Naughty by Nature (24 page)

“I guess…” Tessa
looked away, beginning to feel guilty all over again.  She hadn’t told Wolf any
of this.  She’d been so angry she’d just thrown him out.

“Your love is
worth fighting for,” Lydia continued.  “Your parents’ fate is their own, not
yours.  Go for what you want to be happy, and if Wolf is what you want then go
get him.”

Tessa grimaced. 
“If he’ll still have me.”

“From what I’ve
seen of my son, he loves you very much.”  To Tessa’s surprise it was Ruben who
was now adding to the conversation.  “I know he’ll still want you.”

Tessa looked at
him, her face solemn.  “I hope to God you’re right.”

******

A flaming idiot,
that’s what he’d been to believe that Tessa was any different from the other
women out there, different from Vanessa.  No, they were both the same.

Wolf banged the
saucepan down on the stove then turned to stare out the kitchen window.  He’d
bared his soul, made himself vulnerable a second time and, just like the first
time, he’d proposed to a woman who considered commitment a four-letter word. 
Well, at least she’d spared him the trouble of having to break off an
engagement.

And then a thought
crossed his mind.  He’d always praised Tessa for being open and honest and that
was what she’d been.  She didn’t love him and so she’d said no.  She hadn’t
accepted his proposal as Vanessa had done, giving him false hope and then
leaving him high and dry.  He should be grateful.  At least Tessa had spared
him that. But although his reason told him he should be thankful all he could
feel right then was pain.

The hissing saucepan
woke him out his trance.  He turned back toward the stove and switched it off. 
He’d planned to fry himself a burger but, in all honesty, he really didn’t feel
much like eating.

He flopped down at
the kitchen table and took a swig from the can of Ginger Ale he’d been
drinking.  Next time he proposed it would be a business arrangement.  The
matchmakers in India had it all right.  Forget about falling in love.  A well
thought-out match was the way to go.

After this, he’d
never trust a woman with his heart again.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The situation
called for some drastic action.

Tessa had called
Wolf’s office, his home and his cell phone.  He hadn’t picked up any of her
calls.  Her guess was that, once he’d seen her name on the screen, he’d decided
not to answer.

Well, he couldn’t run and he couldn’t hide.  She knew where he worked
and she knew where he lived.  She would camp out on his lawn if she had to. 
And in a neighborhood like Lorne Park that would not go down well.

It was Saturday,
so chances were Wolf was right there at his house.  Tessa hopped into her Audi
and sped off to Mississauga.  When she got to his house she marched up to the front
door and rang the bell.  It took four rings before he opened.  He did not look
pleased to see her.

“What is it,
Tessa?  Are you here to rub it in?”  He almost  barked the words.  “I don’t
have time for this.”

He made as if to
close the door but Tessa pushed against it with such force that he stumbled
back, looking surprised.  She stepped inside and slammed the door shut behind
her.  “I have something to say to you,” she declared, “and you’d better
listen.”

Wolf stepped back,
but it was not to welcome her in. He folded his arms across his chest then
frowned down at her.  “You already gave me your answer,” he said, his face
stony and his voice emotionless.

She mirrored his
action and folded her arms across her chest, too.  “And what if I told you I
changed my mind?”

For a second he
looked taken aback, then his lips twisted in a cynical half-snarl, half-smile. 
“You take this as a big joke, do you?”

“No.”  She shook
her head. “But I have something to say to you to make you understand me.”

“And what if I
don’t want to listen?”

She raised her
eyebrows.  “You’d better, if you ever want to see your car and its contents
again.”

His brows dropped
immediately.  “What the hell do you mean by that?”  Now he was looking at her
like she’d gone crazy.

She felt like she
was crazy.  Crazy to be here, doing what she was doing, trying to get Wolf
back.  “I’ve planted a bomb under your car, activated by my cell phone.  If I
just press this button,” she waved the phone under his nose, “kaboom.”

Wolf’s eyebrows
shot up and he stared at her in obvious disbelief.  “Are you insane?”  Then he
shook his head and gave a shaky laugh.  “No, you’re joking.  You couldn’t be
that crazy.”

Tessa gave a snort
of disgust.  “Of course I’m joking. I may be crazy sometimes but I'm not that
wacko.  I just needed to make you listen.  Now…” she took his arm and led him
to the chaise longue in the foyer,  “…sit.”  She gave him a shove and he
dropped onto the chair.

And that was how
Tessa ended up explaining everything to Wolf, from her experiences at home to
her fears for her future.  “You know my parents,” she said.  “I love them but
they’re not perfect.”

“Nobody is,” Wolf
said with a shrug.  “And anyway, they weren’t that bad.”

“Oh, but they were
on their best behavior.”  Tessa gave him a rueful grin.

“Still, where is
it written that we have to be like them?” he asked.  “We don’t.  We forge our
own path.”

Tessa went and sat
beside Wolf.  “That’s what your mom said.”

He gave her a look
of surprise.  “You told Mom about this?”

She nodded and
gave him a sheepish look.  “I’m sorry but I went over to see her about
something else and she asked about us and…I ended up talking about it.  Lydia
told me to fight for what I wanted, not to accept defeat as my fate.”

Wolf smiled. 
“Smart Mom.”

Tessa twisted her
hand in her lap then, realizing what she was doing, she sat on them instead. 
“And that’s why I’m here.  I want another chance, Wolf.  I want to fight for
you.  I want you in my life.”

He stared at her
for a moment, then he reached out and put a finger under her chin and lifted
her face to his.  “You want me?” he asked.  “For today, or until you get tired?”

“No,” she said,
her lips trembling.  “For always.”

He released her
chin then gave her a solemn look.  “Why should I even consider asking you
again?  Why should I trust you?”

Tentatively, she
reached out and laid her hand on his.  “I guess there’s no reason why you
should, except that I love you like I’ve loved no other man in this world.”

Wolf looked at her
askance.  “Oh, only in this world?  So you’re saying I have competition in the
other worlds?”

“Oh, you.”  She
giggled.  “I can’t speak about other worlds, only this one.”

He looked away. 
“Hmm, let me think about this.”

Tessa held up her
cell phone.  “Speak now or your car is history.”

With a laugh, Wolf
grabbed the phone from her hand and tucked it into his shirt pocket.  “Enough
pranking.  Now it’s time for you to be punished for almost driving me insane.” 
He reached out and put his hand on her shoulders.  “Tessa, will you be my
wife?”

“Yes, yes, always
yes.”

He took her in his
arms then, and gave her a kiss so sweet and full of love that she thought, if
this was the kind of punishment Wolf gave for naughty behavior, then she wanted
his punishment all the days of her life.

EPILOGUE

Dressed in white
from the veil on top of her head to the toes of her satin shoes, Tessa stood at
the entrance to the church, clutching her big pink bouquet.  Then, at the sound
of the organ, she took her father’s arm and walked proudly up the aisle to meet
her husband-to-be.

As she approached
the altar she could not help beaming as her dear friend, Indie, now her maid of
honor, smiled at her.  And Stone, Indie’s husband, looked so proud in his role
as best man, standing by Wolf’s side.  And then her attention was on her soul mate,
only on him, and he only had eyes for her.

It seemed like she
floated up the aisle and then she was there, where she belonged, standing
beside her Wolf.  Within minutes she would be Mrs. Wolfgang Armando Spencer. 
She’d take any name he was giving her, corny or not, as long as she’d get this
man along with it. 

“Will you take
this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?” the minister asked, “to have and
to hold, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to honor and obey,
so long as you both shall live?”

Tessa peeked up at
Wolf.  Through the veil she gave him a mischievous grin.

He must have
guessed she was planning something because he gave her a stern look but one so
full of love that she didn’t have the heart to prank him.  Not at his own
wedding.

She’d been
planning to mess around with the vows, particularly the honor and obey part,
but with Wolf’s eyes on her she decided to be a good girl.  She repeated the
minister’s words proudly.

“You may kiss the
bride.”

At the minister’s
words, Wolf took her in his arms and gave Tessa a kiss that showed friends,
family and the whole world that their love was for real... in this world and
any other worlds that might be out there in the big, wide universe.

And as Tessa
kissed her husband a fleeting thought crossed her mind.  In her new status as
married woman maybe she should give up pranks for good?

...Nah!

THE END

Thank you for
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NAUGHTY
BY NATURE

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THE TAMING OF A
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Serena Van Buren, the privileged daughter of a wealthy businessman, can't wait
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