White Lace and Promises (22 page)

His hold on her tightened. He hadn’t slept in thirty hours. The first ten of those hours had been spent in complete frustration. He had tried countless times to get her to answer the cell until he realized she must have turned it off. The only thing that made sense was that she’d turned it off for the flight and then forgot to turn it back on, which was why he’d tried the house countless times. He needed to talk to her; to explain his reaction to her confession of loving him. It wasn’t a surprise. He’d known almost from the first even if she hadn’t verbalized her feelings. He’d been at a total loss to understand why she’d resorted to tears. He relived every word of their conversation and as far as he could see she was behaving like a lunatic. She announced she loved him and immediately shocked him by breaking into sobs. Maggie wasn’t a crier. Several times in the first weeks of their marriage he would have expected a lot more than tears from her. He’d certainly given her enough reason. But Maggie had proudly held up her head, unwilling to relinquish a whit of her pride.

With startling clarity it had come to him in the early-morning hours. Maggie had
expected him to declare his own love. What an idiot he’d been. Of course he loved her. He didn’t know why she could ever question it. He had realized he felt something profound for Maggie the minute she had walked down the aisle at Steve and Janelle’s wedding. She’d been vulnerable, proud, and so lovely that Glenn went weak with the memory. He had originally assumed that his friends’ wedding followed the lowest point of his life, but one look at Maggie and he’d nearly been blown over. She’d lived next door to him for most of his life and he’d blithely gone on his way not recognizing what was before his own eyes.

Maggie shared his name and his devotion, and, God willing, later she would bear his children. How could she possibly think he didn’t love her? Just as amazing was the knowledge that he’d never told her. Glenn was astonished at his own stupidity. He would phone her as soon as she would talk to him, he had decided, and never again in her life would he give her reason to doubt.

In theory, Glenn felt, his plan sounded reasonable, but as the hours fled, and a rosy dawn dappled the horizon, he began to worry. In her frame of mind, Maggie might consider doing something stupid.

The first thing the following morning, Glenn decided not to jeopardize this marriage more than he had already. He would fly to Maggie on the first plane he could catch. When he tried phoning several times, and there wasn’t any answer, he fretted all the more. For caring as much as he did he’d done a good job of messing things up.

Now that he was looking at her face flushed with a brilliant happiness, Glenn realized he’d done the right thing.

“Do you have to go back?”

“I probably should, but I won’t.” Her smile was solidly in place, he noticed. He adored that smile. “I don’t deserve you, Maggie.”

“I know.”

Tipping back her head she laughed, and his heart was warmed by the sound. Maggie made his heart sing. Being around her was like lying on a sunny beach on a glorious day and soaking up energy. She was all warmth and vitality, both springtime and Christmas, and he couldn’t imagine his life without her. Twisting her around in his embrace, he supported her with an arm under her legs and carried her down the long hall that led to the master bedroom.

“My dear Mr. Lambert, just where are you taking me?”

“Can’t you guess?”

“Oh yes,” she said, and her lips brushed his, enjoying the instant reaction she felt from him when her tongue made lazy, wet circles outlining his mouth.

“Maggie,” he groaned. “You’re going to pay for that.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Very forward.”

She couldn’t undress fast enough. When Maggie’s fingers fumbled with the buttons of her blouse in her eagerness, Glenn stopped her, placing her hand aside. Slowly, provocatively, he unfastened each one. As the new area of her skin was exposed, Glenn’s finger lovingly trailed over the perfection until he finally slipped the smooth material of her blouse from her shoulders and down her arms, letting it fall to the carpet.

Maggie felt an exhilarating sense of power at the awe reflected in her husband’s eyes. Impatience played no role in their lovemaking. Glenn had taught her the importance of self-control. The excruciating wait seemed only to enhance their pleasure; the disciplined pauses heightened their eagerness. Maggie was a willing pupil.

As if he couldn’t deny himself a second longer, Glenn wrapped her in his arms and in one sweeping motion buried her mouth with his.

What had begun with impatient eagerness slowed to a breathless anticipation. When they moved, it was with one accord. They broke apart and finished undressing, then lay together on the thick, soft quilt.

“I love you,” she whispered, raising her arms up to bring him to herself. “Please love me,” she cried, surprised to hear her own voice.

“I do,” Glenn breathed. “Always.”

Afterward, blissfully content, Maggie spread eager kisses over his face. Briefly, she wondered if this exhilaration, this heartfelt elation, would always stay with them. She wondered if twenty years from now she would still experience a thrill when Glenn made love to her. Somehow, Maggie doubted that this aspect of their marriage would ever change.

Glenn shifted positions so that Maggie was lovingly cradled in his arms, and his fingers lightly stroked the length of her arm. Her fingers played at his chest, curling the fine, dark hairs that were abundant there. A feeling of overpowering tenderness rocked him. He reveled in the emotion of loving and being loved, and knew what they shared would last forever. He was tired, more than tired—exhausted. He looked down and discovered Maggie asleep in his arms.
Everything was going to work out, he thought sleepily. He wasn’t going to lose her.… Slowly, his eyes drifted closed.… Maggie was his.

The following morning, Maggie woke and studied her husband as he slept. A trace of a smile curved his mouth and her heart thrilled with the knowledge that she had placed it there. He must have been worried, terribly worried, she thought, to have dropped everything and flown to her. Surely, he couldn’t believe that she’d ever leave him. A woman didn’t love as strongly as she did and surrender without doing battle.

Glenn’s arrival had proved that Angie was right.…

Glenn took his vows far too seriously to have married her or anyone when he was in love with another woman. Maggie didn’t know what Glenn felt for the other woman anymore, but it wasn’t love. Utterly content, she silently slipped from the bed and dressed, eager for the new day.

Glenn woke with a smile as Maggie’s lips brushed his in a feather-light kiss. “Morning,” he whispered, reaching up to wrap his arms around her waist.

“Morning,” she returned brightly. “I wondered how long it’d take for you to join the living.”

Glenn eased upright, using his elbow for support. “What time is it?”

“Noon.”

“Noon!” he cried, rubbing the sleep from his face as he came fully upright. “Good grief, why didn’t you wake me?”

Giggling, Maggie sat on the edge of the mattress and looped her arms around his strong neck. “I just did.”

“You’ve been painting,” he said, noticing that Maggie was in her smock.

“It felt good to get back to it. Charleston was wonderful, but it’s great to be home and back into my regular schedule.”

A light knock against the bedroom door attracted Maggie’s attention. “Phone for you, Maggie,” Rosa, the older Hispanic woman who was Maggie’s housekeeper and cook, announced from the other side. “It’s your brother.”

“Tell him I’ll be right there,” Maggie said, and planted a tender kiss on Glenn’s forehead. “Unfortunately, duty calls.”

“Maggie.” Glenn’s hand reached for her wrist, stopping her. His eyes were questioning her as though he didn’t like the idea of releasing her even to her own brother. “Never mind.”

“I shouldn’t be more than a few minutes. Do you want to wait for me here?”

He shook his head, already tossing aside the blankets as he climbed from the bed. “I’ll be out of the shower by the time you’ve finished.”

True to his word, Glenn leaned his hip against the kitchen counter, sipping coffee and chatting easily to Rosa when Maggie reappeared.

“I see that you two have introduced yourselves,” Maggie said, sliding her arms around Glenn’s waist.

“Sí,”
Rosa said with a nod, her dark eyes gleaming. “You marry good man. You have lots of healthy
muchachos
.”

Maggie agreed with a broad grin, turning her eyes to her husband. “Rosa is going to teach me to cook, isn’t that right?”

“
Sí
. Every wife needs to know how to make her man happy,” Rosa insisted as she went about cleaning the kitchen. “I teach Maggie everything.”

“Not quite everything,” Glenn whispered near Maggie’s ear, mussing the tiny curls that grew at her temple. “In fact, you wouldn’t even need to go near a kitchen to keep me happy.”

“Glenn,” she whispered, hiding a giggle. “Quiet, or Rosa will wonder.”

“Let her.” His hold tightened as the housekeeper proceeded to chatter happily in a mixture of Spanish and English, scrubbing down already spotless counters as she spoke.

The lazy November day was marvelous. They took a dip in the heated pool and splashed and dunked each other like feisty teenagers at a beach party. Later, as they dried out in the sauna, Glenn carefully broached the subject of Maggie’s brother.

“What did Denny want?”

“Yes. He and Linda have invited us to Thanksgiving dinner. I didn’t think you’d mind if I accepted.”

“That’ll be fine. How’s Denny doing?”

Maggie wiped a thick layer of perspiration from her cheeks using both hands, biding her time while she formed her thoughts. “Fine. What makes you ask?”

“He seems to call often enough. Didn’t you get a couple of calls from him when we were in Charleston?”

“Yes. He’s been through some rough times lately.”

“How rough?”

Wrapping the towel around her neck, Maggie stood and paced the small enclosure while the heavy heat pounded in around her. “As you probably know, Denny and my parents inherited a portion of Great-aunt Margaret’s money. Denny made some bad investment choices.”

“What happened?” As a stockbroker, Glenn felt his curiosity piqued.

“It’s a long, involved story not worth repeating. Simply put, Denny invested heavily in what he felt would be a good investment, trusting friends he shouldn’t have trusted and lost everything. The case is being decided in the courts now, but it looks like he’ll only get a dime back on every dollar invested.”

“So you’re bailing him out?” The statement was loaded with censure.

Maggie had to bite her tongue to keep from lashing out at Glenn for being so insensitive. He should know that litigation and lawyers were expensive. She was only doing what any sister would do in similar circumstances. “Listen, what’s between my brother and me is private. You don’t want to talk about certain things in your life, and I don’t, either. We’re both entitled to that.”

“Don’t you think you’re being overly defensive?”

Maggie looked at him sharply. “So what? Denny’s my brother. I’ll give him money any time I please.”

Glenn was taken back by her bluntness. “Fine.” He wouldn’t bring up the subject again … at least not for a while.