When they stopped walking, he stood behind her and kissed her neck, and then her earlobe, and then he whipped off the blindfold. “Ta-dah! A closet fit for a real princess.”
Lori’s jaw dropped. There were sparkling evening gowns, cocktail dresses, shelves filled with designer bags, and rows and rows of the prettiest shoes she’d ever seen. She put her hands together and squeed with joy. “How did you pull this off in under a week?”
Deek slid his arm around her shoulder. “Seems Rachel is what she termed a power shopper. And she assured me she’s tried them all on, so fit shouldn’t be an issue.”
Lori laughed. “Yeah. I bet she had a heyday doing that. And putting a huge dent in your credit card. It’s too much, Deek.”
“Nope. You promised.” He leaned down and kissed her sweetly. “The look on your face just now was priceless.”
“Well, thank you. I don’t need any of this, but I really love it.” She wasn’t going to kill her sister anymore. Instead, she’d give her a big hug. “You know, for a guy who claims not to pick up on social clues, you did a really good job with the game. I got the real estate reference and your heart. And my need to have a man who loves me a hundred percent. But Annie in the dungeon was pure genius.”
“That one was for me. You were right. She was using me for my money. Something I know you’d never do.”
“No.” She shook her head. “But I am using you for your body.” She leaned down and scooped up the blindfold from the floor. “I think maybe I’ll use this on you too.”
Deek followed her to the bedroom again, and then went back to his nightstand drawer. “I thought maybe we could use this instead.” He held up a silky gold rope. “Just like Wonder Woman’s.”
“Even better.” Lori tossed the blindfold over her shoulder and jumped into his arms. After she’d wrapped her legs around his waist, she said, “When should we tell the kids?”
“Tomorrow? After laser tag? It’d be the best birthday gift we could give Asher. He likes you.”
“Good. Because Em and I like him too. You, we’ll just have to tolerate.”
“Really?” Deek wrapped the rope around Lori’s waist. “You realize this makes you tell the truth, right? So, let’s try this again. Will you only tolerate me, Lori?”
“Yes. Tolerate how happy my heart is now, Deek. Because I love you.”
“That’s more like it.” He dumped her on the bed. “For the record, I love you too.”
Deek slowly peeked around the padded pole in the darkened room, his laser in the ready position. All the kids had left after Asher’s laser tag party, but they had the room to themselves for another few minutes. They were playing boys against the girls, and Lori and Emily were proving stiffer competition than he and Asher had estimated.
He gave a hand signal to Asher, and his son took off across an open expanse to gain better position while Deek covered him. But Emily popped out of nowhere and tagged Asher, who died a dramatic death. So now it was up to Deek to defend their male honor.
Staying low and near the perimeter, Deek circled to where Emily had been hiding. But when he got there, she was gone. He slowly lifted his head over the soft bunker wall to see if he could find the girls.
“Hasta la vista, baby!” Lori called out before he took two streams to the back. Emily and Lori had ganged up on him.
Clutching his chest, he stood and toppled over the bunker wall and onto the floor.
He opened his eyes to find the girls gloating over his decommissioned body. “That was cold, ladies.”
Asher joined them with a wide smile on his face. “That was awesome, you guys. How did you do that?”
Emily grinned. “We’ll never tell, right, Mom?”
“Nope.” Lori mimicked blowing smoke from the tip of her gun.
He sat up and said, “Well, maybe it’s time to tell you and Emily something else, Asher.” He glanced Lori’s way, and when she nodded, he continued, “Lori and I are dating. Are you guys okay with that?”
Asher and Emily fist bumped. Then Emily said, “About time. Do you know how long we’ve been trying to get you guys together?”
“What?” Deek and Lori said in unison.
Asher said, “Yeah. We signed up for the same after-school things and even volunteered you guys for the same stuff, but it was like you were both so busy, you never noticed. That’s why I moved Em’s card at the science fair next to mine, and we left you alone to talk at Papa G’s.”
Emily nodded. “And why I messed up my plants so that Mr. Cooper would help.”
“Hey!” Lori slapped her hands on her hips. “I was feeling awfully guilty about ruining those plants on the drive over, Emily.”
“Sorry, Mom.” Emily gave Lori a hug, and then Asher did too. “Yeah, sorry Mrs. Went.”
Lori smiled. “It all turned out for the best.”
Deek lifted his hands. “What about me? Don’t I at least get a high five for catching on eventually?”
All three of the ingrates pointed their lasers at him and shot him again.
“Nice.” He stood and pulled out Asher’s last present from his pocket. “I hope your new phone isn’t collateral damage now, Asher.”
“Really?” Asher dropped his weapon and hugged Deek. “A phone? Thanks, Dad!”
Emily joined the hug. “Thanks, Mr. Cooper. Now he can stop stealing mine.”
Lori said, “I guess I better hug you too. Sorry I shot you, Deek. Twice.”
“Way to rub it in.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Hey, guys, why don’t you go turn all the gear in so we can get going.”
After the kids gathered the vests, helmets, and guns and headed out the door, he turned to Lori. “Can you believe they did that? And we didn’t even notice?”
“I’m grateful they did.” Lori took his hand and weaved their fingers together as they walked to the exit.
“Yeah.” He nodded, happier than he’d been in years. “But if we’re not careful, they’ll be planning our wedding behind our backs next. In Disney World, if Asher has a say.”
“It’s a little soon for that. We’re all in, but the kids need a little time to adjust.” Lori smiled. “But just to be safe, maybe we’d better warn them off that idea.”
“Or, we could see what they come up with.” Deek held the door as Lori walked through ahead of him. He was ready to marry Lori anytime she was.
She glanced over her shoulder. “Just to be clear, Deek, I’m not getting married in Disneyworld.”
“A football stadium at halftime? That’d be cool.”
She shook her head. “Hard no.”
“How about Niagara Falls? I’ve never been there.”
“Too cliché. How about we talk about this in a year. That should give everyone time to get used to things.”
“Okay.” They caught up with the kids and started for the car. “So, let’s say a year has passed and I asked you again, where would you say you’d like to get married?”
“My brother and Shelby got married in Italy last summer, and it was the most beautiful ceremony I’ve ever seen.” She slipped her arm through his. “And where would a princess like me live, Deek?”
“A castle, of course. So you prefer the castle at Disneyland, not world, then?” he said just to frustrate her.
She looked up to the sky as if pleading for help above. “What am I getting myself into here?” Then she turned to him and said, “We’ll talk about it next year, okay?”
“Yep.” He opened her car door for her. After she was inside, he leaned down to the kids and whispered, “Who wants to go to Italy this summer? They have really cool castles.”
“I do!” they both said and raised their hands like good little second graders.
Perfect.
“I hear Lori has always wanted to be married there. So it must be a nice place.”
When both the kids’ heads whipped toward each other, and they grinned, his job was done.
Rachel had proved to be sneaky too, so between her and the kids, they sho
uld be able to pull it off. And make Lori and Em officially part of the family by the end of the summer.
He smiled as he slid behind the wheel of the car.
It was what he’d always wanted for Asher. A whole family. Not the way he’d planned, but sometimes fate and sneaky kids were more powerful than the best laid plans.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, thank you to my wonderful readers. You make writing a joy! And many thanks to my family, crit partners, editor Linda Ingmanson and to my agent, Jill Marsal. You all help make my dreams come true.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tamra Baumann became hooked on writing the day she picked up her first Nora Roberts novel from her favorite bookstore. Since then, she’s dazzled readers with her own lighthearted love stories, the latest of which is It Had to Be Them. She’s a Golden Heart winner for Contemporary Series Romance and has also received the Golden Pen Award for Single Title Romance. Born in Monterey, California, Tamra led the nomadic life of a navy brat before finally putting down permanent roots during college. When she’s not attending annual Romance Writers of America meetings, this voracious reader can be found playing tennis, traveling, or scouting reality shows for potential character material. Tamra resides with her real-life characters—her husband, two kids, and their allergy-ridden dog—in the sunny Southwest. Visit her online at www.tamrabaumann.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/author.tamra.baumann.
ALSO BY TAMRA….
It Had to Be Series
It Had to Be Him
It Had to Be Love
It Had to Be Fate
It Had to Be Them
Matchmaker Series
Matching Mr. Right
Perfectly Ms. Matched
Matched For Love (Rocky Mountain Matchmaker Book 3) Page 18