Touring the Place

We filled Dad in on everything we'd discovered over the past few days. He was still on the hunt for the mole, but hadn't had any luck yet. His guys were ready to jump in if we needed them, but that was all they knew.

If there was a mole in our ranks, and we let Christian know we were on high alert, he might not make a move. Our other guys were en route and should be in the country by tomorrow morning at the latest.

Only the five of us knew they were coming. If that info leaked, I'd know the mole was one of us. We had lunch in Dad's office, hashing out our plans for hours.

I headed back to the room where I'd left my mom and Shay. As I rounded the last corner, I heard Shay's sweet voice drifting through the doors, so I paused to listen.

“He's the best thing I could have asked for, mama.”

~She's already got her calling her mama.~

“When we first met, I was terrified of him. The rumors about him were so scary that I avoided him for two years while working at his club.

“People said that if you even looked at him wrong, he'd kill you on the spot. So you can imagine how that made some of us feel about even making eye contact with him.”

My mom's voice was soft when she replied.

“He told me about this girl at his club who was a waitress. He wanted to talk to you so badly, but he wasn't very good at just talking to a woman.

“Most of them just threw themselves at him, so he wasn't used to making the first move. He asked for advice on how to get you to talk to him.”

Damn! I didn't want her to tell Shay how nervous I was about that.

“I told him to get you up there with him and just start a conversation with you.”

Shay laughed.

“Yeah, he made me come up there with drinks, but it was kind of forced conversation. He said he wanted to talk, but I could tell by his stiff posture that he didn't really know how to do it right.

“He pulled up all this information on me; then we just started talking a bit after that. They never threatened my life or anything, but I can tell you I was a nervous wreck.

“Here was this powerful man, and he wanted to talk? It didn't make sense to me at first. Then that gang came to get him. I had just helped one of his men who had come in wounded.

“Conner grabbed me to protect us from the attack, and then Zane took me to his house. It just blossomed from there. And here we are now. If I were to say that he's a big teddy bear, I wonder if anyone would believe me?”

I rounded the corner.

“No, and if you tell anyone, they'll laugh at you. I don't want my reputation ruined by my future wife; I have to keep up this bad boy and ruthless leader act so they won't question me when I give an order.”

They both jumped a little when I came in; Shay's hand flew to her chest. “How much of that did you hear?” She was blushing as she fiddled with her fingers.

Grinning, I said, “Not much, just heard you telling my mom about me being something like a teddy bear?” I didn't want to tell her how much my heart was swelling with pride about the way she told mom the story of how we met.

“Son, you know that around women, you have a softer side. I raised you that way,” my mom said, her eyes twinkling in the lights.

“Yes, Mama. You raised me to respect women. Can I steal her away? I want to show her around the place.” I held my hand out to Shay.

She nodded. “Go ahead, dear. We have plenty of time to talk and get to know each other better.”

Shay took my hand as I led her out of the grand sitting room and down the main hall. I walked her through my childhood home, showing her the ballroom, two pools, and a few of the towers.

I also took her to where the dungeons are, but she didn't want to go down there after she caught a whiff of the mustiness coming from the door I opened.

Then finally we walked into the throne room, which was still decorated in the old-fashioned way.

Two thrones sat high atop four stone stairs. They were made of dark wood and had red cushions, while the backrest was also done in red fabric. I walked Shay up there and plopped down in one.

“You're more than welcome to sit in that one if you like,” I said, gesturing to the chair to my left. “This all will be yours one day.”

She eyed the throne, then slowly lowered herself into it. She ran her hands over the scrollwork behind her.

I could see her eyes scanning the entire room and all of its ancient engravings on the walls, ceilings, and some of the chairs on the main floor.

There were also tons of huge crystal chandeliers that my mom had put in. The walls were done in a red carpet with gold trim, and the floor was also covered in red carpet.

Behind the thrones was a black curtain draped to make the chairs’ red and gold decor pop.

“Zane, can I ask you a question?”

Looking over at her, I nodded. “What is it you want, love?”

She hesitated for a minute before sighing.

~I hope she's not thinking of telling me she doesn't want this~, I thought. It would crush me to have to either renounce my title to my younger brother or make the hardest choice of my life and let her go.

“Do you think your parents would object to us having our wedding here?”

My face must have turned to shock at her questions. It took me a minute to reply. Here I was thinking about the worst thing that could happen to me.

~Damn, I need to get my head cleared out from the stress of this war coming our way in a few days.~

“I don't see why not. Are you sure you would want to be way over here and not back in the States?”

She looked over the place.

“I've always loved the movies and books that have castles, knights, soldiers, kings and queens, and the way they get married in a huge church and then go to the ballroom to party way into the night.

“I guess this is like a fairytale dream that has come true for me in a way. I mean, how often does a woman have a chance to get married in a castle this old?”

I glanced around the room, grinning at her suggestion.

“I bet they’ll agree to that. They tied the knot in the local church, then hosted the reception right here. If that’s what you truly want, I’m sure we can make it happen.”

Her smile in response was one of the biggest I’d ever seen on her face.

Conner strolled past the doorway, paused, then backtracked into the room. He approached us, dropped to one knee, placed his hand over his heart, and bowed his head. I knew he was messing with me.

Chuckling at this jester reenacting a scene from the past, I asked, “What’s up?”

He kept his head bowed as he replied, “Your Majesty, I’ve been sent to inform you that dinner is nearly ready and your parents are looking for you.”

Shay burst into laughter, slapping her knee as he lifted his gaze to her. “Conner, you’re such a goof. Get up off the cold floor; I know that’s uncomfortable.”

He rose to his feet, grinning.

“It’s not so bad. We used to do this when we were kids. We’d take turns sitting on the main throne, pretending to be kings, while the other two played the part of humble servants delivering various commands.

“We’d spend hours in here by ourselves, playing and reenacting scenes from books or movies. Those were fun times.”

I ran my fingers over the smooth armrest of the throne. “We did have a blast back then. Three boys running wild in this place, pretending to be soldiers, sword fighting, and all sorts of other things.”

“We sure did. We grew up thinking we were brothers. We certainly acted like it. It’s been great being so close all our lives. We’ve hardly ever had any disagreements.”

Shay stood up as her stomach grumbled, signaling hunger.

“I could eat too. It’s been a long afternoon, and we’re both ready for some food.”

She rubbed her baby bump as she began descending the stairs.

I stood up, stretching a bit.

“Oh, before I forget. Shay, our family doctor is coming over in the morning. She’ll be here at nine to check on you. We want to make sure everything’s going smoothly, determine how far along you are, and discuss any necessary medications.”

I followed her down, taking her hand in mine.

“Thanks for everything, Zane. You really are my teddy bear.”

Conner raised an eyebrow, then erupted into laughter. I gave him a hard smack on the back of his head.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“Shay, please only call me that in private. I told you my guys would tease me endlessly,” I said, shooting Conner a warning look.

“Don’t worry, it’s safe with me. I won’t say a word…teddy bear.”

He bolted, sprinting out of the room as I chased after him. Shay’s laughter echoed behind me as we raced down the corridors. Conner was still a tad faster than me and made it to the dining room just out of my reach.