Dragged to the Wedding(29)
“Mom, just relax. Daniella and I haven’t been dating that long. There aren’t wedding bells ringing in the foreseeable future.” He leaned over the bed. “Daniella has been hurt before, and it’s going to take some time before either of us is ready to make a commitment. Holly is getting married, and you’re going to need to be happy with that for now.” The words back off nearly bubbled out of his mouth. “I know you want us all to be happy, but you’re not the arbiter of what that is.” He held her gaze. Mom had this thing she did when she got really determined, and James leaned closer over the bed, meeting the gaze of steel.
“You need to find someone to make you happy and...”
He didn’t look away. “I may never get married.” Another one of those damned commandments bit the dust. “I certainly am not going to walk down the aisle just to make you happy.” God, it felt good to stand up to her like this. “Or date someone of your choosing.”
She smacked the towel down on the bed. “What do you expect me to do, sit back and wait? You’re twenty-eight years old. It’s time you settled down.”
“And I will when I’m ready. You don’t get to make these decisions. I’m sorry if it upsets you, but that’s the truth.” He strode out of the room, returning to his old bedroom, feeling buoyed in a way he hadn’t in a long time. James had stood up to his mother. He had no illusions that his little conversation was going to do much to change her behavior. His mother thought that she had a right to interfere in her children’s lives when they didn’t do what she thought they should. It was that simple. Her expectations overruled everything else—they always had.
Holly opened the bedroom door. “I’m all done.” She smiled. “Daniella has actually managed to fix the monstrosity that Mom’s interference created.” She narrowed her gaze as Mom came back down the hall, and for the first time James could remember, Mom pursed her lips and said nothing as she passed...well, almost nothing.
“What is it, pick on your mother day?” she finally snapped on her way to the kitchen.
Holly sighed and shook her head before checking the time on her phone. “I have to get ready for tonight.” Holly stuck her head back into the bedroom. “I heard a rumor that Jane has arranged for a stripper. She promised me that he was really hunky.”
“I see. And you’re okay if Howard has one tonight as well?” James couldn’t help revving her up.
She narrowed her eyes. “He’d better fucking not.”
“Isn’t that a double standard?” James was having fun with this. He wasn’t interested in any stripper that Weston came up with. Lord knew the kind of taste that man had must be awful. What bothered James more was the fact that if there was a stripper, he was going to have to figure out a way to seem interested, and yet not too interested because he had a girlfriend. Some of the guys would get overly enthusiastic. He’d seen it before.
“You’re damn right, and I made sure that Howard knows it. I can’t control what Weston does, but I made it perfectly clear that Howard was to keep his hands and any other part of him to himself or there would be hell to pay.” She was most definitely her mother’s daughter.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on him.” He did his best brother voice. After all, if Howard did anything to hurt his sister, he was going to have to answer to James. “Maybe I’ll take my handcuffs to the party just in case.”
“Ooooh, kinky,” Daniel said from inside. “I like the way you think.” The motor of the sewing machine hummed, and James just smiled as Holly shook her head, leaving without saying another word. “She seemed happy with the dress so far,” Daniel said as James closed the door. Daniel’s gaze lifted when James stayed by the door. “What are you smiling about?”
“I told my mom to back off. I doubt it will do anything, but I did it nonetheless.”
Daniel got up from the sewing machine and came right over to him. “That’s awesome. I know that was hard for you.”
“It was liberating in a way. Now I want to go out and run a marathon or something.” He was all keyed up.
“You could do that. In fact, I have someone for you to look into.” Daniel lowered his voice, coming even closer. “Apparently Reverend Nutcase is pushing for more financial control of the church. That’s what Holly told me.”
“Huh...” James commented. He really wasn’t interested in getting involved in what was certain to be a complete mess.
“Is that all you have to say?” Daniel asked with an accompanying shiver. “The guy was creepy as hell. And now he wants control of all the church money. That should set off a bunch of alarm bells.”
“It does. But I don’t have any authority here.” James really didn’t want to get involved. “We’re here for just a few days and then we go back to Chicago. I’ll look into the guy,” he agreed. “But there’s only so much I can do, and remember, creepy isn’t a crime.” James had to agree that he hadn’t thought much of the reverend either, but the guy probably just had a big ego and liked being the center of attention. “My mother can’t find out about this or she’ll be mad as a wet hen. You know that.”
Daniel hugged him. “Like I’m going to tell her.” He squeezed him tighter and then Daniel returned to the sewing machine. “I need to get as much of this done as I can before we have to go to the party.” The motor whirred and fabric slipped under the sewing needle. “Believe it or not, I’ve never been to a bachelorette party.”