Now, she was acting on reflex again, making her way through the crowd. People were laughing and talking; they spoke to her and she smiled and said yes, it had been a wonderful wedding, and yes, the lightly falling snow was the finishing touch until, finally, she reached the back of the house.
She needed a break. Needed the cool night air.
She slipped through the kitchen. The staff was busy; she moved past them, grabbed an old barn coat from a hook near the back door, slipped it on and stepped outside.
The snow was, in fact, beautiful, feathery and lovely as it drifted over the dark hills.
It was cold out here. She shivered, drew the edges of the old coat together. She was wearing silk shoes; she’d probably ruin them in the snow and she’d probably ruin her gown, too, the long hem of it, anyway…
“Jaimie.”
Her heart leaped into her throat. She stood absolutely still. No. She hadn’t heard anything. It was the wind…
“Jaimie.”
Ohgod. Ohgod. Ohgod…
Zacharias stepped out of the shadows. Beautiful Zacharias, dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, wine-colored tie. Except, it couldn’t be him. It couldn’t be—
“Jaimie,” he said, in a voice so raw and rough and filled with pain that when he opened his arms, she didn’t think, didn’t wonder, didn’t ask questions. She simply said his name and flew into his arms.
He gathered her hard against him. Said her name, over and over and over, just as she was saying his.
He lifted her to him, bent his head to hers, claimed her mouth as if she were a pool of cool water and he were a man dying of thirst. He cupped the back of her head. She dug her face into his chest; he buried his face in her hair.
There was so much to say.
But, in the end, three words said it all.
“I love you,” Zacharias told her. “I adore you. With all my heart.”
“I love you,” Jaimie said, looking up at him, her eyes shining with tears, with hope, with love. “I’ve always loved you.”
He kissed her. She kissed him back.
They spoke at the same time.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
They laughed. And maybe they cried a little, too.
“I should have told you the truth at the start, honey,” Zacharias said softly. He held her out from him, only a couple of inches because he never wanted her to be out of his arms again, but he wanted, needed, had to see her face. He had dreamed of her face, night after lonely night. “But I was afraid you’d think I was there for Caleb and I wasn’t, I wasn’t, I was there because I wanted you, only you.”
“I shouldn’t have said all those terrible things to you,” Jaimie said. “But I had fallen so deeply in love with you that when I thought—when I thought I was a—a job you had to do….”
“Hush.”
She kissed him. “I love you,” she said again.
Zacharias smiled. “I love you more.”
Jaimie laughed. “Wanna bet?”
He swung her into his arms.
“I have a car.”
“A Prius?”
He grinned. “A four-wheel-drive Range Rover. This is Texas, babe. And it’s winter.”
“It’s the solstice,” she said, winding her arms around his neck.
“So, there’s really a solstice party going on in the house?”
Jaimie wound her arms around her lover’s neck.
“A solstice party? Where did you get that idea? It’s Emily’s wedding.”
Zach laughed. “There’s a rumor going around that it’s both.”
“What do you mean?”
The snow was coming down harder. Zach gave Jaimie a long, tender kiss.
“We can talk about that later. For now…”
“For now?”
“For now…” He took a deep breath. “Honey. I’ve left The Agency. For good. I don’t want that kind of life anymore.”
Her eyes searched his.
“What kind of life do you want, Zacharias?”
“The only kind of life I want is with you, sweetheart.”
“That’s a good thing.” Jaimie smiled. “A very good thing. Because you’re all I want. Now, and forever.”
Zach kissed her again. His heart felt as if it might burst with joy.
“I have a car,” he said. “And a room. At an inn in Wilde’s Crossing.”
“Does your room have a big marble tub? A shower with a zillion spray heads? A beach? A sailboat? Hot and cold running servants?”
He smiled. “No, no, no, no and no.”
Jaimie sighed and laid her head on his shoulder.
“It sounds perfect,” she said softly.
“Perfect,” he agreed. “There’s just one thing…”
“Yes?”
“Jaimie Wilde. Will you marry me?”
She smiled and fluttered her lashes.
“I thought you’d never ask”.
* * * *
Lissa stood at the window, watching as her sister’s lover carried her through the snow, saw her safely into the passenger seat of a big Range Rover, kissed her and then went around to the driver’s side.
She smiled.
Sometimes, meddling was a good thing.
“Liss?”
She turned around. Her brother Jacob had come up behind her. He smiled and looped his arm around her shoulders.
“What’re you looking at?” Jake leaned forward. “Who is that?”
“It’s Jaimie. And the man she’s going to marry.”
“Zach Castelianos? He showed up after all!”
Lissa chuckled. “I think the Wilde brothers and the Wilde sisters are going to have a lot to talk about in the morning.”
“A lot,” Caleb said, as he joined them. “Whatever we did, we did it damn well.”
“So,” Travis said, joining the circle, “two down. One to go.”
“What?” Lissa looked from one smiling face to the other. “No. Not me!”
“Of course, you,” Caleb said.
“Never me,” Lissa said firmly. Her brothers laughed, as she’d hoped they would. Each bent and kissed her on the cheek before heading back to the party.
Lissa sighed.
“Never me,” she said, but this time, her voice wasn’t firm at all.
It was soft and a little sad.
And just a little lonely.
THE END
The third Wilde Sisters story, Lissa: Sugar & Spice is coming soon(All I’ll tell you is that there’ll be lots more spice than sugar!)
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To all my wonderful readers:
Thank you for falling in love with the Wildes! I love them, too, and I adore telling all their stories.
I hope you’ve enjoyed Jaimie’s story. I’m assuming you’ve read Emily’s story, Emily: Sex & Sensibility, but just in case you haven’t, you can find the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo and Smashwords.
Coming in late winter… The third Wilde Sisters story, Lissa: Sugar & Spice (All I’ll tell you is that there’ll be lots more spice than sugar!)
Between now and then, in November, I’ll bring you a sexy novella called The Gift. It will be part of an exciting Holiday Anthology that will include stories by me and some of your other favorite authors. I’ll share more details as soon as I have them.
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Sandra
P.S. Almost forgot….have you read The Prince of Pleasure? My fabulous sheikh, Khan of Altara, is the sexy, spectacular guy who started it all!
Jaimie: Fire and Ice (The Wilde Sisters) Page 23