Mac (Riders of Apollo #8)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Evangeline White

Weddings have to be the most stressful events I've ever attended. We've been awake for four hours, it's nine am by the way, and Lexie's idea of a lie in is to let the women get fifteen minutes more sleep. She's lucky most of us are trained to stay awake on little sleep but Juni, Cassidy and Marielle are snoozing in their seats, almost folded in two.

"I need scotch." I declare and everyone - more specifically: Lexie - turns around to glare at me. Her prime wedding rule is no alcohol before the ceremony is finished, we don't need anyone puking, blacking out or feeling woozy. I was close to bursting into tears. I just give her a thumbs up and leave the room, filled to the brim with women. 

I am basically ready for today, I just need to change out of my loungewear into my dress so I'm happy to escape the environment for awhile. I'm not actually going to drink, nine o'clock is early even for me so I go to Mac instead. "Morning Eva." Bear greets over his cup of coffee. I give him a blank look and he smirks, "my wife already getting to you?" 

"I've been awake since four this morning." Is all I reply as I move to curl up in Mac's lap. He moves his arms out so he doesn't spill his coffee and I take my seat, feeling better pretty quickly. 

"Damn, she started that early?" Romeo asks, taking sips of his own coffee. Where are they getting it from? I look over my shoulder and focus heavily on the cup in Mac's hand, he doesn't even look up from his paper to pass it to me and I try not to swallow the whole thing at once. 

"Well no, she didn't. She set an alarm on both Riley and I's phone for four this morning. I can't go back to sleep after that but Riley quite happily passed out again until five. I swear I had to talk myself out of murdering my own child." 

"That bad?" I send a withering look to Rubble and he cringes, acknowledging how crazy today is going to be even though nothing has even started yet.

"Evangeline!" Lexie's voice carries, it always has and my entire body seizes as I try and dissolve my body into Mac's. "Can you do me a favour?" Lexie walks over wearing her robe and I can see Bear fixating on her. I nod hesitantly and she grins, "great, can you go grab these from one of your rich friends please?" 

She hands me a note of expensive things and I grin. "It would be my pleasure, darling." She pats my head and I give her an offended look, she returns it with a smile and heads back to the pink room with a bounce in her step. "She just pet me, like a dog. Is that normal?" There's a chorus of yeses and I shake my head, fun. "Well it looks like I'm going to have to break into Luiz's house? Who is up for it?" 

Rubble and Romeo both raise their hands so quick with grins on their faces. "Really?" Bear looks at them with contempt. It means they escape the last minute things with Lexie and they've jumped at the chance. I stand up, passing the coffee back to Mac and kissing his head before heading out the front. 

"One of you is gonna have to give me a ride. I came here on Mac's bike." Romeo and Rubble look at each other before Romeo tells me to go on his. I imagine there's a story there but I'm not going to argue. I point the way to Luiz's place and we're stopped at the gate by Bunio. "Hey Bun, I just need to grab some things from my room. Is that alright?"

"Of course, Miss White. The boss isn't home right now so I will have to tell him." I give him a thumbs up and we head up the mile long driveway and pull up out the front. I don't even need to go to my room to get my things, they're all in the basement. 

Luiz's house is like two mansions fused together. It's a new build and custom built with one of the best architects in the western world and cost more than three of my apartment buildings combined. I said it was a waste of money and got told that I was just tight with my cash. I can't even deny it. 

"Holy shit. How many people live here?" Romeo stares up at the place in awe. I think it looks too boring, you get a design from the best architect and all he could come up with was basically a block of concrete. I much prefer Lucia's mansion to this one, at least that one has colour. The boys follow me inside to the industrial style bachelor pad and they seem taken away at everything. I've become numb to extortionate wealth so I don't think much of it as I go rummaging through his things to find the Cuban cigars.

"What does Lexie even want?" Rubble asks as he watches me dig around in his private stash. I only find some weed, which I'm not surprised by, and I groan. 

"If that idiot has sold the Cubans then I'm going to murder him." I grumble, heading through the main part of the house to the wine cellar. The housekeeper waves at me as I get to the door but I stop short as I spot another pool boy wearing a speedo. "Vanessa!" The housekeeper comes running up to me, standing next to me while the boys wait behind me. "Is that a new pool boy or is it the one Luiz slept with?"

"I shouldn't discuss his private business but yes, that is the one he slept with. Not the one that pressed charges though." I sigh and give her a look.

"Can you go put more clothes on him? It's not exactly hot outside." She grins at me and rushes off to grab some spare clothes that Luiz stores when he's worn them too many times. I wait until she's turned to corner to fly downstairs and I shout in excitement when I see the goods for pillaging. "Ah hah! I knew he was holding out on us." I fill up a duffel with cigars before moving on to some free perfumes that Lexie requested.

I fill up the rest of the bag with random assorted items only to spin around and find Luiz staring at me in amusement. "Hey buddy!" I greet, smiling massively as he shakes his head in exasperation. "Thought you were busy today."

"No wonder why you're stealing some of my things." His tone is dry but I know he's kidding. As a group, we don't ask for things. We all have keys and entry codes to each other's places so when we find things mysteriously missing we chalk it up to an uninvited but welcome visitor. 

"It's my daughter's wedding day." I flutter my eyelashes and he groans, he will never win against the puppy dog eyes. "Also, I think you should add more clothes to your pool boy's outfits." 

"Yes, I saw that too. Need anything else from me, my darling? I have a ten o'clock meeting with Frederick and I imagine you'll want to be long gone by the time he gets here."

"I punched him once, he needs to get over that." Rubble and Romeo raise their eyebrows at me, "he touched my arse so I knocked his front tooth out. He sued me for damages and lost, he ended up having to pay me three million. Thank you, Luiz!" I holler as we head back out to the bikes. 

I say goodbye to Vanessa as I tie down the bag to the back of Romeo's bike. "Is that all? Can we waste some time before we go back?" Rubble begs me, hands pressed together and a pout in place, and Romeo does the same.

"Sure, why not?"