by Noelle Adams
“I can’t believe it worked out. I really didn’t want to move. I’m so happy here in Blacksburg. And now I get to just walk down the block to my job every day.” Jill paused to put in her order—tea and a red velvet cupcake to celebrate the job—and then she said, “Hey, you’re not looking for a new place to live, are you?”
“No. Why?”
“One of our roommates moved out, so we’ve got an empty room and are looking for someone to take it. It’s a three-bedroom loft just upstairs, and it’s really nice. And obviously a great location. You could just walk downstairs every morning.”
Carol smiled. “That would be convenient, but I’m pretty settled. I’m sure you can find someone easily.”
“Oh yeah, definitely. We just prefer to have someone we already know rather than having a stranger move in. But one of my other roommates has a friend who’s moving to the area, so we’ll probably go with him. I’d rather it be a woman, but I can’t find anyone who’s looking to move.” She sighed and shook her head. “Women tend to be neater.”
Laughing, Carol replied, “I would imagine. So how many roommates do you have?”
“There are three bedrooms, so right now it’s me and then the couple in the second room—they’ve been dating for years—and then the empty room. It’s a really great place. Are you sure you don’t want to look at it?”
Carol shook her head. She and Patrick had spent every night together for the past week—either at his place or hers—and the last thing she wanted to do was move right now.
Obviously, she didn’t want to jump the gun, but she was hoping that eventually she and Patrick might move in together.
“I’m sorry. It just wouldn’t work out right now.” She slid Jill’s card to pay for the food, and then handed it back to her.
“That’s okay,” Jill said. “It was a long shot. I’m sure this guy, whoever he is, will be fine. Are you still doing the dating thing?”
“Oh, uh, no. Something else came up.”
“Really? What’s that?”
Carol opened her mouth to reply, but as if on cue, the bell to the front door jangled and Patrick walked in, wearing jeans and a wool jacket, his ever-present computer bag slung over his shoulder.
He smiled as he saw her, striding over in her direction.
Carol started to say something when he reached her, but he slipped an arm around her and leaned into a kiss. She was flushed when she pulled away and turned to see Jill’s eyes nearly popping out of her head.
“Patrick,” Carol said, “I guess you know Jill. She said you just offered her a job.”
Patrick’s eyebrows arched. “Oh, yeah. Hey there.”
“Hi.” Jill was smiling, but her expression was different now, as if she couldn’t be fully relaxed.
For obvious reasons. Patrick was going to be her boss.
“Jill lives in an apartment upstairs,” Carol explained, leaning into Patrick, who still had his arm around her. “She comes in here for tea all the time.”
“I didn’t know that, although Carol did mention that she’d met you when you first applied. The office should be pretty convenient for you, I guess.”
“It definitely will be. I can’t wait to get started.” Jill reached over to the counter to take her cup and the paper bag with her cupcake in it. “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks then. Thanks for everything, Carol.”
Carol and Patrick both said goodbye and watched until Jill walked out the door.
Then Patrick leaned down to kiss her again.
Carol laughed against his lips. “You’re very touchy today.”
“I’ve been thinking about you all day.” Patrick leaned into another kiss, but Carol stopped him with a hand on his chest.
“You have not. When you’re working, you don’t think about anything else.”
“But I have breaks here and there during work. And those breaks were full of thoughts of you and what I’d do to you when I finally got done.”
Carol fisted her hands in the front of his jacket. “And what are you going to do?”
Patrick moved his mouth to her ear, and he told her.
***
A month later, all of them gathered at Noah and Emma’s house for dinner.
They’d eaten dinner at the big dining room table, but now they were finished and were sitting around in the living room—Nan in the recliner, Noah and Emma on one of the couches, Ginny and Ryan on the other, and Carol and Patrick squeezed into a big chair. This resulted in Carol to have to half sit on Patrick’s lap, but neither of them were complaining.
At least Patrick wasn’t. Nothing felt better to him than to have Carol’s warm, soft body pressed up against his.
He still couldn’t fully wrap his mind around how it had happened, how he’d managed to become Carol’s boyfriend.
His teenage self would never believe it.
But here he was, twenty-eight years old with a woman who was a wet dream come to life. A woman who was more loving and sweet and generous than any man could ever deserve.
A woman who was also the best cook in the world.
A woman who would never let him get away with hiding himself in work or retreating in himself where it was safe.
Emma had put together a pretty book of photographs from their honeymoon, and she was showing it off to everyone. Patrick had already seen it, so he wasn’t paying much attention. His arm was wrapped around Carol’s back, and his hand had quite accidently ended up at her hip. It was sliding down, hidden by the cushion of the chair, slowly edging toward the luscious curve of her ass.
Carol was obviously aware of what he was doing. She gave him a sidelong look.
When he laughed softly, she leaned over to press a lingering kiss against the side of his jaw.
“Hey,” Ginny objected from the other side of the room. “Keep the PDA to a minimum. We’re in mixed company here, including my grandmother.”
“Your grandmother isn’t bothered by a little canoodling,” Nan said with a smile. “I’m happy you’ve all managed to find someone special. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.”
The last sentence was obviously a quote from the Bible, as was Nan’s habit, and it reminded Patrick of an old Sunday school song they used to sing.
Carol was obviously thinking the same thing. “Isn’t that verse about God?”
Nan chuckled. “No, my dear. It most certainly is not about God, except in the most general way the whole Bible is about who God is and who he made us to be. That verse is about a man and a woman in love. The Good Book is quite a steamy read at times, you know.”
They all stared at her. Then she tittered with laughter, obviously pleased by their surprise.
“Oh my God,” Noah muttered. “Please go back to quoting from the New Testament. And maybe the Psalms. The Psalms aren’t steamy, are they?” He looked around at the others for support.
They all laughed at that, and Carol adjusted beside Patrick so she was cuddled up in the crook of his arm. His hand wouldn’t reach her butt now, but he had no objections to the way she was nestled against him.
Like she trusted him.
Like she loved him.
Like she never planned to let him go.
That was exactly right, as far as Patrick was concerned.
Now that he had her, now that he knew for sure how much better his life was with her beside him, he was never planning to let her go either.
Epilogue
Carol had only had two glasses of champagne so far, but her mind was buzzing pleasantly as she wrapped her arms around Patrick’s neck.
They were dancing at the wedding reception for Ginny and Ryan’s wedding, and she was having a very good day.
Her brother had gotten married to the only woman he’d ever loved. She was so happy for him and for Ginny, who’d waltzed through her wedding planning without the slightest trace of nerves, walked down the aisle with her characteristic confidence, and then burst into tears while she was saying her vo
ws.
“Is she still crying?” Patrick asked, his mouth very close to Carol’s ear. He didn’t like to dance, so they were basically hugging and swaying a little on the dance floor.
“Yes,” Carol replied, turning her head to get a glimpse of Ginny, who was laughing and crying at the same time as she tried to dance with Ryan. “She’s going to be so disappointed in herself for breaking down like this. She’s been bragging for weeks about having it all together.”
Patrick gave a wordless response that was mostly a grunt.
Carol continued, “She looks so happy. I guess she’ll probably forgive herself for being emotional. Although if she doesn’t stop crying soon, Ryan might lose it himself.”
Patrick grunted again.
Carol pressed herself more snugly against Patrick’s body. She’d been dating him now for three months, and it should feel normal to be with him this way. It shouldn’t still feel special, breathtaking, to know that he loved her, wanted her, didn’t even look at anyone else.
But it did.
Having Patrick Stevenson love her with all the depth and power of the heart he always tried to hide was a very heady feeling.
She wasn’t sure she’d ever really grow accustomed to it.
He was holding her tightly, but he wasn’t saying much, and that fact registered with her suddenly. She straightened up to look at his face, and he gave her a slight lip curl.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “Don’t even try that on me. You haven’t said twenty words since we got to the reception. You only get quiet and grumpy when something’s bothering you.”
His brown eyes held hers challengingly. “I’m not grumpy.”
“Yes, you are grumpy. Are you nervous about something?”
“What would I be nervous about?”
“I have no idea. But I know you, remember? And the grumpiest you’ve ever been in your life was when I was seducing you and you were trying to resist, so I’m very familiar with the signs. If something is bothering you or you’re trying to hold back on something, just get it out so it won’t bother you so much.”
“Nothing is bothering me,” he grumbled, his tone making it very clear he wasn’t telling her the truth.
“Uh-huh.” She shook her head with a little smile, wondering how anyone could be as stubborn as Patrick.
Then his expression changed. “What do you mean, you were seducing me?”
“What do you think I mean? When I finally decided it was time I get you into bed. You were trying so hard to resist that you were in a bad mood all the time.”
“I wasn’t in a bad mood. I was struggling manfully with some very overpowering lust.”
She giggled at the dry words.
“But you said you were trying to seduce me? On purpose, I mean?” Patrick went on, his eyebrows pulled together in a thoughtful look.
“Of course I was. Didn’t you know that?”
“I know you were into me, although I didn’t believe it back then. But you mean you were intentionally trying to…”
“Patrick! I can’t believe you didn’t know it. Yes, it was all an intentional scheme to get you to see me as a woman instead of just your best friend’s little sister. Emma and Ginny were in on it too, although Emma was very clear about my never calling it seduction. You really didn’t know?”
Patrick’s eyes were wide and wondering. “No! So when I came over to your apartment and you were just wearing that little robe and you were driving me wild with lust, you mean that was…”
“On purpose. Yes.” She couldn’t seem to stop laughing, and she tightened her arms around him in a hug. “I was crazy about you, and I thought you didn’t see me that way, so I decided it was time for me to do something about it.”
“Oh.” His arms had tightened around her too, and he murmured against her ear. “I can’t believe you wanted me so much.”
She felt the emotion in his body, heard it in the rasp of his voice. Her eyes burned with tears as she squeezed him. “Well, I did. I’ve wanted you all along. I didn’t know back then that you wanted me too.”
“I do,” he said against her ear. “And I’m never going to stop.”
So she cried a little bit, wrapped in his arms on the dance floor, but since the bride had been crying for the whole reception, Carol didn’t think anyone would notice if she shed a few tears herself.
***
About an hour later, it was time for Ginny to throw her bouquet. She called all the single women over, but Carol was eating a second piece of wedding cake and didn’t really want to go over.
“Come on,” Patrick said, standing up and trying to drag her out of her chair by the arm.
“They’re fine without me.” Carol took another bite. Then admitted, “I always kind of hate the bouquet-throwing thing. It feels embarrassing, like we’re all so desperate we’ll fight for a silly superstitious belief that we might get married next.”
Patrick was still trying to pull her up. “But…”
“But what?” Carol demanded. “Am I not allowed to be stubborn occasionally myself?”
“Sure you are, but…” Patrick looked strangely torn. Then his expression changed and he said, “You’re going to have to go. Ginny is waiting for you.”
Carol glanced over and saw Ginny—gorgeous and stylish in her simple white dress with her pretty bouquet of pink roses—giving Carol an impatient look from across the room.
Groaning, Carol put down her fork and stood up. “Fine,” she muttered. “I’ll do it. But you don’t have to look so pleased with yourself.”
Patrick was looking pleased. His dark eyes were laughing, although his mouth was perfectly composed as he walked with her over to the corner where the single women had gathered.
Carol was just going to stand in the back to get it over with, but Patrick maneuvered her over to one side, next to the wall, where she had a direct line to Ginny, and he stood directly behind her so she couldn’t back away.
She scowled at him. “You shouldn’t be enjoying this so much.”
“Ginny wants to do this. You should be a good sport about it.”
“You’re sounding very smug, you know,” Carol told him, turning to face Ginny.
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall,” a voice came from beside her.
Carol turned and smiled at Nan, who had squeezed in beside her. Then she turned to give Patrick a look of vindication. “See? Even the Bible agrees with me.”
“I guess you put me in my place,” Patrick said dryly, a little smile twitching on the corner of his mouth.
“Yes. I did.” She turned to Nan. “Are you going to try to catch the bouquet too?”
“Why not? I’m single, aren’t I?”
Carol giggled and would have replied, but Ginny was telling them all to get ready. Then she turned around and tossed the bouquet over her head.
It was clearly aimed right at Carol. No doubt about it.
Carol just stood there, ready to let the other women fight to catch it, but Nan got in the way, blocking anyone else from intercepting the throw.
So the bouquet ended up flying right toward Carol, and she reached up to catch it before it hit her in the face.
The room burst into cheers at that, and Ginny turned around with a victorious smile.
Carol rolled her eyes at her friend and then glanced back to where she knew Emma was sitting with Noah and Ryan. Emma was smiling at her with a strange sort of emotional intensity, and she nodded with a significant look at the bouquet Carol was holding.
Looking down at the flowers in her hand, Carol realized something was attached to it, tied on with a velvet ribbon.
The noise from the room faded into a distant buzzing as Carol stared down at a lovely emerald cut diamond on a delicately engraved gold ring. She stood motionless, not able to turn her eyes from it.
Then someone cleared his throat and reached over to take the b
ouquet from her hands. Then he carefully untied the velvet ribbon to release the ring. Then he handed the bouquet to Nan.
Carol lifted her eyes to Patrick’s face and saw his expression was full of feeling, of excitement, of love.
She gasped when he lowered himself down on one knee and extended one hand to offer her the ring.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
She was shaking helplessly as she tried to catch up with what was happening.
“Are you…” she managed to choke out. “Are you… really… asking me to…”
Patrick’s expression transformed into a brief scowl. “What the hell do you think I’m doing?”
His familiar tone made it real. She burst into a ripple of emotional laughter and tackled Patrick in a hug.
He barely kept his balance, but he managed to hug her back as the room exploded into laughter and cheers. When she finally loosened her hold on him, he was smiling as much as she was. “So was that a yes? You never actually answered.”
“And you never actually asked me the question.”
Patrick stood up. “Will you marry me, Carol Murphy?”
“Yes, I will!”
They hugged again. Then he kissed her a few times. Then he finally put the ring on her finger.
When she was able to look away from him, her eyes automatically searched the room for Ginny and then for Emma. They’d obviously both known what was going to happen, and they were both beaming and brushing away tears. Ryan was already out of his chair, coming over to give her a hug.
Patrick reached to take her hand in his, and Carol decided that this was one of those times when she didn’t need to keep her cool. She was happy. So incredibly happy.
Happy in her friends and family as much as in Patrick, who would one day be her husband.
They were—all of them—the love of her life.
***
This is the last book of the Tea for Two series, but I’m going to write a spin-off series called The Loft, about the people living in the loft apartment just about Tea for Two. The first book (about Jill, whom you met in this book) is Living with her One Night Stand, and it will be coming out in April. In the meantime, my next releases will be a novella series called One Fairy Tale Wedding. You can find an excerpt from the first story, Unguarded, on the following pages.
