I nod and sniff. “Um…where is Max?”
His dad snorts. “The same place he and Snafu have been all day, every day, for the last three weeks—waiting for you on the beach.”
I look at the clock. 4:00 p.m. “Do you think he’s still there?”
His dad’s face creases in a wonderful smile and he nods. “May I offer you a ride?”
I shake my head. “No. I’ll take The Wombat.” I frown. “If you don’t mind an old pink and white VW bus parked in your drive.”
“Ah.” He smiles knowingly. “The one in the parking lot with the hand-drawn peace sign on the front panel?”
I smile. It feels a little strange. I haven’t smiled much lately. “That’s the one.”
“I don’t mind a bit. I like vintage automobiles.”
***
I walk through the gate in the sea grape hedge and step off the pavers onto the beach. Somewhere between Studio 6 and the Harper estate, my heart took over and I forgave Max, though I suspect I’d forgiven him halfway through his dad’s little speech. Max is sitting a little way down the dunes in a beach chair staring out to sea. Snafu is at his feet. As I approach, Snaf sees me first. He bounds towards me in a series of exultant woofs. It’s all I can do to stay on my feet when he reaches me.
I look up from Snafu’s ecstatic welcome. A solemn, slump-shouldered Max stands motionless beside the beach chair. His gaze is riveted on me. Max was right. He looks horrible...at least…as horrible as a god-among-men can look. I can’t stand the thought of him hurting for one more second. I break into a run. I can see the white of his smile as he starts toward me. I leap onto him, with a glad cry of, “Oh, Max!” My arms and legs wrap him. He catches me in a tremendous hug, staggers and then falls backward onto the sand with a grunt. Snafu bounces all around us, barking.
“I’m s-s-orry, Holi-d-day. Oh, g-g-god, I’m so…f-f-fucking s-sorry. I l-l-love you, b-babe. I-I-I’m…s-so…”
I gaze at his haggard, earnest face. “Shhh.” I stroke his cheek, rough with beard. “It’s okay. You don’t have to talk right now.” I hold a finger to his lips. “You have some ‘splaining to do, Lucy,” I say in my best Ricky Ricardo imitation. “But I’m staying right here. I love you, too, and I have no plans to leave—ever.”
His arms tighten around me until I squeak. He pulls me forward until his lips smash into mine and his mouth devours me. I decide, then and there, to spend the rest of my life kissing this man. Miss Kitty crawls out of the cave she’s been hiding in for the last three weeks and waves a small flag. When Max finally lets me up for air, I laugh in pure happiness. I understood what Max meant when he wrote I was his joy…because that’s what he is for me, too.
“So, Max…what was the ‘big question’ you meant to ask me?” I snuggle the girls onto his chest and watch his face while I wait for his answer. From his astounded expression, I’ve taken him by surprise. He swallows and sits up with me on his lap.
“H-h-oliday Jones…will…you…m-marry me?”
“You mean join the ranks of parasitic nabobs dripping in filthy lucre?”
He chuckles and nods.
“Yes!” I crow. I stand and pump my arms in the air while I twirl jubilant circles in the sand. “Yes, yes, yes.” I pause and look down at him. “On one condition. I get to keep The Wombat.”
We went back to work on my bucket list. It’s true what people say. Make-up sex is the best sex.
Epilogue
Eight years later:
Announcement from the Palm Beach Shiny Sheet:
It’s a boy! Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell Carlton Harper, III on the birth of their second child, Jonathan Davies Harper at 2:30 p.m. at the Okeechobee Holistic Birth and Health Center. Baby boy Harper weighed in at 8 lbs 2oz. and measured fourteen inches in length. Ms. Holiday Harper, Esquire—easily identified about town in her pink and white Volkswagen bus—is well-known to the Palm Beach legal community for her pro-bono and child advocacy work on behalf of Harper House, the non-profit home for single mothers established and funded by her husband Max Harper. Jonathan Davies Harper will be welcomed home by his older sister, Amelia Caroline Harper.
~~~The End~~~
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Other Books by Patricia A. Knight:
Hers to Command
For some, existence without their mate might seem like the end of their world...
...for the members of Verdantia’s Tetriarch, it would be.
Conte Camliel Aristos deTano, Ari, has long spurned the marriage forced upon him. His contractual bride, Princess Fleur Constante, the beautiful future queen though young and inexperienced, is willing to risk everything, including her own sanity, to save her planet.
The inhabitants of the sentient planet, Verdantia, are poised on the precipice of extinction following a brutal invasion by an off-world, nomadic horde. Verdantia’s capital, Sylvan Mintoth, must have its failing energy shield restored, or the planet is doomed. The Elders know the shield can draw energy from only one thing-a very arduous and grueling coupling of two specific people who were pre-chosen by the planet Herself and promised by prearranged marriage contract.
Verdantia draws strength from the duo, but the sentient planet whispers to Ari that a third is necessary ~ Ari’s aide de camp, Visconte Doral deLorion, an angelically handsome, skilled assassin who silently surrendered his heart to Ari long ago.
The trio struggles to make this surprising partnership harmonious, pushing through pride, scars of past abuse, fears of inexperience and distrust. To save Verdantia, they must overcome their individual weaknesses and realize their full potential. Only the tetriarch and their combined synergy, can harness Verdantia’s immense power to shield its citizens from invasion.
Hers to Choose
To preserve their civilization, a disillusioned warrior and a violated innocent need to put aside the trauma of their past to confront a present evil.
Mentally scarred from her years as prisoner to the off-world invaders, Lady Sophillia Glorianna DeLorion, doubts she can be a fit sexual partner for any man...
...even one whose passionate green eyes make her remember what it is to desire.
Commander of the Queen’s Royal Guard, Eric DeStroia had grown up watching the corrosive, soul-killing effects of arranged, aristocratic marriage and vowed to remain alone. But under his hardened military exterior, Eric has a kind heart. When the second Tetriarch suggests he marry a noble woman rescued from the enemy, Eric reconsiders, consoling himself with visions of sheltering a wounded dove under his mighty arm. Instead, he discovers a fierce falcon that refuses to stoop to his lure.
In the aftermath of their resounding defeat, a survi
vor from the enemy camp plotted a return to Verdantia to exact retribution. His first objective is the recapture of Lady Sophillia DeLorion. She had been unreachable until she went to the Oshtesh. Now, only Eric DeStroia stands in his way.
Hers to Cherish
Who would’ve thought a rogue nobleman and a secret agent tied in shibari knots would be so instrumental in saving a world from sexual slavery.
Ramsey desperately needs a pardon. The catch: Win a grueling and bloody gladiator game. His consolation: Elite mercenary, Steffania Rickard, has been ordered to help DeKieran ~ posing as his sexual submissive.
When Ramsey DeKieran, disgraced nobleman and accused murderer, is offered a pardon Ram knows there'd be a catch. The High Lord of Verdantia offers him a clean slate in exchange for the off-world rescue of a Verdantian noblewoman ~ a suicide mission that has already cost the lives of good men. The one redeeming feature is the assistance of the stunning captain of Verdantia’s elite mercenary team.
For Captain Steffania Rickard, assisting DeKieran in the rescue of a woman critical to the future of Verdantia will be difficult enough. The rogue trips all her triggers ~ good and bad. Infinitely worse, to fit into the culture of Vxloncia, she must pose as Ram's sex slave. The sexually dominant Ramsey is nothing if not perceptive and Steffania doubts her carefully disguised and deeply hidden desires will remain concealed.
Their mission takes on new meaning when they unmask a heinous program of enslavement, long cloaked in secrecy. Together they must find a way to overcome their initial animosity and recover a woman vital to the future of their race. Together, they would have to bring a malicious entity to justice. In the maelstrom of sex, savagery, domination and submission, Ram and Steffania will need all their wits and strength to survive.
Hers to Claim
Scornfully rejected by her desert lover and uncertain of her place in the world, Adonia travels an arduous road fraught with peril to the fabled mountain-city of Nyth Uchel. She wishes to heal their sick and dying, but in the arms of Hel—their highborn prince—Adonia finds where she wants to belong.
Noble born, a descendant of the greatest kings their planet has known, Hel willingly bears the burden of his dying city and its people on his massive shoulders—alone. But forced to watch helplessly as a dark evil attacks the very soil under his feet, he crushes his pride to summon help. He is staggered to discover the answer to saving his city and perhaps all Verdantia might lie behind a heavy fall of chocolate hair and shy brown eyes.
As their entire planet faces encroaching black death, Hel and Adonia, two seemingly disparate individuals, forge a partnership of love and sacrifice that alters their future forever. All of Verdantia will be tested.
Hers to Captivate - COMING FALL OF 2015
Freed after years as a sex slave, only a unique man could capture Angelica’s heart. She never anticipated finding two.
Captain of the starship VNV Revertar, Magellan DeLan is immediately attracted to his priority passenger, the lovely, intelligent Doctor Angelica Giverny. Mage plans a careful pursuit of the petite beauty when they arrive in port, but landfall brings the unexpected. Face-to-face with a man he once worshipped, Mage yearns to say yes when Tristan DeHelios blatantly declares his dishonorable intentions, but Mage doesn't trust his heart to withstand the fallout. This man's rejection had devastated him years before.
For Angelica, having Tristan DeHelios as her bodyguard is enticing. When he pursues her, too, her emotions seethe and tangle. How can she chose between the honorable and gorgeous starship captain and a rogue whose carnal dominance challenges and provokes her at every turn?
If the alien assassins stalking Angelica succeed, her answer will be moot.
Undertow: A compilation of short beach stories Page 34
