Proving a Point

Ignoring the papers Adam had placed on the table, his father said, "Were you at least smart enough to use the prenup I sent to your lawyer? Is it now properly signed and notarized?" His gaze shifted back to Mimi. "Did this fool choose to marry you without a prenup? Is he trusting your integrity will keep you from taking him to court and peeling away your own share of the 12 million?" Mimi shot a look at Adam, startled.

Sarah said in a burst, "Holy crap."

Their server floated to the table and greeted Adam's father by name.

"We'd like a bottle of red for the table, my usual choice." With barely a glance toward his son, Adam's father added, "Nothing like alcohol to ease the sting of disaster and bad choices." Grimacing, unable to look at his son. "Why do you think I didn't turn the trust over to you sooner? Your judgement is lacking."

Mimi's lips curled. "Poor judgement is ordering expensive wine at a table without knowing what other people might want." Their server turned his attention toward her.

"What would you prefer, miss?"

"A martini." She pointed toward Sarah, "And this adorable creature is only sixteen, so she definitely needs something besides wine." Nodding to Sarah, encouraging her, Mimi asked, "What would you like?"

"I would like a coke."

As the server jotted down their order, the girl grew braver. "And a shrimp cocktail." She flashed her own rebellious look at the old man and his wife, who weren't paying attention to her. Oblivious, the blond remained focused on her phone, tapping away.

Adam lifted his fingertips. "I'm good with wine."

Wishing she had the power to burn a hole through the old man with her stare. Mimi stayed alert.

His father's lip curled as he stared back at her. "I'm sure your choices will outshine mine. Perhaps you would like to order fish sticks for dinner?"

Sarah piped up, "I like fish sticks. That would be fine."

Softened by Sarah's sweetness, a bit of her venom dissipated. His old man was as mean and bitter as a viper. When she noticed Adam was watching her with a look of surprise, she smiled at him. Mimi had enough brothers to be prepared for brawling. She wasn't afraid of a fight.

Aiming for his son, his father said, "I suppose this wedding will help your little business stay afloat."

"The business doesn't need an infusion of money. We are expanding, actually."

"Then why couldn't you solve your mother's problems without help?"

Adam's lips tightened into a line. "She didn't let me know what was happening until the banks were involved and wheels were turning."

The old man shook his head. "She lied."

"She did."

The old man snorted, old anger burning inside him, flickering outward in his tone. "Just like her."

"What happened between the two of you happened long ago. You've had plenty of wives since then to make you forget." Pretending deafness, the server unobtrusively poured wine into three glasses and retreated to collect Mimi's martini and Sarah's soda.

Blinking, the blond looked up. "Babe, I thought you said I was your fourth wife."

"You are his seventh," Adam clarified.

Dismissing Adam's words, his father said, "Three of the weddings were annulled."

Widening her eyes, Mimi mouthed to Adam, "Seven?"

With a shrug, Adam lifted his wineglass. "Are you sure you don't want a taste, Mimi? It's very good."

"I'm happy with my martini." To prove it, she lifted her glass and took a deep drink. The martini tasted better than she wanted to admit. Dampening her lips, she leaned back as the server brought menus to their table.

Adam touched his fingertips to the edge of Mimi's menu. "I would recommend the filet. It's very good here."

With a derisive snort, his father snapped, "If she won't listen to me, she won't listen to you."

Narrowing her gaze, Mimi said, "I trust you, Adam, order for me. The filet sounds delicious." Even if she was deathly allergic to the food they brought, she planned to choke it down. They could go to the hospital after dinner.

With a chuckle, Adam whispered, "Minx," under his breath.

Ignoring the adults, Sarah perused the menu. "Do they really have fish sticks?"

"Sis, go for the cod. It's delicious and you will like it. A cod filet is much better than fish sticks."

"Okay."

His father's mouth turned down. He expected everyone around him to do what he wanted without challenge. Swirling her glass, she took another sip of her martini, relishing it, daring the old man to say something.

"Cohabitation for six months is a requirement for permanent transfer of your portion of the trust. Son, I know you have never kept a relationship together for that amount of time. Does this girl get a bonus for every month she tolerates you?"

When Adam's jaw flexed angrily, Mimi slid her hand to his thigh and pressed down, offering support and comfort. He wasn't alone. She wasn't going anywhere.

Sarah laughed at the old man's words. "Jeesh, you really are out of the loop. Mimi is in love with my brother. They are gross. They moon at each other every chance they get." Cut short by the arrival of her appetizer, Sarah squealed with joy when the shrimp were placed before her. Fat and pink, they curved over the edge of the glass filled with cocktail sauce. When she popped one in her mouth with a kid's enthusiasm, she groaned with pleasure. "Oh, my gosh. These are so good."

With a narrowed gaze, his father kept staring at Mimi. Angrily, she tipped up her martini and drained it. Sober wasn't the way to survive this meal.

His father sneered. "This one seems to like to drink."

Mimi shot back. "I wouldn't make comments like that if I were you. They are bringing me a steak knife, and I'm trying to become too drunk to stab you with it." Mimi lifted her fingers and gestured for the server to bring her another martini. His father's wife turned her face to the side to hide her smile.

Unwilling to back down, Mimi leaned over and kissed Adam's shoulder. "Your childhood must have been awful."

At her words, the old man sat back, startled. "He had every opportunity a young man could dream of."

"And a father willing to belittle him so that he could feel strong." Mimi chose words with sharp edges. "Is it really that painful to grow old? Or is it the fact that your son could build a business without benefiting from nepotism and you couldn't?"

The old man's grip on his glass became so tight she wasn't sure he wouldn't snap the stem. "Do you even know who I am?"

Looking at him evenly, she gave the smallest of shrugs.

Leaning close to whisper in her ear, Adam said, "I think I'm beginning to understand why you chose a tiger."

She responded with a tiny, "Rawr."

Eyes filled with fire, his father said to Mimi. "I assumed you understood who would pay for this dinner. Are you always rude to people who provide for you?"

Adam snapped. "I invited her, and I promise you, I can pay for two martinis, and a shrimp cocktail if you want to end this dinner right now. You have your paperwork."

Mimi placed her napkin on the table and spoke directly to his father. "You might not be used to people like me. I'm not for sale."

Sarah pushed another shrimp into her mouth and mumbled, "I'm not for sale either."

Pointing to the envelope, Mimi asked, "Is there an unsigned prenup in there, Adam?"

"You don't need to do this, cupcake."

His father ripped open the envelope and fished out the prenup and threw it on top of her napkin like a dare.

"Give me a pen, old man."

With a flourish, she signed it. Flipping through the pages, she initialed every marked spot.

The old man preened as he said, "You should read it first, girl."

"I'm not your girl, and I trust your son."

"He hasn't even given you his real name. The name we share. The same name he would use if he had any sense." Jaw clenching, the old man's face turned red as he flagged down a server. "I believe they would like their steaks to go."

Adam nodded. "We certainly would." Taking out his wallet, he threw money onto the table.

"Don't." His father snapped, "I invited you."

"And insulted me. Not that it should surprise me at this point."

"Why do you have to be so much like your mother?"

The insult struck home. "I might be, but at least I can take pleasure in not being like you." Pushing his chair back abruptly, Adam stood up. The poor server backed up like a rabbit caught in a snare.

Mimi tried smiling at the spooked man. "Would you be able to bring our to go boxes to the vestibule?"

"Yes, Mam." The server stepped away with a nervous glance toward his regular customer. As Adam drew her chair back, Sarah grabbed her last shrimp to take with her.

Stiffly, her husband addressed his father. "I wish I could say that it has been a pleasure."

Cutting his eyes across them, his father dismissed them and turned toward his inattentive wife. "My apologies, my dear, for the poor company."

Unfazed, the blond looked up at the three of them, and lifted her fingertips in a farewell gesture. Scooping up her second martini from the table, Mimi spoke to the server, "Thank you. I'll give the empty glass to whoever brings our food to the atrium." Standing as tall as she could, she looped her arm into Adam's and left his wretched father behind them.

***

Back at the house...

"Oh my gosh, did you see his face?" Sarah was giggling. The three of them had all their to go boxes spread across his mother's table. "I thought he might have a heart attack."

Mimi snorted. "He is too mean to die that easily."

Adam grinned. "Are you plotting his doom now, tiger?"

"I might be." She lifted a bite of steak, gesturing with it, "I have to admit he has good taste in restaurants." She groaned as she placed the bite in her mouth.

Sarah had destroyed her fish. How someone so small could consume so much food always surprised Mimi. "I felt sorry for that lady."

"His wives benefit from their time with him." He grimaced. "What bothers me most is that their age never changes. When they start having birthdays that begin with a three, he starts shopping for the next one."

Mimi wrinkled her nose. "That's gross."

Adam tore a piece of bread. "It was fun to watch you talk back to him. His world is pretty sheltered. He has lived in that bubble his whole life. I thought he was going to choke on his wine."

Sarah's phone started to beep, and she flipped it over on the table, "Oh.... My friend just got asked out by this boy she has been crushing on." She flashed them a grin, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Do you mind if I go to my room?"

Adam gestured to the hall. "We will clean up without you. Go soak up all the tea."

"I will." The phone was dialing by the time she stood up. They heard her bedroom door slam.

"She has returned to her adolescent cave."

"Have you looked in her room? It is actually surprisingly den like. I have no idea why my mom let her paint it navy blue."

"It could be black."

"And the difference is?"

"Cutting?"

Mimi reached out and gave him a playful push. "Don't tempt the fates. Teens are unpredictable."

Adam reached out and gripped her face with one hand. He drew her toward him and pressed a sweet kiss on her lips, "Thank you for defending me, cupcake."

The tip of her nose lightly touched his. "I should have kicked him under the table."

He smiled. "I wish you had."

"Did the bank accept the transfer of funds?" She gestured to his mother's cluttered house. "Are we going to have to start packing?"

"They accepted it, but it will take a bit to get the paperwork in place. I plan to work up a rent agreement for my mom that will cover the taxes on the property."

"I thought she didn't have a job."

"She is going to get one, or this will become Sarah's house."

Mimi arched her brows. "Are you sure?" She wasn't sure if it was the martinis, or feeling unified, but he looked particularly cute tonight. She touched her knee to his.

"Absolutely." He looked down as if he could see through the table where their bodies touched. He smiled at her, eyes sparkling, "I think you deserve a treat, spicy girl. Let's use the time we have to spend together well. I'll do anything you want. Under the shelter of marriage, let's try things and you can explore what you like."

Mention of an ending sobered Mimi a little, and she searched his face for any hint that he wanted a future like she did. Anything? Like spending the rest of your life with me?

"I mean, some of those books you have stashed under your couch look pretty interesting. And your bottom was surely made for spanking."

"You think so, do you?"

"I do. Have you ever tried it?"

She threw her napkin at him. "No. Of course not."

"We should. Some women find it erotic."

Mimi glanced toward the hall. "I think that is something Sarah might not want to hear."

"We won't always have a chaperone, cupcake." He pushed his chair back and tugged her over to his lap. "What do you need? What do you want?" He kissed the back of her fingertips.

"You."