by Sharon Sala
“It’s over?” she asked, as he led her to the car.
“Yes, baby, it’s over. It’s time to go home.”
Epilogue
New Orleans, Louisiana
Six months later
“Ooh, chère… you better watch out for your man. He’s smiling at that Bonet woman,” Michelle said.
The grand opening of Très Silk was in full swing and was, by all accounts, a resounding success, just as Sarah had known it would be. She watched the way Tony was working the crowd, then settled back with a grin as she winked at Lorett’s youngest and patted her stomach.
“No way, Michelle, you don’t know my man so good, or you wouldn’t say what you said. I’ve got something in here that he’ll never let go.” Then she moved her hand from her belly to her heart. “And something in here that won’t let me go.”
Michelle leaned against Sarah’s shoulder and giggled intimately, as sisters often do, then blew her a kiss and went to rejoin her own husband, Francois, who was attracting far too many female fans for her liking.
The moment Sarah was alone, Tony appeared at her side, as if sensing her solitude. He bent over the chair and lifted her hair, then kissed the curve behind her ear that he loved so much.
“Mmm, that feels nice,” Sarah said, and stood up with a taunting smile on her face. “Aren’t you going to ask me to dance?”
Tony swung her into his arms just as the music segued from a rowdy Cajun tune to a slow, sensuous blues melody.
“My Sarah,” Tony whispered, as they danced around the floor.
“Say it again,” Sarah begged.
“My Sarah. My Sarah…always mine.”
She looked up at him and smiled.
“Tonight is a little bit of paradise, I think.”
“Only a little?” he asked, pretending great disappointment.
Sarah slid her hands beneath the jacket of his tux and leaned back just enough that she could feel his arousal.
“Ah…my beautiful Silk…paradise is relative. Out here, in your club, I share you with everyone…and gladly. But in our home, I share you with none. That’s where my paradise lies. With you and the baby we’ve made.”
Too overcome to speak, Tony pulled her even closer and twirled her across the floor.
Sometimes at night, when the house was in darkness and she lay sleeping in his arms, he still knew the fear of what living without her would be. And then he would remember what had happened, what she’d been forced to endure, and he would get down on his knees and thank God that she had survived.
He swung her under a massive chandelier and then stopped, letting the other couples on the dance floor flow around them.
“Look up, Sarah Jane.”
Sarah tilted her head and smiled. “You were right. It’s not too large. In fact, it’s magnificent.”
“The lights are for you,” he said softly. “To keep out the dark.”
The smile she was wearing tilted, then died. Sarah tried not to let it happen, but she knew she was going to cry. The moment the tears welled, she looked down, then away.
But Tony wouldn’t let her retreat. Not back to that place where he’d seen her go so many times in the past six months.
“Sarah, don’t go there anymore. The past is over. From this day forward, we live in the light.”
And then they began to twirl beneath the glitter of the Italian chandelier until Sarah was laughing aloud and hanging on to his arms to steady herself.
He was right. The past was over. The future was them and the baby and the love that they shared.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-2898-0
DARK WATER
Copyright © 2002 by Sharon Sala.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, MIRA Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
MIRA and the Star Colophon are trademarks used under license and registered in Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.
www.MIRABooks.com