Dream Nights With the CEO (18 page)

“Let me be your hero just this once. Let me take care of this for you. Please.”

She blinked, her eyes unexpectedly weepy. It was the pregnancy hormones, she was sure. But he looked so manly there, asking to defend her from the ugliest dragon she knew: her own mother. Sure there were more dangerous, more horrible people out there, but her mother could push her buttons like no one else.

“I don’t think this is a problem you can solve,” she said to Wyatt. The dynamics between herself and her mother were just too complicated.

“Just let me try. You can help me pick up the pieces afterwards if I screw up.”

She nodded, her heart warming. It was one of the most romantic things he’d ever done for her. And frankly, she was happy to let him face the lioness. It was all so tiring.

Wyatt flashed her a grateful smile, then disappeared. The click of the door shutting was rather loud. She wanted to go listen at the door, just like she had as a kid. But something kept her rooted right where she was.

Meanwhile, her brother gave the door an anxious glance, then turned his gaze to her. A moment later, he was leading her back to the couch. “Just tell me one thing, little sis. Is this what you want? Really want?”

She nodded. “It really is. I mean, it’s earlier than I’d planned, but I’ve always wanted kids.”

“And what about him? Are you going to marry him?”

She bit her lip, her anxieties pushing to the fore. After all, Wyatt hadn’t said a word about marriage, and she’d been too much of a coward to bring it up herself. It was enough that he wanted to be there for the baby. At least that’s what she kept telling herself. “It’s complicated, Josh. It’s all happened so fast.”

“You’ve known each other for years.”

She sighed. “Not romantically, we haven’t.”

“Well, you got pregnant. You’ve got to know
something
.”

She snorted. “I do. Trust me, I have no complaints in that department. But marriage? It’s too soon.”

He nodded, absorbing that comment. Then his eyes narrowed. “Maybe it’s too soon for him to ask, but what about you? I’ve never seen you indecisive before. Do you want him?”

“God, yes,” she breathed. “I love him.” Then she gasped and pressed her hands to her mouth. She’d never said it aloud before. She loved Wyatt. Over the years, lots of words had come up when she thought of Wyatt. Crazy. Amazing. Brilliant. And yes, even love. But saying the word out loud left her too exposed. What if he didn’t love her back? She felt too fragile now to face that possibility.

“So this is it?” her brother asked. “The real deal?”

She nodded, the tears starting to flow.

“Um, that’s not supposed to be a crying thing.”

She laughed, a short burst of watery misery. “What if he doesn’t feel the same way? He’s the stick-around type. He means to stick around his child, and I want him to.”

Her brother put his arm around her and squeezed. “That’s a good thing.”

She elbowed him. Lightly. “Of course it’s a good thing! But what if he’s right here my whole life—for my child. I’d have to look at him, talk to him, do things with him for the sake of the baby. But if he doesn’t love me back…” She shuddered, the tears overwhelming her.

“Whoa! Hold on. Geez Sis,” he said as he grabbed some tissues out of the box and pressed it into her hand. “I’ve never seen you like this.”

“I’ve never been pregnant and in love before!” she snapped, right before she blew her nose. “Josh, if he doesn’t love me—”

“Stop. Just stop.” He wrapped his arm around her head and pressed her close enough that he spoke right into her ear. “First off, he’s right now having it out with Mom. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is. But say you’re right. Say he doesn’t want to marry you, I’ll… well, I’ll grab Scott and some of his military buddies and we’ll beat him to a pulp. How’s that?”

She snorted. It wasn’t a pretty sound. “Great. You’d beat up my baby’s father. You’re all heart.”

He pressed a sloppy kiss to her cheek. “Anything for you.” Then he touched her under the chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. “I mean that. Anything. I’ll be there for you.”

And there it was. Her big brother—the one who was charming and feckless and never did anything seriously—was giving her a grown-up promise to never abandon her.

“Thanks, Josh. You don’t know what that means to me.”

“If it means you’ll stop blubbering all over my new shirt, it’ll be worth it.”

She snorted. Then she had to blow her nose again. And then…

Then they both looked at kitchen door as Mom and Wyatt emerged.

Megan pushed to her feet, but she wasn’t fast enough. Wyatt was there looking at her face. “You okay?” he asked.

She laughed. “I was going to ask you the same thing. All parts still attached? She didn’t carve you up like a turkey, did she?”

“Of all the ridiculous ideas!” her mother said with a sniff. “I did no such thing. We just had a little talk. I told him what I expected of my grandchild’s father—”

“And I told her that I wouldn’t let anything hurt you. Ever.”

Josh snorted. “Tall order, guy.”

Megan hugged her man. “He’s up to the task.”

“Enough of that,” Mom said, a strange twinkle in her eye as she shooed them all toward the dining room. “The roast is going to get cold.”

Megan frowned at her mother, then turned to Wyatt and Josh. Neither man gave her an answer to her mother’s strange expression. In fact, Josh just shrugged and headed for the table. “Don’t ask me,” he said. “I’m starved.”

“What about you?” Wyatt asked as he held out his hand. “Hungry?”

Fair question. Her stomach felt queasy after all the emotions, but she thought she could manage a little food. In truth, it was better if she always had something in her belly. “I guess so.” She looked at her mother. “Really, is everything okay?”

“Of course it is,” Mom said, her tone gentle now. Just like it had been when Megan was a child. “Now you go sit down. Start with the dinner rolls. It’ll help settle your stomach.” The woman must have seen the surprise on Megan’s face because she grimaced and looked down at her hands. “Look, honey, I know I haven’t been the nicest person lately.”

Josh snorted at that and got a glare from both women. So he abruptly sat down and buttoned his lips.

“Mom—”

“Hear me out. I might not agree with exactly how you’ve chosen to run your life, but as someone just pointed out…” She tossed a glance at Wyatt. “A mother’s job is to love her children no matter what. And I do. I really do. I just…”

Megan filled in the silence, her new understanding of her mother making everything so much easier to handle. “You’re afraid that we’re all leaving you. Like Dad did. Or that we’ll ignore you like Grandma did.”

Her mother’s head snapped up. So did Josh’s as he muttered, “What?”

Their mother’s shoulders tightened defensively. “Your grandmother loved me in her own way.”

“Well her own way wasn’t good enough,” said Megan firmly.

“And what do you know about that?” Mom asked tartly. She didn’t seem angry, just curious. And a little worried.

“You’ve let things slip, every now and then,” she said. Which was true. But it hadn’t really coalesced in her mind until she saw it in the dream. “Am I right? Did she neglect you?”

Mom threw up her hands. “Well, of course she did. She was an alcoholic. But I got through it. I grew up, met your father, and had a happy life. He taught me that. What is past is past, and she was gone by then. Drank herself into an early grave.” All of that was said in a rush, as if she couldn’t get the words out fast enough. Or perhaps it was what she’d said to herself over and over.
What’s past is past. I met your father, and had a happy life
. A mantra. Except that past wasn’t always past, was it? Especially as Grandma had been a single mother. And that must have touched off a nerve in her mom.

Which meant… Megan blinked. She was suddenly more aware of all the problems her mother had faced and overcome. So she walked around the table and gave her a big hug.

“I’ve been thinking. Can we make this a weekly thing? Dinner at your house?”

“With pot roast?” inserted Josh.

“What?” her mother asked, but the word was more a prayer than a question.

Megan continued. “There will be a few times I won’t be able to make it, but with planning, we could rearrange things. Maybe have it on a different day?”

Her mother nodded, then twisted to give her a big hug back. “I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”

“Plus I’ll need you a ton after the baby’s born. Still think you know how to change a diaper?”

Her mother’s eyes rolled in a dramatic grimace. “Some things can’t be forgotten no matter how much you try. Scott had the stinkiest diapers. We thought we’d need a gas mask.”

They all laughed at that. It was a small moment, but suddenly harmony was restored. And if the peace might not last beyond the night, Megan didn’t care. For right now, she had her old mother back. The one who was happy and generous with her smiles.

She glanced at Wyatt. She didn’t say the words aloud, but she mouthed them. And he understood. She said,
My hero
. And when she came back around the table, he lifted her hand and pressed a kiss onto it.

She meant to sit down, but his gaze caught her. It was a long, adoring look that settled her heart and her mind. Whatever happened, his eyes promised, they were in this together. It would be okay.

“Oh,” her mother said, wiping away a tear. “Do it now, Wyatt. Just… I can’t wait. Do it now.”

He turned and shot her mother a helpless look. “You know this isn’t how it’s normally done.”

Josh snorted. “Haven’t you figured out that we’re not a normal family?”

“Actually,” Wyatt said with a kind of wistful look, “I think you’re very normal. Which is perfect. It’s so perfect, you can’t even imagine.”

Megan squeezed his hand. “What are you talking about?”

He sighed and patted her hand. “You know about my family. They’re fine, but I can’t imagine my mother getting so angry that I got a girl pregnant. I can’t imagine my brother or sister rushing to my side.”

She glanced at her brother. “You overheard what Josh said? About helping?”

Wyatt shook his head. “Didn’t have to. I can see it in his eyes. Megan, you have the most amazing family and I want to be a part of that.”

“You are a part,” she said as she looked down at her belly. “I get the feeling they’re going to hound you if you’re not.”

“True that,” muttered her brother.

Wyatt smiled, then he stood up to face her directly. “But you know, they’re completely immaterial for this next part.”

“Hey!” Josh said, but their mother rapidly shushed him.

“I was going to wait for a better time for this, but your mother convinced me that family’s a big part of your life. So maybe they could be a part of this moment too.”

“Wyatt, what are you talking abo— Oh!”

They’d been face to face, but then Wyatt had dropped down to one knee. Right there beside the dining room table and her mother’s pot roast, he settled his big body into that very traditional position in front of her. And he pulled a jeweler’s box out of his jacket. Inside it was a huge diamond ring.

“Megan, I love you. I have for years now. I can’t live without you—either professionally or personally. I need you in my life. You keep me sane when I think my head is going to explode. You fill my heart and help me accept things like ghosts and…and craziness. Plus, I think you can teach me about having the wild, riotous, happy family that you grew up with. “

Her brother snorted. “Be careful what you wish for.”

Megan ignored him. Her whole attention was centered on Wyatt. And the way he was holding out a ring for her.

“I know this is fast,” he said. “You don’t have to answer right away. But I need to ask. Megan Bradford, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me? Will you let me love you and our child, and build—”

“Yes!” She threw herself forward. He caught her. Of course he did. The ring dropped to the side, but she didn’t care. He loved her. He wanted her. He… “
Yes!
”

Then she was kissing him. As fast and as deep as she possibly could. He held her. And when nothing else could be more perfect, she heard cheering behind her. Josh and her mother, both clapping and laughing.

She pulled back, her cheeks heated in embarrassment. Then she waved them to silence before turning back to Wyatt.

“I love you, too,” she said. “I have from the very beginning. And yes, I would love to be your wife.”

That set him to kissing her again. And more clapping from the others. It was some time before everything settled down. Then there was pot roast and cheesecake, and laughter all around.

They talked about everything, most especially wedding plans and baby plans. It was too much, or it would have been had Wyatt not been with her the whole way. And when the evening was done and they were finally, finally going home, he held her close.

“I love you,” he whispered as she settled deep into his arms.

“I love you too,” she whispered. “How could I not? You’re the most amazing superhero ever.”

He glanced down. “I’m not a superhero.”

“You are to me. And you will be to our child.”

It was true. She knew it in her heart and she could see it in his eyes. “It’s because of you,” he said. “You make me—”

“Perfect,” she finished for him. “Absolutely perfect.”

Epilogue

“You’re kidding,” Megan groaned as she looked around the dream graveyard. “What am I doing here again?”

At least it wasn’t quite the dark, spooky place it had been before. Still dark, but moonlight gilded Lily’s grave in a pretty silver. She still wondered who the woman was and why Wyatt mourned her, but she supposed some mysteries had to remain unresolved. Meanwhile, she noticed that the season seemed to have shifted. A warm breeze blew across her skin and there were buds on the tree branches. Off in the distance the waves still crashed, but the sound was soothing, not grating.

And best of all, when she turned around there wasn’t a baby crying. Just a mansion in the distance and the sound of children laughing.

“So where are you, Wyatt?” she called.

“Right here,” he said, stepping out of the shadows and stretching. Unlike every other dream, he appeared just as himself. Jeans, tee, and a happy smile. He came right to her side and kissed her. Hard and deep, just as if they were awake.

“Felicitations on your wedding,” said a deep voice from behind them.

They both jumped and spun around, Wyatt shifting to stand protectively in front of her. There, standing next to Lily’s gravestone, was the pirate captain. Megan took a moment to allow her heart to calm down to a normal rhythm, then smiled at their ghostly interloper.

“We’re not quite married yet. Tomorrow morning. Then honeymoon in Australia.” Somehow Wyatt had remembered her Personal Goals list had included a trip to Australia. He’d surprised her with the plans last week and she couldn’t be more thrilled. Which reminded her that this was the night before her wedding. “And you’re not supposed to see the bride beforehand,” she said to Wyatt.

“I’m not seeing her,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “My eyes are completely closed.”

His eyes were definitely open. His
dream
eyes. But yeah, his real ones were probably very closed as he snored away on his cot back at the B&B. Megan, on the other hand, was in her bedroom at her childhood home. For this last night as a single woman, she was staying with her mom.

Meanwhile, the Captain sauntered forward. “I thought I’d give you both a gift on your special day,” he said, his expression open. “But I want a boon from you first.”

Wyatt tensed. Always the hero. “That doesn’t sound like a gift.”

“Oh, you’ll get the present regardless,” the ghost said. “But I do have a request.”

Megan studied the man, trying not so much to see his face as to feel his intentions. That seemed very possible somehow in this place. What she sensed from him was not malice. More like fear. For himself.

“Let him speak,” she said to Wyatt. “It doesn’t hurt to listen.”

Wyatt nodded, and they both waited expectantly as the Captain gave her a rather courtly bow.

“A beautiful lady with a beautiful heart. Thank you. If you recall, you offered me a bargain some nights ago.”

“You what?” Wyatt asked. “When?”

“Over a month ago,” she answered. “It wasn’t so much a deal as a threat. I said I’d let him hang around, but if he interfered with renovations or hurt anyone, I’d burn the place to the ground.”

“Uh…” Wyatt said, obviously scrambling to process what she’d threatened. “Burn it…” He thought hard. “Yeah. Okay. I’m okay with that.” He looked back up to the captain. “I won’t have you hurting anyone.”

“I have no intention of hurting anyone,” he responded. “And I have no wish to haunt a pile of ash either,” he said, looking at Megan.

“Good,” she said. “Then we’re agreed.”

“Of course we are. I have never wanted to cause anyone pain. Well,” he amended, “not since I died. I simply ask you to leave the two beds alone. The ones that you both slept on when you came to the house the first time.”

“The brothel beds?” Megan gasped, remembering the ornate wood designs on the headboard. She hadn’t realized Wyatt’s bed had been identical to hers.

“They are a pair, but they were never in a brothel,” the Captain continued. “And they are the reason that I can create these dreams for you.”

“So it was you,” Wyatt said.

The ghost nodded. “With the help of these beds, yes. And the effect lasts a month, no longer.”

Wyatt frowned. “Look, these dreams have worked out for us, but there are a lot of people who wouldn’t appreciate them. I don’t think—”

“There has to be a connection to begin with,” said the Captain. “Some desire that I can build on.”

Wyatt look unconvinced, whereas Megan was more interested in something else. “Why? Why would you do this?”

The ghost shrugged. “Why not?” Then he pressed a hand to his heart. “I swear on my, er, afterlife, that no one will come to any harm by way of it.”

To Megan’s surprise it was Wyatt who spoke, his voice ringing true in this landscape. “Agreed,” Wyatt said. “We won’t touch those beds.”

Megan studied his face. He looked sincere, but she could hardly believe he was making a deal with a ghost. “Are you sure?”

He smiled at her, his eyes becoming more intense. “Sometimes people need a little push. I did. And I’ll be grateful for the rest of my life.”

The pirate clapped his hands. “Excellent! And now for your wedding gift.” He grinned and then waved behind them. “Turn around.”

“I have the weirdest dreams,” Wyatt groused. But he took her hand and together they turned.

Behind them was the scene taken from their memories. It was the backyard of his first B&B, made up for a wedding. Wyatt was putting up chairs, his forehead damp with sweat as he worked. All around him were huge arrangements of flowers. Massive things with all sorts of blooms everywhere.

And there, stepping out to see the decorations were a young Megan and the other maid Paulita. Megan wore her tie-dyed crop top and her favorite tempt-him jeans, but her gaze wasn’t on Wyatt. It was on the huge bouquets of flowers.

“I remember this,” Megan said. “It was a beautiful wedding.”

Wyatt cleared his throat anxiously. “Uh, yeah,” he said. “A beautiful wedding.”

Megan was about to ask him about his strange tone, and then she saw the answer played out right in front of her. Wyatt had stopped setting up chairs to look at her. The young Megan didn’t notice; she was too busy admiring the flowers. But watching now she could see the naked hunger on Wyatt’s face. He really had wanted her all the way back then.

Meanwhile, young Megan was reaching out to stroke a single lily petal on the nearest decoration. “I just love lilies,” she said to her friend. “They’re my favorite flower ever.”

“Lily!” Megan gasped as she spun around to look at the gravestone. “That’s where the name comes from?”

Wyatt turned back, his expression confused. “I… I guess. I don’t know anyone named Lily.”

“If I could explain,” inserted the captain. “I believe this grave was your way of mourning Megan. You believed you could never have the woman you love. But if you put her name on the gravestone, then she would want to know why. So you substituted another name. Lily.”

“Because she loves those flowers.”

The Captain smiled. “Yes. It was your way of expressing your love without giving yourself away.”

Megan tucked her arm tight around Wyatt’s waist. “Well, you did give yourself away, Mr. Monroe. And tomorrow, my brother is going to give me away. To you.”

“I can’t wait,” he said as he turned to kiss her. He played along her lips, the kiss light but with the promise of so much more.

Meanwhile, the pirate drawled a comment from behind them. “I can see that I am decidedly
de trop
here.”

Megan smiled, using the movement to tease Wyatt’s lips. Yes, the Captain definitely wasn’t needed anymore. But he did deserve something.

“Thank you, Captain,” she said, turned to look at the ghost. “It was a lovely gift. Not just this moment, but everything.”

The ghost bowed to them, sweeping off his captain’s hat with a flourish. “It was my pleasure.” And then he started to fade.

“Wait!” Megan quickly stepped forward. She had a million questions for the man. He was a ghost and he’d done something amazing and…he was gone. She spent a few moments calling for him, but in the end it was useless. The Captain wasn’t coming back. And besides, they had better things to do.

Wyatt tugged on her hand. “You know, we never made it down to the beach.” He looked at his bare feet. “I’m not stuck in the mud anymore.”

She smiled. “Definitely no mud. But…” Her gaze shifted the other direction, back to the house where she could hear kids playing. “I’d rather see what’s over there. The house, the family…”

“The kids,” Wyatt said. “Yeah. I want to see that too.” He swung her up in his arms before heading to the house. “Best dream ever,” he said.

“Are you sure? I can think of a few others that were pretty good.”

He shook his head. “This is definitely the best, but…” His eyes shone as he leaned down to nuzzle her neck.

She gasped at the sensation. “But?”

“But it doesn’t hold a candle to real life.”

“You’re right,” she said as she pressed her mouth to his. “Real life is so much better.”