Blame it on Texas (14 page)

“Because I thought that’s what you wanted.” His voice came from behind her.

“Ritt?” Shelby turned as her husband came into the house, still wearing his tux from the wedding.

“Hi, Mom.” He bent to kiss Patty’s cheek. “I thought you said Sunday.”

She shrugged. “I made your father take me to the airport in Branson. He’ll be in tomorrow.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

But Patty nodded pointedly toward Shelby. “Yes. I did.”

Ritt turned back to her. “I figured you’d be halfway to the airport by now.”

Dumbly, she shook her head.

“I would have stalled her until you came home,” Patty admitted. “It’s seven years overdue, but it’s time to clear the air.”

Ritt nodded.

“What do you mean you signed the papers because that’s what I wanted?”

“It’s not what you want?”

Shelby pinched the bridge of her nose as her head began to pound. It wasn’t what she wanted. Not anymore. But to admit that would be admitting that she still loved him. And that would leave her heart open to be broken once again.

It was a chance she had to take.

Ritt deserved the truth. After everything they had been through, that was the least she could offer him.

“No,” she whispered.

“Did you sign them?”

She shook her head.

“Don’t play games with me, Shel.”

“I think I’ll…just go…out and…see Kyle…” Patty backed toward the doorway and disappeared down the hall, leaving Shelby alone with Ritt.

“I’m not playing games.” She sucked in a deep breath then raised her gaze to his. “I love you, Ritt. I always have. I didn’t sign the papers because I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want a divorce.”

Instead of holding out his arms to her, he crossed them, staring down at her with those knowing blue eyes. “You didn’t sign the papers, but you’ve obviously been reading them.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hope stilled in her chest. She didn’t know whether to cut her losses or stay and fight for the one thing she wanted most.

“What about your respectability? Your business? Your home is in California.”

She shook her head. Her home had never been on the coast. Even with as much effort as she had put into her apartment, her business.

“Are you saying you’re willing to stay here in Texas with me?”

She couldn’t imagine him in California. Here. In Randall. That was where they both belonged. “Yes.”

“I work at the bait shop.”

“I know.”

“And I still live with my parents.”

“I don’t care about that.”

“Are you sure you haven’t read the papers?”

“What do the papers have to do with any of this?”

He pulled the divorce papers from the inside pocket of his jacket and held them out to her. “You need to read these.”

“Read them?”

He flipped through the pages until he came to what he was looking for. He folded them where she could see, then offered them to her once again.

Dread mixed with the hope in her veins as she hastily scanned the words. Then her gaze hit a number and bounced back to his. “You’re worth 53 million dollars?”

He pushed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “Give or take.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I invented this little doo-hickey that goes into the—well, I won’t bore you with all the details, but it revolutionized the carbon black industry.”

“You’re saying you’re rich?”

“I’m saying we’re rich.” Finally there was a smile on her husband’s face.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

His mouth gained a wry twist. “I was afraid that it would change how you feel about me.”

She tossed the papers onto the floor and grabbed a handful of his shirt, pulling him to her. She pressed her lips to his, kissing him with all the love that she had bubbling inside. Several minutes later she ended the kiss. “Do you still think it matters to me?”

He smiled at her, love shining in his eyes. “I think I’m going to need a bit more convincing,” he said. “You have a couple of years?”

Shelby laughed. “I have the rest of our lives.”

Epilogue

Shelby let the sheer curtain fall back in front of the full-length, sliding-glass window. Outside the ocean gently roared as it pushed against the pristine white beach. A soft breeze stirred the palm trees planted next to the hotel and created a rustle in rhythm with the sea.

Perfect. This was all so perfect.

Ritt tipped the bellhop and put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door handle as he closed it behind the uniformed man.

A honeymoon.

“Champagne?”

“Yes, please.” Shelby let her fingers trail along the silken counterpane lying on the bed and watched her husband. She had never been so happy.

Ritt crossed the room, a champagne flute in each hand. He offered one to her with a knowing smile. “What should we drink to?”

“How about unfiled divorces?”

He raised his glass in salute and she followed along, watching him as they drank their toast. The champagne was marvelous, the best she had ever tasted. Or maybe it was the company.

She set down her glass and took a step toward him. This was their honeymoon, and she intended to make the best of it. She slipped into his arms, loving the feel of his heart so close to hers, his heat soaking through the thin cotton of her dress.

His lips captured hers in a loving kiss, a sweet prelude to what was to come. “I love you,” he said, dropping another kiss on her collarbone, one at her temple and the corner of her eye.

“Tell me again.”

“I love you.”

She sighed as he continued his gentle onslaught to her senses. “I never get tired of hearing that.”

He titled her chin up and planted a chaste kiss on her waiting lips. “Shelby.” He paused. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“Uh-huh,” she said, running her hands over the hard, warm planes of his chest.

A groan escaped him as she pressed her lips to his, one adventurous hand sliding down the front of his shirt over his belt and on to the treasure below.

“I want—” He sucked in a breath as her searching fingers found their target and cupped his warmth in her soft grasp.

“Yes,” she purred as breathless with anticipation as her husband.

“I want us to try to have a baby.”

The last words she expected him to say. She took a step back, not knowing how to respond, unable to find the words within her.

“It doesn’t have to be right away, but soon…when you’re ready. And—”

She didn’t let him finish what he was about to say. She threw her arms around her husband, so thankful that they had found each other once again. “Yes,” she whispered as happy tears filled her eyes. Who would have thought things would turn out like this? “Yes.”

He pulled her hands from around his neck, grasping her fingers in his as he captured her lips in a sweet, sweet kiss.

“I can’t believe this is my life—our life.” She laid her head on his chest, loving the feel of him so close to her.

“Because we’re millionaires?”

She tipped her hair back to meet his gaze. “Because you love me.”

He chuckled, the sounds rumbling from deep within. “Having money doesn’t hurt.”

“No, it doesn’t.” It gave them one less thing to worry about.

“It didn’t mean anything without you.”

“And that’s why you continued to live with your parents and work at the bait shop?”

He nodded.

She smiled, running her fingers over his mouth, loving the freedom to touch him as much as she wanted. “Does this mean you’re buying a new truck?”

“Absolutely not.”
 

She reached up and kissed him again.

“Well, maybe,” he said against her lips. “When the babies start coming.”

She rained kisses on his face, loving the knowledge that he was hers once more. “I love you, Ritt. It took coming back to Texas and living with you again to make me realize that I’d left the best part of my life behind.”

Ritt cupped her face in his hands and kissed her back. “It took you long enough.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he said, brushing her tears away with the pads of his thumbs. “I’ve known this since we were nineteen.”

She smiled then pressed her lips to his once again.

“It may have taken me a while, but I’m here now.”

“Yes,” he said. “And that’s exactly where you’re going to stay. Forever.”

“Forever.”

About the Author

Amie loves nothing more than a good book. Except for her family…and maybe homemade tacos…and shoes. But reading and writing are definitely high on the list.

Fun and contemporary, whimsical and sexy, Amie’s novels always have a guaranteed happy ending.

Born and bred in Mississippi, Amie is a transplanted Southern Belle who now lives in Oklahoma with her deputy husband, their genius son, two spoiled cats and one very fat beagle.

When she’s not creating quirky characters and happy endings, she’s chauffeuring her prodigy to baseball games, guitar lessons, and kung fu. She also loves gardening, cross stitching, and generally anything that can get her out of housework.

Amie loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her at
[email protected]
or visit her on the web at
www.amywritesromance.com
and
www.amielouellen.com

Look for these titles by Amie Louellen

Now Available:

Ten Reasons Not to Date a Cop

Love turns up in all the wrong places…at just the right time.

Ten Reasons Not To Date A Cop

© 2012 Amie Louellen

Growing up a police chief’s daughter, Kaylee Stephens saw firsthand how arrogant cop attitudes affect a marriage. Not for her, no sir. But when a priceless, pre-Columbian statue comes up missing, the day-school teacher finds herself in the middle of a police investigation. And face-to-face with sexy Detective Lucas Blackfox, her brothers’ old high school chum.

She had nothing to do with the crime, despite the fact that she—up until very recently—was engaged to the number one suspect. Once that’s cleared up, she plans to return to her peaceful, cop-less life.

Luc can’t seem to keep Kaylee out of his thoughts, and it’s not just because every time he and his partner turn over a new stone in the case, Kaylee shows up. She’s grown from the pig-tailed tagalong he once knew to a woman he’d like to know better.

His quest to convince her he’s not just a typical cop is right on track toward making her a permanent fixture in his arms...until the missing statue’s legendary curse drops an emotional bomb that could destroy everything.

Warning: This book contains steamy love scenes between a cop and a woman who refuses to date men in uniform. Clear your schedule, readers, you’re gonna want to get out the cuffs after this one.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Ten Reasons Not To Date A Cop:

Luc sat for a moment in the cool interior of the Beemer and watched the woman shift from one pretty leg to the other. He made no move to get out of his car. He wanted her to wait. Or try to run. She shifted again.

His informant had been quite specific in his description. Their target was a female, very short with arrow-straight, platinum blond hair. She wasn’t reported to be armed, nor was she considered to be particularly dangerous. She drove a beat-up blue Nissan and wasn’t above using her feminine wiles to get what she wanted. But Matthias hadn’t told Luc she was a memory, all grown up and prettier than ever.

Little Kaylee Stephens. My, my, my. She was the last person he had expected the K. Stephens to be. When he’d heard the name, she hadn’t even crossed his mind. It had been what…? Ten…fifteen years? He mentally did the math. Sixteen. It had been sixteen years since he had seen her. And she’d looked a sight different now. Back then she had been the awkward, tag-a-long sister of his two best friends. All pigtails and braces and now…well, now she wasn’t.

She checked her watch, then cast a frustrated glance in his direction. She had to be smothering in that raincoat. The temperature was at least a hundred and three. She looked as if she had something to hide, bundled up the way she was. The statue? A weapon?

Luc had glanced into her car while he wrote her citations, but the interior of the Nissan looked like a twister had recently blown through. He would have to search it if he was going to find what he was after. Damn what a day this was turning out to be.

She whirled around as he opened his car door. Her silvery hair contrasted starkly with the black of her raincoat, and he wondered how it would look splayed against his chest. How it would feel.