“Yes.”
She touched her shoulder, the memory of the pain returning.
“Careful,” Finley warned, “you don’t want to mess up the bandages.”
Her stomach tightened. “Ian? Is he okay?”
“He’s great. Right here.”
She looked over to where Ian was sitting sideways, his legs propped up on the arm of the chair. He gave her a tentative smile, waving. “Hey,” he said casually, like they’d only just seen each other a few minutes ago. She thought back to the horrible events that had led them here. “The doctor was going to shoot us.” She looked at Finley. “You saved us.”
His eyes darkened with emotion. “I was just glad that I got there in time.”
“How did you know we were in trouble?”
“I don’t know exactly. It was just a strong feeling that I needed to get to you as soon as possible. Then when I discovered that Percy had been killed, the feeling intensified.”
Her breath hitched. “What? The investigator?”
He nodded, a shadow crossing his features. “Nolan Webb killed him.”
Her heart tightened. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry.”
“Me too.” His mouth formed a tight line.
“What about the doctor?”
“He was arrested.” Finley’s eyes narrowed. “And if I have anything to say about it, he’ll be put behind bars a long time.”
She sighed. “Good.” Then she thought of something else. “What about Nolan Webb?”
A fierce look came into Finley’s eyes. “He’ll never be able to hurt you again.”
The dream came rushing back, causing Sunny’s pulse to increase. “What do you mean?”
“The police went to arrest him. Nolan pulled a gun. A shootout took place, and Nolan was killed.”
Her head began to spin. The dream. It was a dream, wasn’t it? She thought of something else Lexi said as she gazed into Finley’s eyes. “You love me heart and soul.”
He laughed in surprise, rubbing his thumb in circles over her hand. “Actually, I do.”
Tears misted her eyes. “I love you too.”
He rewarded her with a gargantuan smile. “It works nicely, doesn’t it? The two of us were meant for each other.”
“Yes,” she agreed, a feeling of contentment coming over her. That only lasted for a second, however. She shook her head, her brows furrowing. “But wait. What about the other woman?”
“Dede?”
“Yeah.” She was sure her distaste for the spoiled debutante was written all over her face. She eyed Finley. He’d better have a darn good explanation for all that had occurred.
Finley chuckled nervously. “That was a big misunderstanding. Something my mom orchestrated.”
She lifted an eyebrow, not ready to let him off the hook. “Drake said you called and told him Dede was coming.”
“My mom got her driver to pretend to be me.”
Sunny made a face. “I take it that means she doesn’t like me very much if she went to all that trouble to get you together with someone else.” She shouldn’t be surprised, but it still stung to know that Finley’s mom didn’t approve of her. The woman hadn’t even met her yet, and she was already casting judgment.
Finley’s eyes sparkled, a smile tugging at his lips.
She frowned. “What?”
“You have no idea how tempting it is to put The Romeo and Juliet Effect into practice right now.”
“Huh?” Normally, she would’ve gotten his joke instantly, but her brain was still a little fuzzy.
“You know, to make our love for one another even stronger in the face of parental opposition.”
“You’re terrible,” she responded, but couldn’t help grinning.
He laughed. “The truth is, my mom didn’t even realize that you existed when she tried to fix me up with Dede.”
“Oh.” She didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.
“Don’t worry,” he assured her, “she and my dad know about you now.” He gave her a confident smile. “I promise you. My mom’s going to love you as much as I do.”
The moment slowed as he leaned in to kiss her. Electricity zinged through her when their lips touched.
“Ew, gross.” Ian made a gagging sound, sticking his finger in his throat.
Sunny and Finley pulled apart, both laughing.
Finley glanced at him. “Trust me, Bud, you won’t think it’s gross a few years from now.”
“Get a room,” Ian boomed.
Sunny’s eyes widened as she gasped. She shot Ian a sharp look. “Excuse me?”
Ian gave her a sheepish expression, his face reddening. “Sorry.”
It occurred to Sunny that Ian probably didn’t even have a clue what he was talking about. He was most likely repeating something he’d heard on TV. She thought of what Lexi said in the dream about taking the parenting thing one day at a time. I am enough, she repeated mentally.
Finley leaned back in, his eyes dancing “Ian, you’d better close your eyes, Bud, because I’m about to give your aunt a long, thorough kiss that would put Romeo to shame.”
Sunny laughed, shivers of anticipation dancing down her spine. “Is that so? That’s a pretty lofty statement, Mr. Landers.” Her breath came faster, her lips parting. She felt his warm breath on her face, knew it wouldn’t take much for her to get completely lost in the feel of his lips.
“One that I’m prepared to uphold today and forever, for the rest of our lives,” Finley uttered, his lips taking hers.
Epilogue
Six months later …
Butterflies swarmed in Sunny’s stomach as she faced the wide red ribbon tied across the front entrance of the newly renovated Belmont Hotel. A throng of reporters were gathered around them, snapping pictures of everything that moved.
“You’ve got this,” Finley whispered in her ear, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. She felt her ridiculously large, diamond engagement ring move into the side of her finger. Even though Sunny told Finley she didn’t want a conspicuous ring, he insisted on getting her the very best. A burst of elation swelled through her as she glanced sideways at him. His eyes sparkled as he gave her an intimate smile. For a moment, everyone else faded away, and it was just the two of them. “I love you.”
His eyes caressed hers. “I love you back.”
Regardless of how the ribbon cutting and open house went tonight, Sunny was happy. She glanced at Ian who was standing beside Finley. He gave her a large smile and hearty thumbs up. No longer was she waiting for disaster to befall her. She was learning to live in the moment. Life was a gift, and she intended to live it fully, holding nothing back.
Her shoulder recovery had been tough, but Finley stayed right by her side, nursing her back to full health. In an unexpected turn of events, Sunny’s injury had brought her closer to Ian. It made him feel like he wasn’t the only one who was incapacitated. They recovered together. Luckily, they were both now back to normal … well, as normal as the two of them could possibly be. She chuckled to herself at the thought.
After the wedding, Finley was determined to take Sunny and Ian to Europe for a few months, insisting that it was a perfect set-up because Ian was homeschooled. Afterwards, the plan was for them to set up their primary residence in Dallas but get a vacation home in Park City.
Drake cleared his throat and straightened to his full height as he ran a hand over his tux coat. “It’s with great pleasure that we present our newly renovated hotel.” Pride shone in his eyes as he motioned at Sunny. “The chief designer on the project is our very own Miss Sunny Day.”
Applause broke out amongst the group as he cut the ribbon with giant scissors.
As people filed into the hotel, Kenton Landers touched her arm. “Well done.”
“Thank you. I’m glad you like the hotel,” Sunny said.
“The hotel is nice,” he said absently, touching his bowtie. “But what I meant is that I’m glad you’re a part of our lives.” He looked at Finley. “You’ve giv
en my son everything a father could ever hope for, something that money could never buy.”
Emotion rose in her throat as she smiled. “Thank you.”
Fiona caught up with Sunny inside the foyer. She pursed her lips, her gaze encompassing the foyer. “You know,” she mused, her finger going to her lips. “Any woman who can pull together something of this magnitude has got to be worth her salt.” She gave Sunny an appraising look, her lips curving into a smile.
Sunny grinned. “Thanks, Fiona.” That was the closest thing to a compliment she’d ever received from Fiona Landers. Despite Fiona’s guarded demeanor, Sunny could tell she was a good person at heart. “You know,” Sunny drawled in the same tone Fiona had used, “any woman who can raise a son as amazing as Finley has got to be worth her salt.” She cut her eyes at her future mother-in-law, waiting for a response.
Fiona laughed in surprise, touching her short hair. “You know what? I think the two of us are going to get along just fine,” she winked as she sauntered away to mingle with the other guests.
Arms encircled Sunny from behind. “How’s the most beautiful woman in the room?” Finley murmured in her ear. He planted a string of light kisses along her neck. She closed her eyes, savoring the moment.
“Great,” she hummed, turning to face him.
His eyes moved over her in a slow, leisurely way that got her blood pumping faster. “So, after this is over, I thought we might check out the new hot tub.” He pumped his eyebrows, a goofy grin spilling over his lips.
She laughed. “Sounds like a date.”
A crash from the other side of the room commanded their attention. They looked at the table where the water dispensers and glasses were located. Ian had fallen over the table and knocked over a stack of drinking glasses.
“Oh, no.” Sunny clutched her throat.
All eyes turned to Ian as he stood. He turned, wide-eyed, toward Sunny and Finley. A sheepish grin overtook his face as he held up his hands. “I’m okay,” he announced.
This brought a few amused chuckles from the guests as Drake rushed to clean up the broken glass.
Sunny moved to go to Ian’s side, but Finley touched her arm. “I’ve got this.”
She shook her head. “Never a dull moment,” she lamented.
He winked, giving her a crooked smile. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
As the guests resumed their conversations, Sunny thought she caught a trace of Lexi’s amused laughter in the air, prompting her to stop taking herself too seriously, to enjoy life. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched Finley ruffle Ian’s hair and pat him on the back. “I am enough,” she said to herself.
This was enough—more than she could’ve ever hoped for. As she looked at the man and boy she loved more than anything in the world. Her heart swelled larger than Texas.
Tears rose in her eyes, and she felt so incredibly blessed.
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About Jennifer Youngblood
Jennifer loves reading and writing clean romance. She believes that happily ever after is not just for stories. Jennifer enjoys interior design, rollerblading, clogging, jogging, and chocolate. In Jennifer’s opinion there are few ills that can’t be solved with a warm brownie and scoop of vanilla-bean ice cream.
Jennifer grew up in rural Alabama and loved living in a town where “everybody knows everybody.” Her love for writing began as a young teenager when she wrote stories for her high school English teacher to critique.
Jennifer has BA in English and Social Sciences from Brigham Young University where she served as Miss BYU Hawaii in 1989. Before becoming an author, she worked as the owner and editor of a monthly newspaper named The Senior Times.
She now lives in the Rocky Mountains with her family and spends her time writing and doing all of the wonderful things that make up the life of a busy wife and mother.
Copyright © 2018 by Jennifer Youngblood
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