Lily gasped and slid a hand to his thigh to grip it.
He waggled his brows at her. “We’re at Ben’s school,” he mocked her. Then he sobered. “Megan’s field trip drama at the resort got back to the autistic charity, and they dropped her as their spokesperson. Know anyone who might’ve called them?”
Lily shrugged. “Wasn’t me.” She hitched her chin over a shoulder at Charley. “I’ve been told the Remingtons stick together, though.”
He laughed. “I’ve got a surprise.” His fingers worked the keyboard of his phone as he sent her another text.
A picture of a cargo plane popped onto her screen. On the side of it the words TAKE FLIGHT DELIVERY SERVICE were painted, and ten yellow ducklings trailed behind the big letters.
“I had it custom painted. It’ll be ready tomorrow,” he said. “Just in time for the kickoff weekend.”
Perfect.
“Oh,” she said thoughtfully. “I almost forgot.” She tapped the screen of her cell. “I have a little surprise for you too, but you better wait until we’re alone to look at it. Now that I can drive, I did a little shopping.” Jezebel’s, Angel Fire Falls’s only lingerie boutique, was Lily’s new favorite place to shop. The old affinity for Saks her mom had drilled into her while growing up could suck it.
His cell dinged, and he tensed like it was killing him not to look. Finally, he cupped his hands around the screen and opened the text.
Slowly, he slid his phone into his pocket, took her hand, and pulled her to her feet.
The look of pure love mixed with a lot of lust must’ve shown on their faces, because Elliott leaned over and whispered, “Dude” as they left. Trace didn’t stop. He tugged her out of the classroom and all the way to his Jeep.
And then he was kissing her right there in the parking lot of the elementary school, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop him because his touch was pure heaven, and there was nothing else she’d rather do at that moment than have his lips on hers.
He was her future. Her family.
A man she admired.
The one who’d shown her a forever kind of love the day she’d left her problem-filled life behind and pedaled right into his heart.
Lily added one more lesson to her list, and it was the most important one of all. When life gets tough, keep on pedaling.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’m sending out a huge thank-you to Shelly Chalmers, my Golden Heart sister and critique partner extraordinaire, for her patience with the all-is-lost moment in every single book I write. You are a doll. I owe a debt of gratitude to Jill Marsal of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency for her input into this story before I even started writing it. And of course, I’m grateful to my editors, Melody Guy, Megan Mulder, and Maria Gomez, and the entire Montlake team for the faith and support they’ve put behind my work.
Last but certainly not least, I’m extremely grateful to all my incorrigible readers who hang out with me over on my Facebook page. You make my day. A special thank-you goes out to Pamela Sayer for the “purse whore” idea for this book. You rock!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2014 Frank Frost Photography
Shelly Alexander’s first published novel was a 2014 Golden Heart finalist. She is an Amazon #1 bestselling author in numerous categories, including contemporary romance, contemporary women’s fiction, and romantic comedy. Shelly grew up traveling the world, earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing, and worked in business for twenty-five years. With four older brothers and three sons of her own, she decided to escape her male-dominated world by reading romance novels . . . and has been hooked ever since. Now Shelly spends her days writing novels that are sometimes sweet, sometimes sizzling, and always sassy. She lives in the beautiful Southwest with her husband and toy poodle named Mozart. Visit her at www.shellyalexander.net.
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