by Rita Herron
"This is wonderful, Lance. What made you think... How did you know?" Then realization struck. "You saw my show? The one with my mother?"
Lance nodded.
Sophie's throat closed, tears burning her eyes. "Lance, I didn't go on TV to get sympathy."
He winced at her biting tone. "I realize that."
She jutted her chin upward. "You're not giving me discounts because of it either."
"That's not what this is about. I... I made the changes because I want you to have the dream house you always wanted."
"But—"
"Shh." He pressed his lips to hers to silence her, then captured her hands between his and guided her down the stairs. "There's one more thing."
"No, there can't be; this is too much."
He guided her to the backyard. Tears filled her eyes when she spotted the white gazebo with built-in seats he'd added. A small round table sat in the center, draped with a tablecloth and candles, which were shimmering with soft light.
"Lance..."
"I didn't have time to build the fish pond yet, but"—he paused and gestured toward the left side—"it can go in right here, and we can add a flower garden and brick steps that lead out to the gazebo, and maybe a tire swing—"
"We?" Sophie clutched his hand and stared into his eyes, certain she'd misunderstood him.
"Oh, sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself." He dropped to his knees, took her hand in his, then lifted it and pressed a kiss to her fingers. Sophie's breath caught when he removed an antique diamond ring from his pocket. "I love you, Sophie. This ring belonged to my mother. I want you to have it because she would have loved you, too, and I know you like antiques, but if you want a new ring, we can shop for one—"
"The ring is beautiful, perfect, special." A small laugh escaped her. "But what did you say before that?"
He hesitated, then slid the ring on her finger and pressed her hand to his cheek. "I said I love you, Sophie. I love you with all my heart. Will you marry me?"
Sophie fell to her knees, threw her arms around him, and knocked him over as she kissed him. "Of course I will." When she came up for air, she was breathless, her fingers beginning to toy with the buttons on his shirt. "Now can I have that shirt back, please? I'm sleepless without it."
Lance laughed and dared her to take it off, and Sophie gladly obliged.
Of course, she lost her own in the process...
Epilogue
As a prelude to Sophie's June wedding series, she and Lance were married the first week of June. Although her producer wanted her wedding to air on the show, Sophie refused, opting for a small private ceremony with friends and family. She'd also turned down both job offers, as she intended to build her life with Lance in Savannah with the home they'd restored together, surrounded by family and close friends.
Deseree and Lucy and Maddie bustled around her bedroom, fluffing her dress and veil.
"I want you to have these; they belonged to my mother," Deseree said. She placed a strand of pearls around Sophie's neck and hugged her.
"Did you know Mom enrolled in night school?" Lucy said.
Sophie gripped her mother's arms. "Did you really?"
"Yes, I thought I'd try my hand at cosmetology." Deseree lifted her big hair. "The dancers in Vegas always need classy hairstylists. And I can make a fortune doing wigs for the drag queen show over at Cafe Risque."
Lucy and Sophie laughed. The music started and they rushed down the stairs, straightening dresses and whispering. Sophie and Lance had both agreed to get married in her backyard in the gazebo. Lance had hired a crew to landscape the yard, and add the fish pond and a rose garden in honor of his mother. Reid and Chase had confiscated white wooden chairs and set them up, and Maddie and Lucy had decorated them with white ribbons and flowers.
Deseree hurried ahead and let Peter escort her to her seat. Maddie and Lucy, her two bridesmaids, were dressed in simple dark green cocktail dresses and carried fresh red roses. Sophie's assistant, Eden, sang "I Will Always Love You" to piano music supplied by the show's band, which had set up a stage in the yard.
Sophie followed, hanging on to Peter's arm as she walked toward Lance. Chase and Reid both stood beside him, but Sophie's gaze latched on to Lance's. His dark eyes sparkled with hunger, the kind that she trusted would never die.
Peter handed her over and the ceremony began with a simple prayer. "I believe Sophie and Lance have written their own vows," the minister said.
They nodded and Lance cradled her hand between his. "Sophie, I'm honored to be standing in front of you today, especially since you once told me you wouldn't go out with me if I were the last man on earth."
Lucy and Maddie giggled, along with the visitors.
"The truth is, I fell in love with you the moment I met you. But I had lost a part of my family when I was young, and I was afraid to love and lose again." He stroked her fingers with his and gently kissed them. "But even though I pushed you away, you stayed with me. Without you I couldn't eat, I couldn't think, and I was completely sleepless. In fact, you taught me not to be afraid, because life without love isn't really living.
"I love you, Sophie with all my heart, now, tomorrow, and always."
Tears burned the backs of Sophie's eyelids, but she blinked them away. "Lance, I dreamed of having a home when I grew up, a Victorian house full of antiques with a walk-in closet, a white picket fence, a gazebo in my backyard, and a pond. But I never dreamed I would find someone as wonderful as you.
"You gave me all those things I'd dreamed about in my house, but when I thought I'd lost you, I realized that a house was just four walls with things that didn't really matter. It wasn't a home until you added the loving touches with your own hands, until you stood inside with me." She kissed his fingers as he had hers.
"When I first met you, I sensed we were soul mates. Then I got to know you, and I knew I was meant to love you. I give you my heart, today and forevermore."
They exchanged rings and the minister offered a simple prayer; then it was time to kiss the bride.
Lance swept Sophie into his arms and claimed her mouth in a kiss so tender and erotic that Sophie felt faint when she pulled away. Maddie was crying and blowing her nose, but rushed to congratulate them. Lucy and Deseree hugged and squealed, then embraced her and Lance.
"You will be good to my sister, won't you?" Lucy asked.
Lance grinned. "Yes, of course I will. And I'll be your big brother if you let me."
Lucy twisted her mouth in thought. "As long as you don't boss me around too much."
Sophie and Lance laughed, while Peter came forward to congratulate them both. Chase pounded Lance on the back, and Reid looked oddly emotional. Then the party and celebration began. Everyone enjoyed the appetizers and champagne and wedding cake, then danced.
Lance dragged Sophie into his arms. "Were you really thinking about going back to Vegas to perform?"
Sophie nuzzled his neck. "No. Why, do you want me to dance?"
"Maybe later, for me. In private."
"I think that can be arranged."
Lance kissed her. "I hope so, Sophie. And if you want to take that job in L.A.—"
"We're not moving," Sophie said. "I love the show I'm doing now, Lance. I love Savannah and Maddie and you and our house. I don't need anything else."
Lance pressed her hands to his heart. "How about a family... someday?"
Sophie smiled. "Well, yes, I would like that."
"Do you think Lucy's really okay with us getting married?"
"I think so, but your brother looked kind of upset. Maybe we should check on them." Hand in hand, they maneuvered through the crowd.
"Where are they?" Sophie asked.
"I don't know. I hope they're not off arguing somewhere." He pulled her inside, and they searched the house. They were just about to give up when Lance heard a squeaking sound from the attic.
"Is there a ghost up there?"
"No." Sophie darted up the stairs and they tiptoed into the room
to find Reid and Lucy kissing. "Oh, my gosh," Sophie whispered, grateful they were still dressed.
"Reid?" Lance stammered.
Lucy and Reid pulled away, their faces flushed, hair tangled, clothes disheveled.
"Lucy, I thought he was the most infuriating, exasperating, sexist pig you'd ever met," Sophie said.
Lucy grinned, her arms still looped around Reid's neck. "He is."
Lance quirked a brow. "And I thought she was a kook?"
Reid shrugged and tightened his hands around her back. "She is."
"Did you cast a spell on him?" Sophie asked.
Lucy shook her head, curls bouncing.
"It doesn't matter," Reid said in a goofy voice. "Because I think I love Lucy."
"Ahhh..." Lucy threaded her fingers through his hair. "I think I love you, too."
* * *
As soon as the guests left, Sophie and Lance raced up the steps to change. Seconds later Sophie emerged in a black G-string and pasties made of chocolate drops.
Lance's throat went dry. He'd thought the Virginal Vampiress was sexy; Sophie in this amazing getup was an orgasm waiting to happen.
"What exactly is that thing called?" he said in a thick voice as she began to slowly gyrate to the jazz music floating through the room.
"Item number sixty-nine from Lucy's Sleepover catalog. Chocolate kisses, the edible wonders." Sophie wiggled her fanny and dipped her shoulder so the chocolate kisses covering her nipples swayed. "Now, honey, you can have dessert."
Lance licked his lips and went to make his wife happy, something he intended to do the rest of his life. As he took the first bite, he feathered his fingers along Sophie's thighs. "Maybe your sister should hold on to that business," he whispered. "After all, we have anniversaries to come, and Valentine's Day..."
Sophie threw her head back and groaned. "Honey, I'll make sure we get a lifetime supply."
The End
I Love Lucy
by
Rita Herron
Prologue
7 days until Christmas
All Emmet Roach wanted for Christmas was to break out of jail.
Well, that and to be with the woman he loved.
Lucy Lane.
She was going to be so surprised when he showed up at her door. Maybe he’d wrap himself in a big red bow and drape tinsel all over his body!
Yep, that stupid restraining order hadn’t kept him away.
And prison wouldn’t either.
His plan was already set. He’d faked a suicide attempt by trying to strangle himself with the garland some idiot guard at the prison had hung in the dining hall to make the room look more festive. Now the doctors had checked him out, he was riding in a prison minivan on his way back to his cell.
His heart raced with excitement and anger as he envisioned Lucy the last time he’d seen her.
He’d tried to convince her that he loved her, that he couldn’t live without her, but she’d testified against him and claimed he was stalking her.
This time he would make sure she understood the difference. He wasn’t a stalker, he just felt love more intensely than others.
The sound of an engine revving up made him glance in the rearview mirror. His buddy was right on time.
Phase two of his plan was about to begin. The breakout.
He braced himself as his buddy’s car roared up, then rammed into the back of the mini-van. The driver cursed, swerved to the right to avoid an oncoming car and struggled to right the vehicle, but his friend rammed them harder and the van’s brakes squealed.
The driver lost control, the van skidded, then hit the guardrail and rolled.
Emmet gripped the seat edge to brace himself, but his shoulder jerked with the force of metal hitting asphalt. Then the van skidded upside down into the ravine and careened to a stop against a boulder with a sickening crunch.
The driver’s head lolled forward, blood trickling down his forehead. A second later, the van door opened and his friend hauled him through the door.
“Get the damn handcuff key,” Emmet hissed.
The driver was trying to rouse, but his buddy whipped open the driver’s door, jerked the keys from the key ring on his hip, then unlocked Emmet’s handcuffs.
The sweet smell of freedom engulfed him as he tossed the cuffs to the ground and ran toward his buddy’s car.
They tore away from the scene, leaving the driver to fend for himself.
“Thanks,” he mumbled as a siren wailed past heading toward the wreckage.
A few minutes later, when they both finally stopped checking over their shoulders for the cops, his friend slid a scrap of paper toward him.
Emmet’s pulse pounded. “You found her?”
“Yep. She was doing Vegas shows but hooked up with some builder named Reid Summers. Guy and his brother own a construction business in Savannah, Georgia.”
Anger churned through his belly. His Lucy was shacking up with some creep after he’d waited for her for the past year?
“Are you sure you want to look her up?” his buddy asked. “You finally got your freedom.”
“I’m sure,” Emmet said with a sinister smile. “In fact, I can’t wait to see her.”
This time Lucy wouldn’t get away from him.
She loved him, he knew it.
He just had to remind her of that fact. Then she would forget the hammerhead and be with him where she belonged.
Maybe they’d even make a baby this Christmas.
And no one would ever tear them apart again.
Yes, it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
Chapter 1
6 days until Christmas
Reid Summers counted the peppermint sticks in the Christmas countdown calendar Lucy had hung above her bed. Six peppermints left.
Only six days until Christmas.
And he still had no gift.
What in the hell was he going to get Lucy?
She made a cat-like purring sound in her sleep, then rolled over, and he turned on his side to look at her. He loved watching her sleep.
Hell, he loved watching her do anything.
Her fiery red hair lay in a sexy tangle around her face, her lips were swollen from his kisses, and her naked body with its soft curves…looked absolutely delicious.
Damn, he had it bad.
He had never been in love before, but Lucy had blindsided him, and he’d fallen hard and fast for her.
He twirled a strand of her hair around his finger, then pressed a kiss to her cheek. Lucy was surprisingly sweet, funny – and a sex siren whose shocking exotic Vegas showgirl dance act had tied his body in knots the first time he’d seen it. Then last night she’d brought out the sex toys she sold with her Sleepover Inc. business and man, oh, man.
He was sore in places that had never been sore before.
Of course he hadn’t known quite what to do with a couple of the contraptions, but hey, he was teachable.
Lucy had given up the show life though and was looking for acting jobs, but the image of her in feathers and boas gave him a hard-on every time he thought of it.
Lucy opened her beautiful eyes and smiled. “Morning, lover boy.”
Reid’s chest pumped up a notch. “Last night was spectacular.”
Lucy nodded, then laid a big lip-lock on his mouth. But her cell phone rang a moment later, interrupting them.
“Don’t answer it,” Reid whispered. “We’ll stay in bed all morning, then go to lunch at that shrimp place you like on River Street, then pick up a Christmas tree.”
For a brief moment, he considered shopping for an engagement ring to put in her stocking, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to go that far.
After all, sharing a Christmas tree was sort of a commitment.
Lucy threw the covers aside and reached for her phone on the nightstand. “Sounds wonderful, but this might be my agent.”
Reid frowned. He didn’t want to lose Lucy to L.A., but he couldn’t very well balk at her career choice
. He had to be loving and supportive or he’d lose her.
And losing Lucy made him itchy, like he was going to break out in hives.
A small frown puckered Lucy’s brow as she studied the number on the caller ID screen. Then she slid from bed and headed to the bathroom. “Be right back.”
Reid watched her sashay into the bathroom, already missing her sexy little tush.
Being in a relationship was completely foreign territory to him. His sister Maddie had given him pointers, basically her ten rules to please a woman, so he wouldn’t screw up. But he’d frozen up around rule two when she suggested he forget about Sunday afternoon football and give Lucy full reign over his remote.
After all, he was still a bachelor.
In fact, he and his brother Lance and their best friend Chase made a bachelor pact a few years ago, and Lance and Chase had broken the pact when they’d gotten drunk enough on lust and love to get hitched.
His body shuddered as he pictured himself in a monkey suit walking down some aisle and saying words like forever. Could he really do it?
Make a commitment to Lucy?
Shoot, what was wrong with him? He had made a commitment to her. They were exclusive.
Committing didn’t have to mean marriage, did it?
Lucy shivered as she closed the bathroom door and answered the call. The man on the other end of the line was the last person she wanted to hear from.
It couldn’t be good news.
“Lucy?”
She leaned against the bathroom sink and sighed. “Yes.”
“I’m sorry to have to phone.”
“What is it, Wallace?”
The two words she’d dreaded hearing the past two years echoed back. “He escaped.”
Oh, God. “How?”
“A van crash. Looks like a set up.” Wallace sighed in disgust. “Apparently he faked a suicide attempt, was sent to the hospital and was being transported back to jail when it happened.”