The Birthday Fantasy

by Sara Walter Ellwood

“I’m going to kill both of you. You know that, don’t you?” she called loud enough for her father’s friend to hear.

  Her answer was a rough chuckle.

  The plane banked right around the peek and descended. The lake appeared a brilliant blue in the basin and the landing strip came into view. The resort buildings clustered out from the water’s edge. Something about being here with Tate made her belly flop and her heart race.

  At least he’d had the good sense to book them separate rooms. Damn it, why did that disappoint her so much?

  “Happy birthday, princess.”

  ****

  Tate helped Jamie out of the plane and prayed he hadn’t completely miscalculated this harebrained idea. The moment she set her feet on the pavement, she let go of Tate. A strong, warm breeze blew her auburn hair into her face. As she pushed it back, the late afternoon sun captured the silky strands, catching them on fire. Tate could well imagine by the flashing of her blue eyes and the hard tilt of her clenched jaw as she looked around, he was in for a tongue lashing later. Too bad she’d be firing off words and not using that velvety appendage on his body.

  He glanced away as the knot of lust hit his groin. He wanted her and this weekend would be a test on his control. It was the reason he’d changed Hank’s reservation and had gotten a suite. He hoped they’d end up in bed together, but he wanted it to happen on her terms.

  “Happy Birthday, Jamie.” John set their bags on the ground by Tate’s feet and slapped him on the back. “Good luck. I have a feeling you’re gonna need it.”

  Jamie folded her arms in front of her. “Damn right he’ll need luck.”

  “Just get back here to pick us up Monday.” Tate picked up Jamie’s suitcase and his old duffel bag.

  The pilot snickered and nodded as he ambled toward the hangar.

  Jamie narrowed her eyes on the suitcase and snapped those brilliant blues on him. “What the hell? You packed my clothes?”

  “Take it easy, princess.” Tate shrugged and hoped to avoid a confirmation on the landing strip. “While your father and Doc got you into the truck, Maria and I packed what we thought you would like to have with you.”

  “And what would that be, Dawson?” She shoved her fisted hands on her perfectly rounded hips. The tight jeans fit her like a second skin and all he wanted to do was peel them off her.

  Tate dragged his gaze up her body. Her breasts heaved under the tank top she wore. The vision of him packing her lacy bras and panties had his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth. He had to swallow to get it unstuck. “Your personal stuff. I didn’t think you’d want to go without underwear or your hairbrush.”

  Jamie blushed a deep shade of red and dropped her arms to her sides, but her hands stayed rolled into tight fists. “You went through my personal stuff. My underwear!”

  Tate looked straight ahead and took a deep breath. He didn’t have the mindset to argue with her right now. Not enough blood circulating around his brain cells since most of it was pounding though his growing hard-on.

  He gritted teeth and gripped the handles of the bags. “I was only doing you a favor.” But how else had he expected her to react? He thought of the puffy white dress hanging on the back of her closet door. Was he really this desperate? Taking a deep breath, he let it out and more calmly said, “They have a nice boutique area near the main resort building. I figured you could get whatever else you needed here.”

  “That would be good. I didn’t really have much at the ranch except jeans and t-shirts.” Jamie glanced around. “This is quite swanky. I can’t believe my family runs a place like this.”

  Swallowing hard, he didn’t want to think about where her other clothes were. She’d practically moved in with her fiancé about two months ago. “Let’s go. There’s the car.”

  A uniformed chauffeur got out of the limo as Tate and Jamie approached the car parked at the edge of the runway. He rushed forward and took their bags from Tate. After putting them in the trunk, the man smiled and opened the back door. “Mr. Dawson. Miss Raines. Welcome to Fantasy Lake where we help to make all of your fantasies to come true.”

  Jamie sharpened her gaze on Tate and pointed into the luxury interior. “After you. There’s no way I’ll ever let you follow me again.”

  He was such a dead man.

  Chapter 3

  Despite her irritation, Jamie enjoyed the shopping spree. At first she hesitated at spending Tate’s money, but after his continued insistence and the fact she needed clothes for four days, she relented and had fun. Besides, Daddy could always pay him back. This little vakay was his idea after all.

  After lunch at one of the bistros, they headed for the first boutique—a swimwear shop. Both she and Tate found bathing suits and all the other stuff they’d need for the beach. Tate carried her bags, making sure he never fell behind her, which brought a smile to her lips. She refused to dwell on the obvious question—why would he go through all this trouble? Sure, her father loved him like a son, and she knew Tate considered him like a dad, but to go through all this, knowing she’d not make things easy on him, didn’t make sense.

  The shopping center at the main resort proved to be as swanky as she expected it to be. The layout was like something she’d always imagined a French shopping district in Cannes on the Riviera would be like. Shops and open-air bistros and cafés lined one side of a red brick walkway, with the spectacular view of the lake and the surrounding mountains on the other side. Large glazed pottery pots overflowed with an abundance of bright colored flowers, some of which she’d never seen before.

  She never was much of a dress and polish type of girl, loving a comfortable pair of jeans and a soft t-shirt over lace and silk, but she could always use the clothes after she was married. How could she ever wear any of this stuff when she was with Robbie? She glanced at the cheerful bags in Tate’s hands.

  “There’s the last shop.” Tate’s voice pulled her out of the bedeviling thought.

  “I think I have everything I need.” She could never wear any of this stuff again. The silk blouse she couldn’t believe she fell in love with three stores back. Nor that beautiful flowy skirt in the prettiest shade of green she’d ever seen, the shorts, and the tank tops. And especially she’d never wear the string bikini she bought thinking not of her fiancé’s reaction to it, but Tate’s.

  “It’s a dress shop. You need at least three nice dresses.”

  She stopped and stared into the window at a royal blue gown.

  “You like that dress.”

  Blinking, she realized she’d been standing frozen for several moments. “But where would I ever wear something like that?”

  He took her hand. The rightness of it had her meeting his gaze. He swallowed and smiled. “C’mon. I’m told the dinners here are of the dress up kind. If I have to suffer a suit and tie, you have to get all dolled up, too.”

  “You in a suit? That, I can’t wait to see.” Was the world entering some kind of weird alternate universe like in those science fiction movies she liked to watch?

  “You should feel privileged. You’re the only one I’d ever suffer a money suit for. Hell, I didn’t even wear one to my old man’s funeral.”

  They entered the shop with Tate still holding her hand.

  A willowy middle-aged woman seemed to float around an antique desk doubling as the checkout counter. “Welcome to Queen’s Boutique. How can I help you?”

  Jamie met the bright smile with a tentative one of her own. “I’d love to try on the blue gown in the window.” She looked around at the other evening gowns and cocktail dresses in every color. “I’ll also need at least two other dresses. And shoes, too. I guess for dinner.” She raised a brow at Tate. “I’m told they’re black tie only affairs.”

  “Yes. The management’s goal is to offer our guests a chance to live outside themselves. To go beyond what they might normally do to experience life in completely new and unique ways.” The woman’s smile broadened as she headed toward the gown in the window. �
�With your coloring that one-of-a-kind dress will be beautiful on you.” She looked at Tate. “Your husband--”

  “Oh, he’s not my husband.” Jamie interrupted, and he let go of her hand. She instantly felt a chill run down her spine.

  He shifted the bags into both hands. “I’m just a friend.”

  Had Jamie imagined the flatness of his statement?

  “Oh.” The sales lady covered the blunder with a wave of her hand toward a delicate French couch. “Come, sir, you can place your other purchases down here. The young lady will have fun trying on some very lovely dresses.”

  ****

  Tate closed his eyes and waited for the burn in his chest to stop. What the hell was he thinking bringing Jamie to a place catering to love, sex and fantasies when none of them could ever happen between them? Was he really that sadistic?

  He got his answer when the louvered door to the dressing room opened and Jamie stepped out in the blue ball gown. His heart stopped in his chest and fell to his stomach. Jesus, an angel couldn’t be this amazing.

  The clerk had pulled Jamie’s red hair up and pinned the waves up on top of her head with wisps falling around her face and the slender column of her neck. The smooth pale skin of her bare shoulders glowed under the soft lighting. The floor-length shirt shimmered with a life of its own and made her even more ethereal.

  She smoothed the gauzy material and looked up. The brilliant blue of the dress matched her eyes, making them as deep as the lake outside the shop’s windows. He couldn’t have spoken if his life depended on it. He had no breath left. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

  Jamie cleared her throat. “What do you think?”

  Tate sucked in a breath and swallowed hard, his mouth dry, but nothing stopped the raging need for her. He finally managed to speak by thinking of her wearing the dress on her wedding trip. The pain ripping through him was as bad as the unrequited desire. “The dress is beautiful, princess.” A red blush crept into her cheeks, and she lowered her head. “I think you should wear that tonight.”

  She met his eyes again and shook her head. “I don’t know, Tate.”q

  “I think it’s perfect.” Then he forced out words that cut him to the quick. “Besides, after you’re married, you and Jefferson will surely be going to some fancy-assed parties.”

  “I’m sure.” Averting her gaze to the skirt, she cleared her throat again, and her smile looked as painted on as a clown’s face. “I’ll humor you. Since it’s your credit card getting the workout.”

  Through the entire exchange between Tate and Jamie, the clerk busied herself with choosing other gowns and matching shoes for her to try on. She returned with the dresses draped over one arm and three shoe boxes. “Should we try on other gowns? You remind me of Louisa D'aubigne. You’re every bit as beautiful.”

  Jamie snapped her head around to the woman.

  The woman smiled, but it never reached her eyes. “I’m sorry. Her acting career was such a short one and you’re both probably too young to have ever heard of her. She was a friend of mine. Her parents opened the resort back in the late fifties after moving to America from France.”

  “You knew my mother?” Jamie whispered.

  Tate knew very little of Hank Raines’ late wife. Only that she had been an up-and-coming actress connected to this resort and that she’d died in a car accident only two months after Jamie was born. He’d seen photos of the woman in the ranch house, though. Hank had them sitting everywhere. And yeah, Jamie resembled her mother a great deal; except Louisa had dark hair and Jamie inherited her father’s color.

  The clerk’s eyes widened and she stepped away. One of the shoeboxes tumbled to the floor, spilling out a pair of strappy gold-colored high heels, but either she or Jamie seemed to notice. “You’re her little girl? She and I went to school together and started this shop before she went to California to pursue her acting career. It was her idea to build the shopping center, in fact. I was so heartbroken when she passed away.”

  He picked up the forgotten shoes and set the box on a fancy little table next to the clerk.

  “I never knew my mother.” Her tone pulled on his heart.

  The saleslady set the boxes she carried on the small table and rested her hand on Jamie’s bare shoulder. “I’m so sorry. My name’s Juliet Gracen. I was your mom’s maid of honor when she married that cowboy from Texas.” Juliet smiled and shook her head. “Hard to believe she’d fall for a man like him. Rough, tough and everything she wasn’t. But fall she did. She was engaged to a rich Hollywood director, in fact, but broke off the engagement when she met Henry.>

  Henry? Oh, Hank’s real name was Henry. Wow… Tate was glad he’d sat on the couch again. He had the strangest sense of déjà vu he’d ever had.

  “It’s said that the director was so angry, he had Louisa blacklisted and she never worked again. But Louisa never cared. She moved to Texas and as far as I know lived happily.” Ms Gracen shifted the dresses she held and picked a little black number off a rack.

  Jamie met his gaze, and from the shock stretching her delicate features, he knew she felt that weird sense of something working, too. “Where did my mother and father meet, Ms Gracen?”

  “Here, of course, her father invited him to the resort when he was looking for a new producer for our prime beef.” Juliet laughed and hugged the dresses to her chest. “I think Mr. D'aubigne considered that the best decision he’d ever made until his dying day.”

  “Why?” Tate had to know.

  “Because he hated the Hollywood director. Louisa and Henry met at the meeting and there was no changing the course of their fates. They were soul mates.”

  Chapter 4

  Jamie ended up trying on four other dresses—a deep green velvet number she instantly rejected, the black mini Juliet insisted she try on, a turquoise sheath dress with gold accents, and a strapless white silk mermaid gown trimmed in satin roses. She didn’t let Tate see her in the last dress and didn’t understand why she had to have it. The damned thing looked like a wedding gown—her ideal dress and everything the one hanging on her closet door in Texas was not. She had this nagging voice in her head telling her she’d need the dress and that it was perfect. When she’d wear it, she had no freaking idea.

  They left the shop and went to a small open air café, where they ordered Starbucks coffee and ice cream cones from the connected soda parlor. After they found a small empty table overlooking the marina, Jamie said, “I had no idea how Daddy and my mother met. No one ever talked about it.”

  Tate bit off the swirly top of his vanilla ice cream cone. “Me either.”

  Jamie sipped her coffee. “He doesn’t talk about her much. Only that he loved her and I remind him of her.”

  “Your grandparents aren’t living, are they?”

  She shook her head. “No. My grandfather died about six years ago and Grandma passed away about ten years ago. My mother was the youngest of seven children. Her three brothers and two of her sisters, along with a whole slew of my cousins, now run this place.”

  She licked the melting chocolate ice cream. Was her father hoping some kind of repeat of history? He may not like Robbie, but she’d chosen to marry him. Daddy should respect her decision to spend her life with him.

  Tate crunched through his waffle cone. “I’m sorry I let him talk me into this, Jamie.”

  On the deck of a small yacht docked near the edge of the marina, a couple kissed passionately as if they didn’t have a care in the world. As they pulled apart, the woman laughed and her joy stabbed Jamie’s heart. God, the woman practically glowed. Had she ever felt so happy with Robbie?

  She was sure she had. Before all the hectic wedding plans absorbed her time and dealing with her future mother-in-law concerning every decision gave her headaches. Robbie had been busy closing big deals, and many nights, he hadn’t been home. When he left last week for the trip to Las Vegas to work some deal with a group of investors, she’d packed a bag and had come home to the ranch.


  She pulled her gaze from the man and woman on the boat. Robbie should be here with her now. Not the man who had been her best friend for the past fifteen years.

  “It’s okay.” She finished off her ice cream, not tasting it, and sipped her cooling latte. “I’ve been feeling a little stressed lately. Maybe a vacation is exactly what I need. Robbie’s on a business trip this week and his mom is the kind of woman who likes to take over. She dislikes the whole idea of having the wedding at the ranch. She wanted to have some big shindig at some Dallas country club.”

  “Your dad hasn’t said much about the wedding plans.”

  She shrugged and looked at her Starbucks cup. “I haven’t told him much of the details. Norma—Robbie’s mom—and I have been batting heads. I figured I didn’t need Daddy in on that, too. Dealing with both of them would be as fun as staring down a cattle stampede.”

  He chuckled. “Sounds delightful.” Looking around, he leaned back in his chair. “You know, this place is probably the fanciest place I’ve ever been to. Hard to believe you’re connected to it.”

  “Yeah, I know. My grandparents were rich and escaped France with their fortune before World War II. After making more money running a hotel in New York, they moved here and bought this lake.”

  “Holy crap!”

  She laughed at the way his eyes bugged.

  He looked around. “The whole damned lake?”

  Smiling around her cup, she finished her latte. “Yep, and a lot of the mountain property, too.”

  He looked around again. “Does Robbie know about this place?”

  She shrugged. “Probably. Though, I don’t really talk about my mom’s family. Or their fantasy resort.” She stood and gathered their trash. “I bet he’d love it. Not because of what goes on here, but because he’d like to copy it somewhere. What time’s dinner?”

  Standing, he glanced at his watch. “I think the website said they start serving at five and it’s that time now. We still have to check in and change. What time did you want to eat?”