by Reina Torres
“Where did Ava say she was going?” She felt her cheeks heat up as she reached for the buttons down the front of his shirt.
“She said she was going to walk to Frankie’s house.” He freed one hand from his jacket before he reached down and set his messenger bag against the wall with the jacket falling on top of it. “How far is that?”
Jordan groaned and reached for his belt. “Far enough.”
Vance hesitated as she tried to pull him further in the house. He reached for her blouse, tangling his fingers with the strands of multicolored beads around her neck. “Do you think if you asked, Frankie could bring her back around dinner?”
“Maybe,” she enjoyed the tingle that was spreading through her body as she released the prong from the leather, “Frankie owes me one.”
“I like the sound of that.” The first button slipped free and the backs of his fingers brushed the swell of her breast. “But if she didn’t, I'd be happy to owe her.”
“Actually,” Jordan slipped her fingers around the back of his neck, feeling the tickle of his short-cropped hair against her palm, “she’s been trying to get me to ask you for a copy of Deadly Deal.”
He slipped another button free. “The upcoming Calloway book?”
Jordan nodded. “Remember when I introduced you? She’s a huge fan.”
Vance turned her back to the wall and nipped at the shell of her ear. “Done.”
“Then I have just one last thing to say.” She felt his hands on her hips and she tugged the tails of his shirt free of his pants.
“And what,” he leaned back to look in her eyes, “would that be?”
Reaching out a hand she grabbed the edge of the door and swung it closed with a resounding click. “Welcome home.”
Epilogue
The party was in full swing when the ballroom doors opened. Vance gave Gabe a curious look when he stopped talking to stare over his shoulder.
“You better not be checking out a woman over my shoulder,” he laughed, “I’ll tell your wife and Jordan will help her kick your ass.”
“Funny, Vance.” Gabe sighed. “Looks like you’ve got a few more guests.” He pointed at the door and Vance turned around to see that a news crew from San Francisco had arrived.
“I had a call from the news director and I was hoping they’d send someone out.”
The someone was an up and coming live reporter. Her stylish heels clicking across the hardwood floor, newscaster Cameron Andrade found her quarry with a practiced eye and cut her way through the crowd. She gave her cameraman half a minute to set up before she tapped her prey on the shoulder. “Mr. Donovan.”
Vance turned and tried not to blink into the light on the top of the camera. He’d done his share of interviews in the past, but this one was a new challenge for him. Instead of the blaring lights of a New York party, the softer, more natural lights that reached in through the ballroom windows was easier on his eyes. So, the bright light of the television camera with KWYN printed on the side, was a bit too bright for him.
“Thanks for coming to St. Helena, Cameron.”
She gave him a wink. “The chance to interview you was too tempting not to. The traffic was horrendous. Ready?” After his nod, she smoothed her clothes and gave her cameraman a smile.
He flicked a switch and the red light popped on.
Brushing back her hair and clearing her throat, the elegant reporter gave the camera a dazzling smile. “Good Evening, Wine Country, this is Cameron Andrade reporting to you from St. Helena’s vintage jewel, the Napa Grand Hotel. And standing beside me is author Vance Donovan.” She turned to face him. “Vance, thanks for taking the time to talk to us today.”
He grinned and looked from Cameron to the camera. “Happy to be here, Cameron.”
“This is quite the setting, isn’t it?” She wondered aloud. “The venue and all the exciting fashion,” she continued, “all the perfect setting for the debut of your new book series.”
Vance looked around the room at all the people celebrating at the party. Along with Gabe and the other DeLucas, the Baudouins were out in force as well. Sprinkled in amongst them were other friends that he’d met over the last year. “I think so,” he agreed, “St. Helena was part of the inspiration for the series, or rather, it was the reason why the book was finished in the first place.”
Cameron perked up at his words. “Oh?” She leaned closer, lifting the microphone toward him. “So, you’re saying that St. Helena has been an inspiration for you? Your muse, perhaps?”
He thought about the question and then shook his head. “I carry my muse inside my head all the time, and the idea for the series actually came from binge watching too many episodes of a mob documentary on cable TV. St. Helena gave me the clarity and peace I needed to put it all together. While I love this town, it was a setting and a background, but not the main driving force in my work.”
“Driving force,” she repeated, sounding out the words as if she could taste them in her mouth, “do tell.”
“New York was all I could ask for, for so many years. The excitement of the city kept me going, kept me moving forward and working on the next book. But with this new series, I was searching for something… more.”
Cameron smiled, a broad cat-like grin that said she was onto something. “And you found that something ‘more’ here.”
Vance returned her grin. “That wasn’t a question, Cameron.”
“I wasn’t asking, Vance.” She gave the camera a knowing look. “So, tell my viewers, Mister Donovan, what ‘more’ have you found here in St. Helena?”
It didn’t take long for Vance to answer. He looked across the room and crooked a finger at someone off camera. Straightening beside him, Cameron watched the crowd and grinned when she saw the two-people walking toward them.
“Who is this?”
Vance opened his arm and wrapped it around Ava in a tight half-hug. She’d changed her hair to a raven-black color with highlights of her own natural red hair. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and then smiled as she pressed a kiss on his. “This is Ava.” He adjusted his hold, making sure to avoid the fancy beaded embroidery of her dress as he opened his other arm to hold Jordan against his side. Vance let his eyes drift over her gown and smiled at the way it hugged her curves. “And this utterly gorgeous woman is my wife, Jordan.”
He loved the way he could still make her blush, her skin bloomed with color from her cheeks to the hairline. And he knew that under that body-hugging silk charmeuse and beaded trim, there were other parts of her that were flushed with color and he was looking forward to kissing all of them when they got home.
Drawing Ava and Jordan against his sides he gave Cameron a knowing look. “I came to St. Helena to finish my book, to have a new start in my career, but what I found was a new start in life and a family to share it with.”
He felt Jordan press her amazing body against his side and felt her breath against his cheek. “We’re the lucky ones. You may have come here for a change of pace, but you brought both of us back to life and closer as a family.”
Ava laughed and shook her head, brushing her newly dyed hair against the sleeve of his charcoal grey pin-striped suit. “You may write about crime and espionage, Vance,” she gave him a wink, “but you’re a warm and fuzzy family man. Admit it.”
The interview continued for a few minutes before Cameron called a wrap and moved on to interview some of the partygoers at the release party. Ava went home with Frankie and Nate to spend some time with the babies while Vance and Jordan stayed until the close of the party, dancing until the last dance, swaying together as the music piped in through the speaker system and the hired help for the event quietly cleared the edges of the ballroom.
The soft strains of an old Sinatra standard smoothed through the air-conditioned chill. “You’re cold?” Vance leaned slightly back, rubbing his palms up and down her arms, loving the feel of her skin against his.
“The air-conditioning,” she sighed, “when there was over
a hundred people in here it was perfect, but now, with just the two of us, it’s a little chilly.”
“Hmm,” he murmured and pulled her closer, “then come here, gorgeous.” He felt her relax into his arms and brushed a kiss along the shell of her ear. “You look amazing in this dress.”
He felt her wrap her arms around him and flatten her palms on his back. “And you look amazing in and out of that suit, Vance. Can we go home yet?”
“Just give me one more dance, Jordan.” He slid his hands down and brushed his fingertips over the firm curve of her backside. “This song is the perfect end to the night.” The crescendo in the instrumentals led right into the velvety tones of Sinatra’s voice.
Someday, when I'm awfully low
When the world is cold
I will feel a glow just thinking of you
And the way you look tonight
“I really owe Gabriel, you know.” He turned her in a little arc, taking in the soft lights of the ballroom and the feel of her warm embrace. “If he hadn’t brought you with him to the conference. If he hadn’t introduced us.” He turned her back around and felt her sigh in his arms. “I can’t imagine where I’d be right now.”
“You’d be in New York,” she explained trailing a hand up his back and over his shoulders. “You’d be at some amazing penthouse bar, surrounded by leggy models and talking to the New York Times book editor.”
“I’d be bored stiff, honey. And lonely as all get out. But I don’t have to worry about it anymore, do I, Mrs. Donovan?”
She pulled slightly back in his arms and pressed her lips against his. “No, you don’t, Mr. Donovan. But you will have to take me home soon so I can remind you of something.”
Her voice nearly purred in his ear and he shivered in anticipation.
“What’s that?”
“That you’re not the only one whose life changed because of that trip, and I’m just grateful you decided to write this book and get a change of pace, and give us a chance to get to know each other face to face instead of just on the phone.”
He shook his head. “I like you face to face, and all kinds of other ways.” They shared a little laugh. “I’m just glad you were willing to take a chance on me… on us.”
She slid her hand around to the back of his head, and drew him closer until she brushed her lips over his. “What’s between us isn’t about chance.”
He kissed her back. “You’re right, it has everything to do with love.”
About the Author
Love - Romance - Books - Aren't they all the same thing?
Oh, I sure hope so!
I've been reading romance books for what seems like forever. When I was a teen, the days that I wasn't in dance class after school I'd go to the mall to wait for my mom to finish work for the day and my haunt of choice... Waldenbooks. (I think I just showed my age there.)
Whether it was Scottish Lairds, Medieval Knights, Regency Gents, Rough and Tumble Cowboys, or handsome modern Heroes, I loved them all! There was always another hero and heroine to follow through page after page of breathless love!
I really hope that my readers will enjoy some of the same thrills as discover characters to love between the pages of my books.
For More Information
@rtorresauthor
ReinaTorresRomance
www.reinatorres.net
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