Runaway Bride’s Guide to Love (Guide to Love #1)

32. Stella

32

stella

Apparently there’s something about family gatherings and me bringing over men in my life that go hand-in-hand.

When I officially brought Duncan to meet the family, it was for my parent’s anniversary party. We’d been dating a few months, and even though none of my siblings had dates, it felt right to bring Duncan to meet everyone. Yes, he’d known my dad through the law firm, but it felt big. Monumental even. Granted, that was still early, so he was doing his best to impress everyone. Now looking back, I realize the smiles were fakes. The conversations were forced. His enthusiasm was all an act. It’s amazing how blind I was.

Fast forward to today as the whole family, as well as Emmett’s sister and nephew, have gathered for my dad’s birthday.

The first sign that this was going to be different was that Emmett didn’t even ask if he should come or not. It was “what time are we leaving” and “what can I bring.” When we got here, his hand holding mine, he didn’t hesitate to go say hello to my dad, even though they’ve met numerous times, and firmly shake his hand. Though I think the winning move came when he handed my mom a bouquet of flowers. A bouquet that matched ones he got me this morning after he went out and got us coffee and donuts and brought them to me in bed.

That earned him a well-deserved blow job in the shower.

Now as I watch him interact with my family, I can’t help but realize how natural this all feels. He’s talked to my sisters. Simon’s excited he has a friend to play with. But the part that melted my heart was when Maeve’s son, Jayce, came over and asked him to toss the football around. Emmett didn’t falter. He just gave me a quick kiss then told him to go long.

Which is fine, he can have my nephew, because Emmett’s has taken it as his duty to be my new best friend.

“More?” Jack asks in the sweetest voice I’ve ever heard as we stand at the buffet set up in my parent’s backyard.

“What would you like more of?” I ask as I take his plate.

“Chips!” He says enthusiastically.

“Okay, we can have some chips.” I grab a few, but then load some carrots and green peppers onto my plate. “How about we have some veggies too?”

He shakes his head. “Don’t like ‘em.”

“Oh really?” I say as I scoop on a heaping spoonful of my mother’s famous veggie dip. “But have you ever had them with the best dip in the world?”

Jack tilts his head like he’s trying to decipher if I’m telling the truth or full of shit. “The best?”

“Yes!” I say as I lead him to an empty picnic table. “Would you try one? For me?”

He thinks about it for a second, his jaw ticking back and forth like it’s the biggest decision of his three-year-old life. “Okay.”

I smile and break off a piece of green pepper, making sure to thoroughly coat it in the dip before handing it to him. I watch as he reluctantly starts chewing, clearly wondering what his feelings are. Before I know it, he’s bringing the plate in front of him, soaking every vegetable in dip before eating.

“What do you got there?” Maddie asks as she sits next to her son .

“I hope I didn’t overstep,” I say. “He asked for more chips. I threw on a few but made sure to add in a few veggies. Though now I feel like they are the accessory to the dip.”

“Not at all. I don’t care if he bathes in the dip if he’s eating vegetables. I’ve tried everything to get him to eat anything green. You must be the Jack whisperer.”

I laugh at the complement. “Nope. Just a girl who also hated vegetables as a kid.”

“Well, thank you,” she says. “And not just for performing a miracle with my son’s choice of foods.”

“Oh,” I say, a little confused. “What else did I do, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Maddie looks over my shoulder, so I turn to her eye line. Emmett is standing with my dad and Simon, talking like they’ve done this their whole lives.

“For years I tried to tell him how much of a great partner he’d be to someone. He’s the most thoughtful guy I know.”

“Is it true you used to call him Prince Charming?”

She laughs with a nod. “Only because it’s true. It started with climbing a tree to save my cat then graduated to stepping in as a father-figure role when Jack’s sperm donor notified me he had no interest in being a father. He just couldn’t see it. But I knew it would just take that special someone to open his eyes, and that person was you. So thank you. I’ve never seen him smile like this. I was with him on the day he went to help you get your stuff from your exes. You should’ve seen how fast he moved. He didn’t hesitate. I knew he’d love big, but I didn’t realize how big until I saw it in person. It just makes me so happy to see because no one deserves it more.”

Well, damn, I didn’t think I’d cry today and I didn’t wear my waterproof mascara.

Maddie and I share a hug, laughing and crying at the same time as we embrace.

“Mommy? Tella? ”

We laugh as a clearly confused Jack looks on. “What’s up, Bubbs?”

“You okay?”

Maddie nods. “Yeah, we’re great.”

We share one more smile as I feel familiar lips kissing my cheek. “Hey, Tiger.”

Emmett puts a plate of food down for me—God, I love this man—and has barely sat down next to me before Jack’s little yell takes us all by surprise.

“Uncle Met! No!”

What the heck?

“Jack, that wasn’t very nice,” Maddie says.

“No kiss Tella.”

It’s three seconds of shock, and a whole lot of seconds of trying to stifle our laughter.

“But she’s my girl,” Emmett says.

“No. My girl.”

My eyes double in size, and I’m doing my best to not start cracking up. Or to pull Jack on my lap and tell him that he’s my favorite and I’m getting him a pony for Christmas.

“All right,” Maddie says as she grabs Jack’s plate. “How about we go get more veggies and dip?”

Jack stands up, but not before coming around the table to give me a hug. And I don’t know if I’m making it up, but I think he mean mugged Emmett before walking away.

“What the fuck?” he asks. “Did my nephew just try and lay claim to you?”

“He did,” I say with a smile, leaning back to rest against Emmett’s chest as he sits behind me at the table. “But don’t worry. I like my men older.”

“Damn right you do,” he says as he starts kissing my neck.

“That’s enough!” Simon bellows. “I might be okay with this, and keeping up my wedding officiant certification so I can one day marry you two, but that doesn’t mean I need to see that. ”

“Oh shush,” Charlie says as they join us at the table. “Just think, it could be the other guy.”

I flinch a little at her words, which I hate that I still do. Because I don’t want Duncan to have any effect on me, good or bad. I just want to be indifferent to his name and know that my life truly began when I walked in on him on his hands and knees.

“Shit. I’m sorry,” Charlie says. “I didn’t know if he was off-limits topic wise. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

I shake my head. “You’re fine. It’s just that sometimes it still stings, thinking of what I could be doing right now. Hell, what I almost did.”

“What did you almost do?” Maeve asks as she and Ainsley take a seat around the table with us.

“Almost married a douche,” Simon says. “Which, since we’re on the subject, have you heard from him?”

Emmett holds me a little tighter, which I appreciate. “Actually, I haven’t. Which kind of has me worried.”

“Worried?” Ainsley asks. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“On the surface, yes. That means he finally got it through his head that we’re not getting back together.”

“That doesn’t sound like the douche,” Simon says. “He filed a lawsuit against you. He was calling you weekly to get you back. He tried to threaten me and dad for information. And suddenly he just stopped? Doesn’t track.”

“I don’t know, Emmett scared him pretty good the day I went and got my things.”

I look up to Cap, who has a well-earned prideful smile on his face. “Damn right I did.”

He kisses my head, which earns “awws” from Ainsley, Maeve, and Charlie, and a groan from Simon.

“Enough already,” Simon says. “Maeve. Please tell us there is something exciting in the world of interior design so we can change the subject.”

Maeve shakes her head as she finishes a deviled egg. “Not really. Men get divorced. Men move to the city and need their new condos decorated. Rinse and repeat.”

Leave it to Maeve to completely undersell what she does. Maeve is one of the most sought-after interior designers and decorators in Nashville. And while she doesn’t just decorate spaces for men, that’s become her specialty. Rich men with no design sense but wanting a luxury condo or mansion to bring their new, often younger, girlfriends home to equals big bucks for my super-talented sister.

“She’s lying,” Ainsley says. “She has a mystery client coming at the end of the month that she doesn’t know anything about.”

Maeve shoots Ainsley a look. “I told you not to say anything.”

“Well, then you told the wrong sister,” she says. “You know I can’t keep a secret.”

“Spill,” I tell Ainsley. “Everything that she told you so I can figure out who he is.”

“Good luck,” Ainsley says. “I tried. All she knows is that her budget is unlimited. And it’s not just a condo in the city. It’s a freaking mansion in Franklin. Like, next to the country stars’ houses.”

“Oh he’s rich rich,” I say. “And you don’t know who?”

Maeve lets out a sigh, clearly hating that she has to talk about it. “I don’t know and I don’t care. His assistant sent me his color preferences, and I have the specs of the house. I don’t even have the exact address, just that it’s in Franklin and I’m to meet with him at the end of the month. They’ll send me the details the day of the consult.”

“Oh that’s exciting!” I say. “And I’ll find out. I’ll dust off my social media stalking skills for you. It’s been a minute since I’ve had someone to investigate.”

The six of us start talking over each other, trying to guess who the mystery client is. Well, the four women do. I think Emmett and Simon have branched off into talk about Tennessee football. We’re laughing, drinking, Emmett is stealing the occasional kiss, and I don’t know if I’ve ever been happier.

This. This is it. This is what I wanted. A man who blends with my family. Me happy with my love life and getting to be with my sisters and family. Having a job I’m happy with, where I feel like I’m contributing in my own way. I don’t know how it gets any more perfect than this.

“Are those police sirens?” Maeve asks as the distinct sound approaches our house. And not just one—it sounds like a convoy.

No one says anything else as we all stand and go walk through the fence and into the front yard. My mom and dad follow as Maddie hangs in the back with Jack and Jayce.

As soon as we step onto the front lawn we see that it’s three cars lining the driveway. Two of them are Rolling Hills police cars, and one is an unmarked car.

What the hell is going on?

“Shane? What the fuck?”

That comes from Simon, who approaches Officer Shane Cunningham, one of his closest friends who he grew up with.

“I’m just here for support,” he says in a near whisper. “This has nothing to do with me.”

“Well then who the fuck does it have to do with?”

“Stella Banks?”

All eyes turn toward the Temu version of the guy from CSI, aviators and all. My blood goes cold as it sets in that he said my name.

I take a step forward, but not before I feel Emmett’s hand on my back as he steps with me. “I’m Stella Banks.”

“We need you to come with us.”

“Just hold on there one second,” Dad says as he walks in front of me. “I’m William Banks, her father and attorney. She’s not going anywhere with you.”

“Sir, you can accompany her if you’d like, but we need her to come with us. ”

“For what? And who are you?” Dad demands.

“We’re from the SEC and the Tennessee attorney general’s office. Miss Banks is the focus of an investigation. This will go easier if everyone cooperates.”

SEC? The only SEC I know plays football.

“The Securities Exchange Commission? What does the SEC want with my daughter?”

Temu CSI takes off his sunglasses, like some sort of power move he’s been waiting to do for years. “Miss Banks is being investigated for insider trading. She needs to come with us. Now.”