Sylvia threw her hands in the air. “Well, how was I supposed to know that the guy was out of the country?” she hissed. They both glanced towards Howard, but he seemed to be focused on his equipment.
“Let’s get back to my office and we’ll look up whatever the hell lanugo is. We’ll see if we can figure out another date for conception, but this time, we’ll cross reference it with that jerk’s itinerary. Everything Mancuso does is on the internet, so it shouldn’t be too hard to come up with a date when he was in the country.”
“Fine!” Sylvia groaned, shifting her belly again. “I still think we should pin it on someone else. Mancuso is hot and all, but his eyes don’t make him look like a good target.”
“Yeah, but he’s the wealthiest.”
She shoved her belly again. “I thought you said men like him dumped a load of money on claims like this!”
“How was I supposed to know that he wouldn’t follow the rule book?” Marsh snapped. “Now get your stuff. We have a lot of work to do.”
Mary chuckled as they watched the two women stroll out of the conference room. When there was just silence, she pressed a few more buttons and the monitor went blank.
“Well, I think that makes this case closed,” she announced.
Andrea turned and high-fived both Jeff and Mary, then turned to face Mike. The steamy, intense look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know.
“You’re cleared,” she whispered, only vaguely aware of Jeff and Mary slipping away. Jeff would draw up the paperwork and include the video as evidence for the defamation of character lawsuit. By that point, it would be a done deal.
“You did it, honey,” he said, reaching out to take her hand. But before he could do that, the door to her office slammed open and her boss appeared.
“I hear congratulations are in order!” he announced in his usual bombastic manner. “I never doubted Andrea for a moment! She’s one of our best!”
Andrea refrained from rolling her eyes, but there was a bit of sweet reward because Mark had left her office door open, allowing the others down the hallway to hear and see everything. After his furious outburst the last time, his congratulatory manner was a balm to her ego.
“I agree. She’s pretty amazing, Mark,” Mike replied, chuckling slightly. “The woman couldn’t even keep her baby bump in place!”
They all laughed, but Mark put a hand on Mike’s shoulder. “Come with me! I’ll take you out for lunch to celebrate.”
“No thanks, Mark. I’m going to take Andrea, Jeff, and Mary out. They did the work.”
“I’ll have to pass,” Jeff announced. “I need to get this defamation suit filed before she does any more interviews.”
Mary bowed out as well. “I’m still stuffed from last night’s dinner,” she told both of them.
Mike looked over at Andrea, suspecting that her team was doing a bit of manipulation to get them alone.
“Andrea?”
“I should…”
“You should have lunch with your favorite client,” Mark announced, a warning tone in his voice. “Go. Take the rest of the day off and celebrate. On me!”
A moment later, he was gone, snapping at someone lingering in the hallway. If there was one thing Mark hated, it was his staff not working because that meant fewer billable hours for him to cash in on.
“Lunch,” Mike announced, and pushed away from the wall. “And conversation. We have a lot to discuss.”
Andrea knew that he was right. But it still terrified her. She knew what he wanted to discuss and she would be perfectly fine with not discussing it!
“Don’t even try it,” he growled, picking up her bag and handing it to her. “You’re coming with me. We’re talking this through.”
Andrea took the bag with trembling fingers and followed him out the door, smiling as some of the other associates congratulated her.
He didn’t take her to a restaurant. Instead, he called his housekeeper and asked her to prepare a lunch for them. As soon as they walked into Mike’s penthouse, Janice walked out, waving to them. “Lunch is warming in the oven. I have errands to run.” And then they were alone.
Andrea stared up at him, willing him to just take her into his arms. Sex, she could handle. A complicated, emotionally charged conversation? Not really.
“You’ll be fine,” he assured her, taking her hand and leading her into the kitchen. Something cheesy and warm scented the air in the kitchen and Mike pulled two small casserole dishes out of the oven, setting them onto the stone countertop and grabbing some forks and a bottle of wine, pouring each of them a glass.
“Talk to me, Andrea. What are your fears?”
She lifted the glass of wine and took a long, fortifying sip, then set it down carefully.
“I’m terrified that…that I’ll admit that I love you and everything will be fine. Then you’ll grow bored and…”
“And you’ll be hurt.”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Because you witnessed that with the women in your father’s life growing up.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes,” she replied, clearing her throat when the word was hard to utter. Lifting her chin, she looked him in the eye. “I love you,” she admitted.
He squeezed her fingers. “But you don’t trust me.”
She looked down at their intertwined fingers, trying to figure out what she was afraid of. “I don’t think that I trust myself, actually.” As soon as she uttered the words, she knew that they were true. “You’re a good man, Mike. But…I don’t know how to be a good spouse.” She looked up at him again, willing him to understand. “My father was a bastard to the women that loved him. He was my only role model. Well,” she sighed, “and the women who cried and begged him to stay. That’s all I know.”
“And you think that you’ll be like them? Or like your father?”
She rubbed her forehead. “Does it matter? I don’t want to be either.”
“You’re a brilliant lawyer, Andrea. You’re not weak in any way. You’re strong and competent. Caring and sensitive to the people around you, as well as your clients.” He paused for a moment. “You’re the kind of woman who will think instead of react, which is what your father did. Am I right?”
She tilted her head slightly. “I suppose.”
“You don’t react, Andrea. You’re thoughtful. Even today, you started to jump to conclusions about that woman. But as soon as I said something, you stopped and considered the possibility that she was lying. And then, you went back out there and proved it.” He moved closer to her. “I think that you’ll do the same thing during our marriage.”
She laughed. “You have so much faith in me.”
“I do. I believe in you. I believe in us.”
Her laugh turned to a sob. “What if you’re wrong?”
Mike pulled her onto his lap. “What if I’m right?” he offered, and kissed her gently.
Andrea wrapped her arms around his neck, trembling. “Fine.”
Mike stiffened for a moment, then pulled back. “Does that mean what I think it means?”
She laughed, and nodded. “Yes.”
He brushed the tears from her cheeks. “You’re going to marry me?”
“Yes,” she repeated, confirming his question.
He stared at her for a heartbeat, then pulled her up, hugging her. “I promise that it will be fine! No, better than fine! It’s going to be wonderful!”
Andrea laughed, still worried, but willing to risk her heart. For Mike, she thought. Only for Mike.
“I love you!” he declared, and then he kissed her.
Epilogue
“Hurry!” Andrea called. “We’re going to be late!”
It sounded like a herd of elephants racing down the stairs. In reality, it was her four sons as they tripped over themselves in an effort to be the first one down.
Andrea rolled her eyes at her boys, especially when their mixed-breed pit bull, wearing a pink collar, raced down too, Molly’s pink tong
ue hanging out the side of her mouth. Pit bulls had a reputation for being mean and evil, but Molly was the exact opposite, loving up on anyone who would pet her. The boys spoiled her horribly, letting her sleep with them at night and Molly loved every moment of it.
“You’re going to trip over the cat,” Andrea called out in warning as Lucifer strolled into the chaos. Lucifer’s only acknowledgement of danger was a slight flick of his tail. Even Molly moved out of the cat’s way, although she sniffed the cat for a moment, wondering why the cat wouldn’t play as well.
“Okay!” Andrea announced. “Rules tonight!” All four boys looked up at her with innocent expressions, but Andrea wasn’t fooled. “You are singing in the Christmas eve service. No beaming each other with the stars!” she announced. “Last year, I received four separate e-mails with videos of you boys hitting each other with the nativity stars. I want sweet, angelic choir boys this year!”
Her sons laughed, elbowing each other as memories flooded them of the ‘good times’ from previous years.
“I’m serious!” she warned. “If you don’t behave, I’m tossing all of your presents out the window!”
That got them. They straightened up hastily, looking as if she’d just threatened death and dismemberment. “Out to the car!” she said, pointing to the front door.
A moment later, another stampede occurred as they ran out to the SUV. Andrea heard the chuckling as Mike stepped out of his office. “Don’t worry about them hitting each other this year,” he told her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her in for a kiss.
“How can you be so sure?” she asked, hoping for a miracle.
He shrugged. “I may have had a conversation with the choir director. She and I agreed that the boys wouldn’t have any weapons this year in the form of stars, shepherd staffs or…”
“Beards? Two years ago, Danny started smacking Edward with his beard,” she pointed out, referring to her two youngest who were now eight and ten years old.
“No beards,” he promised.
Andrea sighed as he held her coat so she could slip her arms in. “Relax, honey,” he told her from behind. “I’ll tell them that if they don’t behave this year, they’ll have to play the role of Mary and baby Jesus next year.”
Andrea stared up at him for a long, stunned moment. And then she burst out laughing. “Oh, that’s genius!” And she leaned her head against his shoulder. “I’m so glad that I married you,” she told him as they walked out to the SUV that…oddly enough, was bouncing up and down.
“I told you I was worth the risk,” he kissed her again before opening the car door. The rocking stopped immediately and the boys found their seats, looking angelic.
Keep Reading for the novella that introduced The Lottery Winners – a fabulously fun series about how a group of friends won a huge jackpot – and then used that money to help so many others!
The Lottery Winners Introduction
By Elizabeth Lennox
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Copyright 2018
ISBN13: 9781944078744
All rights reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Any duplication of this material, either electronic or any other format, either currently in use or a future invention, is strictly prohibited, unless you have the direct consent of the author.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Excerpt from “Tempted” – Now Available!
Excerpt from “Rescued” – Now Available
Excerpt from “Caught”, Now Available!
Chapter 1
“More coffee?” Daisy asked, surreptitiously wiping the grease from her hand onto her apron. Working at a truck stop diner, grease and greasy food was just a part of life.
“Love some, honey,” the big, friendly trucker replied, pushing his ceramic cup closer.
Daisy poured the coffee into the man’s cup and smiled. “Where you off to today, Tom?” she asked, leaning a hip against the edge of the counter.
“Hauling tires out to Utah,” he replied. “When are you gonna give up this waitressing life and come share my glamorous life on the road?”
Daisy laughed, shaking her head while smoothing back a wisp of strawberry blond curls that had slipped out of her hair band. “First of all, I could never leave here because I’ve found my calling! Slinging hash is what I live for. It’s what makes me whole.” She added a sassy wink so Tom understood her sarcasm. “And secondly, you and I both know that Nancy would skin you alive if you snuck me out of this little sliver of heaven.”
Tom chuckled, a big, belly laugh that sounded nice amidst the constant noise of the lunch time rush of the diner. “Too true,” he replied, lifting his coffee cup to his mouth even as he admired Daisy’s swimsuit model figure in the lackluster gold waitressing uniform.
A moment later, Tom’s wife, Nancy, came out of the bathroom, wiping her own hands along the sides of her jean-clad thighs, an irritated scowl on her features. She slid into the seat next to her husband, smacking his shoulder for his flirting while shaking her head in disgust. “As if a beauty like Daisy would even look at an old man like you twice.” She harrumphed when her husband only laughed and kissed her weathered cheek with genuine love. “And when’s that annoying woman gonna get some paper towels in that bathroom?” she grumbled, referring to Janice, the owner of the diner. “Every time I come through here, the paper towel dispenser is empty.” She grumbled and wrapped her hands around the ceramic cup Daisy had just refilled. “If it weren’t for Tony’s amazing food, we’d drive on by, wouldn’t we, honey?” she asked of Tom.
“Best food on both sides of the Mississippi,” Tom confirmed, lifting his coffee cup up in a salute.
Daisy sighed and patted Nancy on the shoulder. “Maybe when Janice grows a heart,” she muttered under her breath, slipping the check onto the chipped countertop.
Nancy laughed, shaking her head. “You mean we’re never getting paper towels.”
“Daisy!” the woman in question bellowed. “You got customers waiting at table eleven.”
Nancy gave Daisy an empathetic look and tossed down several dollars to cover her meal as well as her husband’s and a bit extra for a tip. “Good luck, honey.”
Daisy smiled, ignoring Janice’s snarling bellow. “I’ll need it,” she agreed and moved off. As she made her way towards table eleven, she paused at the kitchen window and grabbed four plates piled high with food, smiled at Tony, the cook who winked in return, snagged a fresh coffee pot with her fingers and made her way over the slippery linoleum floor.
“Here you go,” she said to the truckers sitting at a table by the window, putting the coffee pot down before placing their orders in front of each one. “I hope you’re hungry,” she said quietly. “Looks like Tony added a bit more fries to your plates than normal.”
Jeff, a big, gruff trucker who came through at least once a week on his way back and forth across the country, smiled as he looked down at the plate. “Damn, Daisy. The day Janice hired Tony was the smartest day of her life. His food is the only reason to come into this dump.”
Daisy laughed, but she silently agreed. The truck stop diner located on Highway 64 just west of Louisville, Kentucky wasn’t much to look at. The interior hadn’t been updated since the 70s, everyone still eating off the same chipped tables, sat on torn vinyl covered chairs, food served off battered dishes and eaten with bent, tin utensils. But Tony’s food was truly amazing! How the man could transform a bag of cheap, frozen f
ries into something exciting, she’d never understand. The guy was a magician in the kitchen! He added spices, changed the way things were cooked, and basically performed magic on everything that came out of his kitchen.
“Daisy!” Janice bellowed, a constant reminder of one’s ongoing servitude.
Turning towards the customers and away from Janice’s too-knowing eyes, she grimaced at the latest holler. “Ah, the lilting call of our native songbird,” she mocked, smiling as the big, gruff men laughed. Turning around, Daisy headed towards table eleven where a family of four was sitting. The parents looked a bit wary as they surveyed the options on the menu.
“Hi there! What can I get you?” she asked, pulling her order pad out of her apron. Daisy noticed a smeared ketchup stain on the menu and cringed. Disgusting, she thought, but pasted a smile on her face anyway. Obviously, Janice hadn’t wanted to pay Marilee last night to properly close down the diner. Not a surprise since Janice was literally the cheapest woman this side of the Mississippi, Daisy thought with frustration.
“Oscar’s running wild,” Ivy whispered in Daisy’s ear as the slender brunette with mischievous eyes passed by with five plates balanced precariously in her hands and on her arms.
Immediately, Daisy looked to the front section of the diner at that coded warning, wishing she could hurry over, wanting to protect Marilee, the third waitress on duty today, from Janice’s wrath. But the owner of the greasy spoon diner was already heading over to Marilee’s table, evil intent in her eye.
“You lazy, pathetic excuse!” Janice snapped, grabbing the plates out of Marilee’s hands. “Can’t you get anything right?” she demanded.
As far as Daisy could tell, Marilee hadn’t done anything wrong. She’d simply been bringing the meals over to the men sitting at the table. But one look at the men sitting there and Daisy understood. Those four were big tippers. Janice was going to steal Marilee’s tips! Again!
Darn it! Marilee was only twenty-two, but had been working here since she’d graduated high school, four years ago. She was the sweetest, most generous woman Daisy had ever known. Janice, on the other hand, was just…foul!
Craving Him (Sinful Nights Book 6) Page 7