by Jenna Elliot
More weight lifts from my shoulders. “Thanks, Mom. You’re the best.”
And I hope with all my heart I get to hear those same words one day about myself.
41
Ace
BEFORE EMME returns from her walk, I abandon the pavilion for the hotel’s penthouse veranda. I’m tired of people right now. They’re only adding to my agitation. I’m edgy and raw and have no clue if I’ve made headway with Emme. One thing is for damned sure . . . I am not used to waiting patiently for anything. This is definitely new.
I stand on the veranda and admire the spectacular view of the Gulf. The sun’s shining brightly, but I’m shaded by a plant-covered trellis and cooled by misters. The ocean’s waves rolling on the beach below should have a calming effect.
But I struggle to master my own body right now. I prowl like a caged lion.
Until Emme walks in.
I finally stop, absorbing the sight of her with her creamy skin glowing from the sun, her eyes so bright, and everything inside me finally calms.
“Why do you love me?” she asks.
I can answer with all honesty. “You’re the only woman for me. I only want you.”
“But why? Is what you see in me enough to hold onto for a lifetime?”
I rake a hand through my hair. I’m not used to thinking about relationships lasting for anything more than business, but my answer matters. “I wouldn’t have proposed if it wasn’t.”
“Will there be other women if I get fat?”
That lightens my mood. The Emme effect, I think I’ll call it. I cover the distance between us, needing to be near her. Reaching out, I rest my hand on her stomach. Still smooth, but there’s life there. “You mean when you get fat. You’re having my baby.”
“When I’m old and wrinkled, what will you love about me?”
I expect to struggle with an answer, but just touching her soothes the beast inside me. I sink to a divan and pull her alongside of me. “You’re my light, Emme.”
She tips her head back and meets my gaze. “Your light? I don’t understand.”
And, for the first time in memory, discussing the past doesn’t feel like my organs are being ripped out. “Ever since my parents’ deaths, I’ve been dark inside. This gnawing blackness that consumes everything good. But your light is so bright, it chases away the shadows and brightens the light inside me. I didn’t think it still existed, but it does. You’ve made me see another part of myself. You’ve helped me realize I deserve more than loneliness. The past doesn’t have to define my future. That I can love . . . That won’t go away, Emme.”
Before she slips her arms around me and nestles close, I see the love in her face and know I’ve said the right thing.
I hold her, half-afraid to open my mouth and screw things up. I haven’t changed, but I’m tapping into a part of me I left behind so long ago. A part that will allow me to grow and be a husband and a father. A man Emme wants to live her life with.
“So the other girls, you won’t miss them?”
Christ almighty, let me have the right answer again. “Do you miss riding a tricycle?”
She rears back and frowns at me. “A tricycle?”
“Yeah.” I nod. “When I was a kid, I had this really cool tricycle. I loved it. Every day I’d wake up and couldn’t wait to ride it. Then one day, I got a bicycle and after that, a racing bike. I loved all my bikes, but I didn’t miss my tricycle because I had my new cool racing bike. You are my racing bike.”
“I’m your racing bike?”
I nod.
“And you’re saying you won’t miss your other bikes.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Past. Over.” I bring her hand to my mouth and press a kiss against her salty skin. “Future. Top of the line. Nothing better.”
Then Emme starts to laugh, and her laughter feeds my laughter. Suddenly, I can’t wait for a future filled with rides. Fast, frantic rides and slow, satisfying rides. Lots and lots of rides. All exciting in their own ways. All perfect because I want this woman more than I have ever wanted before. “Take a leap of faith, Emme. I promise you won’t be sorry.”
I see the light brighten her eyes, her expression, that beautiful light she shares so generously with me. And I already know her answer before she says, “I’ll marry you.”
42
Emme
ALL THE EMOTIONAL excitement must have taken its toll because the sun is setting when I open my eyes from a nap. I see Ace standing at the balcony, silhouetted against the backdrop of vibrant hues, deep pinks and slashes of vivid purple, as glorious as only a sunset over the Gulf can be. As glorious as the man showcased by so much beauty.
My fiancé.
“Make love to me, Ace. I’ve missed you so much.” I reach out my hand to him, and he turns, smiling as he takes in the sight of me stretched out leisurely on the divan.
Just how I dreamed the man I loved would look at me.
He comes and stretches out beside me, flipping me on top of him easily, until I can feel him everywhere.
“I’ve missed you,” he says.
And I kiss those welcomed words from his mouth. And he kisses me right back with an intensity that makes me glow from the inside out. Only Ace. He begins with tender nips along my lower lip, then a slow trail of smooches down my cheek. I part my lips around shallow breaths, eager to feel him everywhere.
He doesn’t disappoint. Sliding his arms around my waist, he tugs me close until my breasts crush against his chest.
There’s something to be said for pregnancy hormones. Along with the wild mood swings is an exquisite sensitivity. My body ignites to the feel of his, the memory of his hands on me.
And I want. More than I have ever wanted.
Ace does, too. I feel his erection immediately hard and ready, tapping my belly. I breathe in his scent and kiss him back, hardly able to wrap my brain around the fact he is mine. All mine.
I can’t wait to get him naked.
Reaching for the hem of his shirt, I push it up, so I can feel his warm skin. But he levers his elbows so I can’t move. Then he clasps my hands to his chest, his face alight, an incredible expression I hope to see on his handsome face more and more. Forever.
“I’m saving myself for marriage, Emme.”
I blink. Laughter twinkles in his eyes.
“Are you kidding?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “You can wait a day.”
“A day?”
“Yeah. Why wait?” He rolls out from underneath me, leaving me unceremoniously stretched out alone again while he whips out his cell phone and sends a short text.
I’m stunned, breathless, still amped up with need. “We can’t get married tomorrow. Don’t we need—”
“Not in Vegas, baby.”
I swing my legs around and sit up, thoroughly confused now. “What are you talking about?”
“The plane’s fueled and on the way with our guests.” He holds up his phone and shows me the text he just sent.
It reads: ETA?
And sure enough, the display flashes just then. Ace taps it and the reply reads: On the ground in fifty-three minutes.
“Looks like you might want to shower instead of jumping my bones.”
“What guests?” I shove at his hand, moving him so I can get to my feet.
“Our wedding guests. Friends and family.”
I must still be half asleep because I am not recovering quickly here. “Our guests are on your plane?”
“On the way.”
“But how can we have a wedding? I don’t have a dress . . .”
He waves me off. “Mia’s got it covered. She says when you went shopping, you liked a dress in the window.”
“Oh my God, Ace.” I bring my hands to my mouth, horrified. “That gown was twenty-thousand dollars. Yeah, I liked it. A lot. But not twenty-thousand dollars’ worth.”
He just laughs that laughter that filters through me and brings every tiny part of me to life. Then he places a ha
nd on my shoulder and steers me toward the bathroom. “Go, get ready. I’ve got the details under control, babe.”
One damn thing is for certain. Life with Ace will never, ever be boring.
The End
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