Page 54 of Deadly Waves

Seventeen

“Haveyou ever considered that Mandy is a bossy pain in the butt?”

Despite his promise to spend the entire day in the room with his wife, James took a short break to help Grady with the first part of Mandy’s plan. He left her slumbering on the floor, a blanket tucked around her as her fingertips rested on the marine window. She looked beautiful … and peaceful … and altogether lovable. James hated leaving her, but he also wanted to help Grady. He would return as soon as possible to pick up on the loving portion of their day.

Out of all of James’ brothers, Grady struggled most when it came to his emotions. After hooking up with Mandy, Grady teased James mercilessly about being whipped and devoting himself to one woman. It wasn’t that Grady didn’t like Mandy. He loved her, in fact. He simply could not wrap his brain around the notion that James seemed more than ready to settle down forever. That was a foreign concept to him.

Then Sophie came along and everything changed. Grady fought the urge to be with her – and lost. He didn’t want to hurt her. He wasn’t that sort of guy. That didn’t mean he believed he was ready to pledge forever to one woman. Sophie managed to poke through all of his layers, though, and James was convinced the man who emerged on the other side was better because of her steady influence.

That didn’t mean Grady wasn’t a royal putz most days.

“I don’t think Mandy would ever argue that she’s a pain in the butt,” James said, tamping down his irritation. He hated it when anyone attacked his wife, even if it was done in jest. “She doesn’t see herself as bossy.”

Grady glanced at the jewelry items in the case. They were in one of the fancy boutiques on shoppers row. Mandy insisted that Grady needed to get Sophie a small token of his love while they put together a plan to make all of her wildest dreams come true. Sophie needed to be placated a bit, and Grady was in no position to argue the point with Mandy when she seemed to hold all of the cards when it came to pleasing his ladylove.

“How can she not see that she’s bossy?” Grady challenged. “She’s the queen of bossy. Er, well, Ally is actually the queen of bossy. Mandy is her top handmaiden, though.”

“My wife is the queen of the world,” James corrected. “As for the bossy thing, she honestly doesn’t see it. I thought she was messing with me at first, but that’s just talking to her. She doesn’t see it as bossy and demanding.”

“How do you put up with it?” Grady was serious when he focused on James. “Don’t you ever want to throttle her?”

James shrugged. “I’m bossy, too,” he said. “I’m bossier than she is a lot of the time. I figure if she wants to get bossy, she’s earned the right. And, for the record, I don’t put up with her. I love her.”

“Yeah, I know,” Grady said dryly. “No one could ever miss the signs. Only a man truly in love would do what you were doing when I walked into that room.”

“Without knocking,” James reminded him.

“I thought Mandy was with the other hens,” Grady protested. “I had no reason to believe she was in there with you. I was under the impression you were working.”

“I was working,” James said. “I was just doing it in a unique way.”

“You can say that again,” Grady muttered under his breath as he studied the jewelry. “What should I buy Sophie?”

“I have no idea,” James answered, moving to his brother’s side. “What kind of jewelry does she like?”

“She doesn’t wear a lot of jewelry,” Grady answered. “She doesn’t like collecting things. I think it comes from losing everything she had when she was a kid and got put in the foster care system. In Sophie’s world, things are expendable.”

“Well, you’re building a new world with her,” James said. “You need to show her that things can be nice. Besides, if you don’t train her to like things, you’re going to be in a world of hurt every Christmas for the rest of your life.”

“That’s a very good point,” Grady said, plastering a smile on his face as a young clerk exited the back room and moved toward the case. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” the girl said, smiling indulgently. She had on a nametag that read “Jill” and appeared young and flirty as she looked over the two men. “Can I help you find something specific?”

“I’m looking for a gift for my girlfriend,” Grady replied. “I need something classy but not too flashy. She doesn’t go in for flashy things.”

James snorted. “And yet somehow she ended up with you.”

Jill’s smile remained in place, but James didn’t miss the momentary disappointment that flashed across her features at mention of a girlfriend. “Okay, well, does she like marine animals? We have a lot of fine pieces with turtles. The shipment just came in.”

“She does kind of like turtles,” Grady said.

“What about sharks?” James questioned. “Do you have anything with sharks?”

“We’re looking for Sophie,” Grady reminded him. “We’re not looking for Mandy.”

“That shows what you know,” James shot back. “I’m always looking for gifts for my baby.”

“You’ve got a girlfriend, too?” Jill made a face. “Why are all of the good ones already taken?”