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.When he fell on his ass a third time, Spence finallygave up his keys. I ll drive him home, Owen, Charlie told him. We vegot to get going anyway.Kids are with a sitter.Charlene ll follow me, and we ll pour him through hisfront door. Appreciate it, Charlie. All in a day s work. He paused a moment, hands onhis skinny hips as he looked over The Courtyard, up tothe porches. She s a beauty.I booked a night for ouranniversary next May.A surprise for Charlene. Which room? She seems to favor the one with the drapes on thebed and the ginormous tub. Titania and Oberon.Good choice. Hope talked me into the package that comes with abottle of champagne, and dinner for two and whatnot.It ll be ten years, so we ought to do something special.It ll be ten years, so we ought to do something special. Hope will make sure it is. Well, I ll help you get Spence into the car. I ve got it.Go ahead and get Charlene.Thanks for theassist. Not a problem.By the time he got back inside, the crowd had thinnedout.His fresh hunt for Avery was hampered by otherguests preparing to leave, stopping him with thanks forthe evening, compliments on the inn, and good-luckwishes.He appreciated it, he really did, but it occurred to himthey d just had their second party as a couple where he dspent more time without Avery than with her.And she d spent more time serving than being served.He found her in The Dining Room, bussing tables. Don t you know how to be a guest? Not really.And I promised Hope and Carolee I d helpthem clean up after.It s pretty much after.It was great,Owen.Everyone had a good time, and really lovedseeing the inn.Racked up some bookings, too. So I hear. He took the plates from her. Where syour champagne? I set it down somewhere, but I drank most of it thistime.I just scooted your mom up to The Library.We regoing to bring up a fruit and cheese tray, some crackers.Most of you didn t get much food. Insistent, she tookMost of you didn t get much food. Insistent, she tookthe plates back from him. Go on up.I ll be up theresoon.I ll finish up with Hope, then I have to get my bagout of her apartment. I ll get it.Where is it? Just inside the door, but her apartment s locked. I ll get the key.He got her bag, put a bottle of champagne in an icebucket, added two flutes, and pocketed the key to Nickand Nora.After setting the ice bucket in his room for thenight, he found his family, including Clare s parents,sprawled in The Library and already diving into foodtrays. I didn t think I was hungry till right now. Justinegrabbed some crackers. There s my missing son. Spence, he said. Car keys.It took somepersuading. You should ve found me, Justine told him. Spencelistens to me. It s all good. He realized he hadn t had much to eat,just as Avery had suggested, and took a handful ofolives before sitting on the floor. They came, they saw,we conquered. And then some, Beckett agreed, snuggled with Clareon the sofa they shared with his mother and Willy B. It s really done. Justine sighed. When I think of thepast two years. Would you do it again? Clare s mom, Rosie, asked Would you do it again? Clare s mom, Rosie, askedher. Don t give her any ideas. Ryder cast his eyes to theceiling. I wouldn t, not this.This was a once-in-a-lifetime. Thank you, God.But she laughed as she booted Ryder s foot. I haveother ideas.For later.For tonight? She lifted her glass. Here s to my boys.Ryder, Owen, and Beckett.Youmade my dream come true.Ryder reached over, laid a hand on hers. You dream good, he said after a moment. Just dome a favor and sleep quiet for a while.From the gleam in her eye as she sipped herchampagne, Owen suspected she already had anotherdream going.CHAPTER FOURTEENGOOD NIGHTS CAME late and lazily.Avery calculated Justineand her father had some sort of signal to make thesleeping arrangements a bit less awkward for theirchildren.Or at least the male children, she thought, as shedidn t feel awkward at all.Her father lumbered out while Justine remained.Afew minutes later, Justine wished them all sweetdreams.By tacit agreement no one mentioned the fact Justineand Willy B were spending the night together just downthe hall.Maybe, if she thought about it, the fact she and Owenwould be spending the night together at the other end ofthat same hall, awkwardness or more likely amusementin her case would ensue.So she didn t think about it.Instead, inside the Deco flair of Nick and Nora, Averystretched her arms high.Everything felt good, shedecided.Everything felt just exactly right.To please herself, she turned in a circle to take in theroom, and saw the champagne on ice. You copped a bottle! You copped a bottle! Hey, I prefer the term liberated. On her grin, hewalked over to pop the cork. This is like dreamscape or some beautifullyproduced play, and I get a starring role.A beautiful anddownright snazzy room after a lovely, happy party, withchampagne provided by a sexy guy.I d check my list if Ihad one, but I think I currently have it all.He offered her a glass. Now you do. To having it all then. She tapped her glass to his,sipped as she wandered. It really went well, didn t it? she said to Owen. Lotsof happy faces, lots of happy talk. All of that, and you had to see and hear most of it.You seemed to be everywhere at once. I can t sit still at a party. She set the shoes shecarried beside the dresser. Gotta keep moving or Imight miss something.You disappeared for a while.He took off the tie he d already loosened. I touredsome people through, then had to close the doors inE&D. Elizabeth was all over tonight, too.I caught her scentseveral times. I ran into your father up there.He wanted to let meknow he d be staying there he and Mom.In E&D.Together. Hmm. She leaned back on the dresser, eyeing himas she drank champagne. I suspected as much.Andas she drank champagne. I suspected as much.Andhow did that go? He fumbled around a lot, like he does, and stillmanaged to say all the right things.Meanwhile I foughta desperate battle to keep any and all imagery out of mybrain.We both did okay. That s good.I think  Then he pinned me about you. He.What?No amused smirk now, Owen noted. No fumblingthere.He s a lot more on-point when it comes to hislittle girl. Well, for God s sake, she began, then tilted her head. On second thought, it s kind of sweet.And funny.How d that go for you?He pulled off his shoes, set them beside hers. It wasa little strange, a little illuminating. Really? Enjoying the idea of it, she sipped morechampagne. What did he say? That s between us men.She rolled her eyes. You re his Avery, Owen said as he crossed to her. The most important thing in his life.I d say the centerof his life.You re important to me, too.She smiled. It s nice to be important. You are. He set his glass down, laid his hands on hershoulders, ran them down to her elbows and back. Maybe I haven t told you, or shown you. Maybe I haven t told you, or shown you.He looked so serious, those blue eyes more intensethan quiet, she found herself just a little off balance. Wego back.We know we re important to each other. We go back, he agreed, and laid his lips softly, verysoftly on hers. But this is now, and this is different.She tipped her head back a bit more. There is that.Not just that, he thought as he slowly deepened thekiss.He wasn t sure what, wasn t sure of the all, but itwas more than heat generated and needs met.He felt her slide into it, little by little, and knew atthat moment he wanted exactly that [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]