by Yvette Hines
“Ah, no. You may want to come see for yourself.” Margie’s mouth held a secretive smile.
Puzzled, Chelsea headed to the front of the pharmacy area. Her feet stopped when she saw the person standing there. She wanted to do an about face, run back to her office, and lock the door.
But Rick had already seen her.
“Good evening, Pharmacist McDaniels. I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.”
Play it cool.
Swallowing then licking her lips, Chelsea forced her legs to move forward. “No. It’s a little hectic today…but consultation is my job. You know, because I’m the pharmacist.” She stood before the sexiest man in the county and babbled.
“Yes, you are.” His cobalt blue gaze roamed her face as if he’d never seen her before.
“Um…what can I help you with?” Butterflies took flight in her stomach.
“You are a beautiful woman, Chelsea.” He ignored her question.
Did someone turn the air off in here? Sweat beaded on her skin. “Thanks. Your medicine question?”
“Your hair is the prettiest shade of brown…there’s nothing else I’ve ever seen that matches it.”
Unable to stop herself, she rubbed her hands over the shoulder length twists she’d spent all evening doing. A flower clip held one side back. Flustered, she didn’t know what to say. Where is he going with this?
“Do you know what I missed seeing most?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer. “Your hazel green eyes.”
He knows. As sure as the sky sat above the earth, Rick had figured out who his date had been. Her.
She trembled, fidgeting with the flu vaccine pamphlets on the counter and glancing over her shoulder, making sure her staff remained busy with their own work. Looking everywhere but at him.
However, Margie, Cliff, and what seemed like all of the customers at Moose Pharmacy were focused on them.
“Um…if you don’t have a medicine question…um….” She took a step back, needing to get out of there before she did something stupid or Rick said something incriminating.
If either of those things happened, in less than five minutes the Lucky Valley gossip line would come alive.
Too quick, he grabbed her hand. “Chelsea, wait. Please don’t go. I do have a question.”
She followed those masculine fingers up until she passed his wrist, arm, and reached his dark blue sincere eyes.
She managed to squeeze out a few words from her thick, tight throat. “What’s your question?”
His fingers constricted around hers, lending her support. “What are you doing for dinner?”
“That’s not a pharmacy question.”
Chuckling, he said, “No, but it’s an important one that needs an answer.”
Did he want to show up at a restaurant and humiliate her some more?
“Why do you want to know?”
“Because if you don’t have any plans, I’d like to invite you to go with me so I can ask you to marry me.”
Her heart stopped beating. It stilled for so long she thought it possible she would die right then. Right at this moment, and she would never discover if Rick joked with her or not. Thankful when her heart resumed its beating, even if it went fast, she asked, “What did you say?”
The crowd moved in closer, as if they, too wanted to be sure of what they heard.
“I said I want to marry you.” His voice remained steady and clear. Stretching out his other hand, he took hold of her free one and tugged her against the counter between them. “You see, Chelsea, I have loved you since we were fourteen. Hell, I think I loved you from the first moment I saw you at age five. Your dad brought you along when he checked on one of our cows having a difficult birth. You were wearing a yellow dress and your hair was up in a big puffy ponytail on top of your head with a ribbon. I recalled wanting to touch it and see if it felt like cotton.”
Chelsea blinked a few times. Feeling like she wanted to call out and ask someone to pinch her. I have to be dreaming.
However, how many times she attempted to clear her sights, Rick still stood there, holding her.
“I remember that day. Your mom gave us Popsicles, and we sat on the porch eating them. My mom got angry when my dad and I returned home because my dress was ruined by the red juice that dripped on it.” After that her mom had forbidden her to go with her father on his vet runs out at the ranches.
“You know what else I know?”
Smiling, she said, “What?”
“That you love me too.” Releasing her hands, he leaned forward and cupped her face. “Saturday night proved that to me.”
Oh, God…no, Rick. Don’t go there.
The customers murmured, wondering what had happened Saturday night and where.
“Please, Rick….” she whispered.
“You would not have gone through all that trouble to be someone you thought I would want you to be, if you didn’t love me.” He kissed her in front of everyone.
A deep and passionate kiss that stole her breath and had her foot rising behind her.
When he moved his lips away, he continued. “I don’t want you to be anybody but who you are, Chelsea, and that’s mine. If you agree to marry me, my sweet pearl.”
Tears spilled out of her eyes and ran down her cheeks from her vigorous nodding. “Yes…yes. Yes! I’ll be your somebody, Rick Forrester.”
~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~
I'm simply Yvette Hines, some people call me SASSE or SASSE Yvette. I'm an erotica author who loves pleasurable hours between the sheets. Whether it is a blended tale of interracial lovers, the clandestine bite and wicked passion of a paranormal mates or the sting of a commanding whip against tender flesh. Even better, make my day and toss in two gorgeously, decadent men who only want to pleasure their woman. I write Short and Sexy, Sensual Erotica (SASSE). Occasionally, you may get a full length novel from me this my sci-fi erotica "Pleasuring the Queen". However, life is too busy and most of us have more than one job, family and other activities that don't allow us long hours to read any more.
I've been penning erotic tales since 2006, on the hedonistic side of the romance genre. However, I've been writing romance under a different pen for a while. I'm eclectic by nature.
I'm married to my best friend. A guy that makes me laugh 'til I can't breathe and one who steals my breath every time he walks into a room. I believe in happily ever after like the rising of the sun depended on it.
You can visit Yvette at:
http://yvettehines.com
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