A Mating of Convenience
Page 17
Nina shared a smile with Boaz. He’d been right. Eva’s numbers were way up. She had color in her cheeks for the first time since Nina could remember.
In the center of the room, Eva stopped spinning. “Nina!”
Nina froze, one hand still raised to brush the hair out of her eyes. Had she said something?
“Oh-my-God! Nina!” Eva rushed over and grabbed her hand. Her left hand.
“Oh.” Nina shared another smile with Boaz, who leaned against a bookcase looking very much like the cat who ate the canary. Glancing down, she admired the beautiful square cut solitaire Boaz had given her last night. Just like everything the man did, it was perfect.
“You guys got engaged?” Eva glanced from Nina to Boaz and back again. “I can’t believe it.” She gave Boaz a saucy look. “That was fast.”
“She’s the one,” Boaz said simply. He pushed off the bookcase and came over to them. He looked down at Eva. “I love your sister. I’ll take good care of her.”
“Aww. Nina. Where did you find him? That’s so sweet. I guess we have a lot to celebrate tonight! Where should we get reservations?”
That night at the restaurant, looking at her sister’s happy face and Boaz’s handsome one, Nina realized she couldn’t imagine being happier. Her sister was getting well, Boaz was unbelievably wonderful, and they were drinking champagne and enjoying a five-star meal. She thought back to how her life had been only a few short weeks ago, a lonely existence of work and worry, with no real hope and no foreseeable way out.
And now she had this. She sighed happily and squeezed Boaz’s hand under the table. He had agreed to stay in Syracuse for the next several months until they were sure Eva was okay, and then, well, they’d see. Boaz said they should move back to the pack eventually. But there was no rush. Maybe she would finally get to see Paris.
Life was good.
Epilogue
Two months later in a sublet apartment, Syracuse, New York.
Nina peered at the computer screen over Boaz’s shoulder. That definitely wasn’t one of his usual financial sites. “What are you doing?”
Boaz looked slightly sheepish. “I’m looking at house designs.”
“Really?” Nina had learned how to make Boaz talk. The trick was not to give him any help. She just waited.
“I thought—if you want—we could build a house up on the ridge.”
Nina felt a flash of emotion.
“Our ridge?” That would be— Wow. That would be amazing.
“Yes.” He gave her that soft smile that touched his eyes and both sides of his mouth. “There’s a large piece of property for sale that abuts the territory. It’s reached by a different access road. We would have our own driveway.” He paused. “Our own address. In case— when Eva wants to visit.”
“Oh.” Nina sat down.
She’d been wondering about that. How she was supposed to explain to her sister that she was living in a house with six men. And one woman. Can’t forget Mari. She smiled, thinking about Eva coming to visit them. She was doing great, and Nina had the feeling her doctors were going to declare her out of the woods any time now. It looked like she wouldn’t need stem cells after all. Which was good, because no matter what Boaz said, she wasn’t convinced she was fertile.
“How big is the property?”
“Seven hundred acres.”
“Seven hundred! Boaz, that’s going to be a lot of money.”
He shrugged. “We have money.”
She blinked. “We do?” All of her money had been sunk into lab equipment and medical treatments.
“Yes. I have to check with Lucas. Technically it’s Pack money now. But since I brought it…” He shrugged. “It’s good for the pack. Expands the territory. I don’t see a problem.”
He clicked something on the screen. “Do you like it?”
A beautiful wood and glass structure appeared, complete with multiple decks sticking out in various directions on different levels. It was more modern than she usually went for, but up there on the ridge, with that view—
“Oh, Boaz. It’s perfect. I love it!”
“Good. I’ll talk to Lucas in the morning. We should get a bid in on the land.”
She leaned closer to get a better look and brushed his shoulder. He turned his head to smile at her and froze. For a moment he held perfectly still, sniffing the air. Then, scooching forward in the chair, he buried his head in her lap.
“Boaz? What are you doing?”
He inhaled deeply. It was a little weird. After two months together she thought she knew most of his quirks, but this was new.
“Nina.” He drew in another deep breath and sat up. “I think you’re pregnant.”
“What? Are you serious?”
He nodded. “We should get a test.”
He grinned at her and rose, opening his arms. She threw herself at him and he caught her, laughing as he swung her around. She laughed too. She couldn’t even believe it. “Do you really think so?”
“Yes,” he said, certainty in his voice. “I do.”
She hugged him tight, unable to contain her joy. “Oh, my God! Boaz!”
The End
Stay tuned for the next installment of the Rabbit River Saga
My Captive Valentine – Book 5
Available February 2020
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Acknowledgements
As always, need to thank my indefatigable critique partner, Anastasia for her unending help and support. She always steers me straight whenever I veer off course, and talks me down when I start to get nervous about the way the story is developing.
And again I want to thank my dear Cheryl of OffGridHomesteadPrepper.com for always reading over my manuscripts and catching those last few typos, usually inserted by me after my proofreader Wendy has done her final pass. Because really, every time I read it over, I have to make changes!
So that brings me to Wendy Chan, the Passionate Proofreader, who has once again done a stellar job with the proofing. And this time she did it on vacation with her family – which was totally above and beyond! Thanks Wendy for your excellent work!
Finally, I just want to acknowledge that I got the great background photo for the cover from Unsplash.com, a free photo website that’s really fantastic. This picture is from Everton Vila who obviously does great work! I hardly had to do anything, just crop and darken parts of it and add the text and wolf.
And then I ran it through that program BeFunky and gave it an oil painting effect. Because really, who doesn’t do that? Somehow, I just can’t help tinkering with my covers. I’ve got a cartoon effect on Checkmate, watercolor on Wolf’s Promise and gouache on Moonrise. But I think I’m changing that to oil painting…
Also the wolf silhouette on the cover and in the chapter headings is from Freepik (it was created by Freepik). Check them out at www.freepik.com they have lots of free clip art.
I would love to hear from you, my dear readers, about this series, gardening, or really anything else. I have a new series coming out in the new year – The Sand Dragons Motorcycle Club. The first book, Rory’s Run will probably be out in March, so if you like bad boys and road trip romance, join my ma
iling list and stay tuned!
Oh yes, if you don’t have Elizabeth’s Cookbook yet, and would like it, shoot me a message and I’ll send you the link. I’m probably going to put this up for sale soon, so if you want it free, now is your chance. My e-mail is elyce@elycedereefe.com
Oh, and check out my website www.elycedereefe.com
All my best,
Elyce
About the Author
Elyce de Reefe grew up in Santa Cruz, California and New York City. She likes to call herself a coastal girl, since she has spent nearly all of her time on one coast or another. She enjoys all genres of romance as long as there’s a hot, sexy hero with something to learn, a smart female lead who refuses to compromise on who she truly is, and the promise of a happily ever after. Her characters often find themselves on a journey of discovery, struggling to achieve true intimacy while solving the real-life problems thrown in their way.
To date, Elyce has written paranormal wolf shifter romance, contemporary romance, and romantic suspense. But there’s a Sci-Fi series in there waiting to come out, and possibly an epic fantasy series, as well as thoughts on a time travel story. Her ancestors were highlanders, after all.
Elyce loves hiking in nature, riding horses, watching wildlife, swimming under a blue sky, digging in the dirt, and sitting in front of a fire with a good book. She enjoys these things even more in the company of friends and family. Add wine and chocolate, and voila! It’s a beautiful life.
Oh, yes – and she has a very special place in her heart for wolves…