Finally Page 14

  My hand reached for hers and I was immediately rewarded with her fi ngers lacing through mine. Her head tilted to look at me as soon as our hands connected, a furtive smile playing on her lips. God, those smiles, she could take my breath with any of them.

  As we cleared Michael’s house, my car came into view. “Ah, your T-bird, shoulda known you’d take every chance you could before winter offi cially sets in to drive this thing.”

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  “I was in the Vette yesterday, sweetheart.”

  “My Vette,” she joked, shooting a mock glare at me.

  “Our Vette, my love. I’ve got papers to prove it.” I referred to her insistence that we put both names on everything we owned as soon as we went through our commitment ceremony. She’d also taken care of every other detail like living trusts, health care proxies, life insurance and everything else that goes with a legal joining of two lives. Sometimes it was so wonderful having an all too practical spouse.

  We slipped into the car and I got us headed back out onto the road to our house about ten minutes away. I was looking forward to the few hours we’d have together before we needed to fi ght through Friday night traffi c on the bridge to attend Elise’s going away party.

  As we drove, I’d glance over at Joslyn as she asked me about my day. The early December sunshine highlighted the lighter streaks in her thick, wavy hair, making it appear more blond than brown today. Like her hazel eyes, her honey brown hair shifted shades depending on sun exposure. She still took my breath away with her beauty, but it was her kindness and consideration that held me captive. Like today, she was in the middle of a three-week onsite consulting project, but she’d broken it up to fl y back for Elise’s party. She usually spent every moment of out of town consulting jobs completing her contract, evenings and weekends included. But she’d decided to take this weekend off and come home for the party. She liked my friend Elise, but I knew she’d fl own home so that I wouldn’t have to attend this party alone.

  Stepping out of the car in front of our house, we barely made it a step before her dogs burst through the doggie door off the back room and bombarded us. Could I really handle another one of these mutts? Yes, absolutely, especially when I saw how elated they made Joslyn.

  After wrangling them into submission, we got everyone 140

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  moving toward the front door. I spotted two boxes on the wide wraparound porch of our house. This was only one of the features I loved so much about our two-year-old home. Michael was so talented as a house designer and my brother-in-law, Marco, could work wonders with timber beams. Finally, my once disjointed property now had a house, detached garage, connecting carport, and barn that looked harmonious and stunning enough to be featured in Architectural Digest.

  “Are you expecting a delivery?” I asked of the packages.

  The dogs were circling her legs as she stepped up beside me on the porch. She reached down and grabbed the biggest box, swinging a secretive look up at me. Her eyebrows fl uttered as she opened the door and went inside. I grabbed the other box and followed her.

  “Don’t open it yet,” she warned while sliding hers onto the console table and reaching for mine. “Stay here a sec.” She disappeared into the family room at the end of the hallway leaving me feeling like I was missing something but enjoying the sway of her hips as she moved. Damn, she was sexy. I shook my head before I was tempted to ignore her instruction and decided to be productive, too. Heading back outside, I went to get her suitcase from the car. By the time I came back, she called out, “Okay, come on back.”

  I strode down the hallway with the dogs in tow and stopped as I reached the wide open space of our living room. Candles were lit around the room, an open bottle of wine stood next to two fi lled goblets, and soft music was playing in the background.

  The smaller box sat open on the coffee table. “What’s all this?”

  “I told you that you’d ruined the surprise I had for you by showing up at the offi ce. I’d hoped to get you some fl owers before I got home then arrange some candles in the bedroom where those new massage oils would come into play.” She pointed to the smaller box. “I wanted to make sure you got to relax a bit 141

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  before the party tonight.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, this is so thoughtful of you. How’d you know I needed this?”

  “I know you, lovely. Now, sit, relax, have a glass of wine, and I’m going to grab your next surprise.”

  “What brought all this on?” I called out to her as she disappeared back toward the front door. The dogs’ toenails clicked on the hardwood fl oors as they followed her on her quest.

  Usually the two little ones stayed with me and the others would follow her everywhere, but even they were too curious to see what she was up to.

  “Open it,” I heard from behind me as she reentered the room carrying the larger box.

  “What did you do this time?” I wanted to be perturbed with her annoying yet amazing habit of bringing back gifts from her trips. Most of the time it was little things because she knew I liked little things best.

  “Got you a little something while I was away.”

  “Doesn’t look too little to me.”

  “Little enough. Stop stalling.” She dropped onto the couch next to me, pointing at the box she’d placed in my lap.

  My fi ngers worked at the tape and ripped a strip free opening one fl ap. I tugged on the other until it gave way and peered inside.

  Oh, God, this woman! I was looking at my dream saddle, the one I’d had my eye on for years ever since I got my fi rst horse. How did she always do this to me. “Joslyn!” I managed in an excited whisper.

  “It’s the one, right?” She looked a little worried that I hadn’t immediately reached in to bring it out.

  “I can’t believe you did this. I thought we agreed no more presents?” I tried to sound stern, but oh, how I wanted this saddle.

  She shook her head, a blissful smile gracing her delectable mouth. Reaching a hand out, she tucked some of my hair behind 142

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  the ear closest to her. She liked running her fi ngers through my hair. I liked it, too, but mostly I liked that she never knew she would like something so simple. So much of the wonder of our relationship together was of her discovering how intimacy between two people could come in almost any form. She was a newcomer to serious relationships, and I relished showing her how much closer we grew with each new discovery.

  Fingering the rim of my now exposed ear, she ignored my stern tone and responded brightly, “You might have said something about that, lovely, but since you’ve actually made me stick to my promise of no birthday presents until your birthday rolls around again in two years, I’m taking some gift-giving liberties. Plus, I like your current saddle better than mine, so now you get the one you always wanted, and I get the same.”

  I laughed at her logical reasoning. That logic was what fi rst attracted me to her. There’s nothing like watching a woman who wasn’t used to emotional outbursts struggle with the ever tilting sway of feelings that comes with being in love. On the rare occasions when we disagreed or even argued, I almost always gave in because she looked so lost not knowing how to deal with all the feelings that bombarded her during those charged times. “I can’t believe you did this.”

  “It is the right one, isn’t it? You’ve been showing it to me every time we stop off at the tack store.”

  “It’s the right one, Jos, thank you. I love it.” I leaned forward over the box and captured her lips, pouring all of my gratitude into this kiss.

  “Good,” she breathed roughly when our kiss left us both trembling.

  “You’re not buttering me up for something, are you?” I pulled the saddle out of the box, running my fi ngers over the supple leather. I got distracted by the intricate stitching for a moment. Then a thought hit me. “You’ve got another dog 143

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/>   hiding somewhere, maybe two? Are we now a licensed kennel, sweetheart?”

  “Not another dog,” she insisted with a laugh, but the fact that the denial came immediately got my dander up. I wiggled my fi ngers back toward my palm, my own version of insistence.

  “I knew you’d be a little sad tonight. I wanted to do something special for you.”

  “Thank you for fl ying back for the party.”

  “Of course, I didn’t want to miss the chance to say goodbye to them. I know how much you’ll miss them, Elise especially.”

  I nodded, feeling tears start to sting my eyes. I was thrilled for Elise’s promotion but I didn’t want her to leave. She’d been a constant in my life since grad school, and while we didn’t see each other every week, we caught up at least twice a month and called each other all the time. “Wish you didn’t have to go back to Houston on Monday, but I’m so glad you’re home for the weekend. What time does your plane leave? Early enough for me to drive you to the airport before I have to get to work?”

  “I’m sending Zina back.”

  “What?” I choked on the surprised breath that leapt from my lungs.

  She moved the saddle onto the fl oor and scooted closer to me, lifting her lower legs to fl ip over my thigh and knee and tucking them between mine. I fell into her as soon as her arms came around me. “I knew this would be a really tough week for you, lovely. I didn’t want to compound that by leaving for another two weeks.”

  The tears that had threatened before started to fall. I could feel myself start to tremble as Joslyn rocked me slowly. “You’re staying?”

  “I’m staying. In fact,” she started then leaned back to wipe my cheeks, “I wanted to talk to you about a change I was thinking about making.”

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  “What kind of change?” I gripped her hands to hold on to something. She had a way of going from point A to point Z and working out all the details of something before bringing whatever it was she was planning to me. I wasn’t sure I was up for any changes right now, not with my closest friend outside my family leaving for good tomorrow.

  “I’ve been thinking about hiring two more people for the business.”

  I tilted my head, not quite sure how this would change things other than more business for her. “Sounds like a good idea. You could always use more help.”

  “That’s what I’ve been thinking, but really, it’s so I can focus on the analysis and presentation end of the job rather than the time consuming data gathering that I’ve been doing from the start.”

  Now my head tilted back the other way. This couldn’t mean what I thought it meant. No, that was wishful thinking, unrealistic wishful thinking.

  She interrupted my fantastical musings. “I thought an offi ce manager to take all the administrative tasks away from Zina so she could be my senior consultant and hire someone else to train in Zina’s position. That way, I’d only have to travel for client meetings and the fi nal presentations to the board or CEO. Zina and the new person could do all the onsite data gathering for me.

  What do you think?”

  “Jos?” I couldn’t manage anything more through my surprise.

  This was exactly what I’d been thinking and hoping and wishing.

  “Do you think you could handle me being around a lot more?

  I’d probably only be gone for a few days each month instead of what we’ve been used to for the past couple of years.”

  “You wouldn’t be gone as much?” This was so out of left fi eld I could hardly comprehend what she was saying. I hadn’t allowed myself to hope that she would ever adjust her schedule 145

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  more than what she’d already done by seeking out more clients in western Washington instead of taking on all consulting jobs that interested her from around the country. I’d been happy with her centralized marketing effort, but this was beyond even my most unattainable hopes.

  “I was never wild about traveling so much, but since being with you, I really don’t like it.” She cradled my still trembling face in her hands. “I understand if this is too overwhelming. You married me knowing you wouldn’t have to have me underfoot all the time. If it’s not okay with you, we’ll keep everything the way it is. I can always fi nd clients to visit.”

  “Sweetheart? You’d be home all the time?” I knew she could discern the excitement in my voice.

  Her tentative look turned into a full fl edged smile. “I’d be home almost all the time. What do you think? I hate being away from you, and now that I’ve got a beautiful baby niece and nephew, I don’t want to miss out on being able to go over to Marco’s and squeeze their cheeks whenever the impulse strikes.”

  The grey of her eyes darkened to a smoky shade, my favorite color. “So, do you think you’d get sick of me underfoot all the time?”

  Since I couldn’t form any words, I closed the distance to slant my mouth against hers, kissing passionately, hoping that would be enough of an answer. How much she traveled always worried me about our relationship, but we’d managed to make it work for three years. With that point of contention out of the way, I was certain with all my heart that we’d make it for fi fty more.

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  Willa’s Epilogue

  It didn’t matter that we were already into the college basketball season or that I’d just seen every single one of these women over the past week. Sunday night dinner was a necessity this week. We could continue our dinner hiatus until the season was over starting next week. Tonight was a must. It would be a surprise for almost everyone here. And not just because I was the one cooking.

  “Honey, are you sure you don’t want me to do the grilling?”

  Quinn had one foot on the patio and one inside the house. She looked more beautiful tonight than when we’d fi rst met, even with the touch of concern in her eyes.

  “I’ve got this, angel.”

  She rubbed her thumb under the fi ngers of one hand, glancing at me scraping the grill in prep and back toward the kitchen where she was doing the rest of the cooking. I’d grilled for us many times, but I’d never tried feeding more than four people at once.

  She was justifi ed in being worried.

  “You don’t have time to grill, cook, and entertain. I can handle this.” I can, I think. No, I can, almost completely certain.

  The front doorbell rang a full half hour before anyone was supposed to arrive. Since moving to Virginia and meeting this clan of ours, I’d had to get used to a lot of things. Usually it was something minor like playing referee for the little jabs some 147

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  of them took at each other or being the sounding board for the sometimes constant whining a few of them could do about their spouses. I’d put up with it because I really did like each one of them for different reasons. I liked some of them more than others, but I was never really choosey when it came to friends. If they’d bless me with their friendship, who was I to shut it down for insignifi cant reasons? Showing up mega early to a dinner I was hosting, though, never failed to irk me.

  “That better not be Des,” Quinn muttered. She never minded the early arrivals as much as I did unless it was Des. Away from our home, Des was a good friend to have if a bit, or a lot, obnoxious. In our home, dealing with Des longer than necessary could wear on both of us.

  Quinn turned toward the door then swiveled back and hurried up to me. I recognized the look in her eyes and waited for her kiss. Just the press of her lips on any part of me could settle me down. No matter what I’d been feeling before, her kisses always equalized me. This one didn’t disappoint. Soft but insistent, she kept it PG rated so we both wouldn’t be in agony for the rest of the night. Kisses like these reminded me over and over how lucky I was to have taken that fi rst chance with her and never given up when life threw us both some diffi culties.

  She pulled back and ran her fi ngers down my cheek. “My God, Willa, what you do to me.”

  “It’s that look,
Quinnie. Gets me every time.” I tilted my head toward the door. “Better let her in or she’ll get more obnoxious.”

  Quinn laughed and headed inside. If it was Des, she’d load her up with busy work to keep her out of our hands. Turning back to the grill, I gave it one last scrape and inspected the layout.

  Pam, check, spatula, check, meat thermometer, check. I was all set for the grilling to begin.

  “Looks good,” a quiet voice said from right beside me.

  I nearly jumped out of my shoes, turning to see that M had 148

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  materialized on our patio without a sound. I had grown very good at not being noticeable whenever people came up to Quinn in public, but I was convinced M had a cloaking device. Over the past couple of years, she’d become the best friend I had in the group, but her stealthiness had caused many heart stopping moments. “Jeez,” I managed when I caught my breath.

  “Hi,” she smiled knowing full well she’d scared me.

  I glanced over her shoulder to catch Quinn’s giggle from the doorway before she turned back inside. What surprised me more than M being on our patio was that I didn’t see her partner, Briony, anywhere. “If you think coming early means you get to leave as soon as everyone shows up, think again, sister.”

  M fl icked her brown eyes up to mine for a moment before looking away. “I fi gured you could use help and wouldn’t ask.”

  Little know-it-all punk, not that an inch difference in our heights made her that little, but she did know a lot about a lot, and she was so damn right about this. “So you came over by yourself to a house that will soon be swamped with living human things?”

  Panic entered her expression before her shoulders relaxed and she laughed. Since falling in love with Briony, she’d become so much more at ease. Quinn and Jessie had never understood how we got along so well because the M they saw barely said four words in a row. Now with Briony’s confi dence, M showed a little more of herself to everyone, and they no longer wondered.