With These Four Rings - Book Five: Wedding Bonus (Billionaire Brides of Granite Falls 5) (24 page)

“You’re right.” Michelle pulled her bandana from her head.

“Whew! I was wondering what was going on with you,” Cookie said. “I don’t care how in love your husbands are with you, they would have been turned off by watching what you were doing tonight.”

“Sorry, we made you come out for nothing.” Tashi picked up their scarves from the floor. “We probably should have canceled.”

“No problem. This was your last class before the bachelors’ party, but if you want, I can squeeze you in tomorrow—”

“The party is postponed. Perhaps canceled. My husband’s former mother-in-law passed away,” Michelle told Cookie. “The funeral is on Saturday. I’ll be busy with arrangements tomorrow.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” She gave Michelle a quick hug. “That explains your lack of enthusiasm, then. So all your hard work is going to waste?”

“No way,” Kaya said. “We’ve been practicing for months. Plan B is to surprise our husbands on our honeymoon.”

“Sweet! We can totally work that. I know you’re all leaving on vacation next week, so call me when you return, and we can get a couple sessions in before your honeymoon. You’re going to rock your husbands’ worlds. Now, get dressed and get out of here.” Cookie shooed them away. “I’ll lock up.”

“We’re already rocking their worlds,” Kaya said, as they walked into an adjacent room.

In order to avoid attention and to keep their husbands in the dark, the women had rented a house in suburban Evergreen and had paid Cookie a whole lot of cash to give them lessons for the past four months. They would have loved more time to perfect their performance, but they had to wait until after Tashi had given birth before they started, and even then, their practice sessions were still limited by Tashi’s mom’s murder trial.

“Bryce and I rocked to “Temperature’s Rising” and “Feel The Fire” this afternoon.” Kaya closed her eyes and squeezed her thighs together as the memories washed over her. After reading those articles in
Granite Falls People News
, they’d decided to start making love to the songs they were pole dancing to, just to raise the stakes and their husbands’ temperatures when they eventually performed.

Michelle pulled off her stockings and retrieved a blouse and a pair of shorts from her tote bag. “Girl, I danced under and on top of Erik to “Behind Closed Doors,” “Religious,” and
“
Temperature’s Rising” this morning. Mmm…” She licked her lips. “It was so good. I had him singing
Hallelujah
.
Lord, have mercy
.” She shivered outwardly. “What about you, Tashi?” she asked, turning to Tashi who hadn’t said anything yet. “Have you tried any of the songs with Adam?”

Tashi glanced up from lacing her sandals. “Not yet. We’ve been preoccupied with the sentencing. At least I was.”

“So you haven’t been making love?” Kaya pulled on a pair of white shorts and an orange top.

“Oh, we’ve been making love, but I wasn’t in the mood to set the mood, if you know what I mean.” A quiver raced through her body as she recalled the hot session in the shower and then on the bed before they joined the family for dinner last night. “Maybe I’ll try a couple tonight after we put Aria and Alex to bed.” She was watching Aria until Shaina and Mass returned from Kenya.

“Get working girl,” Michelle said. “You have eight specific songs to get through from our list of twelve. You want Adam to remember making love to you as he watches you make love to your pole while those specific songs play in the background.”

“Plus, remember we’re starving them after we return from vacation. No sex for them until the wedding,” Kaya added. “We have to make them hungry for us that first night of our honeymoon.”

“I know.” Tashi picked up her gym bag from the floor.

Like high school BFFs, the ladies laced their arms around each other and exited the house through the back door where three luxury sport cars were parked next to each other—Michelle’s red Pagani Huayra, Kaya’s gold and silver Maybach Exelero, and Tashi’s white Bugatti Veyron. Shaina’s yellow Lamborghini Veneno was missing.

With all the children between them, it was very seldom that the wives were able to enjoy the luxury of driving their sports cars, instead of the practical, but just as luxurious sedans and SUVs they used for family outings. Tonight was one of those privileged nights, and after meeting with Desire at her place of business, they’d ordered takeout from Mountainview Café, and then driven to a secluded beach on Crystal Lake, spread some blankets on the beach, and watched the sun set as they enjoyed their sandwiches, and time alone from their husbands and children. Their joy was nonetheless marred by Shaina’s absence.

“It’s such a beautiful night,” Tashi said, gazing up at the stars and the crescent moon. “I think I’ll take Adam to the garden for a moonlight romp.”

“I thought you were babysitting.” Kaya poked her in the side.

“Listen, guys, I have an idea about the wedding.” Michelle unlaced her arms from around her friends, and leaned against the hood of her car.

“What now, Michelle?” Kaya asked, glibly.

“You remember we talked about how hiring Desire could be a way of healing for Bryce and the Summers family? Well I was thinking, why not make it a time of healing for the entire town?”

“
What’chu talkin’ ’bout
, Michelle?” Tashi asked in her Arnold Drummond voice.

“I mean, there are so many people in this town who don’t talk to each other for one reason or the other.”

“That’s in every town,” Kaya stated.

“I know, but there aren’t billionaires in every town who go out of their way to mingle with the locals, to show that they care. Our husbands’ families practically built this town. Their hard work, their sweat and blood transformed it into the beautiful, almost crime-free, little mountain mecca that it is. Bryce came later, but he has already contributed just as much to Granite Falls’ prosperity as the Andreases, the LaCrosses, and the Andrettis.”

“Don’t forget the Forsythes,” Tashi said with a smug chuckle. “They may not be in power anymore, but their ancestors were there with our husbands’ forefathers.”

“See, that’s what I’m talking about.” Michelle patted Tashi’s knee. “In spite of what Claire did to you and Adam, you can still find it in your heart to speak well of her.”

“Pff. I’m not speaking well of her. I’m speaking well of her parents.”

“But won’t it be nice to put all that behind you?”

Tashi shrugged. “How? I’m not gonna go looking for her, or try to be her friend. For all I know, she might still be scheming to sell me up the river, thinking she still has a chance with Adam. The woman is evil.”

“Okay, so we’ll cross Claire Forsythe off the list.”

“What list?” Kaya asked, almost afraid to hear what new proposal Michelle had in mind. She loved her friend and she appreciated her compassion for the less fortunate, but Lord, she needed to give it a rest sometimes, especially with so much going on in their personal lives.

Michelle clapped her hands. “Glad you asked. I was thinking that we should open up the wedding to the general public. The church is huge, and we don’t have enough friends and family to fill up the pews. Let’s send out a general invitation to the residents of Granite Falls, and that includes the Forsythes,” she said as an aside to Tashi. “Let them come watch us exchange our vows to our husbands and to each other as friends, and then let them enjoy a fairytale night of music, dancing, and the best food on the planet. It might help some of them to mend bridges and bury hatchets. One of these days our sons and daughters will be running the four most powerful corporations in this towns, just as their fathers are doing now. Wouldn’t it be nice to pass down an amicable community where most of the people get along? We could start a tradition for other neighborhoods to follow.”

“The church is big, but not big enough to hold the entire town,” Tashi pointed out.

“I thought of that. We can do a general raffle, or make it a first respond, first attend invitation until all the seats are filled.”

Tashi smiled. “I like that, Michelle. That’s some altruistic thinking, girl.” She bumped her shoulder to Michelle’s. “You should be mayor of Granite Falls.”

“Thanks, but I’m quite content with my role as Queen of LaCrosse Estates.” She chuckled.

Kaya bit her lips thoughtfully. “So who’s sending out the invitations and keeping track of RSVPs? My hands are full with my five kids, and I suspect yours are, too, with your four, Michelle. I doubt Shaina wants this responsibility, or you, Tashi. We decided that our only duties for the wedding would be working with the designers for our dresses and the rings, creating our cakes, and choosing our flowers. We’re done.”

“We can hire people.” Tashi pushed off the hood of Michelle’s car. “But we don’t have a lot of time. The wedding is in three weeks; we’re all going away next week, and the following week we’ll be busy entertaining our out-of-town guests and family members who’re coming for the wedding.”

“I know a few people at my foundation who would be happy to take on this project for some extra money.”

“Did you run it by Shaina?” Kaya asked Michelle.

“Not yet. She and Mass had already left when I thought about it. But with the sibling rivalry going on between Mass and Galen, I think she would welcome any opportunity to help those two settle their differences.”

Not to mention the fact that Shaina is pregnant
, Tashi thought. Mass and Shaina had told her and Adam about the impending addition to their family, but had asked them not to spread the word yet. They’d been planning on sharing their news tomorrow night when they were all assembled at Kaya’s house for their monthly get-together, but Jabari’s and Sarah’s deaths had put a wrench in their plans. Tashi was dying to tell her friends, but she had to respect Mass and Shaina’s wishes. “I agree. This town needs some healing,” she said instead.

“Then it’s settled,” Michelle said, bringing the discussion to an end. “I’ll get my people on it tonight.”

They hugged each other before driving off into the cool summer night, back to Granite Falls and their families.

* * *

The Masai Mara Lands – Dawn, Friday morning-Kenyan time…

Massimo kept the urn close to his chest as he took the lead up the off-the-beaten-path through a forest of cedar and acacia trees and short grass, over shrubbery and rocks, tree stumps, and fallen branches.

While it was still dark, he and Shaina had started out toward a plateau above the banks of the Mara River that offered magnificent views of Kenya’s Mara Lands and Tanzania’s Serengeti ecosystem—one of the most important ecosystems in the world.

He and Adam had discovered the secluded escarpment as teenagers when they opted to continue the annual safari that Luciano and Alessandro had started when they were young men. Adam had been hoping to find his one true love like both their fathers had, and Massimo had just been looking for his next piece of tail, back then. He’d gotten plenty while Adam had gotten nothing.

Today, he was hoping that he and Shaina—his one true love, and the best piece of tail this side of heaven—would reach the hideaway in time to watch the sunrise while they enjoyed the breakfast of sweet cakes, boiled eggs, fruit, and coffee in his backpack. It was one of the most peaceful and surreal places on earth to Massimo, and he wanted to share it with the most important person in the world to him—alone.

For that reason, he’d left the campsite where they’d spent the night, long before the other campers awoke. The Masai guides who were facilitating the walking safari knew of its existence, but Massimo had asked them not to veer their party off the path toward it—at least not for a few hours. Massimo had plans for his wife in that isolated haven and in the plunge pool at its base.

The escarpment was close to the spot where his
nono
had found Jabari about twenty-six years ago. According to
nono
, the malnourished, six-month-old cub had been lying near the slaughtered bodies of his mother and twin sister who’d apparently been attacked by an unknown enemy. How he’d survived was anyone’s guess.

He and Jabari had suffered the same fate, losing their mothers—the most important person in their lives—at too early an age, and ironically each also lost a sibling as well. Jabari had understood Massimo’s pain like no one else who knew him could. Jabari had comforted him and given him a reason to wake up in the morning.

While most children were falling asleep with teddy bears and other inanimate items of comfort, Massimo had fallen asleep, cocooned in the security and warmth of Jabari’s body and the steady beating of his heart against him, until it seemed they’d morphed into one entity. And each morning he’d wake up with a reason to face the day. Feeding Jabari, bathing, grooming, and exercising him through long walks and play, had eased Massimo’s pain of losing his mother.

Their bond had been stronger than any others Massimo had formed in his lifetime—well, up until he’d met Shaina. And it was that extraordinary, mystical connection that had sent Jabari following him the day the rhino had attacked him. Jabari had saved him twice, and he hadn’t been there for him when he drew his last breath.

“I’m sorry old friend, but my baby girl needed me.” He patted the gold ceramic urn.

“He understands,” Shaina said softly behind him, alerting Mass to the fact that he’d voiced his thoughts.

He stopped and turned around to smile down at her. They’d hardly spoken during the hour they’d been walking. Shaina had considerately kept silent to allow him time to reflect on his life with Jabari, to absorb the reality of his death and meditate on the fact that he was taking him to his final resting place. “Thank you for coming along with me, pussycat. Even though we aren’t talking, I know you have my back.”