Solid Muscle (Unseen Enemy Book 5) (16 page)

Chapter Twenty-one

Selena ducked in to the ladies’ room, yet again. She was nervous to the point of paranoia: she was sure that the prosthesis were slipping, though every time she glanced down at herself, they appeared to be fine.

She checked under the stall doors for other wedding guests, making sure that she was completely alone. She hesitated, then locked the bathroom door from the inside. No way she wanted anyone catching her checking things under her dress. No way she was ready to tell anyone that she worked with what she’d decided to do. Not yet; maybe not ever.

Selena undid the zipper at the side of her flirty little dress that showed off her long, lean legs. She slid the straps off her toned shoulders, pulled the dress down to her waist. Now she was just in her bra from the waist up, and she bit her lip as she regarded the surprisingly – almost mockingly – sexy white lace bra. Yeah, everything looked fine.

She met her own eyes in the mirror, took a deep breath. Slowly, reluctantly, she slipped one hand in to the bra cup, winced as she made contact with the silicone gel encased in the plastic form. She adjusted it slightly, moved to the other cup, adjusted the second breast form.

There. Nobody can tell a thing. At least not while I have my clothes on.

She took a few seconds to stare at her seemingly-perfect body. For years, Selena had both heard about and watched the women in her family dying of that fucking disease. Her grandmother, her mother, her sister, her favorite aunt: they’d all died of breast cancer. It was a never-ending streak of bad luck, a cause of lament and bottomless pain. A family curse.

Selena was the granddaughter of a fruit picker in Mexico, the daughter of a sweatshop worker in L.A., the sister of a cleaning woman, the niece of a housewife. When she was growing up, the Perez clan had never had health insurance… so the family didn’t know that a genetic anomaly called the BRCA1 gene was slowly but surely killing off its women on her mother’s side before the age of forty.

It wasn’t until Selena enlisted in the military and got full medical checkups every three months that the gene was discovered in her body. She still recalled the doctor delivering the news: he’d told her that she’d probably have to make the choice to remove both breasts before the cancer could begin. It was the kind of cancer that – once it took hold – would be very hard to stop.

“The double mastectomy is preventative,” the doctor had told her gently, as she’d sat there in shock. “You’re young and healthy in every single way… except for the BRCA1. It’s just lying there dormant right now, Perez, waiting to bloom. If it does? You’ll be in for one hell of a fight and to be honest, it’s not a fight that many women with this gene win. It’s aggressive and brutal – even with early detection.”

“How long?” she’d asked numbly. “How long before I have to decide?”

The doctor had shrugged. “Impossible to say, but the research seems to indicate that the cancer actually comes to life in the mid- to late-childbearing years.”

“I’m twenty-five.”

“Yes.” His face had been serious and sympathetic. “You need to think this through. You need to think hard. In the meantime, you need to stay as healthy as possible. Your physical fitness is extraordinary, so keep that up. Watch your diet religiously. Lots of fresh produce, cut back on animal products.”

“Should I become a vegetarian?”

“No, there’s been no indication that that prevents the onset of the cancer… it’s far better to focus on physical fitness. A strong, fit body.”

She’d nodded, thinking about the women in her family who’d died because nobody had known about the ticking time bombs hidden inside them. But Selena knew about hers and she was damned if she was going to let it take her down. She wasn’t letting this fucking disease detonate inside her. She’d take control.

And now, almost six years after her diagnosis and after a hundred follow-up checkups, she had. She had killed the gene, cut it right out of her body… and by doing so, she’d entered the world of silicone breast forms and special mastectomy bras to fit them.

I’m alive. I’m healthy. I’m ugly as hell… but I’m still here.

Chapter Twenty-two

At the wedding, Sully danced with his two women: Cordelia and Iris. The baby cooed between them, her tiny fist holding on to Sully’s stupidly-expensive tie. He didn’t even care that the small fingers were covered in drool.

Cordelia glanced down. “She loves dancing, huh?”

Sully held the baby closer to his chest. “She loves being held.”

“Who doesn’t?”

They shared a smile and then he leaned down to kiss Cordelia. It was just a quick peck on the lips, light and easy, but she felt it all the way to her toes.

“How’s your leg?” he asked. “You need to sit down yet?”

“Yeah, in a few minutes. I’m OK.”

He looked over at the table, spotted Sean shoveling more food in to his mouth. “Wow. That kid can
eat
, huh?”

“He’s a growing boy.” Cordelia poked his chest. “Don’t
you
remember those early years of your life? I bet you ate your parents out of house and home.”

“I did,” Sully admitted. “I think Dad may have taken a second mortgage on the house to keep the fridge stocked.”

“Well, there you go.”

“So can we talk about you and Sean moving in with us?” Sully said in his usual abrupt way.

“Sure we can,” she said breezily. “Tomorrow over coffee, alright?”

He gazed down at her, almost holding his breath. “We – we can?”

Her kiss was soft, a bit teasing. “Yes, tough guy. We can. But we need to do some
serious
negotiating about the middle-of-the-night feedings and diaper changes for
this
one.” She ran her fingers over Iris’ delicate head and the baby gave her a gummy smile. “They’re brutal, as I recall.”

“They are,” he agreed. “I’ve only had her for three days and two nights, but I can already tell that sleeping through the night is a thing of the past.”

“For now.”

“Yeah. For now.”

The song ended and he put his arm around Cordelia’s shoulders and led her back to the table. He helped her sit down and then he grabbed the diaper bag.

“I’m going to change her.”

“Oh, you want me to do it?” Cordelia asked, getting to her feet.

“Nah.” He waved her back down, dropped a kiss on Iris’ head. “I got this. Sit and have something to eat.”

“The chicken’s awesome,” Sean said, his mouth bulging. “So are the brownies.”

“You’re eating chicken and brownies at the same time?” his mother asked him, amused.

He shrugged. “Why not?”

She laughed. “Why not, indeed.”

She watched Hunter walk through the crowd of people and she felt a smile break out across her face. He was just so
in love
with Iris and he didn’t care who saw it. As he passed Dallas and Olivia, he paused and Liv held the baby’s hand and talked to her for a minute. The baby seemed to be listening, her head cocked to the side and her dark eyes fixed on Liv’s beautiful face.

Iris wasn’t Hunter’s yet, of course; not officially. There was a mountain of paperwork to climb over, endless streams of red tape and bureaucracy to wade through, numerous home visits and lots of internal meetings with the foster care people and government social workers. But he had her for now and so far, everyone involved agreed heartily that if he and Cordelia moved in together, they’d make an ideal family for Iris.

That part was up to them, of course, and Hunter had already told her that if she wasn’t ready to move in right away, he’d wait. He’d foster Iris, apply for adoption, wait patiently to be accepted as a single father. But Cordelia saw no need for that: she
wanted
to live with Hunter,
wanted
Sean to know what it was like to have a good, strong man around full-time,
wanted
to watch Iris grow up safe and happy.

No, Iris wasn’t officially Hunter’s, but she was his in all the ways that truly mattered. And by extension, she was Cordelia’s too. All the things that she wanted – for herself, for her son – were all wrapped up in Hunter and Iris and she thought that was just fine. It was
better
than fine, actually. It was perfect.

“Mom?”

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“Are you happy?”

Startled, she stared over at her son. “Happy?”

“Yeah.” He was gazing right on back at her, suddenly looking so much older and wiser than his ten years. “Are you?”

“Yeah, sweetie, I am.” She felt troubled and puzzled at his question. “Why are you asking?”

“Because.” He shrugged. “Because I want you to be happy.”

“I am.”

“You haven’t been, though. Not for a long time.”

Startled again, she asked, “What do you mean?”

“You haven’t been happy, Mom. I’ve seen it on your face.”

She laughed now, surprised at having her ability to read faces turned back on her so decisively. “You can see that, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“OK, Sean. No lies between us: I haven’t been happy for a while. That’s true.”

He nodded.

“I’ve been worried about you and stressed at work… and Granny’s great, but in the end, lots of stuff falls on me alone.”

“I know.”

“But now I feel better at work, way more confident. You’re doing better and I think the surgery the doctors are talking about will slow the tumor’s growth even more. And Hunter…” She blushed. “Well, you know him. He’s a good man and he’s good to me. I also think he’ll be an amazing father.”

“To Iris?”

“And to you,” Cordelia said softly. “He’s not your father, I know that… but he can be a good male role model in your life.”

Sean looked away, aiming for casual. “He can be like a father to me. If he wants.”

“He – he can?”

“Yeah.” Sean bit his lip, hesitant and unsure, and she waited to hear what was on his mind. “I mean, he’s a nice guy and I know he cares about you.”

“Yes.”

“So that’s good enough for me.” He grinned at her now. “He makes you happy, so I like him for that, but I also just
like
him. He’s cool.”

“He is, isn’t he?”

“Totally.” He paused. “So when are we moving in with him?”

“We’re talking about that tomorrow morning over coffee. Do you want to be there?”

“At the talk?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah. I mean, yeah. Can I?”

“I don’t see why not. It involves you, doesn’t it?”

“But maybe Hunter will want to talk to you all alone.”

“I don’t think so, Sean. He cares what you think and feel about all of this, you know. You’re my son and when we all move in together, we’re going to be a family. You get a say, sweetie.”

“I do?”

“Of course you do.”

“OK, then. I want to be there. I mean, I want us all to live together and I want it right away. Can I just come and say that?”

“Of course you can.”

“So I will.”

“Perfect. Now.” She stood up. “How about we have a dance?”

His face lit up. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Come on, kiddo.”

They walked out on to the dance floor and Sean gallantly took his mother in his arms. “This is weird,” he said. “My first dance. And it’s with my Mom.”

“Could be worse.”

“Yeah?”

“Sure. It could be with Granny.”

Sean laughed and they danced for a few minutes, chatting a bit as they did. Then suddenly, Hunter was standing in front of them, Iris in his arms, his eyes twinkling.

“Hey, Sean… you mind if I cut in?”

“Only if I get to dance with Iris.”

“Deal, man,” Sully said and handed her over carefully. “Show her what you got.”

For just a few seconds, Hunter and Cordelia stood and watched Sean dancing with Iris. The baby had one hand on Sean’s cheek, the other was clutching his dress shirt tightly. Sean swayed to the music, singing along and making faces at Iris, and she watched him, fascinated and delighted.

“So.” Sully turned to Cordelia. “Shall we?”

“We shall.”

Sully paused. “I mean more than just this dance. You know that, right?”

“Oh, hell, yeah, babe. I know what you mean.”

“You do?”

“Sure I do. It's all over your face." She smiled at him, so gorgeous and warm. "You mean ‘shall we’ to everything. ‘Shall we’ to living together and marriage and raising our kids and growing old together. And I just agreed.”

He actually felt a lump in his throat as he gazed down at her. “You did?”

“Yes.” She got up on her tiptoes now, wrapped her arms around his neck. She tugged him down to her and they kissed; a sweet, fiery kiss. She pulled back, just an inch, and whispered against his lips: “I did.”

“So if I got this ring out of my jacket pocket and got down on one knee and asked, you’d say yes?”

“Only one way to find out, Hunter.”

“Shall we?" He sank to the floor, the box already in his hand. "Find out?”

“Yes.” Cordelia smiled down at him through her tears. “We shall.”

**

Dear Reader,

I very much hope that you enjoyed Cordelia and Hunter’s story, and catching up with all the ‘Unseen Enemy’ characters.

‘Solid Steel’ (Unseen Enemy #6), Selena and Luke’s story, will be published in June 2015. (And if you don’t know who Luke is, go check out the ‘Dangerous Curves’ series… you’ll meet him there!). If you want to know when it is available for purchase, please check on one of my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, and my blog). I will be announcing its release in all of these places, and posting some teaser excerpts.
Thank you for reading!

Marysol

About the author

Marysol James is the author of the 'Open Skies', ‘Fighting For Love’, 'Unseen Enemy' and 'Dangerous Curves' series.

She writes steamy, sexy, slinky romances which feature strong, complex women and equally fascinating men. Marysol is interested in producing well-written and passionate stories with characters who learn to let go of control and to trust – both in and out of the bedroom.

Her stories are very sensual (very!), and offer smart plots, a bit of humor, and lots of character development, so her books will appeal to readers who want emotional connection as well as sexuality.

When not writing, Marysol can be found swimming, doing yoga, listening to music and drinking coffee. To stay up-to-date with her, visit her official author website at www.marysoljames.com