by Kait Nolan
She relented and followed when he pulled her toward the family room. “He’s really motivated to get a family in here. It’s a great neighborhood for kids. And it’s a cul de sac, so no worries about a lot of traffic.”
“I’m sure it’s a great place for kids but this guy is not going to agree to what I could afford to pay.”
“Oh, I think he might. He was really clear family is a lot more important to him than the money. Look, he’s left a picture of them on the mantle.”
She wandered over to peer up at the lone frame set on the rough wood mantle. As her steps slowed, Tucker’s heart began to thud. He slid his hand—sweaty now—into his pocket. Corinne reached to pick up the frame that held a picture of the three of them from their weekend on the coast, grinning in all their sunburned glory at the camera.
Eyes wide, she stared at him. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s our house. I bought it for us.”
“You bought a house?”
Okay, stupefied wasn’t necessarily bad, was it?
Tucker crossed over. “I did. For our family. Because that’s what I want us to be, Corinne. A family.”
“You bought a house?” she repeated.
“Not just a house.” He pulled out his hand and her stunned gaze fell to the ring in his palm.
“Ohmygod.”
“This wasn’t necessarily how I planned this part, but I seem to recall a conversation about how you didn’t need to hang out in the slow lane. I’m not much interested in the slow lane either. I love you. I love Kurt. And I don’t see any reason to put off what I already want.” She still wasn’t saying anything and Tucker started to feel the first flickers of panic. Had he screwed this up? “Unless you don’t want this or aren’t ready. I can put it away for later, when you are—”
Corinne pressed the fingers of her free hand to his lips to stop the flow of words. Tucker shut his mouth.
She set the picture carefully back on the mantle and turned to him. “Is there an actual question in all that?”
He took a breath and sank to one knee. “Will you and Kurt marry me, be my family, and come live here in this house?”
Her eyes were glassy, but her lips curved, dimple flashing. “Seems like that’s a lot of questions.”
“They’re all rolled up together. Package deal.”
She pressed a hand to her mouth for a moment. “It’s a pretty awesome package.”
“Well?”
“Say yes, Mama! Say yes! Tucker said if you say yes, I can get a puppy!”
Corinne slid Tucker a Look.
Tucker gave Kurt the side eye. “You weren’t supposed to mention that part yet.”
“So,” she said. “Marriage, family, house, and dog? In that order?”
“In whatever order you want,” Tucker told her.
“Well then,” she dropped to her knees before him, “I think the answer is a resounding yes.”
What’s Next In Wishful?
I hope by now you’ve fallen as much in love with my little town as I have. I’ve got many many stories planned.
Next up is Wish I Might, the story of Reed Campbell (that’d be Cam’s youngest cousin from To Get Me To You) and Cecily Dixon (Norah’s intern). It’s a novella that was included in the Virtually Yours anthology. An expanded edition will be releasing on it’s own in October 2016! Sign up for my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gQvcX so you know exactly when it’s released.
After that, you can look for a little taste of Christmas in Dance Me A Dream, a holiday novella included in the upcoming Romancing The Holidays anthology, releasing in November 2016. It follows the story of Tara Honeycutt (you met her in Know Me Well) and Jace Applewhite, the guy who vows to give her back some of the carefree joy she lost when she became guardian to her two younger siblings.
If you want to keep up with all the action in Wishful (and get to see snips of works in progress) and hang out with like-minded readers, come join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wishfulseries/
You can also like my page on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/kaitnolanwriter
Anyway, thanks for reading! And if you loved the book, please consider leaving a review or telling a friend. These days, it's harder than ever to get a new book noticed. Many of the promotional opportunities out there require a minimum number of reviews—10 at the low end, 50+ at the high. If you enjoyed this book, taking just a minute of your time to click the star rating and write a few words would help me tremendously, and allow me to continue to bring you the stories you enjoy.
Other Books By Kait Nolan
Contemporary Romance
Wishful Series
Once Upon A Coffee (Avery and Dillon): Available for FREE!
To Get Me To You (Cam and Norah): Available for FREE!
Be Careful, It’s My Heart (Brody and Tyler)
Know Me Well (Liam and Riley)
Once Upon A Setup (A Meet Cute Romance with Piper and Myles!)
Just For This Moment (Myles and Piper)
Wish I Might (Reed and Cecily): Part of the Virtually Yours anthology| Sneak Peek at the end!
Turn My World Around (Tucker and Corinne)
Meet Cute Romance
Once Upon A Snow Day
Once Upon A New Year’s Eve
Once Upon An Heirloom
Once Upon A Coffee: Available for FREE!
Once Upon A Setup
Meet Cute Romance: Volume 1 (Meet Cutes 1-5)
Paranormal Romance
Mirus Series:
Genesis (an omnibus including, Forsaken By Shadow (Mirus 1.1), Devil’s Eye (Mirus 1.2), and Blindsight )
Riven
Whisper of Shadow(Also available in the Magical Mayhem anthology)
YA:
Red
Whisper of Shadow
Excerpt Wish I Might: Wishful #5 from the Virtually Yours anthology.
(Reed and Cecily’s story)
Reed eyed Cecily’s dark house as he pulled into the drive. “Think Christoff is asleep?”
“He’s either over at Daniel’s or he’s lying in wait to pounce on me for details the moment I walk through the door.” She shot an amused glance his way. “He was always on your side.”
“Good to know.” Reed got out and hurried around to open her door. “Ma’am.”
She took his offered hand. “You Southern boys certainly have pretty manners.”
“Some old-fashioned things are worth retaining.” He kept her hand in his as they walked up to the front porch, not wanting the night to end.
“You want to sit for a little while?”
He smiled, glad they were on the same page. “Sure.”
She led him over to the little glider.
Reed took the seat beside her and ran his hand over the wooden arm of the glider. “I’ve never seen one quite like this.”
“It’s made of upcycled shipping pallets.”
“Seriously?”
“Daniel made it. You should see some of the things he can put together. He’s working on starting a business of it. The Pallet Palace. I did his website back in the summer. Right now it’s largely custom orders, since he doesn’t have a place to store stock, but he hopes to expand eventually.” She tugged a blanket off the back. “It’s a bit chilly tonight.”
“Welcome to fall in Mississippi. Summer temps in the daytime and cold at night. C’mon.” Reed opened his arms in invitation.
She tucked the blanket around their legs and snuggled in close, resting her head against his chest. He decided it was an almost perfect end to a pretty perfect night—run-in with Annelise notwithstanding.
“So did you get what you needed out of the reading?”
Cecily laughed. “Was that really why you asked me to go?”
“Partly. Mostly I wanted to see you in my world. You fit pretty well. For a Yankee.”
“Really? That’s the part you focus on after everything you know about me?”
So sure she’d be judged on her affluen
t background. He skimmed his fingers through her silky hair, resisting the urge to bury his nose in the sweet, lemony scent. “It’s the only relevant part. You passed the cornbread test.”
“It was damned good cornbread.” On a contented sigh, she said, “I had fun.”
“Good. There’s a lot of other stuff I want to show you to further your southern education.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?”
“The Sweet Potato Festival is only a few weeks off.”
“Sweet potatoes?” Her voice dripped with skepticism.
“Sure. Vardaman is the sweet potato capital of the world. Once you’ve had sweet potato pie, you’ll never go back to pumpkin.”
“Blasphemer! There is no Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie.”
“I’ll concede that it’s worth having both.”
“Generous of you.”
“I’m pretty sure there’s no such thing as too much pie.”
She grinned up at him. “I’ve eaten your grandmother’s pie. This is a true thing. What else?”
“Well, there’s the Spring pilgrimage in Columbus. It’s not as grand as the one in Natchez, but it’s closer and easier to manage. You’ll totally dig all the folks that dress up in period clothes to give the tours of all the antebellum homes.”
Reed knew as soon as the words left his mouth that it was the wrong thing to say. He could actually see the reality of their situation come crashing back down on her. Every fiber of his being wanted to rewind, have a do-over as the light in her eyes dimmed and her expression twisted into regret.
“Reed—”
Please don’t say it.
She pulled away from him, tugging the blanket up to her chin. “I’m interviewing in San Francisco in a few weeks.”
It wasn’t what he’d expected.
Don’t go. But, of course, he had no right to ask that. “Congratulations.”
One corner of her mouth twitched into a wry smile. “That isn’t what you want to say and we both know it.”
“Those Southern manners are too deeply ingrained for me to say what I want to say.”
“It’s a top tier firm. Very prestigious. One of my short list. There’s a big possibility I won’t get the job.”
“But if you do get it, you’re gone.”
She gave a What can I do? shrug.
There was plenty she could do. With the means at her disposal, she could stay if she really wanted to. But he knew how much she wanted to succeed on her own terms, without the help of her family, so he didn’t say a word. How could he, when he admired the hell out of her choice to do exactly that? He’d known her leaving was a very real possibility when he decided to pursue her again. But he’d thought he’d have more time to convince her that staying here was the right move. As usual he’d miscalculated.
He sighed. “I know how hard you’ve worked for this.” Sometimes it was a real pisser to be able to see both sides of a situation.
“I like you, Reed. I’ve always liked you. But I just don’t think it’s smart to start something when I might not be around to finish it.”
“So, what exactly was tonight then?”
“I don’t know. Part business. Part apology. Part what if?”
He nodded, though he didn’t know what he was agreeing with. His mind was full of his own what ifs. What if he hadn’t said the wrong thing at the lake? What if they’d had the last three months to deepen the connection between them? Would she still be planning to leave?
They were useless questions. He had; they hadn’t; and she was. That was reality.
At least she hadn’t called it a mistake.
Looking over at her, he hated the mix of concern and sorrow on her face. “You aren’t going to start avoiding me again, are you?”
Even in the moonlight, he could see her blush.
“No. Quite apart from the fact that I still have a job to do, I’d like to be friends.”
The whole idea left a sour taste in his mouth. But it wasn’t like he wanted to hurt her by saying no.
“Sure.” He rose, letting the blanket slide off his lap. “It’s late. I should be getting on home.”
Cecily unfolded and dug out her key. “See you on Monday?”
“Yeah. You know where to find me.” Reed waited until she’d unlocked the door, then took a step back, lifting a hand in a completely lame wave before shoving both hands in his pockets to keep from reaching for her. “Night.”
He could feel Cecily’s gaze on him as he walked to his car and wondered what she was thinking. Was she second guessing her decision? No, that was probably wishful thinking.
One foot in front of the other. Do not open your mouth and embarrass yourself any further.
His phone buzzed with an incoming text as he slid into the driver’s seat. Pulling it out, he found a message from Selina.
You’re quiet tonight.
Because I’ve been spending time with a real girl, not a figment of technology and imagination. For all the good it’s done me.
A light went on in the house and Cecily shut the door. He cranked the car, staring at the phone until the screen went dark. He didn’t want this. Didn’t want a fake girlfriend. Didn’t want the lie. He wanted the woman he’d just walked away from. And how was she to know that if he didn’t man up and show her?
Reed turned off the engine and sprinted across the yard.
Cecily opened the door before he could knock. “Reed? Did you forget something?”
“Yeah.” He stepped inside, spearing his hands into her hair and claiming her mouth before she could say another word.
Her body gave one quick jolt, her hands coming up to his shoulders. Reed braced to be pushed away, maybe slapped. Then she shuddered and opened to him on a sexy little moan, moving in and wrapping her arms around his neck. Reed kicked the door shut and backed her up against it, caging her with his body, while he devoured her mouth. This wasn’t the slow, languid exploration at the lake. It was pure, unadulterated wanting. He had just enough control to keep his hands in her hair, rather than sprinting over the body she pressed against his.
When he felt even that thread begin to fray, he gentled the kiss and forced himself to ease back, pressing his brow to hers as his breath heaved, fast and unsteady. “I don’t wanna be friends. I’d rather have this time with you now and be torn up when you go than have nothing at all.”
“Sweetie, if you don’t say yes to him after that display, I’m checking you into the nearest mental hospital.”
Reed cranked his head around to see Christoff smirking with approval from the hall. Well, too late for embarrassment. “That’d be Whitfield. Just so you know.”
“Noted,” he said cheerfully.
Cecily tipped Reed’s face back toward hers, rubbing a thumb along the scruff of his jaw. “Not necessary. I may be crazy, but it won’t be for saying no. Now, go away, Christoff,” she said, and tugged Reed’s mouth down to hers.