Texas Lullaby (Texas Montgomery Mavericks Book 7) (18 page)

When the limo came to a stop and Jason flung open the rear door and yelled, “Surprise!” she wasn’t.

Not at all.

Chapter Fifteen

Lydia also wasn’t surprised to find their seats in first class.

“Can I get you something to drink before we take off?” the attendant asked.

“Orange juice,” Lydia said.

Jason nodded. “The same.”

“So,” Lydia said on a long exhale. “You want to fill me in?”

When he grinned, a serious tingle charged through her veins and lit up her heart like a Christmas tree. But then, he’d always had that effect on her since the first time she’d seen him all bloody in her emergency department. He’d grinned up at her from where he sat on the stretcher, blood dripping from a small cut over his eye, and she’d felt the floor quake.

“Just a short vacation away from our families, the children, work demands, Whispering Springs and anything else that keeps us apart.” He leaned over and said in a quiet voice, “Anything that keeps us in clothes.”

She rolled her eyes and laughed. “I’m still pretty pissed at you.” And she was. In fact, she wasn’t sure going away with him was the best idea. They probably should have had a long talk before this. Depending on a number of factors, this weekend could set the course for their future.

Yeah, good job putting no pressure on whatever Jason has planned.

He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I know. I was pretty pissed at you too. But, honey, I love you too much to give up. Give us this weekend. Give me a chance to change your mind about us.”

His words wound around her heart and squeezed. A love so powerful it brought tears to her eyes streamed through her.

“Okay. I can do that.”

After a change of planes in Miami, their plane landed on Grand Bahama Island. Lydia looked around. “You brought me to the Bahamas?”

“Nope. We’re not done yet.”

They changed to a small prop plane with eight other people and took off again. This flight was a fast up and then down to land on a short runway on a different island.

“Where are we?”

“Sugar Island,” he said.

“Never heard of it.”

“Neither had I, until KC took off to here with Derek Gentry about eighteen months ago.”

A smile spread across her lips. “We’re at the Sand Castle.”

Returning his smile, he asked, “So you have heard of it?”

“Sure, from KC. Their trip sounded incredible.”

“Then hold on, darlin’. Ours is going to be even better.”

Lydia remembered KC’s description of the miniature cars, which were actually customized golf carts. A Mercedes-themed cart that’d been stretched to accommodate six guests waited on the tarmac. Attached was a small wagon. There was a second stretch cart that would carry an additional six passengers.

Her heart raced with excitement. If this place was as nice as KC had described, this would be the vacation of a lifetime for her. With three children at home and a fourth on the way, time away might be hard to come by in the foreseeable future.

When she stepped from the plane, hot, humid air blew her hair away from her face. The breeze was a scent combination of ocean salt and sweet florals. She drew in a deep breath and felt the tense muscles in her neck release a tiny bit of their hold. Of course, the humidity would blow her hair up to triple its regular volume, but she really didn’t care. Her plan was to spend the entire weekend in the water with all her strands slicked to her head.

She bounded down the stairs with a bounce in her step that’d been missing since April. She knew the kids were fine, although she worried about undoing all the spoiling her mother and Jason’s mother would be providing this weekend.

But the thought of the children with four adults who adored them made her smile.

Jason clanged down the stairs after her and then grabbed her around her waist from behind. The kiss he planted behind her ear kicked a bolt of lust through her veins.

“I have no idea what your mom packed in your suitcase, but if I have my say about it, you won’t need one article of clothing in there.”

Desire and arousal engulfed almost every cell in her body.

But there remained those few cells that held out, worried this weekend wouldn’t provide the answer to all her questions. She loved Jason and realized he held the power to crush her emotionally. If she let herself get too comfortable with the idea of a future with him and this weekend didn’t go that way, it would take a long time for her to recover. She had to protect her heart.

KC had shown Jason pictures of the resort, but sometimes exaggeration was the modus operandi for a lawyer. Except, for once in his cousin’s life, she hadn’t been embellishing. As their transportation stopped at a plaza, he caught Lydia’s arm as she stumbled getting out of the cart.

“Sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t paying attention.” She whirled around to look at him. “This place is incredible.” She pointed across the plaza to the resort’s lodge. “That looks exactly as though it’s been constructed out of the sand we are standing on.”

Jason nodded. “I know. KC showed me pictures, but they don’t begin to do the place justice. You have to see it to believe it. Come on. I want to take a look at the moat.”

“Moat?”

He pointed to the open space between the plaza and the castle. “KC told me that the moat is part of the water attractions here. You can swim or float on tubes around the castle and end up back in the main outdoor pool.”

Her responding smile made all the thousands he’d paid for this weekend worth every penny. Frankly, the money meant nothing. Without her, his life had been a hollow shell of its prior self. If it took every dime he had to get her back, he would consider it a good investment.

She looped her arm through his. “Let’s go.”

As they reached the center of the plaza, they were met by a fine mist from an enormous three-tiered fountain. Water shot into the air before it fell back into the upper basin and flowed over the lip to a second and then third basin. Around the fountain, an assortment of red, yellow and white floral blossoms nodded in the breeze.

“Wait,” she said, pulling him to a stop. “Stop here.” She pulled him up to the fountain and stopped the first person walking by. “Can you take a picture?”

“Of course,” the woman said.

“There. That will make a wonderful memory for you,” she said, handing Lydia’s cellphone back to her.

Lydia crossed her fingers that it would be a wonderful memory and not a painful one later.

They followed the woman to the bridge over the moat. She went into the castle as casually as he walked into his office. Conversely, he and Lydia stopped on the bridge and watched three couples float by.

“We will be able to do that, right?” Lydia asked, her eyes wide with anticipation.

“We’ll do whatever you want.” He took her hand. “You name it, and it’s yours.”

At check-in, Jason was handed the keys to their own cart. The receptionist explained that they could opt for bicycles instead, but Lydia snapped the cart keys out of his hand before he could reply.

“No way,” she said. “I’m dying to drive one of those cars.”

The car assigned to their cabin, and thus to them, was a fire-engine-red cart that’d been transformed to resemble a 1957 Chevy truck. Their luggage had been stacked in the open rear bed.

“Ohmigod,” Lydia said. “This is just too cool.” She hopped behind the wheel and patted the seat beside her. “Come on.”

Jason laughed and slid in beside her.

“Hold on,” she warned before stomping on the power pedal. They shot out of the paved parking lot and onto crushed-shell roads. “You navigate. I have no idea where I’m going.”

Chuckling, he asked, “Have you always been this bossy and I’ve just never noticed?”

She glanced toward him. Her mouth was spread wide with a smile. The twinkle in her eyes matched the happiness etched on her face.

“Probably. Is that a problem?”

“Nope.” He grabbed a hold of the roof to stabilize himself. “Take a left at the next intersection.”

She wheeled to the left and sped down the unpaved path. Flowering bushes and trees flashed by.

He smiled at the way her hair had thickened in the damp air and was now dancing around her face.

“Why are you grinning?” she asked after a quick glance his way.

“I’m just so damn glad to have you with me.” And as far as he was concerned, this would be how he spent the rest of his life…beside Lydia, her mere presence bringing calm to his restless soul.

They parked at Cabana Sixteen and climbed out. Elevated off the sand, they had to climb a short flight to stairs to the door. Walking in to the living room was akin to entering another world full of tropical colors and bright sun.

“Holy shit,” Lydia said, turning in a full circle before pointing toward the curved wall of windows. “Look at that ocean.”

Just beyond their stone terrace with its private pool lay the turquoise water of the Caribbean. Sugar-white sand lined the water’s edge. White-capped waves produced constant crashes on the shore. White birds squawked and flew above the waves.

“Incredible,” she said in an almost reverent tone.

“What’s incredible is you,” he said, pulling her against him to kiss her. “In case you haven’t heard, I love you, Lydia Henson.”

Turning in his arms until they were face-to-face, she returned his kiss. “I might have read that somewhere.”

He grinned. “You saw that, huh?”

With a playful swat, she laughed. “My poor partner. I can’t believe you got Caroline involved in your crazy-ass plans.”

“She’s a good sister-in-law,” he said.

A knock at the door stopped her reply. “Without Ellery to do the honors, who will answer my door?”

“I will,” Jason said. “Whatever it takes to get you back into my life, I’ll do it.”

There was a mature man dressed in khaki shorts, a Sand Castle polo and canvas boat shoes standing on the other side.

“Hello,” he said. “I’m Jeffery, your concierge for your stay.”

“Excellent.” Jason stepped back to allow the man to enter. KC had told him about her butler, but he hadn’t been sure if one came with this unit. His reservation for the weekend had been not only a last-minute deal, but a fortunate one as the resort usually booked out months, if not years, in advance.

“I have brought your luggage from your car. May I bring it in and unpack for you?”

Lydia wore a look of surprise.

“Sure,” Jason said.

The man retrieved the bags he’d left outside the door and carried them through the living room and into the adjacent bedroom.

Lydia arched an eyebrow. “If this is your idea of groveling, we will need to do it on a regular basis.”

Jason pulled her to him and kissed her. Her lips parted and he swept his tongue into the warmth of her mouth. Their tongues met and touched and twisted together.

The past month had been one of the worst of his life. He needed this woman. He’d missed the way she tasted, the way she felt in his arms.

No, he wasn’t giving Lydia up without a damn hard fight.

“Excuse me,” Jeffery said. “Ma’am. This envelope was on top of your clothing.”

Lydia stepped out of Jason’s embrace, took the white envelope and slit it open. Two one-hundred dollar bills flittered to the floor.

“What the…?”

She pulled the notebook paper out, read and laughed.

“What?”

“My mother didn’t like my bathing suit. Said it wasn’t sexy enough, so she didn’t pack it. She gave me the money to buy something small and sexy to keep you interested.”

Jason laughed. “Honey, you don’t need anything but yourself to keep me interested.”

After Jeffery left and they’d explored the bedroom with its king-size bed and the master bath with its shower made for two, Lydia said, “Come on out on the patio. Let’s talk.”

His heart beat a little faster at her words. It hadn’t occurred to him until this moment that it was possible that Lydia would use this trip as her goodbye to him. He hadn’t exactly given her much of a choice in coming. He’d pretty much boxed her in with their mothers and his sister-in-law.

“Mind if I get us something to drink first? There is a great breeze, but it’s still hot out there.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

He grabbed a cold beer for him and a bottle of sparkling water for her. She was stretched out on a lounge chair. A quick debate ping-ponged in his head. In the past, he would have made her lean up, and would have slipped behind her and pulled her against his chest to cradle her between his thighs. Now he was unsure of what her response would be. Maybe more importantly, he wanted to see her face while they talked. Would her expressions match her words?

He pulled a chair from the patio table up beside her and handed her the water. “Here ya go.”

“Thanks. Sparkling? Oh yay. My favorite.” She took a long drink and sighed. “Okay. We need to talk.”

“So you said.” He settled back in the chair and tried to assume an air of nonchalance. “Fire away.”

“We were together a long time.”

He nodded.

“And we talked about children a lot. You never varied in your stance. Not once. You were adamant. When I accepted your proposal, I didn’t have children. Now I have three with a fourth on the way.” She patted her abdomen.

“We have.”

“Excuse me?”

“We have three children and one on the way.”

She shook her head. “The situation has changed, Jason. I’m on a totally different path than I was six months ago.”

“Let me ask you this. If we had been married when Meredith and Jim died, would you have divorced me?”

Drawing back, her face wore a mask of offense. “Of course not, but that would have been different.”

He shrugged. “I don’t see the difference.”

“The difference is we
aren’t
married. You can make a new life with someone who wants the same things you do.”

He leaned forward and put his hand on her abdomen. “First, this is
my
baby. Do you believe for one minute that I’d walk away from my child? And second, I love your kids. Every day I don’t see them feels incomplete. And third, I don’t want a life with someone else.”

“It was only a week ago that you accused me of sleeping with another man, trying to pass off another man’s child as yours.” She pushed his hand away. “How are you suddenly so sure that I haven’t been screwing around?” She snapped her fingers. “Semen analysis. You had one done and got the results back and found out you’re not as sterile as you thought, huh?”