When They Weren't Looking: Wardham Book #3 (28 page)

She blinked back the tears that obscured her vision of the ring. White gold, yellow diamond solitaire. “Wow.”

He grinned. “Evie Calhoun, will you, at a time that is convenient to you, in front of your three children and whomever else you want to invite, do me the immense honour of becoming my wife? Will you wear this little piece of sunshine from now until the end of time as a symbol of my love, and will you always trust me with your dirty little secrets?”

“Oh, hell, yes.” She threw her arms around him, and he squeezed her tight before easing her back and sliding the ring onto her finger.

They slid under the covers together, and Evie wrapped her newly bedazzled hand around her future husband’s cock, eliciting a lovely groan. “Your turn.”

When Liam slipped out of bed to clean up a little while later, he noticed Evie’s last present still waiting for him to open. He set his cell phone alarm for an hour before the boys were due to arrive, and after visiting the washroom, crawled back into bed with his woman. Her soft naked body shifted against his, and he fell asleep truly happy for the first Christmas he could remember.

In the morning, he made tea and oatmeal before waking Evie up. The first thing she did was bring her hand to her face, really close, like she wasn’t sure it had really happened. Then she ran for the bathroom, and came back for some heavy duty kissing after she’d brushed her teeth. He hadn’t had a chance to ask her about the present when Connor thumped on the door, and she dashed away, eager to sweep her boys into her arms. She and Dale alternated the holidays, so the boys had opened their stockings at their dad’s place already——stockings Evie had mostly filled, which Liam didn’t quite understand, but it made her happy, so he didn’t question it. She listened to the boys update her on what they received and what they did over the last two days, and once they were all around the table, digging in to oatmeal topped with maple syrup, she took a deep breath.

“Connor, Max…Liam and I had an important conversation last night.” She smiled across the table at him, and Liam waited for the boys to bust him.

“Oh?” Connor asked with a total straight face.

“Well, you know we’re having a baby, and I think you know by now how important Liam is to me—” she shot him a quick grin “—almost as important as you two.”

Max looked up from his cereal. “Is this about you getting engaged?”

Connor shushed him, and Evie wrinkled her brow. “How did you know?”

“Because Liam asked us last week how we’d feel about that.” Max shrugged. “I suggested a new PlayStation instead of a ring, but he seemed to think the ring was the right way to go.”

Liam had learned that sniffles, particularly in pregnant women, were very hard to read. Connor had apparently learned the same lesson. He took one look at his mom, and leaned over to ask Liam if those were good tears or bad tears.

“Damned if I know, but she’s not yelling, that’s a good sign.” He looked at his future bride, who rolled her eyes at him.

“You try living with these hormones, you goof! Of course they’re happy tears. You asked them?”

“Of course. If they weren’t ready, I’d have waited.”

“And you guys are okay with this?” Evie looked from Connor to Max and back again. They nodded in tandem.

“Plus, he’s bringing his iPad to live here.” Max looked at Liam sagely. “You might need to buy yourself a new one. I think yours might get lost.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Another glance at his watch. They still had time, but at this rate—

“Stop worrying about parking spots.”

“I wasn’t.”

“You were.” She swept into view and even though he had been, parking was now the last thing on his mind. “Do I look okay?”

She wore crazy tall heels, the shiny black patent a saucy counter to her bouncy red chiffon dress. The soft swell of her belly was disguised under the floating layers that seemed to dance as she moved toward him. “Wow. You look stunning.”

“Yeah?” She allowed herself a small smile. “It was hard to find something that fit. I don’t have an appropriate maternity dress. This is Laney’s.”

“You’d rock a paper bag, sunshine.”

“Hush. Will you do up my necklace?” A glittering strand dangled from her outstretched hand.

He moved closer and reached past it to trace a finger along the inside of her forearm. “You don’t need jewels to shine.”

Evie rolled her eyes. “Nice line.”

“It’s not a line. You seriously take my breath away.”

“Liam…”

“Okay, okay. Give me that.” He took his time sliding the necklace from her fingers, relishing the last little bit of contact. The last week had been a flurry of family and community events, and early bedtimes. No school meant no time for afternoon fun, either. “Turn around.”

She spun slowly, revealing her back. All of her back. The loose fabric of her dress sat low enough to reveal dimples below the tuck of her waist. All the blood drained out of his head. Not a surprise. It was all needed in his groin.

“Evie—” Her name came out in a strangled hiss. She cocked her head to the side, glancing back at him over her shoulder. “You can’t wear this dress.”

“You don’t like it?”

“It’s indecent. I love it.” To prove his point, he placed his finger right between those dimples and trailed his hand up her spine. The goosebumps that pebbled under his fingertips confirmed she was as affected by his touch as he was by her skin. By all of her. He fastened her necklace, then dipped his head to whisper in her ear. “And if you wear it tonight, then the entire town population is going to be scandalized, because I’m going to have my hands all over you. And anyone who comes near——and, sunshine, they will try, abso-fucking-lutely—is going to get a face full of me instead of you.”

“I don’t think anyone is going to be paying attention to me tonight.”

“Then you clearly haven’t seen the back of this dress in a mirror.” He was tempted to slide his hands through the gap in the fabric and test just how naked she was underneath, but he didn’t want to test his luck. Or his restraint.

“I promise, all eyes are going to be on Karen tonight.” She’d spilled the beans a few days earlier.

He thought it was brilliant, but Evie was quick to dissuade him of the same idea for their wedding. “How many people is this actually going to be a surprise for?”

“Karen seems to think her mother still doesn’t know.”

“Well, then this should be fun.”

Sexy jazz music swirled through the air as Evie walked into the glittering winery. As Liam had suspected, parking was a nightmare, so he dropped her off and went to find a spot near the back of the lot.

She spotted Beth immediately. The other woman had a discreet ear piece and an obvious clipboard. “Evie!” She stopped for a moment and made gushing noises about Evie’s dress, and Evie returned the compliment sincerely. Beth was tall and curvy, with exceptional taste, and she’d outdone herself tonight, wearing a little black dress that walked the line between guest and professional.

“Are you the unofficial Vegas coordinator tonight?”

Karen had started using that as the actual code word for the wedding, and Beth knew exactly what Evie meant. She lifted her hands in a “what can you do” gesture. “I wasn’t going to let someone else come in and muck up the place, now was I?”

They shared a laugh, then someone talked to Beth in her ear and she excused herself after whispering that Vegas would happen in about thirty minutes. Evie glanced around for the happy couple. She knew Karen and Paul planned to be here for the whole evening, and not make a special entrance. It was thrilling, knowing what was about to happen.

She saw Paul first, handsome and grinning like a fool in a sharp tuxedo. He had Megan on his arm, and at first Evie didn’t recognize her. She was wearing an almost strapless ball gown, but as Evie moved closer, she saw thin metallic bands dancing over the girl’s shoulders. She’d obviously gone to the salon with Karen earlier, and her hair was twisted and curled into an up do.

Before she reached them, she heard her name, and spun around to find the bride herself.

“Look at you,” Evie breathed. As soon as the justice of the peace announced the nuptials, it would be obvious that Karen was a bride, but her dress was subtle enough to blend in to the wintery party until then. Pale blue, a few shades lighter than Megan’s dress, and under the lights on the dance floor it would look white. A diamond necklace glittered around her neck. Her hair was half up and half down, and adorned with dozens of tiny sparkles.

Beside her, Carrie appeared out of nowhere and together they pressed in, sharing a secret squeal about Vegas actually happening.

“Beth has us on a tight timeline. Once she has a visual on everyone on my secret guest list, we’ll do this thing, and then it’ll be dancing and drinking all night.” Karen glanced at Evie. “You can dance and drink Perrier.”

“I don’t know how much dancing I’ll do, but heck ya!” She looked around for Liam, and spotted him in line at the bar. He waved, and she pointed to a table that Ian was staking out.

Before long, two staffers carried a small dais to the center of the dance floor, and once it was in place, Evan escorted a distinguished looking gentleman to the platform and raised his hand. Quiet descended, and he lifted a microphone.

“Welcome, everyone, to Go West Winery’s fourth annual New Year’s Eve gala. On behalf of myself, my brother Ty, and all of our staff, we’re thrilled to have so many from the Wardham community with us tonight.” A murmur of mutual appreciation went through the crowd. “Now, some of you were pressed into attending tonight, and I’m going to introduce a special guest to explain why that was a good decision on your part. Ladies and Gentlemen, His Worship Jason McAuley.”

The justice of the peace accepted the microphone, and Evan took a seat at a nearby table, where Evie noticed Karen’s parents and siblings were sitting. Consummate professional, Evan would want to make sure the reaction was managed to best effect.

“On this most special of nights, I’ve been asked to lead you all in a celebration of marriage.”

This time, it was more of a roar than a murmur, and it took a few minutes for the crowd the settle down. The justice waited patiently, a smile playing across his face. Once he had the rapt attention of the room again, he lifted his hands.

“Constable Paul Reynolds and Ms. Karen Miller would be honoured if you would bear witness to their vows tonight.”

Evie watched, with tears in her own eyes, as Karen’s mother realized what was about to happen. She shrieked and leapt out of her chair, and then Karen and Paul were right in front of her, with a hug and a whispered word.

And then they were on the dais, and there weren’t many dry eyes in the room as Paul took Karen’s hand in his and repeated the vows the justice prompted to him.

“Karen, with all that I am, and all that I have, I vow my life to you.

I will be faithful and honest with you;

I will respect, trust, help and care for you;

And I will share my all with you, through whatever may come.”

Her own voice warbling with emotion, Karen repeated the same vows back, and then the justice of the peace announced that as the couple had signed the registry earlier in the evening, the next part of the service was a pledge to Megan.

Evie had trouble hearing the words, as she sobbed through it, and Liam passed her at least three tissues before she composed herself, just in time to see Megan shyly pass her father a velvet bag containing the rings. As Paul wiggled out the precious contents, his daughter linked hands with her new step-mother, and Evie thought she just might lose it again.

“You going to be okay, sunshine?” Liam shifted his chair closer, his legs spread wide, so she could lean back against him.

She sniffled. “There’s just so much love up there.”

“And right here, too.” He pressed a small kiss to the curve of her outer ear. “You thinking about involving the boys in our wedding?”

She nodded.

“I think they’ll like that. I’ll like that.” He nodded to the platform. “I’ll like this next part, too.”

“Ladies and gentleman, it is my most sincere pleasure to introduce for the first time as husband and wife, step-mother and step-daughter, a trio of Reynolds, the newly married Paul and Karen and their daughter Megan. Paul, you may now kiss your bride.”

The entire room erupted in cheers, and everyone raised their glass high as he did just that, dipping Karen low and holding her there long enough for the whoops to start. When he pulled her upright again, they both looked flushed, glassy-eyed, and ridiculously happy.

Liam stopped at the bar and grabbed a beer for himself and a glass of lemon water for Evie before finding her at the edge of the dance floor. He stopped beside her and ducked his head to her ear, wanting the warm murmur of his voice to be for her alone. “You’re enjoying yourself.”

She glanced coyly at him out of the corner of her eye and laughed. “Yes, I am.”

Between them, her fingers were tapping along with the smooth jazz, and her hips were twisting almost imperceptibly, like she was trying to restrain herself from just letting go and dancing on the edge of the party.