by Marie Force
“He’s been there for all our most important moments.”
“Just for the record, there’s no way he’s going to be in the delivery room when we have our babies.”
Laughing, Will said, “I’ll make sure he’s nowhere to be found.”
“I do have my limits where he’s concerned.”
“Speaking of limits, I thought Nolan’s head was going to explode when Hannah confronted Fred—again.”
“I know! I bet there’s some fighting going on in their house tonight.”
“I can’t say I blame him for getting worked up about it. The sight of tiny, pregnant Hannah staring down that gigantic moose gave me a heart attack. I can’t imagine how he must feel.”
“I saw Gavin ask Ella to dance, and she turned him down. Wonder what’s up with them.”
“No idea.”
“I never heard what happened when she ran out of the meeting after she heard he’d been arrested. Did you?”
“Not a word.”
“Hmm. They both looked upset tonight, so something must’ve happened.”
“I know it’s going to be really hard for you to have two full weeks without any family business to meddle in, but I don’t want to talk about Fred or Hannah or Ella or anyone other than you and me.”
“Is that so?” she asked, smiling up at him. “And what do you want to talk about?”
“This.” He kissed her. “And this.” More kisses. “And some of this.” He kissed from her ear to her throat, setting her on fire with his lips and tongue before he returned to her lips.
She ended up on his lap, her arms around him as their kisses became more urgent. “We can’t do this here.”
“What? Make out?”
“Don’t act so innocent. I know where making out leads with you.”
He ran his hand from her calf under her dress to her thigh. “Where does it lead?”
“Will . . .”
“Hmm?” He was busy making her tremble with kisses to her neck as his hand crept farther up her leg.
“It’s only two hours to Burlington. You have to wait.”
“I don’t think I can.” He cupped her, letting his fingers delve between her legs, using the silk of her panties to stimulate her.
“Will!”
“Shhh. Let me have my fun with my wife.”
“You’ll have two weeks of ‘fun.’”
He pressed and teased and caressed and kissed her senseless, making her forget all about where they were as he coaxed her to an orgasm that had her clinging to him in the aftermath.
“God, you’re so hot. I can’t wait to make love to my wife.”
She squirmed on his lap, making him gasp from the pressure of her bottom against the hard column of his erection.
He sighed, deeply. “Whose big idea was it to go to Burlington tonight?”
“I believe it was your suggestion.”
“I’m an idiot.”
“No, you’re not. If you were, I wouldn’t have married you.”
“I’m going to expire before we get to Burlington.”
“We can’t let that happen.” She tapped on his arm and got him to release her so she could move into the seat next to him.
“Where’re you going? Come back.”
“I’m right here.” She tugged on his belt, unbuckling it.
“Um, what’re you doing?”
“This.” She unbuttoned and unzipped him, freeing his erection from his pants and bending over him before he had a chance to say a word. The next thing out of his mouth was a long groan that made her smile as she sucked and stroked and licked him to an explosive release.
“Holy Christ,” he whispered.
She put him away as efficiently as she’d taken him out and then patted his chest. “What do you think of married life so far?”
“I think it most definitely agrees with me.”
Cameron laughed and snuggled up to him again, thrilled by everything about him and the life they had to look forward to together.
* * *
WHEN they arrived at the house in Burlington, Will kissed Cameron until she woke up. Holding her in his arms as she slept had given him time to reflect on their wedding day as they traveled across Vermont in the darkness. For the rest of his life, he’d never forget the way she’d looked coming toward him on the arm of her father. He wouldn’t forget how she’d never looked away from him or the smile she’d worn or the light in her amazing hazel eyes.
He’d had no doubts at all about marrying her or committing his life to her, but seeing her so certain, so unafraid of what they were about to do, had only added to the joy for him. After his first love broke his heart, he’d never expected to fall in love again, and he’d certainly never expected the kind of love he had with Cameron.
They’d gotten lucky that night in the mud with an angry moose standing between them. He had no doubt whatsoever that their meeting had been prearranged by fate, which brought together two people who might never have met without the well-intentioned meddling of his father and grandfather and a moose named Fred.
“I can’t believe I fell asleep,” she said, yawning as Will helped her from the car while the driver unloaded their bags and carried them to the door.
“You wore yourself out the last couple of weeks getting ready for today and working crazy hours before you left the office.”
“That’s true. You’ll forgive me if all I want to do is sleep for the next two weeks, right?”
“I’d never forgive you for that.”
Cameron laughed at his indignant reply. “Good thing I’m only kidding then.” She screamed with laughter when he suddenly lifted her over his shoulder and headed for the door, thanking the driver as he went.
The man laughed at their antics and wished them well.
“Put me down,” Cameron said when they were inside the house. “You left our stuff in the driveway!”
“It’ll still be there when I go back for it. Later.”
“Will!”
He kept walking and didn’t put her down until they were by the bed in the master bedroom, where he immediately went to work on the zipper to her dress.
“You’re in a rush tonight.”
“I’ve never been in more of a rush.” He pushed the dress off her shoulders and reached for it before it hit the floor. Holding out his hand to her, he said, “Step out of it.”
She held on to him and did as he directed.
He laid the priceless dress across the foot of the bed.
“Thanks for that,” she said, gesturing to the dress.
“That’s not something to leave on the floor, even if we’re in a rush.” He took a closer look at what she was wearing under it, and his mouth went dry with lust as he took in the sheer lace strapless bra that left nothing to the imagination, the barely there panties, the thigh-high hose and the three-inch heels that made her legs look endless.
She was a goddess come to life before his eyes, and that this beautiful, sexy woman belonged to him was the greatest miracle of his life. And then she smiled at him, fully aware of what she did to him, and he couldn’t wait another minute to touch her.
Cameron unbuttoned his vest and then started on the buttons to his shirt, pushing both articles off his shoulders before she tugged the T-shirt free of his pants and pulled it over his head.
“Is someone else in a rush, my love?” he asked.
“Mmm hmm.” She had his belt unbuckled and his pants around his ankles in record time. “Hurry.”
Will didn’t need to be told twice. He stripped off his boxers and unclipped her bra as her hand encircled his erection. They fell on the bed in a mess of arms and legs and lips and tongues and frantic need. He didn’t even bother removing her panties. Rather, he pushed them aside and surged into her, nearly coming from the rush of desire that overtook him.
He told himself he should go slowly. He should show her some finesse this first time as husband and wife, but finesse was no match for the powerful need she arous
ed in him. Next time, he decided, he’d show her finesse. For now, he grasped her hands, propped them over her head and took them both on a wild ride.
She met him stroke for stroke, her legs wrapped tight around his hips and her breasts pressed against his chest. Then she tugged at the grip he had on her hands. “Want to touch you.”
He released her and sighed with pleasure as her arms encircled him and her fingers burrowed into his hair. “Cameron,” he whispered in her ear, “I love you so much. I love you more than I did when I woke up this morning, and that was an awful lot.”
“Mmm,” she said, smiling as her eyes closed when he pushed into her. “Me, too.”
“Are you close, baby?”
“So close . . .”
He picked up the pace, giving her everything she needed to get there.
“Will . . . I’m . . . Oh . . . yeah.”
It took everything he had to hold off and ride the storm of her orgasm without giving in to his own. He watched her come back down from the high to realize he hadn’t gone with her. Smiling down at her, he kissed her and then turned them over so she was on top of him.
“Is this what you want?” she asked as she rolled her hips and took him straight to heaven.
“Just like that.”
She kept it up until he exploded inside her, gripping her hips so tightly there’d probably be bruises again.
He reached for her, and she came down on top of him, snuggled into his embrace as their bodies continued to twitch and pulse where they were joined. “I didn’t mean to be so rough.”
“Please don’t apologize. I love everything we do together.”
“In that case,” he said, turning them over so he was once again on top, “how do you feel about more of the same, only a little slower this time.”
“You’re not tired?”
“I figure we can sleep on the plane.”
“Have I mentioned there’s a bedroom on the plane?”
“Oh . . . There is?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, sleep is overrated anyway, especially when there’s such a good reason to stay up all night.”
“We can sleep on the beach in Fiji.”
“I do like the way you think, Mrs. Abbott.”
TEN
BACK IN BUTLER, Mary Larkin drove Patrick Murphy to the Abbotts’ home, where he was spending one more night before heading back to the city in the morning. Even though his hosts were heading in the same direction, Patrick had asked Mary to drive him.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d danced as much as she had at Will and Cameron’s wedding—and she’d danced every song with Patrick. He’d kept her laughing and entertained all evening, and she couldn’t deny that she was powerfully attracted to Cameron’s handsome, gregarious father.
But Patrick’s reputation as a playboy had preceded him to Butler, and as much as Mary would enjoy the opportunity to get to know him better, she was no fool. Theirs had been a one-night flirtation, and that’s all it would ever be.
“Are you in a rush to go right home?” Patrick asked as they headed into town.
“What did you want to do?”
“What’s there to do in these parts this time of night?”
“Not much. There’s a piano bar at the inn, but it’s only open for another hour or so.”
“That sounds good to me. I could use a nightcap after giving away my daughter.”
“That was traumatic for you, huh?”
“You have no idea.” Though the comment was said lightly, Mary sensed he wasn’t entirely kidding. Despite his easy humor, she’d caught him looking wistfully at Cameron more than once during the evening and had wondered what he was thinking at those moments.
Inside the Butler Inn, the piano bar was still open and several patrons were enjoying the music with their drinks.
Patrick followed her to a booth far enough from the piano that they could talk without having to shout.
Mary told herself that the hand he placed on her lower back didn’t mean anything. He probably did that as naturally as he drew oxygen to his lungs. Still, she sort of wished for a second that she were the type of woman who could allow herself to get carried away with such a gesture.
When they were seated, a waitress came to take their order. “Soda water with lemon,” she said because she was driving.
“I’ll have the same, but add a double shot of Ketel One to mine,” Patrick said.
“We have Grey Goose and Absolut, but no Ketel One,” the waitress replied.
Patrick sighed deeply. “Grey Goose, please.”
“Coming right up.”
“No cell service and no Ketel One. How do you people function here?”
Mary laughed at the look of utter distress on his face. “Somehow we survive.”
“I can’t imagine how.”
“You city slickers are spoiled by having everything you could want or need at your fingertips.”
“I’m definitely guilty of that.”
“That’s one of the things I love about living here. You have to make do with what you have. It makes you appreciate the simple things in life.”
The waitress arrived with their drinks, and Patrick paid with a fifty-dollar bill.
“Thank you,” Mary said.
“You’re most welcome.”
“How’s the Grey Goose?”
“It’ll do in a pinch.”
“You’re spoiled, Patrick.”
“I know,” he said with a sigh. “I wasn’t always, though. I grew up humbly and became spoiled much later. Money does that to people.”
“I’ll have to take your word for that.”
“What’s your story, sweet Mary from Vermont?”
She felt her face flush from the compliment as much as the way he looked at her. “Not much of a story. I grew up in Stowe and moved over here to the Northeast Kingdom to work on the mountain after college at UVM. I took a part-time job at the store that led to the office manager position about fifteen years ago.”
“Never been married?”
“Nope. Never even came close.”
“How’s that possible? Are all the men in Vermont blind?”
“You are a charmer, Patrick,” she said with a laugh. “I’ll give you that.”
“My daughter told me to leave you alone. She said you were too nice for the likes of me.”
“The likes of you? That doesn’t sound like her.”
“Maybe not, but it’s true. Since my wife died, I haven’t exactly been Prince Charming when it comes to women.”
“What happened to your wife?” Mary immediately regretted the question that caused a flash of pain to register in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. It’s none of my business.”
“It’s no secret that she died having Cam.”
“Oh God, Patrick. I didn’t know that. I’m so sorry for both of you.”
“Thanks.” He used the stirrer to swirl the chunk of lemon around in his drink. “Cameron wore her mother’s dress today. Surprised the hell out of me with that.”
“In a good way?”
“Yeah. It was good, but it was hard, too. She looks so much like her mother. It’s uncanny. The older she gets, the more she’s Ali all over again.” He took a sip of his drink. “Anyway, didn’t mean to get maudlin.”
“You didn’t. It was an emotional day for you.”
“Much more so than I’d expected it to be. Not sure what I thought it would be like to see her all decked out as a bride and then have to give her away . . . Whose big idea was that nonsense, anyway? Raise this little girl her whole life and then ‘give her away’ to some other guy? How is that fair?”
Mary laughed at his mini diatribe.
“In fact, I really have no right to be so indignant. I was a lousy father to her.”
“Don’t say that.”
“It’s true. I traveled a lot, left her with nannies. She was always well cared for, but I was absent much of the time. It w
as easier that way. For me, anyway. I wish I had it to do over again.”
“Would you have done it differently?”
“Oh, hell yeah. But losing Ali suddenly the way I did . . . It messed me up pretty bad. By the time I started to come out of the fog and took a look around me, Cam was ten and no longer cried when I left on business trips.” He shrugged. “I screwed up every which way, and she loves me anyhow. Go figure.”
“She’s a wonderful person, Patrick. You can certainly be proud of her.”
“I’m extremely proud of her. Everything she’s accomplished she’s done on her own. She could’ve turned into another Paris Hilton if she’d been so inclined.”
Mary shook her head. “That would never be Cam. She’s too ambitious.”
“Always was, even when she was a kid and struggling in school. She found out later she had attention deficit disorder, which made me feel like shit because I used to ride her about her lousy grades. It never occurred to me that it could be something like that. Ali would’ve been all over it, and I was oblivious. I wouldn’t have even known she had ADD, but I saw her take her meds one day and asked her what they were for. Talk about a slap to the face for dear old dad.” He seemed to snap out of his melancholy all of a sudden and shook his head. “Anyway, didn’t mean to turn this into a pity party. I never talk about this crap. What is it about you that makes me want to confess my sins to you?”
“Perhaps it’s easier with a new friend who hasn’t known you all these years.”
“Perhaps that’s it, or maybe it’s just you, and you’re sweet and easy to talk to.”
Mary had no idea how to respond to such blatant flirting. She was woefully out of practice with such things.
“Have you ever been to New York, sweet Mary from Vermont?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“You should come down sometime. See the sights, take in a show.”
“That would be fun.”
“When do you want to come?”
“Patrick . . .”
“What?”
“I thought we were talking hypothetically.”
“I wasn’t. I was actually ham-handedly inviting you to come visit me in New York. In fact, I’d love it if you came to visit me so I could show you my city.”
