by Jamie Beck
Hearing the words sexual politics tumble from Amy’s pretty lips made Nikki giggle. “I do suck at both of those things.”
“You really do.” Amy grimaced, then sipped her cosmo. “But tonight I’ve taken care of the style part. Now you deal with the other. Right now. Go make Andy talk to you. Tell him how you really feel. What have you got to lose? You couldn’t feel worse. At least, if he still leaves, you’ll know you did everything you could to change his mind.”
“That’s true.” Nikki was considering Amy’s suggestion when her sister tugged at her arm.
“Let’s go. I’ll be your moral support.” Amy began dragging Nikki from the bar, and before Nikki could stop her, they were approaching the pool tables.
The crowd made the trek a bit of an obstacle course. She wondered how the guys had enough elbow room to shoot pool at this point. And although she would’ve thought nothing could be worse than fumbling around on her heels, the temperature in the bar had soared, thanks to all the body heat, making the tight angora sweater stick to her skin.
Trip was chalking his cue when he noticed them approach. “Happy New Year, ladies. Have you come to lose your money?”
Grey and Andy were setting down beer glasses, while Wyatt was engrossed in a conversation with some guy Nikki didn’t know. It surprised her to see Andy drinking so openly. Then she realized the unfairness of singling him out when everybody in the whole damn bar was already halfway lit.
Nikki went to answer Trip, but Billy showed up and interrupted. The last thing she needed now was for Billy B to start in on her and her “favoritism” when it came to Andy.
“Amy, I had a table for you. Why’d you leave?” Billy looked around, possibly to judge his competition for Amy’s attention, and saw Andy. “Oh, it’s you.”
“Hey, Billy.” Andy ignored Billy’s pissy tone and bent over to take his shot, sinking the four ball in the corner pocket.
Billy’s face colored, as if he resented Andy’s nonchalant attitude and lack of intimidation. He spat out, “You know, you cost me a couple hundred bucks.”
“Excuse me?” Andy straightened up.
Trip, who towered over Billy B by several inches, set his hand on his shoulder. “Take it down a notch there, Billy boy.”
“I can handle myself, Trip.” Andy came around the table. “What’s your problem, Billy?”
“You’re my problem. I finally got a high-paying private client in Millie, and then she disappeared.” Billy’s beer muscles were showing, and Nikki sensed this would end badly. Andy probably didn’t know that after the lawyers secured the release, Millie had been too embarrassed to come back to the ski school. “I don’t know what you did or said, but I know somehow you screwed me.”
“I don’t control Millie.” Andy turned away and lined up his next shot, but then he looked up at Billy before taking it. “If she didn’t want to work with you anymore, that’s on you.”
“Fuck you, Andy. I’m not the problem. I’m a great instructor. You’re the drunk convict who has to hit on the boss and guests to get jobs and clients.”
Trip set down his pool cue and puffed out his impressive chest, preparing for a bar fight.
Grey, who’d always been something of a gentleman, attempted to remove Nikki and Amy from the brewing argument. “How ’bout you ladies join me at the bar?”
Nikki had been privy to more than her fair share of bar brawls thanks to her career choice, so she wasn’t about to run away.
“No.” Nikki practically shoved Grey aside to get in between Andy and Billy. She stared straight at Billy and stiff-armed him in the chest, causing a hush to fall over the crowd. “You’re way out of line, Billy. Andy has always been one of the best employees, even before I became the head of the program. He shows up early and takes on extra responsibility. He’s polite to everyone on staff, and he’s friendly and patient with resort guests. He’s never acted entitled to one damn thing, not even when I got promoted over him.
“But everyone makes mistakes. In fact, if Andy hadn’t driven you home from the holiday party last weekend, you would’ve earned your own DUI or worse. As for Millie, she stopped lessons for her own reasons, not because of anything Andy did.”
If Nikki weren’t constrained by the nondisclosure language of the release, she’d have gladly embarrassed that woman in public after what she’d done. “No one has the right to judge Andy—or anybody else—who’s paid for a past mistake. It’s time for everyone to cut it out. Move on and find something better to do with your time. Stop expecting to be handed something you haven’t yet earned. Like my respect.”
Trip started clapping, which triggered a round of applause. Nikki felt her face flash with heat from having made a spectacle of herself. At some point during her tirade, Avery, Kelsey, and Emma had come into the room, but Nikki brushed past them all, beating a hasty retreat. She’d assumed her sister had followed her but quickly found herself alone in the parking lot.
Crap. Although this was not a resort-sponsored event, she was still Billy’s boss. That outburst had not been professional. Not in the least. Billy might try to make waves at work, now. She’d have to tell Don what’d happened and hope that he wouldn’t hold it against her.
At the moment, her big problem was finding the courage to go back in that bar and face everyone. Face Andy. Lord knew he’d be pissed at her for calling more attention to Billy and his remarks. Andy hated being in the spotlight, especially when it cast a negative light.
“Nik?” Andy’s voice called out.
Dang. She spun around, almost stumbling on the blasted heels. Having no idea what else to say to him, she blurted, “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” He slowed but continued coming closer.
Her heartbeat sounded like it had relocated to her ears. “For making a public scene. I should’ve let you handle Billy’s slur. He just made me so mad, I couldn’t help myself.”
“Actually, I appreciated the defense.” He stopped a few inches from her. She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and hold him close but waited to hear what else he might say. “I came to say thanks. And to apologize for being so cold. For not talking things through. I treated you and your mistake exactly like I hate to be treated.”
“Oh.” She interlocked her fingers in front of her waist to keep from touching him. Her breath seemed to be coming in short gulps. “Well . . . sticking up for you now was the least I could do.”
They stood there, awkwardly looking at each other, neither one apparently knowing what to do next.
“You coming back in?” He gestured toward the door with his head.
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“Kinda lost interest in celebrating tonight.” She wrinkled her nose. “And my feet hurt.”
He looked down and chuckled. “Amy dressed you, didn’t she?”
No use trying to lie. She nodded in shame. “I don’t know why I give in.”
“Me either.” He reached out and brushed a lock of her hair back. “I like you best when you’re being you.”
“Thank you.” She held perfectly still, hoping he would touch her again. “Do you like me enough to change your mind about leaving?”
“I’m not that easy.” He leaned even closer. His perfect, adorable grin popped into place. “It’s going to take more than one public show of support and seeing you in faded blue jeans to convince me to stay.”
She wanted to kiss his shallow dimples. “Don’t forget a job offer. You can’t ignore the fact that I’ve handed you your dream job.”
“Not exactly. My dream job is still occupied by a feisty blonde in high heels.”
“I knew you’ve wanted my job all along.”
When she playfully shoved him, he caught her hand and brought it to his chest. “No, Nik. Actually, it was you—only you—I wanted.”
“Past tense.”
“Past . . . present . . .” He raised her hand to his lips.
“Future?” Her heart was pounding so h
ard it hurt.
“Can you trust in me and my feelings?” He traced her scar with his fingertip, needing her to be honest.
She held her face still, refusing to turn her cheek away. “Can you stop worrying about the people who might never forgive and forget, and concentrate on all the people who do care about and respect you?”
Because, as much as she had her issues to battle, he had work to do, too.
“Fair enough.” He tugged her up against his body and kissed her like he’d been missing her for a year. “I guess we’ve got our New Year’s resolutions.”
“I guess we do.” She kissed him again. “Can I assume you’ll come back to work now?”
“As long as Don isn’t pissed at me for turning him down and doesn’t care if you and I have a personal relationship.”
That promise made her whole body sigh. “Maybe we should go back in and join the party.”
He shook his head. “Actually, I have a better celebration in mind—one involving an empty hot tub.”
“Hot tub?” That invitation perked her up in a jiffy. “I’d do about anything to get out of this outfit.”
Epilogue
Ten Months Later
Andy held his nephew, William Andrew Lowell, against his chest while his sister and Grey were helping Trip and Kelsey finish loading their car with the loot they’d received at the baby shower Avery and Emma had held at Emma’s inn.
“You look pretty comfortable,” Emma remarked.
“He’s the best.” Andy raised Liam overhead and jiggled him playfully. “Aren’t you, buddy?”
“This little guy has Kelsey even more excited about being pregnant.” Emma reached up to tickle Liam’s belly before Andy lowered him back to his chest.
“I think Trip and Kelsey’s baby has no chance of being as mellow as my nephew. Liam has a blend of Grey’s genes and my side of the Randall family tree. We’re very chill. Kelsey and Trip, on the other hand . . .”
“You’re probably right.” Emma laughed.
“What about you?” Andy had been surprised she and Wyatt hadn’t yet made an announcement.
“Working on it.” She cast a glance toward Wyatt, who was helping Nikki find her jacket. “And you? Any plans on making Nikki a permanent part of your life?”
He avoided looking at Emma, choosing to bury his nose into the pudgy cheek being offered by his nephew. “Liam, isn’t Emma silly? She thinks I’m going to spill my secrets just because she’s always so sweet to me.”
“Okay, okay. It’s just that you two seem so happy lately.” Emma gave him that soft, friendly look he’d known for so long.
“We are,” he said just as Nikki arrived at his side.
“We are what?” she asked, grabbing the baby from his arms. Nik had never been a traditional woman, but each time Andy saw her with Liam, it made his heart melt a little more.
“Happy,” he said, slinging an arm around her shoulder, which earned him her wide smile.
Avery and Grey returned for their son, so Nikki reluctantly handed Liam off. Everyone kissed and hugged their good-byes, and then Andy and Nikki returned home to the small Victorian house just outside town that Kelsey had found for them four months ago.
Andy had been slowly renovating its only bathroom and small kitchen, as well as building a partially covered deck off the back. He had a special plan today but needed to send Nikki off for a while in order to set it all up. Thankfully, he’d enlisted Amy’s help.
“I wish I didn’t have to go shopping with Amy. I’d rather just hang out around here and relax,” Nikki said as she exchanged places with Andy behind the wheel.
He leaned through the open window and kissed her. “Just have some fun.”
“You know she’s going to torment me and make me try on dresses and heels.”
“Tell her I said hoodies only.” He gave her another quick kiss and waved her off.
Once she was gone, he got to work, pulling out the box of wind chimes they’d been storing during the renovation. He hung them all from the rafters of the covered deck, which turned each breeze into a kind of tympanic symphony. Then he brought out the dozen hurricane lanterns he’d borrowed from Emma’s inn. Next he stacked logs in the fire pit, chilled a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice on the deck, and triple-checked the ring in the little black box in his pocket.
He didn’t have much money, so the ring wasn’t traditional with a big center stone. He’d found a funky brushed-silver band topped by a dainty gold flower with a small diamond center he’d thought she’d like. It was uniquely pretty, just like Nik.
Once dusk settled, he lit the fire pit and waited. Amy knew to bring her back around five thirty. Almost like clockwork, Nikki came through the back door.
“Andy?” She stopped on the porch and smiled. “It sounds so pretty!”
She skipped right past all the flickering hurricane lanterns and the champagne without noticing them and hugged him. “God, that was a long afternoon of shopping. Looks like you were much more productive than I was.”
“I guess I was.” He led her back up to the porch and poured her some champagne.
Her priceless look of confusion made him grin.
“What are we celebrating?” She took a glass.
“You told me once that you collected all these wind chimes because you wanted to sit on a porch surrounded by trees and listen to them sing.” He grabbed her free hand. “But I think what you really wanted was a place to call home and someone to share it with. From the moment we met, we were friends. Now you’re my best friend, my lover, my everything. Nik, there isn’t anyone else I’d rather spend my life with, or have be a mother to my children one day, than you. If you love me as much as I love you, please be my wife.”
Those words had been as easy to say as breathing because, like oxygen, the sentiment and Nikki were essential. He pulled the ring box from his pocket and opened it. “What do you say?”
Tears streamed down her face. She swiped them away and let him put the ring on her finger. “I couldn’t be prouder to be your wife, Andy. I love you so much. Always have, always will.”
“Lucky me.” He kissed her, thankful that somehow his mistakes had led him right to where he should be.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I have many people to thank for helping me bring this book to all of you, not the least of whom are my family and friends for their continued love, encouragement, and support.
Thanks, also, to my agent, Jill Marsal; as well as to my patient editors, Chris Werner and Krista Stroever; and the entire Montlake family for believing in me and working so hard on my behalf.
My Beta Babes (Christie, Katherine, Suzanne, and Tami) are the best, having provided invaluable input on various drafts of this manuscript.
And I can’t leave out the wonderful members of my CTRWA chapter. Year after year, all the CTRWA members provide endless hours of support, feedback, and guidance. I love and thank them for that.
Finally, and most important, thank you, readers, for making my work worthwhile. Considering all your options, I’m honored by your choice to spend your time with me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2013 Lora Haskins
National bestselling author Jamie Beck’s realistic and heartwarming stories have sold more than one million copies. In addition to being named a 2017 Booksellers’ Best Award finalist, her books have also hit Heavy.com’s Top 10 Romance Novels of 2015 and been selected as a Woman’s World Book Club pick. Critics at Kirkus, Publishers Weekly (including a starred review), and Booklist have alternatively called her work “smart,” “uplifting,” and “entertaining.” In addition to writing novels, she enjoys dancing around the kitchen while cooking, and hitting the slopes in Vermont and Utah. Above all, she is a grateful wife and mother to a very patient, supportive family.
Fans can sign up for her newsletter at www.jamiebeck.com, which includes a fun extras page with photos, videos, and playlists. She also loves interacting with everyone on Facebook (www.facebook.
com/JamieBeckBooks).