“Yes,” Alicia said and Jake slid the ring on her finger.
“She said yes!” Dani yelled at the top of her lungs.
The crowd went wild again.
What happened after that was only a blur.
Alicia briefly remembered Dani throwing her arms around her neck for a long hug, and Alfie and Gwen doing the same. Jen was crying, Tish was cheering, Joe, Charlie, and Rick were all slapping Jake on the back. She heard Jake ask Buddy Vance to be his best man. And Zada was already complaining that she still had ten pounds of baby fat to lose before she could get into any kind of bridesmaid dress.
Through all of the madness, Alicia kept holding on to Jake’s hand, looking down at the diamond on her finger twinkling back at her, and thinking that Jake couldn’t have picked a more fitting place to ask her to marry him.
“The first thing we need to do is get my party rescheduled for next weekend,” Dani said as the three of them walked out of the stadium after the game. “Don’t either of you think for a second I’ve forgotten about my party.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jake said obediently.
“And I hope both of you will agree about something else,” Dani said. “I think we should have the wedding at the farm. Grandpa Sims would have liked that. And it doesn’t have to be a big wedding, just all of our friends and neighbors and Alfie and Gwen. And Alicia’s parents and any other family she wants to invite, of course. And I might even invite Natta, but I doubt she would come.”
Jake and Alicia looked at each other.
“And now,” Dani rambled on, “I’m really, really, really glad that our house is up for sale because I’d rather live at Alicia’s house anyway. With the pool, Katie and I can practice for the swim team whenever we want. Alicia also has the privacy fence and Kiwi can stay outside by himself.”
“Anything else?” Jake asked when she finally paused for a breath.
“Oh,” Dani said, “I’ve always wanted a brother or a sister, so if you two decide to have a baby . . .”
“No!” Jake and Alicia said at the same time.
They both looked at each other.
Alicia said, “Are you one hundred percent milk about that?”
Jake said, “Am I what?”
“One hundred percent milk,” Alicia repeated. “Absolutely certain.”
“At my age?” Jake laughed. “I’m five hundred percent milk about that.”
“You’re only thirty-eight, Jake,” Alicia said.
“Which is almost forty,” Jake said. “Why? Do you want children?”
“No,” Alicia said, smiling over at Dani. “Dani is the only daughter I’ll ever want.”
The private look she and Dani exchanged said volumes.
But when Alicia’s cell phone rang, Dani held her hand out. “I bet that’s Katie,” she said. “She was the one I was really talking to earlier when you thought I was calling Mr. Vance. I hope you don’t mind, Alicia, but I told Katie to call me on your cell phone so I could tell her what happened.”
Alicia dug into her purse and handed the phone over.
Dani grabbed it and put it to her ear, “Katie? Hold on a second.” She looked at Jake, then Alicia. “And that brings up another subject I hope you’ll both agree on. Natta turned off the service for my old cell phone, so I need a new one.”
Before either of them could answer, Dani turned around, cell phone to her ear again. “Katie? You. Are. Going. To. Freak! I’m serious, I mean everything that happened is like just the coolest cool thing ever, Katie, and . . .” Dani kept talking as she walked off ahead of them.
Jake and Alicia looked at each other.
“Welcome to parenthood,” Jake said and grinned.
They stopped in the middle of the parking lot, finally having a chance to focus on each other. Jake cupped her face in his hands, bent down, and kissed her so tenderly Alicia couldn’t imagine a kiss any sweeter than that one.
“Dad!” Dani yelled back over her shoulder. “Hurry up. Katie wants me to sleep over.”
“Dad,” Jake repeated.
He’d take that—forever.
He looked back at Alicia and said, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Alicia said, “That it’s Saturday and fantasy night? And Katie just asked Dani to sleep over?”
“Run,” Jake said.
And they did, hand in hand.
About the Author
Born on April Fool’s Day, Candy Halliday says it isn’t any wonder that she’s always preferred a little laughter with her happily ever after. Candy found her own Mr. Right on a blind date to a Halloween party. Candy—dressed as a KISS punk-rocker with her face painted Gene Simmons-style. The man brave enough to marry her—dressed more conservatively as a cowboy. Blending love and laughter in the stories she writes is a dream come true for Candy. As much as she loves writing romantic comedy, Candy also loves hearing from readers who enjoy her books. You can e-mail Candy at her website: www.CandyHalliday.com.
THE DISH
Where authors give you the inside scoop!
From the desk of Andrea Pickens
After watching all the old James Bond movies more times than I care to count, I began to think . . . why is it that the boys get to have all the fun? They always get to be the spies. Or the pirates. Swashbuckling swagger, daredevil heroics, drop-dead good looks—yes, Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom cut a fine figure with their flashing swords, but I found myself secretly wanting Keira Knightley to pick up a saber and kick some ass, too. So, I decided to turn tradition on its ear and create a trio of leading ladies capable of beating the men at their own game.
Select Young Ladies, a secret school for Hellion Heroes. I chose to set it in Regency England because that era is so richly romantic. It was a world aswirl in silks, seduction, and the intrigue of the Napoleonic Wars. A time when old ideas were constantly clashing with new radical ones. What better place for an unconventional female to test her mettle?
Siena, the star of THE SPY WORE SILK (on sale now), is given a perilous assignment: unmask a clever traitor lurking among London’s wealthiest peers before he strikes again. Her only clue is that the man she seeks belongs to an exclusive club of art collectors. And so, armed with only her wits, her blades, and her body, she journeys to a remote castle where the club’s members have gathered for a special auction. However, her prime suspect, the enigmatic Earl of Kirtland, proves a far more dangerous opponent that she ever imagined. Is she a match for his steel?
My research included a good deal of poking around Portobello Road, that delightful stretch of antique markets in the Notting Hill section of London, where one can spend hours poring over all the wonderful vintage jewelry, engravings, weaponry, and fashions of the time. And for those who wish to get a peek at the wilds of Dartmoor, check my Web site www.andreapickensonline.com for photos of the estate that inspired Marquand Castle.
Enjoy!
From the desk of Candy Halliday
The fun part in writing any series is the opportunity to reunite the characters from the previous book. That was certainly fun for me in the Housewives Fantasy Club series.
Revisiting Woodberry Park and being back together with sassy Fantasy Club members Zada, Tish, Jen, and Alicia was a reunion I didn’t want to miss. However, in the second book of the series I wanted to make sure outcast Alicia in YOUR BED OR MINE? finally got her chance at happily ever after.
So . . .THEY’RE BACK!
In the sequel DINNER FIRST, ME LATER? (on sale now) the Housewives Fantasy Club is back in session—turning up the heat and keeping life steamy in Woodberry Park. A little too hot and steamy if you ask Alicia!
How can she possibly tell her best friends and neighbors that the new hunky celebrity who moved into their quaint little cul-de-sac was once her secret fantasy crush?
No way! Alicia vows.
Her Fantasy Club pals would never let her live it down. Besides, that fantasy ended when Jake “The Rake” Sims went from respected Cubs baseball star to infamous playboy
and underwear model—NOT the type of man Alicia wants on her gotta-havehim list!
Or so Alicia didn’t think. But what would you do if your celebrity fantasy crush (and admit it, we all have one) offered you:
A. One night of passion.
B. No strings attached.
And, C. He gave you his promise no one would ever know?
Would you go for it? Or would you chicken out?
I’m not going to tell you what I would do if Matthew McConaughey made me that offer. But I do hope you will visit Woodberry Park again, or choose to meet the Housewives Fantasy Club for the first time in DINNER FIRST, ME LATER? See for yourself if Alicia fulfilled her fantasy with the new bad boy from across the street.
One thing, however, you can be assured—once the Housewives Fantasy Club calls the meeting to order the nights in Woodberry Park are always hot and steamy.
Happy reading!
www.candyhalliday.com
Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
About the Author
Dinner First, Me Later? Page 26
