by Sara Orwig
She raked locks of his short hair off his forehead. “I couldn’t possibly want you more than I do. You do drive me wild. I’m exhausted. I can’t stand on my own two feet,” she remarked as her fingers traced his jaw. “You’re getting a black eye.”
“It was worth getting to slug Trace.”
She sighed. “I’ve fallen in love with a fiery, strong-willed, incredibly sexy man who has my heart completely. I’m mush with you.”
“Delicious mush,” he murmured as he nuzzled her throat. Happiness filled him to the point he couldn’t stop smiling at her. “You’re as necessary to my life now as those vineyards I love. I love you with all my being, and I want to spend a lifetime making you happy and taking care of you.”
She sighed and curled her arm around his neck to kiss him. When he raised his head, he showered light kisses on her temple.
“I worried about my temper,” he said, trying to put worries into words. “My family thinks I’m hotheaded and I guess I am. I hate to admit it, but I know where I get my hot temper.”
“You’d never vent it against someone you love. I’ll bet you’ve never lost your temper with your mother,” she said.
He shook his head. “No, I haven’t. And not with Dad or Jillian, either. Mercedes and I have had some hot arguments. Cole and I have our moments.”
“That’s sibling rivalry, I’d imagine, although I don’t know much about brother-sister relationships. I don’t think you’d ever really hurt anyone you love.”
He grinned. “In the past, Cole and I have gotten plenty physical.”
“I love it when you smile, Eli,” she said. “You don’t smile very often. You’re so earnest about life.”
“I’ve had a lot of reasons to be. I’ve had hell in my life and I’ve been to the point of giving up on everyone.”
“Not anymore,” she said, rolling over to smile at him. “You’re a good man.”
Eli inhaled deeply. “I’m the luckiest man on earth now,” he said. “I have you and that’s the best.”
“You’re ridiculous,” she exclaimed, laughing with a sparkle in her eyes.
“When can we marry? Make it as soon as possible, Lara.”
She rubbed her forehead and gazed into space. “My mother has cousins who live back east. I’ll be in law school, too, which means I’ll need more time to plan. With Spencer’s murder unsolved and everyone in a turmoil, I think we should have a small, quiet wedding. And if we’ll wait a bit, maybe they’ll have Spencer’s murder solved and that won’t be in everyone’s thoughts constantly.”
“Whatever you want, love,” Eli murmured, running his tongue in circles on her breast.
“Eli!” she gasped and caught his head to frame his face with her hands. “I can’t think about anything when you do that.”
“Is that so?” he asked, amused. “All right. You need some time to plan our wedding, so what month are we talking about? October?”
“I was thinking more like January.”
He groaned. “That’s incredibly long. How about November?” he asked as if he were bidding at auction. He played with silky locks of her hair.
“I’d like December. Then we can have a Christmas wedding,” she exclaimed with enthusiasm. “I’d like that. Now, are you going to give me a hard time about this?”
“December it is. Let’s find an apartment right away and move into it.” He gazed into her light-brown eyes and wanted her as if they hadn’t just made love for a couple of hours. “Will you?” he asked and when she nodded, he smiled. “I’m the happiest winemaker in the whole wide world.”
She laughed and nuzzled his neck. He tightened his arm around her tiny waist and relished her softness and naked body against him. “We need to tell the family and your mother. The other Ashtons can go to hell.”
Lara sat up and shook her head. “No, they can’t,” she said solemnly. “I’ve grown up with them. You may not like them, and I know there’s bitterness between you and Trace—”
“And Walker and Lilah Ashton,” he interjected, running his hands across Lara’s breasts and watching her nipples tighten. She inhaled and caught up the sheet to hold it in front of her.
“Listen to me, Eli. I’ve known them forever. Paige and Megan are fine people. So is Simon Pearce, Megan’s husband. Charlotte has been wonderful, and I like Alexandre.”
“I wasn’t talking about Charlotte and Alexandre.”
“I know. You were thinking about Trace and Walker. I want all of them at our wedding. Trace and Walker are fine people, too. They’re not like Spencer. Trace isn’t at all.”
He stared at her, seeing a stubborn tilt to her chin. “Are we having our first fight?”
“I don’t know. Are we?”
Suddenly he gave her a crooked smile. “Ask the whole rotten family if you want to. Even Trace. He won’t attend my wedding, you know.”
She hugged Eli and laughed. “He’ll attend mine. They’re not rotten. Stop letting Spencer influence your feelings,” she said suddenly, sitting up to gaze at him solemnly.
Eli played with her hair and shook his head. “I don’t think I can. But for you, I’ll give it a try.”
“I’m going to make you so happy you won’t think about Spencer or your anger at Trace. Or always being in control,” she exclaimed, leaning down to tease his nipple with her tongue.
He laughed, treasuring her softness, loving her kisses and knowing his life was changing for the better forever. He rolled her over to lie on top of her and gaze into her warm brown eyes. “From this day forward, my life will be better than ever before,” he admitted to her. “Happier, sexier, more fulfilled. How I love you! Let’s go tell our families. Maybe we’ll all go to dinner tonight and celebrate. We can ask Charlotte and Alexandre to join us.”
“That would be wonderful!” Lara exclaimed, her eyes shining.
“I want to ask the Nebraska Ashtons. We can call Russ and Abigail now.”
“I don’t know them,” Lara said.
“Russ was foreman for our vineyards. Russ’s dad was Lucas’s best friend and when he and Russ’s mother were killed—”
“Let me guess. Lucas and Caroline took Russ in.”
“Of course. Russ was my right-hand man—he was fantastic with the vineyards and I miss him like hell. Abigail was raised by Grant, who’s her uncle. I want Russ and Abigail to know about our engagement. And we have to call my younger brother, Mason, who is a winemaker and studying in France.”
“Doesn’t Grant have a nephew, too?”
“Yes and we’ll invite him to the wedding. I think he and Grant are close. I think Grant’s sister, Grace, is the one who is like Spencer. She abandoned her two kids, and eventually Grant ended up raising them.”
“Where is Grace?”
“No one knows. At least not as far as I know. Grant sure as hell doesn’t and neither does Abigail. That’s Spencer all over again. I don’t want to think about Spencer today.” He brushed a kiss across Lara’s lips. “I’ll reserve this suite for the rest of the week. For now, let’s drive into San Francisco and get you an engagement ring.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that,” he answered. “We’ll find something you like.”
Her laugh was smothered by his kiss.
Epilogue
T he last night of June, music and laughter wafted from the terrace of The Vines. Lanterns shed soft light on an engagement party that Lucas and Caroline were holding for Eli and Lara.
Eli moved out of a circle of friends and searched for Lara. He’d gotten separated from her earlier. He saw Grant talking to Charlotte and Alexandre. Eli worried about Grant, wanting the police to find the real murderer, because the press was hounding Grant and printing stories about his life in Nebraska, focusing on him as if he were Spencer’s killer.
He found Lara in a group with Franci, Anna, Jillian and Seth and two of Jillian’s friends. The women were admiring the three-carat emerald-cut engagement ring he’d bought her the very day he’d asked her
to marry him. Jack had already been tucked into bed and a sitter was with him so Anna could attend the party. For a moment Eli feasted on the sight of his fiancée who looked ravishing in a sleeveless yellow dress. She wore the necklace he had given her and no other jewelry except his ring. With his pulse racing, Eli took Lara’s arm.
“Excuse us,” he said. As soon as he pulled her aside, he placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’ve partied long enough. I want to get you to myself and make wild, passionate love with you.”
She smiled at him and stroked his arm. “Sounds super to me except we’re the guests of honor so I think we’re supposed to stay until the last of the company leaves.”
Eli groaned. “I was afraid you’d say that.”
“I’m not going to have your family think I don’t know what’s proper. Just hang on to your coattails and wait a little longer. Jillian said she and Seth are leaving soon. Mercedes and Craig Bradford have already gone. I think the party will break up in the next hour. Anna is leaving any minute now to relieve the sitter. It’ll be over soon.”
“Can I show you my etchings in my suite?” he asked, and she laughed.
“No, you can’t! Not now. Just be polite and enjoy the evening. I’m having a wonderful time, and I love your family.”
“Good. I love them, too. And your mom is a character. I’m getting to know her better.”
“Charlotte and Alexandre asked her to ride over with them. Speaking of them, did Alexandre tell you that he and Charlotte get to leave the country?”
“Alexandre told me. I’m glad, except I think it’s at Grant’s expense because all suspicion has been turned on him.”
“You’re right. The police have told Charlotte that she can go, so she and Alexandre leave in three days. The police suspected her at first because she’s the one who found Spencer’s body.”
“I’m glad she’s cleared, but I worry about Grant. I hope he’s cleared soon. I think Anna worries about him as much as our family does. Of course, she and Jack are part of our family now, anyway.”
Cole and Dixie approached. “We’re leaving,” Cole said. “Congratulations again, we’re happy for both of you. Lara, you’re going to have to be patient to put up with my brother.”
She laughed. “I think I can manage,” she said, as Eli slipped his arm around her waist.
“He’s joking,” Dixie said, giving Cole a gentle poke with her forefinger. “It’s been a great party.”
“We’ve got to find Mom and Dad,” Cole said.
Eli pointed. “There’s Dad, talking to Grant.”
Within the hour the party broke up. The only ones left were Caroline and Lucas.
“Thank you so much for the delightful party,” Lara said.
“We’re glad to have you as part of the family now,” Caroline said.
“It’s been great,” Eli said, brushing a kiss on his mother’s cheek. “Thanks, both of you.” Lucas clasped Eli on the shoulder.
“I’m happy for you and Lara,” Lucas said. He looked at Lara. “You’re a great influence on him.”
“I hope so,” she said, smiling at his parents.
“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Eli said, putting his arm around Lara’s shoulders to lead her away.
He drove to Napa and pulled into the garage of a tall, Victorian that Lara loved.
“Eli, I still can’t believe you bought this house. You were going to get an apartment.”
“Don’t you like our house?”
“I adore it. I feel like Cinderella with you.”
He laughed. “I can’t quite see myself as Prince Charming. And you as Cinderella—no.”
“I had an ordinary, routine, rather drab life until you swept me out of it.”
“That describes me and my life,” he said.
“Hardly! And this house is fantastic. More than I ever dreamed I would live in.”
“It’s great because you’re here with me,” he replied. “We can stay in my suite when we want to be at Louret. In the meantime, we have this house, and it’s close enough. We’ll find a house here in town for your mom. Lara, I meant it. Your mom can quit her job right now if she wants to.”
“I’ve talked to her about it,” Lara said as they walked beneath a trellis covered by yellow roses. They crossed the wraparound porch, and Eli unlocked the back door, holding it for Lara to enter.
“She wants to work until the wedding in December. By then we’ll have a house here for her and she can quit.”
Eli pulled Lara into his arms. A soft light burned over the counter across the kitchen from them, and she wrapped her arms around Eli’s waist, looking up at her adorable fiancé. “I love you with all my heart, Eli.”
“It’s so great. You’ve made me the happiest man on this earth,” he replied, and then his mouth covered hers, taking her answer. He leaned over her, tightening his arms around her while he kissed her.
Lara stood on tiptoe, pressing against her strong hero while her heart pounded with excitement and joy. She knew she was the happiest bride-to-be on earth. She loved Eli with all her being and knew she would all her life.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-4930-5
ESTATE AFFAIR
Copyright © 2005 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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