“We are?”
“Yes. Don’t even think about making up some excuse about not wanting to get married because I heard you talking to Jill. You want the whole package—marriage, kids, and whatever else comes along with it. But I know what it means to marry me. Living with me and my visual impairment means you won’t have what Jill has. What we have will be different. My vision won’t get better. I’ll never be able to truly see and appreciate your physical beauty or the children we create. I’ll need you for some things I can’t do myself. I don’t like needing anyone, but if I have to need someone, I want to need you.”
She gripped his arms with more strength than he knew she possessed. “I need you too, Jack. I love you. I love everything about you—including your vision. And you will see my beauty because you’ve taught me that real beauty is on the inside. We’ll both see that in our kids. I’ve been flat on my back since you called the raft shop and said you’d find me.”
“I found you.”
“We found each other.” She reached up, pulled his head down, and kissed him long and slow and with infinite care. “I thought you were leaving me. I thought I hadn’t even put a dent in your armor.”
“You stripped my armor the moment I heard your voice.” He dipped his head to her ear and whispered, “I don’t know if you know this, but you’ve got a reputation as being a bit of a slut.”
When she laughed, the vibration coursed through his blood like a salve for his wounded heart. “Then what are you waiting for? Kiss me like we’re all alone. Let’s burn that rumor to the ground.”
He spun her around, dipped her back, ran his tongue from the v in her dress to her earlobe before melding their lips in a kiss so deep, when they emerged, the whole room was clapping. In that moment, Jack knew he’d never made a sweeter deal in his life.
Chapter 48
When the clapping stopped and the circle that had formed around Jack and Olivia dissipated, Lyle gripped Erica’s waist and squeezed. “What do you think that was all about?”
Erica shrugged. “I don’t know, but they sure look happy.” Almost as happy as she felt standing next to Lyle with his arm around her. She dipped her head onto his shoulder.
They watched Olivia jump into Jack’s arms and straddle him, giving him a smacking kiss before pumping a fist in the air and hollering. “Or drunk,” Lyle said. “What in the world is she doing acting like that in the middle of Jill’s wedding reception?”
“She’s being Olivia,” Erica said and nodded to where Jill and Ty watched from the edge of the dance floor with beaming smiles. “I don’t think Jill minds.”
“Huh.” He turned to face her. “How come you don’t jump in my arms and pump your fist when I kiss you?”
“I don’t jump in your arms because I’m bigger than you and I don’t want to break your back.”
“Woman…” he scolded.
She linked her fingers around his neck. “How do you know I don’t do a fist pump behind your back?”
“Do you?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe you haven’t given me a fist pump-worthy kiss.”
“You told Olivia I’m a good kisser.”
Erica’s mouth fell open. “She told you that?”
“Yep.”
“Well, there’s a difference between being a good kisser and a fist pump-worthy kisser. Maybe, with some practice, you might get there.”
“You want practice, do you?”
“I’d be willing to serve as your kissing dummy.”
Lyle yanked her against him. It always gave her a thrill to realize how strong he was despite his skinny frame. “As soon as Jill and Ty leave, we’re out of here.”
“Where are we going?”
“Considering the fist pump routine, I imagine Jack and Olivia want to be alone. I was going to try my best to convince you to spend the night.”
Erica took a shuddering breath. She knew Lyle’s patience with her was close to gone, but she hadn’t wanted them to make love until all the wedding stuff was over. She knew Lyle didn’t have a thing for Jill anymore. Anyone with half a brain could see that Jill and Ty were insanely in love and only had eyes for each other. She wasn’t jealous, but she wanted to be alone with Lyle when it was just about them and he didn’t have a wedding event on his mind.
“You won’t have to try very hard.”
Lyle let out a low sound in his throat before proving he was better than just a good kisser. She’d have to find her head before they left. It had spun off her shoulders. When the band announced it was time to see the bride and groom off and ushered everyone into hallway, Erica grabbed a tiny bottle of bubbles from a nearby table.
“Not a moment too soon,” Lyle said in her ear.
Nerves and anticipation mingled in her stomach. Jill and Ty ran through a shower of bubbles and cheers to the limousine idling in the drive. When Erica turned around to say something to Lyle, he was gone. She found him moments later standing outside with a man she didn’t recognize. Why would he go outside without his coat? she wondered. Something about the other man seemed familiar, but she knew she’d never seen him before. She blew a few more bubbles and popped them with her finger while she waited for Lyle to return.
***
Tommy walked up to Lyle and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Was that your brother?”
“Yeah,” Lyle looked up, tried to focus his thoughts, “that was Kevin.”
“I thought he and Shiloh couldn’t make it for Thanksgiving.”
“He just got here. I, uh…I’m not sure what’s going on with him.” Lyle shook his head. The universe had simply turned on its axis. No wonder his brother had called at the last minute and postponed his visit home. He turned around and searched the crowd, trying to determine whether or not his mom or Dodge had caught a glimpse of Kevin. He spotted them standing just inside the door with another couple, waiting for their coats. From the easy smiles on both their faces, he could tell they hadn’t seen him. Damn Kevin for dropping a bomb on him and asking him not to say anything. Did Kevin really think they wouldn’t find out?
“What are you doing out here?” Lyle shoved his hands in his pockets to ward off the chill of a near freezing night.
“I thought I saw someone. Someone I used to know.”
Lyle slapped Tommy on the back. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“It feels like it.”
“Why didn’t you go after her?” Lyle asked.
“How did you know it was a woman?”
“Only a woman can put a look like that on a man’s face.”
“She got in a car. I’m not even sure it was her, it couldn’t have been, but it sure looked like her.”
“Maybe it was,” Lyle said. “On a night like this, anything is possible.” He turned around when a peel of laughter escaped from an open door. He spotted Erica standing with Jack and Olivia. “I’ll see you later, Tommy.”
“Yeah,” Tommy said and continued staring into the parking lot.
Erica looked dumbfounded as she stood staring at her brother. “You’re what?” she asked.
“We’re getting married,” Jack said and scooped Olivia into his arms. “Olivia’s moving to Denver.”
Erica cupped her hands over her mouth before hugging Olivia. “I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t let her go.”
Jack only lifted a shoulder.
“I guess the book ends with a happily ever after,” Lyle said and slapped him on the arm. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” Jack turned to his sister. “I’m going to need you to stay here and keep an eye on the wind study for me.”
“You want me to stay here? In Hailey?”
“Somebody’s got to look after the house and the property. Between continuing your studies and flirting with your neighbor, I think you’ll be busy.”
Lyle expected Erica to protest; he felt sure she’d be upset about being left behind, but she only smiled and lifted her brows at Lyle. He reached over and grasped her hand. “I’ll keep a good eye on her for you.”
“I’m counting on that, Lyle. I’m counting on that.”
“Let’s go home,” Olivia said to Jack. “We can talk about my ring on the ride.”
“Oh, brother. Here we go.” Jack let Olivia drag him into the cold night air.
“I can’t believe it,” Erica said. “He’s so happy. And I’m going to have a sister!”
“Are you okay staying here?” Lyle asked. “You’re not upset?”
“Upset?” She looked him in the eye. “No. I’m not upset. You can’t get rid of me that easy. Are you upset?”
“Upset you’re staying?” He drew her into him so there wasn’t any chance she’d get distracted or misunderstand him. “I’m not letting my kissing dummy go.”
“You even try to kiss someone else and I’ll hurt you.”
“Ummm, I like it when you talk tough.”
They walked hand in hand to his car. “Who was that you were talking to?” Erica asked.
Lyle held her close. “My brother.”
Erica turned to face him when they reached his car. “Your brother? What’s he doing here? Where was his wife?”
Lyle unlocked the car and opened her door. “I wish I knew, Erica. I wish I knew.”
###
About the Author
Christy Hayes writes romance and women’s fiction. She lives outside Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, two children, and two dogs.
Discover Other Romance & Women’s Fiction Titles by Christy Hayes
Good Luck, Bad Timing &When Harry Met Sally
Mending the Line, Book 1, Golden Rule Outfitters
Connect with Christy Hayes Online
If you enjoyed Guiding the Fall, please consider leaving an honest review at your point of purchase location.
Coming soon…Book 3 in the Golden Outfitter Series…Tommy Golden finds love in Taming the Moguls!
Continue on to read the first chapter of the book that started it all: Shoe Strings!
Shoe Strings
Every second of the last ten years disappeared when Angelita Barros drove up to her boutique and saw her father fingering the shoes she’d created, the same shoes that were making waves in the industry where names like Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo were synonymous with style and fashion. One look was all it took and she knew everything she’d built since the day he’d thrown her out of the house--her business, her success, her sanity--meant nothing. How dare he, after everything he’d done, after everything he hadn’t done, come trespass on the life she’d built despite him?
There was gray in his hair now, just a dash around the temples, and she saw a paunch around his beltline that hadn’t been there before, but everything else was the same. After all these years, she’d recognize Davi Barros anywhere. But what was he doing inside her store? Her shoes were fun, frilly, and fabulous, the tag line
Atlanta Wears
magazine intended to use in their upcoming spread. From flip-flops to low-heeled sandals to drop dead gorgeous three-inch heels, Angelita Feet was becoming the brand everybody wanted and the brand she wanted everyone to know about. Everyone but him.
Lita watched him smile at Sophie, her business partner and best friend, the only one who knew the sordid details of her past. To Sophie, Davi was no more than a stranger, a customer who deserved the best. If only Lita could warn her, tell her to throw him out, tell her not to reveal a single detail of her life to the man responsible for nearly crushing it. But she couldn’t risk exposing herself, so she peeled out of the parking lot and headed north, instead of south toward the airport and her planned vacation to Florida. Sophie wouldn’t tell her father anything, even if she didn’t know who he was. She’d never give a stranger, or the father she knew Lita hated, any personal information. But if he’d shown up at her shop after ten years of no contact, her father was up to something. Damn. Her beach vacation, in the span of seconds, had become a thing of the past. But where should she go?
Just drive, she told herself as she pulled onto I-85 and kept on going, past Atlanta’s affluent Buckhead community, beyond the edges of its perimeter highway and out beyond the teeming suburbs. She drove and drove until her need for a clear-cut plan forced her off the interstate. What now?
She pulled into a gas station and decided a clear plan called for a clear head and that meant caffeine. She purchased a large coffee and, back inside her car, pulled up a map of the southeast on her phone. Where could she hide for awhile until she figured out what to do? A Google search for mountain cabins in the Southeast brought her to a Web page advertising two cabins for rent by the week or month in western North Carolina. Owner Calvin Bloodworth answered on the second ring and the singsong melody of his voice sounded as peaceful to Lita as his description of the brook that ran through the property and the stunning bird’s-eye view the cabins offered.