Summer Kisses (56 page)

His eyes found her breast. She used his momentary lapse to pluck another Oreo from the wrapper.

“That’s cheating,” Will said as he continued to stare. “I didn’t say it was a—”

Lucky shoved the Oreo in his mouth and pushed his jaw closed.

By reflex, he bit down. “Oh God, I forgot how good these are.” He chewed slowly, like he was trying to memorize the experience. When he finally swallowed, nirvana showed on his face. “Okay, once a year, we can have Oreos.”

“Wow, that’s mighty generous of you.”

“Life is about compromise.” He grabbed another Oreo and popped it into his mouth.

“Hey now. These are mine.” She rolled away to stick them back in her purse, but he grabbed them out of her hand.

“You can share. I happen to know you have a case of them in your closet.”

Lucky stared down at him. “Since when are you going through my closet?”

“I am all knowing.” He smiled and took another Oreo.

“I’ve created a monster.” She took the last two Oreos and popped them in her mouth. After she chewed and swallowed, she said, “About closets. Do you think we should move in together?”

She wanted permanence with him, but he’d never spoken of commitment. And there were the girls to consider. They needed a stable home with stable parents. Was it too soon to talk about marriage?

It didn’t feel too soon. She knew what she wanted—Will and the girls to be her forever family.

“We already live together.” He studied her.

“I know, but, well … the girls need some stability and real parents.” Marbles whirled around in her stomach. She wanted commitment but didn’t know if he wanted the same. It was stupid to feel this scared to talk to someone she loved, but the fear of rejection was human. “Never mind.”

She was a coward. There was no denying it.

“No, go on.”

“It’s just that the girls need to see their parent-type-people in a committed relationship.” She would have given anything to bite her nails, but she didn’t use coping mechanisms anymore. Still, she rubbed her left thumb against her index finger and remembered how good it felt to nibble that nail down to the quick.

“You’re really flustered.” Will sat up. “What is it?”

“It’s stupid, really. I just…” She cleared her voice. “I want to belong to you and to them … forever.”

He took her left hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the ring finger. “Are you talking marriage?”

“Yes.” Her voice was small and unsure.

“Are you proposing?” He kissed her ring finger again but kept direct eye contact the whole time.

“You know, I think we should give the girls a real home. Sneaking around behind their backs when they already know we’re sleeping together sends the wrong message.” She was doing a terrible job at explaining this, and he seemed to revel in her discomfort.

“Are you proposing?” His Cheshire cat smile was beginning to piss her off.

“No. I’m merely stating the obvious. We should provide the most stable and normal home for the girls.” Embarrassment swallowed her whole. He didn’t want to get married. “I guess we don’t need marriage to make a commitment.”

But she did want marriage and wanted it so very badly. Her first marriage had been a sham, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t believe in the institution. She wanted the world to know they belonged to each other, and marriage was a very public and permanent display.

“I’m not saying that I’m proposing, but if I did, what would you say?”

She blinked. Did he want the same thing? If so, why didn’t he get down on one knee and do it right? “Yes.”

“Good to know.” He hugged her to him. “When I finally do propose, that takes the pressure off.”

“Now would be an excellent time to pop the question.” She practically vibrated with the need to make it official.

“No, I think we need a little romance first.” His deep laughter was annoying. “I’ll propose when I’m good and ready.”

“Romance is overrated. If you think about it, we’ve already spent almost two decades getting to know each other, so romance is unnecessary.”

“Romance is always necessary.” He touched her cheek. “I’ll propose when I’m good and ready.”

Good and ready. What the hell did that mean?

“How are the birthday party plans going?” Will traced her jawline.

Holy subject change, Batman! So marriage, for Will, was off the table. As long as they were headed in that direction, she could wait. She swallowed her disappointment and stopped looking to the future. Until lately, she’d always lived in the now, but being with Will and the girls had given her a future. Perhaps she was getting ahead of herself.

~~~

Will closed his eyes and held Lucky as she fell asleep. As soon as her breathing turned shallow and steady, his eyes popped open, and he watched her. She was his everything, and he practically glowed with happiness. Of course he wanted to marry her. That had been his dream since he’d first laid eyes on her, but he needed just a little more time to get things together. Lucky may not believe it, but she did deserve romance, and he aimed to give it to her.

Her first wedding had been a lavish affair in New Orleans at St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter. Thousands had been in attendance, and in true Ricky style, it had been way over-the-top. Lucky had once commented that it seemed impersonal. She’d wanted to get married on a beach and be surrounded by a small group of friends and family.

He wanted that for her, and he aimed to make it personal … very personal. Lucky deserved the very best. Her wedding proposal should be romantic, and their wedding should be the single best day of her life.

A plan was forming, but he needed help. Betts, Charlie, and the girls were about to be enlisted as the Lucky Dream Team. Once he outlined his idea, he hoped they would help him make all of the dreams he had for Lucky come true.

Lucky was a dreamer, but an abusive father and a neglectful husband had sucked the dreams right out of her. More than anything, Will wanted to show her that chasing a dream wasn’t a waste of time, it was the promise of possibility. Everyone needed a dream…. Hers had been family. She was about to get that in a big way.

In Lucky’s world, Sundays were sacred. Being loosely a Catholic, she’d once upon a time attended mass on Sundays so her deadbeat father could confess his sins, receive absolution, and start the week with a clean slate so he could spend the rest of the week tarnishing it.

Now she took Sundays off. They were for movie marathons, pedicures, novel reading, and tons of wasted hours on Facebook. She was perched on the white leather sofas in front of a fire in her bedroom, painting her toenails bubble-gum pink.

Will wasn’t ready for marriage, she still needed to run lines with Dawnie for the narrator part in the school play, the laundry was piling up, and Will wasn’t ready for marriage. Just when she’d finally let the past go and was ready for a future, he slammed on the brakes. That whole life-wasn’t-fair thing continued to bite her in the ass.

Her life needed more bubble-gum pink. She finished the second coat on her right pinkie toe and looked down at the white carpet and the white walls and the white furniture. She stood, heel-walked to the nearest wall, unscrewed the nail polish, and painted a streak of pink on the wall. It was better than the white, but not a color that should ever cover an entire wall. Still, the room was no longer blindingly white. Later today, she’d head over to Lowes and pick up a couple of paint samples. Something gold or maybe peach or blue…. The possibilities were endless. One streak of pink was the first step in taking control of her house.

A tapping like fingernails on wood came from the other side of her closed door. There was only one person in the world who knocked like that. Lucky heel-walked as fast as she could and opened the door.

“Shouldn’t you be on bed rest?” Lucky pulled her best friend Betts into a fierce hug.

“Honey, please, with all the hovering Gabe does, I had to get away … well, sort of. He, Tom, and Truly came with me. They’re going to look at UT. Tom can’t decide between UT, Texas A&M, or Tulane.” Betts let go first.

“I hope he chooses UT. He could live here. It would be so much fun.” Lucky was excited at the possibility of having her extended family with her too. She’d been there at Tom’s birth, nuzzled his sweet baby head, and been there when Betts had given him up for adoption. They had all grieved his loss in the lonely months after he was born and rejoiced seventeen years later when she found him. “I mean, he’s welcome to stay, but he probably wants to live on campus. But we could have weekly dinners or something.”

Damn, but she sounded needy.

“I’ll tell him.” Betts picked at a thread hanging from the hem of her maternity shirt. “I’m going to miss him. I know he’s going away to college, and I want that for him, but I haven’t had nearly enough time with him.”

Lucky put her arm around her oldest and dearest friend. “I know. But he’ll come home all the time. I’ll make sure since he’s going to UT and will be living here.” She laughed. “We should go ahead and plan the rest of his life. We’ll just tell him where to go and what to do.”

“Yeah, right. Because kids always listen to their parents. I’m a prime example. If I’d listened to my mother right now, I’d be working a pole at an upscale gentlemen’s club. I’ll never forget Mama’s advice: ‘only take money that folds because change hurts when it bounces off your thighs.’” Betts had stopped being embarrassed by Mama years ago.

“Speaking of that. I’m pretty sure she’s back on YouTube.” Lucky took a deep breath. “I caught her filming again. I hope it was for personal use only, but in case it’s not, I’m giving you the heads up.”

“Who knew raising a teenager wasn’t half as hard as raising a mother.” Betts shook her head. “I’ll contact YouTube and have them check it out. Now, I know you have Oreos. Cough ’em up.” She rubbed her hugely pregnant belly. “Jack is hungry.”

“You decided on Jack? It was Benjamin last week.”

“I’m trying on different names to see what sticks. Truth is, I’ll have to wait until he’s born and see what fits.” She rubbed her belly again. “I thought this would be our last baby, but Gabe’s talking about another girl. What can I say, my man likes him some babies.” Her voice carried happiness and love.

“I can’t believe your doctor let you travel.” Lucky took her friend’s hand and led her to the bed to lie down.

“I’ve got two more months. Plus, I’ve taken the don’t ask, don’t tell approach with my doctor. This morning, he didn’t ask if I was going out of town, and I didn’t tell him. I only see him once a month.” After two attempts, Betts leveraged her body onto the bed. “Charlie’s downstairs with Mama baby-proofing the kitchen so Truly doesn’t lick a light socket and drink some bleach.” She plumped the pillows. “Surprise, we’re staying with you.”

Lucky hugged her. “Really?”

If it had been anyone else, she would have felt put out, but Betts and Charlie were the sisters she’d always wanted. They were here. They could help pick a new paint color and help with the birthday party plans.

“How long can you stay?” Relief at having her BFFs to lean on made her smile uncontrollably.

“As long as you need.” Betts rubbed her belly. “About those Oreos…”

“Coming right up.” Lucky rushed to her closet, moved the stack of clothes covering the box, grabbed three individual packs, and was back at Betts’s side. “Eat up. We gotta feed that baby.”

Betts ripped open the bag and tossed two cookies in her mouth. She chewed and then said around the cookie, “So you and Will are sleeping together. Mama said that Mandy said that it sounded like y’all were having crazy monkey sex last night.”

Oops.

“Mandy knows we’re sleeping together?” Lucky eased herself up on the bed next to her friend.

“The way I hear it, everyone in Travis County and most of Hays and Blanco Counties heard the two of you.” Betts struggled to sit up. “Spill it. What’s with the loud sex? Is there something new I don’t know about?”

Lucky patted her friend’s belly. “I think you’ve got it down. Will and I were just vocal. He has some pretty good moves.”

“It’s about time you two got together. He’s only been in love with you since … forever.” Betts popped in another Oreo.

“How come I was the only one who didn’t know?”

“You did know deep down, you just weren’t ready to see it,” Charlie said from the doorway. The petite brunette, impeccable in a designer suit and Manolos, looked as if she’d stepped off a runway in Milan.

Betts rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how she does it. We just rode in the same car for six hours, and she looks perfect while I look like I just rode in a car for six hours. I’m pretty sure it’s voodoo, or possibly she’s a robot. Either way, I just want to punch her.”

Charlie blew Betts a kiss.

Lucky climbed up on the bed and lay beside Betts. Charlie walked to the other side of the bed, slid out of her shoes, and carefully eased onto the bed. Lucky glanced over. It was annoying that she was wrinkle-free and flawlessly made up.

“I’ll give you ten bucks to punch her.” Betts leaned over Lucky and pinched Charlie.

“Ouch.” Charlie playfully batted Betts’s hand away. “Your jealously is noted and appreciated.”

Lucky grabbed a hand of each of her friends. “Thanks for coming. How did you know that I needed both of you so much?”

“Our Marilyn radar went off.” Charlie squeezed her hand.

Lucky could feel the tears gathering and didn’t know how to start. “Thanks for being CHUCKINHEELS and BABYMOMMA02. I should have told both of you the truth, but I couldn’t face it. I’m so sorry.” Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. “I love Will.”

Charlie and Betts folded her in a group hug.

“Honey, it’s going to be okay.” Betts patted her back. “He’s the better man.”

“We’re so happy for you. You can’t know how worried we’ve been about you. You were headed down a dark and scary path. We didn’t know how to help you.” Charlie stroked her hair.

“I was so lost…. I had nothing to live for…. I don’t mean I was suicidal, but I didn’t have a purpose. I’d given up hope of finding happiness … and now, I have a family.” Lucky could barely get the words out. She wasn’t alone anymore. She’d always had her friends, but they had their own lives to lead, and now she had one of her own … well, sort of.