Page 48 of Forever Mann
“What if someone sends something for him?” Perrin asked. “Would that solve the problem?”
She shook her head. “His parents don't do things like that,” she said sadly, the thought of parents who didn’t do those things so foreign it creased her forehead into a deepv-shape, making her look much older than she actually was.
“Ok, well what if I did?” Perrin asked.
Shit, he was so damn sweet. It killed me.
“If I got permission, maybe? And it could be a surprise?” he added.
“Like Birthday Santa!” Piper said excitedly, causing the deep belly laugh of Perrin’s to roll over the living room and into the kitchen.
“You know what, Piper? I wouldloveto be Birthday Santa.”
Her mouth turned up like a bow. “Why?”
He laughed. “Well, first of all, I’m helping a friend of yours, and doing that makes me happy. Second, guess whenmybirthday is?”
“I don’t know!” she said, as if she should know, and needed this information about her friend immediately.
“Christmas Eve,” he said, and she clapped her hands together.
“You reallyareBirthday Santa!” she declared, with a bit of wonder in her voice at him.
“Told you,” he answered, and I knew he had winked without even needing to see his face.
After that, Piper settled down into his large lap. She treated him like furniture, but I could tell he didn’t care. He was protective, and he loved her. I breathed, knowing I could trust him, and that made everything inside my chest hurt in a strange way.
I found out, weeks later from CJ, that Perrin had just taken over the birthday celebrations at school all together to avoid anyone feeling like Piper’s friend had. Every month, he came to school and brought treats to recognize all the children who had birthdays that month and organized a small celebration. He even had one planned toward the end of the school year for all the children that had summer birthdays. Not just Piper’s class or grade. The entire school.
He never said a word about it to me. When I asked him, he admitted it, but I knew by the surprise of his response he never felt it was something he would have brought up himself.
Perrin
As soon as it got too warm for much skiing,the galaseason took off. It seemed we had events every week, and not that I minded them, but it was important to keep everyone’s name’s straight as I met them at these functions, and after the first few weeks of it, I was still unsure of my effort.
I was fairly good with names and faces - I had to be when I moved around so much. But, I still worried I would somehow bungle a name that was important or a face I was supposed to know on sight. Jack kept them all straight like some sort of human encyclopedia. It didn’t take long to see one of the reasons he was so successful as Mann Family CEO.
My grandfather had this ability too. My favorite story is one where he was at a political function and greeted the bartender by name. Come to find out, the guy had driven him from the airport to his house two years before and he had remembered.
The first few events I attended had been tame affairs, and I had even managed to wear an open collar shirt and suit to most of them, not even needing a tie, much less my tux. But, tonight was our first black-tie event that would last long into the evening.
We were in Denver. A congregation of several philanthropic foundations from across the country, like the Mann Foundation, gathered every year to celebrate, network, and honor work being done with children through the various outreach initiatives. Rita and Ellen were there, too. I had sat through a day of conferences, and learned a staggering amount of information.
Sometimes we were accompanied to these events by Jack’s brothers or CJ, and tonight it was Quinn and Baylor, with Matt and CJ staying in Bear Valley. Not that I could complain. Seeing Jack in a tux was like opening up a whole new dimension of how I could lust after the man. And, since the event was expected to run into the late hours, and there was an hour drive back to Bear Valley, we had opted to stay in Denver as well, staying at a very posh hotel across the street from the venue for the entire weekend.
Our suite was the gathering place for everyone to get ready, although Ellen and Rita and Quinn and Baylor were staying in rooms elsewhere in the hotel. I got the feeling that for Quinn, at least, there would be a hook-up of some kind at the end of the night. Baylor didn’t really seem the type, despite how good he looked all dressed up.
I came out of our room, fixing a link into the frenchcuff of my shirt, when I looked up to see Jack standing in the common room. His dark hair was perfectly styled, Preppy Jack all the way, and the white of his shirt set off his dark features and light eyes. I had to catch my breath that wanted to run out of my throat at the sight of him.
Breathless.
That’s what they called it, and now I knew why. His legs for miles in the tailored pants, his red lips against his flushed face. He watched me with a twinge of amusement in his blue-green eyes. More green tonight.
“See something you like, P?” he asked with the same amusement in his voice when I kept staring as he made his way over to me. I was rooted in the spot and couldn’t take my eyes off of him.
“Sorry, what?” I asked, tearing my gaze from his body to his face, and leaning in to him for a kiss when he was close enough.
“You look,” his mouth twisted as he looked me over, “delectable.” He kissed me hard on the mouth. “Remind me to sign us up for every black tie event I can,” he said.