“And you’re sure this time?”
Sarah almost rolled her eyes at her father for asking what equated to “What are your intentions toward my daughter?” Plus, they had a huge audience, including Luke’s family sitting nearby.
Luke didn’t balk at her father’s boldness. “I think I fell in love with her the day I met her.”
“Me, too,” her father said, touching her deeply.
“I gave Sarah a hard time when we first met,” Luke confessed. “I thought she was something she isn’t and could never be. I was wrong. I told her as much. During it all, I felt this pull, something I couldn’t resist or deny. A connection I’d never felt. And I knew I didn’t want to live my life without her in it. She has my complete trust and loyalty. I don’t ever want to lose hers. As for Jack and Nick . . . I want to be the father to them my dad was to me.”
It touched her deeply that he’d be so open and honest and heartfelt with her father.
Luke brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek. “It’s you and me, sweetheart. Always. Forever.”
Choked up, she needed to change the subject before she cried. Her brother became her distraction. “Tyler, show your dad your first paycheck. He’ll be so proud of you for earning it.”
As expected, Lyon turned to the son he doted on. “When did you get a job?”
“Sarah and I collaborated on her new project. I never expected her to pay me, but she did. All I wanted was to have an advanced copy of the game.”
Lyon looked at the check. “Sarah, you can’t possibly think to pay him this much.”
“Sure, I can. He came up with a lot of the ideas. He did the work, so I paid him what I’d pay any other game developer.”
“I think you’re just being generous because he’s your brother.”
“If that’s the case, then, I’m sure you’d agree, it’s my prerogative.”
Luke notched his chin toward Tyler. “Which game is that? The new Knight’s Revenge?”
“Yeah, I love that game, but I thought there could be a lot more to it. So, I called Sarah and told her my ideas. And she actually used them in the new game.”
“It’s one of my favorites, as well. When you, your father, and mom come for Christmas this year, we’ll go head-to-head.”
“Luke, I’m sure Lyon would like to spend Christmas—”
“With his family,” he pointedly suggested before turning to her dad. “We’d love to have you. It will be my first Christmas with Sarah and the boys. What do you say?”
Sarah’s heart filled with hope. She’d never had a big family holiday and she’d love to have her family, Margaret, Bridget, and Sophia, and Luke’s family all together. “Will you join us, Lyon? It would mean so much to me.”
“Yeah, Dad. Let’s have Christmas with Sarah, Nick, and Jack. I haven’t gotten to see them in a long time. Mom will love it.” Tyler looked as hopeful as Sarah.
“If it means that much to you, Sarah, of course we’ll be there.”
She couldn’t wait. “Thank you, Lyon. It’s going to be wonderful.” She gave her dad a quick hug then stepped back to Luke’s side.
“Well, we better sit down to dinner with everyone else,” her father suggested.
She took her seat next to Luke, his family spread out around the table on his other side, hers next to her. She looked at everyone here to support her and just took it in. She’d come a long way from that lonely little girl lost in the world, with no one who loved or took care of her. Now, she’d found her own strength and used her smarts to build a thriving business and had a mismatched family she’d pulled together around her.
Luke leaned over and kissed her softly. “You look happy.”
“I am because I’m here with my family.”
The rest of the evening went by in a blur of people who wanted to congratulate her on her accomplishments and talk business. She loved watching Luke interact with the people he knew or who wanted to talk to him about a case he’d been involved in or about someone he’d represented. A couple people even hinted they could use his help.
At the end of the night, she finally got her dance with him, and leaned back and stared up at him. “Did I tell you how handsome you look in this tux? Sometimes when I look at you, I can’t believe you’re mine.”
“You take my breath away in that dress.”
“Don’t look at me like that, Luke. There are a ton of people here and all of them seem to be watching us.”
“Look at you like what?”
“Like you want me, right here, right now.”
He leaned in and nuzzled his nose along her ear’s outer edge. “I do.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and stared down at her, his eyes filled with desire.
Sarah swallowed hard. “You should take me home to bed.”
“My favorite place to take you.” He kissed her right there on the dance floor in front of everyone.
It was the best night of her life. She’d stood before a room full of reporters and taken credit for not only the innovative and unique security system she’d done for the Knox Project, but for the success of Spencer Software and Andy’s Antics. She celebrated her accomplishments and showed everyone that she’d done it on her own through hard work and determination.
But the best thing had been standing at the podium and staring down at her dad and Luke, the two most important men in her life, and seeing their pride and love for her.
And dancing with Luke, seeing the way he looked at her and how it made her heart melt, solidified how much she wanted to spend her life with him.
Chapter Forty
It turned out that escaping an event held in your honor was harder than she thought, with everyone wanting to say their goodbyes. Plus, she had to thank everyone who participated in the auction. By the time Luke sat beside her in the limo and pulled her close to his side, she was exhausted.
The drive to her home didn’t take long. She was happy to be back and excited to show Luke her place.
They pulled into her driveway and Sarah spotted Luke’s Mercedes. “When did you drop your car off?”
“While you were doing your CEO thing. Abby gave me the spare key to the house so I could do something for you.” He glanced out the window at the house. “This house . . . it’s amazing.”
She loved the five-bedroom, country French cottage vibe of the place with all its tall peaks and dormers. Part of the house was done in a pale gray stone, the rest in white stucco. The massive windows were trimmed in black. And the gardens out front were simple, with miniature evergreen trees, white roses, and lavender lilacs, though they weren’t in bloom now.
“I want to keep it.”
“I’m thinking about redoing the ranch façade to look like this. I love it.”
She loved that he didn’t blink an eye or care if she sold the house or kept it. “The ranch house is already white with dark blue trim. If we added some pretty stone around the perimeter base it would look really great.”
Luke brushed his hand over her shoulder and up her neck. “Yes, it would. I’m glad you see it, too.”
Yes, she finally saw their future taking shape in her mind. She’d been afraid to free it to bloom into reality because it might fall apart and never be. But she didn’t need to fear that anymore. Luke didn’t want to take anything from her, he wanted to build on what they had.
Luke swept his fingers over her skin again, making her warm and the connection between them flare. “I’ve got several ideas for a tree house and playground for the ranch. Once I see what we’ve got here, we can make a final decision on something for there.”
We. Luke was always about them.
“The kids would love to pick something.”
“We’ll show them the choices I bookmarked on my tablet. The kids are all going to have a blast together.”
The chauffeur opened the door. Luke climbed out, then offered his hand to her and helped her out. He wrapped his arm around her. “You okay?”
“A little tired. Happy to
be home.”
Luke unlocked the front door and pushed it open. She stopped short in the entry and stared at the huge bouquet of red roses in a vase on the console table.
“Luke.” She knew he’d done this for her.
He kissed her on the side of the head. “I just wanted you to have something nice to come home to. Something to say, ‘Congratulations on all your success.’”
She promptly buried her face in the flowers, inhaling their heady scent, and smiled. “They’re beautiful. And you’re . . . I love you. I love this.”
“I’m glad.” He stared into her office on their right, then the formal living room on the left, and finally straight ahead into the massive family room with windows overlooking the backyard. “This place is so you. Warm. Inviting. Elegance and comfort. And very similar to the ranch.”
“We like the same things. Did you take a walk through the house when you were here?”
“Just the main rooms.”
“Well, the kitchen is through the family room to the left. There’s a bathroom off to the right. And down this hall are the kids’ bedrooms. The master is through the living room on the opposite side.” She pointed to the short hallway and double doors just past a cozy seating area surrounded by bookcases.
Luke took her hand and led her that way. “I already found our room.” He opened the double doors, revealing her massive king-size bed made of chunky wood and covered in a white duvet with sky-blue pillows. The walls were the same shade of pale blue, the windows and closet doors trimmed in wood, and a massive crystal chandelier dominated the center of the room and its tall ceiling.
The only thing that held her attention was the huge heart made out of red rose petals at the foot of the bed. “Luke. I love it.” Even better was seeing his suitcase sitting right outside the closet doors.
“It’s like a five-star hotel suite in here, only better.” He turned to her. “Whatever else you want to do to the ranch to make it feel like this place, do it.”
“You really like it.” She loved it. She’d always wanted a room just like this growing up. She thought it comfortable yet . . . elegant. Just like Luke described her.
“I can’t wait to sleep with you in that bed and wake up with you in my arms.” He put action into words, stepping behind her to unzip her dress. He pushed the sleeves down her arms as he planted a trail of kisses along her shoulders. “You were so smart and sexy tonight and while I loved watching you do your thing, all I could think about was getting you out of this dress and kissing every inch of you.”
The dress hit the floor, leaving her in nothing but heels, panties, and the killer necklace that hung down her back.
Luke slid the necklace around so that the string of pearls and chunky ruby hung to her belly button. He took her hips and turned her around, staring down at her. “God, you take my breath away.” He kissed her and did the same to her.
She slipped her hands into his tux jacket and pushed it off his shoulders and down his arms. He took a step toward her. She backed up as she undid the buttons on his shirt.
The look in his eyes held all the intent and promises of what was to come.
She welcomed it and him with a wicked grin. “I’ve been wanting you here with me.”
“I spend every second of the day wanting you.” Those words ignited a fire in both of them.
His clothes disappeared before the back of her legs hit the bed.
She scooted back. Luke undid the ribbons on her killer heels and dropped the shoes to the floor. His hands glided up the sides of her thighs. His fingers hooked in the red lace panties she wore and he dragged them down her legs.
After that, it was all hot kisses, warm hands, and making love until both of them hit that exquisite peak and Luke collapsed on top of her and she went limp.
Sarah didn’t remember falling asleep in Luke’s arms, but she did remember the amazing night they’d shared. And he was right, there was nothing like waking up cradled in the curve of his body behind her, his arm wrapped protectively over her middle.
“You up?” His voice rumbled at her ear.
She wiggled her rump into his hard length. “You are.” She felt him smile against her head.
“I can’t get enough of you.” He kissed her right behind her ear, sending a delicious shiver through her. “You actually slept in.”
She glanced at the clock. “Nine-thirty!”
“We got home late.”
“You kept me up later,” she reminded him.
The doorbell rang, surprising her. “Who could that be?”
“Another surprise.” Luke turned her toward him and kissed her softly. “Take a shower. Meet me in the kitchen.” He kissed her again, then rolled out of bed and walked naked to the closet and opened the doors, revealing a pile of his clothes stacked in the mostly empty portion of the walk-in. He grabbed a pair of jeans and pulled them on, then grabbed a T-shirt and walked back toward her.
She smiled at him. “I see you moved in.”
“Not quite. But close.”
She tilted her head and studied the small pile of clothes compared to the huge suitcase. “You’ll have time today to finish unpacking.”
Luke pulled the shirt over his head. “That’s for something else. I gotta get the door. Shower. Kitchen.”
She saluted him as he left the room chuckling.
She did what he asked, excited about another surprise. It took some doing to get the pins out of her tangled hair. She was still wearing the amazing jewelry she’d borrowed and hated to take it off and return it, but she couldn’t wear it in the shower, which was heaven.
She didn’t know who’d arrived, but she wasn’t putting on makeup on the weekend. The boys would be home soon and they’d probably want to spend some time outside with the friends they’d missed.
She took the time to dry her hair. She left it down because Luke liked it that way. Since Luke left in jeans, she picked something equally comfortable and pulled on a simple, slinky black tank dress, then went in search of him.
Just having him in the house made it feel different. She felt him here.
He stood at the kitchen counter sipping a cup of coffee as the same chef he’d hired to cook dinner at his place stood at her stove finishing off a pan of scrambled eggs. The whole place smelled like bacon.
“Morning, sweetheart.” Luke poured her a mug of coffee from the carafe beside him.
“I would have made us breakfast.”
Luke shook his head. “You’re not doing anything today but being home with family.” He handed her the mug.
She took a sip. “That sounds amazing.”
“Let’s have breakfast and talk about you and me.” Luke took her free hand, came around the counter, and led her back past the dining room, through the living room, and out to the back patio where the table had been set for two.
The chef followed them out with their plates and set them in front of them as they sat. “Enjoy.” He disappeared back into the house.
Luke dug into his food, starving after their night together.
She stared at him, getting his attention. “This was really nice of you to do.”
“I knew you’d be tired after the festivities last night. Plus the long day you put in handling business and the press.”
She appreciated so much that he understood the hard work she put in to do her job well.
She didn’t know how to start this talk about the rest of their lives, so she asked Luke the simple question, “So, Luke, what do you want?”
He held her gaze. “I thought I made it clear exactly what I want.” He leaned forward and put his hand over hers. “But if you need to hear it again today, tomorrow, every day for the rest of our lives, then I’m happy to remind you. I love you. I want a life with you and our children. And right now, I don’t care if that’s on the ranch, here at your place, or on the moon. I just want us to be together.”
“I’m supposed to travel all over the world for the next two weeks installing my security
program at all the Griffin Worldwide Financial sites,” she reminded him.
“I know. I’m going with you.”
Surprise and shock shot through her. “What? You can’t do that.”
He raised a brow. “Why not?”
She really wanted him to go with her, but didn’t want to take him away from his life. “What about your ranch?”
“Thirteen people work there, sweetheart. That’s how I’m able to spend three days in the office out here. That’s why I can go with you on this trip and pamper you and show you just how much I love you. My dad can cover my legal cases. I think it will be good for us to spend some quality time together. Which is why I’m already packed.”
The suitcase in their room.
“Abby has everything you need packed and ready to go. We’ll spend a couple days here with the boys, then we’ll go on our trip. Your dad and stepmom can’t wait to have their grandchildren all to themselves, especially after all these weeks apart.”
While Sarah had been saying goodbye to attendees last night, he’d been speaking to her dad about this. “You and Lyon are getting along well.”
“Luckily, we align on everything. I even got his blessing to marry you.”
She smiled. Of course he did. Because he’d been clear for weeks about what he wanted. Her. “You haven’t asked me.”
“I will.”
“You have a lot of plans. Travel. A proposal. A life with me.” How could she not believe he loved and wanted her?
“So let’s talk details about life at home.”
Chapter Forty-One
The doorbell rang right at noon. Sarah and Luke had their talk about the future on the back patio and stayed out there long after they’d made the decision to make the ranch home base and use her place in Silicon Valley for the days and nights Sarah and Luke worked in their offices there, though they promised each other that one of them would always be with the boys back at the ranch, even if that meant she and Luke had to coordinate their schedules and spend more time apart than they’d like. But it was worth it to give the boys the stability they needed and deserved.
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