They actually thought she’d left with Barry, she realized with sickening clarity. This was terrible. She had to make them understand it wasn’t the stranger who’d showed up at their door she loved, but their grandson. “Mr. and Mrs. Gray, I—”
Mr. Gray broke in. “I heard Dexter say you were his wife. Is that true?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “But he had a good reason for not telling you,” she added quickly.
“And you didn’t leave with the other young man.”
“He didn’t look all that young to me,” Edna declared. She raised her chin defiantly when Sears shushed her, but said nothing.
“No,” Genevieve said. “I didn’t want to. I asked him to leave, and he did.”
The elderly man beamed. “I guess that means you’ve made your choice. In that case, you’re part of our family. You should call us Grandpa and Grandma, like Dexter and Lexi do.”
Edna nodded. “After all, you’re Mrs. Gray, just like I am.”
Genevieve closed her eyes for a moment and said a silent prayer of thanks. It meant a lot to know that the Grays weren’t angry with her. But Dexter’s feelings counted the most. She wished he would return.
“So who was that young, er—older fella?” Sears asked.
“It’s a long story,” she replied, “but my visa had expired, and I wasn’t able to get a new one. I’d been seeing Barry socially, but his divorce hadn’t come through yet. Then I met Dexter when I rented the other room in the brownstone where he lives. We made a deal. I could pay his tuition, and he could keep me from being deported.” She held her breath, not knowing how they would react to the news of the circumstances behind her marriage to their grandson.
Sears frowned. “That sounds awfully underhanded. We sure didn’t raise Dexter to be a kept man. And what was that boy thinking, trying to cheat the government? If they find out about his shenanigans he’ll never get to be an attorney!”
“Sears, have some faith in Dexter. He knows what he’s doing,” Edna declared.
Genevieve also felt compelled to defend Dexter to his grandfather as well. “He’s always insisted from the very beginning that this is just a loan, Mr.—er, Grandpa. He has a little black book that he’s recorded all the expenses in from the day we bought our wedding rings. I know he means it.”
Sears nodded, mollified. “That’s my Dexter.”
Edna clutched her husband’s arm. “Sears! That must be how Dexter was able to make that large payment toward our mortgage and take over the note. Remember? He told us not to worry when we asked how he could afford to do it.”
Sears nodded. “He used the money he had saved, once Jenny here had paid his tuition.
Edna turned to her. “I’m confused about something, Jenny. Are you saying you aren’t in love with our Dexter, that you only married him so you can remain in this country?”
“That was why we got married, yes,” Genevieve reluctantly admitted. “I didn’t want any pretense. But while we were spending time together preparing for our INS interview, things started to change.” She smiled, her body tingling with happiness. “And they kept on changing, until...I love Dexter, Grandma. I really do.”
Edna gave her husband a triumphant smile. “There you have it, Sears. She loves him. And I know he loves her. I can feel it. That means their marriage is as genuine as ours.” She reached for Genevieve’s hand and squeezed it gently before releasing it. “I believe you, dear. And I know you’re anxious about Dexter, but try not to worry. He’s been running off when he needed to think about things even before he had a driver’s license.”
“But Grandma, where could he be? He didn’t even have a jacket on when he left.”
Sears chuckled. “He knows that I keep extra car keys in the garage. I’m sure he’s got the heat on.”
“Just wait for him, Jenny. He’ll be back.” Edna tugged at her husband’s sleeve. “Come on, Sears. Let’s try to get some sleep.”
Sears smiled at Genevieve. “You and Dexter have a lot to discuss. We won’t expect to see you two until late tomorrow morning.”
Genevieve went upstairs shortly after the senior Grays to check on the children, who had slept through the commotion. She quietly slipped out of their room and returned downstairs.
It felt refreshing to admit how she felt about Dexter, to Barry and to the Grays. But she longed for him to return, so she could tell him. If he appeared unmoved, it wouldn’t count for anything.
She waited for what seemed like an eternity, with occasional trips upstairs to look in on the children. She jumped at the sound of a car engine and bright headlights that quickly went dark. He’d finally come back!
She ran to the door, wanting to be there to open it for him. To her surprise, a key turned the lock. Had Grandpa’s spare keys included those to the house, as well as the car?
The answer occurred to her in the split second before the door actually opened. It wasn’t Dexter, but Lexi and Ellis, back from the movie.
They greeted her, both of them looking happy and relaxed. Genevieve envied them. They knew how they felt about each other and took comfort and security from it. If she was lucky, she and Dexter would soon feel that way. If not...
She put that ominous thought out of her mind. “Hi,” she said. “The kids did just as you said. Went to sleep almost immediately.”
“Good,” Lexi said with a smile. “If only we can get them home and changed into pajamas without them waking up.”
Ellis headed for the stairs. “Let’s go get them.”
“I see you’re the only one awake,” Lexi said to Genevieve as she went to follow her husband to the upstairs bedroom. “I’m not surprised that Grandma and Grandpa went to bed, but I think Dexter was a stinker for going to sleep and leaving you to watch the kids. If I wasn’t in a hurry to get home I’d go up to that attic and give him a smack.” She giggled before disappearing.
Genevieve looked after Dexter’s sister with eyes open wide. Lexi hadn’t given her a chance to correct her, but she didn’t really mind. How could she explain the events of the evening to them? Let them think Dexter was fast asleep in his old room in the attic.
A knock on the door made her shoulders twitch. Dexter had returned. She looked upstairs, wondering if the Wards had heard. Dexter had been gone nearly two hours. If he’d stayed away another ten minutes no one would have been the wiser.
“All right, all right,” she hissed when he knocked again. “I’m coming.”
She opened the door, and unlike just a few minutes before, she didn’t flinch at the cold air that rushed toward her.
For a moment Dexter, who’d obviously been cold with no jacket, simply stared at her incredulously. “You’re still here.”
“Yes. I tried to tell you I wasn’t leaving, but you didn’t seem too interested in listening to what I had to say.”
He glanced toward the stairs. “Grandma and Grandpa?”
“I had to tell them the truth after your little slip of the tongue, but they took it well. Grandpa said he didn’t raise you to let a woman support you, and I told them that you’ve always maintained you would pay me back.”
Movement from inside the house made them both turn around. Genevieve realized the Wards were descending the stairs. “Quick, get in,” she said to Dexter. “Your sister is back.”
Only then did Dexter rub his arms, as if just then becoming aware that it was thirty-eight degrees outside and he wore no jacket. “Do she and Ellis know we’re married?”
“No. And this isn’t the time to tell them. We have to talk first.”
“Ooh, it’s cold in here,” Lexi said when she reached the bottom of the stairs. She lowered her chin to her chest when she noticed her brother. “What are you doing down here? I thought you were upstairs asleep.”
He held up a plastic bag imprinted with the name of a restaurant. “I had an urge for a dessert that wasn’t apple pie, so I went over to Uno’s and got a deep dish sundae.”
Lexi shifted the sleeping Charlice slightly h
igher on her shoulder. “I should have known. You and your sweet tooth.”
“Eat it in good health,” Ellis said. “And I do mean that literally.” He shook his head. “You know, Dexter, sometimes I think you should have skipped law school and just become an endocrinologist.”
“What’s that?” Genevieve asked, puzzled.
“A doctor who specializes in managing diabetes,” Dexter said. “I’m going to put this in the freezer. Good night, y’all.”
“Good night. Nice meeting you, Jenny,” Ellis said. “I’m sure we’ll see you again, if not before you leave, then next time.” He made his way toward the front door, a half-awake Trey in his arms.
“Likewise, Ellis.” Genevieve gave Lexi a careful hug on the side where she wasn’t holding the baby.
“Thanks for watching them for us,” Lexi said.
“I enjoyed it. You guys get home safe.”
“We will. G’night!”
Genevieve locked the front door behind them. She turned to see Dexter’s tall form emerge from the kitchen, and her throat suddenly went dry. Everyone was either gone or asleep, and they were alone.
She had to tell him how she felt.
He approached her. “All right, Jenny, you’ve got my ear. Why didn’t you leave with Barry?”
“I’m grateful to Barry, Dexter, and always will be. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m in love with you.”
Astonishment touched his handsome face. “Jenny...do you mean it?”
“Yes. I don’t know how it happened, only that it did.” She paused. “Am I alone in this, Dexter?”
He closed the distance between them and took her in his arms. “No, baby. I knew from the beginning that I could fall in love with you. But then I actually did.”
“I never thought I’d be married first and fall in love after.” Her voice came out muffled by his collarbone.
They rocked from side to side, their arms around each other.
“You won’t be sorry you married me, Jenny,” Dexter promised.
“I’m glad already.”
He pulled away. “Let’s go up to the attic. Grandma and Grandpa know we’re married. They won’t expect you to sleep in Lexi’s old room.”
“Your grandmother did say she expects us to be late for breakfast,” Genevieve said with a smile.
She giggled as she slipped between the covers. “This bed is too small for the two of us. We probably should be in my room. At least that’s a double.”
“It’s more private up here. We’ll just have to snuggle all night long,” he said, stripping out of his clothes and spooning her in the twin bed. “Wait. Something’s missing.”
She frowned. “Are you saying you want me to put something on? We’re supposed to be naked, Dexter.”
He handed Genevieve her purse, which had been on the floor beside the bed. “It’s in there, isn’t it?”
“What’s in there?”
He held up his left hand so she could see the shiny gold band that he’d removed on the train. Obviously he’d put it back on when she wasn’t looking. Instantly she understood. She sat up and took her wallet from him, then removed her wedding band from the zipped portion where she kept her change. She tossed the wallet on the floor, not caring if it landed inside her handbag or not.
Genevieve was about to place the ring on her finger when Dexter interrupted. “Let me.”
Her hand trembled as he slipped the ring into place. Wordlessly, he pressed his palm into hers, the base of their fingers aligned, the metal of their rings touching. Just as suddenly, he shifted his fingers and laced them through hers. Her breath caught in her throat as he raised their joined hands to his lips and kissed her ring.
“You’re only supposed to do that for the Pope, silly,” she said.
“Not me. I’m a Baptist.”
Genevieve giggled. “You always make me laugh, Dexter.” Just like Mama said.
“I’d better stop. Because this isn’t the time for that.”
Her smile faded, replaced with a different emotion. His face was very close to hers, and moving closer every second. She looked at him as long as she reasonably could, and when he filled her line of vision completely she closed her eyes and tilted her chin upward.
He guided her backward until she was lying down, his upper body atop hers, then cupped her jaw with his fingertips. “My wife,” he whispered.
“Here’s to being married,” she replied dreamily, looping her arms around his neck. “It’s the only way you can make love in your childhood bedroom with your grandparents right downstairs.”
He chuckled. “I guess Grandma will be proud of me, because for once in my life I saved the best for last.”
“No,” she said. At his wide-eyed look of surprise she added, “The best is yet to be.”
He nodded. “I like that.”
After that they didn’t talk at all.
♥
Keep reading for excerpts from Bettye’s other contemporary romance novels, including a sneak peek at the sequel to Save The Best For Last coming later this fall, Something Real!
Also by Bettye Griffin
Contemporary Romance Titles currently available
THE HEAT OF HEAT
A KISS OF A DIFFERENT COLOR
ISN’T SHE LOVELY?
ACCIDENTALLY YOURS
Women’s Fiction Titles currently available
TROUBLE DOWN THE ROAD
A NEW KIND OF BLISS
ONCE UPON A PROJECT
IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK
NOTHING BUT TROUBLE
THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR
About the author
Bettye Griffin is the author of fourteen contemporary romances and six works of women’s fiction. Originally from Yonkers, New York, she now makes her home in Southeast Wisconsin.
You can contact Bettye through her web site, www.bettyegriffin.com, or the old-fashioned way at P.O. Box 580156, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin 53158.
A Note to the Reader
Save The Best For Last was my sixteenth novel, and the first to be independently published under my newly established publishing outlet, Bunderful Books (because good writing is always in fashion). At the time I published this book in 2009, I had no way of knowing that Bunderful Books would become the outlet for all future works. I want to give a big thank you to all the readers who supported me and made it possible for me to continue writing.
I am now offering this book for free to readers. If you enjoyed it, I hope you will read the sequel, Something Real, as well as my other Bunderful Books titles. For your reading convenience, I have included excerpts from Something Real, Isn’t She Lovely?, and Accidentally Yours within this eBook. The themes of my books tend to be different, but whether it’s a traditional romance, a more mainstream romance, or a romantic comedy, they all have one thing in common…they are stories of romance in the real world!
Please drop in at the Bunderful Books website (www.bunderfulbooks.com) to stay current with the latest news on upcoming books, and do “like” my Bunderful Books Facebook page.
As always, I wish you good reading!
Bettye
*****
And now, as a bonus, excerpts from three of my other books…including Something Real, the sequel to Save The Best For Last!
Something Real by Bettye Griffin
EXCERPT
With the savvy of a lifelong New Yorker, Cesca slid down in her seat as she raised the cell phone to her ear. She was stopped at a red light, or more accurately, at the bequest of the police officer directing traffic. The drive to the midtown bakery had been a nightmare, because apparently every traffic signal north of Sixtieth Street was out of order. At any rate, she doubted that the state law against cell phone use while driving took being stopped into consideration. Best that the policeman directing traffic not see her talking on the phone. Cesca knew that the police were necessary to provide law and order, especially at times like this, but the less direct contact she had with any members of law
enforcement, the better.
She hated them…now more than ever.
Cesca began to talk as soon as her friend answered. “Gen, I should be there in about fifteen minutes, give or take, because all the stop lights are out. Can you meet me downstairs? We’re cutting it close, and I’m afraid that if I park first I’ll risk running into Dexter and spoil the surprise…Okay. See you in a few. Gotta go.”
She clicked off and sat up, just in time to see the officer two cars ahead gesture for northbound traffic to proceed. She hit the gas and was relieved when the signals became operational at Seventy-Ninth Street. Because of the one-way traffic on most streets and avenues of Manhattan, she continued driving north on Third Avenue past the street where Gen’s condo was located and then crossed over to Lexington, where she turned south. Her friend stood waiting when Cesca pulled over in a no-parking zone a few yards ahead of a parked police cruiser.
“Of all the bakeries right here in the neighborhood, you had to have a cake from thirty blocks south of here,” Cesca said to Gen with a playful shake of her head as she got out from behind the wheel.
“I really appreciate this, Cesca. I’ve got people upstairs already, and Dexter is very particular about his desserts. The Buttercup Bakery’s cakes are his favorites. Plus, they agreed to make a sheet cake that was half Lady Baltimore and half coconut. Dexter loves their Lady Baltimore, but since everyone doesn’t like white cake I wanted to get something yellow.”
“Yeah, I know all about your husband and his sweet tooth. If I hadn’t seen him put away a full dessert before ordering his meal, I never would’ve believed it.” Cesca laughed at the memory as she walked toward the trunk of her dark blue Jaguar and popped it with her remote. “I have to get someone to look at the hinges on this trunk. It started to slam shut on me right after I put the cake inside. Good thing I was raising my hand to shut it when it came down.”
“Oh, my. That lid is heavy. You’d better get it fixed right away, before you get hurt.”
Cesca raised the trunk, then removed her hands. It stayed in the upright position. “It seems fine now. Maybe I just didn’t have it raised all the way. Hey, did Dexter’s family get in all right?”
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