Penelope's Gift [The Black Dahlia Hotel 4] (Siren Publishing LoveEdge)

by Skye Michaels

  Dane Dunross and Katina Rensakova stood behind the front desk. He’d come out to see Jay Fairlamb and Penelope Wilson off. They were a great couple when they weren’t fighting. “I like those two. I think they’re going to make it.”

  “I hope so.” She smiled softly at the couple holding hands.

  “That whole thing was a lot of drama. They had me worried there for a while. I wasn’t entirely sure she was just blowing off steam when she said she was going to hire a hit man.”

  Katina turned to him and smiled. “I know what you mean. You know those Texans. Very volatile.” He thought it was the first time she’d smiled at him since she came to work at the hotel. Maybe it was a breakthrough. Maybe they could actually work together.

  * * * *

  Jay and Penelope waved to Dane and Katina. Dane stepped up to shake his hand and kiss Penelope’s cheek.

  Jay was just putting his wallet back in his pocket. “Thanks for everything. We had a great time. Some ups and downs, but all in all, a great time.”

  “Well, I hope you’ll come back.” Dane laughed. “Next time, leave the drama at home and just have a good time.”

  “Definitely. I’ve got some plans for a trip on The Golden Dolphin. Maybe around Christmas.” He winked at Dane, who understood perfectly.

  Epilogue

  At the Fairlamb cabin on Lake Ray Hubbard near Rowlett, Texas, Saturday morning, September 3, 2016, Labor Day weekend.

  Jay had been on edge all week. He was waiting for Penelope and Bojangles to drive out from Dallas. It was exactly six years since that disastrous Labor Day weekend. He planned to ask her to marry him this weekend, and he was pretty sure she would say yes, but with those bad memories still in her mind, he was concerned.

  He heard the crunch of her car tires on the drive and then the quiet as her engine was shut off under the portico. He heard Bojangles barking in excitement. That crazy mutt still acted like a puppy, and he loved to be at the cabin. Penelope’s door slammed as he was walking toward the front door. A memory of Maria Hernandez standing at his back as he opened the front door flashed through his mind. He pushed it back. This weekend was for new beginnings, not bad memories. He wondered if Penelope was thinking of that other weekend as well. He sure hoped not.

  “Hi, babe. The traffic wasn’t too bad once I got out of Dallas.” She walked up to the door and pulled him down for a hot kiss, and he felt his immediate reaction to her tent the front of his shorts.

  “I’m glad you’re here. Come on, Jangles, let’s get the bags.” He and the dog went back out to the car. One of these days, he was going to train that dog to carry bags. Penelope always brought too much stuff. Even though she had clothes and toiletries at the cabin, they were never the ones she wanted. Women. Weren’t they great?

  He came back in, loaded down with two duffel bags and two totes. “Do you want to go out for barbeque at Sam’s tonight or just throw a couple steaks on the grill?”

  “If you grill, I’ll make corn-on-the-cob and a salad.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “I’m a little sweaty. How about a swim, and then maybe we could take the boat out?” She loved to be out on the water, and the huge lake gave him plenty of room to open up the engines.

  “Fine. I’ll make sure Jordan left us some gas. I’d hate to get out in the middle and run out of fuel. Why don’t you change?”

  Jay was just jumping down onto the dock from the thirty-foot Sea Ray they kept in the boathouse at the cabin when Penelope came out with Bojangles at her heels. She had a cooler that looked heavy enough to contain some beer and sandwiches. He took the heavy cooler from her hands, put it down, and leaned in for a kiss. She gave him a playful shove, and he staggered back until, arms pinwheeling, he went off the end of the dock with a big splash. When he surfaced, he brushed his hair back from his forehead. “That’s gonna cost you, subbie. That was definitely disrespectful.”

  “Promises, promises.” She jumped in beside him, surfaced, and clasped her legs around his waist. “Hello, Master.” She gave him a deep, pecker-stiffening kiss. Lots of tongue action. His hands went to cup her bottom as always. “I missed you this week. The markets were very volatile, and my clients were all over the place with buy-and-sell orders.”

  “You could retire and move in with me at the ranch. You know that’s what I want.”

  “You know I love my job. It just gets a little crazy sometimes.” She kissed him again. “Let’s go, captain. The first mate wants a boat ride.” She laughed up at Bojangles, who was looking down at them expectantly. She clapped her hands and the Goldendoodle jumped into the water as well. He immediately paddled to the shore, shook off, and climbed back up onto the dock. “The swabbie is ready for a ride, too.”

  They stayed out on the lake until five. When they got back, Jay fired up the grill while Penelope put the corn on to steam and threw a salad together. When the steaks were ready, they ate on the huge cedar deck overlooking the lake. After clearing the table, Penelope brought out a pot of coffee and the Bailey’s bottle, and they settled on the porch swing together. Jay had his wallet open on his lap.

  “Whatcha doing?”

  “Cleaning some receipts out of my wallet. It gets out of hand.” He was flattening small pieces of paper out on the table. “Hey. Look at this. Do you remember this note you wrote me? I bet you don’t feel like this anymore.”

  She took the much-folded piece of paper from his hand and looked at it.

  Jay Fairlamb, I love you so much – 4ever. You should marry me. I promise I would be your one and only.

  Her eyes got wide and then began to tear up. “You still have this? I can’t believe you saved this silly note.”

  “I’ve had it in my wallet since the day you gave it to me. I looked at it plenty over the five years we were apart. Sometimes, it was the only thing that kept my hopes up that we could work things out. I had to believe you meant those words.”

  “I love you, you big nut. Of course I still feel like that. Of course I do.”

  “Well, how would you feel about marrying me, then? Maybe at Christmas? I love you, baby.” He took another black box out of his pocket. He opened it, and a channel-set, two-carat diamond eternity band that matched her handcuff bracelet caught the rays of the setting sun, sending off blue sparks. He took it out of the box and put it on the third finger of her left hand. “I wanted something different than a standard tiffany set engagement ring. This was made by the same guy who made the handcuff. This stands for eternity. Us together—forever. What do you say?”

  “I say yes, baby. I say yes to eternity with you.”

  THE END

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  I was born in New Jersey and grew up an only child on a small farm in the “Garden State.” My father grew acres and acres of flowers for commercial florists and various produce, such as tomatoes. My high school years were spent at Wayne Hills High School, where I was not one of the popular, preppy kids, or one of the hoods—which kind of left me in limbo as I wasn’t one of the brainiacs either. Weekends were spent going into “the City” and Greenwich Village with my friends and doing a lot of things I probably shouldn’t have—don’t tell my grandkids!

  After attending Katharine Gibbs School in Montclair, New Jersey, I began a career as a legal secretary and then a paralegal. I moved to Florida and currently live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with my dog, Snickerdoodles, aka The Dude. I was married for eight years but have been single for many years. My major addiction is jewelry, but any kind of shopping will do for a fix!

  After my longtime job as a paralegal was ended by the economic downturn, I decided to turn lemons into lemonade and finally write the stories I’d had in my head for many years. I had always wanted to write romance novels, but my family and job kept me too busy.

  My major interest aside from my family and friends is horses. I enjoy putting an animal character into my s
tories if possible. I am extremely “low-tech” and probably should have been born in the 1800s, as I enjoy driving a horse and buggy for fun. I also enjoy horseback riding, but the ground has gotten harder and farther away over the years.

  I have a small farm and vacation home in Ocala, Florida, which is my favorite place in the world. There’s nothing as wonderful as swinging in the hammock in the shade and listening to the music of the wind in the pines while cuddled under a quilt reading a good book.

  Books have always been my escape into love and adventure, and through reading, I have been able to be many people, do many things, and go to many wonderful places I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to be, do, or see.

  I hope that all hardworking women who have a moment to put up their tired feet and relax with a cup of coffee—or a glass of wine—will feel like they have had the opportunity to enjoy a trip to beautiful South Florida, my own backyard. I hope they also enjoy getting to meet my fantasy friends and experiencing something new and different with a touch of hot romance thrown in for good measure!

  New adventures with old and new friends will continue with this new Black Dahlia Hotel series.

  For all titles by Skye Michaels, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/skye-michaels

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com