Have Bouquet, Need Boyfriend (28 page)

Thomas’s lips parted slightly as if he was going to reply, his breath

wheezing out, then he squeezed her hand.

Hope fluttered inside her. “I don’t know if you still want me or not,

Thomas, but I had to come and tell you how I feel.”

“And how do you feel, Rebecca?” he asked in a throaty voice.

“I love you.” She slowly dropped to her knees, then pulled their joined

hands to her lips and kissed his palm. “I love you and I need you and I

want to be there for you, Thomas.” She hesitated, her voice shaking, but

continued, “You asked me once to marry you and move to Atlanta with you.

I want that, Thomas. If you still want me.”

His dark eyes raked over her, his long look so tension-filled that her

courage weakened. He swallowed,

then slowly released her hand and left her. His footsteps echoed on the

hard pavement, pounding in the fact that he had turned her down. Then he

opened the car door and her heart stopped as she waited. Was he leaving?

Going to drive away with her stooped on bended knee?

Humiliation stung Rebecca’s cheeks, the emptiness inside her so

agonizing she nearly curled into a ball on the cold pavement. Instead,

she stared at her banged-up car, wondering if she had the strength to

crawl to it.

Thomas reached inside the Porsche, picked up the flowers he’d bought and

turned to Rebecca, his heart in his throat. Her confession had shocked

him so much he hadn’t been able to speak. Rebecca was willing to move to

Atlanta to be with him….

He gripped the flowers in a shaky hand, then circled back and stood in

front of her. “Actually, I was leaving in such a hurry because I was on

my way back to see you.”

“You were?” Her gaze rose, the tears that glittered in those eyes

tearing at him.

“Yes. I wanted to give you these.” He offered her the arrangement and

watched as she examined the rose-colored heart-shaped pendant flowers.

She lifted the flowers to her nose and sniffed. “Its technical term is

dicentra formosa….”

Her gaze locked with his. “Yes.”

“Otherwise known as a-“

“Bleeding heart.”

“My bleeding heart.” His love for her was so intense he felt raw inside.

“I was coming back to Sugar

Hill to give it to you. To ask you to forgive me and heal my wounded

heart.” Moisture clogged his throat as he knelt in front of her. “I love

you, Rebecca. Without you my life is empty. I’m so sorry I hurt you-“

She pressed a finger to his lips. “We both hurt each other. But that’s

in the past.”

“That means we have a future?”

She nodded. “If you want one with me.”

“I don’t want one without you. I need you, Rebecca, I love you with all

my heart.” His dark eyes turned almost black with hunger. “But there’s

one problem.”

“What?” she asked softly.

“We have to live in Sugar Hill.”

“No, I was wrong not to compromise,” she said. “It doesn’t matter where

we live as long as we’re together.”

“You’re right about that, sweetheart. Just like you were right about

me-about the reason I pushed myself and about the town needing me.” He

brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them. “But I still want to

live in Sugar Hill. Everything I want is there.” He pressed a hand to

her stomach. “Of course, I’m open if some little people want to join us

in the future.”

Then he took her in his arms and sealed his love with a kiss. Passion

rocked through him, the tenderness in her touch so humbling that the

empty void he’d felt in his life for so long suddenly overflowed with

the promise of tomorrow.

“Uh, er, excuse me.” A deep, throaty voice broke into the kiss.

Thomas glanced up to see a beefy security guard

leaning over the edge of the dented Porsche, hands on his chunky hips.

“You two okay?”

Rebecca giggled and he nodded. “Yes, sir, we’re fine.”

He shone his flashlight at them, then toward the dented cars blocking

the exit of the parking lot. “These your cars?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Had an accident, huh?”

Thomas helped Rebecca stand. “No, sir, I believe it was serendipity.”

The cop scratched his head, looking puzzled. “Need to file insurance

papers or something?”

“No.” Thomas circled his arm around Rebecca. “The only paper we’re going

to file is a marriage certificate.”

Later, as they lay in the king-size bed in Thomas’s hotel room, sated

and cuddled up in each other’s arms, Rebecca pressed tender kisses along

his jaw. On the way to the hotel, she had murmured one of the erotic

love poems to him, and their passion had exploded. Now she gazed at her

husband-to-be in awe. How could she ever have been afraid to take a

chance on love when her heart had known all along that Thomas was the

man for her?

“No more secrets between us, no more lies,” Thomas whispered.

“No,” Rebecca said against his chest. “Not ever,”

But Thomas’s phone rang, jarring them from their

blissful moment. He stared at it once, then frowned.

Rebecca angled her head to look up at him and traced

a finger along his hairline.

“Go ahead,” she whispered. “It might be an emergency.”

He nodded. “Dr. Emerson.” Seconds later he angled his head toward her

and covered the speaker with his hand, a wary look darkening his eyes.

“It’s this art dealer from midtown. I forgot to tell you that I took him

one of your art pieces. I wanted to surprise you.”

She sat up, jerking the sheet to her. Dear heavens, she’d forgotten the

painting.

He mouthed, “I’m sorry,” then turned back to the phone. “You have what?

A buyer for both paintings. What second painting?” His eyes suddenly

widened. “A painting of two nude lovers on a mountainside?”

His gaze swung to hers, his eyebrow arched as he pointed to his chest in

question.

Rebecca nodded.

“Don’t sell it,” Thomas screeched. “I’m buying both pieces. We’ll stop

by to pick them up tomorrow.”

He hung up, then turned to her with a devilish look on his face. “You

painted me in the buff?”

She answered with a playful look of her own. “Yes. And you’re buying the

painting without even seeing it?” She giggled as he tickled her neck

with his tongue. “Not a wise investment.”

“Huh. I think it’s a damn good investment.” He licked along her

collarbone, “I can’t believe you sent it to the art dealer.”

She threaded her fingers in his hair. “You’re the one who wanted to show

my work, remember?”

He slipped his hands beneath her and cupped her bottom in his hands.

“Your landscapes.”

“This one has a landscape.”

“And me naked in it?”

“Well, that, too.” She traced a finger down to his navel, stirring his

sex. “But the real thing is better.”

He braced himself above her and slid over her skin, the whisper of his

breath so erotic she bucked beneath him. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” She moaned as he claimed her.

“You found out I took your painting and you wanted revenge, didn’t you?”

She dug her fingers into the corded muscles of his arms. “I guess I did.”

He stroked her breast with his tongue, tormenting the hardened pebble

tip. “I like a woman with spunk. But I might have to get some revenge of

my own.”

“Oh.” Rebecca snuggled down beneath him and let him have his way.

His revenge was the sweetest thing she could ever have imagined.

Epilogue

“You may kiss the bride.”

Thomas lifted the bridal veil and pulled Rebecca into his arms, then

pressed his lips to hers to seal the vows they had just professed.

Rebecca closed her eyes and savored the moment. This was the happiest

day of her life.

Alison had helped plan their wedding in a matter of weeks, Mimi had

catered the reception, her father had given her away with tears in his

eyes, and her sister, Suzanne, and her cousins had all been bridesmaids.

And Grammy Rose had taken the bride’s book from her hope chest. Now it

was filled with names of all their friends from Sugar Hill.

The kiss slowly ended, and Thomas offered his arm. They raced down the

aisle to the squeals and cheers of all their family and friends, then

were bombarded with congratulations. The reception passed in a blur of

hugs and kisses and cake and laughter. They even danced on the lawn in

front of the gazebo with the beautiful mountain scenery as a backdrop.

“How are Dad and Uncle Wiley holding up?” Rebecca whispered to Suzanne

later when she finally had time to breathe.

“Keeping to separate sides of the lawn,” Suzanne said. “For now.”

Rebecca laughed. Sure enough, Mimi and Maggie Rose had Wiley cornered,

while Hannah and Jake tracked her father. She wondered if the two men

would ever end their brotherly feud. And if her father’s wife would be

able to fill the void her mother had left. She wanted to see him happy

again. This time she thought she detected a spark of true affection

between them.

She turned to Suzanne, grateful she and her sister had gotten closer.

“Thanks for being my maid of honor, Suzanne.”

“I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. You are the most beautiful

bride, sis.” Suzanne hugged her, and they both wiped at the tears.

“Guess what? It looks like I’m going to be spending a good bit of time

in Sugar Hill in the future.”

“You’re moving to Sugar Hill?” Rebecca asked.

“Heavens, no,” Suzanne said. “But my boss is looking for some property

nearby to develop. He thinks there is a run-down ranch around that we

could snap up for next to nothing. From some down-on-his-luck cowboy

who’s fallen on hard times.”

“You mean Rafe McAllister?”

“I think that was his name.”

“Gertrude said he’s the guy who won Uncle Wiley’s purple pickup truck.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” Rebecca frowned. “But I doubt he’ll sell,

Suzanne. I think that property’s been in his family for ages.”

“He may not have a choice,” Suzanne said.

“Just be careful, I’ve heard he’s pretty tough.”

Suzanne winked. “Nothing I can’t handle, sis. He won’t know what hit him

when I get ahold of him.”

Rebecca laughed at her sister’s cockiness, but she still wasn’t sure.

Rafe McAllister was supposedly tough, macho, and had once been a

troublemaker in the town when he was younger.

What would happen when he met her sister? Especially when Suzanne tried

to buy his ranch out from under him?

“Time to throw the bouquet!” Grammy Rose shouted.

Rebecca laughed, remembering a few short weeks ago when she’d caught

Alison’s. Her cousins, Caitlin and Angie, and Suzanne all crowded

together, along with Gertrude and Grammy Rose and a few of her

grandmother’s friends. They laughed and argued back and forth over who

should catch the bouquet. Rebecca turned her back to the group and

tossed the lilies over her shoulder, then spun around when squeals rang out.

Her sister, Suzanne, stood holding the flowers, her odd look almost

comical. Caitlin and Angie moaned that they should have caught it, but

Grammy Rose looked at Rebecca and winked.

Rebecca smiled back, her heart so full of love and joy she was almost

bursting.

Did Grammy Rose already have Suzanne’s hope chest waiting? And what kind

of surprises had she put inside for her sister?

Check out what’s inside Suzanne’s hope chest

in HAVE COWBOY, NEED CUPID

Coming next month from Harlequin American Romance