Chapter 10.01

The next day, I arrived well before lunch. Daniel opened the door, and I heard Jenny squeal.

“Bugs?” I asked, grinning as we shook hands.

“You do know her,” he laughed. “Harry’s boys have gotten bold.”

“Raymond, Robert,” I heard Dr. Cox’s mother scolding them. “If the girl finds one more bug in her room, there will be no cookies, no New Year’s party—understood?”

“But Grandma Sophie,” one of them protested, “it wasn’t us!”

“I don’t care. You’re responsible for making sure there are no disturbances in her room. Got it?”

“Yes,” they chorused just as I stepped inside.

“Hello, John,” Dr. Cox greeted me quickly. “You’ve met everyone already, right?” he asked. I nodded.

Dr. Cox’s brother was a tall, sturdy man with a bit of a belly—strong enough that I wouldn’t challenge him to an arm wrestle.

The lawyer’s father was an aging, gray-haired man with glasses and a cane, once big but now rather thin. His wife was a full-figured woman with freshly styled short, wavy brown hair.

The twins were tall and broad-shouldered, their sun-kissed skin revealing time spent outdoors. At the wedding, their mother had a different hairstyle, but now her curly brown hair was more natural.

“Hey,” one of the identical boys greeted me. “I’m Ray. You’ll be able to tell us apart by our hair,” he laughed. “Mine isn’t shaved on the sides.”

“We’ve met before—Charles,” Dr. Cox’s father introduced himself. “And you already know my wife, Sophie,” he added. I nodded.

Now that Ray had pointed it out, I noticed that one of the boys had evenly short hair, while the other had slightly longer hair on top than on the sides.

“Hey, I’m Rob,” said the other, the one with the shaved sides.

“Come eat,” Mrs. Julie called, and Jenny appeared in the living room. She looked stunning, wearing one of Amber’s tailored outfits.

She smiled at me and tapped her nose playfully as everyone settled around the table.

“Hey, Jay,” Ray said over the clinking of cutlery. “We heard you didn’t treat Janie well.” He looked at me seriously. “What are your intentions now?”

“Ray, stop,” his father interjected. “Sorry, they’ve been taking their big brother role a little too seriously since the wedding.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “Yes, Ray, I messed up. But I want to make things right and make her happy.”

There were too many men here—I had to earn my place.

The family watched curiously.

“Are you going to marry her?” Rob asked, almost demanding an answer.

I quickly glanced around—Jenny and Daniel clearly expected these questions, while the adults grinned, waiting for the conversation to play out. They were letting us handle it ourselves. Even Mickey watched silently.

“Yes, I intend to, if she wants to,” I said. I looked at Jenny, but she just smiled at me calmly.

“And will you be able to give her everything she needs?” Ray asked.

“I’ll do my best, yes,” I said, trying to stay serious.

“Alright,” Rob said firmly. “But don’t mess up again.”

The adults burst into laughter.

“Alright, boys,” Harry chuckled. “That’s enough. Eat.”

After lunch, everyone moved to the living room.

“Jay,” Dr. Cox called. “I hear you know a thing or two about cars.”

“I can fix a few things, yeah.”

“Would you take a look at mine?” he asked. I nodded, and we headed to the garage.

“Johnny,” he said once we were alone. “Your dad and I found the right apartment, and after a bit of painting, it’ll be ready in a few weeks.”

“Thank you. The wedding will be the perfect occasion,” I said. “Did you manage to settle everything with my parents and Mrs. Julie? I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

“I assume you’ve heard about the contract Julie and I signed,” he said with a smile.

“Not much—just that it was her condition for the wedding,” I replied. “That’s all Jenny told me.”

“I see,” he smiled. “Your girlfriend really isn’t the gossiping type. Sit down,” he gestured to a chair, and I sat.

“Julie didn’t want to marry me because people assumed she was with me for my supposed wealth,” he began. “She insisted on a prenup, and I had no choice but to agree. She can be stubborn—just like her daughter,” he added with a smile.

“As you know, I’m a lawyer, so I had Brian draft the contract she wanted—with a small modification,” he continued. “According to the agreement, as long as we’re married, she and the kids have to accept anything I offer within reasonable limits. So Janie couldn’t get a sports car, but she could get a car because she needed one,” he laughed.

“I didn’t know that,” I admitted. “Jenny never mentioned it.”

“Because she and Mickey only know that after the prenup, Julie allowed them to accept what I wanted to give them. Julie and I decide what’s reasonable. The kids resisted for a long time—your girlfriend’s car was the first big battle, but Julie sided with me.”

“Mrs. Julie signed that without hesitation?” I asked, surprised.

“Would’ve been nice,” he sighed. “She’s one of my toughest clients,” he laughed. “It took time to convince her that if we were going to be married, she had to let me share what I had with them.”

“So you managed to agree on the apartment too,” I summarized.

Inside was the family car. Dr. Cox leaned against the wall.