Kiss Me Twice (13 page)

"I love you too," she whispered shakily, "so much."

He pulled her to him, and he kissed her so fiercely she squealed in protest. Immediately he gentled his caress. "I'll spend the rest of my life trying to be worthy."

"It'll probably take you that long."

Marriage is full of compromise, or so Karen had always heard. She received her first real-world lesson later that afternoon.

She remained dazed for about an hour after their quickie wedding, during which time Mike retrieved her suitcase from the hotel and drove her back to his house.

She'd snapped to attention as he carried her over the threshold and into the bedroom, where they wasted no time in consummating their union. The entire time the thought that Mike was now her husband gave their lovemaking an extra level of intensity. A few hours later he rolled her out of bed and took her on a hike. Though she would have been content to spend the day rolling around in bed with Mike, she supposed she needed the exercise to work the kinks out.

And, as Mike pointed out, the ten-mile hike was the perfect opportunity for them to fill in the gaps of the last eleven years.

She already knew that he took his work very seriously and was dedicated to maintaining and growing the business his father had started. By the time they arrived back at the car, she also knew that Mike liked to cook and was somewhat of a neat freak. Which was great since her culinary skills were limited to microwaving and she hated mess and clutter.

They still hadn't resolved whether they would have two kids like she wanted, or four, like he did, but they had time to figure that out.

To her horror, Mike still listened to Van Halen, but she figured she could get used to that.

Mike learned that she kept herself in very good shape, as evidenced by her ability to keep up with him on the trail even with the increased altitude. He also knew she took her own career very seriously and that she still devoured romance novels. All in all, nothing pointed to any major incompatibilities.

Until now.

"We're going where?"

They had gone back to his house to clean up for dinner. Somewhere special, he said. Sneaky bastard, he'd waited until she was in the car and buckled in before he told her where they were going.

"My folks' house."

Karen swallowed hard and looked over at the speedometer. Damn, at this speed she would be seriously injured if she bailed out. "Mike, your mom hates me. I can't possibly have dinner with you."

"Karen, you married me this morning, remember? You'll have to deal with her sooner or later."

Karen snorted. "I still don't see why we have to ruin a perfect day by having dinner with your parents."

"Trust me. It's better to get it over with. The sooner she realizes this is forever, the sooner she'll settle down and accept it."

A panicky thrill shot through her at the thought of forever.

Forever with Mike sounded pretty damn good to her.

Forever under the disdainful eye of his mother, however, was another thing entirely. "Why did Kit have to leave after the wedding?” she groaned. "At least if she were there I'd have an ally." She was silent for a moment. "You realize, of course, that your mother will probably have a stroke." Mike laughed but didn't deny it. "This is really important to you, isn't it?" she sighed, slumping against the passenger door.

Mike reached across the seat and grabbed her hand, the warmth of his caress penetrating her anxiety. "I love you for understanding."

Every time he said that, she practically melted into a puddle. She supposed she could put up with his mother for a few hours if it meant he would tell her he loved her for the rest of her life.

They pulled up to the Donovans' house within a few seconds of Nick and Kelly. They stopped short when they saw Mike and Karen on the front stoop, hands clasped.

"What are you doing here?" Nick asked bluntly.

"I should ask you the same," Karen replied. "Shouldn't you be on your honeymoon?"

"We're leaving tomorrow," Kelly said, squeezing Nick's arm and gazing up at him adoringly. Karen wondered if she got that same dopey expression when she looked at Mike. Probably. Kelly leaned in close to Karen and said in a low voice, "I'm taking Maria's baby away. This is the least I can do to keep the peace."

"Don't worry. She'll be so horrified when she finds out what we’ve done she'll forget your transgressions."

Kelly's eyes bulged and her hand flew to her mouth when she spotted the simple gold band adorning Karen's finger. She looked wildly at Mike. "You didn’t—"

Mike flashed a matching band. "We sure as hell did."

Kelly let out a horrified laugh and hugged them both. "She's going to have a kitten."

Mike kept a firm grip on her forearm as they walked inside, sensing her overwhelming urge to flee.

"Oh, are the newlyweds here?" Maria called as she bustled into the entryway. She froze when she saw Karen, and Karen felt her glare like a laser beam. Somehow Maria managed to loom over her even though Karen’s platform sandals afforded her a two-inch height advantage.

"Michael, I didn't know you were bringing a guest."

Mike laced his fingers through hers even as he bent to kiss his mother's cheek. "There's plenty to eat, right?"

Maria didn't reply and walked stiffly back to the dining room.

"The real question," Karen muttered, "is if there's enough to drink."

"It'll be okay," he whispered, tipping her chin up for a kiss. The brief contact managed to banish thoughts of angry mothers, at least for a second.

They pulled apart and Karen caught Nick's gaze. A look passed between the brothers. To Karen's surprise, Nick gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Shall we?" he asked.

Tony was already there, sitting on the couch and talking to their father, Frank. Unlike the others, Tony didn't look shocked at Karen’s arrival but instead wore an oddly satisfied smirk on his face.

"Guess you figured out a solution to your problem," Tony said, looking pointedly at Mike's left hand.

Mike only smiled and nodded.

"Dad, you remember Karen Sullivan, Kelly's sister," Mike said.

Karen shook the older man's big, work-roughened hand. A loud clatter sounded from the kitchen as Maria slammed down a ladle with unnecessary force.

Frank's chocolate brown eyes twinkled. "Don't mind my wife. She’ll come around."

Karen smiled stiffly, not at all convinced.

They sat down around the table, and Karen was relieved to find herself between Mike and Kelly. The tomato and fresh mozzarella salad looked delicious, but Karen's stomach curdled under Maria's unyielding glare.

"So, Karen, when are you heading back to Sacramento?" Kelly asked, to break the awkward silence.

"Tomorrow," she replied. "I have the day off, so I'll leave sometime tomorrow."

"We could have lunch before you go," Mike said.

"Aren't you working?" Maria asked sharply.

"Mom, I can take time for lunch," Mike said firmly.

Maria focused her attention on Karen. "So what do you do in Sacramento, Karen?"

"I'm a hairdresser." The statement came out sounding like a question.

"A hairdresser?" She may as well have been saying "prostitute."

Karen's shoulders hunched. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember why the idea of being brought home to Mom was ever appealing.

"Yes. And I'm good at it too."

"With you in Sacramento, you and Mike won't be able to see much of each other." Maria didn't bother to disguise the relief in her voice.

Karen didn't have a ready retort since she and Mike hadn’t discussed the matter themselves.

"There's a new spa opening over on the Lake. I'm sure they'd love to hire someone with Karen's skill," Mike said.

Karen's frustration with Maria was momentarily derailed. "So you think I'll be moving back here?" she asked with a grin. "I guess we never got around to discussing that detail."

Heat bloomed in her stomach at his grin. "My house is too big for just me. I was going to get a dog, but I suppose you'll do," he teased.

She punched him in the shoulder.

Maria wasn't ready to admit defeat. She cocked her head to the side. "Didn't you and Michael date while he was in college?" she asked, even though she damn well knew the answer. No doubt she knew how it ended, and probably Karen's high school reputation too. "I seem to remember you splitting up under rather bad circumstances."

She didn't have to take this shit! Her palms hit the table, and she was just about to push back when she felt a feminine hand on her right thigh. She was marginally comforted by Kelly's sympathetic smile.

Mike knew Karen was close to her limit. She was so tense she practically vibrated. He threaded his fingers through hers, wincing at the iciness of her hands.

"Mom," Mike said warningly, "that was a long time ago."

"All I'm saying is it didn't work then, what makes you think it would work now?" His mom forked a bite of tomato into her mouth and chewed deliberately.

Shit. Maybe thrusting Karen into the bosom of his family wasn’t the best idea he'd ever had.

"Because I'm a lot smarter than I was back then. Now I know a good thing when I see it," Mike said. Then he shocked everyone by leaning over and kissing the hell out of Karen, right there at the dinner table. “And because this morning, Karen and I got married."

Tony's chuckle rumbled through the room, only to be cut short by his father. "Do you girls have a cousin or something for Tony here?"

"Screw that," he said. "These two want to get nailed down, that’s their business."

Maria slammed down her fork and excused herself to fetch the main course. Mike followed.

"How could you do this, Michael? To marry such a woman..." She shook her head as she retrieved the pot roast from the oven.

Mike clenched his jaw. "I love her, Ma, I really do. And she loves me too."

"But she—"

He held up his hand. "Whatever you heard about Karen, and what happened between us, forget it. It was my fault. I screwed up, and now I have a chance to fix it."

She didn't ask for details, for which he was thankful. She studied him closely. Finally she said, "You think this will make you happy?"

"I know it."

Maria rolled her eyes. "What do I know, I'm just your mother.” Despite her sarcasm she looked slightly more accepting.

Mike breathed a sigh of relief.

Karen looked up warily as his mother placed the pot roast platter on the table.

"You know," Maria said, looking pointedly at Karen's barely touched salad, "all of my boys were huge babies."

Karen looked confused at the turn of conversation.

"Mike was almost ten pounds."

Karen looked at him, horrified, then back at his mother, whose petite stature was a match for Karen's.

Maria continued. "I'll be expecting several grandchildren. You’re going to need to keep your strength up," she said, forking a huge slab of pot roast onto Karen's plate.

Karen looked at him very pointedly and stuffed such a huge bite in her mouth Mike was surprised she didn't choke.

He grinned at her look of smug determination. That was his Tiny, all right, feisty as ever. This time, he knew, he was up to the challenge.

About the Author

Jami Alden is an award winning author of sexy contemporary romance and gritty romantic suspense. Her book BEG FOR MERCY was awarded the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Romantic Suspense, and her contemporary ebook original, PRIVATE PLEASURES, was a top 10 bestseller on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks. Jami's books which feature smart, driven women and hot alpha heroes are known for being sexy, intense, and full of emotion.

Jami lives in the San Francisco area with her husband and 2 sons. When she's not writing, she enjoys running, reading, cooking, and watching a brain numbing quantity of food network programming.

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