He stood silently, looking at her, remembering what it was like to be with her. He knew her faults, her strong points. He suspected their life together wouldn’t be anything he pictured, but the differences would be better.
She bit her lower lip, then shrugged. ‘‘I had this great speech prepared, but I think I forgot it.’’
‘‘I remember mine. Want me to go first?’’
She shook her head. ‘‘It’s my turn to put myself on the line. You’ve done that enough in this relationship.’’ She drew in a deep breath and met his gaze. ‘‘I love you, Todd. I’ll admit that I’m a little nervous about loving you. There are several reasons, not the least of which is you’re so perfect.’’ She held up one hand. ‘‘Not a perfect man, but perfect for me. I will always love Darren. He will always be my first love. I can’t change that and I wouldn’t. But I see now that it’s all right for me to love you both. The heart doesn’t rank the souls it embraces. When I tell you I love you, it’s with my whole being. Nothing is held back. Which means I’m going to love you with the part of me that also loves Darren.’’
He released the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. ‘‘I wouldn’t have it any other way.’’
The corners of her mouth turned up in a smile that made her face glow. ‘‘Really?’’
‘‘Really. I need you,’’ he said as he crossed to stand close to her. ‘‘I want you and I love you. You mean the world to me. I don’t pretend it’s going to be easy. We’re going to have to learn to be a family. I’ve never been part of one and you’ve already had one with your late husband. We’ll have to create something new. We’re both going to make mistakes, but that doesn’t scare me. I’m not afraid to work hard. I’m not afraid to promise forever. I’m only afraid you won’t give me a chance.’’
She touched his cheeks, then his mouth. Her lips trembled. ‘‘Thank you for giving me another chance. I love you so much and I’ve allowed fear to hold me back. I’ve been afraid for a lot of reasons we can talk about at another time. You’re right, it’s not going to be easy. Blending families is a challenge, but I don’t want to lose you, either. You’re nothing like Darren, which is scary, but good. I trust you to love me for always, even though I don’t understand how I got so lucky to have you in my life.’’
He absorbed the words, their meaning and then he hauled her hard against him. ‘‘Stay with me,’’ he demanded then kissed her. ‘‘Stay with me always.’’
He kissed her again, plunging his tongue into her mouth. She met his passion and fueled it with her own. Her hands were everywhere, as were his. They made it to the suite’s bedroom while they tugged at clothing, his jacket falling to the floor, her dress zipper being pulled down and the garment sagging off one shoulder.
He tasted her neck, her earlobes, then tugged down the front of her dress and fumbled with her bra. In the end, she had to unfasten it for him. It was only then that he realized his hands were shaking, too. Then her breasts were bare and he was licking her tight nipples, savoring the sweetness that was Beth.
They managed to pull off shoes and socks, pantyhose and trousers. His shirt and briefs, her dress and finally her panties joined the growing pile. At last they were both naked and tumbling across the bed.
‘‘The lights are on,’’ he said as he rolled onto his back and pulled her along with him.
‘‘I know. You’d better get used to looking at me.’’
He drank in the beauty of her body. ‘‘I’ll never get tired of seeing you naked,’’ he promised. ‘‘You turn me on.’’ She straddled his thighs and reached down to stroke his arousal. ‘‘The feeling is mutual.’’
‘‘Always a good thing.’’
Then he remembered something important. He reached for his jacket. Beth dug around in the same pile and pulled out a condom. ‘‘I found it first,’’ she said as she slipped the protection on him.
‘‘That’s not what I was looking for.’’ He felt the lapel of his jacket and followed that down to the front button. When he reached the pocket, he withdrew the jeweler’s box.
‘‘Marry me,’’ he said, opening the velvet case and removing the stunning solitaire he’d purchased three days before. ‘‘Marry me and be my wife.’’
Beth couldn’t believe what was happening. There they both were—naked as jaybirds—and about to do the wild thing. It was still light outside, which was so strange, she could barely stand it. And just to make the situation unforgettable, the man proposed.
What on earth could she say? Except— “Yes.”
He slid the ring on her finger at the same moment he slipped into her body.
She started to cry and laugh at the same time. ‘‘How am I supposed to tell people how we got engaged?’’ she asked.
‘‘We’ll make something up.’’
‘‘Good idea. In fact…’’
But he was drawing her close and kissing her. She went willingly, accepting his body as well as his heart. Knowing that she had been blessed a second time, blessed with a man who would love her forever.
Later they would make up an engagement story to share with her children. Later they would plan a wedding to be held at the end of the month. Later they would figure out where to live and what kind of car he was going to buy Jodi for her seventeenth birthday. Later she would tell him that she wanted to take his name for her own. Later he would tentatively ask if she’d ever thought about having another child and she would admit that the idea had merit. But for now it was enough to be in love, making love.
As they reached for their ultimate pleasure, the setting rays of the sun caught on her diamond ring and surrounded them with a light as bright as their future.
*
With her brand-new Mischief Bay series, New York Times bestselling author
SUSAN MALLERY
brings to vivid color the story of three friends on the brink of a new life.
“An engrossing take of emotional growth and the healing power of friendship.”
—Library Journal on three sisters
The Girls of Mischief Bay now available wherever books are sold!
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Turn the page for a brief visit to Susan Mallery’s
THE GIRLS OF MISCHIEF BAY
Meet Nicole, Shannon and Pam in their quirky, beachy town by the ocean, where life is richer with friends by your side!
Pam walked through from the garage to the main house, Lulu keeping pace with her. In the mudroom they both paused. Pam fished her small handbag out of the tote, then hung the larger bag on a hook.
The open area served as a catchall for things that otherwise didn’t have a home. There was a built-in storage unit with plenty of hooks, shelves and drawers. The latter were mostly filled with Lulu’s various clothes.
Now Pam eyed the lightweight sweater her pet wore and decided it would keep the dog warm enough until bedtime. Like the rest of the family, Lulu wore PJs to bed. Pam didn’t care if anyone laughed at her for that. She was the one Lulu cuddled next to under the covers and she wanted her dog wearing something soft when that happened.
They continued through the house to the kitchen. Pam pulled her cell out of her purse and stuck it on the side table by the hall, then checked on the Crock-Pot she’d left on that morning. A quick peek and stir confirmed the beef burgundy was coming along. She added the vegetables she’d already prepared and stirred again, then went out the front door to collect the mail.
The day had warmed up nicely. February in the rest of the country could mean snow and ice. In Southern California there was every chance it would be sunny and seventy. Today was no exception, although she would guess it was closer to sixty-five. Hardly reason to complain, she to
ld herself as she pulled the mail out of the box and started back toward the house.
Mischief Bay was a coastal community. Tucked between Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach, it had a small pier, plenty of restaurants, a boardwalk and lots of tourists. The ocean regulated the temperatures and the steady light breeze made sure there wasn’t much in the way of smog.
She and John had bought their sprawling ranch-style home ages ago. Jennifer, their oldest, had been what? Three? Pam tried to remember. If Jennifer had been three, then Steven had been a year and she’d been pregnant with Brandon.
Oh, yeah. She had been pregnant all right. There’d been the charming moment when she’d thrown up in front of the movers. Brandon had been a difficult pregnancy and she’d been nauseous a lot. Something she brought up every so often—when her son needed a little humbling. As all children did, now and then.
She paused to wait for Lulu to do her business by the bushes and studied the front of the house. They’d redone much of both yards a few years ago, when they’d had the house painted. She liked the new plants that edged the circular drive. Her gaze rose to the roof. That had been replaced, as well. One of the advantages of having a husband in construction—he always knew the best people.
Lulu trotted back to her side.
“Ready to go in, sweet pea?” Pam asked.
Lulu wagged her feathered tail and led the way. Pam glanced down at the mail as she walked. Bills, a letter from an insurance agent she’d never heard of—no doubt an ad—along with two car magazines for John and a postcard from the local high school.
Pam frowned at the postcard and turned it over. What on earth could they…?
Lulu walked into the house. Pam followed and automatically closed the door. She stood in the spacious foyer, afternoon light spilling onto the tile floor.
But she didn’t see any of that. She didn’t see anything but the stark words printed on the postcard.
Class of 2005. Fellow Cougars—save the date!! Your 10-year high school reunion is this August.
There was more, but the letters got blurry as Pam tried to make sense of the notice. A ten-year high school reunion? Sure, Jennifer had graduated in 2005, but there was no way it had been ten years, had it? Because if Jen were attending her ten-year reunion, that meant Pam was the mother of a woman attending her ten-year high school reunion.
“When did I get old?” Pam asked, her voice a whisper.
Involuntarily, she turned to stare at the mirror over the entry table. The person staring back at her looked familiar and yet totally wrong. Sure the shoulder-length dark hair was fine and the irises were still hazel-green. But everything else was different. No, not different. Less…firm.
There were lines around her eyes and a distinct softness to her jaw. Her mouth wasn’t as full as it had been. Ironically, just last November she’d turned fifty and had been so damned proud of herself for not freaking out. Because these days fifty was the new thirty-five. Big deal, right?
John had thrown a huge party. She’d laughed over the gag gifts and had prided herself for achieving the big 5-0 with grace and style. Not to mention a pretty decent ass, thanks to the three-times-a-week classes she took at Nicole’s studio. She hadn’t felt…old. But that was before she had a daughter who had just been invited to her ten-year high school reunion.
Sure, she’d had kids young. She’d married John at nineteen and had Jen when she’d turned twenty-two. But that was what she’d always wanted.
She and John had met at Mischief Bay High School. He’d been tall and sexy, a star player on the football team. His family had a local plumbing company. One that worked in new construction rather than fixing stopped-up toilets.
John’s plans had been set. He was going to get his AA in business from Mischief Bay Community College, then work in the family firm full-time. He would start at the bottom, earn his way to the top and buy out his parents by the time he was forty.
Pam had liked how he’d known what he wanted and went after it. When he turned his blue eyes on her and decided she was the one to share the journey, well, she’d been all in.
Now as she studied her oddly familiar and unfamiliar reflection, she wondered how the time had gone by so quickly. One second she’d been an in-love teenager and now she was the mother of a twenty-eight-year-old.
“No,” she said aloud, turning away from the mirror. She wasn’t going to freak out over something as ridiculous as age. She had an amazing life. A wonderful husband and terrific kids and a strange little dog. They were all healthy—except for Lulu’s ongoing issues—and successful and, best of all, happy. She’d been blessed a thousand times over. She was going to remember that and stay grateful. So what if she wasn’t firm? Beauty only went skin deep. She had wisdom and that was worth more.
She headed into the kitchen and flipped on the wall-mounted TV. John got home between five fifteen and fivethirty every day. They ate at six—a meal she’d made from scratch. Every Saturday night they either went out to dinner or had an evening with friends. Sunday afternoon the kids came over and they barbecued. On Memorial Day they held a big party, also a barbecue. It was L.A. When in doubt, throw meat on a grill.
She automatically collected the ingredients for biscuits. Self-rising flour, shortening, sugar, buttermilk, baking powder. She’d stopped using a recipe years ago for nearly everything. Because she knew what she was doing. John liked what she served and didn’t want her to change. They had a routine. Everything was comfortable.
She measured the flour and told herself that comfortable wasn’t the same as old. It was nice. Friendly. Routines meant things went smoothly.
She finished cutting in the shortening, then covered the bowl. That was the trick to her biscuits. To let them rest about twenty minutes.
Lulu sat patiently next to her bowl. As Pam approached, the dog wagged her fluffy tail and widened her eyes in a hopeful expression.
Pam rolled out the biscuits and put them on the cookie sheet. She covered them with a clean towel and started the oven. She’d barely finished setting the table when she heard the faint rumble of the garage door opener. Lulu took off running down the hall, barking and yipping in excitement.
A few minutes later John walked into the kitchen, their ridiculous dog in his arms. Pam smiled at him and turned her head for their evening kiss. As their lips touched, Lulu scrambled from his arms to hers, then swiped both their chins with her tongue.
“How was your day?” John asked.
“Good. Yours?”
“Not bad.”
As he spoke he crossed to the bottle of wine she’d put on the counter in the butler’s pantry off the kitchen. It was a cab from a winery they’d visited a few years ago on a trip to Napa.
“Steven’s working on a bid for that new hotel everyone’s been talking about. It’s right on the water. Upscale to the max. He said they were talking about the possibility of twenty-four-karat gold on the faucets in the penthouse. Can you believe it?”
“No. Who would do that? It’s a hotel. Everything has to be scrubbed down daily. How do you clean gold?”
“I know.” John opened the drawer to pull out the foil cutter. “It’s a bathroom. They’re idiots. But if the check clears, what do I care?”
As they spoke, she studied the man she’d been married to for thirty-one years. He was tall, just over six feet, with thick hair that had started going gray. The dark blond color meant the gray wasn’t noticeable, but it was there. Being a man, it only made him look more appealing. A few months ago he’d asked why she wasn’t going gray, too. When she’d reminded him of her visits every six weeks to her hair person, he’d been shocked. John was such a typical guy, it had never occurred to him she colored her hair. Because he thought she was naturally beautiful.
Silly man, she thought affectionately, as she watched him.
He had a few wrinkles around his eyes, but otherwise looked as he had when they’d first met. Those broad shoulders had always appealed to her. These days he claimed he needed to
lose ten or fifteen pounds, but she thought he looked just fine.
He was handsome, in a rugged kind of way. He was a good man. Kind and generous. He loved his wife and his kids and his routine. While he had his faults, they were minor and ones she could easily live with. In truth, she had no complaints about John. It was the her-getting-older thing she found faintly annoying.
He pulled out the cork and tested it with his thumbnail, then poured them each a glass of cab. She slid the biscuits into the oven and set the timer.
“What are we having?” he asked as he handed her a glass.
“Beef burgundy and biscuits.”
His mouth turned up in an easy smile. “I’m a lucky man.”
“Even luckier. You’ll be taking leftovers for lunch tomorrow.”
“You know I love me some leftovers.”
He wasn’t kidding, she thought as she followed him through the kitchen. His idea of heaven was any kind of red meat with leftovers for lunch the following day. He was easy to please.
They went into the sunroom off the back of the house. In the cooler months, the glass room stayed warm. In the summer, they removed the glass and used the space for outdoor living.
Lulu followed them, then jumped up on the love seat where Pam always sat and settled next to her. Pam rubbed her dog’s ears as John leaned back in his chair—a recliner with a matching mate in the family room—and sighed heavily.
“Hayley’s pregnant again,” he said. “She told me this morning. She’s waiting until three months to make a public announcement.”
Pam felt her mouth twist. “I don’t know what to say,” she admitted. “That poor girl.”
“I hope this one takes,” John said. “I don’t know how much more of her suffering I can stand.”
Hayley was John’s secretary and desperate to have children, but she’d miscarried four times over the past three years. This would be try number five. Rob, Hayley’s husband, wanted to look into adoption or a surrogate, but Hayley was obsessed with having a baby the old-fashioned way.
Beth and the Bachelor Page 23