Oh, Naughty Night!

by Leslie Kelly

  “All right, I understand,” she said, wrapping her arms around her waist, suddenly feeling cold. “It’s for the best.”

  “No, you don’t understand,” he said, brushing his fingers through a strand of her hair, stroking it tenderly. “I don’t want to have a secret affair with you, Lulu, because I love you too much to keep hiding it.”

  She couldn’t have heard him correctly. “What did you say?”

  He cupped her face in both his hands, tilting her face up to his. “I said I love you,” he whispered. “I always have, even when I swore to everyone who would listen that I hated you. I can’t imagine myself ever being with anyone except you. You are all I want.”

  “But...but...the families! Your job, the sneaking around...”

  “All second to you. I was so intent on finding the truth in dusty, far-off places, but then something Peggy said made me think about what I really want from my life. And it’s not travel or a job or a magazine cover.”

  “What is it?” she asked, almost too afraid to hope she knew the answer.

  He brushed his lips across hers, gently, almost reverently, and whispered, “It’s you, Lulu. I think, deep down, it’s always been you. You’re everything I want, and wherever you are will be home to me. I don’t need the whole world as long as I can always have one little piece of it where you are.”

  She trembled, hearing the certainty in his voice.

  “So I phoned my boss and told him I plan on working stateside for a while. Do you think you can stand to have me around a lot of the time?”

  “I can definitely stand it,” she said, relief filling her. Whether they were together or not, she hated the thought of him ever being anywhere that could endanger his life. He was much too precious, too special, for the world to lose. Someday, she knew, he’d want to go to some far-off place and do his adventuring, but she’d make sure he always knew he had a place to come home to, where he was loved more than life itself.

  “I’m glad you’re sticking around.”

  “Just glad?”

  “Very glad,” she said, her tone and expression solemn.

  “I love you,” he repeated, brushing his lips against hers, kissing her with such tenderness, she almost melted on the spot. “I won’t deny I want to keep sneaking around with you, just for fun. But if we do, we’ll have to be pretending we’re not wildly in love and that it’s all just about sex.”

  “It’s not all about sex?”

  “Oh, God, no,” he swore, emotion shining in his eyes. “I want you, without a doubt, and you will always drive me absolutely crazy with lust.”

  That didn’t sound so bad.

  “But I want all of you, not just your body. I want to hear what you’re thinking and planning and dreaming. I want you to feel you can tell me anything, and that I can do the same with you.”

  “You can.”

  “I know. Because I trust you wouldn’t ever betray me.”

  She believed him. They finally were being completely honest with each other now. Except for one thing. She licked her lips. “You’re pretty sure I’m in love with you, huh?”

  “Pretty damn sure, Lucille.”

  “Now you’ve gone and ruined the moment,” she said with a mock sigh.

  “Let me make it better.” He stepped back. “I want to give you your Christmas present early.”

  Not sure what to expect, she had to grab the edge of the stage to steady herself when he dropped to one knee in front of her and pulled a small box out of his pocket.

  “Think you could sneak around, be a secret lover and have wild, public sex with a guy you’re married to?”

  “What?”

  “Will you marry me, Lulu?”

  The world trembled, or else she did, as he flipped open the lid of the box. Inside was a ring, a sapphire surrounded by small diamonds, set in a delicate filigree. It was simple, and beautiful and absolutely perfect.

  “I was told I should get you a big, shiny, obnoxious rock,” he murmured, watching her closely to gauge her reaction. “But somehow this seemed to suit you better. It’s honest, and lovely, just like you.”

  She nodded, tears filling her eyes. “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Yes, you like the ring?”

  “No. Well, wait, yes, that, too,” she said, the tears running now and her thoughts scattering in a thousand directions. “But mainly, yes, Chaz, yes, I love you. Yes, I’ll marry you. Yes, I’ll be your secret lover and your public wife.”

  She offered him her hand, noticing it tremble as he slid the ring onto her finger. It was a perfect fit. More, as he’d said, it was honest, and lovely, and had come straight from his heart. And she adored it.

  “I love you, I do,” she said, not waiting for him to get up, but dropping to her knees in front of him. “I’ve loved you long before I knew I did.”

  “I’m not sure you loved me the day you took the ladder away and made me break my tailbone,” he said, a laugh rumbling in his chest.

  “I did, too,” she insisted, “I was just mad because you’d shared your Capri Sun with somebody else in the playground that day.”

  He gaped at her, and she blushed.

  “What can I say? I’m jealous and I keep what’s mine,” she said. “Can you handle that?”

  He nodded slowly. “I can handle that. And I promise, I will never again share my Capri Sun with another girl.” He held her hands, pulling her closer. “Unless she has brown curls and dark brown eyes, just like her mother.”

  That was a long way off, but the idea of someday having a family with Chaz made her feel light enough to fly up off the floor.

  He kept her grounded, though, pulling her close. Crushing her in his embrace, he kissed her with such love, such tenderness, she started to cry all over again, but then to laugh, as well. Emotions surged and filled her, memories washed over her, anticipation of a bright and joyous future swelled within her.

  She hadn’t been aware she was capable of feeling so much at the same time, and had never dreamed that the boy next door would be the one she’d trust with her heart for all the days of her life.

  When the kiss ended, he lifted his head, stroked her cheek and whispered, “Should we go and tell our mothers they’re going to be in-laws?”

  She nodded happily, picturing it, knowing that she and Chaz had a bond strong enough that it would never break. Their families would be ecstatic, and every one of them would say, I told you so, and Lulu wouldn’t care one bit, because she was loved and she was in love and it was Christmas and life was perfect.

  “Yes, let’s,” she replied.

  “Merry Christmas, Lulu, my love,” he whispered as he rose to his feet, helping her to hers

  She stood before him, staring into soulful eyes that shone with emotion, and replied, “Merry Christmas, Chaz Browning.”

  * * * * *

  Don’t miss the story of how Lulu’s friend Amelia finds her own holiday magic in the anthology

  NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION: ROMANCE,

  available January 2015!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from THE MIGHTY QUINNS: RYAN by Kate Hoffmann

  Ten years ago one devastating night changed everything for Austin, Hunter and Alex. Now they must each play their part in the revenge against the one man who ruined it all.

  Austin Treffen has the plan… Hunter has the money… Alex has the power!

  Read each of their stories in the captivating Fifth Avenue trilogy, only from Harlequin Presents:

  Avenge Me by Maisey Yates

  Scandalize Me by Caitlin Crews

  Expose Me by Kate Hewitt

  And don’t miss the Fifth Avenue prequel that started it all, Take Me, by Maisey Yates!

  Order your copies today in ebook format.

 
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  1

  RYAN QUINN STARED out the rain-blurred windscreen of Rogan’s Land Rover, his gaze fixed on the dark tarmac. In the distance, the landing beacons from Auckland’s airport illuminated the night sky.

  “How long are you going to wait?”

  “All night if I have to,” Ryan murmured, glancing over at his twin brother, slumped in the driver’s seat. “They’re coming in from Los Angeles on a private jet. I don’t reckon they’ll be keeping to a strict schedule.”

  “Serena Hightower,” Rogan said, shaking his head. “How did you get so lucky?”

  Ryan shrugged. “I’m not sure I’d call it lucky. It’s just another job.”

  “Yeah, but the scenery is going to be splendid,” Rogan said, reaching for the coffee he’d set in the cup holder. “What are you going to do with them? I asked Dana what your plans were, but she said they’re top secret.”

  “We’re going to Fiji.”

  “Really? We’ve never guided in Fiji before. That’s more of a vacation spot.”

  “We’ll do some light trekking, maybe some climbing. Surfing. Sailing.”

  “What about supplies and equipment and—”

  “It’s not that kind of trip. I’m just on board as...an advisor. Someone who can take care of all the details for whatever they want to do.”

  “Kind of like a...babysitter?”

  Ryan glanced over at his brother, ready with a retort. But there was no way around it. That was pretty much the job description. But how the hell was he supposed to refuse the offer? He was getting his regular rate plus expenses and a promised bonus at the end, all of which he intended to keep for himself. And if he did the job well, there might be other opportunities—which meant a chance to carve out a life of his own, away from the family business. “I prefer to call it a facilitator.”

  He’d been considering a break from the family adventure-guiding business for a long time, and lately, it seemed as if that time was now. Both Mal and Rogan were settling down with women they’d met, planning their futures, searching for ways to cut back on the trips they took for Max Adrenaline. They’d both assumed that Ryan would happily take over the brunt of the work.

  But he’d made no promises to them and had plans of his own—he wanted to start a surf school. He lived right on the beach; he’d been surfer since the age of nine. And he’d always been a decent teacher. The only thing he didn’t have was the money to make it happen.

  His fee, plus a big tip on this job would provide a good start.

  “How did you get this job?” Rogan asked.

  “I guided a bloke named Thom Perry last year. He was on our Mount Blanc trip. Perry owns Greenmoor Studios in Los Angeles. Serena Hightower is starring in some big blockbuster they have coming out after Christmas. She’s marrying her boyfriend right before the premiere, and he doesn’t want any bad press.”

  “Bad press?”

  “This is her hen party. She and her bridesmaids want one last fling before she gets married, and Perry wants to make sure they don’t create any problems for the studio.”

  “So it’s your job to get her safely to the altar so this bloke’s movie can make more millions?”

  “That’s about it,” Ryan said. “How hard can it be? Five women on a tropical island.”

  “So, will you be hiring the male stripper or are you providing those services yourself?”

  “It’s not like that,” he said. “Ms. Hightower wants an adventure. According to her instructions, she doesn’t want to spend every minute working on her tan. I expect we won’t be sipping mimosas by the pool the entire time.”

  “So you’ll be doing a lot of shopping?”

  “Definitely not on the itinerary. Perry has a man in Fiji who will help me with the arrangements. Arthur Cawaru. He’ll meet up with me there.”

  “We’re splitting the fee with him?”

  Ryan shook his head. “Nope. Like I said, the studio is paying all the bills. And this isn’t a Max Adrenaline job. I’m freelancing on this.”

  “Wow,” Rogan muttered. “Mal isn’t going to like that.”

  “This isn’t a guiding job. I’m not using company equipment or money. And I don’t care what the hell Mal does and doesn’t like these days,” Ryan muttered. “He’s been so caught up in planning the Everest trip that he’s not interested in anything else.”

  Max Quinn, their father, had died nearly twenty years before while guiding a group of climbers to the summit of Everest. Before his death, he’d parlayed his considerable fame as a mountaineer into an adventure business with his Aussie friend and business partner, Roger Innis—who had taken total control of the company, and its profits, after Max’s accident.

  And now, with the recent discovery of their father’s body on Everest, there had been a push for his three adventuring sons to make a pilgrimage of sorts to Max Quinn’s final resting place, to retrieve his effects and bury him properly. Mal, Ryan’s older brother, was all for the trip, along with publishing a biography that he and his fiancée, Amy Engalls, were writing about his father.

  But not everyone was so enthusiastic about their expedition to Everest. Roger Innis was mounting an expedition of his own to recover their father’s effects, including his climbing journal, which Innis considered company, not personal, property. Mal suspected that Innis was afraid he might be blamed for the mistakes made that day. And Ryan and Rogan knew there were other secrets that might be exposed if their father’s journal got into the wrong hands. The secrets in that book could shatter their perfect memory of their father—and destroy the family he’d left behind.

  Ryan drew a deep breath. “We need to tell Mal about Dad and the Montgomery woman. He can still call an end to this.”

  “There’s no stopping him,” Rogan said. “The trip is a go.” He paused. “And I’m going with him. I’m not going to let Roger Innis use his expedition to make himself look like the hero.”

  “But you said it was morbid.”

  “Yeah,” Rogan said. “But I’ve had a change of heart. Claudia has pointed out that I can’t really get on with my future until I deal with my past. Maybe this trip is what it will take for me to understand who he was. And who I am.”

  “You know who he was,” Ryan countered. “He was our father. A philanderer.”

  “That’s not all he was. Listen, someday I’m going to be a father. And I won’t have Dad around to talk to about it. So I’d like to know him a little better. And I want the truth of why he died on that mountain.”

  “And what if the journal’s not there? What if h
e just died there on the mountain, without anything important to say to his family? Or what if he mentions that Montgomery woman? How do you think that will make Mum feel?”

  Rogan drew a deep breath. “I don’t know. But it’s time we found out.”

  “You and Mal can go right ahead.”

  “It’s something we should all do together,” Rogan insisted.

  “Count me out. I’m happy with what I know. I don’t see the need to stir it all up again. It almost destroyed us once already.” Ryan’s chest tightened and he swallowed back a wave of emotion.

  His family had never really dealt with his father’s death. At the time, Ryan’s mother, Lydie Quinn, had been so emotionally fragile herself that she hadn’t been able to help her children through the tragedy. Ryan had stood by helplessly as all the happiness had drained out of their lives.

  Along the way, Ryan had learned to control his emotions, to stop caring about anything that might make him happy. He’d lived his life waiting for the next disaster to befall their family and building a high wall around his heart to protect himself from the pain.

  Malcolm and Rogan had found happiness. They’d fallen in love and were looking forward to rosy futures. But Ryan would never allow himself to be that vulnerable. He couldn’t bring himself to trust that deeply.

  “You’re going to have to make a decision soon,” Rogan said. “We leave in three months.”

  “Have a good trip,” he muttered.

  An uneasy silence fell over the interior of the Range Rover. As if he didn’t already feel like an outsider in his own family, this didn’t make things much better. He and his brothers had always agreed on most subjects, but since Amy and Claudia had come into the picture, that had all changed.

  “Is that your plane?” Rogan asked.