Before she had a chance to speak to the woman and ask if everything was all right, Gavin wrapped Melissa in a brotherly bear hug. “I wish you every happiness, little sister.”
Tapping on his water glass with the edge of his knife, Blake drew everyone’s attention. “I’d like to make a toast.”
To her surprise, one of her brothers had ordered a bottle of champagne and the waiter had just poured them all a glass of the sparkling pink wine. All except for her and Avery. Their glasses held sparkling white grape juice.
“I’m pregnant,” Melissa said, pointing to Avery’s glass. “What’s your excuse?”
Her friend made a face. “Remember, champagne makes me sneeze.”
Melissa didn’t have time to dwell on the matter when Blake raised his glass.
“To Melissa and Shane,” he said, smiling. “May you have a long and happy life together.
Everyone raised their glass in agreement, then taking a sip of wine, settled down to dinner and conversation. As it always did, talk turned to plans for expanding the resort’s services and special promotions. Melissa tuned most of it out as she watched her family.
Apparently so did Erica and Avery. They’d been huddled together since finishing their desserts and she wondered what the two of them were up to.
All in all, the evening had gone quite well, she decided, feeling more at ease than she had in several days. It was a huge relief to have her and Shane’s relationship out in the open.
As the evening drew to a close and everyone gathered their things to leave, Erica and Avery pulled Melissa aside. “Let’s get together for lunch on Wednesday,” Avery said, her eyes twinkling.
“We want to start making plans for a baby shower,” Erica added, just as excited.
Melissa was touched by their enthusiasm and happiness for her. “I’d like that, but don’t you think it’s a bit early to start planning something like that? I’m only a couple of months along.”
“You can never start planning the perfect party too early,” Avery said, laughing.
“Besides, from everything I’ve been told, it will start getting extremely busy in a couple of months when the ski season starts,” Erica agreed. “If we get most of the details worked out now, we won’t be so rushed later on.”
Agreeing on a time for their lunch, Melissa watched her sister and future sister-in-law leave the restaurant. She loved finally having female family members. After growing up as the only girl in a house full of boys, it was definitely a welcome change.
“I think everything went pretty well tonight,” Shane said, walking up to put his arm around her. “At least, none of your brothers threatened to grab their shotguns and run me out of town.”
She laughed. “I doubt that any of them own a shotgun.” As they walked from the Sky Lounge, she added, “I’m just glad everything is out in the open and we don’t have to sneak around anymore.”
“Yeah, I’m not going to miss those midnight treks from the stables through the woods to Willow Lodge one damned bit. It’s a wonder someone hadn’t noticed and thought I was a Peeping Tom.” Waiting for the elevator, his laughter turned into a grin that held such promise it stole her breath. “From now on, I’ll just roll over and turn out the light.”
“Really?” she asked, laughing at his lascivious grin.
“Most definitely.” He leaned close to whisper, “And just in case you have any doubts about that, I intend to give you a demonstration as soon as we get back to the lodge.”
Using Lissa’s key, Shane let them into Willow Lodge, then closing and locking the door behind them, took her into his arms. He nibbled kisses from her neck up to her delicate earlobe.
“I’ve been wanting to have you all to myself all evening.” Used to being alone with her, he’d had the devil of a time keeping his hands to himself.
“The dinner party did seem to drag on, didn’t it?” She put her arms around his waist and snuggled close. “Thank you, Shane.”
He leaned back to gaze down at her. “For what?”
“For taking charge tonight when we told my family about us.” She kissed his chin. “I wasn’t quite sure how to go about it.”
“I never said I hadn’t rehearsed a few dozen different speeches before I settled on one.” He grinned. “When you’re in a room full of men who just might take your head off and shout down your neck because you got their little sister pregnant, it inspires you to think things through.”
“You did just fine,” she said, unknotting his necktie. He loved the feel of her fingers brushing his throat as she removed the silk tie.
Placing his hands on her shoulders, he turned her around. “As good as you look in this dress, I think you’ll look much better out of it.”
Slowly sliding the zipper down from her neck to her lower back, he sucked in a sharp breath. “Good thing I didn’t know earlier that you weren’t wearing a bra,” he said, kissing the back of her neck. “I’d have never made it through the evening.”
When he started to slide the black dress from her shoulders, she caught the front to her and shaking her head, stepped away from him. “Why don’t you build a fire in the fireplace while I change?”
As she walked from the room, Shane blew out a frustrated breath and slipping off his suit coat, unbuttoned and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. Building a fire hadn’t been high on the list of things he’d had planned for the evening. In fact, it hadn’t been anywhere on it. But it was something Lissa wanted, and he was finding more and more that he was willing to do whatever it took to make her happy and see her pretty smile.
A nice fire had just started crackling in the stone fireplace when the lights in the great room went out. A moment later, Lissa walked up and knelt down beside him in front of the hearth.
“I thought these might be nice to snuggle up with,” she said, setting a stack of pillows and a couple of fluffy blankets on the floor beside him.
Glancing over at her, he did a double take. She was wearing the sexiest black satin robe he had ever seen. One side of the slinky little number had slipped down over her bare shoulder and he knew as surely as he knew his own name, she didn’t have a stitch of clothes on beneath it.
“Do you want me to make some hot cocoa?” she asked before he could find his voice.
Shane swallowed hard and shook his head. The shimmering light cast by the fire seemed to bathe her in gold, and he knew for certain he had never seen her look more beautiful.
“The only thing I want is right here beside me,” he said, pulling her to him. He brushed his mouth over hers. “Do you have any idea how sexy and desirable you are?”
“I haven’t really thought about it,” she said, toying with the top button of his shirt. “I’ve been too busy thinking about how much I think you deserve a good, relaxing massage.”
His mouth went as dry as a desert in a drought. What man in his right mind would turn down having a beautiful woman run her hands over every inch of his body?
Without a word he stood up, and while she arranged the blankets and pillows on the hardwood floor in front of the fireplace, he made short work of taking off his clothes. It was only after he lay facedown on the soft blankets that she slipped the robe off. Dropping it beside him, she picked up a bottle of oil that he hadn’t noticed before. He felt her pour several drops of the warm liquid onto the middle of his back.
At the first touch of Lissa’s palms on his bare skin, Shane felt as if he had died and gone to heaven. Her gentle, soothing touch was driving him crazy and his reaction was not only completely predictable, it was immediate.
By the time she worked her way down the back of his thighs and calves, then told him to turn over, he felt as if the temperature in the room had gone up several degrees. Never in his entire life had he experienced anything as exciting and arousing as having Lissa’s hands gliding over his body.
Their eyes met and, holding his gaze with hers, she drizzled a small amount of the oil onto the middle of his abdomen. As she caressed his
shoulders and pectoral muscles, Shane ached with the need to hold her, to touch and excite her as she was doing to him.
“Enough,” he said, catching her hands in his to pull her down beside him.
Covering her mouth with his, he traced her soft lips with his tongue. He didn’t think he had ever tasted anything sweeter. When he coaxed her to open for him and the tip of her tongue touched his, he felt as if a charge of electric current coursed from the top of his head all the way to his feet.
He broke the kiss and turned her to her back. Deciding to treat her to a little of the same sweet torture she had put him through, he picked up the bottle of oil. Smoothing the slick liquid over her satiny skin, he paid special attention to her breasts and tightly puckered nipples. By the time he moved down to her flat stomach, he wasn’t certain which one of them was suffering more.
The blood rushing through his veins caused his ears to ring as he stared down at her. Her expressive blue eyes reflected the same hunger that filled him and her porcelain cheeks wore the blush of intense passion. Shane knew for certain he would remember her this way for the rest of his life.
The evidence of her desire fueled his own and the need to once again make her his was overwhelming. Using his knee to part her thighs, he settled himself over her.
“P-please,” she murmured.
“What do you want, angel?”
“You.” She reached to put her arms around him. “I want you, Shane.”
His breath lodged in his lungs as he pressed himself forward and her supple body accepted him. Closing his eyes for a moment in a desperate attempt to hang on to his rapidly slipping control, he held himself completely still. He wanted to make this last, to love her slowly and thoroughly. But when she wrapped her long legs around his hips to hold him to her, Shane knew he had lost the battle.
With his pulse pounding in his ears like a sultry jungle drum, he slowly began to rock against her. The way she met him stroke for stroke, their bodies perfectly in tune, sent a flash fire to every fiber of his being and clouded his mind to anything but the mind-blowing pleasure surrounding them.
All too quickly, he felt her body tighten around his. Her feminine muscles clung to him, driving Shane over the edge, and he felt as if he had found the other half of himself when together they found the release they both sought.
Melissa couldn’t help but smile when she snuggled against the man sleeping next to her. After they made love in front of the fireplace, he had carried her into the bedroom to make love to her again. Then, true to his word, he had rolled over and turning off the bedside lamp, pulled her close and gone to sleep.
As she studied his handsome face, she thought about how wonderful he had been at dinner. He had seemed genuinely happy when he told her family about their upcoming marriage and the baby they’d have in the spring.
Placing her hand on her still-flat stomach, she couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that she was going to be a mother. For as long as she could remember, she had hoped to one day have a precious little miracle of her own to hold and love. She reached out to touch Shane’s strong jaw with her fingertip. He had made that happen and she couldn’t help but love him for it.
Her heart skipped a beat. She had known from the beginning of their affair that she was in danger of getting in over her head. He had been clear that their involvement was temporary and she had wanted that, too. But the attraction she had felt for him was too strong, had been too immediate not to pose a serious threat to her peace of mind.
She had told herself she could control her infatuation and avoid falling in love with him as long as she kept things in perspective. She knew now that she had been lying to herself all along.
If the truth was known, she had fallen in love with him the moment they laid eyes on each other two months ago. He was the most charming, considerate man she had ever met and the longer she was around him the deeper her feelings had grown.
Her chest tightened and a tear slid down her cheek. She quickly swiped it away with the back of her hand. In the coming months, she was going to have almost everything she had always hoped for. She was going to marry the man she loved, have a home in one of the most beautiful places on earth and start the family she had always longed for.
So why couldn’t she be happy and content with that?
Melissa knew exactly what was keeping her picture-perfect fantasy from becoming reality. She wanted it all. She wanted the home, the family and the one thing she wasn’t sure Shane would ever be able to give her…his love.
Seven
“It looks like I’ll just have to take a couple of the appointments myself,” Melissa said as she and Rita went over the afternoon reservations.
“I’m so sorry, Ms. Jarrod,” Rita apologized for at least the tenth time. “I don’t know how I could have made that kind of mistake.”
“It’s all right, Rita. These kinds of things happen from time to time,” Melissa assured her. “Just look a little closer next time to make sure there’s an opening at the time requested by the guest.”
Rita was beginning to gain more confidence and improve her managerial skills, and Melissa was hopeful that would continue. She knew the woman was a single mother and needed the job to support herself and her son. She certainly didn’t want to cause Rita any more stress by having to replace her.
“Ready to go?”
Looking up, Melissa smiled at Avery as she entered the Tranquility Spa’s reception area. “Would you mind if we have lunch in the Sky Lounge today?” she asked. “I only have an hour or so before I have to be back.”
“Problems?” Avery asked.
Giving Rita an encouraging smile, Melissa shook her head. “Not really. I’m afraid there was a mix-up and we’re overbooked this afternoon. It seems all of the Jarrod Ridge guests want a spa treatment before this weekend’s dinner honoring the investors. I’m going to have to do a couple of the massages and at least one of the facials myself.”
“Wow! You are busy,” Avery said, her eyes widening. “But that actually works out better for me, too.” She grinned. “In fact, I was going to ask you if the Sky Lounge would be okay. I wanted to stop by and talk to Guy for a few minutes after we eat.”
“What about Erica?” Melissa asked, grabbing her purse. “Is she going to be able to meet us?”
Avery nodded. “I called her this morning and asked her to get a table by one of the windows and that we’d meet her in—” she looked at her watch “—oops. Five minutes ago.”
“Then I suppose we’d better get going,” Melissa said, laughing. She loved that in the past couple of months she had gained a sister and a future sister-in-law that were also quickly becoming her best friends.
A few minutes later, as they got off the elevator and entered the Sky Lounge, they immediately spotted Erica and hurried over to the table she had been saving.
“I’m sorry we’re running late,” Melissa apologized as she slid into one of the empty chairs.
“You can blame me for that,” Avery said, seating herself. “Guy was running late leaving to go to the restaurant this morning because I…that is we…I mean—”
Grinning as they watched Avery squirm, Melissa and Erica both propped one elbow on the table, cupped their chins in their hands and asked in unison, “Yes?”
“Uh, never mind.” Avery’s cheeks were pink as she shook her head and quickly picked up a menu. “I think I’m going to have the tuna melt.”
“Nice save,” Melissa said, laughing as she picked up her menu.
After they placed their order, the conversation turned to plans for the baby shower. “I won’t know for a few more months whether to decorate in pink or blue,” Melissa said, shrugging.
Erica smiled. “What are you hoping for? A boy or a girl?”
“I haven’t really given it much thought,” Melissa admitted. “But it doesn’t matter to me as long as the baby is healthy.”
“That’s all that’s important,” Avery said, nodding.
Choosing a
date in February for the shower, they discussed nursery themes and shops where Melissa should register. By the time they finished lunch and left the restaurant, she had only a few minutes to get back to the spa.
“I suppose I’ll see you both on Saturday evening at the dinner?” she asked as they got off the elevator in the lobby.
“Christian and I wouldn’t miss it,” Erica said.
“We’ll be there.” Avery grinned. “I’ll probably have a hard time keeping Guy out of the kitchen, though. You know how he is about wanting every dish to be perfect.”
“Since Guy took over managing the resort’s restaurants and brought in Louis Leclere as chef, the efficiency of the kitchen staff has improved greatly,” Melissa said.
“The new items they’ve added to the menu seem to be a big hit, too,” Erica added.
Melissa checked her watch. She had only a few minutes to make it to the first massage appointment. “I’m really sorry, but I have to run. See you on Saturday.”
As she hugged them both and headed down the hall toward the spa entrance, something Erica asked her at lunch kept running through her mind. It didn’t matter to her whether their baby was a boy or a girl. But did it matter to Shane whether they had a son or a daughter?
Like most men, he would probably prefer to have a boy. But she didn’t think he would be disappointed either way. Unfortunately, it was hard for some men to hide their feelings. She had always suspected that her father had been disappointed she was female.
Of course, she couldn’t say he had treated her brothers much better. He had driven all of his children to be overachievers and in the process alienated them from the very thing he had wanted them to embrace—Jarrod Ridge.
Shaking her head, she relegated thoughts of her late father to the back of her mind as she walked through the reception area of Tranquility Spa and prepared to go back to work. The sooner she finished for the day, the sooner she and Shane could leave for the ranch.
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