Page 130 of Past Due

Chapter Thirty-One

December 20

“And one more signature here, Mr. And Mrs. Beciraj,” the title company employee said.

Besian scrawled his signature on the blank line and slid the final paper from the giant stack toward Marley. She signed her name in the spot beneath his and pushed it across the table to real estate lawyer leading the proceedings. She grinned at him, her eyes bright with joy and excitement.

“That’s that,” the lawyer announced with a flourish of his pen. He handed everything to the title company representative. “You two are now the proud owners of this incredible house.”

“Congratulations!” Nicole smiled and handed the keys to Marley, symbolically sealing the deal on the Tanglewood home she had helped them find.

“Congratulations to you,” he said, shaking her hand. He had been skeptical about her, but she had regained his respect and forgiveness by apologizing and making no excuses for her rude behavior that night at the impromptu bridal shower.“That’s a tidy little commission you’ve earned.”

“You have no idea how much this means to me.” Nicole hugged Marley. “You two made this the best year I’ve ever had!”

“You helped us find the perfect house. You deserve every penny after what we put you through,” Marley remarked with an apologetic smile. “I’m surprised you didn’t fire us after the tenth house he loved and I hated.”

“Are you kidding me? It was good experience. Now, I can advertise myself as a realtor who specializes in very particular clients!”

Besian hated to admit how difficult they had been during their house hunt. They both wanted such wildly different things in a home. He liked things modern and spacious. Marley tended toward more cozy, cottage-like places with lots of trees and space to garden. He wanted a pool. She wanted a library. He preferred one side of the city. She wanted to be closer to Aston.

Somehow, Nicole had finally managed to pull together all of those different needs and wants. As soon as they had stepped through the front doors of the French country style home on a huge corner lot in Tanglewood, he had looked at Marley and smiled. She had smiled back, and he’d known that was the house where they would raise their family.

“Is Aston still champing at the bit to run your housewarming party?” Nicole asked as they left the title company with all of their paperwork in hand.

“Of course!” Marley laughed. “I tried to tell her that I should be hosting my own housewarming party, but she’s adamant that I allow her to handle everything.”

“Well, she does throw incredible parties.” Nicole stopped near her Lexus. “If you let her plan the housewarming, maybe she’ll stop sending us all those gruesome childbirth vlogs and articles.”

Besian’s brow furrowed, and he glanced at Marley who seemed amused by Nicole’s disgust.

“Fair point,” Marley decided.

“Are you two staying in town for the holidays?” Nicole asked as she dug in her purse for her keys.

“No,” Besian cut in, surprising Marley with his answer. “We’re going to finally take our honeymoon.”

“Ooh,” Nicole remarked with a cheeky smile. “Some place warm and beachy?”

“As a matter of fact,” Besian answered, still holding Marley’s curious gaze.

“Well, you two have fun and we’ll catch up when you get back.” She quickly hugged Marley. “Be safe!”

“We will. Merry Christmas,” Marley called out as Nicole got into her Lexus. Turning her attention toward him, she narrowed her eyes and poked his chest. “Okay. When were you planning to tell me about this honeymoon trip?”

“Today. Sometime.” He loved surprising her and enjoyed the way she protested the gifts he gave.

“When are we leaving?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“And where are we going?”

“You two aren’t going anywhere,” a familiar and unwanted voice interrupted from behind them.

Besian sighed and moved closer to Marley, sliding his arm around her waist as they presented a united front for Detective Santos. Not in the mood for his bullshit, Besian asked, “What the hell do you want, Eric?”

“You know exactly why I’m here,” Eric insisted.

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