“To be honest, baby, I wasn’t good for you when I came home. Hell, I wasn’t good for anyone. We actually needed that time for me to come to grips with what I had to do and what I saw. Still working on it though.”
“I want to help you in whatever way I can,” she vowed, her lips enticingly close.
That familiar pull began to reel him in. “Let me make love to you, Lemon.”
“Yes.”
He swept her off her feet, heedless of his towel as it fell to the floor. Gently laying her in the middle of the bed, he stripped off her clothes and kissed every inch of her.
Not until she was trembling with desire in his arms did he enter her. He took his time loving her. Melded her body so close to his that they were truly one. Her climax hit moments before his, her inner muscles clamping down on him so hard that he had no choice but to join her. To groan her name and kiss the sweetest lips on earth as he came endlessly inside of her.
An eternity later, he rolled to his side, taking her with him and stroking her back until she fell asleep in his arms.
“I love you,” he whispered. His hand drifted lower, to where a slight swell marked the place where his baby grew. “And I love you, too.”
Chapter Sixteen
As far as parties went, the one celebrating his and Lemon’s marriage was this side of amazing. The Lawsons and the McCoys were actually talking to one another. The only thing that would have made their party even more special was if Mason had been able to come, but crowds weren’t his thing.
Thank God his twin had Skylar in his life now. That woman was a damn saint in his opinion for putting up with Mason’s grumpy ass.
Grandmother McCoy winked at the youngest Lawson brother. In her late seventies, she was still a striking woman who refused to dress her age or dye her hair any other color than strawberry blonde.
“In my day, men didn’t look this good.”
“So you alone are responsible for Miss Viola being as pretty as she is,” his brother Austin said.
That boy. Tristan shook his head. Yeah, Austin was only two years younger, but the stuff that left his mouth... He was shocked he didn’t get sacked by his own team.
“He’s such a suck up,” Brody said.
Lucas joined them. “That’s why he gets paid millions while the rest of us slave away for pennies.”
“You work with Bailey. How much of a hardship can that be? Just last week, Lemon and I were in there and spotted the two of you coming out of the freezer with twin guilty looks on your face,” Tristan pointed out.
Their horn-dog cousin, Preston elbowed Brody in the ribs. “Heard the fire captain got busted for showing Sydney how to work the pole at the fire house.”
They all looked at him in stunned silence.
“Didn’t mean a stripper pole; I just meant that... never mind.” Preston rolled his eyes. “I’ll leave.”
“Apple looks like she could use your company,” Tristan pointed out. Let her eat him up and spit him out. After she got done with him, Preston wouldn’t know if he were coming or going.
Preston finished eating the apple cobbler on his plate and gave it to Lucas. “Stand back, boys. I’m going in.”
“Somebody better pray for that fool.”
“He’s worse than Austin.”
“Agreed.”
“How’s married life treating you?” Brody asked, lining up his throw.
Tristan didn’t hesitate. “Got the hottest wife in town.”
“After Bailey.”
“And Sydney.”
Tristan held up his hand. “I’m not saying y’all’s wives aren’t pretty in their own ways, but I married a genuine beauty queen.”
“Do the two of you fight over the mirror?”
“Nah, he had one specially installed just for him. Heard it had lights and everything.”
Tristan turned to Brody. “You should know—you were the one to recommend it.”
The brothers started snickering, and then full-on laughter.
Brody pounded him on the back.
Lemon’s light pink dress caught his eye, and he couldn’t stop himself from striding to her. The sun shone down on her red hair, turning it to liquid fire as she talked animatedly to his sisters-in-law.
He was a lucky son of a gun. She really was the most beautiful woman here, but more importantly, she was even more beautiful on the inside.
Unlike her older sister.
Apple glared at Preston while he preened like a deranged peacock.
“He’s either fearless or asking for trouble,” Lemon said as she linked her arm with his.
“Both,” Tristan replied. “Ready to make our announcement?”
She gave him a blinding smile. “I am.”
He motioned for his brother Caleb to turn down the music.
“If I can get everyone’s attention. Lemon and I have another announcement to make,” he said.
Every eye in the place focused on them.
Lemon stood straighter. He knew she didn’t feel a bit out of place in the spotlight and he loved that about her. He had to tell her. Soon. Waiting for the perfect time meant he had no time at all to confess his love. There was always something going on that needed his attention or hers.
“First, we want to thank all of you for coming to celebrate this momentous occasion. It means a lot to see our families—”
“If he uses another ten-dollar word, I’m going to punch him,” Lucas whispered. Loudly.
“Hanging out together.” He sliced his gaze to his brother.
Lucas gave him a nod and a wink.
“But I think what we have to tell you eclipses even that.”
“We’re having a baby,” Lemon blurted.
“Oh my gosh!”
“Hell yeah.”
“Took you long enough.”
Tristan gave Austin a look. “You haven’t even been here in the past four months.”
“I’m home now, brother.”
Suddenly, everyone descended on them at once, patting his back, and carefully hugging Lemon while doling out parental advice.
Lemon grinned at him, and he couldn’t help but do the same. He wanted to shout out his love for her, but this wasn’t the perfect time either.
“Y’all have her for ten more minutes, and then I’m taking my bride home,” he said.
Lemon wandered over to Apple to say good-bye before she left with Tristan.
“Thanks for coming to our party,” Lemon said.
“Thanks for not uninviting me.” Her blue gaze stared off in the distance.
Lemon glanced over her shoulder and saw Caleb standing by the dessert table. It was difficult to think of him as a heartbreaker. That man not only rarely left the farm, he rarely spoke.
“Don’t worry; I won’t cause a scene and embarrass you, Lemon.”
She turned her attention back to her sister. “I’m not embarrassed by you.”
“That’s because you’re sweet.”
“That’s not my name.”
Apple laughed. “Did you know that our parents let me name you?”
Lemon stared at her sister in shock. “No. You gave me this notorious name?”
“Better than Prunella,” Apple said.
“Oh, dear Lord. Please tell me you’re joking.”
“You know the tradition. The thing you want the most while you’re pregnant is what you name your baby after.” She guessed Grandmother McCoy must have wanted to buy a viola really bad.
“Prunes?” Lemon made a face.
“They were planning on nicknaming you Nella.”
“Like the wafers?”
“Those are called nilla wafers, not nella, you goose.” Lemon hoisted her purse higher on her shoulder. “Anyway, the first time I saw you, your little mouth was puckered like you’d just eaten a lemon. So I asked Momma if she’d given you lemonade while you lived in her belly. I thought you were the most precious baby in the entire world. My six-year-old self couldn’t wait to get you home and start d
ressing you up like my very own baby doll.
“And that’s how Lemon Anne McCoy Lawson got her name,” Apple added with a sad smile. “In any case, I came to here to apologize. I love you, Lemon, and I had no right to interfere in your life like I did. Tristan is a good guy—my source confirmed it. But even if she hadn’t, I would trust you to make the right decision.”
“I love you, too, Apple.” Lemon grabbed her sister up in a hug. “I forgive you. Please don’t be a stranger. Your little niece or nephew is going to need you in their life.”
Apple stepped away, smiling through her tears. “I think I’m going to take a long vacation. Haven’t taken one of those before, but before I leave,” She dug through her purse and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “This is for you. Open it when you get home.”
Lemon took the paper. There were stamps on one side, but she wouldn’t be able to see who it was addressed to unless she unfolded it completely.
“I will.”
Apple touched her cheek and walked away. She didn’t look at Caleb again.
Lemon’s heart pinched for what her sister had lost and what Apple had let herself become. She shoved the envelope in her purse so she wouldn’t be tempted to open it before the time was right.
“You okay?” Tristan asked, coming up behind her.
She breathed in his male scent. “Perfect.”
Chapter Seventeen
“What did Apple give you?” Tristan asked, keeping one eye on the road.
“An apology, her support, and this,” Lemon pulled out a faded, creased envelope with familiar writing on the front. “It’s a letter addressed to me from you.”
His heart slammed against his chest. After all these years and all they had been through, she was finally going to learn the truth.
“Go on and read it,” he said softly, turning down the road that led to their new home.
“No proper salutation. I’m shocked, Mr. Lawson,” she said teasingly.
He slowed the truck down and turned into the driveway, but Lemon wasn’t paying any attention to what he was doing.
“’When I come home, I’m going to buy a white cottage with a blue door. Then I’m going marry you, Lemon McCoy’.” She gasped, her hand covering mouth as she turned to him with wide eyes. “Did you really write that—this?”
Putting the truck in park, he cut the engine and turned to her. “Yes.”
The letter slipped from her hand as she launched herself at him. Their seatbelts were in the way, but that didn’t stop her from kissing everything she could reach, nor did it stop him from doing the same.
Unbuckling his seatbelt and hers, he gathered her in his arms and kissed her with every ounce of love and passion he felt for her.
“I love you, Tristan,” she breathed. “I loved you before I read your letter.”
He framed her face in his hands. “And I love you. I promise to make up for every year, every day, every second we were apart, starting with this.”
“This?” Lemon asked as he nodded to the right.
Lemon couldn’t believe her eyes. There sat a white cottage with a blue door. Behind it, a pier with a boat dock at the end jetted out into the Pamlico Sound.
“You remembered.” It wasn’t a question.
“I kept your letters, too, but they’re committed to memory in here.” He touched his heart, then dug through his pocket and pulled out a ring of keys. “This house is yours, Mrs. Lawson.”
Still slightly shocked from the letter, from... well, everything, she allowed him to assist her out the truck and carry her up the front porch stairs of their house. Their home.
“Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, all downstairs. Huge living room and kitchen. Breakfast nook.”
She laughed. “You don’t have convince me to move in. I love it.”
He unlocked the door and stepped inside. “It’s ours. Already signed the papers.”
“I can’t believe it,” she said as he placed her on her feet. “It’s beautiful.”
She took in the white stone fireplace, the light-colored walls begging for pictures, and the open floor plan. An inviting back porch faced the water, perfect for entertaining and lazy afternoons.
Tears welled in her eyes, and she couldn’t stop smiling. “This has to be a dream.”
Coming up behind her, Tristan wrapped his arms around her, placing his hand over the slight swell of her stomach. “Welcome home, Lemon Lawson and baby Lawson. It’s about time the both of you got here.”
She covered his hand with hers and gazed up at him. Love shone bright in his eyes, nearly taking her breath away. “It’s about time all of us came home to where we belong.”
Epilogue
One year later
Tristan held his daughter in one arm and his son in the other. Both gazed at him in rapt attention as he read a bedtime story about dragons and valiant knights and princesses who could wield powerful swords.
Lemon held the book as she sat as close as possible to him on the sofa. Every so often, she’d kiss his cheek, and a thrill of pleasure would run through him at her touch.
Neither of them had been prepared when the doctor found Pearl hiding behind Holden. Though, he supposed he should have known it was possible, since he was a twin himself.
However, in Lemon’s case, a McCoy woman hadn’t given birth to a boy in five generations. A fact rivaled only by the Lawson’s four generations of boys only.
Both sets of grandparents were beside themselves. Even Apple had done a write up for the front page of the Jessamine Gazette to celebrate the birth of her niece and nephew.
All in all, he was a supremely blessed man, one who was content with his life, incredibly in love with his beautiful wife... as well as a sleep-deprived human who resembled a zombie in the morning.
But he wouldn’t change a thing.
“I swear, Tristan Lawson, you could charm a bee away from its honeycomb,” Lemon said.
“Well, I did manage to make a queen fall in love with me.”
Lemon smiled, sifting her fingers through his hair. “Oh, that line deserves a reward tonight.”
His pulse sped up at the thought of what kind of reward she’d give him. “The best lines always do,” he replied and turned to her. “But it’s not a line when I say, I love you.”
*
Thank you for reading Tristan and Lemon’s story. Please consider leaving a review! Don’t forget to sign up for Marquita’s newsletter to receive a free book.
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Up next in the Lawson Brother Series, LOVE SO PERFECT, coming January 2016.
Star quarterback Austin Lawson’s dating life is fair game to the myriad gossip bloggers. Thanks to his most recent screw up with a social media savvy super model, he’s forced to return home so that his PR team can do damage control. To help speed things along, he volunteers at Jessamine Elementary School, never dreaming he’d find the perfect solution to his image problem in Harper Bell. Sweet as anything, she’s star struck by him and agrees to date-after-date, never suspecting the real reason he wants to be with her.
But as things begin to heat up between them, Austin realizes that he wants Harper for more than just a quick fix.
Harper Bell is perfectly content as a second grade teacher in the small town of Jessamine—until she meets the one man who makes her question her lack of social life. She never dreamed that sexy, hometown hero Austin Lawson would ever notice a plain-Jane like herself. And with one hot kiss, she begins to fall head over heels for him...until she learns the truth. Austin’s been using her.
Now Austin has to execute the perfect play to win back the girl of his dreams. Or will Harper bench him permanently?
More Books By Marquita Valentine
The Lawson Brothers Series
Love So Hot
Love So True
Love So Irresistible
Love So Tempting
Love So Perfect (coming January 2016)
The Brides of Holland Springs Series
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br /> The Billionaire Bride
The Temporary Bride
The Forgotten Bride
The Christmas Bride (December 2015)
Seducing the Billionaire Series
Seducing the Billionaire’s Wife
Seducing the Billionaire’s Secretary (September 2015)
Seducing the Billionaire’s Brother
Holland Springs Series
Drive Me Crazy
Driving To You
Twice Tempted
Third Time’s a Charm
His Christmas Wish
Just Desserts
Not Over You
Be Mine
Boys of the South Series
Live For You
Only For You
True For You
All For You
Wish For You
Burn For You
Melt For You
About the Author
Marquita Valentine is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Holland Springs and Boys of the South series.
Since first taking the plunge in July of 2012 to self publish, Marquita Valentine has sold over a quarter of a million books around the world. She’s appeared on the Top 100 Bestselling Ebooks Lists on iBooks, Amazon Kindle, and Barnes & Noble. She’s been called “one of the best new voices in romance” (Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews) and her books have been accused of being “a sexy, fun, and slightly addicting contemporary read” (The Book Queen).
When she’s not writing sexy heroes who adore their sassy heroines, she enjoys shopping, reading, and spending time with her family and friends. Married to her high school sweetheart, Marquita lives in a seriously small town in the south with her husband, two kids, and a dog.
www.marquitavalentine.com
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