Before We Kiss (Fool's Gold #14)

Fayrene gathered a nearly limp Caramel in her arms and stepped out of the van. Ryan was saying goodbye to the kids and shaking hands with the parents. A few of the children called out to Fayrene, but most were already heading to the hotel to collect their belongings before leaving.

From a business perspective, Fayrene knew she’d done fine. Everyone had been entertained and kept safe. She’d managed her babysitting team well. But she hadn’t been all that comfortable with the kids themselves. Ryan was much more relaxed around them than she had been. She’d wanted this to be a bonding experience for the two of them. She’d wanted him to see that she was going to be a great mother and that he should marry her right away. And none of that had happened.

He walked up to her and touched her chin, then kissed her mouth.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing. Handling twelve kids is harder than I thought.”

“Why wouldn’t it be? There’s too many of them.” He grinned, then put his arm around her. “We’ll practice with Caramel for now, then later, after we’re married, we’ll take our own on one at a time.”

She sniffed. “You still want to marry me?”

He stepped in front of her and put both hands on her shoulders. “I love you, Fayrene. I have from the first moment I saw you.” He smiled. “You were running around like a crazy person, yelling that the babies were coming.”

“Not my finest hour.”

“It worked for me.” The smile faded. “I love you,” he repeated. “For now and for always. When you’re ready, I’m going to propose and we’ll get married. That hasn’t changed.”

I’m ready now. Only she didn’t say the words. Somehow she couldn’t speak at all—not with the lump in her throat.

He put his arm around her again and led her toward the hotel. “Maybe Mayor Marsha won’t come back from her trip and we can keep her dog forever.”

Fayrene kissed Caramel’s head. “I’d like that. To be honest, I don’t remember her ever having a dog, so I’m not sure where this sweet little girl came from.”

Caramel yawned and settled more comfortably in Fayrene’s arms, then closed her eyes. Fayrene told herself to accept the blessings she already had. A career she loved with a business that was growing. A great guy who only wanted to make her happy. Family, a town that took care of her. She had everything. All that was missing was a ring on her finger. And the truth of that situation was, she only had herself to blame.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

SAM FOLLOWED JACK into Taryn’s suite. Kenny was already there, opening a bottle of champagne. Taryn had kicked off her heels and was barefoot. She tucked her feet under her and accepted the first glass of champagne. Kenny handed them out to everyone else, then raised his in a toast.

“To a hell of a weekend,” he said. “Dellina pulled it off.”

“She sure did.” Jack winked at Sam. “To Dellina.”

Sam had no problem toasting the woman who had made the Score client weekend such a success. Thankfully he would have felt exactly the same this time yesterday, so there was no reason to worry that his pride in her achievement was in any way influenced by what they’d done together the previous night.

Taryn sipped. “Does anyone else think it’s strange we didn’t invite Dellina here to be celebrated in person?”

“I asked,” Kenny told her. “She’s debriefing the hotel staff, then will be going through all the guest rooms personally to make sure no one left anything behind. She’ll get the bell staff to load her car. After that, she said she plans to go home and sleep for three days. She told me she’s open to being celebrated on Wednesday.”

Sam listened attentively and did his best not to look guilty. Dellina had been working hard on the weekend and would have started the event already tired. But last night hadn’t helped her get any rest. They’d stayed awake until nearly two simply talking and touching. As if what they’d been through had required continued connection.

This morning he’d sensed her every time she was near him. Not in a possessive way—more because they’d shared something so unique, they could never be completely separate again.

Insanity, he told himself. And he had his mother to blame. Although her pressure points sure took things to the next sexual level. It was balance, he told himself. There was always the bad to counteract the good.

Everyone settled onto the sofa and chairs in Taryn’s suite. Conversation flowed.

Taryn glanced at him. “By the way, Sam, you’re giving a lecture on finances to the local business community.”

He was grateful he wasn’t swallowing. “What?”

“You helped Dellina. She mentioned it to a couple of her friends and they approached me. I said you’d love it.”

Jack toasted him. “Way to give back.”

Sam ignored that. His instinct was to say no. Or, hell, no. But then he remembered how he wanted to connect more with the community. He wasn’t like Jack or Kenny, but he understood finances.

“Sure,” he said. “I’ll do it.”

Kenny raised his eyebrows. “That’s a surprise.”

“I can’t help being brilliant, bro.”