In a Broken Dream (The Broken Series Book 4) (26 page)

Jase
glanced at his watch. He was wearing one of those bulky military grade watches
that could withstand sandstorms, hurricanes, and heavy artillery. “You’re
surrounded by government offices. You’ve got a coffee shop located in the front
of this building and restaurants on either side of you, all of which are
frequented by government workers. Rafael wants you out of here. Now.”

Shae
joined us in the hallway. “What about the rest of the employees?”

“I’ve
already spoken to Paul. He’s authorized everyone to work from home for the next
three days. Alyssa is notifying the other employees,” Jase replied.

“We’ll
have a much better understanding of the security threat by then,” Chance added
as we began walking toward the lobby. He was carrying Shae’s laptop.

Shae’s
hands were shaking, as were mine. “You can come over to my place,” I told Shae.
“Why don’t you pack an overnight bag and bring enough clothes to stay a few
nights? We’ll feel better if we’re together.” I glanced at Chance and Jase.
“You guys are welcome to stay too.” I fingered my cell phone. I was dying to
call Cenia and Kadyn to invite them to do the same. I felt this overwhelming
need to keep everyone I cared about physically close to me.

Shae
offered me a tremulous smile as we stepped out of the office. “Should I bring
my Scrabble board?”

I
nearly wept over the request that was so undeniably Shae. I wrapped my arm
around her as we walked by the coffee shop. “You should definitely bring your
Scrabble board.”

*
* * * *

The
doorbell chimed. Rafael smiled at me from across the kitchen. “I’ll get it.”

Jase
started opening the umpteen bottles of wine Rafael had deposited on the counter.

I
returned my attention to the stove. I was tossing fresh ground pepper and
Italian parsley into my clam linguine. Chance was standing next to me. Shae was
sitting on the counter next to him. Both were sampling the Penne Rustica he had
just pulled from the oven.

“That
tastes amazing,” Shae hummed appreciatively.

Chance
offered me a forkful. He’d been laboring over the pasta for over an hour.

I
took a bite and smiled. “You are an amazing cook, my friend.”

Cenia,
Roger, and Kadyn followed Rafael into the kitchen. “I thought I smelled clam
linguine,” Kadyn said. He set a twelve pack of Sprite inside the refrigerator
and placed the loaf of French bread on the counter next to me.

I
kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you for coming.”

“Here’s
the spaghetti,” Cenia announced. She set the pot on the stove.

The
doorbell rang again. Rafael turned right back around to answer it. Brady,
Ethan, and Ethan’s wife, Dakota, followed Rafael back into the kitchen.

“Oh
my God! You’re walking!” I exclaimed. I bolted across the kitchen and threw my
arms around Ethan and Brady. I gave Dakota a hug, carefully maneuvering around
the casserole dish she was carrying.

Dakota
offered a shy smile. “Can I put this in the oven? I’m afraid the dish may have
cooled during the drive over here.”

I
opened the oven door. “Sure. What did you decide to make?”

“Delilah’s
Seven Cheese Macaroni and Cheese,” she replied.

“Seven
cheeses?” Shae gasped. “I’m definitely eating that. Wait! Why are you putting
that in the oven?”

“You
better save room for desert,” Marie announced as Rafael led her and Phil into
the kitchen. “I made chocolate suicide cake.”

“And
I made vanilla ice cream,” Phil added. He was holding two cartons of Breyer’s vanilla
ice cream.

I
couldn’t believe that every single one of my friends had indulged me in my
request. Gabi and Mason were up in New York, Matt and Shawn were deployed, and
Troy and Sara were stationed in Spain, so they weren’t able to join us.

“Is
everyone sleeping over?” Rafael inquired. He was helping Jase pour the wine.

All
eleven of our friends said “yes.”

I
planted a kiss on Rafael’s cheek. “It’s a good thing we’ve got two houses. At
some point, we should just knock out all the walls that separate us and make
this one big house.”

“Where’s
everyone sleeping?” Shae asked excitedly.

Rafael
smiled. “Ethan and Dakota can sleep in my bed, Chance and Shae can sleep in the
guest room, and Brady can sleep on the couch over at my place. Cenia, Roger,
Phil, and Marie can have the guest rooms upstairs. Jase and Kadyn can sleep on
air mattresses, unless they’d prefer to sleep on Kristine’s couch,” Rafael suggested.
The large sectional couch would easily fit both men.

I
pulled a Sprite from the refrigerator and handed it to Kadyn when Jase handed
me a glass of wine.

“I’d
like to propose a toast,” Rafael announced. “I know it seems like an odd time
to throw a party, and this gathering was a bit unexpected, but we’ve got a
number of government employees among us, and every single one of us works in
DC. If nothing else, this Al Qaeda threat has reminded us how precious life
is.” He wrapped his arm around me. “Each of you is precious to us. Thank you
for being our friends.”

My
eyes teared as our friends tapped their wine glasses against ours. I had never
felt as blessed as I did in that moment.

*
* * * *

I
smoothed my hands down my black sheath dress and surveyed the food that I’d
gathered for Cenia’s bridal shower. One counter held bacon wrapped dates, crab
stuffed mushrooms, shrimp cocktail, and oysters on the half shell. The oysters were
perched on top of a large tray filled with ice and thick wedges of lemon. The
other counter held chocolate dipped strawberries, tiny dessert glasses filled
with chocolate mousse, and the miniature key lime, lemon merengue, and
dulce
de leche
pies I’d discovered at Silva’s French Patisserie in Vienna.

Rafael
encouraged me to hire a bartender so I wouldn’t have to hassle with the mixed
drinks. The bartender, Jean, was already setting up his work station over by
the sun room. I had a nice selection of wine and champagne on hand, but I
thought a lingerie shower should offer something a little more risqué. Jean recommended
a number of X-rated drinks to include Sex on the Beach, Between the Sheets,
Screaming Orgasm, and Blow Job Shooters.

Rafael,
Chance, and Jase were planning to hang out next door in case anyone needed a
ride home.

The
doorbell rang just as I set my iPod to shuffle through my jazz collection. I
lit the candles on my way to the door. “Oh good! You’re the first one here,” I informed
Cenia.

She
gave me a hug. “Kri, these are my friends, Shelby and Trena.”

I
smiled. “You’re the other bridesmaids! I’m so glad you could make it.” I hugged
them as they stepped inside. “When did you guys arrive?”

“I
flew in from Colorado this morning,” Shelby replied. “We picked Trena up from
the airport on our way over here.” Shelby had long brown hair and soft brown
eyes, framed by the prettiest eyelashes I’d ever seen. Trena had stunning green
eyes and curly blond hair that fell just below her shoulders.

Cenia
started giggling when Trena eyed my neck.

“I’ve
issued a moratorium on hickies,” I admitted sheepishly. I went to close the
door, but I caught a glimpse of Marie and Gabi walking up the sidewalk. I
looked at Cenia. “Are you ready for your first surprise?” I hadn’t told her
Gabi was coming.

Cenia
poked her head outside. “Gabi? Is that you?” We hadn’t seen her for over five
months, ever since she and Mason moved to New York.

“The
one and only,” Gabi replied. She kissed Cenia on the cheek.

“Would
you look at the size of that ring?” I gasped, staring at Gabi’s hand.

Gabi
kissed me on the cheek. “What? This little thing?” She batted her eyelashes at
me.

Cenia
grabbed her hand. “That’s got to be two carats at least!”

“With
everything that man put me through with the whole ‘not dating’ thing, I think
that was the least he could do,” Gabi replied with a wink.

Marie
gave me a hug while Cenia introduced everyone. I nudged the group toward the
kitchen and explained the drink options.

I
hustled back to answer the door when the doorbell rang again. “Hey, Shae. I’m
so happy you’re here!” Cenia and Shae had become fast friends after the
personal risk seminar. I was thrilled when Cenia decided to invite her. I waved
at Chance as he continued on to Rafael’s house.

Three
more women followed Shae up the stairs. “You must be Cenia’s friends from
work,” I surmised. “Come on in. She’s in the kitchen.”

Gabi
was lining up Blow Jobs all along the center island. The shots were part amaretto
and part Irish cream with large dollops of whip cream on top. “We’re supposed
to drink these with our hands behind our back,” Gabi claimed.

I
eyed the drinks. “How are we supposed to accomplish that?”

Gabi
spread the drinks out as all nine women gathered around the center island.
“Pick the glass up with your teeth and knock it back.”

I
started giggling. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

She
laughed. “Get over here.”

I
sidled up to the counter.

“To
passion, love, and romance!” Gabi cheered.

We
grabbed the shot glasses with our teeth and dumped the syrupy sweet liquid down
our throats. I was pretty proud of myself for not spilling the liquor down my
chin, but I had whip cream all over my nose. So did everyone else. We burst out
laughing. I insisted on taking a picture before anyone cleaned up.

“Why
don’t you guys load up your plates with appetizers, grab another drink, and
we’ll go sit in the family room,” I suggested. I waited for everyone to get situated
before I revealed the first activity I had planned. I glanced pointedly at
Cenia. “I want to make sure you and Roger know each other well enough to get married,
so I developed a little survey. I have Roger’s answers. Now I need yours.”

Cenia’s
eyebrows arched questioningly. “Why am I just now hearing about this?”

“I
told him it was top secret,” I admitted. I was thrilled Roger had kept the
secret for me. “For every question you get wrong, you have to drink a shot.” I
nodded at Jean.

He
carried a little tray full of shot glasses over to the coffee table and placed
them in front of Cenia. “Enjoy.”

Cenia
picked up one of the glasses and sniffed the liquor. “What kind of drink is this?”

I
smiled. “Those are Screaming Orgasms. They’re made with vodka, amaretto, coffee
liquor, and Irish cream.”

A
number of our friends whooped and whistled their approval.

Cenia
narrowed her eyes at me. “What happens if I get the answer right?”

My
smiled widened. “You get to assign the drink to someone else.”

Cenia
grinned. “I’m in.”

I
pulled my notes out from under the pile of magazines where I’d stashed them. “Okay.
First question. How many children does Roger want?”

“Two,”
Cenia replied confidently.

“Wrong.
He wants four.”

The
smug look fell from her face. “Four?”

“Drink!
Drink! Drink!” our friends cheered.

Cenia
downed her second shot. I was counting the Blow Job Gabi had given her.

I
poured a glass of water and set it in front of her. “You might want to drink this.
Ready for the second question?”

She
nodded a little less confidently.

“Who
is going to manage the finances?” I asked.

“We
both are?” she replied questioningly.

“Yes,”
I confirmed. “Roger would like to share that responsibility.”

“I’m
assigning you my drink,” she announced.

I
shook my head. I had suspected as much.

“Drink,
Kri!” the women shouted. Jean laughed.

I
knocked back my second shot. “Question three. What’s Roger’s favorite
position?”

“What?”
Cenia gasped. “Position… like
sexual
position?”

I
nodded.

Cenia
huffed out a breath. “He prefers to be on the bottom. He says he likes it when
I do all the work.”

I
shook my head. “He likes to be behind you.”

Her
face blanched.

“Drink
up!” I cheered along with the other ladies.

Cenia
drank her third shot. “How many questions are there?” she inquired worriedly.

“I
have four more questions,” I replied. “Question four. Which position does Roger
think is
your
favorite position?”

Cenia’s
face turned a pretty shade of pink. “I like to be on the bottom.”

I
laughed. “That’s what he said.”

“I’m
assigning this drink to Trena,” Cenia stated.

We
cheered Trena on as she drank her second shot.

“Fifth
question,” I announced. “What does Roger prefer you wear to bed?”