"What did you expect?” I hear a voice say from the front door. “That we are going to let just anyone drive in?”
I look him up and down, but he needs no introduction. I mean, he doesn’t to me because I’ve already checked him out a while ago. Casey Barnes. Owner of CBS Corporation. The biggest security firm in the world. He has major contracts with the US government and some that no one knows about.
Well, except for me, that is.
“Relax,” my uncle Matthew soothes, coming into the room. “Stefano.” He comes over to me and gives me a hug. “I see you’ve already riled his feathers.” He laughs. “Casey.” He looks over at the man. “Meet the biggest pain in your ass you will ever meet.” He squeezes my shoulder. I look over at Casey and just nod at him.
“Nice to meet you,” I say, and I can see him sizing me up. When Matty started dating Sofia again, we found out who her family was. I got a call from my uncle, and when I heard the name, even my balls shriveled up. You didn’t do my job and not know who Casey Barnes was.
He walks over to me and holds out his hand. “Finally get to see the man who cracked my firewall,” he jokes, and all I can do is laugh.
“If it makes you feel better,” I reply, shaking his hand, “it took me a whole day.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better at all,” he returns, letting go of my hand. “What would have made me feel better is knowing someone was cracking my firewall.”
“What is going on right now?” Matty asks, looking at me and then at Casey.
“Shop talk,” Casey shares, putting his hands in his pockets and smirking when he knows it bothers Matthew not being in control.
“Where is Dad?” I turn around, looking for him.
“He was with Quinn, Sofia’s uncle,” Matty says. “They are discussing bringing some of the dogs to his rehabilitation center.” My father used to play professional hockey but always had a side business of dog walkers. You would think it was a funny business but he not only opened them in big cities, but smaller ones, too; he was one of the first to start doggy daycares also. Now he has over two hundred and fifty stores all around the country. They cater to dog walking, dog daycares, dog
sitting, and newly, dog training.
“Nice,” I say, looking around. “I should go and get changed.”
I grab my bag and walk up to Matty. “Do you need me to do anything?”
“I’m good,” he replies and his eyes beam with happiness. “I’ll show you where to change.”
He leads me up the stairs to one of the bedrooms where there are three suits hanging. “You can change in here. One of those is yours.” He points at the three suits hanging and I see one of them has SD on it, so it must be mine.
I dump my bag on the bed. “I can’t believe you are getting married,” I state, unbuttoning my jeans and kicking them off.
“I can’t fucking wait.” His face goes into a smile right away. “I would have married her as soon as we got back together.” I nod at him.
“Shit,” he swears, his face going white. “I forgot the gift.” He rushes over to his bag on the chair in the corner. He grabs the light-blue box out of his bag with a white ribbon. “I had one job.”
“I think you had more than one job,” I tease, grabbing my tan linen pants and slipping them on.
“It’s no time to stress. I’m going to get dressed and I’ll go over and give it to her.”
He runs his hands through his hair. “Thank you. I would take it over myself, but I think my mother will shoot me in the foot.”
“I did hear shots when I got here,” I tell him, taking off my white T-shirt and grabbing the white linen shirt. “Vest or no vest?”
“Vest for the ceremony and no vest for the reception. I’m sorry I can’t have all of you standing up with me at the altar.” I shake my head and laugh.
“Can you imagine how many bridesmaids she would need?” I shake my head. There are a couple of things I love more than anything in this world, and my family is number one on that list. We may each have our own lives and everyone is scattered around the world, but once a year we all get together. It’s chaotic and we used to always bitch about it, but now it’s the one time of year I look forward to. Well, that and Christmas but that usually lasts a day or two. The vacation is always two weeks.
Matty walks over to me and hands me the box. “I can’t wait for her to be my wife.”