There probably weren’t many women in trade school, were there?” The thing about Aspen was that her interest was always genuine. She counted every interaction as possible research for a future role. People noted her interest and relaxed around her. Except maybe Melody.

“More than when I was a kid and told my uncle I wanted to be a carpenter.”

Eric laughed. “Even then he knew you wouldn’t be interested in finish work.”

Melody scowled at him. “I like pounding nails in. I pretended they were Dad’s face. Better than therapy. ”

Eric sipped his beer. “Sounds like you need to call your therapist again.”

Melody flipped up her middle finger.

He leaned in. “Kids, Melody.”

Aspen waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. They see me do that to their dad all the time. You two remind me of him. Well, him when he’s with his brothers. It’s so nice to have siblings, right?”

Libby turned to Aspen. “Do you not have any siblings yourself?”

“My dad raised me alone. It would have been nice to have someone else take his attention off my back.”

A snort erupted from his right side, and, at first, he thought it had come from Melody. Then Ana spoke up. “Speaking as the youngest of four, I can tell you that my mom gets on all our backs. Siblings don’t help.”

Tony saw Zach raise his head and stare at Ana. Before he could say anything, though, Harry returned with the first round of food. The kids rushed back over and dug into their dinners. He wasn’t sure how they weren’t crashing as they must have gotten up before the crack of dawn this morning.

“Where are you all staying?”

“The motel. It’s so cute. And Mrs. Keller,” she looked at Melody, “your mom, right?” When Melody nodded, she continued on. “She was so sweet considering we arrived without a reservation. Luckily there was a room immediately available, so the kids could have a nap. Then we got to meet the dogs.”

He stroked Melody’s shoulder. “Where are the dogs?”

She shrugged, but didn’t dislodge his touch. Minor progress. “With my mom.”

Harry was back with the rest of the food, and they all dug in. Melody paused at one point when Hannah reached out to him with a pickle in her hand. “Here you go, Uncle Anthony.”

Melody looked at him while he took an exaggerated bite of it. “Pickles?”

He winked at her. “I like things with a kick.”

And under her breath, she said loud enough so that only he could hear. “Anthony?”

He bent his head to press a kiss behind her ear. “Told you, only the people around here call me Tony.”

She frowned at him and then bit into the burger she’d ordered. When he began stroking her back again, she turned to Ana to talk about something that had happened at the library but didn’t shake him off.

Aspen caught his eye, and when she shifted her gaze between Melody and him, then cocked an eyebrow, he knew exactly what she was asking. He didn’t know how to answer. Despite making some progress, things weren’t settled with him and Melody, and the clock was ticking down.

He had to tell her. Tonight. Not only was their plane scheduled to leave JFK first thing in the morning, but he had no clue when he’d be back. Or if he’d even be allowed to contact her while he was gone.

When everyone had finished eating, he leaned down to Melody’s ear. “I need to talk to you.”

“You can talk here.”

“This needs to be private.”

She sighed. “Fine. Come over later.”

“How about I catch a ride with you?”

“I need to pick Button up, and then walk her.”

“I can walk with you.”

“You’re not letting this go, are you?”

“I can’t.” He checked around the table. Everyone seemed to be paying attention to them, while also trying to give them some level of privacy. “Things are happening.”

Melody jerked her head back. She opened her mouth, but must have thought better of giving into her initial reaction. “Fine.” She waved across the table. “Zach?”

He looked up from his beer. “Yeah?”

She pointed at Tony with her thumb. “I’ll give this one a ride home. He have a curfew?”

Zach looked at him and sighed. “Ten. At the latest.”

Melody nodded and looked back at him. “Finish eating and we’ll go.”

Conversation flowed around them, but neither spoke much, and no one tried to force it. Tony assumed everyone was feeling the tension between him and Melody. The kids, as usual, ignored it all as they focused on eating their own dinners and trading a phone back and forth to pick videos to watch.

When she was done with her dinner, Melody stood. “I’ll see you all later. Nice to meet you, Hannah and Kieran.” She paused, then continued on. “You, too, Aspen.”

She didn’t wait for a response. Tony stood as well and tossed his wallet at Zach. “Get this for me.”

Zach caught the wallet and saluted. Tony ran after Melody because he damn well knew she wouldn’t wait long for him. Once they had gotten in her truck and headed down the road to the motel, she ground out her question. “What things?”