Dreams: A Curvy Girl Holiday Romance Collection

by J. S. Scott

  I wasn’t mad. I was touched. But bantering with Levi just seemed to come naturally. We’d been doing it for years.

  “We can’t really accuse one another of stalking, can we?”

  I slowly turned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  His eyes glimmered as he shrugged. “You tell me. Can we stalk those we care about if we’re visiting one another in dreams each night? You want me in your dreams, so I’m there. I drag you into mine. It’s always been that way.”

  I froze. Everything I’d ever suspected about my dreams was now quickly verified. We pulled each other into our dreams when we needed each other.

  “I suspected as much,” I said, flipping the kitchen light on in passing. “Want coffee?”

  “No.”

  “What do you want?”

  “No more games,” he said with too much truth in his voice. “I want you, Amy. I want you in my bed tonight, tomorrow night, and all nights after that. Always. I want to call you in the middle of the day, and drag you off to some quaint coffee shop just because I can’t wait another minute to see your face. Take you to silly-themed resorts, and make love in every room. I want your belly filled with my child. I want a house filled with our children. I want it all, and I’m not waiting anymore.”

  Wait. What? When did he decide all this?

  A slow heat crawled up my spine. Fantasies sounded more divine when they fell from Levi’s lips.

  “I can’t stand sleeping alone anymore and you can’t stand it, either. Now that we know who we were to one another in our dreams, we can’t let each other go.” He took my hand. “You give me what I need and want. Do I do the same for you?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “You give me just enough to keep me hanging on.”

  He smirked. “If you’d give me a chance, I might give you enough to keep you coming back for more.”

  “Promise to finish this time?”

  He winked and took my hand. I was doing a silent arm pump in my blasted head when I saw a flicker of change wash across Levi’s face. “I’m not about to make that promise. If I have my way, I’ll never be finished with you.”

  He was within my kissing zone now, and I could lure him to bed or let him finish saying whatever was on his mind. “I have to admit; I’m beginning to think you have something against fucking me. You always quit right before…”

  “Against fucking you? Not a chance!” He scoffed. “If anything, I want everything perfect. I want our first time to be so damn good that your real first time will never cross your mind again. Not in this lifetime or any other.”

  “That’s a tall order.” It was kind of sweet, too.

  He hugged me tighter than I’d ever been hugged before. His kiss melted my heart, but it was his words that really touched me. “Our dreams are fun. Some are hot as fuck, but tonight, it was too much to handle. If I can’t have you in the flesh, I’m not sure I can keep coming to you in your dreams. I need you beside me, Amy. I want you to fall asleep in my arms. Let me into your bed. Just say we can fucking try it.”

  “What happened to the alpha male who was going to play hard to get?”

  He pulled me closer. “Sweetheart, I can’t play hard to get with someone who has already caught me.”

  “Me, either.”

  “It’s settled then,” he answered, his stare intense. “We can start making a life in the real world as soon as possible. I’m going to make it happen.”

  “What are you up to?” I gripped his shirt as I stared into his eyes.

  He kissed my temple. “Trust me.”

  I saw my morning of passion slip away with the rising sun, but something told me to trust that Levi would make it up to me. And I couldn’t wait to find out how he planned to do it.

  MMM

  Levi

  Minutes later, her enthusiasm rapidly tapered as I backed off just a little, a move that nearly killed me.

  “You don’t want me today?” she asked uncertainly.

  “I know how this looks.”

  “Will you want me tomorrow?” She turned three shades of pink, and stuck her hand up in the air. “Wait. Don’t answer that.”

  “I’ll have you tomorrow,” I promised, already burdened by the possibility that she might turn me down flat.

  “So let me get this straight.” She returned to the kitchen and I followed her. “On second thought, let me make coffee first.” She glanced up at me. “Since I don’t have anything else to do this morning...”

  “Ouch.” That’s my girl. Sassy as ever.

  She flashed a sardonic smile and set about making coffee. I sat at her table, loving the view whenever she stood on her tiptoes to reach for something on the higher shelves.

  “Stop looking at the cow if you’re not ready for the cream.”

  “I don’t see a cow, but I’m ready for the cream, gorgeous.”

  “What you need is a good swift kick in your pompous ass.” She scooped coffee without looking up. When she finished, she turned to face me. “What’s going on in that intelligent head of yours? And I’ll warn you. This better be good. My self-esteem can’t take much more.”

  I knew all about her self-esteem, and if I had my way, she’d never doubt that she was fucking perfect ever again.

  “It will be good. I promise.”

  I’d decided just mere hours ago that there was too much history here, and too much time had passed already. We’d lost valuable hours, and plenty of years playing around in dreams we’d never understood. I was ready to move forward with Amy, and if she’d have me, we’d get married in Galveston tomorrow.

  I just hadn’t quite pulled together all my thoughts to pitch my proposal. As soon as she’d realized we weren’t spending the morning locked in fits of passion, she’d broken out into a cold sweat and accused me of being a tease, which was kind of cute. But I was damn tired of not satisfying her.

  “I have a surprise for you,” I said.

  She butted her hip against the countertop. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t know if I can stand many more of your surprises.”

  “You’ll like this one.”

  “How do you know what I’ll like?” She poured the first cup of coffee and sat down. “I don’t serve the men at my table.” She grinned. “Men in my bed are a different story.”

  “I like the sound of that,” I said, pleased to see her personality rebound. “I’ll pour my own coffee today then.”

  “And tomorrow that’ll change?” she joked.

  “By tomorrow night, yes.”

  “I don’t drink coffee at night.”

  “We’re not really talking about coffee here, Amy.”

  “What are we talking about, because I’m starting to get a little confused and the whole he cares about me, but not enough to do me, game is old?”

  After a couple of sips, I finally had a game plan. “People call me in to fix collapsing malls and bridges. I repair foundations on some of the most valuable assets in the world, some of which wouldn’t need repairs if I’d been called in at the start.” I took a breath. “I know what works and what doesn’t. We work, Amy. We have years of dreams to stand as proof.”

  “But very few hours of real-time togetherness, which is starting to make me a little nervous.”

  “Do you want me?”

  She blushed.

  “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  I took the plunge this time. “Do you care about me?”

  She rolled her eyes.

  Another yes.

  “Could you love me?” I held my breath and waited. When she looked down and picked at her robe, I wondered if I’d misread signals somewhere, but when her gaze met mine, I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “I already do,” she admitted, her eyes filling with a flood’s worth of tears. “That’s why I can’t stand these games. I feel like I’ve always loved you.”

  I got that because I felt the same damn way. If I was asked to explain myself, I couldn’t. The way I loved her defied logic.


  “Amy, I haven’t meant to play games. Not with you. We’ve had too much working against us. Your schedule and mine. That’s why if you’ll hang in there with me for another twenty-four hours, I promise you, everything will change.”

  “Why? What do you have in mind?”

  I had to tell her. “We’re getting married.”

  “We are?” She looked perplexed. “Don’t you think you should ask me about this first?”

  “You’re going to say yes when I propose. I’ve already watched how it will unfold. You’re a beautiful bride. I’m a dashing groom. We’re going to have beautiful…”

  She slowly stood and exited the room.

  Okay...

  So that didn’t go as well as I’d planned. I’d blotched up the whole engagement jitters and went straight to the finish line, and maybe Amy had wanted those jitters.

  Nah…that isn’t it.

  I knew her. I knew that she didn’t want a fussy wedding. I knew she wanted to be whisked away to get married. I knew she thought that was romantic. And I knew she never wanted the fuss of a huge ceremony or reception.

  That’s what she’d always told me.

  Oh, hell. Maybe she’d changed her mind.

  I was just about to follow her into the next room when I heard her scream, “You said to call if I had news. I’m getting married!”

  I grinned as I heard her yell to her sister with excitement on the telephone.

  I’d just take that as a ‘yes’ to our engagement, too.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Amy

  “You’ll be a beautiful bride,” Mrs. Gillette said, shaking my shoulders as she peered around to check the front of my wedding gown. “Hold your arms up. How’s that feel? Too tight? Loose?”

  “Wrong. Just wrong,” I muttered.

  “Dear, I know this is unconventional, but I also know my son. Levi wants to marry you.”

  “But my sister won’t be there. Hayden was always going to be my maid-of-honor.”

  She glanced over her shoulder before she said, “I’m not supposed to say anything, but Hayden and Jackson have been in on this from the start.”

  “They’re coming to the wedding?”

  She looked guilty of more than giving up secrets. “Promise you won’t tell Levi?”

  “He’s psychic. I might not need to tell him.”

  I knew that Levi couldn’t actually tap into someone’s thoughts, but he had an eerie ability to know what I was thinking most of the time.

  She laughed. “He’s psychic, but he can’t tap into my head.”

  “This is all so rushed.”

  Her eyes widened. “But I thought this was what you wanted.”

  “It is. I do. I’ve always wanted a small wedding without a lot of fuss. But your son kind of put all of this into overdrive. And I’m still at a slow speed.”

  She chuckled. “Levi hasn’t been one to wait for things to happen, and if he wants something, it’s full speed ahead.”

  Maybe I didn’t want my wedding to be fancy, but I did want it to feel right. And my head was spinning right now. “We still have things to do.”

  “Don’t worry another second more about it. Levi and his dad are taking care of food and beverages. You and I are on dress duty. Mac will show up with the rings. He lives in Miami, but he’s already on his way to Galveston.”

  “I wish Demi could be here. She’s been a wonderful friend to me.”

  “She’s being a wonderful friend now. She’s covering your practice.”

  “Now I see where Levi gets his optimism.”

  “And his unique ability to have an answer for everything?” She beamed. “He’s my son for sure.”

  “I wasn’t going to say that,” I said, turning to the side, and wishing I’d known I was getting married a little bit earlier. I might have skipped a few homemade rolls last week at the racquetball club.

  A serious expression washed across Mrs. Gillette’s face. “You do love my son. Don’t you?”

  “More than I could love anyone,” I confessed.

  “He used to talk about you when you were kids,” she said, a more personal note in her voice. “He tried to describe you to his father.”

  “How old was he?”

  “Ten, I think,” she said, grinning again.

  I flinched when the seamstress held up the hem. I hated my chubby ankles, and wanted to stick with the traditional length. Mrs. Gillette must’ve picked up on my desire to keep my legs hidden. She tapped the seamstress on the shoulder and shook her head.

  “He was ten?” I asked, astonished that Levi had tried to tell his parents about me when he was that young.

  I hadn’t even tried to tell anyone about him. The story was a little too bizarre to be taken seriously, and I would have never told my own parents.

  “Oh, there wasn’t much to imagine. Levi told everything back then. He’d wake up in the middle of the night, and swear that some wild little girl had chased him out of his dreams. Later, he said that you were just going through a tough time. Your mother was traveling a lot back then.”

  I swallowed back the pain of my childhood years, and tried to keep my expression neutral. It was so odd to talk with Mrs. Gillette. She knew so much about me, but I knew very little about her.

  “Levi remembers more about the dreams than I do,” I admitted, studying the bride in the mirror, still unable to grasp that the bride staring back at me was indeed…me.

  “Of course he does. He comes from a long line of psychics.”

  “Do you know why he and Jackson have the gift and you don’t?”

  “We’re pretty sure it skips a generation.”

  “So my children won’t have the psychic gene.” I hated to admit it, but I was a bit relieved, even though I’d cherish any children Levi and I had in the future, psychic or not.

  “Probably not,” she said, patting my hand. “But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s tough raising children who can predict the future. Jackson could see trouble coming from a mile away. Levi could predict everything from storms to theft around the neighborhood.”

  “That must’ve been interesting.”

  “It was a new adventure every day.”

  “He really believes I’m the one for him.” For a split second, I wanted a motherly figure in my life, someone who would cherish me enough to guide me into the future with loving advice. Hayden and I had each other, but we’d grown up together. We didn’t have someone older to turn to when we needed a voice of wisdom.

  Mrs. Gillette turned me. She kept her hands firmly on my shoulders, and for a split second, I thought she might cry as she said, “Levi is my strong one. He’s been through hell. You’ve been there with him from the start. You didn’t just watch as Levi had trials, you helped him through the difficult times. Maybe they were dreams. Maybe they were something else. But I learned to love you long before you and Levi met. I love you because you’ve been there for my son when no one else could’ve been. You never let him down. Now it’s his turn to do the same for you.” She sniffed and fanned her face. “Oh stop.” She laughed and cried at the same time. “Let’s go get our hair and nails done. We leave for Galveston at two.”

  MMM

  Levi

  I wanted to crawl into her mind, and invade Amy’s thoughts, but I knew I wouldn’t—even if I did have that ability. But dammit, I’d give my right nut to know what she was thinking at the moment.

  “Your bride and your mother went to do some last minute stuff,” Dad said, slapping my back in passing. “What do you say to a round of golf before we leave?”

  “There’s something I need to do first,” I said, shrugging on a jacket.

  “Want some company?” he asked, fidgeting.

  I hesitated. “This is something I need to do by myself, but how about I meet you in an hour. We’ll play nine holes.”

  “Sounds like a great plan. What better way to release those wedding day jitters than play a round of golf with your old man?”

&nb
sp; I wasn’t the least bit nervous. I was just anxious to get a ring on Amy’s finger before she could change her mind.

  “See you soon.” I turned to leave.

  “They’re not there, son,” Dad said, apparently wise to where I was heading. “You can go and talk to their headstones, but they’re not going to hear a word you have to say.”

  I faced him again. I didn’t need to ask how he knew what I’d planned to do. Apparently, Jackson had told him. “I need to do this.”

  “You don’t owe them anything,” Dad said. “You wouldn’t have liked Amy’s and Hayden’s mother. I didn’t. Most of us who knew her spent the better part of our days at the club running in the other direction. She was bossy, flirty, and would sleep with any man on strong legs, as long as he had a lot of assets, and could afford his club membership. She was a supermodel, and a lousy mom.”

  My eyebrows drew together as I stared at him. I never even knew that he was acquainted with Amy’s parents. “Did Mom know her?”

  “Your mother conducted herself as a lady, and always stayed with friends who were invested in their lives in their family. And Anna had other ideas. She wanted to travel the world. She needed to run.”

  “Thanks for the insight.” My goal remained unchanged. I’d never know Mr. and Mrs. Longmont, but if they were loitering around somewhere, I’d feel their presence.

  I arrived at Houston’s Memorial Gardens, and stopped by the main office before making the half-mile trek on foot. At the top of the knoll, I found them. I’d never really felt awkward about spirits until now, but instead of focusing on the weird sensation surrounding me, I focused on what really needed to be said.

  Dad was wrong. There is part of them that are still here. Maybe not completely in spirit form, but there was a little part of their energy still present.

  Clearing my throat, I silently read each of their stones before I squatted next to their final resting spots. “I want you to know, regardless of how much you hurt your daughters, they’ve turned out to be amazing women. They’re smart, beautiful, and funny, and they both have a heart the size of Texas. Maybe you don’t give a damn about what happens to them. You never did when you were alive. And I resent you for that. Probably always will. But I’m also grateful because you brought them to life so that my brother and I could find them one day.”