Accidentally Yours

by Bettye Griffin

  The announcements were being handled by Desireé’s mother’s boyfriend, a circuit court judge whose booming voice barely needed amplification. “And as maid of honor and best man, I present to you Miss Vivian St. James and Dr. Zachary Warner of New York.”

  “There’s your answer,” he whispered as they moved forward to the center of the tent to thunderous applause. The smiles on the guests’ faces told Vivian that she and Zack looked good together. She gave them a sunny smile, like she was in a Pepsodent commercial. This must be how it felt to be a bride, she thought.

  It was party time. The large tent had full-service bars in three of its four corners. The roof was filled with silver and white helium balloons. Vivian became so full from sampling the hors d’oeuvres, especially the crab cakes, that uniformed waiters were passing around at every turn, that she feared she wouldn’t be able to eat her dinner. The music played continuously; whenever the dance band took a break the classical musicians returned. Even the six Port-O-Sans for the convenience of the guests were roomy and complete with sinks with running water. Helen Mack had spared no expense at the wedding of her only child.

  The dance band was exceptional, with a wide repertoire ranging from standards to the sixties heyday of labels like Motown, Stax, and Philly International, right into contemporary sounds. Vivian watched as the guests lost their inhibitions, led by the older generation, who of course had been around for the original Function at the Junction. She got into the spirit herself, mastering the Shotgun dance to the R&B classic of the same name as she danced with Mr. Warner.

  She and Zack didn’t set next to each other—he sat on Desireé’s left and she on Austin’s right—but he came to her and offered his hand when the band slowed down the tempo.

  They had danced together when the lead singer invited the guests to join in during Desireé and Austin’s first dance as husband and wife, but this time it felt different. Fewer dancers came to the floor, for one. Then again, maybe she was just getting accustomed to dancing with him.

  “I’ve got to tell you something, Vivling,” he said.

  “What’s that?”

  “I know it’s soon, but I think I’m falling in love with you.”

  She promptly took a misstep.

  Zack tightened his hold around her waist. “You all right?”

  “Yes.” She quickly regained the beat. “I just didn’t expect to hear you say that. I’m glad you feel that way…I’ve been thinking the same thing myself about you.”

  “So it doesn’t frighten you?”

  “Of course not. I think you’re pretty special, Zack.”

  “Good. But I’ve got to tell you, it scares the hell out of me. But I intend to enjoy every part of it.”

  *****

  Vivian, a little self-conscious of her unmarried status, sat out the tossing of the bridal bouquet, which was caught by Desireé’s widowed mother. Judge Frank Mitchell, Mrs. Mack’s boyfriend, caught the garter in a surprising display of agility for a man of his bulk, and the guests were delighted that the longtime couple would, if the legend persisted, be the next to marry.

  The sun had set when the first guests began to leave. Vivian was enjoying a two-step with Zack when she suddenly remembered something. “Zack!” she exclaimed. “We both got here by limo. The car is still at the chapel. How are we going to get back to our hotel?”

  “I’ll get my parents will give us a ride back to the campus so we can pick up the car.”

  *****

  They returned to the inn to find several guests having drinks and playing the piano in the lobby, where it was a house tradition to gather in the evenings. Everyone asked Vivian and Zack if they had been to a wedding, no doubt prompted by their formal attire, and they stayed only long enough to confirm before saying good night and heading for the stairs.

  It had been a long day, one that contained considerable emotional and physical upheaval, but Vivian felt exhilarated. She and Zack had exchanged their feelings for each other in a crowded setting, unable to affirm their feelings for each other with even a kiss in the public setting, but now they would be alone. Her body tingled in anticipation. She wanted to be naked in bed with him so badly that she couldn’t get up the stairs fast enough.

  When she was near the landing Zack, just a few steps behind her, said, “Wait a minute.”

  She turned. “What?” Then she gasped as he reached around her waist with one hand and under her hips with the other. “Zack! What are you doing?”

  “Preparing to carry you over the threshold.”

  She linked clasped hands at the side of his neck to keep from falling, taking a moment to be thankful for all those “light” frozen entree she’d consumed. She said a silent apology for all the grumbling she’d done about the portions being too small to keep a cockroach alive, for now she was benefitting from all those three-hundred-calorie meals. Zack couldn’t have weighed a whole lot more than she did, but at least he didn’t appear to be out of breath from carrying her. “Why? It was Desireé and Austin who got married, not us.”

  He shifted her weight as he unlocked the suite door. “I know. But I was hoping just the same that we could make like we’re on a honeymoon.”

  They quickly undressed and came together. To Vivian it was a feeling like no other, being in bed with him, kissing him with such intensity and abandon, clutching at the taut muscles beneath his naked skin, his hands squeezing her breasts and the firm skin of her thighs…This time they explored each other not only by touch, but by taste. They both cried out at the exquisite sensation, unable and unwilling to stifle the lust they brought out in each other.

  In spite of their wild cravings for each other they took their time, with none of the underlying concerns about being late for the wedding, and by the time they lay back exhausted they had both experienced fulfillment like they had never had before.

  Chapter 21

  The Future’s So Bright, They’ve Got to Wear Shades

  “Hi, Glenda!”

  “Hi! When did you get in?”

  “About an hour ago. I just finished unpacking. Did I interrupt you?”

  “No, I’m not doing anything but looking at a magazine, and I’m about to put the damn thing down because it’s so ridiculous. They’ve got an article on a lot of black female celebrities talking about their dress sizes. You know these people are lying through their teeth. Hardly none of them will admit to being bigger than a size six. And you wouldn’t believe who claimed to be an eight.” She named an actress known for her statuesque figure. “It makes me wish I could show up on her doorstep with a size eight and say, ‘Here, let me see you get into this.’ I guess they don’t call them actresses for nothing. But enough about that. Tell me all about Denver and the wedding.”

  “It was wonderful, Glenda.”

  “The wedding, or the city?”

  “Both.”

  “Ooo-ee. Something must have happened!” Glenda spoke in a singsong pattern.

  “Something did. Not only are Zack and I officially a couple, we’re in love.”

  “I knew it!”

  “Well, I wish you’d shared your foresight with me before. You could have spared me a lot of unnecessary worrying. Just a few weeks ago I was thinking he wasn’t even going to call.”

  “You know what I mean, Viv. I didn’t know way back when. I distinctly remember thinking that each time you saw him it was going to be the last. But when you hooked up in Africa and arranged to go to Colorado together…it’s like that feeling where you suddenly know exactly what’s going to happen just before it does.” Glenda paused, then gave an example. “It’s like when you’re at the jewelry store and a woman with skin-tight leopard print pants, two-inch nails and cranberry-colored hair comes in. You just know she’s going to ask the clerk to see the cubic zirconia.”

  Vivian giggled. “I know what you mean.”

  “I’m so happy for you, honey. It’s only July, and you’re reeled in your Mr. Right. You do think he’s Mr. Right, don’t you?”


  Vivian rocked her upper body from side to side. “I think this is it, but we’ll just have to see. So tell me, how’s Pete?”

  “We went out again last night.”

  “Really? Is something happening that I should know about?”

  “I’ll tell you this much. Remember what I said about it not taking long to know you’ve got something special?” She paused just for a second. “Well, I know this is special, and I’ve got a feeling he knows it, too.”

  Vivian squealed. “Both of us finding love at the same time! It’s amazing.”

  “Just remember that I like September for a wedding month.”

  “Yeah, well, you just remember not to let him write any checks.”

  *****

  Zack called at ten-thirty from the hospital. “They’re killing me, making me come in the same day I get back into town. Now that I’m done with mine, I think they ought to bar people from taking vacations.”

  “Now that you’re done with yours, of course,” she repeated with a giggle. “But next month it’ll probably get worse. More people go on vacation in August than any other time.”

  “I’ll be all right. I’m off Tuesday and Wednesday—I’ll be up to take you to a two-hour lunch, so be prepared—and on Thursday I go on days.” He paused. “I hope my schedule isn’t going to be a problem for you. I have to work next weekend too, but since I get off at three at least we’ll be able to go to dinner on a Saturday night like normal people.”

  “I think it would be very selfish of me to not want you to share those healing hands of yours with those who need them.” She chose her next words carefully. “Believe me, I learned a long time ago that if you can’t accept people for what and who they are, you have no chance for happiness. But the hospital isn’t going to beep you in the middle of the salad course and tell you to come in, are they?”

  “Absolutely not.” He paused, then tentatively said, “It sounds like you’re planning on being a part of my life for a while, I hope.”

  “Yes, because I’m happy, Zack. I hope you are, too.”

  “More than you know.” His next words were spoken softly. “I love you, Vivling.”

  “I know you do.”

  Zack sounded playfully indignant “How do you know?”

  “I just know. I can feel it. It’s like this, Zack. When you’re in a jewelry store and this woman comes in dressed in skin tight leopard print pants—”

  ♥

  Also by Bettye Griffin

  Contemporary and Mainstream Romance Titles

  currently available

  LOST THAT LOVIN’ FEELING

  MAN OF HER HEART

  WHERE THERE’S SMOKE

  SOMETHING REAL

  ACCIDENTALLY YOURS

  ISN’T SHE LOVELY?

  A KISS OF A DIFFERENT COLOR

  THE HEAT OF HEAT

  SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST

  eBook Bundle (related titles)

  SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST/SOMETHING REAL/

  MAN OF HER HEART

  Women’s Fiction Titles currently available

  TROUBLE DOWN THE ROAD

  A NEW KIND OF BLISS

  ONCE UPON A PROJECT

  IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK

  NOTHING BUT TROUBLE

  THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR

  About the author

  Bettye Griffin is the author of eleven contemporary romances and six works of women’s fiction. Originally from Yonkers, New York, she now makes her home in Southeast Wisconsin.

  You can contact Bettye through her web site, www.bettyegriffin.com, or the old-fashioned way at P.O. Box 580156, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin 53158.

  A Note to the Reader

  I hope this book made you smile. Accidentally Yours was originally published in 2001 under the title Prelude to a Kiss. I always felt the current title was the better one for a romantic comedy, but the marketing department at the publisher I wrote it for didn’t agree. Now that I’m the publisher, I can change the title to whatever I want it to be. Ah, the joys of being independent…

  This version has been revised slightly, but has not been updated. I chose to keep the original setting of early Twenty-First Century New York and the cultural references mentioned that relate to that time (times haven’t changed that much in a dozen or so years). This book joins A Love of Her Own and A Love For All Seasons as backlist titles I’ve released in eBook format through Bunderful Books.

  Accidentally Yours is my only romantic comedy to date. The closest thing to it would be my first indie title, Save The Best For Last, which happens to be a permanently free book on Amazon, Kobo, iTunes, and Smashwords, so check it out! You can’t say the price isn’t right!

  My next original title, Love Will Follow, will be released soon. To pique your interest in this mainstream romance, I’ve written a short prequel called Lost That Lovin’ Feeling that contains a preview of the book its action precedes, which is available as a free download from the Freebie page of my Bunderful Books site.

  If you enjoyed Accidentally Yours, I hope you will consider writing a review of it on the site of purchase (Amazon, BN.com, Smashwords), as well as social networking sites like Goodreads and Facebook. If you’re not into writing reviews, by all means, recommend it to your friends!

  I thank you for continuing to read my eBooks that I publish through my own Bunderful Books…because good writing is always in fashion. Please drop in at the Bunderful Books website to stay current with the latest news on upcoming books (while there, be sure to sign up for my mailing list), and do “like” my Bunderful Books Facebook page.

  As always, I wish you good reading!

  Bettye (updated June 2013)

  *****

  And now, as a bonus, a sneak peek/excerpt from my upcoming women’s fiction eBook, Secrets & Sins. Enjoy!

  Secrets & Sins by Bettye Griffin - Excerpt

  Julia, lying on the hospital gurney surrounded by both her daughters as she waited to be brought in for her screening procedure, shook her head at the mention of Scott, her middle child and only son. “My son, my son. I can’t believe he left such a wonderful wife to reclaim his bachelor days. He should come to his senses and beg Lynn to take him back…not that she’d do it after the way he treated her. All I can hope for is to live long enough to see him settled down with some other nice girl.”

  “You’re not going anywhere, Mom,” Robin said. “And as for Scott, he’s just having a midlife crisis.” She grunted, and when she spoke she sounded grim. “I guess he and Avaughn started theirs at the same time.”

  For a moment silence hung heavily in the air. The topic of Robin’s ex-husband, whom she’d divorced after fifteen years of marriage once she learned he’d been having an affair, remained a sore subject. They managed to be civil to each other while forced by economics to continue sharing their house, but once Robin learned that he’d gotten his girlfriend pregnant, relations between them had swiftly deteriorated. Robin had struggled unsuccessfully for years to conceive, and news of her ex’s impending fatherhood sent her, at forty-eight, into a depression as severe as the one she’d had throughout her thirties while at the height of her infertility. Julia’s heart ached for her daughter’s pain. Robin was her youngest, her baby.

  Finally Julia spoke. “Robin, I’m really uncomfortable with the idea of the two of you sharing that house after your divorce,” she said. “It can only lead to trouble. Why don’t you move back in with Daddy and me?”

  “I can’t do that, Mom. I’d still be responsible for half the mortgage and utilities. If I’m not there, it’ll be like Avaughn has an invisible roommate paying half the bills. He can entertain his girlfriend, even move her in.” She made a face.

  “In other words, he won’t have any incentive to sell the house,” Faye, Julia’s firstborn, concluded.

  “Exactly. And I’ll be stuck indefinitely in a part of my life that’s over.” Robin patted Julia’s leg through the thin blanket that covered her. “Don’t worry, Mom, it’ll be fine.”


  Julia sighed. “I don’t know why you two had to buy that big house by the lake anyway.”

  “Because it was what I wanted,” Robin replied softly. “I felt I deserved to get something I wanted out of my life.”

  “Of course you do, dear. I didn’t mean to suggest otherwise.”

  “I know you didn’t. I’ve just been feeling a little overly sensitive lately.” Robin looked at her mother curiously. “Shouldn’t you be getting sleepy, Mom? I thought those pills went into effect immediately.”

  “I feel fine.” Julia cast a knowing eye on her youngest daughter. “Tell me about that sparkle in your eyes, Robin. I already know it’s not an offer on the house, but you seem cheerful about something.”

  Robin smiled. “I can never hide anything from you,” she said affectionately. “Okay. The girl who’s organizing my class reunion told me last night that one of the guys asked her about me, wanted to know whether or not I was coming. I don’t know what he looks like after thirty years, but back in the day he was the best-looking guy in the class. And he’s currently single.” Robin’s eyes shone. “So even though the reunion isn’t until next month, I’m kinda excited at the prospect of seeing him again.”

  “Sounds promising,” Julia said.

  “Mom, I can’t believe that pill hasn’t knocked you out yet,” Faye marveled, checking her watch. “Most people don’t last two minutes after taking it.”

  “Just call me Superwoman,” Julia boasted. She pounded her chest with her fists. “Seventy-six years old, and invincible.” She focused on her younger daughter. “Robin, back to this young man you had a crush on in high school. Do I know him?”

  “No, but you’re probably familiar with his family. They’re pretty prominent in the communities on both sides of the lake.”

  “Oh? What’s his name?”

  “Pace. His first name is Vernon.”

  Julia’s eyes grew wide, then she slumped forward, eyes closed.