Breaking the rules box s.., p.18
Breaking the Rules: Box Set, page 18
“You know, I can’t imagine a more perfect wedding reception.” I reached over and took Mark’s hand.
“So hot dogs, baked beans, and bluegrass do it for you, do they?” He chuckled.
“Well yeah. I mean who doesn’t love a good hot dog.” I winked. “But seriously, my friends, your friends, our family all together. It’s perfect. I don’t see how we could make it any better.”
“Neither do I,” he replied. “But you know the best part? We have the rest of forever to try.” Then he kissed me.
Epilogue
Justin
“You’re a sucker; you know that don’t you?” Mark asked me as we got our bags out of the back of the SUV.
“I am not either,” I insisted. “Wanting to stay at a majestic hotel named after yourself is a perfectly reasonable request.”
“Umm, I am pretty sure the hotel was here first.”
“Not the point, Mark. The point is Emma has been wanting to stay here ever since we told her about it. Besides, I can’t imagine coming here and staying anywhere else.”
“That is so sweet,” he said, giving me a kiss. “But you are still a sucker.”
I couldn’t wait to see San Antonio lit up for Christmas, and I knew Emma was going to love it.
We grabbed Emma and headed inside.
I watched her face as we went through the lobby, and her expression was worth any trouble bringing a 5-year-old to an elegant hotel might be. Not that I expected any trouble from Emma. But it was decorated to the hilt and was so beautiful. We let her look around a little but then reminded her that if we didn’t hurry and get ready, we would miss the carriage ride, and that got her moving.
We’d just made it up to our room and started to get settled when Mark’s phone rang.
“Hey, Suzie. Is everything okay? Is it the baby? Do we need to come home?”
Good lord, my husband was a worrier. It was like pulling teeth to get him to come this weekend even though Suzie’s due date wasn’t for a few weeks. If he was this worried this time, I couldn’t imagine what a wreck he was before Emma was born.
“Oh. Okay.” He calmed. “Yeah, we made it fine. Here, let me put you on speaker so Emma can hear you.”
“Hi, Mommy!”
“Hi, baby girl. How is the hotel? Is it beautiful?”
“It’s just like in the pictures Jay Jay and Daddy showed me. My name is everywhere!”
Suzie laughed. “That is awesome. Have Daddy take lots of pictures of the lights for me okay?”
“Okay, we can take pictures of me riding in the princess carriage.”
“That sounds perfect, baby. I will see you when you get home.”
Mark picked up the phone and took it off speaker and started talking to Suzie in the same voice he used when Em was upset. “Okay, do you feel better now that you talked to her? I know, sweetie, I wish you and Tom could have come with us as well. Maybe next year. Justin and I can help with the baby and we can make a long weekend of it. I’m going to go now so we can get settled in. We will see you in a couple days, okay.”
“I can’t wait until she has the baby,” Mark sighed. “She’s a basket case.”
“She’s a basket case?” I laughed. “You’re both a basket case. But I can’t wait either. I have never been around a newborn. It is going to be awesome.”
“No, it’s not. Abby’s mom had a baby, and all it does is cry.” And there was that adorable pout that both she and Mark shared. “It can’t play with her or do anything but sleep and sit in a bouncy seat.”
“Well you know when you were first born, all you did was cry and sit in a bouncy seat. But then you got bigger and now you are fun to play with,” Mark reasoned.
Emma sighed. “Mom says the same thing. She says it won’t be long before it can do more than sit and cry, but that is all Abby’s brother does. I hope our baby does more fun things.”
“Well, on that note, let’s go do some fun things. Like ride in a carriage.”
“Yeah! Time for the carriage. Let’s go. Come on, Daddy. Come on, Jay Jay, let’s go!”
We headed down to the River Walk to our prearranged carriage ride. Before we got in to ride, Emma posed in front of the carriage and Mark took picture after picture. I watched them, Mark talking to Emma like she was a model and Emma laughing and striking poses. To think I almost missed this. For the rest of my life, I would be grateful that I didn’t let my fear stop me from loving these two. This was my forever family because just like Suzie said, we refused to accept anything less.
Work Rules
A Breaking the Rules Novel
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Epilogue
Chapter One
Nathan
The club was crazy tonight. The music was fantastic, and the boys were plentiful. Not that the boys were the reason for our club outing. Lincoln and I were with our best friend Mark and his husband who had just returned from their honeymoon. We were celebrating since the wedding happened so fast there was no time for a bachelor party or anything. Those two practically glowed, they were so happy.
“I still can’t believe y’all went on a gay cruise for your honeymoon. I mean what do you think guys go on those cruises for? It sure isn’t because they’re already getting laid every night. Now me and Linc, we need to schedule ourselves on one of those. I bet there’re drinks with umbrellas and pretty boys in speedos everywhere.”
“I’ll have you know we met three other couples on their honeymoons. We wanted to go somewhere we could be us with no judgment and a gay cruise is perfect for that. The last thing we wanted was some asshole killing our high. Right, babe?” Justin asked as he leaned over and kissed Mark.
“It was perfect,” Mark said, smiling at Justin. “Since I handled the wedding, Justin planned the honeymoon, and he couldn’t have picked anything better. The only problem is now I miss having someone waiting on us hand and foot. I could get used that. You and Lincoln should go on one. The two of you would have a blast, because you’re right, there were drinks with umbrellas and plenty of speedos.”
“Nah,” Linc shook his head. “I’m not a fan of being out in the middle of the ocean. I like dry land, thank you very much. Besides, take a look around. Sammy put an umbrella in your drink for you, and there are plenty of short shorts, which are almost as good as a speedo.”
“Whether it’s a cruise or a beach house, I’m going to need a vacation before long. This new job is awesome, but it’s stressful.” About a month before, I transferred from a skilled nursing floor to the trauma center. “The ER is a different kind of nursing than what I’m used to. I get less time with the patients and I miss that, but I love the pace down there. It’s crazy.”
“I knew you’d love trauma,” Linc boasted. “We see nurses in action every day when we bring patients in on the ambulance, and I always thought you’d be a great trauma nurse. I know I sure feel good about turning the care of the people we bring in over to you.”
“Hey,” Mark said grinning “If you’re in the ER, I bet you’ll get to see your bear of a security guard more often.”
“First, he wasn’t my bear, just a bear. A big yummy muscle bear to be exact. But he worked at the hospital, so it wasn’t meant to be because if you work at the hospital that makes you one hundred percent off limits. Justin may have turned his back on the code and broke the rules, but not me.” I winked at him.
Justin and a few of our other friends had each laid-out rules for dating. Justin had broken his main rule—no dating men with children—to date and then marry Mark. But that didn’t count because it was a dumb rule. I mean, who wouldn’t love Mark and his daughter Emma? But my rule wasn’t dumb. My rule was smart. Rule number one was in full force. No dating anyone where you work.
“Hey, you just said ‘worked’ at the hospital, so he isn’t off limits now, is he? You know, now that you mention it, he hasn’t been around lately. Did he quit?” Justin asked.
“I have no idea. It isn’t like I know him; I just saw him around sometimes, looking all hot and commanding in his uniform. Then one day there was a new kid instead, and he said he was hot muscle bear’s replacement. But I don’t even know muscle bear’s last name. Besides, sadly enough, I’m pretty sure he’s straight as an arrow.”
“Alright, alright, enough talk about work and rules,” Mark insisted. “Let’s dance.”
Mark, Lincoln and I used to dance together all the time. The three of us always drew attention, and that made finding a hook up easy, but we hadn’t danced together much since Mark and Justin got together. Justin stayed at the table and Mark led the two of us to the floor.
“Isn’t Justin coming?” I asked.
“No, turns out he loves to watch me dance with the two of you. Says it’s hot.”
“Well sugar, that’s because it is hot,” I laughed. “Let’s give him a show.” And boy, we did. As always, I was the center of the sandwich. Lincoln and Mark were both tall and much more masculine than me. By the time we returned to the table, we were hot and sweaty and Justin was ready to go home. Mark and Justin said their goodbyes and headed out.
“I'm beat. I’m fixin’ to head on home. You ready to go or are you staying for a while?” I asked Lincoln.
“I’ll go too. It was a long week and I just want to sleep. Sometimes I think I’m getting too old for this shit,” he said, tipping his beer toward the dance floor. “Seems like the boys are just getting younger and younger.”
“You aren’t old, Linc. You’re the same age I am and trust me, twenty-six isn’t old.”
“I know. I’m just tired tonight. Let’s grab a Lyft and head home.”
Alex
Shit, I just wanted to go home. I didn't feel like hanging out and watching the game, but my brother had insisted on having me and my best friend Blake over for the game since I was finally back in town. I pulled into his driveway and killed the engine. Hopefully, I could head home at halftime so I could get some rest. My brain was fried, and that made me physically tired. I hadn’t seen them for almost a month though, so I didn’t want to cancel.
“Hey, guys!” I said with forced enthusiasm.
“Hey, man.” Blake held out his hand for a fist bump. “Good to have you back.”
“Good to be back. Maryland was nice and everything, but it sure ain’t home. What did I miss while I was gone? Anything interesting?”
“Nah, man. Same shit different day,” Tony answered. I was just about to respond when a small blur launched at me.
"Uncle Alex, your home!" my niece, Maddie, squealed. "I missed you so much," she added as she smothered my face in kisses.
"I missed you too, Maddie Mae," I told her with a squeeze. And I did, too. I loved this little girl more than anyone else on Earth. She was pretty much my favorite person. "What’re you still doing up? It's past your bedtime."
"Yeah, mommy says you coming over is a special 'cassion and I can stay up long enough to get hugs, but hugs only, and then I have to go to bed."
"Ah, well give me lots of hugs then," I told her while squeezing her tight again. I whispered in her ear, "Love you, Maddie Mae. You go to bed and get some sleep, and we’ll go do something fun this weekend, okay?"
"Okay, love you bunches," she said and then headed off to bed.
"How about you, Blake?" I asked as a grabbed a beer and sat down.
“We got the contract to build that new subdivision on the south side, so we’re gonna be crazy busy. Other than that, and your crazy ex, nothing much is going on.” Blake scowled.
“Jessica? What did she do?” I asked dreading the answer. She didn’t take the break up well. I was clear from the beginning that I wasn’t interested in anything serious, but she wanted more. As soon as I realized she was planning a future, I put an end to it, but she had it stuck in her head I’d change my mind. I won’t.
“Nothing,” he said with a shake of his head. “She just showed up places we were at, talking about how exciting your new job was and how she couldn’t wait until you got back. She kept acting like she’s still your girlfriend. It was weird. The girl ain’t right.”
“She just can’t imagine there’s a guy who doesn’t want her. Guys fawn all over her most of the time, so this is something new. She’ll get over it and move on to some new guy.” At least, I hoped that would be the case.
“Hey, Tony, what’s going on this weekend? I could use a home-cooked meal,” I asked hoping to change the subject.
“You’re a better cook than Cindy, so don’t give me that bull about a home-cooked meal. You want to see Maddie. I’m on to you. You just use me for my kid. You know if you got married you could have some of your own, and you wouldn’t have to use mine to get your kid fix.”
It was true, I had a surprise I’d brought back for her and she was the main reason I wanted to hang out at his house this weekend. I had always loved kids and hoped to have a houseful someday, but until then, Maddie Mae was my girl.
“Besides, you saw her, Maddie wants an Uncle Alex fix just as bad. Plus, I haven’t been to the store yet, so I don’t have anything to cook.”
“Well, I’ll be working on the car, but if you want to come help, we can feed you. Why don't you just stay here?”
"Nah, I'm beat and looking forward to crashing in my bed. Plus, I have things I need to do there first. I'll come back over in the afternoon though, and we can work on the car.
We caught up and watched some of the game but at halftime, I told them I needed sleep and headed to my house. I loved my family, but I really just wanted to get home.
Chapter Two
Nathan
I looked at the clock over the check-in desk. Crap, it’s only four o’clock. I’d been on shift for ten hours, but it felt like ten years. Only two more to go, thank goodness. I always thought the whole superstition about the full moon making people crazy was… well crazy. But working in the ER had taught me differently.
This weekend would be my third full moon weekend and each time, it was like the people had lost their minds. We’d been running around like crazy all day. From car accidents to gunshot wounds, it’d been nonstop. I couldn’t imagine what tonight would be like on the night shift. Leena, the Nurse Clerk for the ER looked as harried as we did, and looking at the full waiting room, it didn’t surprise me. Part of her job included keeping order out there, and I didn’t understand how she did it. I sure couldn’t do it.
“What’s next?” I asked her.
“Got an easy one for you, Nathan. Alex Doyle is in room three. He hurt his shoulder playing with his niece in the backyard,” she chuckled.
“Alex Doyle?” I asked. “Am I supposed to know who that is?”
“Oh, yeah,” she replied. “I keep forgetting you haven’t been down here in the ER long. He works here, but you probably wouldn’t have seen him much up on the floor. His brother and niece are in with him. And yes, she’s too young to be in the room, but she was worried, and he wasn’t having any of that. Besides, he’s one of ours, so I let them stay with him.”
“Okay, I’ll go be the bad guy and kick them out, then you can be the hero and let them back in the room when I’m done.”
I headed down the hall to the exam room. Man, I hoped Leena was right. I could use an easy one because I was exhausted. I liked my schedule most of the time, but today, this shift couldn’t be over soon enough.
Stopping for a minute outside the door, I put on my I’m not tired and I’m here to help you face because no matter how worn-out I was, patients felt better if I didn’t act dead on my feet. No one wanted an exhausted, grouchy nurse taking care of them. So I pasted on a smile, opened the door, and… I stopped dead in my tracks and just stared
Holy cow, it’s my hot muscle bear security guard.
He sat on the hospital bed with an adorable little girl in his lap. She had snuggled in like his lap was the most comfortable, safest place in the world, and I wished it was me curled up like that, all wrapped up in his arms. I bet he radiated heat and that his beard felt soft. It looked soft anyway. He would be behind me with his arms wrapped around me, and when he leaned down to kiss my neck, it would tickle and…
“Um, hello?” He said pulling me out of my fantasy.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him before I had time to filter my thoughts. Sometimes, I swear, I would give ten IQ points for a fucking filter.
“What do you mean what am I doing here? I hurt my shoulder.”
“I mean, Leena said you worked here, but I thought you’d left.”
