by Jo Barrett
“C’mon, hon. We can’t duck out early from our own wedding. And from the biggest fund-raiser of the year. This is your big day.”
Kathleen paused and worked her bottom lip, which meant she was thinking.
“How about we just sneak out to the pool for a few minutes?” Dylan could see that Kathleen needed a break. She’d been floating around tables and talking with all the guests nonstop. As was her style, she’d spent the past few hours being a gracious hostess and more than gracious bride. She’d even read a few pages from the Tales of the Unicorn Land book to Diego—which his mother now carried in her diaper bag everywhere she went. With Diego on her lap, and since she was wearing the wedding dress, Kathleen had looked like an angel.
Dylan had never seen such a vision, and he closed his eyes and implanted the image in his brain so he would be able to recall it for the rest of his days.
Kathleen’s voice had become hoarse from too much talking. “I guess the pool will work,” she said.
Dylan guided his new bride off the dance floor. They tried to sneak out to the back doors that led to the hotel pool.
Wyatt spotted them and rushed over. “Hey! Where are you guys sneaking off to?”
Kathleen smiled at her brother-in-law. “Can’t a bride get a few moments alone with her new husband?”
“Sure, Kathleen. But I was kind of wondering what was up with Bo Harlan. I mean, I know he wrote that big check, and he’s dating Shelby Lynn, but I just don’t get it.”
Kathleen pointed at Lucinda, who was on the dance floor leading a crowd of people in the electric slide.
“I think the fine woman dancing over there in the purple dress can enlighten you.”
Dylan clapped his brother on the shoulder. “You’re never going to believe this, brother, but Lucinda beat Bo Harlan in poker. And you’ll never guess what she won…”
Wyatt broke into a wide grin. He spun around, ran to the dance floor, and picked Lucinda off her feet. She screeched with laughter and whacked him repeatedly over the head.
“Those two are a pair,” Kat said.
“Let’s get out of here before anyone else sees us,” Dylan said. He pushed open the door leading out to the pool and hustled Kat through it.
“Damn! Closed,” Dylan grumbled, as he saw the sign announcing the pool closure time at ten P.M. The entire area was pitch black, save for the pool lights underneath the water.
“Since when did the rules ever stop you?” Kathleen asked, shooting Dylan a knowing look. “I seem to recall a recent breaking and entering…”
Dylan shook his head. “You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?”
“Not until you come clean with Bo Harlan,” Kathleen said. “Besides, I think he’ll get a kick out of it. Especially when he gets to know you.”
“And why would I want to align myself with him?”
“Because you’re in the business now,” Kathleen teased. “That makes you one of them.”
Dylan chuckled and followed Kat as she led him to a small pool shack filled with lawn chairs and pool equipment. “So. Where are you taking me, 007?” Dylan asked, stepping inside the shack, which smelled like musty chlorine.
Before he knew what was happening, Kathleen had pulled up her wedding dress and was flashing him what could only be described as Commando Bride.
“Please tell me you wore panties during our ceremony,” Dylan breathed.
“Duh. I just took them off in the bathroom,” Kat said. She pointed toward a rusty lawn chair that didn’t look comfortable, in Dylan’s opinion.
“This is not how I pictured our wedding night,” he said.
Kathleen laughed. “I just took the test.”
“What test?”
“You know. The test.”
“You mean the baby-making test?” Dylan asked playfully. He knew that Kat was diligently taking her shots every day, and the ovulation tests which told her whether she was “in the zone.”
He took Kathleen’s hand and led her toward the lawn chair. She slipped the white wedding dress up over her head, threw it over the back of the chair, and lay down stark naked against the rusty chair.
Dylan felt himself getting aroused.
“A man’s gotta do what a—”
“Save it,” Kathleen instructed him, as she kicked off one of her white shoes. She was still wearing the wedding flowers in her hair, and looked like some kind of bohemian Hawaiian princess.
“My Lord, woman. You take my breath away,” Dylan said. He unzipped his pants and let them drop down to his ankles. Then he hopped over to the lawn chair and leaped on top of Kathleen, who was now in stitches with laughter.
“I’m bringing sexy back,” he said, winking at her. He put his hands on her breasts and stroked them softly until she arched her back. Then he climbed on top of her and slid himself inside.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Kathleen moaned as Dylan moved up and down inside her.
“I love you, wife,” Dylan breathed.
He didn’t need to wait for the hotel in Galveston. The one he’d booked for a special super-saver rate because that was all the money he had left. He’d have to take her on a “real” honeymoon some other time. Until then, they’d have to wait.
Dylan’s thrusts grew faster and faster, and Kathleen cried out in pleasure. She squeezed her thighs underneath him, and Dylan felt her wetness all over. He couldn’t hold it much longer so he said, “C’mon, babe. C’mon…”
Kathleen threw her head back, closed her eyes, and moaned.
Dylan thrust deep inside her and moaned along with her.
When they were both finished, they lay side by side, panting and out of breath.
Dylan kissed Kat’s fingers one by one. “I think we won’t have any problems making that baby,” he said.
Kathleen felt a strange stirring inside herself. It lasted for only a split second, but her woman’s intuition was strong. She’d never felt anything like this before.
“I hope you’re right,” she whispered. “But I guess we should get back to our wedding duties.”
“We’re staying right here. Right where we are,” Dylan said. He held tightly on to Kathleen’s small hand, and they both stared up out the glass roof of the pool shed to the stars outside.
They realized they’d both fallen asleep in each other’s arms when a loud rapping sound at the door startled them awake.
“Oh!” Kat exclaimed. “We fell asleep!”
Dylan sat up with a start and realized that his pants were still puddled around his ankles.
“Just a minute!” he shouted. The rapping at the pool shed door grew louder. He whirled around toward Kat and helped her pull the wedding dress back over her head.
“It’s Wyatt,” came a voice through the door.
“Go away,” Dylan said.
“And C. Todd. And Steve.”
“Go away, all of you,” Dylan said.
“And Einrich!” another voice boomed.
Dylan jumped up and rushed toward the door. Gripping the knob, he wrenched the door open and saw his younger brother, C. Todd Hartwell, and Steve, standing alongside the white-bearded Golden Buddha.
“We made a good well!” Wyatt shouted, raising his arms in the air like Rocky Balboa.
“More than good!” Einrich screamed.
Dylan pivoted on his heel to tell Kathleen, but she’d come up behind him and was already standing at his side.
“We did it!” Wyatt shouted. He, C. Todd Hartwell, Steve, and Einrich Von Hearn began jumping up and down, doing a little dance, as if they were football players who’d just scored a touch-down.
Dylan squeezed his wife’s hand as the tears came to his eyes.
“You did it, Colonel Drake,” she whispered.
Dylan turned and stared at his beautiful wife. He grabbed her in his arms and kissed her long and hard.
“Aw, heck, Kathleen,” he said, wiping a tear from her face. “Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while.”
Abo
ut the Author
JO BARRETT is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Georgetown Law School. Her previous novel, The Men’s Guide to the Women’s Bathroom, was optioned by CBS/Paramount Pictures with Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman’s production company attached. Her second novel, This Is How It Happened (Not a Love Story), is available in bookstores nationwide. Find out more at JoBarrettbooks.com.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Also by Jo Barrett
THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED (NOT A LOVE STORY)
THE MEN’S GUIDE TO THE WOMEN’S BATHROOM
Credits
Cover design by Mumtaz Mustafa
Cover photograph © Seth Joel/Getty Images
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DON’T LET IT BE TRUE. Copyright © 2009 by JoAnna Barrett. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition SEPTEMBER 2009 ISBN: 9780061971334
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