39. Theodore
Chapter Thirty-Nine
THEODORE
“I’m here!” I announce before getting to Andrea’s office. As a married man, I know it’s best to give advance warning sometimes. He and Delaney are in the middle of an intense stare-down. Looks like both of them are standing firm on different sides of an argument. I withhold my chuckle because married life will be different for him. He just can’t kill his wife. I mean, he could, but he’d be the number one suspect. I know. I spent many nights thinking my life would be easier if I just rolled over and choked Helena to death while she slept.
Speaking of my ex-wife. Our run-in had faded to the back of my mind like all things Helena the weeks after the incident, but I knew Andrea would see to whatever threat he made.
“Hello, you two.” My greeting breaks the stare and pulls both of their attention back to me.
Delaney smiles at me, which technically isn’t out of the norm since she has relaxed some since marrying Andrea, but I have years of training to recognize a woman with an agenda.
“Hello, Theodore,” she practically coos as she approaches me.
“Don’t you dare, woman,” Andrea growls as she props herself up on her tiptoes and gives me a standard kiss on the cheek by way of greeting. “I should kill you for trying to make me a liar, Delaney.”
Andrea’s treat follows him across the room until he’s back in her face.
“But you can’t ,” she mocks him with her hands on her hips. If she were younger or less mature, I’d imagine she’d have her tongue stuck out right now.
I chuckle and shake my head. “What’s going on with y’all today?”
“He told me he’d kill the next man I touch,” Delaney whines.
I should be offended, but we all know it was an empty threat when it comes to me. “Wow. I thought we were friends, Delaney.”
She rolls her eyes since there is only amusement in my tone. “He wasn’t going to kill you. It’s just another one of his double standards.”
Andrea pulls Delany’s ponytail until she has no option but to look him in the eyes. They’re damn near touching noses as he speaks. “Keep testing. I’ll find other ways to punish you.”
“How about we start from the beginning?” I ask, happy that I’m not the one with martial fights anymore.
“This big BULLY ruined my wedding…” she starts to explain with a huff. I give her a puzzled look because I was at the wedding, and all seemed well if one ignored that it wasn’t a traditional engagement. “Not the shame of matrimonial imprisonment you saw. My real one.”
Andrea flinches so minutely that I catch it only because I know him so well, but I press for information because the faster we get there the sooner this deescalates.
“How?”
“I was a week out from my wedding when he announced that he ‘decided’ that I’d have his children and told me that I need to cancel my plans as if GETTING MARRIED was a mani/pedi.”
I had no idea that she was getting married previously, and I already know how this turned out since Andrea is Andrea.
“I ignored him,” she continued. “Thinking he’d back off once I’m married. But nooooooooo, he waited and showed up the day of my wedding when I was in my gown and told me that I could walk down the aisle and sign a death warrant for everyone in the room, including myself, or go with him. Fast forward to now, since you know everything after that. Today, I met my ex for lunch to offer closure because I figured it’s the least I can do for breaking his heart, and this ,” she hisses as she points aggressively at Andrea, “ PSYCHO beats him up! For no damn reason!”
“He touched my wife,” Andrea responds coolly with no regret.
“For the millionth time, it was a goodbye hug!”
“No one touches my wife without my permission. Why would you think it was okay?”
“I owed him a goodbye at least, Andrea.”
“You don’t owe him a damn thing,” he responds, digging into his opinion.
Delaney’s eyes grow so huge I fear that she might have a stroke. “You LITERALLY stole his fiancée on his wedding day! He didn’t deserve that. Howard is a good man.”
Andrea shrugs. “I gave you enough notice to cancel it. That’s on you. Besides”—his snort tells me he’s about to be childish—“who marries a man named Howard anyway? Finders keepers.”
“OH MY GOD!” Delaney releases something between a growl and a shriek as she storms out of his office.
Andrea’s smirk is short-lived once he looks at me again. He knows that, while I’m amused, I don’t exactly approve.
“She paraphrased. She hugged him, and I showed up and broke up the hug by grabbing her arm and pulling her to me. He looked at me like he wanted me to fight. I told him that she is my wife and he’d have to fight me for her. He lost.” My expression doesn’t change with his explanation. He studies me for a moment before he releases a long sigh as he sits on the edge of his desk. “Out with it. I don’t have all day.”
“This is not how you win her over. You have to decide if you want a real wife or some woman who’s sentenced to life with your children.”
“He still loves her.”
I know there is more left unsaid, but I press on to the point. “He should. They were supposed to get married a couple of months ago. Real love doesn’t just fall away. You have to use something you’re not accustomed to using.”
“And what’s that?”
“Patience.”
He presses his lips together so tightly they form a white line. When he speaks again, I know he’s moved on to the next subject.
“I fixed your pest problem. She really should read the small print in her agreements.”
I laugh without knowing what he did because, of course, he’d have small print. “Which states?”
“I was her executor of the estate. I sold the house and car from under her and told her to put an ocean between us. I’ll release the money from selling her house and car to her once she chooses a destination of my liking.”
My laughter picks up until I can’t breathe. “You exiled her?”
Andrea joins me in laughter, fully relaxing for the first time since I arrived. “Sure did. Helena cannot come back to my town without my expressed permission.” His eyes crinkle in the corners when his smile deepens. “And you know that bitch isn’t going to call me after I give her the money.”
“Very true,” I admit. “Now she can find the next gullible guy. I did my time.”
“You weren’t gullible. You chose to love her and trust blindly. She just took advantage. You never wrote over obscene amounts of money or gave up family possessions like some of these dopes.”
I nod because it’s true. I was generous, but I didn’t give money blindly. “No, but I was swindled out of things that cannot be returned; love and time.”
He stares at the door of his office for a beat as if digesting what I said. “Yeah, River is going to give you that tenfold.”
“Yeah. Also, true. There’s just something about when it’s right.” I pat his shoulder when he gets that faraway look again. “Thanks for the update. I’ll leave you to it.”
I get out of his hair while he ponders whatever is on his mind. When he’s ready to discuss, he’ll discuss it. Until then, I’ll hold off on ribbing him. I know Delaney just sees him as a crime boss being a crime boss, but what she doesn’t get is why he’d do it. He didn’t fight Howard for shits and giggles. Andrea was jealous. He may not want to admit it to himself, nor will he attempt to admit it to her this early into their relationship, but what he did had nothing to do with him being blindly territorial. It’s not how he operates.
Interesting is the best word I have for my brother’s new marriage.
Right now, I have a few things to grab for River’s cravings. I had the penthouse remodeled because I don’t want to give her any bad memories, and plan to move us there until the baby comes so I won’t be far from her even when I have to work. The house is twenty minutes away from the club, which isn’t a big deal otherwise. I prefer to have a much quicker response time.
I’m still not comfortable being away from her since she was taken. While I’ve relaxed some, it’s not enough time for me to relax completely.
When I return home, I hear music playing and smell some food she either made or ordered. It’s a toss-up these days.
“Bam! Uno out, bitches,” I hear my overly competitive wife yell.
A few manly chuckles precede a jumble of shit-talking. I make it into the game room in enough time to see River shoot her middle fingers at the guys. Her hair is in a messy bun, and she’s stretched the hell out of my t-shirt, but she’s never looked more beautiful.
I pull her into a hug and kiss her forehead as I feel our son moving in her belly. We’re getting close, and I’m beyond excited.
“Game night,” I ask as I grab a slice of pizza.
“Well,” she huffs. “If you are going to have five guys watch me while you’re at the store, I may as well make them useful.”
Another round of laughter erupts while the guys start to gather their things. I polish off the slice of pizza, hungrier than I thought, but I still send all but one box with them back to Andrea’s house. He’s been training them like crazy since The Reaper was able to get through without even a scratch.
“I have some games we can play,” I whisper while she waves goodbye to the guys.
River rubs her big belly as she looks up at me. “That’s how I got pregnant, Mr. Kelly.”