LavenderLaceTrilogy_Bundle

by Lynn LaFleur

“Anne, please. Calling me Mrs. Marshall makes me feel old.”

  Marci quickly glanced over Anne’s attire. No one would call Anne Marshall old, despite being in her mid-sixties. She wore black slacks, a gray sweater with several strands of silver chains over her full breasts, and black boots. A long gray leather coat completed the outfit. Her silver hair was styled perfectly, her makeup generous but not gaudy. She was a striking woman, one who drew the attention of men much younger than she. Marci had seen that first hand during the many lunches she and Anne shared.

  “Would you like coffee or tea?” Marci offered.

  “No, thank you, dear.” She slipped off her coat and laid it on the conference table with her purse. “Let’s sit down so we can talk.”

  “I’ll leave you two ladies alone—“

  “No, Keefe, stay. What I have to say to Marci includes you too.”

  “Excuse me?” Keefe said before Marci had the chance. Anne had just met Keefe. Whatever she had to say to Marci couldn’t possibly include him.

  Anne smiled. “You both look confused. Let’s sit down and I’ll explain.”

  She led the way to the seating area. Anne sat in one corner of the loveseat, Marci to her left, Keefe in the armchair on her right. “I just flew back from visiting my son in Arizona. As I get older…” She grimaced. “What an ugly thing for a woman to have to say. Anyway, as I get older, I find I’m enjoying the warmer temperatures more and more. I love the natural beauty here, but there’s natural beauty in Arizona too. Plus my son is there, and my grandchildren. I want to be closer to them.”

  “You’re moving?” Marci couldn’t imagine not having Anne close to talk to whenever she needed her. They went to lunch at least once a month. Marci would miss the talks she shared with Anne. “When?”

  “I have an appointment with a Realtor Monday to put my house up for sale. And…” She looked from Marci to Keefe and back again. “I’m selling Marshall Media.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  The whole world fell out from under Marci. Not only was she about to lose a good friend who’d been a substitute mother, but her job too. “What?” she asked weakly.

  “My son has no interest in the business. My grandson or granddaughter might be interested, but I doubt it. They’re still teenagers and have no idea of their future careers. So I think it’ll be better if I sell the company.”

  Marci didn’t know what to say. She looked at Keefe for help. He sat with one ankle resting on the opposite knee, watching her. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking from his expression.

  “Wow.” Marci swallowed. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Tell me you want to buy it.”

  Again, Anne had said something to completely floor Marci. “What?”

  “You’ve done an outstanding job of running Marshall Media since Conrad died. I think you should buy the company and continue to run it.” She glanced at Keefe. “Maybe with a partner to help you.”

  “A…partner?”

  “I know all about you and Keefe. Peggy told me.”

  “Peggy?” Marci couldn’t believe one of her best friends had betrayed her.

  “Don’t be angry at her, Marci. She didn’t mean to tell me. But I’m glad she did.” Anne glanced at Keefe. “I’m glad you found someone special.” She looked back at Marci and winked. “And good for you to hook a younger man.”

  Heat climbed into Marci’s cheeks. She gazed at Keefe to see his eyes twinkling. He winked at her too.

  “So. Let’s talk about you buying the company.”

  “Anne, I can’t. Marshall Media is worth millions. I don’t have that kind of money, or the resources to get that kind of money.”

  Anne tapped one finger against her chin. Marci could see the light in her eyes when she’d apparently made a decision. “Get your wallet.”

  “My wallet?”

  She made a shooing motion with her hand. “Just do it.”

  Marci had no idea what Anne was up to, but did as she requested.

  “Give me fifty cents.”

  “What?”

  Anne held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. “Give me fifty cents.”

  She still didn’t know what Anne was doing, but opened her wallet and removed two quarters. She laid them in Anne’s palm.

  Anne turned to Keefe and held out her hand. “Give me fifty cents.”

  Keefe’s eyebrows drew together. He looked at Marci, but she couldn’t help him since she didn’t know any more than he did. She shrugged.

  He dug two quarters out of his pocket and gave them to Anne.

  Anne smiled. “Sold! I’ll have my lawyer draw up the contract.”

  She rose from the loveseat and walked toward the conference table. Marci stared at Keefe and he stared back at her. “What happened?” she asked him.

  “I think Anne sold us Marshall Media for a dollar.”

  Marci jumped up and hurried over to Anne, Keefe right behind her. “Wait! You can’t do that.”

  “I believe I just did.”

  “The IRS will never believe you sold a multimillion dollar company for a dollar.”

  “It’s my company. I can sell it for whatever I want. The contract will state that.” She gathered up her purse and coat, then faced them. “Marci, I’m filthy rich. That’s not bragging, it’s fact. I don’t need any more money. This company was Conrad’s pride and joy, the most important thing in his life other than his family. I’ll go to my grave a happy woman knowing someone who cares about Marshall Media is running it.”

  Marci didn’t know what to say. She’d never been so shocked in her life. Or touched. “I-I’m speechless.”

  “Well, there’s a first.” Anne smiled and touched Marci’s cheek. “You’re like the daughter I never had, Marci. I don’t think I could love you more if you were my daughter. I know you and Keefe will make this company even more successful than it already is.”

  Tears filled Marci’s eyes. This woman had been such an important person in her life. She would miss Anne terribly.

  Frowning, Anne shook one finger back and forth. “None of that. No tears. You aren’t rid of me. I have many, many friends here and will visit a lot. I’ll always pop in and say hi when I do.”

  “Yes, please.”

  Anne smiled again. “Well, I’d better get out of here and let you two go home. Let’s do lunch next week, all right?”

  “Absolutely.”

  She hugged Marci fiercely and swept out of the room as quickly as she’d entered it.

  Marci felt as if she’d been through a tornado. Her mind was whirling. “I don’t believe what just happened.”

  “Mind boggling, huh?”

  “Very.”

  Keefe slipped his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans. “I’ll still quit, Marci, if that’ll make things easier for you. I didn’t expect Anne to do something like this. I wasn’t looking for more power or prestige. I’m happy with things the way they are. You’re a great boss.”

  She appreciated what he said, and had no doubt he spoke the truth. “No, I don’t want you to quit.”

  “I guess we have a lot to talk about this weekend.”

  “Tons. So let’s get out of here and start our weekend.”

  *

  Marci moaned long and low as her orgasm flashed through her body. Keefe gripped her hips tightly, thrust his cock all the way inside her channel. His body tensed beneath her and he groaned out his release.

  With a contented sigh, Marci lay on Keefe’s chest. She smiled at the memory of Keefe coming in her bedroom while she packed for their trip, and finding her in nothing but her latest purchase from Lavender Lace. The pale pink demi-bra and thong set was the sexiest—and skimpiest—lingerie she’d bought. His reaction had been to immediately jerk off his clothes, toss her on her bed and take her.

  He kissed the top of her head. “I told you my brain drops between my legs when I see you in your sexy underwear.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  “You’re so easy.”
>
  “With you I am.”

  He hugged her tightly. “What do you want to do this evening? We could go out to dinner instead of cooking.”

  “Or order a pizza so we don’t have to get dressed again, and watch a movie.”

  “Mmm, I like the way you think. Any time I can keep you naked works for me.”

  She lifted her head and looked at him. “You want me to watch the movie naked?”

  “Sure. We’ll cuddle up in a quilt and I can cop a feel whenever I want.”

  Marci laughed while he grinned. She did love his sense of humor. And everything else about him.

  She circled his lips with one finger. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”

  He smiled tenderly. “If it’s a fraction of the amount I love you, it’s a bunch.”

  She kissed him ever so softly. With their lips and bodies joined, Keefe rolled her to her back. She could feel his cock hardening inside her. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he began to thrust.

  She gasped when he slid one hand beneath her buttock and slipped a finger in her ass. He pumped it in and out with the same rhythm that he pumped his rod into her pussy.

  “Faster.” She darted her tongue into his ear. “Fuck me faster.”

  He pushed a second finger into her ass and quickened his thrusts. Another orgasm built inside Marci, more powerful than her first. She gripped Keefe’s shoulders, threw back her head and keened.

  He kept pumping as his body shuddered. Marci held him tightly until he stilled. His heart pounded against her chest, his breath fell hot and heavy on her neck. She tightened her arms and legs around him, happy to hold him like this for the rest of the night.

  “You know,” he said between heavy breaths, “I’ve had more orgasms…since I’ve been involved with you than…in my whole…life.”

  “I’m a good influence.”

  His laugh tickled her ear. “You’re dangerous.” He lifted his head and smiled at her. “And incredibly sexy.”

  His kiss was so sweet, it brought tears to her eyes. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” One more kiss, then he slowly withdrew from her body. “I’ll order the pizza. What kind do you want?”

  A shrill ringing came from his jeans pocket. “Just a sec. Let me see who that is.” Climbing from the bed, he scooped up his jeans and located his cell phone in the pocket. He smiled when he looked at the display. “It’s my brother.”

  “You talk to him. I’ll order the pizza.”

  He leaned over and kissed her. “Thanks.” He flipped open his phone as he walked out of the bedroom, his jeans in his other hand. “Hey, man, what’s up?”

  A pang of longing tightened her stomach. The joy in Keefe’s voice when he talked to his brother made her wish she could pick up the phone and call Mary.

  Shaking off the bad feeling, she called the pizza place instead of her sister. After ordering a large pepperoni and sausage, she donned a robe and left her bedroom in search of Keefe.

  “I can’t wait for you to meet her either,” Marci heard Keefe say as she neared the kitchen. “I don’t know if we’ll get there before Christmas. We haven’t talked about any trips… Throwing Marci over my shoulder isn’t the way to handle her…” He laughed. “Well, yeah, there is that.”

  He glanced at her when she stepped into the kitchen. “We don’t have any problem in that department.”

  Marci’s mouth dropped open. “Are you talking to your brother about our sex life?” she whispered.

  He winked at her. “I just got busted… Making it up to her is always fun… You too, man. Bye.”

  He shut his phone and laid it on the cabinet, then slipped into his jeans. “Did you order the pizza?”

  “Were you talking to your brother about our sex life?”

  “Now would I do something like that?”

  His innocent expression didn’t fool her for a second. “Don’t answer a question with a question.”

  “Do you know you’re beautiful when you’re angry?”

  She pressed her lips together and scowled at him. Instead of making him back off, he laughed. “Siblings tease each other. Didn’t you ever tease with your sister?”

  That pang tightened her stomach again. “Whatever teasing we did ended a long time ago.”

  The humor in his eyes disappeared. Afraid she’d see it replaced with pity, Marci turned away from him and reached for the coffee carafe to fill it.

  His hands cradled her waist before she could pick up the carafe. “What happened with your sister?”

  She wiped at a dried drop of coffee on the cabinet with her thumb. “It was a long time ago.”

  “It’s still eating you up inside.” He slipped his arms around her waist. “Talk to me.”

  Keefe stood behind her, holding her close, ready and willing to share her burden. Tears filled Marci’s eyes that she’d found such a wonderful man.

  “C’mere.” He took her hand and led her to the living room. He sat in the corner of the couch and tugged her down to sit beside him. Wrapping his arms around her, he drew her against his chest, her head on his shoulder. “Tell me about it.”

  Marci wiped away a tear from her cheek. “I went home when my parents were killed to help with the funeral details and get everything settled that has to be done when someone dies. I’d never realized how much there is to do. Bank accounts and credit cards and insurance policies and…” She stopped when she realized she was rambling. “Mary and I were close growing up. We had our share of fights, as any sisters do, but we loved each other.”

  “I’m sure you did.”

  “She got married right out of high school to her long-time boyfriend. She was in the middle of a nasty divorce when our parents died. It changed her. She was bitter and selfish and… I don’t know, just different. She wasn’t the sister I remembered.

  “The day after the funeral, our parents’ attorney read their will to us. Mom and Dad believed in hard work and saving for the future. Their estate was worth almost a million dollars. They’d arranged for Mary and me to split everything equally.”

  “But that wasn’t good enough for your sister?”

  “No. She said since I’d moved away, I had no right to expect anything from our parents. She was the one with the bastard husband who’d left her with a son to raise on her own. She deserved everything.” Marci straightened and shifted on the couch to face Keefe. “All she had to do was ask and I would’ve helped her any way I could. But she demanded that everything go to her. I was so angry by her attitude. And hurt.”

  Keefe stroked her hair. “Sometimes people get really stupid when money is involved.”

  “That’s for sure.” She swiped at another tear that escaped her eye. “I told the attorney to draw up whatever legal papers necessary so I could sign my share of our parents’ estate to Mary. He could overnight them to me because I was driving back to Seattle that afternoon. I went to our parents’ house to pack my suitcases. I’d already shipped some personal items home, things I wanted to keep of my Mom and Dad. Mary didn’t come home. I didn’t see her again before I left.”

  “You haven’t seen or talked to her since then?”

  Marci shook her head.

  “What about your nephew? Have you seen or talked to him?”

  “No. He was ten the last time I saw him. He’s a man now and probably in college. He might even be married.”

  The doorbell rang. Keefe squeezed the back of her neck. “That’s probably the pizza. I’ll take care of it.”

  Marci pressed her fingertips against her eyelids. Her eyes always burned when she cried. She heard Keefe speaking to the pizza delivery guy and shutting the front door. After that, silence.

  “Here.”

  She opened her eyes again, expecting to see Keefe holding plates of their pizza. Instead, he held out his cell phone to her.

  “Why are you giving me your cell?”

  He sat beside her. “Call your sister.”

  She blinked, certain she h
adn’t heard him correctly. “What?”

  “Call her.” He pressed the phone into her hands. “Ten years is long enough, Marci.”

  “Why should I call her? She’s the one who pushed me away.”

  “She did that at a bad time in her life.”

  “No. If she’d wanted to talk to me, she would’ve called me a long time ago.”

  “Maybe she was too embarrassed to call you. Maybe she didn’t know how to apologize. Maybe she was afraid you wouldn’t accept her apology.” He laid his hand on her thigh. “Don’t let something that happened a decade ago keep you from your family.”

  Her hands shook as she stared at the phone. She wanted to call Mary, get to know her sister again. But the odds were good that Mary wouldn’t want anything to do with her. Marci couldn’t take a second rejection. “I-I don’t know her number,” she said to stall a little longer.

  “Don’t you?”

  She looked back at Keefe. He was entirely too smart. “She moved into our parents’ house, but I don’t know if she’s still living there.”

  “Try the number and see. If someone else answers, maybe that means you aren’t meant to find her.”

  Marci slowly opened the phone and punched in the number she’d always remember. She heard two rings, three.

  “Hello?”

  Her heart slammed into her throat at the sound of her sister’s voice. “M-Mary?”

  “Yes. Who’s this?”

  She swallowed back the lump of tears. “It-it’s Marci.”

  Marci heard a gasp, then Mary’s voice again, softer now. “Marci?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Oh my God, Marci.” She could hear the tears in her sister’s voice. “Is it really you?”

  “It’s really me.”

  “I can’t believe… I’ve wanted to call you so many times and apologize. I was so stupid when Mom and Dad died.” Her voice broke on the last word. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  “I’ve missed you too.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m still in Seattle.”

  “Can you come down? Things are a little crazy for me right now with Patty’s classes and band lessons—“

  “Patty?”

  “My daughter. She’s seven.”