California Girl (39 page)
Authors: Patricia Rice
Tags: #humor, #contemporary, #roadtrip, #romance, #Route 66, #women's fiction
After all, this was their wedding day.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs and seeing her, Elliot
grinned and strode across the waxed wood of the front parlor. For the occasion,
he wore a silver-gray suit with his usual conservative white shirt—and a red
carnation in his lapel.
“You look gorgeous,” he said, just before clasping her face
between his hands and stopping her protests with a kiss. “I can spot mistletoe
from a mile away,” he murmured when they came up for air.
“Your brothers were supposed to keep you out of the way
until everything was ready,” she whispered against his mouth. She’d never have
enough of his kisses, even if they both lived a million years.
“My brothers are too busy chowing down on all the goodies in
the kitchen to care where I am. So much for my lessons on healthy eating. When
does everyone start arriving? There may be no food left.”
“The reverend and the rabbi and some of the guests are
already here,” she admitted. “They’re in the kitchen sampling the menu. And I
don’t think you’re supposed to see the bride before the wedding.”
“I saw her last night,” he teased. “And I wager Jock isn’t
too far from Mame right now either.” Holding her arms, he stepped back to admire
her dress. “I want the photographer to get a full-length picture of you so I
can put it on my desk and remember the day you wore just one color.”
She’d chosen an ankle-length soft rose velvet gown for the
occasion, with romantically puffed long sleeves and a soft frill of lace on the
cuff and a heart-shaped neckline. She even wore heels so she matched Elliot’s
height better. For a corsage, she wore a bouquet of small orchids from the
plant that Mame had given her. It was thriving in the kitchen window now.
She pulled out the skirt and did a little twirl for his
benefit. “You’ll only see me in uniforms before long, so enjoy.”
“In uniforms and out,” he reminded her with a leer. “The bow
around your neck was a nice touch last night.”
She laughed and almost didn’t notice the front doorbell
until the noise from the kitchen spilled into the hallway.
Elliot caught her waist and held her. “Do you want to greet
the guests or hide upstairs until the appropriate moment?”
“I’ve done the big wedding before. Unless you have a sudden
overwhelming desire for tradition, I’d rather just keep this as we planned,
call it a party, and have fun.” She studied Elliot’s beloved features, willing
to accept his decision since this was his first wedding.
“I’m not well acquainted with weddings, parties, or fun, so
I’ll follow your example,” he agreed without protest.
At the shouts of excitement in the foyer, they turned in
that direction. The crowd of people milling in the opening, throwing off
overcoats, collecting scarves, and passing around hugs, was too thick to
penetrate at first glance.
Alys was the one to look beyond the Christmas tree to the
yard. “Beulah!” she cried, tugging Elliot forward.
The pink Cadillac gleamed in all her snow-covered glory in
the driveway. The front bumper still sagged. Plastic covered the driver’s
window. The small tire had been replaced, but the back fender appeared dented.
She wore a bright green wreath and red bow on her front grill.
“She has a lot of years left in her,” Elliot said in awe.
“That car may outlive us all.”
With a cry of joy, Alys darted from beneath his arm toward
the guests gathering in the foyer. “Lucia!”
The child ran into the parlor and flung herself into Alys’s
waiting arms, chattering animatedly about a deer and chocolates and Santa
Claus. Disregarding her rose wedding gown, Alys sat cross-legged on the floor,
pulled Lucia into a hug in her lap, and let her rattle. Elliot thought his
heart might burst from pure pride and love at the sight. Someday, she’d hold
his child like that, here in this room where he’d grown up. This time around,
he meant to enjoy the holidays and the small triumphs of living.
While Alys pulled out an album from under the tree to show
Lucia photos from their trip, Elliot looked up to see his whole family in the
doorway, watching. He caught a look of startlement and appreciation in the eyes
of his brothers and hoped that meant they realized what a treasure he was about
to bring into the family. They’d not been home long enough to know Alys, but
they were quick studies.
Mame beamed with pride and winked at him when she caught his
eye. Jock, wearing his best blue suit and a white carnation, draped his arm
around Mame’s shoulders and led her into the parlor so their guests could
spread out. Elliot knew the two of them were ready to return to the warmth of
California and the lifestyle they’d found there, but they looked like a couple
of kids at Christmas poking through the assorted packages.
Dulce entered with her brother Tony, both of them carrying
boxes. Whispering something into Lucia’s ear, Alys put her down so the child
could hunt for a package under the tree. Then she leaped up to greet their
guests. Seeing Elliot lingering behind, she caught his arm and pulled him into
the circle of friends.
“This is your life now,” she whispered, standing on her toes
and kissing his cheek. “These are your friends. Open up and let them in.”
With Alys at his side, that was easy. He didn’t want to be
anywhere else. Not caring if he looked too much of a sap in front of his
brothers, he hugged her waist and kissed the top of her head. She radiated all
the positive vibrations he needed.
“Sam Wolf sent these,” Dulce murmured as the front door blew
open to allow in another flurry of guests. She handed the package with a silver
bow to Alys. “He sends his gratitude that Lucia’s grandfather Mendoza can no
longer cause us grief.”
“Paying for the damage his drivers caused should have cost
him enough. The jail term ought to teach him a little anger management,” Elliot
said dryly, watching with interest as Alys untied the ribbon. His curiosity was
as strong as hers.
When she idled over admiring the gift wrapping, Elliot
impatiently tugged the ribbon free from the box.
The top popped open. A pair of jade-green eyes and a silver
head peered from beneath the lid.
“A kitten!” Alys exclaimed in delight—just before the
creature leaped from the box into the center of the Christmas tree.
While everyone shouted and danced about attempting to
untangle the kitten from the tree and the ornaments, Elliot tugged his
bride-to-be away from the confusion to whisper in her ear.
“I love you more than there are stars in the sky. You are my
life and my heart and my future. But could we please keep the animals out of
our bedroom?”
Her laughter chimed like the musical bells the cat had
liberated from the tree branches, and Elliot knew he had only to ask, and she
would give him everything his heart desired. And more.
In return, he would give her the world and the freedom to
explore it.
A ray of sunlight broke through the clouds, illuminating the
sparkling diamond on Alys’s left hand, the one he’d set there to replace the
one she’d removed. The gold ring he carried close to his heart burned a hole in
his pocket. In a few hours, he’d place it on the ring finger of her left hand.
To the moon together
, he’d had engraved upon it.
Author’s NoteAll the characters in this book have no existence outside
the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing
the same name or names. They are not inspired by any person known or unknown to
the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
California Girl
Patricia Rice
Book View Café Edition September 3, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-61138-296-9
Copyright © 2002, 2010, 2013 Patricia Rice
First published by Ballantine Ivy, New York, 2002.
Cover design by Pati Nagle/Mandala
This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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About Patricia Rice
With several million books in print and
New York Times
and
USA
Today’s
bestseller lists under her belt, former CPA Patricia Rice is one
of romance’s hottest authors. Her emotionally-charged contemporary and
historical romances have won numerous awards, including the
RT Book Reviews
Reviewers Choice and Career
Achievement Awards. Her books have been honored as Romance Writers of America
RITA® finalists in the historical, regency and contemporary categories.
A firm believer in happily-ever-after, Patricia Rice is
married to her high school sweetheart and has two children. A native of
Kentucky and New York, a past resident of North Carolina, she currently resides
in St. Louis, Missouri, and now does accounting only for herself. She is a
member of Romance Writers of America, the Authors Guild, and Novelists, Inc.
For further information, visit Patricia’s network:
http://www.facebook.com/OfficialPatriciaRice
https://twitter.com/Patricia_Rice
http://patriciarice.blogspot.com/
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