Page 69 of Deadly Forever

Twenty

“He’son the second floor.”

Peter stood next to his limousine, his expensive Italian suit seemingly out of place given the nature of the rundown hotel, and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’m not keen on going in there to get him,” James admitted, tilting his head to the side as he studied the faded façade of the hotel. “We could cause a scene and if the hotel employees call the police … well … we could find ourselves in jail.”

“And then you will miss your prom,” Grady teased, causing Peter’s eyebrows to fly up his forehead.

“What prom?” Peter asked, legitimately curious.

“It’s nothing,” James said, his cheeks burning as he averted his gaze. “It’s just something I have planned for Mandy.”

“It sounds interesting,” Peter said.

“Then I’m telling it wrong,” Grady interjected. “It’s schmaltzy. It’s … beyond schmaltzy.”

“Enlighten me.” Peter’s expression was hard to read, but his eyes were intense.

“Mandy mentioned the other night that she had a fantasy when she was a teenager,” Finn supplied. “She said she always imagined her date getting sick – which seems like a mean part of the fantasy, but I guess it’s not important – and that for some reason James showed up and offered to take her to the prom so she wouldn’t miss it.”

“That sounds like a typical teenager, unless I’m mistaken,” Peter said. “Sophie never told me if she had fantasies like that, but I’m guessing she did.”

“She said that in the fantasy James took one look at her and fell in love,” Grady said, adopting a feminine tone and clutching his chest. “She’s such a girl sometimes.”

“I don’t see anything wrong with that,” Peter chided. “Mandy feels comfortable enough with James to admit something that could’ve been embarrassing at some point. I’m much more interested in what James is doing to fulfill this fantasy.”

“It’s not a big deal,” James said. “While everyone else is at their bachelor and bachelorette parties tonight, though, I’m throwing my wife a private prom.”

“He rented outdoor lights and ordered balloon arches,” Grady taunted, his eyes lighting up. “He ordered her a corsage and hired a disc jockey to play bad power ballads and everything. He bought a new tuxedo and picked out a dress for her.”

“I think that sounds unbearably sweet,” Peter said, his expression earnest. “How do you know she’ll like the dress, though? Girls are particular about clothing.”

“I couldn’t be sure of that, so I hired a personal shopper,” James replied. “Jake went through Ally’s old photos for me and found a photograph of them at their prom. I sent the photo to the woman doing the shopping and told her I wanted something like that dress but modern and updated. She came up with a beautiful dress. It’s blue … like Mandy’s eyes.”

“And Mandy doesn’t know any of this?” Peter was beside himself.

“I want it to be a surprise,” James explained. “I want her to get the prom she always wanted.”

“He’s such a putz, isn’t he?” Grady sought support, but the look Peter shot him was stern.

“James is giving Mandy everything she’s ever wanted,” Peter countered. “He’s the perfect husband, and not because he does everything right. He’s the perfect husband because he puts Mandy’s needs above his own and tries to give her what he believes will make her happy.

“James makes mistakes like anyone, but the reason Mandy is always so happy and capable of bouncing back from everything life has thrown at her is because she always knows that he will do his very best by her,” he continued. “Even when he fails, the fact that he tried is enough to make Mandy’s heart soar. I hardly find that effort worthy of being considered a putz.”

Grady had the grace to look abashed. “But … it’s so schmaltzy.”

“I don’t care about that,” Peter said. “I doubt Mandy does either. All Mandy is going to remember is that James made her dreams come true. She’s going to remember he gave her the night of her life.

“That doesn’t mean she’ll forget the first prom, but this will be a better one,” he continued. “She’ll have two proms. Sophie doesn’t even have one.”

Grady stilled. “What do you mean? Why didn’t she go to prom?”

“Because no one asked her,” Peter answered, a sad expression overwhelming his handsome features. “Being my daughter was never easy. There were always whispers about me. People knew what I did for a living. The boys were scared to ask out Sophie because of that.”

“So she didn’t get to go to prom?” Grady looked horrified. “She never mentioned that.”

“She wouldn’t, would she? She doesn’t like people feeling sorry for her.”