Mrs R (Mrs R & Mr V #1) (58 page)

After a few long moments, Joe gathered himself enough to take
his turn. He reached into the pocket of his sweat pants and brought out a small
black box. Rachel’s breath caught in her throat as soon as she saw it and a
deep flush heated her cheeks.

“Rachel Renton; I want you to marry me.” He opened the box to
show Rachel the ring he had bought her. It was an exquisite solitaire diamond
in a traditional Tiffany setting and she had never seen anything more
beautiful. Rachel didn’t even have to think about it – there was nothing
she wanted more than to be with Joe for the rest of her life.

“Yes Joe, absofuckinglutely!” Joe gasped then picked her up
twirling her around. “Joe! Put me down!” Rachel laughed.

“You are just perfect Mrs Mason to be; fucking perfect.” He
took the ring out of its box and placed on her finger.

“Does that feel weird?” Joe looked worried and Rachel’s heart
squeezed.

“Do you mean because I used to wear Nate’s ring there? Not at
all. Not one bit. This ring is the most stunning thing I’ve ever seen –
there are only 3 things in this world more precious to me; The twins and you,
Joe. What we have is so different than what I shared with Nate. I loved him but
I never knew it could be like this. I was never a great believer in fate, but
honestly, I one hundred per cent believe we were meant to be together, and
everything up until now was just the journey to get to this point. You are my
life Joe, my here and now and forever.”

Joe raked a hand through his hair brushing his fringe away from
his face. He looked bewildered. “Ok – that was deep!”

“Indeed, but I needed to get it out and I don’t want to have to
keep reassuring you. What’s that famous saying; today is the first day of the
rest of my life. I can’t wait to be married to you.”

“Likewise.” Joe breathed a sigh of relief and couldn’t help the
massive grin that spread across his face.

Rachel poked him in the chest. “One thing though - I liked the
understated proposal. A bit shocking considering it’s your first time and all.”

“Really? I couldn’t think of a more perfect moment; you here in
our kitchen in your pyjamas reeking of sex; looking freshly fucked and all
mine. When I think back to this moment; look what I will be remembering!”

“How romantic! Joe – you are
so
special!” Rachel laughed.

She stuck out her hand and they both admired the rock on her
finger. “Let’s not talk weddings today; we have two whole free weeks ahead and
believe me you’ll be sick of hearing about it. Oh, wait – I don’t suppose
you’d consider a Vegas wedding – I’d love to be married by Elvis!”

Judging by the look of disgust on Joe’s face, Rachel took that
as a no and thought it best to revert to her original suggestion of no wedding
talk today. She then proceeded to put him to work laying the table. It took a
little longer than anticipated due to him needing a lot of direction clearly
never having entertained before. For someone that ate in all the best
restaurants he clearly hadn’t paid any attention to how the table was set out
or why more than one set of cutlery was required. After a while she suspected
it was all just a ploy as every time she reached over the table to rearrange
his pathetic attempts at place settings, he grabbed her and ground his hips
into her arse. Eventually she banished him upstairs to get himself ready.

**********

CHAPTER 25

In the end it was a perfect day. The twins arrived laden down
with gifts for everyone and fussed over Joe who they clearly adored. The
feeling was mutual and they nearly passed out when he gave them their Christmas
gifts. He had gone crazy and bought them a new car each. Rachel told him off
for being so extravagant but he shrugged his shoulders muttering about being
able to afford it so why not. The girls jumped on him pinning him to the couch
under a barrage of hugs and kisses. It made Rachel’s heart soar to hear the
laughter and witness the mutual affection. Joe accepted their attention
willingly; he never wanted to replace Nate in their hearts, but he certainly
expected them to treat him as a father figure, if only because it meant he
could continue to utterly spoil them. For all his faults, Joe had always been
an excellent father and he’d made it known that he would be as much of a parent
as they needed. He intended to support and protect them as if they were his own
and he hoped that in time, Jess and Lucy would come treat him as their second
father.
 

Next came their mother - the twins had bought Rachel a new pair
of trendy Ray Bans and loads of girlie smelly stuff. They had also made her a
new playlist for her iPod which she plugged in to the surround sound system
straight away and started to try and sing along. The twins cracked up –
Rachel was rubbish at singing and had no idea what the words were but still
seemed to think she was so cool.

For Joe they had settled on a beautiful grey silk tie that made
Rachel sputter and laugh although Joe clearly had no idea why. The three women
tried to convince him it was to match his eyes but when Jess called him
Christian he suspected it was some kind of in-joke. “Ladies, is there something
I should know?” He crinkled his brow at them. Lucy chuckled, “It’s all about
the ‘Grey’ Joe, no worries.” Joe shook his head and shrugged his shoulders;
there was no point in trying to understand the three of them when they were
together.

Five minutes later, Karen and Rory arrived with their brood and
Leo, filling the house with lots of gossip and laughter. The alcohol flowed and
luckily everyone including Joe was feeling a lot mellower by the time Luc
arrived. Any awkward moments were avoided as George and Leo literally threw
themselves on him and proceeded to claim him until lunch time. Rachel was
highly amused wondering how long it would be before Luc’s tolerance levels came
to an abrupt and messy halt. She’d already seen him swat George every time he
got too touchy feely and Leo had somehow landed on his arse on her lounge floor
more than once. Jess and Lucy finally rescued Luc by planting themselves either
side of him effectively blocking the George and Leo road show from getting too
close.

Joe was enjoying being part of such a normal gathering of
friends and family. Everyone was relaxed with no airs and graces; well not
counting George who had plenty, but he was a funny guy, not least due to the
fact that he had successfully wound Luc up to the point where the boy looked
like he was going to explode. Joe had no sympathy. He liked Karen a lot –
she was crazy enough to be interesting and didn’t seem to be intimidated by him
at all. Rory, on the other hand was much more reserved. They had met a few
times previously and Rory was polite but Joe guessed it was hard for him as he
had been Nate’s best friend. He would give it time and he was sure Rory would
accept him eventually, after all It was important to Rachel that her friends
like him and he intended to make every effort to try and fit in. It wasn’t easy
for him as he’d never really had a crowd of friends before; most people just
wanted to ride on his coattails for their own advancement, but Rachel’s bunch
of mates were entirely genuine and wanted nothing from him other than to make
sure he treated her right. In turn, Joe couldn’t wait for Rachel to meet his
closest friend Ryan. Hopefully, they would be able to spend some time with him
over the next couple of weeks whilst back in New York; Joe missed Ryan who’d
been his best friend since primary school. Ryan was one of the few people in
Joe’s life who he trusted implicitly and whom he was totally comfortable with.
He was certain he was going to love Rachel – it was really important to
Joe that they get to know one another and he was hoping they would become
friends.

Jess and Lucy were a revelation; he absolutely adored them.
Part of it was that they had a bit of Rachel in them but mostly because they
were such good company and so amusing to be around. He loved to watch them
interacting with Rachel – it was a good dynamic. He was anxious for them
to meet Ethan and Olivia and he dared to imagine future Christmas times all
together under one roof.

The only blot on the landscape of an otherwise perfect day was
the ever present elephant in the room when Luc was around. Joe tried to ignore
him as best he could but inevitably there were times when interaction was
unavoidable; for Rachel’s sake he kept his temper under control. He got the
distinct feeling though that Luc was subtly trying to get a rise out of him and
it was at times challenging not to push his fist through the boy’s pretty face.
Luc had bought both Rachel and Joe gift cards; Rachel’s was for Selfridges, and
Joe’s was for somewhere called Primark. Joe hadn’t ever heard of Primark but
judging by the shrieks of hysterical laughter coming from the twins, he guessed
it wasn’t somewhere he’d be visiting anytime soon. Rachel’s mouth twitched but
she had the good grace not to join in with her daughters. Gathering Luc up in
her arms she kissed him on the cheek and thanked him. Joe, however, clapped him
on the back playfully. Luc felt like he’d been hit by a truck but managed to
keep smiling all be it through gritted teeth.

Rachel was about to announce that dinner was ready when Karen
interrupted with an ear-piercing shriek. “Oh my god! Let me see that; oh my
god, Rachel.” She grabbed Rachel’s hand fawning over the large diamond ring and
then promptly burst into tears as she hugged the life out of her friend. Joe
moved over to Rachel and placed an arm around her waist. From the corner of his
eye he could see Luc perched on the arm of the sofa his leg jigging up and down
fiercely. Clearing his throat and plastering the biggest shit eating grin on
his face, Joe asked for silence in the room.

“This morning I asked Rachel to marry me and she said yes. We
love each other; we’re good together and we don’t want to be apart. So that’s
it. Well – that’s not it but no one wants to hear the other stuff!”
Rachel gasped and smacked Joe on the arm. He looked at her and then in front of
her family and friends kissed her like she was the air he needed to breathe. As
they broke apart, their audience fell upon them wishing them congratulations
and complimenting the ring.

Rachel called a halt to all the good tidings before she was
totally overwhelmed. “Enough, enough. There will be plenty of time to discuss
the details, but let’s eat now.”

Joe ushered everyone into the dining room and Rachel escaped to
the kitchen to check on the turkey. Luc was leaning up against the fridge; his
long legs were crossed at the ankles and his white t-shirt had ridden up
slightly so that there was a slice of golden skin showing between the hem and
the waistband of his low slung jeans. Rachel couldn’t deny herself the pleasure
of a quick peak. His arms were crossed over his chest and his fringe brushed
over his forehead. His blue eyes shined brightly and she lost herself for a
moment in the pure exquisiteness of his beauty.

“Getting married huh?” he asked in his familiar husky tones.

“Yes.”

“It’s what you want?”

“More than anything in the world, baby boy.”

Luc sniffed. “Then I’m happy for you Rach. But Joe Mason
– are you sure?”

Rachel chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure.” She looked at Luc whose
expression had settled into one of acceptance. “Come and give me a hug Luc.”
She held her arms out to him and he willingly folded him self into her embrace.
They stood there for a few moments until Rachel felt Luc’s body tense. She
whispered in his ear, “Joe’s here isn’t he?”

“Uh huh.” Luc nodded. He raised his eyes to Joe and smiled.
Rachel groaned in anticipation of a shit storm. In three long strides Joe had
crossed the kitchen floor and yanked Luc out of her arms by the scruff of his
t-shirt.

“Joe!” she cried, “Stop it!”

“Luc Vincent – are you crazy boy, because I kinda get the
feeling you
want
me to beat the shit
out of you.”

“No, honestly Joe, it’s all cool mate.” Luc held his hands up.

“Oh so you still think we can be mates?” Joe growled out the
words as Rachel rolled her eyes.

Luc placed his hands on Joe’s massive shoulders; the muscle
tone under his palms was frightening there was so
much power there, but Luc mentally gathered
himself and looked Joe in the eye “Joe, calm down. You need to know that all I
want is for Rachel to be happy. If she thinks you’re it for her then so be it.”

Rachel held her breath. It was a snapshot moment in her life
and she wanted to commit every detail to memory. The sight of her beautiful boy
bravely standing up to the mountain of the man she was going to marry literally
stole her breath. It was a vision she knew she would be conjuring up frequently
and she mentally high fived God for this golden moment. The tension in both men
was palpable. Luc’s long body was so graceful compared with the brute force of
Joe in all his rigidity. Clearly, not comfortable with another man’s hands on
him, he swiped Luc’s arms away.