“And don’t you worry about tomorrow,” Matt said. “Enjoy your nights, here, and we’ll be back to pick you up whenever Luke calls us.”
“We’ll do a little rearranging at home,” Bart said. “I’m gonna call the realtor tomorrow and ask him about that other house.”
“What house?” Candace asked.
“There’s a two-story house right across the alley from us that Uncle Bart’s thinkin’ about buyin’,” Mark said. “We’re thinkin’ about flippin’ it, maybe turnin’ it into two apartments. That way he and John can move in there, while we’re fixin’ it up, and you and Luke can have the first floor in the big house.”
“If it’s still for sale—and the sign was still up this evenin’ when we drove by—then we can buy it this week, and by the time you and Luke get home, John and I can be moved across the alley.”
“And on that note,” Mel said, taking Matt’s hand, “I think we should all get out of here, so these two can start enjoying their honeymoon.”
“Right!” Bart said, emptying his glass. “How about it, boys and girls?”
They separated in the lobby after Candace was hugged and kissed by everyone in the family
“Don’t worry” Mel whispered in her ear. “They don’t shift in the bedroom.
Candace felt herself blush crimson. Mel laughed and sent her husband a telling look, which made it clear to Candace that hers wouldn’t be the only “honeymoon” this night. She swallowed hard, and allowed Luke to take her hand. At least tonight would be her choice, her decision. And she trusted Luke like no one else she had ever known.
28
Their room was awe-inspiring, the bed the biggest she had ever seen. Then she glanced at her new husband and was reminded of just how big he was. Beyond the bed was a glass door leading to a small terrace that overlooked the atrium at the center of this incredible palace of a hotel. She stepped outside and leaned on the railing, her eyes roaming over the sparkling lights below.
“We can take a stroll through there tomorrow,” Luke said, coming up behind her.
She understood. This was a grand hotel, but Luke didn’t want to chance taking her anywhere in the shadows, in case the Manager or his minions might be watching. She was okay with that, though she wondered how she could spend the rest of her life in hiding without leaving Nashville altogether.
Luke laid his hands on her shoulders, and she straightened to lean back against him. When he wrapped his arms around her, she hugged them to her.
“It’s so beautiful,” she said. “Like a fairyland.”
“Under all those lights and glitter, it’s really nothin’ but a fancy, overpriced mall, you know.”
Candace laughed and smacked him lightly on the arm, like she knew he expected. “Spoil sport.”
Luke chuckled and nuzzled her neck.
“You know, we do have somethin’ better to do tonight.”
Candace sighed. “I know.”
She pulled away from him and returned to their room. Luke closed the class doors and the curtains behind him.
“If you’re not ready, I understand.” He voice was soft, gentle.
Candace glanced back at him and knew she’d never know another man more honorable than he. She shook her head.
“I think I’ve been waiting for this moment—for you—my whole life.”
His smile warmed his golden eyes. “I know I’ve been waitin’ for you, darlin’.
She took a deep breath and considered, not wanting to break the spell but needing him to understand.
“I know how it’s supposed to work. I’ve lived surrounded by sex my entire life. I’ve had men stare at me, and I know they wanted me in that way. I had to sing and dance for them, while pretending they weren’t there. It was easier, when I was a little girl, because I didn’t know what was under the glitter, the fancy dresses, the handsome men, the beautiful women. I was thirteen before the Manager let some of the…women…tell me things, things about what went on behind closed doors, what I could expect as I got older. I’m not sure I believed them. Maybe I just didn’t want to believe them, because I knew that life—their life—was not for me. Mama said so. The Manager said so. They both continued to tell me so—until two days ago.”
She ran her hands through her hair releasing it from the pins that held it in place and shaking it out. She set the pins carefully on the dresser then turned to face him.
“I have knowledge of what goes on between a man and a woman, Luke, but I don’t have a clue what you want me to do.”
He crossed to her and enfolded her in his arms.
“What I want you to do is forget all that,” he told her as he rocked her gently. “All that stuff those women taught you, that’s not what this is about, what we’re about.”
Candace pulled back and studied his face closely in the dim light.