by Amanda Usen
He dressed quickly and pounded down the stairs, full of energy. He heard his parents talking in the kitchen, and veered that way, pausing to tug Billy out of Susannah’s arms and give her a quick kiss. “Sorry, sweetheart. I fell back asleep.”
“No problem.” She kissed his cheek, and something poked his chest. He glanced down and saw that the plastic wings the flight attendant had given Billy on their flight home from Washington were pinned to his chest.
Susannah shrugged. “Don’t ask me. He screamed when I tried to take them away. I pick my battles.”
Russ felt the phantom brush of feathers and smiled. As blessings went, he couldn’t ask for a better one.
The doorbell rang, and Russ opened the door to find Rich Bergman on the front porch.
Russ held out his hand and pulled him inside. “You are an interfering bastard, and I could not be more grateful—thank you.”
“You were always a difficult child.”
Behind Russ, his father laughed. “Difficult? Try impossible. You could never tell that boy anything.”
Bergman beamed, looking smug as hell, which he had every right to be, and Russ shook his head, bemused at how they’d been manipulated. “I still can’t believe you set us up.” The station hadn’t been in trouble at all; Bergman had been playing matchmaker. “I hope you get your Emmy after all the money you spent.”
“Worth every penny.” Bergman slung his coat on the stairs. “Happy birthday, Russ.”
“Thanks, Rich. Let me get you a drink.”
For the next few hours, Russ and Billy played host while they waited for At Home in the Wild to start. When it was almost time for the show, he took Billy upstairs and hurried through his bedtime routine. All the socializing seemed to have worn the kid out, so he went down without a fuss.
As soon as Russ got back downstairs, Susannah dragged him into the kitchen. She placed a blazing three-tiered chocolate cake in front of him, and everyone began to sing. “Happy birthday to you…happy birthday to you…happy birthday, dear Wild Man…happy birthday to you!”
His heart thudded louder than the applause of their guests. It was soon. He knew it was too soon, but he couldn’t wait any longer, especially since his parents were here for his birthday. He hoped like hell Susannah said yes, because if she said no there were going to be a lot of witnesses. Millions of them, in fact.
He took a deep breath and then paused dramatically. “You all just want me to blow out the candles so you can have cake.”
“No kidding. Start blowing.” Holly put her hands on her hips, and Adam leaned down to whisper something in her ear. She shook her head. “Cake first. Come on, Wild Man, hurry up, it’s showtime.”
He blew out the candles and made his wish, a total no-brainer. As soon as the last flame disappeared, Susannah whisked the cake away and started cutting and plating it. He caught Stan’s eye and mouthed, “Ready?”
Stan nodded, motioned to Dave, snagged a piece of cake, and went into the living room, where the opening credits were starting to roll. Russ followed his crew, wincing at the sight of himself standing on Susannah’s front porch before their second show, hesitating like a coward. Had he really stood there that long?
“Now that’s more like it,” he said when she opened the door and jumped into his arms.
Susannah elbowed him and then handed him a piece of cake. He kissed the top of her head, and glanced across the room at the baby monitor. One steady light. Thank goodness Billy was a deep sleeper, because the crowd howled with laughter when Russ smeared sweet potato on Billy’s hand. He set the cake aside. There was no way he could enjoy it, not yet.
The next forty-five minutes passed with excruciating slowness, every moment making him sweat. Finally, he watched himself carry Susannah out of the kitchen. Hell, yeah.
Abruptly, the camera cut to black and white footage of him changing Billy’s crappy diaper the next morning.
“Time for the bloopers reel,” Susannah crowed. “I love this. Look at that mess.”
He gave her a pinch. “Not fair. I’ve perfected my shit-storm containment technique now.”
“Turnabout is fair play. That was for the tent camera.”
“The tent camera thing was not my fault.” He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “You flashed your bra at me, and I didn’t hear a word Stan said.” The look she gave him made him wonder what bra she was wearing now. She now had a drawer full of animal prints, enough for every day of the week.
The opening bars of a classic U2 song thrummed through the air, and a hot rush of adrenaline heated his blood. It was time to do this.
He pulled Susannah into the center of the room. “Nice surprise, Susie, but I’ve got one for you, too.”
He pointed at the screen. Stan and Dave had plenty of video of him being miserable in India during the month he’d been away from Susannah, and they’d put it together into a montage. He was one grim-looking son of a bitch crawling up that mountain, and he looked like death wielding a paddle flying down the river. He caught his breath, recognizing footage from trips all over the world spanning the last six years. Apparently, his misery hadn’t confined itself to Bhutan. The video paused on his valentine to Susannah, loneliness etched in every line of his body, and then flashed through the highlights of their trip up Mount Marion. He looked like a different man.
He nodded his gratitude at Stan and Dave. Message received.
He cleared his throat as the screen picked up the feed, and then they were live. He met her gaze. “Susannah, I didn’t even know what I was looking for until I met you. You’ve changed my life, enriching it in ways I never imagined. I had no idea what a real adventure was until I fell in love with you. I want to be your man—your wild man, your steady man, your home-in-time-for-dinner man—wherever we happen to be in the world. I love you so much.” He dropped to one knee and opened the ring box. “Will you marry me?”
She stared down at him for so long he felt sweat trickle down his back.
A tear slid down her cheek. “I’d rather hike through hell…”
His heart stopped. It actually stopped. She was going to say no, and he was going to pass out on live television…and then she grinned. “Than live without you. Yes, I’ll marry you, and I’m going to make you the happiest man on the planet.”
He slid the ring onto her finger. “It’s going to be hard to make me any happier than I am right now…” Filled with love more potent than any adrenaline rush and twice as addictive, he rose to his feet pulled her into his arms. “But I dare you.”
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Acknowledgements
First of all, enormous kudos to Rachel Lyndhurst for coming up with the fabulous idea for the Zodiac series! As soon as I heard about it, I started begging for my sign. I’m not a typical Aries, but I figured all my years of reading horoscopes, particularly the Cosmo Girl’s Bedside Astrologer, should be good for something. I had a blast writing Russ, so huge thanks to Alethea Spiridon Hopson for giving him to me! And for saying, “I like this idea…”
Writing a book is an act of faith. My process is fueled by imagination, coffee, and denial. I ignore the gremlin muttering, “Seriously?! You think people will like this as much as you do?”…until I send the book to my editor. Then the gremlin eats me. I was so freaking thrilled when Liz Pelletier loved the book! Everything except the ending, of course, because I hate endings. Thanks for making me dig deeper, Liz! You rock.
A lot of action happens after all the words are written. Big love to all of the copy editors, formatters, proofreaders, cover artists, managing editors, royalty wizards, publicists, and all-around wand wavers at Entangled. You make book magic happen.
I’m also grateful to Bear Grylls. His book Mud, Sweat, and Tea
rs: The Autobiography mesmerized me. I read every word…even though there were no sex scenes. Bear and his amazing adventures inspired me while I was writing about Russ and Susannah. Yep—he sure did. But not while they were naked. I didn’t think of Bear once during the dirty bits. Nope—not at all. I didn’t think about my next-door neighbor Greg’s cousin Phil, the hot Green Beret, either. That’s my story, anyway…
I owe a big bear hug to Chris Kreiger, disabled US Army veteran and president of WNY Heroes Inc., an assistance center that provides financial, physical, and emotional support to Western New York veterans returning home, both for helping me get the army details right and for his heroic service—in and out of the US Army. Chris is a true hero; he served his country at great personal cost to himself and now aids those in need. You can learn more about helping WNY Heroes Inc. at http://www.wnyheroes.org/
Have you ever called AAA to ask for help charting a course to Mount Everest? I totally did. And another Chris was super nice to me! With incredible good humor, he helped me figure out how long it would take to get from New York to Kathmandu. *blowing a kiss* Thanks, Chris!
No outpouring of affection and gratitude is complete without mentioning Super Ben, my husband and every-hero; Nalini Akolekar, my agent and anchor; Jessica Topper, my hand-holder and fist-bumper…and YOU, my awesome readers. You guys are the best! Thank you for reading about Russ and Susannah’s adventures! I appreciate every moment you spend with my books.
About the Author
Amanda Usen knows two things for certain: chocolate cheesecake is good for breakfast, and a hot chef can steal your heart. Her husband stole hers the first day of class at the Culinary Institute of America. They live in Western New York with their three children, one gerbil, four fish, a Russian tortoise, and a beagle. Amanda spends her days teaching pastry arts classes and her nights writing romance. If she isn’t baking or writing, she can usually be found reading a book and trying to get out of cooking dinner.
Find Amanda online at Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and at http://www.amandausen.com
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