Scorched(3)

Batting the roses out of the way, Molly ignored her husband and instead concentrated on the prospective groom. Arching one eyebrow while her pen was held poised over her wedding planner guide, she stared at Armando while she awaited his decision. “The Anderson fits our budget, too, Mannie,” she added hopefully.



“Perfecto!” Armando declared enthusiastically. “The premium champagne for us and swill for the less fortunate! As Marie Antionette would say, ‘Let them eat cake’,” he added with a playful wink.



Devil watched impatiently as Molly choked back laughter while she nodded and made another note in her bible. Dropping the wine he held to the mahogany end table next to the sofa with a loud thunk, he wondered if he was invisible. Clearing his throat, he tried again, saying the one thing guaranteed to capture his wife’s attention. “I would have been here earlier, but I wanted to stop by and check on the baby before I came home.”



Molly froze, lifting her eyes to meet Devil’s. “And? Is she okay? Did they remember to thicken her formula with cereal for her last bottle? Did you remind them that she won’t sleep as well if she doesn’t eat at least three quarters of the bottle?” she asked in quick succession, her hand already reaching for her cell phone in the center of the coffee table. “Never mind, I’ll just call Momma and…”



“Molly, drop the phone and come down off the ceiling,” Devil ordered gently, bending to grab her iPhone from her hand before she could dial. “Seriously, babe, our girl is just fine. I don’t know if you remember, but your mom and dad already raised a couple of kids rather successfully,” he teased.



“Very cute, Devil. Now, gimmee back my phone and let me check on our daughter,” she whined, lifting her chin to blink up at him as she held out her hand.



He sighed as he caught and held her gorgeous green-eyed gaze. Damn, he was done for. He was pretty certain that even after two years of marriage that just the mere sight of this beautiful woman would make him literally weak in the knees. And when she looked at him with those big Bambi eyes of hers, he was completely helpless. If she asked for the moon, he’d find a way to rope the fucker and bring it down to her.



It had been like that forever. From the moment she had walked into his office, her newly-minted but almost entirely useless art history degree in her excited little hands, he had known that his life would never be the same again. Sure, they had almost grown up together; her brother was his best and oldest friend, after all. But grown-up Molly trumped pig-tailed Molly in spades. Being the savvy businessman that he was, he had known how to get what he wanted...and hiring her as his assistant was a pure stroke of genius on his part. Using his grandmother’s supposed heart disease to con her into posing as his fiancé had been the exact springboard their relationship had needed. A whirlwind engagement that almost collapsed due to a past indiscretion with a malicious ex-girlfriend had indeed led to their fairytale wedding...finally. Not only had Molly converted him from a love-'em-and-leave-'em kind of bachelor to a faithfully devoted married man, but she had also given him their incredibly loud, albeit beautiful, daughter, who was thankfully sound asleep in her grandparents’ house.



“Devil!” Molly growled, shaking her open palm at him irritably.



Rolling his eyes, Devil dropped the flat phone in her hand. “Fine, but I just talked to your mother fifteen minutes ago and she assured me that our daughter had eaten her fill and drifted off about an hour ago. If you wake that sleeping baby with your phone call, you will endure your mother’s wrath without my help. I already got yelled at once this evening for almost disturbing our daughter’s sleep.”



Molly’s lips twitched from side to side as she deliberated his warning. “Fine,” she finally mumbled under her breath. “I’ll just text Momma later and check in with her.”



“Wonderful, mi amigas. Does this mean we can chit chat about my honeymoon plans?” Mannie asked excitedly, his dark eyes dancing with merriment. “I’m thinking white sandy beaches and teeny tiny speedos for my little Nico! I can’t wait to cha-cha-cha, with my hot hunk of love on a nice, deserted cove with the warm water lapping at our legs as we….”



“Arghhh,” Devil groaned with a shudder, the mere thought of a mostly naked Nick Santino enough to almost turn him off all thoughts of sex.



Almost.



“Savage, I will hurt you if you continue that sentence,” Devil growled, pointing a threatening finger at Armando. “Or have you forgotten our conversation about boundaries?” Truthfully, he didn’t know if he was more irritated by the reference to Armando’s sex life or the reminder that his present sex life was non-existent.