Glancing next to me, I caught Fury’s smug ass grin because he’d done that shit on purpose.
“And I saved you a seat, right here beside me,” Regan added with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
Amidst this exchange, I remained rooted to where I’d stopped in the doorway. They were all looking this way like I’d just stepped onto a stage to perform, and they were the audiencein possession of the hottest ticket in town. Was I anxious about their reaction to my news? Hell, yes! This particular announcement had been simultaneously the heaviest weight I’ve ever carried and the best thing that ever happened to me. So, yeah, it was a big moment that could quickly go south. But I’d never been afraid of a challenge. I wasn’t going to start now.
“Good morning,” I said, just as Fabian squeezed my hand. I’d forgotten he was holding it, although I’d been clinging to his presence.
He had this aura about him, this undeniable pull to the power and confidence he exuded. I’d felt it the first night we met and hustled my ass away from him as quickly as I could without looking like a fool.
“Good morning to you,” Hannah replied, her dimpled smile on full display. “And to you too, Mister …”
“Mathias,” he supplied his last name for her. Then, with a nod continued, “But you all can call me Fa?—”
“Fury,” I interrupted him because no, they didn’t get to call him what I did … even if it was his real name. “His name is Fury and he’s my husband.” The words rolled off my tongue as easily as if I’d just said my name. With my fingers still tightly entwined with his, I led us to the two vacant seats.
He pulled out the chair beside Regan for me, and as he took the seat to my left, I began the introductions.
“Fury, these are my cousins.” I started at my right and went all the way around the table. “Regan, Maria, Mo whom you’ve already met, Bailey, Suri, Kendra, and that’s Hannah to your left.”
Hannah waved as if he weren’t sitting right beside her and I shook my head. Because of all of my cousins in this room, she was the most romantic. For her, finding her prince charming, getting married and having a ton of babies had always been her dream. That made her and Pippin’s relationship even morespecial as that man had certainly swept her off her feet. I loved how open and excited she could be about her happiness.
“It’s nice to meet you ladies,” Fabian said. “Dakota talks about the special bond you share, so I’ll apologize for interrupting your getaway.”
“Oh, no.” Hannah shook her head. “We don’t mind this interruption at all.”
“Not. At. All,” Bailey added. “Fury Mathias, I feel like I’ve heard that name before.”
“I’ve definitely heard it before.” Mo had been quiet longer than I thought she would. “But I didn’t have a face to go with the name. Now I do.”
She was pissed at me and rightfully so. She was also very protective of me, just as I was with her and the rest of my cousins for that matter. However, that didn’t mean I was going to tolerate any disrespect toward Fabian or whatever she knew about him. Which, I’m certain I already knew wasn’t great.
Mo’s logistics company had several big contracts with shipping companies, supply chains, and manufacturers across the nation. She traveled between Portsmouth and Newport News to personally oversee projects for select clientele. I knew for a fact that on more than one occasion her special clients did business with the Ryders, specifically KC who was in charge of their weapons business. So, she was right, she knew exactly who Fury was.
“French toast, sausage, beefandturkey,” Tedra said from where she stood just behind Mo at the head of the table.
“Yay!” Hannah clapped because she’d been the one to insist on turkey products this week.
Two staff members placed bowls of delicious smelling food on the table as Tedra continued, “Wheat toast and biscuits, hard scrambled cheesy eggs, grits, and fresh fruit.”
“Sounds and smells like good eats,” Fabian said. “How ‘bout I bless the food, then we’ll all make our plates and you ladies can ask the questions I know you really want to ask?”
For a few seconds there was silence, then, taking my husband’s hand again, I said, “Good plan, baby.”
I didn’t acknowledge Mo’s narrowed eyes or Bailey’s raised brow, just lowered my head so he could pray and we could get the Q&A over with.
Three seconds after Fabian said “Amen!” Hannah asked, “So how’d you two meet?”
“How long have you two been sneaking around?” Maria added.
“More importantly,” Mo said with a sigh, “when was this wedding and where’s the ring? Because if there’s one thing I know about my secret-keeping cousin, it’s that she’s not marrying anybody without a ring.”
My gaze flew to my left hand at her words. Of course, she was right, there was no ring there. But I indeed had one. It was a vintage Art Deco style design. A two-carat marquise-cut diamond in a platinum setting surrounded by a halo of twenty-four calibré cut rubies. Currently, it was tucked into a small red velvet bag that I carried in my purse like my car keys, hand sanitizer and lip gloss. Reducing a thirty-thousand-dollar ring to the trivialness of basic travel needs was crazy business, but it was the truth.
I couldn’t wear a wedding ring if nobody knew I was married, and I couldn’t bear to leave the starkest symbol of the love Fabian and I shared at home. I needed it close to me at all times, as a reminder of how complete his presence in my life made me feel. I wore it every second I was alone in my house, and even slipped it on sometimes while tucked into my office. Just to feel closer to him, to remind myself that there was someone in this world who really saw me and who loved every inch of what hesaw enough to put this precious ring on my finger and pledge his devotion to me.
Fabian’s hand covered mine, and my attention shifted to him.
“July seventeenth, and she has a ring,” he stated evenly. “And a new SUV. Along with a full wardrobe at my house. Her name is on my life insurance policies, bank accounts, and will be on a new condo in Miami by the end of the month. Does that appease your skepticism?”
