Her heartbeat joined with his, beating in sync, while they traced their steps. He pulled her in, then pushed her away, she kicked back and hooked her leg around his thigh. The relentless march of the beat, coupled with the exotic melody transported them out of the realm of the physical into a higher plane—where nothing existed but their two hearts. He was her universe, and in turn, she was the sum total of his existence.
Their movements transcended the sensual, their caresses and spins went well beyond foreplay, until every touch, every dip, every kick, every step, and every breath soaked their bodies and souls with the hot, gushing lifeblood of love.
Step by step, Candi followed where Troy led, up, up, up, and around. The music pulsed in her head. The party and house faded away.
Troy’s hand left hers, and he turned an antique brass door knob. The door opened into darkness, and without hesitation, Candi spun herself into the dark chamber with her lover. Click, she heard the door close, and with it, the sliver of light disappeared.
Heavy breathing, the scent of arousal, and hard muscles surrounded her. Firm and biting lips sucked on her neck, and rough fingers slid under her dress.
She arched her back, giving him more access, as she clawed his chest, unbuttoning his shirt and running her fingers over his hot, sweaty chest.
His mouth mated with hers, and they kissed, greedily, wet and hot, desperate. The tango had stirred up a hurricane of longing and desire, and they went at each other with a frenzy. She lowered his pants, and he hiked up her dress, and before she could roll her hand over his cock, he dropped to his knees, dragging his flickering tongue to the junction between her thighs.
She leaned back against the wall and lifted one leg over his shoulder, as he ripped her lace panties and laved his tongue over her throbbing and soaked pussy.
A guttural cry ripped from her throat as he circled her clit, licking and flicking with relish. In the dark, she could imagine he was anyone, but she didn’t. She focused on Troy, her man, who controlled her so skillfully.
She was beyond aroused from the sensual tango, and it was all she could do not to explode when he inserted a finger into her sex and rubbed that sensitive spot inside her.
Her thoughts and feelings took flight, like a bird soaring in the air. Sensations she’d never experienced before wove through her body and she enjoyed the ebb and flow of his movements, filling her and loving her.
A thunderous orgasm ignited, and she shot up fast and hard, as a hot and icy glow rained pleasure over her entire body. She was still tremoring and moaning, unable to keep her legs from turning into jelly, when she heard the plastic rip of a condom packet.
The next thing she knew, she’d wrapped her hands around Troy’s neck, while he grabbed her behind, lifting her against the wall.
His cock shoved into her, filling her with the deep intense passion only he could provide. Each thrust, each stroke made her core vibrate with pleasure, and she never, ever wanted him to stop. He pounded her, in and out, slamming deep, with ferocious love and need. She moaned to the rhythm of his thrusts as he brought her up, and up, higher than she’d ever been.
Panting, grunting, sweating, and pulsing, the tremors overwhelmed her, and she shattered, seeing stars behind her eyelids, as a monster climax claimed her very soul.
“Troy,” she uttered at the same time he grunted and shuddered, holding her tight through his own release.
The haunting music of the tango still pulled through her mind. It wrapped its tentacles around both their hearts and sealed their very existence, forever joined in the center of the dance.
Locked together in the embrace of love, Candi finally understood that the skeleton key was Troy—the man who discovered her secrets and vulnerabilities, but would keep his love locked away only for her.
Chapter Twenty
Max Wolff stood at the altar in front of the entire town as they gathered on this Christmas Eve to witness his marriage to Honey Myers, the woman he loved beyond measure and the mother of his children, including the little baby inside of her.
He couldn’t believe she’d kept that from him until the eleventh hour. But thanks to the deal with Candi, Honey fessed up that the baby was their “something new,” after Candi acknowledged Troy as her new boyfriend.
His parents and Honey’s mother were escorted to their seats, and his dad gave him a wink while his mother dabbed at her eyes. Despite the distance he’d created in the past few years, they’d rallied to his side and had been supportive of both him and Honey, as they healed their broken relationship and moved back to town.
“You’ve got this,” Max’s best man, Troy Caine, stood at his side as the organist started the Wedding March.
First came the flower girl, his daughter Sara, toddling along holding hands with his four-year-old son Mattie, who was the ring bearer.
He couldn’t help smiling as the congregation gushed at the cuteness of the two children. Sara stopped every few feet and threw petals wherever Mattie pointed her at, and it took them two repeats of the Wedding March for them to reach the front of the church.
When they saw him, they dropped everything, pillow with the rings and basket of petals.
“Daddy.”
“Dada.”
The two most darling munchkins in the world charged up to him, and he picked them both up, proud at that moment that he had a second chance at family.
“I’m going to do right by both of you.” All of you. He kissed them both while Troy picked up the pillow with the rings and the petal basket.
A train of bridesmaids appeared next: his twin sisters, Millie and Megan, and Honey’s sisters from New York, Amber and Ginger. They smiled shyly at him and the line of groomsmen which included his two brothers and his best friends from high school.
If he was a betting man, the Sapphire Falls Love Bug would be biting again before Valentine’s Day. Why, even Troy had been bitten badly by Honey’s maid of honor, Candi, who appeared at the opening of the heavy church doors.
Behind him, Troy sucked in a breath, and Max could feel his best man standing straighter and taller. Candi was beautiful in her sapphire blue maid of honor dress, and she walked like the ballroom dancer she was. But Max’s eyes skipped over her, and he whispered to his kids, “Mommy’s next. Look for Mommy.”
The organist hit a solemn chord, announcing the appearance of the bride. The congregation stood from their pews and craned their necks.
Max squeezed his children tight and fought to control the tears threatening to sneak from his eyes when Honey, in all her splendor, stepped forward on the arm of her father. Her face glowed, and her eyes sparkled like gold as she glided down the aisle.
She wasn’t just beautiful, she was his world, and he made a solemn vow that he would never, ever put anything ahead of her again.
Honey reached the altar and handed her bouquet to Candi. She blinked, her eyes watery and said only one word, “Max,” as she took Sara from his arms.
Together with all of their children, Max and Honey joined their free hands to say their vows and promise each other their eternal devotion.
* * *
Candi had never felt more included and welcomed than at the grand reception party in the community center. Everyone greeted her as if she were an old friend and told her they were happy she was settling in Sapphire Falls.
She looked around, in awe at how the community had come together for yet another event that included the entire town. Potluck dishes were piled on the buffet table, and a nineteen-forties style swing band played popular show tunes. The wedding cake itself was as high as a mountain, and servers ladled drinks from gigantic punch bowls.
As maid of honor and best man, she and Troy stood side by side in the receiving line, taking their time to shake hands. It seemed he was somewhat of a celebrity, the guy who’d given advice to scores of lonely women—most of whom came up to him and introduced their sweethearts, thanking him for his help.
Clichés like “coming fast and going out faster,”
“making a list,” “chalk it up to experience,” and most telling of all, the terms “forever-woman” and “forever-man” kept coming out of the mouths of those couples he’d helped.
Hmmm … Either Troy plagiarized from Dr. T, or …
Her thoughts were interrupted by her two single sisters. Amber tapped her left shoulder, and Ginger poked her right.
“Tell Honey to throw the bouquet my way,” Amber said. “I’m older.”
“But I’m the one who needs it more,” Ginger said. “No one likes redheads.”
“Are you crazy?” Amber said. “Redheads are the rage. I’m the one with the dirty blond hair.”
“But I met a guy, the one who works at the gas station.”
“I met one who works at the hardware store.”
Candi took a deep, cleansing breath. She was the oldest of all the Myers sisters, and she should be the one to get married next. “I’m grabbing it myself. Let me give you some advice.”
Both sisters closed in to hear her over the noise of the party.
“Words like wedding, engagement, catching bouquet, getting engaged, diamond, bridal registry, honeymoon should be off your vocabulary until you have a guy who actually proposes to you. Otherwise, you’ll be driving them away. How do you think a guy who just met you will feel if you wave that bouquet in front of their faces. They’ll run away faster than a bear chased by killer bees.”
“Troy hasn’t proposed to you, either,” Ginger said. “Mom says you got a cubic zirconium from Boris.”
“Whatever’s going to happen to him?” Amber asked.
“I kicked him to the curb.” Candi lifted her chin at her doubting sisters. “Max’s lawyer’s taking him to court, and it seems he’s bilked all the investors and stole money from the foundation. Without me, he’s got no world tour. He might even go to jail.”
“Wow, you black widow you,” Amber said. “Let’s split the bouquet.”
“Hey, I’m not in control of it. Honey is.” Candi pointed to Honey and Max who were getting ready to cut the cake. “Go bug her.”
“I say we stick close to Candi,” Ginger said to Amber. “Honey’s sure to toss it her way.”
“Right. That’s the plan,” Amber agreed.
After everyone had eaten and drank their fill of cake and champagne, the drummer in the band sounded his cymbals. and the emcee tapped the mike. He asked all the single men and women to congregate on the dance floor for the bouquet toss.
“The men are competing for the bouquet?” Ginger asked. “That’s not fair.”
“Don’t worry, they won’t want it,” Amber said. “Look, there goes Honey.”
Honey smiled and waved at singles gathered on the dance floor. “One of you will be as lucky as I to have found and held onto my true love.”
She beamed at Max and handed the bouquet to him.
He grinned widely and drew back, as if he were a quarterback after the snap.
Amber and Ginger broke ranks from Candi. One went deep, crashing into the band, and the other went midfield, waving off the competition.
“Over here. I’m open,” people shouted as it looked like Max was surveying the receivers, looking for one that was open.
Candi was blocked by a horde of woman waving their hands and screaming, while Ginger yelled. “Touchdown over here.”
“I’m sacking him for it,” Amber screamed as she charged Max.
Right before she tackled him, Max drilled the bouquet like a bullet, and a swarm of bodies crashed into each other, falling in a heap in the center of the floor—a real Sapphire Falls pileup.
Candi hadn’t been close. Neither were her two sisters. They came to her side, moaning and griping about how unfair it was to let the groom throw the bouquet.
“Let’s see who has it,” big TJ Bennett, the mayor said, as he lumbered to the pile and pulled people off.
The atmosphere in the room was as tense as the crowd in the stadium of the championship game, with the TV camera focusing in to see if a touchdown had been scored.
Candi lost her breath when the last man to stand from the pileup was none other than Troy Caine.
He waved the mangled bouquet over his head and zinged a sexy grin straight at her.
The crowd went crazy, chanting, “Troy, Troy, Troy, Troy, Troy,” and stomping their feet as if they were a gladiator in the stadium, but all she heard was “Dr. T, Dr. T, Dr. T.”
Her heart was telling her something, and suddenly it all made sense. Troy had fallen in love with her at first sight while inadvertently giving her the advice she needed to give him a challenge. He’d made her a winner in love, and he was definitely her hero.
Her heart leaped as at this very moment, her hero ambled toward her and dropped on his knees. He placed the bouquet in her hands, then peeled back the white ribbon, exposing a small white velvet box.
He opened the box and looked into her eyes.
Shock and excitement shot through her veins as she was faced with a flashing blue diamond. She ripped her gaze from the jewel and focused on his bluer eyes.
“Candi Myers,” he said, taking her hands. “You nabbed my heart from the first sprig of mistletoe, and you kept me on my toes on a scavenger hunt for your heart. Please be my forever-woman and marry me.”
She nodded, with happiness exploding in her heart.
“I will, Dr. T. I’d love nothing more than for you to be my forever-man.”
Epilogue
Troy sat at his kitchen table and browsed the forum where he’d once offered advice to the lovelorn. He didn’t know it at the time, but he’d needed his advice more than any of the people who wrote to him.
Of course, now, he was happily engaged to Candi Myers, and neither he, nor she, had any need for advice columns. Especially from the person who’d replaced him.
The new advice giver went by the moniker of Miss Sweet Toes, and her advice was short and snarky.
A real quack.
Troy doubted Miss Sweet Toes had a degree in anything.
An example of what she wrote to a heartbroken woman.
Dear Heartbroken,
Get off your butt and date again. If a man can’t recognize how fantastic you are, you shouldn’t spend another precious second thinking about him.
Your relationship was obviously one-sided, and you’re better off without him. Kick him to the curb and go out dancing. Tonight.
Best, Miss Sweet Toes
Another one written to a woman who wondered why her boyfriend stopped calling her.
Dear Ignored,
Change your phone number and block his email. Then go out on a date without him. You’ll never know, nor should you care, if he tried to contact you.
Ignore him and if he manages to get in touch with you, tell him you’ve moved on already.
Best, Miss Sweet Toes
Another one to a woman whose fiancé chose his cat over her.
Dear Allergic,
Be happy he chose his kitty over you. A man who truly loves you would give up his pets rather than have you wheeze yourself to death.
I once read a murder mystery where a husband and his mistress dumped cat fur on his wife’s pillow and got away with it.
Be glad you escaped being a murder victim.
Best, Miss Sweet Toes
Troy choked on his coffee and coughed, sputtering at the audacity of this woman to cause pain and suffering to those who were already heartbroken.
Maybe he should write back to the moderators and offer his mealy-mouthed, but kind and gentle advice again.
Before he could put his fingers on the keyboard, a pair of familiar hands pinched his shoulders. The scent of vanilla and cherries surrounded him, and a sweet pair of lips kissed and nipped the back of his neck.
“Dear Replaced,” she said in his ear. “The way to keep your woman happy is to stop stepping on her toes and start sucking on them. Stop reading advice forums and get back to bed. Put your gifts to use and you’ll never be lonely again. Best, Miss Sweet Toes.”
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~THE END~
Thank you for reading Candi and Troy’s story. After introducing them in Honey and Max’s story, I couldn’t help but wonder what happily ever after would be for the two of them. I hope you enjoyed the story and found it hilarious when Troy was cock-blocking himself with his well-meaning advice.
Sapphire Falls is such a fun, warm, and loving community, and I truly enjoyed writing in it. I’d like to thank Erin Nicholas for opening up her world for us. I’m sure I and my characters will be visiting again—maybe at the next festival.
If you missed Honey and Max’s Halloween story, please read an excerpt of Going Haywire, a Sapphire Falls Halloween Romance, [after Candi’s lists].
Candi’s List
Physically attractive.
Masculine and protective.
A gentleman.
Had a steady job.
Loyal and family oriented.
Awesome in bed.
Sweet and romantic.
A good listener.
Wants children.
A one-woman man. Non-negotiable.
Scavenger Hunt List
Lump of coal from the mayor’s stocking
Candy cane from Kate and Levi’s tree
Peppermint Booze soaked panties [something blue]
Nutcracker from Mrs. Caine’s collection
Skeleton key from the haunted house [something old]
Strip of photos from photo booth with Sapphire Fall’s most desirable bachelor
Santa’s boxers [something borrowed]
Healing Desires Essential Oils
German chocolate cake frosting from Mrs. Bennett’s fridge
Something new [you know what it is]
Sapphire Falls: Going Toe to Mistletoe (A Christmas Romance) (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 13
