She cocked her head incredulously. He didn’t know?
“What did I say that offended you?”
“You like me? Hello?”
He let out another sigh and this time pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closing briefly. At last he dropped his hand and looked at her.
“It’s more than like.”
She waited. She needed more than that to be convinced.
“That’s what’s been bothering me ever since Layla said that thing about marriage and family. It didn’t grate me like it usually does when people make assumptions about me getting married. The way I feel about you...” He looked off over her shoulder and shook his head. “I don’t know what it is, okay? I just know it’s more than like.”
So, he couldn’t face his feelings for her, so he tagged the word like to it. That wasn’t much better.
“I can’t stay with a man who isn’t sure about his feelings. That isn’t fair to me. I deserve more from a man. Wolf deserves more. Tell you what. Wolf and I will go home tomorrow and leave you alone. If and when you come to any conclusions about us and your place in this relationship, then let me know. If not, we move on.”
Demi hated the thought of moving on without him. Her mind had to overrule her heart this time. What’s more, she realized she wasn’t doing it out of defense, to protect her heart. Well, she was, but not from an insecure standpoint. She would be unhappy for a while without Lucas, without kissing him, without making love with him, but she had to do what was right for her. Staying in a relationship with a man who would never commit was not right for her, not even for a little while longer to satisfy her cravings. And she did crave him. She craved him like mad, his affection and, most of all, his love.
In that very instant she realized she loved him. She’d begun to fall in love with him a long time ago, long before she’d gone on the run. She’d buried it until now.
“I don’t want you to leave,” he said.
“I don’t want to leave, either, but I can’t stay if you can’t commit to me. This has grown into more than something casual for me. I have strong feelings for you, Lucas, stronger than I think you realize.” He didn’t even realize his own feelings. How could he estimate hers?
“Are you saying you won’t stay with me unless I ask you to marry me?”
Yes, she wanted to say. That was the only way she’d be absolutely sure he was committed.
“I won’t stay because you can’t even envision the possibility of us getting married.”
He sort of turned white. “Envisioning that shocks me.”
Shock? She didn’t understand.
“Terrifies me.”
Ah, terrifies.
“You were right about me in that regard. I am afraid of marriage.”
Because of what he’d seen his father go through. Because he’d lost his mother. And probably because his father had taught him it was best to live alone than trust in marriage lasting a lifetime. For the first time ever, she saw a man who might be able to overcome his past.
She smiled a little and put her hand on his chest, moving closer. “Well, then I think you’re just going to have to man up.”
They engaged in a stare down of wills.
“Layla invited us to a Christmas party at the training center tomorrow night,” Lucas said. “Do you want to go?”
He was denying again, running. Demi almost refused outright then. Was he trying to get her to stay with him for as long as he needed her? Some attempt to have her until the time came when he would run?
“Is this...?”
“Just go with me to the party, Demi.”
Taking in his muscular arms and the darkly handsome face that sent messages of resignation even if temporary, she couldn’t stop her response.
“I’d love to.” One last night, and then she’d leave.
Chapter 17
The administrative staff at the Red Ridge K-9 Training Center had pulled out all the stops decorating the white party tent. Lucas checked their coats at the door.
“All the dogs have to wear a red bow,” the coat checker said, handing one to him.
Lucas crouched to attach the bow to Queenie’s collar, then walked with Demi farther inside the tent. Carrying Wolf with one arm, she hooked her other arm with Lucas’s, her slender fingers resting on the material of his suit jacket.
He had all but eaten her up when he’d first seen her come out of her room. In a knee-length black cocktail dress and zircon-bejeweled black stilettos, every inch of her body called to his male instincts. She wore dangly zircon earrings and a matching necklace and bracelet. No rings.
She’d dressed Wolf in a little man suit with a red bow tie. He looked so adorable and now looked up at Lucas, fascinated as always.
Familiar faces and dogs with red bows sat or stood around tables topped with white linen cloths that filled the events tent, each adorned with burning candles surrounded by evergreen branches with pine cones. A dance floor made to resemble an ice rink had been set up at the far end. Beyond that, a long table had an ice sculpture on each side, a champagne fountain in the middle and a variety of hors d oeuvres. Fairy lights hung from the top of the white tent, intermixed with snowflakes. To the side of the dance floor, a tall, colorful Christmas tree glittered, wrapped boxes and stuffed polar bears underneath. At the opposite side of the dance floor, a DJ played “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.” Heat lamps had been set up throughout the tent, keeping the temperature cozy warm.
“Wow,” Demi said, echoing his impression.
He put his hand on her lower back and walked with her to a table where Brayden and Shane sat with Esmée and Lucas’s sister Danica. Esmée’s nearly three-year-old son, Rhys, sat beside his mother, the top of Echo’s head peeking up over the top of the table where he sat beside Rhys’s chair. Echo was a big yellow Lab. Both Brayden and Shane wore black suits. Esmée wore a gray V-neck, horizontally banded dress that turned black down the sides as she moved and light hit it at different angles. Danica had on a gold mesh dress with sparkling beads and sequins that overlapped in petal shapes.
Elle appeared with Anders Colton, the strapping ranch foreman, and their bulldog, Merlin.
“Hey, Lucas.” Elle leaned in for a quick hug, giving him a subtle whiff of nice-smelling perfume. “Thanks to you, Anders and I can finally get married.”
Lucas glanced around at all the other couples. All the K-9 team was here, as well as anyone else who’d helped track down the Groom Killer. His older brother, Carson, stood beside Serena Colton at the hors d’oeuvres table; he was piling a plate full and Serena was picking, sampling this and that while holding her nearly one-year-old daughter, Cora. Justice, Carson’s German shepherd, must have been standing next to him although Lucas couldn’t see with the white tablecloth shielding his view of the other side of the table.
Micah Shaw and Bea Colton also stood at the food table, holding plates and smiling at each other. West Brand and Quinn Colton had gone to the DJ booth with Quinn’s black Lab.
Everywhere he looked he saw couples who’d hidden their romances. “Looks like there’ll be a lot more of those around here.”
Elle came to Demi. “Can I hold him?”
“Sure.” Demi handed over Wolf.
“It was so hard to give back the baby girl that was left on Anders’s doorstep. We thought she was yours. We thought you left her there to keep her safe.”
Lucas saw Demi smile softly as she witnessed Elle adore her baby.
Elle bounced Wolf gently, and he rewarded her with a delighted squeal. “You might not get him back tonight.” As though she’d make good on the threat, she wandered over to Brayden and Shane as though she planned to take Wolf around and show him off.
“Danica and I are going to get married, too,” Shane said aloud.
“Congratulations,” Elle said. “What about you?” she asked Brayde
n.
“We’re engaged.”
Esmée held up her left hand to reveal a beautiful diamond engagement ring, her smile full and pretty.
Lucas still had his hand on Demi’s back. “Something to drink?” he asked her.
With a glance at Wolf, she nodded. “Some ginger ale.”
He left her and walked to one of two bars that had been set up next to the food table and near the entrance. He got himself a beer.
“Nice job nabbing Devlin.”
Holding the drinks, he turned to see Hunter Black, Layla beside him. At their feet was Goose, Hunter’s basset hound, the very one who’d sniffed out some drives that proved Devlin had hacked into Layla’s computer.
“Thanks. It wouldn’t have been possible without you.” Hunter had tipped the balance and found someone other than Demi to label a suspect.
“We can all sleep easier knowing that menace is behind bars.”
“And plan some weddings.” Layla smiled at Hunter.
Lucas looked for Edson Gage and Fenwick, Rusty and Judson Colton. They didn’t seem to be in attendance tonight, although Finn had made certain every one of them had been invited.
“They won’t show,” Hunter said, as though reading his thoughts. “It will take weddings to knock them off their feuding behinds.”
The suggestion got Lucas’s mind churning. Layla’s father was Fenwick. Demi’s father was Rusty. Valeria’s father was Judson Colton, and Vincent’s father, of course, was Edson Gage. Valeria and Vincent planned to marry on Christmas Eve. If they made it a three-way...
Lucas could not believe the idea had struck him. What was the matter with him? He was actually contemplating marrying?
Demi. He would be marrying Demi.
Lucas looked across the room and found her sitting at the table where he’d left her. Valeria and Vincent and Quinn and West had joined them. Another survey of the room showed him all the other Coltons were sticking to their kind—sort of. Elle had taken Wolf and Anders over to a group of Gages standing near the Christmas tree. Carson had his arm around Serena and Finn held Darby Gage’s hand. Gages and Coltons mixing.
Except for Layla, Fenwick’s offspring occupied two tables, eating and drinking champagne while their red-bow-wearing K-9s sniffed each other and played with dog toys that had been left on the floor. Blake Colton leaned toward Juliette Walsh in an intimate conversation. They’d obviously overcome discovering Pandora was his daughter after returning to Red Ridge from a long absence. Their daughter played in a front corner of the tent with some other kids on a fort with a slide surrounded by bales of hay.
Bea Colton received a kiss from Micah Shaw. Fenwick had split them up years ago, but apparently they’d gotten back together. Did Fenwick know?
Patience Colton engaged in a lively talk with her man, Nash Maddox. She looked five or six months pregnant. Would they get married now that the Groom Killer had been caught? What did her father think of her being pregnant?
Gemma Colton laughed at something her newfound love, Dante Mancuso said. None of the Fenwick Colton kids had happened to fall for a Gage, which worked against Fenwick softening his stance on the feud. He may have agreed to Edson’s deal, but that was just business. What would he do if one of his kids married a Gage?
While attending Layla’s wedding wouldn’t make Fenwick family with the Gages, a three-way wedding with everyone there might open the path to closer ties. The business deal was a step in the right direction, but something like a wedding was personal and romantic. Love could melt any remaining animosity. It would certainly sweeten the deal Layla had worked with Edson, making it less painful for Fenwick and even heping him realize friendly relations were possible.
“You drifted off.”
Lucas returned his attention to Hunter, but wondered if his wandering thoughts were more of an excuse to marry Demi. He must be internally convincing himself there was a good reason to do so—bringing the families together. But his heart told him something entirely different. He had fallen in love with Demi. Maybe he’d loved her for years and had kept the feelings from developing into anything real.
“I have an idea.”
* * *
Demi watched some kids playing in a corner near the entrance of the tent, where the K-9 center staff had set up the bales of hay and a fort with a slide. She also kept a close eye on Wolf. Elle had confiscated him for the evening, apparently. Wolf loved the attention. His big smile never faltered with each new face he encountered. Right now Elle had wandered over to where her close friend Juliette Walsh sat. Juliette stood and smiled into Wolf’s face.
“We’re going to make our announcement tonight,” Valeria said.
Shane and Brayden were involved in a conversation about Esmée’s upcoming documentary on the Groom Killer. She could conclude it now that Devlin had been arrested.
In a navy skater dress with a festive white pattern on the bodice, Valeria looked radiant. Vincent held her hand on the tabletop, looking like a proud and satisfied young groom-to-be.
“What announcement?” Demi asked.
“We’re getting married on Christmas Eve. We’ve made arrangements and plan on inviting everyone.”
“Have you told your father?”
Valeria’s face drained of some of her joy. “Yes, and he isn’t happy at all. He doesn’t know Anders and Serena are both engaged to Gages. I’m not sure Finn counts, since Darby is only a Gage because she married and divorced Bo. But I doubt he’ll be happy when he finds out they’re going to be married, too.”
“He’ll get over it. He doesn’t have a choice.”
“We’re hoping our wedding brings the families together,” Vincent said.
What a lovely gesture. Vincent had such a warm heart, and Valeria was so cute and attractive, these two young lovebirds had nothing but goodwill for all.
“We were thinking about having poker tables at the reception, but instead of money, we want to use individually wrapped chocolates.”
Demi laughed. How fun that would be, and a tease on the century-old feud that should be laughed at by now.
“The chocolates would be different brands, each representing a dollar amount. Tens, hundreds and so on,” Vincent added.
“That’s brilliant!”
Lucas appeared back at their table, setting down Demi’s ginger ale. “Vincent, I need to talk to you.”
Vincent looked up, perplexed.
“Come with me.”
With a glance at Valeria and a quick kiss, Vincent stood and followed Lucas to the DJ booth, joining Hunter there.
Layla had gone to sit at the table with her siblings and their romantic partners, but she watched Hunter.
“What are they up to?” Valeria asked.
“Heck if I know. Something, though. Look at the way they’re talking.”
Shane and Brayden stopped talking when Esmée and Danica twisted on their chairs to look where Demi and Valeria’s attention had gone.
Vincent began to smile and nodded his head, then he shook both Hunter’s and Lucas’s hands.
Lucas spoke with the DJ, who ended the music and handed him a microphone. Hunter took the mic.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may we have your attention.” Hunter’s voice boomed.
The crowd quieted and all eyes went to the trio.
“Lucas has something to say.”
Hunter handed the microphone to Lucas.
“Merry Christmas, everyone.” His deep voice penetrated the tent.
“Merry Christmas,” most of the crowd responded, some lifting champagne glasses.
“It’s been a tense year. We at the Red Ridge Police Department have accomplished a lot.”
“Hear, hear,” someone shouted out.
“We’ve apprehended dangerous criminals. We worked as a team. Gages and Coltons working side by side for the greater good
. As many of you now know, with Layla’s help, we saved the K-9 center. We hope this will be the ice breaker in a feud that doesn’t belong to this generation of families.” Lucas put his hand on his youngest brother’s shoulder. “It’s a start, but it’s not enough. So with no further ado, I have an announcement to make. My little brother, Vincent, is getting married on Christmas Eve. He’s going to marry Valeria Colton.”
Murmurs spread through the tent, most of them without shock. Many had already assumed as much but there were some who hadn’t.
“He and Valeria hope their union will end the feud once and for all by making the Gages and Coltons family. When I discovered this, it made me realize our fathers aren’t here tonight and they should be.”
Lucas handed the microphone back to Hunter.
“That’s why I’m making another announcement. Darby Gage and I are also engaged to be married, and Vincent has agreed to allow us to join him and his fiancée at the altar on Christmas Eve. That means my father, Vincent’s father and Valeria’s father will all be there.”
Cheers erupted in the tent.
Demi turned to Valeria, whose mouth had dropped open. “Are you okay with that?” She’d have to share her wedding day with another couple.
“I think it’s a great idea!” She smiled and laughed. “Our wedding is getting bigger by the second! And Vincent and I want our families to stop fighting. He knew I’d support this.”
“This show isn’t over yet, folks.” Hunter handed the microphone to Lucas.
“I have an announcement of my own, but before I can make it, there’s something I need to do.”
Lucas looked right at Demi and her heart climbed up into her throat. What was he thinking?
“Demi?” Valeria queried. “Oh, my gosh.”
Lucas walked toward her and stopped before the table. “I’ve spent many years avoiding relationships.”
Demi clutched the napkin on the table in front of her, entranced by Lucas’s confident dark eyes. His certainty sent a tingle through her.
“I believed love wasn’t for me, but after being with Demi these last few weeks, I’ve realized how wrong I was.”
Colton's Fugitive Family Page 21
