by Katy Paige
He squeezed her hand as they got closer, and her heart started beating faster, as if her mind was trying to put puzzle pieces together blindly without having a picture of the puzzle first.
Erik stopped in front of the cleared lot on the left and pulled her from the street up onto the turned-over earth, stopping under the arbor. He unlatched the gate and swung it open. Once she walked inside, he followed her and latched it closed.
When she turned to face him, he was already down on one knee, and she gasped in understanding. Tears spilled out of her eyes as she stood before him, biting her lower lip to keep from sobbing.
“Katrin. Älskling. This is our land. I bought it. It belongs to us. Us.” He swallowed audibly, nervously, offering her his hand. She grasped it, trembling, as he continued. “We can stay in José’s apartment for the next few months while we build our own house here. I want it to be our home.”
He smiled at her, then reached into his jacket pocket with his other hand and took out a small box. He dropped her hand just for a moment to snap open the top, where a diamond ring lay nestled on a velvet pillow.
He smiled at her. “Katrin Svenson, you’re the love of my life. There is no one for me, but you. There will never be anyone for me, but you.”
His smile wavered as he stared at her, and his eyes looked panicky for just a moment, kneeling there in the dirt staring up at her. With one hand he held hers. The other held the little box, palm up. Katrin knew she had to be patient and believe in him. She knew he had one more thing to ask before they crossed the threshold into forever.
“Älskling will you marry me?”
She nodded frantically through her tears as he took the little ring out of the box, standing up.
He had tears in his eyes too, as he took her left hand and slipped the ring onto her fourth finger. “I had it engraved.”
She slipped it off for a moment just to look inside and found it.
Two simple letters: Us.
“Us,” she whispered, like a miracle, a prayer.
“Us,” he whispered back, putting the ring back on her finger, and lacing his fingers through hers.
“Jag älskar dig, Erik.”
“Jag älskar dig, också, Katrin.”
“För alltid, Kärlek.”
“Yes. Forever, Älskling.”
Then he smiled at her, wrapping his arms around her and marrying his lips to hers.
THE END
Every June, as Katrin plaited their long, blond hair and wove flowers through the braids, their twin daughters would ask again how they met. Erik would smile at his wife—at his beloved wife, Katrin Svenson Lindstrom—over the twin heads of their beautiful daughters, and listen as she retold the same simple story year after year:
It happened right around Midsommardagen.
Your father slipped and called me Älskling.
His sweetheart.
EPILOGUE
One year later
Lars Lindstrom woke up with a start, fumbling with the pull-cord on the lamp beside him to brighten the dark room. He jerked himself into a sitting position, taking a deep breath, rubbing his eyes. He twisted his wrist to look at the time: 4:45 a.m. Early.
“That was some dream,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head and swinging his legs over the side of the bed in his brother, Erik’s, guest room. His feet touched the floor and he rose out of bed, completely naked, and padded to the en suite bathroom. Erik had insisted on bathrooms in every bedroom at Paradise Two, his new house, south of Kalispell. Lars had given him a hard time about it initially, but he had to admit, privacy had its benefits.
He relieved himself, then started the shower, running his hands through his blond hair as he slipped into the warm water, turning his thoughts back to the dream that had worked him up.
He’d been in the park with a girl. She had shoulder-length, brown curly hair, though he’d never seen her face in the dream. She’d been walking in front of him, in the misty morning, wearing a pink poodle skirt, like from the 1950s. He’d reached out to take her arm, and moss-green eyes—the only clear feature in an otherwise blurry face—had captured his as he pulled her close for a kiss. In the distance, ethereally, he’d heard the soft sound of the Beach Boys singing “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” as he lowered his mouth to hers. She’d sighed, parting her lips as she ran her hands through his hair, and he’d swept his tongue into her mouth, the wet heat of it making him as hard as a rock.
Even now, the effects of the dream were holding on to his body. Rampantly.
He braced his hands against the shower wall, letting the water slide down his back. He never had dreams that clear, that visceral. It felt real. Really real. What did it mean?
“Probably just need some company,” he said, rinsing the shampoo from his hair.
Lars was never short on female company.
“Park girls,” female tourists who breezed through Gardiner en route to Yellowstone, were plentiful. And before Erik had met Katrin Svenson and married her last fall, he’d been Lars’s favorite wingman.
Those days were over, he thought, finishing his shower and drying off. And coming up to Bigfork for visits wasn’t really the same. Especially since the twins arrived last month. Still, he’d been glad to spend Friday night with his exhausted brother and sister-in-law, and meeting Dagmar and Heidi, his tiny nieces, was surreal.
Lars got dressed quickly and packed up his bag, careful to make the bed so Katrin wouldn’t have extra work on her hands. He needed to hit the road if he was going to make it south in time for a noon pickup at the airport in Bozeman. Lindstrom & Sons, where Lars worked as a tour guide with his father and older brother, had a big job starting today.
He opened the door to his room and edged out into the hall only to find Erik and Katrin walking back and forth up and down the hallway in bathrobes, each with a twin in their arms. Erik’s tired eyes flew open as he made the universal gesture for “Shhhhh,” pressing one finger up to his lips.
“Just got ‘em back to sleep,” he whispered over one small blond head.
“I gotta take off,” said Lars, hoisting his bag onto his shoulder. “Pick up in Bozeman at noon. Big group.”
“Who you got comin’ in?” asked Erik, who used to work as a guide with his brothers.
“Who’s coming today doesn’t matter. It’s who’s coming in on Tuesday. You won’t believe it.”
“Who?” asked Erik, bloodshot eyes curious.
“Samara Amaya.”
“THE Samara Amaya?” Kat stopped pacing, her heavy-lidded eyes focused on Lars. “The supermodel?”
Lars nodded, smiling at his pretty sister-in-law. “Yup. She’s comin’ in on Tuesday for a photo shoot.”
“Hot damn, Lars,” murmured Erik. “You get all the luck.”
Kat elbowed her husband in the side, giving him a sour look.
“Not that I’d trade Paradise Two and its three lovely ladies for all the supermodels in the world,” he quickly added.
Kat’s lips tipped up into a pleased smile as she rolled her eyes at him. “Mine’s asleep.” She leaned up on tiptoes so Lars could kiss her cheek goodbye. “Travel safe, Lars. See you next weekend for the christening.”
Lars watched her make her way into the nursery before turning back to Erik. “Talk about luck.”
“Don’t look at my wife like that.” Erik’s eyes narrowed.
“Good thing I didn’t see her first,” Lars teased.
“If I wasn’t holding my daughter, I’d belt you and good, Midten.”
Lars grinned, reaching out to tousle Erik’s hair. “Thanks for having me up.”
“Thanks for making the trip.”
Lars turned to leave but was called back by Erik’s loud whisper. “Lars!”
“Huh?”
“Samara Amaya? Really?”
Lars chuckled softly, not wanting to wake up Dagmar, who slept soundly on her father’s shoulder.
“Not ‘til Tuesday. Today’s nothing. Just picking up her assistant to do a
couple days of recon. Name’s, uh, Jane, I think. Jane something-or-other.”
Erik winked at Lars, giving him a knowing grin as he turned to follow Katrin.
“Jane, huh? Well, you never know, Lars. You never know…”
CHOOSE ME
Lars Lindstrom and Jane Mays’ story
Available June 2020
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More LINDSTROM romances are coming in 2020!
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Odds-Are-Good Stand-Alone Romances
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SERIES COMPLETE: All four books available now.
SINGLE IN SITKA – Available on Amazon, Apple, B&N, Kobo
When Seattle journalist Amanda heads north to Sitka to research a story, she answers the Odds Are Good personal ad of single dad Luke, hoping for some no-strings-attached fun. But could the sweet, widowed father of three—who just happens to be a smokin’-hot state trooper—turn out to be the man of her dreams?
NOME-O SEEKS JULIET – Available on Amazon, Apple, B&N, Kobo
Upon learning that his entry in the Qimmiq Dog Race will be canceled if he doesn’t have a female teammate, Cody places an ad in the Odds Are Good magazine, desperately searching for a woman in the Lower Forty-Eight to enter the competition with him. Luckily, he recruits Montana-born Juliet, a veterinary student with an agenda of her own.
A FAIRBANKS AFFAIR – Available on Amazon, Apple, B&N, Kobo
Tired of being treated like a freak when men discover that Faye is a thirty-year-old virgin, she answers an ad in the Odds Are Good magazine, hoping to trek up to Fairbanks over New Year’s and turn over her v-card to a sexy Alaskan. But when her chemistry with businessman Trevor turns out to be stronger than she ever could have imagined, what started out as a one-and-done mission becomes much more complicated.
MY VALDEZ VALENTINE – Available on Amazon, Apple, B&N, Kobo
When Los Angeles lawyer Addison receives a desperate voice mail from her adventure-seeking brother, Elliot, she hires Alaskan helicopter pilot Gideon (whom she first discovers via an ad in the Odds Are Good) to take her to her brother’s last known location. As the two uncover more and more details about Elliot’s last days, they find themselves falling deeply for each other.
ALSO AVAILABLE
from Katy Regnery
a m o d e r n f a i r y t a l e
(A collection)
The Vixen and the Vet
Never Let You Go
Ginger’s Heart
Dark Sexy Knight
Don’t Speak
Shear Heaven
THE BLUEBERRY LANE SERIES
THE ENGLISH BROTHERS
(Blueberry Lane Books #1–7)
Breaking Up with Barrett
Falling for Fitz
Anyone but Alex
Seduced by Stratton
Wild about Weston
Kiss Me Kate
Marrying Mr. English
THE WINSLOW BROTHERS
(Blueberry Lane Books #8–11)
Bidding on Brooks
Proposing to Preston
Crazy about Cameron
Campaigning for Christopher
THE ROUSSEAUS
(Blueberry Lane Books #12–14)
Jonquils for Jax
Marry Me Mad
J.C. and the Bijoux Jolis
THE STORY SISTERS
(Blueberry Lane Books #15–17)
The Bohemian and the Businessman
The Director and Don Juan
Countdown to Midnight
THE SUMMERHAVEN SERIES
Fighting Irish
Smiling Irish
Loving Irish
Catching Irish
THE ARRANGED DUO
Arrange Me
Arrange Us
ODDS ARE GOOD SERIES
Single in Sitka
Nome-o Seeks Juliet
A Fairbanks Affair
My Valdez Valentine
STAND-ALONE BOOKS:
After We Break
(a stand-alone second-chance romance)
Braveheart
(a stand-alone, suspenseful romance)
Frosted
(a stand-alone romance novella for mature readers)
Unloved, a love story
(a stand-alone suspenseful romance)
Under the sweet-romance pen name
Katy Paige
THE LINDSTROMS
Proxy Bride
Missy’s Wish
Sweet Hearts
Choose Me
Virtually Mine
Unforgettable You
Under the paranormal pen name
K. P. Kelley
It’s You, Book 1
It’s You, Book 2
Under the YA pen name
Callie Henry
A Date for Hannah
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katy Regnery started her writing career by enrolling in a short story class in January 2012. One year later, she signed her first contract, and Katy’s first novel was published in September 2013.
Several dozen books and three RITA® nominations later, Katy claims authorship of the multititled Blueberry Lane series, the A Modern Fairytale collection, the Summerhaven series, the Odds Are Good collection, the Arranged duo, and several other stand-alone romances, including the critically- acclaimed mainstream fiction novel Unloved, a love story.
Katy’s books are available in English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Turkish.
Check out Katy’s Website: http://www.katyregnery.com
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