Two Nights with His Bride (21 page)

“What?” She blinked innocently. “You said you
wanted to take it slow.”

“In about twenty minutes you’ll see how slow I can go.”

“I look forward to that.”

He grinned and squeezed her thigh before shutting the door. After putting her bag in the back, he walked around to the driver’s side and got in. He fired up the engine and backed out of the space. Every move he made emphasized the play of his muscles beneath his shirt and jeans.

“I could
watch you forever.”

“I know. I saw you in the hay bales, remember?”

She gave him a gentle shove. “Will you ever forget what a pathetic kid I was?”

His face fell and he blinked at her. “Pathetic? Sweetheart, you were the most tenacious thing I’d ever seen. Brave and determined. Still are. I admire the hell out of you.”

Pride swelled in her chest. “I did the scenes. The leprosy ones.”

His fingers
drummed gently against the wheel as he changed lanes. “I figured, since you stayed there all day yesterday. Why’d you do it?”

“You mean, against your wishes?”

“Screw my wishes. Yesterday you asked me for advice, and I gave it. That doesn’t mean I expect you to follow it. Believe me, I’ve known you long enough to realize you have your own mind and can make your own decisions.”

“Yeah—godawful
ones.”

He shrugged. “So join the club of human beings. We all make shitty choices. Hell, look at the divorce rate if you don’t believe me. Making a few bad decisions doesn’t mean
all
our choices are doomed to fail.”

Her shoulders relaxed into the truck’s seat, and she let her head rest against it, tilted to the side so she could watch him. “I did it because I wanted to start over without owing
Jared anything. I didn’t want him to have excuses to contact me or hassle me. I wanted a clean break.”

Wyatt grinned and grabbed her hand. “Sounds like the right choice, then. Good thing you ignored me. What about your career? Is there any bad advice I can give you that you can ignore?”

She laughed. “Don’t think so. But maybe you’ll come up with something.”

“I always try my best.”

She squeezed
his fingers. “You know, I realized something after I found out what you’d done. He only has the power I allow him to have over me. He took Verity away from me, but I let her go and it wasn’t as hard as I thought. He wanted to humiliate me by making me a leper—but why should people with leprosy feel humiliated? It’s not their fault they got this disease. It’s only shameful if I think there’s something
wrong with it. Choosing to do those scenes felt like the most powerful decision I ever made. And I didn’t have to dig down too deep to remember what it’s like to be an outcast for circumstances beyond your control. So I did it, and I have to say it’s probably some of my best work. I’m really proud of it.”

“Jesus. You are something else.” Wyatt pulled the truck off to the side of the road, yanked
off his seat belt and slid across the seat until he gathered her in his arms and kissed her. He kissed her so thoroughly she squirmed and pulsed with need.

“Wyatt. I need you. Now.” Breath panted out of her as desperation ramped up.

He tugged off her seat belt and slid his hands under her skirt, stroking all the way up her thighs to their juncture. His finger brushed her swollen flesh through
her damp panties, and she gasped.

“Slow, remember?” he murmured against her lips.

“
Now
, remember?”

He tugged her hips till she lifted them from the seat, and then he yanked her panties down her legs. She kicked them away in triumph, never feeling as free as she did now.

He kissed his way over her achy breasts. “I guess I do owe you a welcome-home gift.”

And then she was spread wide open on
the seat of his truck in broad daylight, and his mouth was
there
, and his tongue and lips were driving her to the brink of insanity. She dug her fingers into his scalp and held on for dear life as he pushed her over the edge. Her orgasm spiraled and exploded into a thousand shards of light.

She lay limp and sweaty until her brain cells had the strength to weave themselves back together. “That…that…”
She shook her head. “That was not slow. And I want more.”

“I’ll give you plenty more—back home.” He kissed the tip of her breast and quickly shifted himself back into the driver’s seat. “Buckle up, sweetheart. We’re in for one hell of a ride.”

‡

“People stay married because they want to, not because the doors are locked.”

—Paul Newman

Ten months later

N
ancy stood still
as Marielle, a budding fashion designer whose work Nancy actually liked, fussed around her.

“Do you like it? Are you sure you like it?” Marielle smoothed her hand over the black organza that clung
to Nancy’s curves. It was sheer enough to be transparent, and Marielle had hand-sewn black sequins in a floral pattern over Nancy’s breasts, down one side of her waist and over her lower hips and thighs. The effect made her sparkle.

“Marielle, it’s so stunning I’m speechless.”

“You better not be!” Faye perched her hands on her hips and gave her a mock-stern glare. “Trust me, they’ll call your
name tonight, so have your speech prepared. And I’d better be the first person you thank.”

Though Nancy couldn’t afford to pay her anymore—and hadn’t needed an assistant for several months, since Jared had made good on his word to sabotage her career—Faye had shown up at the hotel room tonight out of friendship, not salary. And thank God, because Nancy could really use someone to steady her nerves
right now. As soon as the hair and makeup artists had arrived, Wyatt had banished himself to the bar, muttering something about the perfume making his head spin. In all the upheaval of the past year, his love and belief in her had kept her faith steady. He’d split his time between Marietta and L.A., showing her that neither of them had to sacrifice dreams to make their relationship work. And
tonight he would be by her side for the biggest moment of her career.

She loved him so much her heart could burst with it.

“It doesn’t matter if I don’t win,” she lied. “It’s an honor to be nominated.”

“Hell, it’s more than an honor. It’s the biggest eff-you TV Land can give Jared.”

She’d been trying not to think of it that way. Being nominated as the best actress on a daytime drama still
felt like a dream, and she wanted to believe she’d been nominated for her acting skills, not political reasons. But the industry was rarely altruistic. When word had first broken that she’d been kicked off the show, fans had revolted. They’d signed online petitions and organized a campaign to inundate the network with phone calls. Then stories about the way Jared had treated her had started popping
up on message boards–stories about him crashing her girls’ camping weekend and wanting to continue rafting when she’d hit her head on the submerged rock. She’d asked Ruby and Polly about it, but they’d given her innocent looks worthy of a best actress nomination.

Jared had lost his shit, even threatening to sue a woman in Oklahoma for sharing a link to one of the stories. His increasingly erratic
behavior over the past ten months had rubbed a lot of people wrong. She was hopeful one of them had a great part for her—something that would be all the more likely if she won tonight—but she wasn’t going to rush into grabbing the first thing that came along. Stepping off the Hollywood hamster wheel had been terrifying at first, but she’d soon gotten used to the slower pace she’d grown up with.
Friendly people. Caring neighbors. And Wyatt.

Good God in heaven,
Wyatt
.

She dragged in a nervy breath and let it out. “I think it’s time to go.”

“Want me to get him?”

“No. I’ll surprise him in the lobby. Tell me again that I’m going to win.”

Faye grabbed her hands and grinned. “You’re going to win. You’re going to win big time.”

Nancy squeezed her hands. “You’re the best. And Marielle,
I can’t thank you enough. This dress is breathtaking.”

“My pleasure.” Marielle kissed her cheek and strode to the door. “I’m still pinching myself!”

Smiling, Nancy followed her into the elevator and down to the lobby of the laid-back Santa Monica boutique hotel where she and Wyatt had been kicking back the past few nights. No more Malibu mansions or Beverly Hills penthouses for her. All she
wanted was a quiet room and time alone with her man.

And speaking of her man… He sat at the bar with his gaze stuck on the TV, where hockey players were beating each other senseless. She crossed the lobby, fingers digging into her black clutch and confidence rising as every head in the place turned her way.

Except one.

*

“Come on, come
on,” Wyatt
muttered. His gut clenched with nervous energy, and a little of it dissipated every time someone landed a punch. He couldn’t explain it, knew it was probably messed up, but there it was.

The bartender caught his eye and jerked his head. Wyatt turned—and nearly had a heart attack.

“Ho-ly shit.” He slid off the barstool and stared at her, feeling like a slack-jawed yokel. “You…you’re… Holy shit.”

Her lips quirked up. “That’s a good thing, right?”

Throat seizing up, he took her hands and shook his head, unable to do much else. “You’re perfect.”

Her eyes grew glassy, and her smile wobbled. “Far from it.”

“Close enough for me.” He leaned in, careful not to step on anything that might tear, and kissed her. “Perfect for me.”

“I love you, Wyatt.”

“I love you too, sweetheart. Ready to go?”

Her nose brushed his as she nodded. “Let’s do this.”

He tucked her arm beneath his and escorted her to the limo waiting for them outside. As he’d watched her struggle to find new acting roles and seen how she’d kept her head up after every rejection, he’d thought he couldn’t be more proud of her. But here she was, ready to gracefully face the very industry that had turned its back on her.

Pride
didn’t just burn inside him. It exploded.

The limo driver opened the door for them, and Wyatt helped Nancy get in. Once he’d settled himself next to her, they took off for the theater where the TV industry’s biggest awards ceremony would be held.

He was ready to puke, he was so nervous.

“I think I might need your help with something.”

His head whipped around. She’d teased him with those words
a lot since they’d gotten together, but she often followed them up with something like
I can’t get this jar open
. But this time, the seriousness in her voice clued him in that she needed more than some muscle. “Anything.”

The look she gave him bordered on panicked, and suddenly his heart calmed its erratic speed. He could do this, whatever it was.

“I might need your help to keep me grounded
tonight. This is the kind of event where it can be easy to forget who you really are because everyone around you is trying to convince you you’re someone else. I’ve finally remembered who I am, and I like that person. I don’t want to forget her.”

His whole body ached for her. He caressed her cheek, and she nuzzled into his touch. “You won’t forget who you are, sweetheart. And tonight’s not a
night for you to stay grounded.”

She blinked at him in confusion.

He whispered against her lips, “I want to watch you soar.”

“Oh, God, you’re good.” She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. When she pulled away, he rubbed at her smeared lipstick and then reached into his pocket.

“I love you, Nancy—the woman you are, the girl you used to be, and everything you’ll become. I love all of
you.” He pulled out the box and flipped it open to reveal a diamond solitaire surrounded by delicate rose-gold flowers.

She gasped, her shaky fingers flying to her lips.

Seeing her so overcome made his own voice strain with emotion. “I’ll love you with my dying breath and even beyond. Will you marry me and be by my side for a million more adventures?”

“Yes. Oh, Wyatt,
yes
!” She threw herself
into his lap, and they kissed until the driver stopped the limo and someone tapped at the window. Face flushed, hair a bit mussed, she pulled herself away from Wyatt and grinned. “Faye must be psychic.”