Dreams: A Curvy Girl Holiday Romance Collection

by J. S. Scott

  Of course, I let him catch me so I could savor the feeling of his very real body against mine.

  Sometimes reality was so much better than just a Christmas dream.

  ~The End~

  A Valentine’s Dream

  By

  J.S. Scott

  Writing as

  Lane Parker

  Copyright© 2019 by Lane Parker

  All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Chapter One

  Amy

  The continual buzz from my phone hauled me away from pleasure, and into the painful realization that it wasn’t true. I wasn’t being felt up by a man who thought I was gorgeous, and called me sweetheart.

  Sometimes I fell so deeply into those dreams that I convinced myself they were real. At times…I knew they were just my imagination, but other times….

  Sweet Jesus! It hurt.

  Tears sprang from my eyes, and I wondered if I’d ever have anyone to love, someone who was that attentive.

  Most likely…not.

  I fumbled with the phone, and it slid to the floor. I started to scramble after it, but hesitated. From childhood forward, for some reason, I’d always documented what I remembered from my dreams.

  Grabbing my journal, I jotted it all down while the scenes with my mystery man were fresh in my mind.

  Pushing away from the bed, I found my phone, and scrolled through the call log. Hayden had called several times, and followed those attempts with short texts of, “Where are you?” Surely she wasn’t having last minute wedding jitters. She should’ve been in the middle of living out telepathic fantasies in real life with her husband-to-be, and not calling me.

  The thought gave me pause.

  Jackson Gillette had wormed his way into Hayden’s dreams long before they officially met. It all sounded farfetched, like something shown in a 23rd century film. I didn’t know all the details, but from what I’d gathered, Hayden and Jackson had enjoyed several explicit encounters prior to their first date. When they finally met, it was as if they’d known one another for most of their lives.

  If I could only be so lucky.

  Maybe I could be so lucky? Sometimes my dream felt…real.

  I froze. Was there more to my dreams than I cared to admit? My mind quickly replayed several heated clips from the fantasies that had jerked me from a soundless sleep.

  No. No. No.

  Remembering was both arousing, and pretty damn painful.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, but the images were worse. The man in my dreams had an athletic build, ripped arms, cut thighs, and a scar that ran from the base of his collarbone to his left pec. He had a similar scar on his knee.

  And his voice…

  God, it had sounded so familiar tonight. Was I imagining things, or did he sound like Levi Gillette?

  I wanted to tell myself that the notion was ridiculous, but my gut instinct wouldn’t let me.

  I hadn’t seen Levi Gillette’s knees, of course, but if he had a scar running down to his chest…. Without finishing my thought, I clicked through the rehearsal dinner photos. Jackson and Hayden kissing. Jackson and Hayden toasting. Group photos. Bridesmaids. Groomsmen. Smiles popping off the page.

  As Jackson’s best man, Levi was in plenty of the wedding party pictures. He was around six-one or six-two so he was always standing in the back row. When I couldn’t find a close-up, I worked with what I had. Enlarging one of the snapshots, I focused on Levi’s collar.

  Nothing.

  Dammit!

  Typically, I refused to photo-stalk, but this was different. A sexy man with all the right moves had been devouring me in my dreams. I needed to make damn sure it wasn’t Levi.

  What if I opened myself up, hoping to have a dream man of my own, and Levi had pushed his way into my head?

  “I’ve lost my mind,” I mumbled, holding the phone closer to my nose.

  The wedding rehearsal dinner had been held in the new posh seafood restaurant not too far from Houston’s Museum District. The rock shrimp tempura was wonderful, but the dim lighting left a lot to be desired. I hadn’t really tried to figure out the dreams I’d been convinced I’d brought on myself…Until I was trying to figure out if Levi Gillette had the same scar as the man in my dreams.

  Ridiculous, right? Why would Levi even want in my dreams? We didn’t even like each other.

  I wasn’t psychic, but it was just a nagging feeling that I couldn’t seem to shake off, no matter how insane it sounded.

  My phone rang again.

  “Shit. I forgot to call you back,” I said, foregoing “Hello” and jumping right into sisterly conversation. “Is something wrong?”

  “No, but you don’t sound too good. What’s up?”

  “I think your brother-in-law is annoying.” No sense in tiptoeing around the subject. “And he’s arrogant.”

  “Levi? Arrogant?” She laughed. “Some say he’s charming, and maybe even handsome.”

  “Don’t patronize me.”

  “I’m not. I just thought you might think…”

  “I don’t.”

  “Got it. Levi is not handsome and he’s not charming.”

  I bit my lip and muttered, “Right.”

  “Amy, what’s this about?”

  My sister and I were always close. I could trust her with anything, but I didn’t want to tell her about my suspicions yet, not because I couldn’t confide in her, but because I wasn’t sure how much Jackson could find out by tapping into her subconscious. All this psychic stuff was new to me, and I didn’t know nearly enough about it to be certain of anything. If I shared my secrets with Hayden, would I be disclosing them to Jackson as well?

  Oh, hell.

  I sighed as I said, “Look, I know this will sound weird, but we can ask one another anything, right?”

  “That’s right. We can,” Hayden agreed. “So ask.”

  I hesitated before I quietly said, “I need to know about your dreams.”

  “My dreams with Jackson?”

  “Are there any other kind?” I asked flippantly. I sat on the edge of the bed and eyed the fruit basket. I loved my late night snacks, but if I started eating now, I’d stay up half the night eating antacids. “I should’ve asked before now. We’ve always been so close, but I’m starting to feel a bit…left out. I know so little about your psychic connection with Jackson.”

  “Oh Amy,” she said sweetly. “I didn’t know you felt that way.”

  Yes! Arm-pump. She bought it. I grabbed a ruby red apple and curled up on the bed, ready to munch and listen.

  To hell with indigestion. I’d swallow the Tums later.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were having dreams about Levi?” Hayden said insistently.

  “What?” I sat straight up. The apple dropped, and rolled across the floor. “Whatever gave you that idea?” She knew me too well.

  “You’re not having dreams about Levi?”

  “I’m not, no.” I cleared my throat. What else could I say? All of this was just an inkling, not fact. “I’m having a few dreams, yes, but they aren’t about Levi. Are you kidding?” I scoffed. “Maybe you didn’t notice but, we spent most of the rehearsal dinner dodging one another. I can see where some women might find him attractive, but have you talked to him? He’s persistent, assertive to a fault, and to hear him talk, you’d swear he’s a visionary.”

  “When has that ever been a problem for you? You’ve always wanted an assertive g
uy who has a career of his own.”

  “He’s not just assertive, he’s obnoxious. He takes the lead in every conversation, steals the spotlight, and does it on purpose,” I rambled on. “And he looks at women as if he knows exactly what they’re wearing underneath their clothes.” I rolled my eyes at the memory of how he’d first looked at me when we’d been formally introduced. He’d undressed me in a matter of nanoseconds, and did so with a sly grin. “I don’t like him. He made me feel like his lady and his whore all at the same time, and we’d barely been introduced. What kind of man does that?”

  “I think they’re called alpha males,” my sister said with a sigh.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Or just assholes.” I felt justified in saying so. “He acts like he wants to get to know me, and then comes off as if he’s known me for years.”

  “So he’s assumptive?”

  “Definitely,” I said, smiling just a little as I thought of that cute little dimple in his lower jaw. No doubt it made every woman who could see it sigh. “But this isn’t about me, or Levi, or the two of us.” Certainly not the two of us. “This is about you and Jackson. What happened? Start at the beginning.”

  “Why do you think Levi is in your dreams?” She wasn’t giving anything away, and she was like a dog with a bone now that she thought all this might be about Levi.

  “I don’t.”

  “You do,” Hayden argued.

  Since when had my sister become more like them and less like me?

  I started to argue that point, but instead asked, “Does Levi have any scars?”

  “Want me to call Jackson and ask?” Hayden didn’t even ask me why I wanted to know.

  “NO! Calling Jackson is the last thing you should do.” He was probably with Levi at their family home. “When you first started having dreams, did you see Jackson’s face?”

  “Not at first. It wasn’t until after we finally met in person.”

  Levi and I had met earlier in the week, and while the dreams were occurring with more frequency, I still hadn’t seen my dream lover’s face.

  I exhaled. “Well, then. Guess I’m in the clear. It’s not him.”

  “Amy?” She wouldn’t let this die. “He has scars. I’ve never asked about them, but I’ll pay closer attention. He must have them. Levi has had a few accidents through the years.”

  “Thank you,” I said, angst-ridden once again. Was it because I was pretty sure that Levi wasn’t my dream man because Jackson’s and Hayden’s dreams didn’t match what I was experiencing? “Oh, and on a serious note, are you still sure Jackson’s the one?”

  “Absolutely!” Her happiness resonated through the phone. “He’s the love of my life.”

  “You’re perfect together,” I agreed.

  “And his brother is…”

  “An asshole.” My mood soured again. I couldn’t like someone like Levi. Men like him wanted pole-thin women with short stylish hair, expensive shoes, and a different dress for every night of the week. I was curvy, a fluffy girl, with long hazel-colored hair that I usually wore in a ponytail. I typically wore scrubs, and sneakers to match.

  When I wasn’t working, it was jeans, and an oversized shirt.

  That was pretty much my entire wardrobe.

  I faded out while Hayden sold Levi’s more promising attributes. He was handsome and kind. He had his PhD. and had started Gillette Engineering, which he co-owned with his brother. He was a philanthropist, and donated a lot of money to Houston’s Pet Sanctuary. That got my attention almost immediately, but Hayden didn’t elaborate. Instead, she finished by saying, “And the Gillette men are very good to their women.”

  “I’m not his woman,” I said.

  “I don’t know,” she teased. “Something tells me we could be sisters-in-law as well as sisters someday.”

  “Let’s not go there,” I said, beginning to think she already knew something that she wasn’t sharing. “Too bad it’s not Christmas. Wonder if there’s a psychic Cupid wandering around somewhere?”

  “Well, I’ll never try to stand in for Santa—or Cupid for that matter, but sisterly advice isn’t out of the question. If you’re dreaming about Levi, you’ll know when the time is right. He’ll make sure of it.”

  Chapter Two

  Levi

  “I can’t get her off my damned mind.” I slung my jacket over the back of Mom’s sofa, and stared at my brother. Jackson had been reading the same sports page since breakfast. My father was next to him at the table. “What in the hell did you do?”

  “When?” He lowered the newspaper, and that’s when I noticed the faraway look in his eyes. He wasn’t thinking about anything except meeting his bride at the altar in a few hours. I couldn’t blame him there. He was about to publicly profess his love by making a lifetime commitment.

  Holy shit! I hoped he was making the right decision.

  “Never mind, man. It’s your day. I want you to enjoy it.” I scoffed. “I shouldn’t be talking about my dreams when you’re the man of the hour. You’re sure she’s the right woman for you?”

  Jackson laughed. “There’s no one else for me.”

  As best man, it was my duty to ask.

  As Jackson’s brother, I wanted to make sure he didn’t have any reservations.

  “Better than marrying a placeholder until the right one comes along,” Dad joined the conversation in a jovial spirit. “Might want to think about that, Levi, before you bed a bridesmaid.”

  I didn’t even want to wonder how my father knew that one of the bridesmaids, actually, the maid of honor, got my dick harder than a rock.

  Only one bridesmaid held my attention. And I was too smart to try and lure her to my bed for a one-night stand.

  Even though, fuck knew I’d wanted to.

  “Word of caution. You might want to tiptoe around that advice, Dad. I don’t think Amy is exactly a placeholder,” Jackson said, a note of sincerity in his voice.

  “Am I missing something?” Dad’s gaze shifted between us.

  “I think we both did,” I said, studying Jackson. “What are you suggesting?”

  “You’ve dreamt about the same girl for as long as you can remember. Now, all of a sudden, things change? In recent weeks, you’ve mentioned longer dreams. You’re seeing more intimate scenes and…”

  “Whoa there…” Dad put his hands up. “If I’m about to meet another future daughter-in-law, I’ve heard enough.”

  “I’m guessing,” Jackson said. “He hasn’t given me much to go on.”

  “And he probably won’t,” I said, my tone irritated now.

  “If your brother’s right, maybe you need to explore all options tonight. Figure out if there’s more to your dreams because of the close proximity to Hayden’s sister—who I noticed you were looking at like you wanted to marry her on the spot,” Dad reasonably suggested.

  Jackson gave me a pointed look.

  He knew what I was thinking.

  I knew what he was thinking.

  As psychic brothers, we’d learned to hone certain skills as young boys.

  But I sure as hell didn’t want to admit to the hard-on I got every time I looked at Amy. Dad and I were close, but it just wasn’t something I wanted to discuss with my father.

  “Never mind then,” Dad finally said in an understanding voice.

  There wasn’t any reason to explore all options now. I already knew which option was the most viable one. Amy would soon become Jackson’s sister-in-law, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d mean far more to me.

  “Tell us what’s going on in that handsome head.” Mom entered with coffee, cream, and sugar. She set the tray on a short stack of magazines and sighed. “It’s a big day for more than one Gillette. Isn’t it?”

  Mom obviously recognized the signs, too.

  Jesus! Was there anybody who didn’t see the way I looked at Hayden’s sister?

  Mom’s mother, our grandmother, was psychic. She’d spent her life aiding the other psychics in the
family.

  Like Jackson had just mentioned, my dreams had started when I was at the age when boys thought girls were gross. For some reason, I had a ‘girl neighbor’ in my dreams. She was cool, and rapidly became my best friend in my dreams. By day, Jackson and I were inseparable. At night, the unknown little girl with pigtails would roll into my dreams on a pink Big Wheel with silver tassels.

  Princess One.

  I smirked as I remembered what she’d called her big wheel. Hell, it had even had custom little license plates with that name.

  As if Mom had read my mind, she said, “Maybe you should ask Jackson’s sister-in-law about the toys she had as a child.”

  “Not a chance. I’m not interested in becoming the freak show at my brother’s wedding,” I grumbled, suddenly wishing I’d never shared so much with my parents when I was younger.

  “Wonder if she kept that Big Wheel you two used to fight over?” Jackson teased, mimicking Mom’s voice.

  “That dream was over twenty years ago. See if I ever tell you about any of my dreams again,” I said gruffly.

  Had the girl from my childhood dreams grown up, and followed me into my adult dreams?

  It seemed unlikely.

  It seemed farfetched.

  Yeah, I suspected my recent wake-up-with-a-boner dreams were about Amy. How could I not at least consider that it was her? She was the first woman in a very long time who made me think of something else other than Gillette Engineering.

  But even if the goddess I met in my dreams was Amy, there was no way that she was my childhood dream friend.

  It didn’t make sense.

  At all.

  But somewhere deep inside, I was pretty sure I wanted it to be true.

  MMM

  Later that night, as the wedding party assembled, we all anxiously awaited the bride and groom, eager to witness the wedding of the year.

  Jackson was a former NFL superstar, and the media gathered on the vacant parking lot across from the church. My brother was previously considered the most eligible bachelor in football thanks to family money, outstanding attributes as an athlete, and an approachable reputation with his fans.