“It’s just a ranch, Mom. The rooms have ensuites and they’re cute and clean, but it’s not really the Ritz.”
Her mother let out a sigh, but it wasn’t the usual sound she’d let out when they were having an argument. It sounded different, almost sad.
“I don’t care, Alyssa. I just want to spend a little time with you and get to know this man you’re so in love with. As long as your father and I have a place to sleep a couple of nights, we’ll be fine.”
Streams of tears drowned her cheeks and soaked the collar of her dress as a mix of relief and happiness squeezed her gut. Had she known that all it would take to get a little of her mother’s affection and attention was to turn her back on her and run in the opposite direction, she would’ve done it ages ago.
“Alyssa? Are you still there?”
Her mother broke the silence and a sob escaped Alyssa’s mouth, as she attempted to say something to show she was still there. Her mother let out another sigh when she heard it, and Alyssa fought to regain control. Her mother had never been the emotional type; if anything, any display of vulnerability got on her nerves, and Alyssa had soon learned that the less she cried in front of her mother, the better they’d get on.
“I’m sorry,” she managed to say, swallowing the knot that clogged her throat.
“No, I’m sorry, Alyssa. I wanted you to have a perfect life, but I didn’t realize, not until you told me so at Thanksgiving, that I’d just ruined it all for you. Your father told me about Julian.” Alyssa’s heart skipped a beat; so now her mother knew the truth, too. “Why didn’t you tell me what he did? I would’ve talked to him, warned him to stay away from you instead of encouraging him. I thought he’d be a good catch for you, that he’d offer you the life you deserve, the life you’ve been used to. I only wanted you to be happy.”
“I’m happy now, Mom; that’s all that really matters. You couldn’t know Julian would turn out to be such a jerk. I guess nobody could.” She wiped her cheeks with the heel of her hand and smiled. “At least something good came out of this mess, after all; if I hadn’t escaped from it all, I wouldn’t have met Sean. So, it’s okay, Mom, really; let’s just leave it all behind us.”
She knew holding a grudge would never sort things out, nor would endless blames and pouts. She still felt awful for the way her mother had pulled the strings of her life like a puppet ever since Alyssa was born, but in a way she could understand now she’d only wanted to make sure her daughter had a wealthy, happy life. The fact that Alyssa never asked for the wealth and would rather live in a ranch in the middle of nowhere couldn’t be blamed on her. If closing Pandora’s box and forgetting the past was what it would take to finally have the semblance of a family, even if thousands of miles away, she would be willing to.
“I have to go now. Sean’s family will be waiting for me to have dessert. I’ll call you tomorrow and we can talk about the details for your trip, okay? Tell Dad I said merry Christmas. I . . .” She cleared her throat, feeling as if it had turned into sandpaper.
She couldn’t recall saying those magical three words to her mother ever since she was a little girl; once she’d learned her mother didn’t care about hearing them, she’d saved them for her grandmother, who appreciated them much more.
She shook her head; saying “I love you” now would be going overboard. One step at a time; a civilized conversation was more than she could’ve wished for, given their history. Pushing her luck any further didn’t seem like a smart idea.
“I’ll talk to you soon. Merry Christmas,” she said instead and hung up after her mother reciprocated the wish.
She turned back, and saw Sean standing by the door, his hands deep inside his pockets.
“You okay?” he asked with furrowed eyebrows. The look of concern on his face melted the ice around her heart and she took two big steps before flinging herself into his arms. His hands left his pockets and went around her waist, pulling her close to him.
“Thank you, Sean,” she said before claiming his lips in a kiss that would show him her gratefulness. There’d be time to talk about the phone conversation later on, once everyone had gone home. Right now, all she wanted was to lose herself in his love and the force of his kiss.
***
Hours flew by and when it was time for Sean’s relatives to leave, Melanie hugged Alyssa and made Sean promise he’d take her to Cheyenne soon after New Year’s Day, so Alyssa could see the apartment. Joe stepped in with his arms wide open, but after a deathly glare from Sean he turned it into a sort of awkward guy-hug, complete with a pat on her shoulder.
After everyone had left, including Andy and his in-laws, Nick disappeared into the living room to watch TV together with his father; Mrs. Maclaine went back to the kitchen and Tammy disappeared into her room.
“I think now’s the right time to sneak away without anyone noticing,” Sean said, encircling Alyssa’s waist and pulling her flush to him.
Alyssa stifled a moan at the unexpected contact. She’d be a liar if she said she hadn’t missed the proximity of his body, especially when there were no annoying clothes getting in the way. She blushed at the thought, as if she were afraid everyone could hear them.
“We didn’t catch up long enough last night and I want to make it up to you, baby.”
The warm breath in her ear made her heart start a mad hip-hop beat in her chest, and when he gently nibbled her lobe, she felt her legs give in. His strong arms around her waist supported her lack of strength and it was all she could do not to tear off his clothes right there on the spot.
She looked at him through hooded lids; his eyes were ice-blue pools of love and need. Her heart changed from hip-hop to hard-core techno and she almost felt short of air, as if she would suffocate if his lips didn’t lock with hers within the next two seconds.
She smiled and held his stare; it was all it took for him to understand where her mind had drifted and he released the grip around her waist only to grab her hand and pull her with him back toward her bedroom before anyone else could stop them.
When the door was locked behind him, he scooped her up in his arms and dropped her onto her queen-sized bed, kicked off his shoes and crawled on top of her, their eyes locked the whole the time. Alyssa grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down, his lips only a breath away from hers.
“Are you ready to make up for leaving me last night?” she asked, narrowing her eyes with mock threat. He grinned.
“Right now I’m ready to make out, if that’s okay with you.”
Alyssa giggled and let her hands travel from his neck to his shoulders, down along his muscular biceps and forearms.
“I think that’s okay, Cowboy. Go ahead,” she said in a low, sexy purr. He let out a groan and dipped his head, crushing his mouth on hers.
Well, merry Christmas to me, she thought with contentment, as his lips seared her skin.
***
Some undefined time later, completely spent and utterly content, Alyssa rolled on her side and laid her head on Sean’s strong chest, his arm squeezing her just a little tighter. His finger started tracing circles on the bare skin of her back, leaving a trail of goose bumps and tingles in its wake.
She loved this; the simple pleasure of lying under a warm duvet with his arms around her, protective and a little possessive—as if wanting to make sure she knew she was his. She’d never want to be anyone else’s anyway, but she wouldn’t ask him to stop for anything in the world.
She found the courage to tell him about her phone conversation with her brother and her mother, and Sean was over the moon about their visit. He said it probably wasn’t the best time of the year for them to see Wyoming for the first time, but they could always come back in the summer when he and Alyssa could show them around. She knew her family’s reaction to their relationship had hurt him; she’d seen it in his eyes the first time she’d mentioned it.
She was sure things wouldn’t change overnight; knowing her mother, it would take her a little to get used t
o all this, but at least she’d been willing to try, and that was way more than Alyssa could’ve dreamed of. Only time would tell if her parents would really and totally accept Sean; if they would support her decision, if only morally, to take a different path.
She had decided to not think too much about the future; she didn’t want to build up her hopes only to fall facedown in the mud if things didn’t work out. All her life she’d let her mother dictate what she should wear, what she should study, whom she should date, and now that she was finally free to be herself and make her own decisions she was a little scared that she wouldn’t make it.
Would she be strong enough to make her dreams come true and face every hurdle that would stand in the way, or would she just throw in the towel and give up as soon as the first difficulty arose?
A chill shook her body at the thought that she might actually fail and disappoint not only herself but Sean, too. What would he do, then? Would he look at her differently and think she wasn’t worth his love?
His arm squeezed her tighter, and he rested his chin on the top of her head. She snuggled into him, and concentrated on his rhythmic heartbeat.
Why would she need to know what would happen tomorrow, when all she wanted, all she needed were his strong arms around her and his lips on hers? He was the only man she would ever love, and as long as she had him nothing really mattered.
As she was lying in blissful contentment against his strong chest, every doubt, fear and worry slowly faded away with each thud of his heart against her cheek, and a new determination pumped through her veins. She couldn’t predict the future, or prevent hurdles getting in the way of her happiness, but there was one thing she could do; through the darkest nights and the toughest days she would always hold on to Sean—she would always hold on to love.
The end
Thank you for reading this book. I do hope you enjoyed Sean and Alyssa’s story. If you did, please consider taking a moment to write a review and help other readers discover my books. Indie authors appreciate readers’ feedback–well, I do!
Please read on to find the blurbs of my other published books and don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter to stay up-to-date with all that’s going on in my “Dream World” (plus, you get a free short story I wrote especially for subscribers).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As usual my first thank you is to the Big Boss up above who’s been looking after me through thick and thin.
Coming back to Earth, I want to thank my SuperFantasticStellarAmazing editor, Miss (not for long, I hear! hehehe) Lauren McKellar who, as usual, did a wonderful job and made me laugh with her funny comments. After she puts on her Wonder Editor panties I always know my manuscript is up for a treat. I hope you never stop being an editor because I’d be lost without you, my darling friend. PS maybe one day we can take a trip to Wyoming together, see if the cowboys are really that hot there!
My next thank you is to Najla, the talented designer at Najla Qamber Designs who created the wonderful cover for this book, as well as all the nice teasers and promo stuff I always proudly show off. Thank you for turning the always very confused ideas in my mind into the perfect cover. I can’t wait to work with you again, Naj!
Thanks to Debra Presley at Book Enthusiast Promotions for her help and cooperation in the various events for my books. Thanks for all you do for indie authors and good luck with your writing career!
Thanks to my online friends, bloggers and fellow indie authors, who helped me spread the word about my books, left lovely reviews and promoted my work without ever asking for anything in return. Since I don’t want to risk forgetting anyone, I’ll simply say: “You know who you are, ladies. And I’m truly grateful for your support. Give yourselves a big hug from me.”
And lastly, thank you, reader. If you’ve already read and enjoyed my other books, I hope you’ll enjoy this one as much. And if you’ve ever left a review, just know that you made my day and I do appreciate your taking the time to help other readers discover my books.
If this is the first book of mine you’re reading, I hope it’ll make you feel curious enough to discover the other stories I wrote.
Thank you for sharing this wondrous adventure with me and making my dream come true.
Roberta
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An avid reader since her childhood years and being an only child, Roberta always enjoyed the company of her fictional friends from the children’s books she loved reading, while she dreamed of writing her own stories one day.
It was when she discovered novels by authors Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy in her teenage years that she realized it was time she put down in words the stories she had kept well hidden in her mind until then.
What started as a hobby, soon turned into a real passion and a way of life, until she could no longer keep the stories to herself, and decided to get over her fears and share them with the world.
Roberta lives in Italy, but her dream is to move out of her country and live either in a thatched cottage in the Irish countryside or in a country house with a swing on the back porch, somewhere in the United States, where she would love to spend her days writing novels as a full-time job, and maybe one day even get as far as writing a screenplay for a movie.
Visit Roberta’s blog for updates on her writing http://robertasdreamworld.wordpress.com or connect with her on Facebook RobertasDreamworld, Twitter @SligoRoo, Goodreads, Google+ and Pinterest.
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