Read Accidentally Yours Online
Authors: Bettye Griffin
Accidentally Yours (30 page)
When she was near
the landing Zack, just a few steps behind her, said, “Wait a minute.”
She turned.
“What?” Then she gasped as he reached around her waist with one hand and under her hips with the other. “Zack! What are you doing?”
“
Preparing to carry you over the threshold.”
She linked clasped hands at the side of his neck to keep from falling, taking a moment to be thankful for all those
“light” frozen entree she’d consumed. She said a silent apology for all the grumbling she’d done about the portions being too small to keep a cockroach alive, for now she was benefitting from all those three-hundred-calorie meals. Zack couldn’t have weighed a whole lot more than she did, but at least he didn’t appear to be out of breath from carrying her. “Why? It was Desireé and Austin who got married, not us.”
He shifted her weight as he unlocked the suite
door. “I know. But I was hoping just the same that we could make like we’re on a honeymoon.”
They quickly undressed and came together. To Vivian it was a feeling like no other, being
in bed with him, kissing him with such intensity and abandon, clutching at the taut muscles beneath his naked skin, his hands squeezing her breasts and the firm skin of her thighs…This time they explored each other not only by touch, but by taste. They both cried out at the exquisite sensation, unable and unwilling to stifle the lust they brought out in each other.
In spite of their wild cravings for each other they took their time,
with none of the underlying concerns about being late for the wedding, and by the time they lay back exhausted they had both experienced fulfillment like they had never had before.
Chapter 2
1
The Future’s So Bright, They’ve Got to Wear Shades
“Hi, Glenda!”
“
Hi! When did you get in?”
“
About an hour ago. I just finished unpacking. Did I interrupt you?”
“
No, I’m not doing anything but looking at a magazine, and I’m about to put the damn thing down because it’s so ridiculous. They’ve got an article on a lot of black female celebrities talking about their dress sizes. You know these people are lying through their teeth. Hardly none of them will admit to being bigger than a size six. And you wouldn’t believe who claimed to be an eight.” She named an actress known for her statuesque figure. “It makes me wish I could show up on her doorstep with a size eight and say, ‘Here, let me see you get into this.’ I guess they don’t call them actresses for nothing. But enough about that. Tell me all about Denver and the wedding.”
“
It was wonderful, Glenda.”
“
The wedding, or the city?”
“
Both.”
“
Ooo-ee.
Something
must have happened!” Glenda spoke in a singsong pattern.
“
Something did. Not only are Zack and I officially a couple, we’re in love.”
“
I knew it!”
“
Well, I wish you’d shared your foresight with me before. You could have spared me a lot of unnecessary worrying. Just a few weeks ago I was thinking he wasn’t even going to call.”
“
You know what I mean, Viv. I didn’t know way back when. I distinctly remember thinking that each time you saw him it was going to be the last. But when you hooked up in Africa and arranged to go to Colorado together…it’s like that feeling where you suddenly know exactly what’s going to happen just before it does.” Glenda paused, then gave an example. “It’s like when you’re at the jewelry store and a woman with skin-tight leopard print pants, two-inch nails and cranberry-colored hair comes in. You just know she’s going to ask the clerk to see the cubic zirconia.”
Vivian giggled.
“I know what you mean.”
“
I’m so happy for you, honey. It’s only July, and you’re reeled in your Mr. Right. You do think he’s Mr. Right, don’t you?”
Vivian rocked her upper body from side to side.
“I think this is it, but we’ll just have to see. So tell me, how’s Pete?”
“
We went out again last night.”
“
Really? Is something happening that I should know about?”
“
I’ll tell you this much. Remember what I said about it not taking long to know you’ve got something special?” She paused just for a second. “Well, I know
this
is special, and I’ve got a feeling he knows it, too.”
Vivian squealed.
“Both of us finding love at the same time! It’s amazing.”
“
Just remember that I like September for a wedding month.”
“
Yeah, well, you just remember not to let him write any checks.”
*****
Zack called at ten-thirty from the hospital. “They’re killing me, making me come in the same day I get back into town. Now that I’m done with mine, I think they ought to bar people from taking vacations.”
“
Now that you’re done with yours, of course,” she repeated with a giggle. “But next month it’ll probably get worse. More people go on vacation in August than any other time.”
“
I’ll be all right. I’m off Tuesday and Wednesday—I’ll be up to take you to a two-hour lunch, so be prepared—and on Thursday I go on days.” He paused. “I hope my schedule isn’t going to be a problem for you. I have to work next weekend too, but since I get off at three at least we’ll be able to go to dinner on a Saturday night like normal people.”
“
I think it would be very selfish of me to not want you to share those healing hands of yours with those who need them.” She chose her next words carefully. “Believe me, I learned a long time ago that if you can’t accept people for what and who they are, you have no chance for happiness. But the hospital isn’t going to beep you in the middle of the salad course and tell you to come in, are they?”
“
Absolutely not.” He paused, then tentatively said, “It sounds like you’re planning on being a part of my life for a while, I hope.”
“
Yes, because I’m happy, Zack. I hope you are, too.”
“
More than you know.” His next words were spoken softly. “I love you, Vivling.”
“
I know you do.”
Zack sounded playfully indignant
“How do you know?”
“
I just know. I can feel it. It’s like this, Zack. When you’re in a jewelry store and this woman comes in dressed in skin tight leopard print pants—”
♥
Also by Bettye Griffin
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Women’s Fiction Titles currently available
Bettye Griffin is the author of eleven contemporary romances and six works of women’s fiction. Originally from Yonkers, New York, she now makes her home in Southeast Wisconsin.
You can contact Bettye through her web site,
www.bettyegriffin.com
, or the old-fashioned way at P.O. Box 580156, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin 53158.
I hope this book made you smile.
Accidentally Yours
was originally published in 2001 under the title
Prelude to a Kiss
. I always felt the current title was the better one for a romantic comedy, but the marketing department at the publisher I wrote it for didn’t agree. Now that
I’m
the publisher, I can change the title to whatever I want it to be. Ah, the joys of being independent…
This version
has been revised slightly, but has not been updated. I chose to keep the original setting of early Twenty-First Century New York and the cultural references mentioned that relate to that time (times haven’t changed
that
much in a dozen or so years). This book joins
A Love of Her Own
and
A Love For All Seasons
as backlist titles I’ve released in eBook format through Bunderful Books.
Accidentally Yours
is my only romantic comedy to date. The closest thing to it would be my first indie title,
Save The Best For Last
, which happens to be a permanently free book on Amazon, Kobo, iTunes, and Smashwords, so check it out! You can’t say the price isn’t right!
My next original title,
Love Will Follow
, will be released soon. To pique your interest in this mainstream romance, I’ve written a short prequel called
Lost That Lovin’ Feeling
that contains a preview of the book its action precedes, which is available as a
free
download from
the Freebie page of my Bunderful Books site
.
If you enjoyed
Accidentally Yours
,
I hope you will consider writing a review of it on the site of purchase (Amazon, BN.com, Smashwords), as well as social networking sites like Goodreads and Facebook. If you’re not into writing reviews, by all means, recommend it to your friends!
I thank you for continuing to read my
eBooks that I publish through my own Bunderful Books…because good writing is
always
in fashion. Please drop in at the
Bunderful Books website
to stay current with the latest news on upcoming books
(while there, be sure to sign up for my
mailing list
)
, and do “like” my
Bunderful Books Facebook page
.
As always, I wish you good reading!
Bettye
(updated June 2013)
*****
And now, as a bonus, a sneak peek/excerpt from my upcoming women’s fiction eBook,
Secrets & Sins
. Enjoy!
S
ecrets & Sins by Bettye Griffin - Excerpt
J
ulia, lying on the hospital gurney surrounded by both her daughters as she waited to be brought in for her screening procedure, shook her head at the mention of Scott, her middle child and only son. “My son, my son. I can’t believe he left such a wonderful wife to reclaim his bachelor days. He should come to his senses and beg Lynn to take him back…not that she’d do it after the way he treated her. All I can hope for is to live long enough to see him settled down with some other nice girl.”
“You’re not going anywhere, Mom,” Robin said. “And as for Scott, he’s just having a midlife crisis.” She grunted, and when she spoke she sounded grim. “I guess he and Avaughn started theirs at the same time.”
For a moment silence hung heavily in the air. The topic of Robin’s ex-husband, whom she’d divorced after fifteen years of marriage once she learned he’d been having an affair, remained a sore subject. They managed to be civil to each other while forced by economics to continue sharing their house, but once Robin learned that he’d gotten his girlfriend pregnant, relations between them had swiftly deteriorated. Robin had struggled unsuccessfully for years to conceive, and news of her ex’s impending fatherhood sent her, at forty-eight, into a depression as severe as the one she’d had throughout her thirties while at the height of her infertility. Julia’s heart ached for her daughter’s pain. Robin was her youngest, her baby.
Finally Julia spoke. “Robin, I’m really uncomfortable with the idea of the two of you sharing that house after your divorce,” she said. “It can only lead to trouble. Why don’t you move back in with Daddy and me?”
“I can’t do that, Mom. I’d still be responsible for half the mortgage and utilities. If I’m not there, it’ll be like Avaughn has an invisible roommate paying half the bills. He can entertain his girlfriend, even move her in.” She made a face.
“In other words, he won’t have any incentive to sell the house,” Faye, Julia’s firstborn, concluded.
“Exactly. And I’ll be stuck indefinitely in a part of my life that’s over.” Robin patted Julia’s leg through the thin blanket that covered her. “Don’t worry, Mom, it’ll be fine.”
Julia sighed. “I don’t know why you two had to buy that big house by the lake anyway.”
“Because it was what I wanted,” Robin replied softly. “I felt I deserved to get
something
I wanted out of my life.”
“Of course you do, dear. I didn’t mean to suggest otherwise.”
“I know you didn’t. I’ve just been feeling a little overly sensitive lately.” Robin looked at her mother curiously. “Shouldn’t you be getting sleepy, Mom? I thought those pills went into effect immediately.”
“I feel fine.
” Julia cast a knowing eye on her youngest daughter. “Tell me about that sparkle in your eyes, Robin. I already know it’s not an offer on the house, but you seem cheerful about
something.”
Robin smiled. “I can never hide anything from you,” she said affectionately. “Okay. The girl who’s organizing my class reunion told me last night that one of the guys asked her about me, w
anted to know whether or not I was coming. I don’t know what he looks like after thirty years, but back in the day he was the best-looking guy in the class.
And
he’s currently single.” Robin’s eyes shone. “So even though the reunion isn’t until next month, I’m kinda excited at the prospect of seeing him again.”
“Sounds promising,” Julia said.
“Mom, I can’t believe that pill hasn’t knocked you out yet,” Faye marveled, checking her watch. “Most people don’t last two minutes after taking it.”
“Just call me Superwoman,” Julia boasted. She
pounded her chest with her fists. “Seventy-six years old, and invincible.” She focused on her younger daughter. “Robin, back to this young man you had a crush on in high school. Do I know him?”
“No, but you’re probably familiar with his family. They’re pretty prominent in the communities on both sides of the lake.”
“Oh? What’s his name?”
“Pace. His first name is Vernon.”
Julia’s eyes grew wide, then she slumped forward, eyes closed.
“Mom!” Robin cried out, alarmed.
“It’s all right, Robin,” Faye soothed, her fingertip pressed to Julia’s throat with the expertise of the nurse she was. “It’s just the sedative kicking in. She’s got a strong pulse.”
Robin lowered her chin to her chest. “It was more than medication, Faye. Did you see that wild look in her eyes?”
“She probably realized that, in spite of all that bragging she did, that she was about to pass out. Of course, if I hadn’t known she’d been given a sedative, I’d be in the hall screaming for a doctor right now,” Faye said with a laugh.
Robin joined in. “That’s a relief. For a minute there, I thought she was reacting to hearing Vernon’s name.”
“Just a coincidence. I mean, how crazy would
that
be?”
The nurse brushed aside the curtain and stepped into the cubicle. She confirmed Julia was asleep and informed the sisters that she’d be transported to the procedure room at any moment now. “Come on, Robin,” Faye said, “They’re about to take her in. Let’s go to the waiting room.”
*****
Julia saw vivid images in her sleep. There she was, fifty-five years ago, a young woman of twenty-one, shaken from the sight of what instinct told her were Vernon’s feet sticking out of that rolled-up rug in her father’s office. Scenes from both before and after that pivotal moment replayed themselves.
She didn’t mention a word of what she’d witnessed to anyone...not the next day when she sent a message to her mother...not when she talked to her boyfriend, Melvin, the next day; and not even when visiting Lorraine at the hospital and her friend mentioned Vernon’s family members saying he’d disappeared. The Paces, and Lorraine as well, believed he’d skipped town to avoid being arrested for assault or worse, since Lorraine’s injuries resulted in the death of her fetus. Then she kept hearing Robin saying, “His name is Vernon Pace...Vernon Pace...Vernon Pace.”
She could still hear the name when she opened her eyes
after the reversal of anesthesia.
Part of Julia dreaded seeing her daughters. She remembered being shocked to hear Vernon’s name
again after so many years, but nothing after that. Damn that anesthesia. Had the alarm she felt shown in her face? If it had, Faye and Robin were sure to ask about it.
What on earth would she tell them?
*****
Secrets and Sins
by Bettye Griffin…coming later in 2013 to eBook retailers everywhere!