by S. L. Scott
My heart patters, my feelings about to burst from my chest. He did everything for me. He was showing his love when I was too blind to see. I’m glad I know so I can spend my life showing him. I know inside that we would have found our way back to each other, but I still have to give him a hard time. He took a chance on something he shouldn’t have. “There’s a difference between a calculated risk and a gamble.”
“I don’t see it that way.”
“You trading your dream for mine was a gamble and now you might lose your home.”
“It’s a house, not a home.” Taking my hand in his, he says, “You’re the only home I know and want. Owning that house was amazing, but there will be others. Your movie—I read the first page and knew that was the one. Your story is magic, the script captivating from the first page.”
“I’ve never heard of someone putting their home up as collateral to get a movie made.”
“I called in favors from friends. We needed the money. We had an investor pull out after production started. If we can get it through editing, I can sell it.”
“You’ve done so much for me and for this film. How will I ever be able to repay you?”
“You don’t have to repay me. We’re getting married. That’s my dream come true.”
His hand warms my cheek, the feeling flooding my veins. “I can’t have you lose your house because of me.”
“It’s not because of you. It’s because of Jessica. So I’ll pay her a visit after we get back and sort it out.”
“You sound confident.” I’m not happy about this situation he’s in, especially because it all balances on the whim of an overly dramatic starlet. “What happens if she won’t agree to finish the film?”
“You’re worried, but I’m not. I have money saved. I’ll make more. This will work out. I promise you, Jane.”
“I believe you. I believe in you.”
“I never thought I’d hear you say that again.”
“You’ve more than earned my trust. I’m sorry I lost faith.”
He kisses me gently. “This is where we are, so we’ll deal with it, and homeless or not, we’re together.”
“That is way more important than any movie.”
CHAPTER 32
~Luke~
11:46 A.M.
Jane bolts upright. “Today’s the day.”
She was sleeping one minute and the next she was wide-awake from her nap. My heart is racing, startled by her. “Today?”
“Today is our wedding day.”
“It is. We’ll be in Vegas soon.”
She looks over at me and pokes me in the abs. Her smile brightening the morning like it does my life. “Hit the gas, Granny. I need time to shop.”
“I thought you agreed to no dress?” I pretend pout. Naked sounded perfect to me.
“I’m a woman. I need a dress. The perfect dress, so stop wasting time. Giddy up, cowboy. Time to hit the trail.”
She’s too damn cute to resist. “I love you. You know that?”
Through a fit of giggles, she says, “I love you, Luke Anders. I always have and I always will. Today is our day.”
“I owe you a ring.”
“Make it big.”
Bringing her hand to my hardening cock, I say, “I always do,” not referring to jewelry at all.
“And just like that—you proved it’s not just bigger in Texas, but in Arizona too.”
Giving her my flirtiest wink, I ask, “How about we test it in Nevada?”
* * *
THE SUN IS setting. The garden is filled with blooming flowers. Nothing is natural in this oasis in the desert, but surrounded by the plants and being secluded, I almost forgot we’re in Vegas.
Standing here, I’m not nervous.
I’m ready.
I’m pretty sure I’ve waited for this my whole life, despite the lapse in judgment I once showed.
Soft music begins to play and the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen—Jane Lewis, my soon-to-be wife—walking straight to me. Her white dress flows gently behind her, her hair loose with a halo of pale pink flowers taming the top of her wild blond hair.
Twenty feet until contact…
Ethereal.
My sweet angel.
“You’re a very lucky man, Mr. Anders.”
Fifteen feet until contact…
The girl has become a woman and the only one I want to spend my life with. “I am. The luckiest.”
Contact…
When she reaches me, she smiles, but there’s something more in her eyes—an inner peace that comes with comfort. “Hi.”
“Hello, beautiful.”
The Justice says something, but I can’t seem to take my attention away from Jane to listen. Words of love linger around us and I watch as her eyes move from him to me. The lightest of pink colors her cheeks, and I smile. Mission accomplished.
She nudges me and I can tell she hates all the attention I’m giving her.
“Luke,” the Justice says, “you may share your vows.”
Taking Jane’s hands in mine, I speak, my heart attaching to hers, to reside ever more. “It was always going to be us. You were my past, you are my present, you will be my future. Jane, you are light when life is dark. You are my smooth night when my day has been rough. You are the first girl I ever loved and the last woman I ever will. You are beauty to me always, and always I vow to be your light, your smooth, and your everything to make life beautiful. I will love you for the rest of my life and if we’re granted more time together, I will love you longer.”
I place the ring I gave her years earlier back on her hand.
The Justice looks to Jane and says, “Jane?”
She glances down, the moment seeming to overwhelm her. I squeeze her hand just enough to remind her she’s not alone. Never alone again. Bringing her hand to my mouth, I kiss it, causing her to look into my eyes. A soft smile appears, and she says, “Your courage brought us together. Your strength kept our hearts bonded even when we were apart. Your faith believed when there seemed to be none. You, Luke Anders, were brave for us both. I’m honored to be here today, fortunate to be facing the only man I’ve ever loved, and grateful I get to wake up to you every day of forever. I love you, Luke. I always have and I always will.”
“Well, let’s not waste any time. By the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” The Justice nods his head toward Jane. “Go on, son. Kiss your wife.”
With one hand on her lower back and one on her neck, I bring her closer and kiss her. I’d normally censor myself, but not today. Not ever with her. She deserves all my love and to feel every ounce of passion I have for her.
When our lips part, we both inhale, and then smile. Our foreheads are pressed together, and I whisper, “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Come on, I want to go love on you in private.”
She giggles as we walk back to the wedding office. The coordinator has us sign the certificate, and escorts us to the private elevators.
No gawkers.
Nobody intrudes on the first few minutes of our life together as husband and wife. I’d give her the world if I could, but even more, I’ll spend every dollar I have to make her happy. Jane’s eyes go wide and her smile grows when the doors open into the suite.
“Luke, it’s beautiful. I can only imagine how much you spent.”
“I may be homeless but I’m not broke. Anyway, I love your smile.”
She lifts up and kisses me on the cheek. “You’ll see it because I get to wake up to you every morning for the rest of our lives.”
It’s funny how things change… how we change as we reach different stages of our lives. The phrase “rest of our lives” scared me before. It sat unsettled in my stomach a few years back. But then I got a large dose of what life was without this gorgeous blonde standing in front of the windows overlooking the Las Vegas Strip and that scared me more.
She turns around. “You can see almost the entire strip from her
e.” A look centers in her eyes and her lids grow heavy. Leaning against the glass, she licks her lips. “I want you to make love to me.”
“Happily.”
“Then I want to do dirty things against this window.”
My smirk slides into place, and I chuckle. “Your request is my command, my beautiful wife.” Fuck, I love saying that.
* * *
“LIE ON ME.”
I chuckle, and move on top of her. “Tell me if I’m too heavy.”
“I like your weight on me.” She breathes out harder than I like, but I remain. “You comfort me.”
Balancing some of my weight on my forearms so she doesn’t notice, I kiss her.
“There’s this line in the movie that speaks of being sex drunk. I understand what that means now.”
“You wrote the lines,” I point out. “You didn’t understand it before?”
“Not like this.”
“Tell me what it’s like.”
“It’s deep, engrained in my muscles and bones. A feeling that encompasses so much happiness that it can’t be explained in simpler terms.”
“It’s euphoric and enrapturing.”
“Exhilarating and pure bliss. I never want to forget this feeling.”
I kiss a line down the center of her chest and even lower. “I’ll never let you.” And then I go farther, my lips finding that special place that will turn euphoria into orgasmic.
* * *
I’M TEMPTED TO smoke, and I’ve never smoked. Sitting in the plush chair by the window, I have all of Vegas outside lighting up the night sky. But I can’t keep my eyes off the sleeping beauty in front of me.
Jane’s hair spans the pillow, covering it. The crown of pink flowers she wore to get married is off to the side. She debated sleeping with it on, loving it so much. I gravitate toward her bare skin under the scent of floral, unable to resist my bride.
She sleeps so soundly and I find pride in the fact that I’ve worn her out. I’m glad she’s able to rest since I don’t know what tomorrow holds. So much weighs on this meeting with Jessica. Looking at my angel sleeping I can easily admit that I don’t want to lose this, this innocence that fills this suite, the trust that fills her smile when she looks at me.
I sit down, the bed dipping, but she doesn’t stir. I touch her cheek and run the tip of my finger over her bottom lip. I nearly lost my heart, but now she’s mine forever. “I will spend every day loving you,” I whisper, then place one more kiss to her forehead before climbing in behind her and holding her to me.
CHAPTER 33
~Luke~
LOS ANGELES AFTER hours is not my favorite scene. Not anymore. It’s funny how a place I’ve called home for so many years now seems foreign. I could say Austin changed my mind, but I’d be lying.
It’s the woman.
Jane woke me up in the middle of the night and told me she’d spent enough time in hotel rooms. She was ready to go home. Home. We packed our stuff and drove home together. I pull into my drive and park. Jane yawns as we sit in the car a moment longer just shy of five a.m. She looks at me and I voice what I think we’re both feeling. “We’re going to be okay. Everything will work out how it’s supposed to.”
“It will,” she replies, trying to sound convincing for me or herself, or maybe both.
“C’mon, let’s go inside.”
I grab her two suitcases and walk her to the door. After I unlock it, I push it open and let her go first. Watching as she walks in, I’m familiar with the setup after living here almost two years, but having her here, here as my wife energizes the air. Although the moonlight is on the verge of disappearing for the day, it remains bright for us, flooding the living room in greeting.
This was never supposed to be a forever house for me. It was always just a place for a moment. But with Jane’s aura, her soul filling the space, it feels more like a place I could call home permanently. I place the luggage just inside the door and go back for my bag and her boxes. When I return, she must not hear me because she’s standing in the middle of the living room just where I left her. I take the opportunity to look at her, really look at her. She’s too beautiful for the space, my stuff not fitting for her presence. I never committed to buying anything of quality after she left. Maybe my subconscious knew all along—life was always meant to be spent with her.
Setting the boxes down, I make a bigger production than necessary to give her the heads-up that I’m here. She turns, and says, “I’m not sure what to do, how to fit into your life. I’ve been here, but it feels foreign.”
“We have a lifetime to figure out how to do this again.” I shut the door and set the alarm. “Are you hungry? I can’t imagine I have much since I’ve been gone for a month, but I might have something in the freezer I can cook for you or find some snacks in the pantry.”
“I’m not hungry. Thank you.”
It’s too stiff in here, too formal. I try to break the ice. “I want to shower before bed. Wanna join me?”
“Yes.”
Hoping the plan Danny helped me put together is in place, I lead her upstairs, and then stay back when she enters the bedroom. Jane’s mouth drops open. A gasp. A hand covering her sweet lips. When she looks back at me, she asks, “How did you do this?”
“I have my ways of making magic happen when inspired, and you have inspired me, Mrs. Anders.”
I join her. She leans her back to my chest and tilts her head to the side while admiring the room reminiscent to the tree house I once wooed her in. “I love when you call me that.”
I kiss her neck, taking full advantage of tasting the delicate skin and then whispering in her ear, “I love calling you Mrs. Anders. It’s like calling you mine forever.”
Blankets and pillows cover the area in front of the fire. Flowers fill vases all around. “Just like the tree house. How did you remember?”
“I never forgot.” I walk from one candle to the next lighting them while Jane sits down on the pallet with awe in her eyes.
“You have candles this time.”
“We’re not sixteen anymore. No parents to hide from.” My grin is evidence of something more to come.
“You’re a sexy romantic, my sweet husband.”
“You deserve romance and,” I say, sitting down next to her and kissing her, “I want that picket fence and to have lots of babies with you.”
Her breath staggers. “You do?”
“I do.”
“Luke…” She drops her head down, and leans against my shoulder. “I never knew life could feel this good. I never thought I’d feel love so deeply. You’ve made my dreams come true.”
“They’re in the making, but we’ll make them all come true.” Lifting her chin up, I kiss her lips again. “And I feel the same for you.”
* * *
DANNY POINTS AT the biggest diamond on the dark blue velvet tray. “You have to go for that one. It’s princess cut, which women love. It’s just over two carats. Great clarity. That’s the one to seal the deal.”
“The deal is already sealed.”
He scoffs. “I can’t believe you just blurted it out in the back seat of her car. That was the sex talking, my friend.”
“It was morning… the sun was rising in the desert—Fine! It was the sex.”
He laughs. “Great sex will do that to you. I know this firsthand.” Patting me on the back, he adds, “I’m happy for you. This has been a long time coming, so buy the ring.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Jane was very specific in the text she sent me.” He holds his phone up and shows me.
After glancing at the text, I ask the sales rep, “Do you giftwrap?”
* * *
“YOU GOT ME a present?” Jane asks.
“I did. Open it.”
She pulls the tissue from the bag and pulls out the box. Her eyes meet mine and I know what she’s thinking, my plan totally working. “Aren’t you supposed to, oh I don’t know, present it to me or something?”
; “Open it, Janie.”
She unwraps the little velvet box. Glancing back at me briefly, her smile is contagious. I watch in anticipation as she opens the hinged box. The surprise is seen in her expression, her eyebrows raised. Another quick glimpse to me before returning to the box and reading aloud, “Do you have plans this Friday?”
Her memory serves her as well as mine. Twelve years after the first time I asked her that question, I ask her again, hoping for the same outcome. “I’m free,” she replies.
“Not for long.”
I drop down on one knee with the ring between my fingers. “The first time I ever saw you, I stumbled into my locker. My best friend teased me endlessly. Five years later, he was tripping over himself to get you to date him before I had the chance. But you saw through him. You also saw through me and right into my heart.” Taking her hand, I find joy in the expression in her eyes as she looks down at me. “Through all the years we’ve spent loving each other—whether we were together or not, we both knew it would always come back to us.”
I slip the ring on her finger as she whispers, “Oh, Luke.”
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. If you give me your hand in marriage, Jane Anders, I will spend my life giving you A forever I owe you.”
“You were the most handsome boy I had ever seen, cuter than any movie star and swoonier than any boy band. I saw you coming from twenty feet away, but my heart wasn’t prepared for you. You stole it and my eternal love that day in eleventh grade. Now here you are stealing my breath away along with it.” She pulls me to my feet. Looking up at me, she says, “You had your answer that day, but just in case, yes, Luke Anders. You didn’t just steal my heart, you became it, so yes.” Giggles fill the room. “So that’s how you would have done it if you had a ring?”
“You deserved the full marriage proposal package. Did you like it?”
