by Sara Daniel
While the nurse recorded Mama’s vital signs, Alejandro pulled Luciana to her feet and guided her to the side of the room. “Are you telling me Madame Eve hooked you up with Blake?”
“I’m not telling you anything.” She tugged her arm free and began gathering Mama’s belongings without looking at him. “Bring the pickup around to the front entrance.”
He didn’t move, but she sensed his gaze on her. “We just got a windfall—a second chance. Why aren’t you jumping for joy?”
“Get the Silverado. Please.” She dug her nails into her palm, refusing to cry. She’d had a second chance with Blake, and she’d turned her back on it.
***
Thoughts of Blake—what they might have been years ago and what they still could have been if she hadn’t blown him off when he’d offered options to make their relationship viable—kept Luciana tossing and turning all night. The next morning, she stumbled inside the bank, unable to remember a word of the plan she’d detailed to both pay off her debt and sell the farm to the eager professor.
“What are you doing here?” the bank president demanded, crossing the lobby toward her. “Considering the circumstances, I canceled your appointment.”
“You’re refusing to see me?” Oh, the irony. She’d come to offer something concrete so he wouldn’t have to swallow a loss on her loan, and he’d written her off as a lost cause.
“I have nothing to talk to you about. Your loan is paid off. You’ll receive the title in the mail.”
“What?” She stared at him. “How can the loan be paid off?” The moment she asked, the answer became obvious. “Blake.”
“He stormed in here and rubbed in my face how successful he and his brother are now. I guess he’s trying to get back at me for not inviting him to the cool parties in high school, his own fault for hanging out with you instead of me and the other popular kids.”
Blake wouldn’t have paid off the loan because he gave a rat’s ass about the banker. If he’d done it, it had been for her benefit alone.
“He didn’t say a word about his success or mention his brother when I did the wire transfer,” the teller said from behind the counter. “He only had two non-business comments. First, he asked me to give this to you.” She set a parcel a little bigger than a shoebox on the counter.
Bewildered, Luciana accepted it, surprised by its weight. Resting it on the ledge, she lifted the lid. A whimper escaped her lips.
Nestled in tissue paper rested the mold of Sam’s name, the cracks sealed together. She ran her finger over the glossy sheen covering the original plaster. A small card poked up from one corner of the box, and she tugged it free.
I’m sorry I couldn’t give you what you needed before, but I’m here for you now. Tell me what else you need, and it’s yours.
Luciana lifted her head. “What was the second thing he said to you?”
The teller gave her a knowing smile. “The condo next door to his is for sale and—direct quote—would make a great mother-in-law apartment.”
Her heart stuttered. After she’d pushed him away and chosen everything else over him, she could only hope he’d forgive her for not giving them a chance to work out their love together. “I’ve made a terrible mistake. I-I have to go.”
***
Blake clicked through the screens on his presentation, the board eating up every word as he detailed the expansion plans to usher in a new era for Sunburst Hotels.
The conference room door flew open, and a dark-haired woman stumbled in, stopping his rehearsed speech and his heart.
“Wait, he’s in a meeting. You can’t go in there.” Marcia and two security guards followed in her wake.
Luciana, her eyes defiant, stopped at the far end of the table and pointed at him. “You.”
“What?” Ignoring Mr. Sunburst with his jaw unhinged to his chest, Blake rounded the table, dismissing the security detail with a flick of his wrist.
“You asked me to tell you what else I needed,” Luciana said, her voice clear and calm, her fingertips skimming the lapels of his suit coat. “I need you in my life. I love you.”
“Oh, Luci.” He wrapped his arms around her, his heart full to bursting. “I love you, too. I never stopped.” He covered her mouth with his, soaking in her presence. She’d come to him. He’d been too afraid to hope, even as he’d thrown his risk analysis aside and everything else toward winning her.
“I’ve got this presentation, boss,” Marcia said with a smirk. “You get yourself a room…or a preacher.”
He studied the love of his life. “What do you say?”
Her brown eyes shone with love and happiness. “Yes to both. I want more than one night with my groom.”
At last, they were in complete agreement, together the way they’d been meant for each other from the start. “Good because every night from here to forever is yours.”
~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~
Sara Daniel writes what she loves to read—irresistible romance, from sweet to erotic and everything in between. She battles a serious NASCAR addiction and was once a landlord of two uninvited squirrels. She has her own happily-ever-after romance with her hero husband.
You can visit Sara at:
www.saradaniel.com
More Than a Fantasy by Sara Daniel
Regina’s fantasies about her hot marketing assistant, Gabriel, are interfering with her focus at work. In desperation, she turns to Madame Eve to give her a one-night stand with a man who looks just like him. When the Gabriel arrives in her hotel room, she must choose between walking away and playing out her daydreams with the real thing. Their one night becomes a wrestling match for control as Regina strives to keep the upper hand. But Gabriel is just as determined to show her how to work together for business and for pleasure.
As passion trumps protocol, their one-night stand quickly becomes much more than a fantasy.
One Night with the Bridesmaid
When Sabrina Lopez is given a one-night stand gift for taking part in her best friend’s wedding, she decides to use the chance to hook up with a man who knows how to give a woman pleasure, a man she’d never have the nerve to approach in real life. Madame Eve exceeds her expectations with famous movie director Rob Wellington.
Rob believes Sabrina is responsible for breaking up his brother’s wedding. He’s determined to stop her from scamming her way into a one-night stand with the groom, even if he has to take his brother’s place.
He never expects her to lodge her way into his heart or that he’ll want to keep her in his life. But Sabrina knows he’s out of her league and one night is all they’ll ever have together.
Captivating the CEO
When live-for-the-moment massage therapist Willow Jeffries bursts into Colin Vanderhayden’s office, she makes it her mission to loosen up the future-focused CEO, knowing each moment of the present is too precious to waste. Despite her immediate attraction, the only future she can offer is one full of heartache.
The last thing Colin needs is a flighty woman messing up his carefully-constructed plans, but her heavenly massages and addictive personality prove hard to resist. But he has no idea how sick she is.
No longer able to ignore her life-threatening medical condition, Willow slips away to spare Colin a miserable future with her. Is Colin willing to sacrifice his well-laid future plans to get Willow back?
