Mine Forever [The Perrines 1]

Chapter Two

Mayor, Mercy - Mine Forever (The Perrines 1) [Avidbook, Mainstream MF Conetmporary Romance] Chapter Two

Ronna sat on her massive bed, flopping onto her back and staring straight up at the ceiling. She couldn’t for the life of her fathom what had prompted her to throw out such a wager in the first place. She had thought that she would simply say ‘no’ to his request but instead, she had gone and done it again.

She had put her foot in her mouth before she weighed everything in her mind and there was no way she could take her words back. She could not even begin to allow herself to think of losing the bet.

As much as she wanted to prevent Nick from getting his hands on her wheels, she also wanted him to relax a bit. He was such a workaholic that he didn’t even seem to realize that everything he did was done according to a set schedule. He was too active and responsible for his own good and at the time she was making the wager, it had seemed like the best way to get him to remain still and relax.

Early Monday morning, Ronna was sizzling with anticipation as she collapsed into a sofa in the den. She pulled up the sleeve of her shirt and glanced at her watch. It read eight twenty. She had expected Nick to be here by now but she could very well understand his dalliance and chalked it up to reluctance on his part.

Looking back, she knew she had gotten the better part of the deal. If she succeeded, which she planned on doing, she was going to make sure that Nick had time to relax the strict rules he placed on himself and enjoy the finer points of life, not to mention how much fun she was going to have spending his hard earned money. Chuckling to herself, she pulled out her drawing tablet and began sketching ideas for her ongoing collection.

Picking up the TV remove, Ronna flicked through the channels and left it on a fashion show, then returned to her sketches. As the time slowly ticked away, she began wondering if Nick was being late on purpose.

Nick was not the type to be late for anything. He prided himself on being early for whatever occasion needed his presence which was why she became bothered by his tardiness. Shaking her head, she could just imagine him deliberately taking his time and showing up at the last minute. Only patience was so not at all her forte.

The brute. She didn’t need to waste her precious thoughts on him anyway. Or did she? Her traitorous mind refused to allow her any peace and she was itching to call him, if only to find out what was taking him so long. She comforted herself with the thought that she’d give him ten more minutes and if he still didn’t show up, then she would call.

Sighing, she went to the kitchen, withdrew a can of coke from the refrigerator then strolled back into the living room and settled into the sofa once more. She took a long sip of the drink then, sighed low and long whilst relaxing back into a more comfortable position. With her head resting on the arm of the sofa, she stared at the ceiling. Gently, she reached up and massaged her stiff neck, her eyes closed.

“Wow!” A deep voice interrupted the quiet and Ronna’s eyes flew open to spot Nick standing over her, wearing a pair of faded jeans with a blue shirt and his hair immaculately shoved back from his face.

“It looks like your whole wardrobe is travelling with you.” Nick said eyeing the bags on the floor, his voice, devoid of any form of surprise.

Nick knew Ronna well enough to know that she wasn’t one to travel light. Remembering the last trip the entire Perrine family had taken which had lasted for just the weekend, he knew this one would not be any different. Just like always, regardless of the duration of the trip, Ronna always took along with her; two travelling bags, a tote bag and several other carry alongs.

Returning his gaze to Ronna, he didn’t miss the meaning behind the exasperation she exuded when she looked at her watch then back up at him. “And since I’m not late, be prepared to hand over your precious not to mention beautiful and sporty Ferrari to me.”

She sat upright with a grunt. “Yeah, right after I beat you to it and you hand over your credit card.”

He folded his hand against his chest and unconsciously rubbed his chin whilst eyeing her. “You know, now that I think about it, I really do need to give you that list I told you about.”

She straightened abruptly. “What list?”

Handing her a piece of paper, Nick sat next to her, stretching out his legs and crossing his hands behind his head. He whistled, deliberately ignoring her and absently watching the Fashion show.

After a while, she glanced at him with a scoff. “If these are the terms, then trust me when I say it’ll be a piece of cake.”

He looked at her with a grin spreading across his face. “I’m glad to hear that. The rest should definitely be… interesting.”

She smirked, returned her focus to the list, her smile gradually thinning. “No shopping spree allowed, must do all grocery shopping and cooking, one bag limit only… what!” she whirled on him a look of incongruity.

“Yeah.” He rubbed his hands together giving her a thoroughly contented smile. “This should make it interesting, don’t you think?” He drawled.

“These aren’t terms. It’s torture.” She said dropping the paper beside her.

“Whatever you say but,” he held up a finger. “You’re going to have to do every single thing on that list. After all, it is what you agreed to in the first place.”

“Not going to happen.” She said with a straight face.

“Fine. I really can’t help it if that’s how you feel.” He sighed, then paused for effect. “But you’ll just have to hand over the keys to your sporty Ferrari because you forfeit.”

“You can’t seriously mean it.”

He raised his eyebrow at her, “Do I ever say anything I don’t mean?” he asked, his voice challenging.

He gave her his you-know-me-well look. Shrugging, she asked through clenched teeth. “Why?”

“Well, for one thing, I want to make sure I win.” A devilish sparkle shone in his eyes as he continued. “And, I want to make you’re as uncomfortable as possible to make sure you don’t win.” Rubbing his hand on his chin, he said. “This means you’re entitled to only one suitcase and a tote bag if you please. Do you see how kind I am?”

“Kind my foot. You’re downright mean.” She said with the perfect pout.

“So were you when you refused to give me the Ferrari. Now go reshuffle everything you have in there and let’s be gone.” He said wiggling his fingers one at a time at the bags at their feet.

“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?”

He chuckled. “You know I am. And for being just in time, I think I should get some credit.”

Looking up, he saw his mother come into the living room. Getting up, he gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Morning mother.”

“Yes.” Elizabeth frowned at the bags she saw then glanced at both her children. “You’re really going through with this?”

“But of course mother.” They replied in unison then stared at each other before finally looking at their mother.

Nothing and no one was going to stop them. It was a clash of will and they were both looking forward to succeeding. Any protest would simply be left unheeded since neither of them was ready to back down for any reason. Elizabeth might as well just accept their decision and wish them luck which they were going to need.

Her two headstrong children just didn’t know when to call it quits. They both got their stubbornness from their father but their competitive streak, she didn’t know where that came from.

“How long are you two going to be gone?”

“Fourteen weeks.” Ronna pronounced smugly.

“Fourteen weeks! Ronna! That’s too long.” Nick sputtered. “Besides, you didn’t mention how long we were going to be gone for when we made the deal.”

“Lucky me. Actually, I’ve been doing some thinking of my own and I figured you might need more time to adjust to the new lifestyle we’re to embark on.”

She suddenly had his full attention. “Wait, what? You expect me to do nothing for fourteen weeks? Play the beach bum?”

“Why it sounds even better when you say it in detail, brother dear.” She smiled. “But don’t be sad. I’m sure you can deal with it.” Her expression innocent and challenging all at once.

Elizabeth took her cue and left whilst the clash of wills commenced all over again. They each knew how and where to hit each other to get the most reaction and neither were ready to back down for any reason. Closing his eyes, Nick tried to see himself out of this situation, but nothing. There was only one reason why Ronna would name such a ridiculous length of time and he knew exactly what it was.

“You’re trying to get back at me because of those rules, aren’t you?”

She grinned broadly. “Surprisingly, no. And it’s a good idea anyway.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, he muttered under his breath. “Unbelievable.”

“I’m so glad we both approve of the idea.”

Ronna grinned so broadly but there was something about her sudden mood swing which ticked Nick off. Without giving him a chance to say anything, she asked. “So, are you going to start lifting these bags or do we go like this?”

He sighed with resignation. “I’ll go get the maids to help out.”

Nick left feeling grumpy with only himself to blame for falling into her trap. He should have known that she would not let him enjoy his small victory. Ronna didn’t accept defeat easily and he shouldn’t have thought his victory would last long. When he came back, he saw Ronna stretched out on the couch, her eyes closed. He cleared his throat and she opened them to face him, noticing the others with him.

“Are you going to lie there all day or join?”

“Hey, it was your idea to bring just one bag. Your rule, you lift them.” She closed her eyes again and settled herself deeper into a more comfortable position on the couch.

“No worries. I’ll soon be enjoying this, a lot more than you will.”

Ronna’s eyes flew open at that and she gaped at him, unable to interpret just what he meant by that remark. Unless he was out to make things much more difficult for her, there was no way he could enjoy any of this. Soon, the last of the bags were back in her room and she went along to inspect. A smile came across her face when she saw Nick sitting on a chair by the window.

“Really, did you have to empty your whole wardrobe? I can feel every bone in my body falling apart.” He massaged his neck with one hand conveying his thoughts on her travelling habits.

“No whining please. You were the one who made those ridiculous suggestions anyway.” She said as she opened the bags, one after the other, rearranging everything to fit into one bag.

“Nope. Not that one.”

She heard Nick say as she lifted out a short blue gown. This particular one was her favorite, and a very expensive one at that.

“You’re not picking out my wardrobe for me.”

He shrugged. “Rule six, it’s simple. Just don’t take anything which is a favorite or too chic and we’ll have no problem.”

“Excuse me but which ones am I supposed to pack then?”

“If you don’t know, then perhaps I should probably see to the task myself.” He said, his face looking very innocent.

“That won’t be necessary at all.” She said through clenched teeth.

She knew when to accept defeat and besides, it was what she had blindly consented to. She didn’t understand how she normally got herself into such situations. But, she did know how she got into it, she reminded herself. She was simply too impatient. Once things were moving along her own way, she simple did not have the patience to make sure there weren’t any unpleasant encounters along the way.

“I thought so.” He smiled broadly.

“Get out of here. I’ll be down once I’m done.”

“Your word’s my command.” He lifted his hands as though in surrender. Pausing at the door, he said, “Just remember. If you’re going to take anything which is your favorite, just make sure I don’t see or smell it because if I do, it means you’re trying to tell me you already give up, hmm. Have a nice selection.”

He shut the door against her response and climbed down the stairs with a satisfied whistle.

Ronna drew in a sharp breath and settled down on the bed. She knew it was a no-win situation trying to hide even her favorite lotion and perfume. No matter what she did, Nick was bound to find out since he was closest to her, of all her brothers.

She couldn’t hide anything from him simply because he was the only one who really knew just about everything she liked and disliked. He really was enjoying this but no matter what, she wasn’t going to give up. At least, not before they even set foot out of the house and definitely not after. Her only consolation, was how much she was envisioning spending when she finally won.

Grudgingly, Ronna quickly rearranged all her things as required. She packed the suitcase so full that she had to jump on it several times before it could finally close. With one look around the room, she pulled the luggage behind her and descended the stairs.

“Finally, it’s about time.” Nick exclaimed the moment he walked into the living room and found Ronna at the bottom of the stairway. “I thought you weren’t going to come out. Did you lock yourself up or something?”

“Tempting though the thought was I didn’t. I was getting ready per your request.”

“For an hour?”

She shrugged and pulled the bag behind her as they walked outside. “I think you’d understand better if you were a girl.”

“Perish the thought.”

“My sentiment exactly.”

He studied her for a while then added. “It’s good to know you take orders quite well.”

“I try my best.” She said wryly. “And besides, it’s not like I have a choice, now is it? But, I can’t wait to see the look on your face when I finally win.” She smiled amiably at her infuriating brother. “I know I will be spending a lot of money when I get my hands on your credit card.”

“Me too.” He said picturing the view whilst waving his hands to demonstrate. “Now, imagine me sitting in your car, with a hand on the steering wheel and the other on the levers of the driver’s window, probably with the top down and enjoying a nice ride.” He turned to look at her. “How long did you say I can have it for again?”

She shrugged, sighing with frustration. “I certainly hope you don’t end up in the hospital.” Her voice heavy on the sarcasm.

He feigned a hurt look. “Now you don’t mean that.”

Before Ronna could respond, their mother came striding towards them. “You two aren’t by any means leaving without saying goodbye, now are you?”

“We wouldn’t even dream of it.” Nick responded.

Arm in arm, Ronna and Elizabeth walked out of the house behind Nick toward where Nick’s car was parked. Giving Elizabeth a warm hug, they exchanged goodbyes before Ronna climbed into the car to wait. Once Nick was done arranging the bags into the boot, he approached his mother and gave her a hug also, climbed into the driver’s seat and with one last wave, started driving. .

They drove in silence until Nick suddenly broke it.

“Don’t you think it’ll be fair to reduce the length of our duration in God-only-knows where you picked for this?”

“No. I don’t think so.” She retorted with such finality she expected him to back down.

They lapsed into silence with Nick thinking up ways to get her to change her mind. If he was going to have his way, he needed whatever strings he could pull, there was one perfect thing he could use to pull it off, but to follow through would be absolutely low of him. Yet, she gave him no choice. She played dirty and by all that was holy, he’d do the same too. He’d pull that string even if it was a cheap shot but he’d make sure he got his way.

Fourteen weeks! What the hell did she expect him to do in all that time? Sunbathe and laze away the time whilst he had other important business deals to finalize? She had to be kidding. The thought of spending fourteen weeks in some strange place wasn’t even worth considering.

“Do you remember what happened to Cody Watson’s first car? The one his parents gave him for graduation?”

Giggling, Ronna nodded. “It was really funny. Did you see the look on his face? It was priceless.”

“Yeah.” Nick chuckled.

Cody was a friend of theirs and the night the trio had gone to their graduation bonfire party had been the night his car had been trashed. The posh car had been a gift to him from his parents and within the span of hours the same day, the car had been completely totaled. Cody had been excited to show off his new ride and both he and Nick had planned on going to the bonfire party, riding in style. They had asked Ronna to come along and though she had refused at first, she’d relented with their persistence.

Back then, Cody had been the really shy type. He’d had a crush on Grady O’Connell and had wanted to attract her attention. Striking a deal with him, she agreed to introduce them in exchange for a turn at testing out his car. Later that evening, she fulfilled her part of the bargain but when she spotted her two best friends Sophie and Tracy, she’d requested the keys to his car for the three of them to carouse only to be turned down flat while he tried to gain the approval of those around him.

It wasn’t the fact that he’d gone back on his word but it was that he’d told lies about her in order to appear as one of the cool kids that pissed her off royally. When she’d found out what he’d been up to, the compulsion to get even rose within her and locating his brand new car, she’d trashed it until it was unrecognizable, getting even in the way she knew would hurt him the most. Her only saving grace was that the only person who had caught her in the act had been Nick otherwise, she would have been in huge trouble over what she had done.

“He never did find out who did that to his car, you know.”

Nick’s voice interrupted her train of thoughts.

“It was justice at the time, but now that I think about it, really childish though.”

Cody might not necessarily be pissed about what she’d done since it was years ago but if he found out, it would definitely make her feel ashamed of herself, especially since he’d done his best to apologize and make amends despite how humiliating it must have been for him at the time.

“How do you think he’ll react if he finds out who the person responsible for totaling his car is?”

Suddenly, Ronna knew where the conversation was headed and she hated it. “What do you want?”

“Funny you should ask that, when you already know what it is I want.”

“Not going to happen, Nick.”

Sighing, he took out his mobile then scrolled through his contacts. “It’s been a long time since I last saw Cody.” sparing her a quick glance, he added. “He left for Arizona two days after you had your flight to Paris. I’m guessing he’ll be equally as glad to hear my voice as I would his.”

“You can’t do it.”

“Sure I can.” Looking at her squarely in the face, he divided his attention between the phone and the road. “All I have to do is press the call button and wait for him to answer.”

“No. I mean you can’t tell him.” She said reaching up to snatch the phone from his hand but couldn’t get her hand on it because he held it away from her.

“Watch it. I’m driving.”

Giving up, she grounded out “Alright.” She said between clenched teeth. “Twelve weeks.”

“Actually, I think nine weeks will be just fine although I still think it’s too long.”

“Twelve. Take it or leave it.”

“How about I just give Cody a call, huh?”

“Fine. Nine weeks. You really are manipulative bastard, you know?”

“For some reason,” Nick waved his hand. “I’ve been told so before.” Flashing her a quick grin, it turned into outright laughter at the redness of her cheek and the glare she tossed his way. “This is why I’m so proud to call you sister, Ronna. You always see things from my point of view and you understand me perfectly.” He finished with a wide grin spreading across his face.

Giving him a slight smack on his shoulder, she announced. “There’s no understanding nothing in this or seeing anything from your point of view.” Her voice grounding out to match her irritation, “It’s blackmail, pure and simple.”

“Not according to the way I see it.”

“Which is?”

“You’re turning red Ronna. You need to cool off, hmm. But I must say. You do look great when you’re upset, sister dear.”

The smile which crossed his face was one of total triumph. She wondered just how far he was going to take this, irritating her to no end just to have a dig at her. They soon reached the airstrip and were boarding the private jet that would fly them to their destination.

With little persuasion, Nick found out their destination, a tiny little place called Little Rock, population three hundred and fifty people plus two. It was torture knowing he had to live each day by ear and thanks to Ronna, he had been given no notice in advance. He doubted she did it unknowingly. She more than anyone else had been urging him to be spontaneous, to break free from his well-ordered life and live a little.

No wonder she conjured up this scheme. During the nine weeks they were to spend in Little Rock, she had the exclusive right to initiate him into a lifestyle as foreign to him as the town they were headed.

Ronna at the same time was busy thinking about the town she had picked. She desperately needed a vacation and Nick had provided her the perfect excuse for one. She wasn’t really a workaholic but she needed space away from all the fashion glamor.

She needed time away from the fame, which wasn’t really a problem but lately, she’d been feeling really distracted and worn out. She needed something but didn’t quite know what. Maybe something fresh, new and totally unexpected, she thought to herself.

With their pilot calling out instructions for them to buckle in, the jet soon taxied off and just like that, they were off on an adventure that began with a bet and neither knowing what to expect but willing enough to take a chance.