A Limited Engagement

by Bethany Michaels

  “Hey y’all, sorry I’m late. Before I take any questions about the crappy race we ran today, what went wrong, and what I intend to do about it, I need to come clean about a couple of things.”

  Lilly’s breath caught, and she turned to Derek.

  He wrapped her hand in his. “Just watch.”

  “You all know I gave a ring to a woman I’d known all my life, but what you didn’t know was that it was all a plan I hatched in order to benefit my career and make some people back home happy. But the truth is, I got in over my head. The fib snowballed and I’m sure I’ve hurt a lot of people. The same ones I was trying to make happy. Lilly wanted to admit that it was a misunderstanding as soon as we stepped off the plane in Georgia. Because that’s the type of woman she is. Honest, trusting, caring.” He smiled at the gathered press, his eyes shining. “How could I not fall in love with a woman like that?”

  More twittering from the gathered press as they pressed closer to the table. He folded his hands in from of him on the table.

  “The reason I’m telling you all this now is to make sure everyone here and everyone back home knows this is all my fault. But this whole mess has made me realize there are a few things missing in my life.”

  Lilly saw Derek’s TV image swallow hard, and her heart ached for him.

  “Racing’s been my life since I was eight years old. Maybe earlier. Saturday-night dirt tracks, the smell of racing fuel, the sound of the motor when I punched the ignition. Racing is in my blood, in my heart. But so is an amazing woman I was stupid enough to let go without a fight.

  “To that end, I’d like to announce that Stewart-Sawyer Racing will now be Stewart-Thomas Racing. I will still drive the car, but the Sawyer half of the team and the day-to-day operations will go to Miss Serena Thomas. She’s smart and capable, and I have no doubt the team will thrive under her leadership. She’s going to take it from here. I have somewhere I need to be.”

  The room exploded as a hundred reporters started talking at once. Camera bulbs flashed.

  Someone called out, “Good luck, Derek!”

  “Thanks. I’ll need it.” He got up from the interview table and left the room at a jog.

  Derek muted the TV and turned to Lilly. She was stunned and had no idea what to say or where to start.

  “You gave up owning the team.”

  “Yes.”

  “To Serena.”

  “She’s an excellent businessperson. She’s gonna whip the boys into shape, for sure. Maybe we’ll even win a few races.”

  “But buying out your father, owning the team—that was your dream. It always has been. It was the whole reason this thing between us happened.”

  “Not anymore. You’re my dream now.”

  “No, I can’t ask you to give up everything you’ve worked for, and—”

  “And it’s done. And I’ve never felt more confident about a decision in my life. Other than when I asked you to wear this ring.”

  Derek pulled the Tiffany’s box out of his pocket. The box Lilly had mailed back to him because it broke her heart to look at it sitting on her dresser another day.

  “Lilly, I know I’ve royally messed things up. And I know you deserve a guy a hundred times better than me. I know we have a lot of things to hash out to make this all work. But I won’t have all the ownership responsibilities, and I’ve made it clear to Serena that I’m cutting back on appearances and commercials, too. I figure I can race full time for another five years or so, then go to part time if we’re ready to start a family by then.”

  Lilly stared at him. No words came to her mind. None at all. Her heart was beating a million times a minute, though. The whole world seemed to have tipped sideways, like she was living in some kind of alternate reality. “That sounds suspiciously like a five-year plan. You hate those. You’ve always given me crap about planning out things in advance.”

  “We can live here, in Penny Ridge, or wherever makes you happy. Doesn’t matter to me. Wherever you are is home.”

  She simply gaped at him, completely speechless, as he searched her face with his gaze.

  He grinned at her, squeezing her hand. “Nothing? Really? Not even a ‘go to hell’?”

  Lilly swallowed. “You’ve thought all of this through.”

  “It was the longest two-hour flight of my life.” Derek took the ring out of the box.

  Lilly looked down at it sparkling in the light. “Oh boy.”

  He placed the ring on her finger. “There. That’s where it belongs, don’t you think?” He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her body against his, and kissed her temple. “I’m gonna need an answer, Lil. You’re scaring me here.”

  The warmth of him, his scent, the memories of how she felt when she was with him. All of it came rushing back. Suddenly the whole world shifted back on its axis and everything just felt right.

  This was right. He was right. And tomorrow? That would be all right, too.

  He pressed soft nibbling kisses along her cheek, making a path to her earlobe. “Maybe the five-year plan isn’t such a bad thing. What do you say?” he whispered in her ear. “Will you take a chance on me?” He bit her earlobe gently, sending shivers of pleasure racing through her body. Oh yeah, she’d missed him these last weeks.

  “I think you’re employing some unfair tactics here, don’t you?”

  “I’ll do anything I have to do to get you to wear my ring again.” He pulled back and met her gaze. “For real this time. No bullshit. Complete honesty. And nakedness. Lots of nakedness.”

  Lilly couldn’t keep a straight face, and she took his face in her hands. “I missed you,” she said, pressing a kiss to his lips.

  “I missed you like crazy. It felt like somebody had stabbed a tire iron through my chest and had my heart on a skewer. But as it turns out, all it did was move to Seattle.”

  He kissed her then, slow and deep. A promise stronger than words or actions or even her perfect engagement ring. Lilly knew it was the real thing. Derek was the real thing.

  Lightning crashed, and rain began to pelt the windows.

  Derek lifted his head and rested his forehead against Lilly’s. “Doesn’t it ever stop raining here?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “But rainy nights are great for some things.”

  He scooped her up before she could even take a breath. “Hell, yeah,” he said, and headed straight to her bedroom.

  He tossed her on the bed, stripped off his jacket and shoes, and followed her down. He kissed her and then lay just holding her, listening to rain hitting the windows. “I think I’m going to like the rain.”

  “Me, too,” she whispered, stroking his cheek. “Me, too.”

  Epilogue

  “I told you a fall wedding would be awesome,” Derek said, loosening his bow tie. He tossed it, along with the matching powder-blue tux jacket he’d borrowed from his new father-in-law, on the chair and went to work on the million or so tiny mother-of-pearl buttons on his shirt. “And you wanted to elope.”

  Lilly had been up since the crack of dawn and still was the most beautiful woman in the world, though she was beginning to wilt a little around the edges. Her gown might have come off the rack from the Bridal Barn, fulfilling her promise to Mrs. Grossman not to shop for her wedding gown anywhere else, but on Lilly it looked like it had been slaved over by a gaggle of Paris fashion designers. He couldn’t wait to see what it looked like in a heap on the floor when he finally liberated her from it.

  “No, you wanted to fly to Vegas and get married under the neon lights of an all-night chapel. That’s an elopement. I wanted a destination wedding somewhere with palm trees and white sand beaches. Totally different.” She kicked off her shoes and sank into the overstuffed chair with a relieved sigh.

  Derek gazed at the woman he loved and noticed the faint circles under her eyes. The wedding planning had been pretty intense, though she’d had the whole town to help her. He’d been there as much as he could during the season, glad he didn’t have to deal w
ith all the paperwork and administrative part of running a race team anymore. All he had to do was drive.

  He went to his knees in front of her and began to massage the arch of her right foot, being sure to hit the exact spot that always made her melt.

  “Your mama’s house wasn’t destination enough? I didn’t know we could stuff so many people into one backyard.” They could have gone anywhere in the world, but in the end, Derek and Lilly decided that being at home, surrounded by the people who had known them both since birth when they said their vows, was what they really wanted.

  Besides, there was the honeymoon to look forward to. Lilly thought they were flying to Miami in the morning, but Derek had rented a private island off the Keys with enough white sand and palm trees to choke a cow. He was looking forward to frolicking in the crystal blue waters completely in the buff, with only his wife for company.

  Wife.

  He never thought he’d be so glad to use that word. And when he thought about how close he’d come to wrecking the whole thing… Well, it scared the hell out of him, still. He suspected Lilly would always scare the hell out of him. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

  Derek glanced up at Lilly. Her eyes were closed, and she looked like she might be asleep. That was no way to kick off the wedding night. His ego would be severely bruised if his bride fell asleep before he even got her dress unbuttoned.

  “Lil? You okay?”

  “Hmm?” she said, her eyes fluttering open.

  “Did you eat at the wedding?”

  “A bit of salad. And one of our wedding cupcakes, of course.” She gave him a weak smile.

  “Rabbit food,” he said, switching to massage her other foot. “You should have had some of the roast hog. It was delicious.”

  “Ugh. I can’t eat something with a head still attached to it.”

  “Why Mrs. Sawyer, I never knew you were such a wimp.”

  “It’s Lilly Harmon-Sawyer, caveman.” She ruffled his hair. “It says so right on the brand new nameplate on my office door. Vi sent it as a little wedding gift.”

  After a few months at her new job in Seattle last spring, Lilly had talked to her firm about working outside the office…like way outside the office, in Georgia. They had been enthusiastic about her East Coast contacts, especially her former client, Mr. Applewhite, and the result had been Lilly opening a satellite office south of Atlanta. She’d put in a lot of hours to get it up and running, but now she was able to work from home a good part of the time.

  “Not tonight,” Derek said. “Tonight I’m just calling you mine.”

  “Finally. Something we agree on,” Lilly said. She leaned forward and kissed him. His pulse spiked instantly at her touch, just like it always did. He couldn’t imagine kissing Lilly ever getting old.

  “You agree with me? That’s got to be a first,” he whispered against her lips. “You’re slipping.”

  “Don’t get used to it.”

  Derek moved in for another kiss, his hands sliding beneath her hair. He was wondering how many buttons he’d have to undo to get her naked and how mad she’d be if he just ripped the dress open, when she pulled back with a small gasp.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, his heart nearly stuttering to a halt.

  “Nothing,” she said, rubbing at her chest. Just a little heartburn. I—” She stopped midsentence, her brow furrowing. “I’ll grab an antacid later. I’m sure it’s…nothing big.” She gave him a smile that said he was missing something.

  “Are you sure you’re okay? I can call—” but then she was kissing him again and the only thing on his mind was making love to the woman who had always held his heart in her hands…and who always would.

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  About the Author

  Bethany Michaels is the author of over 25 steamy romances. She was named an RT Reviewers Choice finalist for the first book in her country music series, Nashville Heat. When not writing, Bethany enjoys movies, travelling, the outdoors and volunteering with her kids’ scout troops. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and children.

  For latest release information, be sure to visit her website and sign up for her newsletter at www.bethanymichaels.com.

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