Another flicked back. Her face. ‘Lonely too.’
Where are you? He wanted the answer desperately, but pride held him back from asking the question. Instead, he walked into the house and made a cup of coffee. Then he took a slice of the carrot cake Kenna made—neither he nor Rory had the skills—arranged it on the table, and snapped it.
Send.
An emoticon. Smiley face.
‘Come get it.’ He took another selfie, this time with his eyebrow raised suggestively. ‘Come get it.’
‘LOL. Half an hour.’
She must be with her family in Portland.
“Selfies, Dad?” Rory stood in the doorway.
“Yes.” He couldn’t hold back the grin.
“Ally?”
“Ally.”
“Woo!” Rory stepped into the room. “Did she call you? Is she coming back?”
“What’s going on?” Hearing the commotion, Kenna stepped into the room too.
“Dad heard from Ally.”
Two excited faces. Must be true if you’re happy you want everyone you care about to be happy too. It was cute, but having a reconciliation, a heart-to-heart with the woman he wanted to share his life with, in the presence of these two would be beyond awkward.
“Pose.” He held up the phone, snapped a picture of Rory and Kenna with their arms wrapped around each other, grinning for the shot, and sent it.
‘Aww.’ Smiley face.
‘Meet me at The Eye. Eight o’clock. For dessert.’ She sent a picture. One of her smiling, with her eyebrow raised, just as his had been.
“Kids, I’ll be out for dinner.” He grabbed keys. “Don’t wait up.”
Apart from the first night they got together, Jace had never seen her dressed up. And the jeans and T-shirts she packed for the visit to her parents didn’t fit the bill, so Ally headed into town to shop.
Dammit, she might be presently jobless, but things were looking up. She’d been vindicated, and now she was ready to embrace everything in her life. Ready to take what she wanted. Put herself out there, on the line. While looking as fabulous as possible doing it.
First stop? Hair salon, where the stylist treated her hair to a deep conditioning before arranging it in an updo, with a curl or two teased out to brush her shoulders.
She did her makeup before leaving—because if there was ever a time for eyeliner and fake eyelashes, this was it.
Second? A chic boutique where she tried on every sexy outfit in the place before settling on a royal purple dress in soft jersey that plunged in front to show off the soft swell of her breasts and clung to every single one of her curves.
She couldn’t resist a pair of silver sandals with three-inch heels, so didn’t even try.
The entire outfit got a thumbs-up from the salesgirl.
Her phone pinged with a message from Jace while she was in the changing room.
Polished black shoes.
She sent back one of her feet encased in the silver sandals.
Black boxers.
She flicked up her dress, and snapped a picture of the pale purple panties she’d just bought. Send.
He replied with a fire emoji.
With a grin, she left the changing room and paid for her purchases.
She’d prepared. She looked the part, and had even stocked up on condoms in a corner store on the way. But there was something she left to chance—how to get there.
Crazy confidence had set her on the road, but after an hour or so, a dawning realization struck. That she knew the way to Shepherd’s Crook from Portland but didn’t exactly know how to get to The Eye.
They’d sailed across a lake, but what lake? Why was there more than one goddamn lake in the locality?
She relied on her cell phone for everything. Checking websites, finding places with her GPS app, being able to call for help or directions when she needed them.
So when she finally realized she had no clue where the hell she was, and pulled her cell from her bag, her first reaction was blind panic.
She’d planned. She’d prepared. She looked better than she’d looked in her entire life.
But the dead screen—the battery she’d forgotten to charge the previous night, which had now pancaked—dashed her plans in an instant.
The sun had gone down, and every road looked the same. She was pretty sure she’d already passed this spot half an hour previously.
There were no houses, no shops, no restaurants. Nothing except empty roads edged with dark trees, their branches whipping in the rising wind.
NINETEEN
Almost ten. Jace sat out on the back deck of The Eye gazing out over the dark water. She hadn’t made contact since sending that picture of her panties, and every call since had gone straight to voicemail.
Maybe she changed her mind.
Maybe she considered her options, and made a different decision for her future.
Whatever the truth, he’d wait. Waiting was all he had.
Cleo walked around the corner to his table, just as she had every half hour since he arrived. She glanced at his cell phone. “Nothing?”
“Not yet.”
“Maybe...” She bit her bottom lip, looked at him with pity in her eyes. “Maybe she’s not coming.”
“She’s coming.” She had to come. The alternative, that he’d lost her, was impossible to contemplate.
“Okay.” Cleo brightened. “Maybe another bottle of wine, then.”
“Yes. Will you join me for a glass?”
Cleo shook her head. “I’m still on duty.” She jerked her head to the full-length glass windows, and the crowded tables inside. “I can’t abandon things for another hour or so.” She plucked the empty bottle of red from the table. “I’ll send out another.”
There was only one road around the lakeshore. It was unlit, so the only way of seeing it from his position on the deck was when the headlights of a car traveling along it pierced the velvet night. His heart had done the whole leaping in his chest thing five or six times during the evening, but for the past half hour, there had been no traffic.
Now, the lights of two cars, driving close together, flashed through the darkness. Weekend traffic. Maybe a couple of friends coming here for dinner, or going past The Eye to the holiday cottages further up the shore.
The wine waiter came out with a fresh bottle, and refilled his glass.
The headlights slowed and stopped. A figure walked from the front car to the second. Moments later, the figure walked back, climbed into the car, which then sped off.
The second car moved again, slower this time.
He was on his feet walking around the deck to the front of the restaurant as it pulled up outside. The car had seen better days, but the woman who exited it…she was totally gorgeous. Red hair was piled up on top of her head, Grecian goddess style. In the dim light cast by the restaurant’s outside light, he couldn’t make much of the details, but the dress she wore dipped low in the front, showing her beautiful curves to perfection. Her mouth turned up in a smile. “I’m here. Finally.” Her forehead creased. “I got lost. If it hadn’t been for the kindness of a stranger showing me the way, I don’t think I’d ever have got here. My cell died—”
Who cared about the details? He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. Claimed her mouth with a kiss that must show her exactly how he felt. Relieved. Overwhelmingly relieved that she was here. That they were together at last.
When they finally came up for air, he stroked her cheek. “You look beautiful.” He grasped her hand. “Come on.”
He led her around the deck to the table. The moon cast its ghostly light over the lake, reflecting silver glints in the water’s smooth surface. He edged out her chair, then once she was seated, sat himself.
“Wine.” He poured a glass. “You hungry?”
“Honestly, I’m past hunger.” She grimaced. “I’m so late, the kitchen must be closed at this stage. I’ll have to follow you on the road out of here; once I’m on a main rou
te I should be able to find my way back to Portland tonight.”
He shook his head. He’d already called Rory and told him he wouldn’t return until morning. He waved to the dock. “I have other plans.”
Her gaze tracked his to Bang Bang, tied up and ready. “We’re sailing back?”
“The boat may be rockin’, but we’re not sailing anywhere.” Sure, it was corny, but he’d gone all-out in his decoration of the yacht. The double bed below deck had been strewn with red rose petals, and every surface was covered in candles, just ready to be lit.
He looked up at Cleo’s approach. Three members of the staff walked behind her carrying the other surprise he’d arranged. “I expected you’d pass on the main course, and the invitation was for dessert.” He smiled at Cleo as she placed the first couple of dishes on the table. “I ordered everything.”
Chocolate mousse, crème caramel, cheesecake. Ally’s eyes widened as each server placed new dishes on the table.
“Everything?”
“All fifteen desserts from the menu.” Cleo refilled their glasses with a smile. “This man’s a keeper.”
“I know.” Ally’s gaze held his, and in the depths of her eyes was pure, naked emotion. A look full of promise, full of love.
The moment they were alone, he covered her hand with his. He hadn’t told her how he felt, hadn’t wanted to push when she wasn’t ready, but there was no way he would hide any longer. “The past few weeks have been hell. I don’t want to be without you for one moment longer. I love you.”
She looked at his mouth. Then back up to his eyes. “I love you too.” She stood up enough to lean all the way across the table to kiss him. “Even more than chocolate,” she breathed against his lips. “But luckily, I don’t have to choose.”
TWENTY
Six Months Later
It was a beautiful spring day. A soft breeze ruffled Ally’s hair, and set the wild grasses rustling in the wildflower-strewn Crook Island undergrowth. The sun was warm on her face as she tilted it up to Jace.
They were holding hands. Standing on the soft sand of the little beach looking out over the lake to The Eye on the far shoreline. Bang Bang, tied up to the jetty, bobbed in the swells. Theirs was a tiny group of five. Rory stood by Ben a little distance away.
“Here she comes.”
Cher, clutching a bouquet of wildflowers, walked onto the beach. She had no bridesmaids in attendance; she’d been adamant that this time around she didn’t want them. Her gaze was firmly on the man who stood before the minister watching her approach.
Emotion welled up in Ally’s chest, and she gripped Jace’s hand tighter. A year ago, she never would have believed that a couple’s love would have the power to transcend so thoroughly. That time could heal all wounds. But the evidence was right there in front of her. Ben and Cher were the living proof.
“Look at Rory,” Jace whispered.
She turned to look at the boy who had become such an integral part of her new family.
Jace had been Ben’s best man, first time around, and Ben had chosen Rory to be his best man today. He looked great in the suit they’d traveled to Portland to buy last week—just as handsome as his father, and the concentration on his face showed how seriously he took this new role.
The couple stood facing each other, smiles on their faces.
The words they spoke, the vows they gave to each other, were simple, personal, and heartfelt. The new rings replaced their old ones, just as this new commitment replaced the previous one.
One night, months ago, Cher confided that Ben had proposed on this very beach, not once, but twice. It was a special place for them; coming back here today filled the ceremony with meaning.
When the minister pronounced them husband and wife, Ally wiped away a tear, then she and Jace walked forward to congratulate their friends.
It would be a tight squeeze on the sail to The Eye for the reception. Ally and Jace let the others walk ahead.
“Do you think we can sneak away during the reception?” Jace murmured, close to her ear.
She felt her mouth stretch in a wide smile. “Behave. You almost made us late as it is.”
It wasn’t exactly his fault—he’d come into their private bathroom while she was showering, looking for his watch. The water streaming over her body, and the sight of him, so handsome in his formal suit, had set her alight, just as it always did.
She’d poured lemon scented shower gel into her palm. Smoothed it over her bare breasts. Damn well aware of the effect she was having as he stopped and stared. Watching her hand move over her stomach. To the juncture of her thighs.
She’d seen the exact moment he made the decision to join her.
It was when she arched her back, tilted her head up to the showering spray, and sighed.
“Fuck it.” He draped his tie over the towel rack. Unbuttoned his shirt, keeping his gaze glued to her the whole time. Kicked off his shoes, and stripped off his socks. Then shed the rest of his clothes, taking care to put them on the chair, rather than throwing them to the floor, as he normally would.
“Hey.” Jace’s voice jerked her back from memories of that morning to the present. “You’ve got that look again.” His mouth curved into a grin.
“That look?”
“That look.” Jace nuzzled her ear. “The remembering-sex look.”
“Maybe I was just thinking of all the things we still have to do for our wedding.” In two weeks they’d be having their own special celebration. “I’m thinking we should have chosen a low-key affair, like this one.” She’d been so busy at her new job, working as a private investigator for an insurance company in Portland, she barely had enough time to make all the preparations. Rory was reprising his role as best man. Kenna, Belle, and Ally’s niece Megan were bridesmaids, and all their relatives and friends would be there.
Jace shook his head. “Marrying you has been a long time coming. We’re having the party to end all parties. The ultimate wedding blowout. I can’t think of anything better.”
She could. The suspicion that had been confirmed before they left for Ben and Cher’s wedding ceremony this morning. Not wanting to overshadow their day, she hadn’t shared it with Jace yet. But later, when the reception was over, when they were alone at home, she’d tell him their family was due to expand—that in eight months he’d be a father again.
Heart full, she pressed a silent kiss to his lips.
“Are you coming?” Ben called from Bang Bang. “We have a reception to go to!”
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading The Fiancé Trap, I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please consider leaving a review at Amazon, even if it’s only a line or two; it would make all the difference and I’d be really grateful! I’ve loved writing about Honeytrap Inc., and I plan to write two more books set in this world. Like The Fiancé Trap, they will be standalone stories with no cliffhangers, and each story will feature Honeytrap Inc. employees.
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About the Author
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tabithalaneauthor
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The Fiancé Trap: A Honeytrap Inc. Romance Page 18
