Luxury Model Wife (30 page)

All gone now.

Victoria whisked dust from the air around her face and continued moving forward in her jeans and western boots. When she reached Steve’s side, the look he gave her was filled with sadness and hope. “You’re back.”

The dark smudges across his chin and cheeks and his dusty shirt and denims reminded her of the first time she’d met him, when she’d mistaken him for a janitor. She smiled up at him and gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. He placed his hand over hers and held it there, his return gaze filled with forgiveness and understanding beneath his pain, despite the way she had treated him.

She’d been blind to what she should have seen all along—that she and Steve should have clung to one another during their time of loss and sorrow. Looking into Steve’s handsome face, she understood he’d been there for her, if she’d only reached out. Maybe he needed her, too.

She would never let him down again.

Steve dropped the shovel, gestured toward the shop, and walked beside her down the drive. The noise level decreased enough to carry on a conversation.

“I found a buyer for the Rohmer doll and her trunk,” he said. “As soon as the police release it from evidence, the collection is going to a doll museum in the South. The Rohmer was the only thing left of the Van Orr Collection, and the commission will be enough to pay my insurance deductible and a few expenses. The rest of the money will go to you.”

Steve unlocked the door. “I doubt we’ll see a dime of restitution. Flynn is back in jail. And the guys at Pinnacle are ruined. So is Katherine Sterling. They’ll be in jail a long time over this mess. Our insurance companies will be untying knots while they sort things out.”

He pushed the door to the shop open, disarmed the security system, and stood back to allow Victoria entrance.

She flipped on the lights and walked to the center of the oversized room, taking in the stillness and the emptiness.

All of the things that had first tied her to Steve Carlson were gone.

Her dead husband’s things.

She turned back to Steve. “It’s almost like they were never here.”

Steve met her in the middle of the room and touched the back of her hand. When she didn’t flinch or move away, he lifted his fingers to her face and traced her cheek. She closed her eyes and savored the feel of skin against skin. When she opened her eyes and lifted them to his, she saw longing in his gaze that tore her heart.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I should have been here for you. You’ve lost so much.”

He brushed his fingers over the line of her jaw. “I haven’t lost
everything
…have I?”

Regret closed her throat and muted her voice. She shook her head.

His blue eyes shone with hope. “I’m here. And so are you. Everything we’ve lost can be restored.”

Victoria linked her fingers with his. “We can start over.” Steve had never asked her for a single thing. He didn’t expect her to change or to fit some preconceived mold or lifestyle. He loved her just the way she was—a
regular girl
who had taken a difficult and often convoluted path to find him.

James Van Orr had been her anchor and her comfort.

Steve Carlson offered her joyful passion and the freedom to be herself. She understood in that moment that Steve, not James, was the love of her life.

She reached out to him and he pulled her into his arms to kiss her. The muscles of his chest pressed against her breasts when his arms tightened around her waist. The smell of soot on his skin and the ash on his clothes couldn’t erase the sweetest kiss she’d ever known.

When their lips parted, he stared down at her. “You’re probably not ready to talk about anything permanent between us. And that’s all right for now. I just want you to know that I intend to marry you.” His fingers combed her hair and traced the curve of her ear, sending tingles through her. “I want us to have children. We’ll even get a dog, if you want. Pirate will drive him nuts with his chatter.” His mouth curved in a smile.

Victoria smiled back at the picture he’d made. She hadn’t dared hope for babies before now.

She blinked away images of a future that must wait a little longer, and then pressed a kiss to his lips. “I love you, and I want to be with you. But I have something to do before we plan our life together. Her fingers brushed the back of his neck. “I brought paperwork to show you. I want to talk about the plans I’ve made.”

His voice turned low and his cornflower blue eyes searched her face. “Do your plans include me?”

“If you’re willing.”

“And do you need me?”

Victoria sighed and leaned her forehead against his chest. “I’ve lived a lifetime needing someone. I want much more than that for us.”

Steve hugged her close and rested his cheek against her head. “Wanting me works.” She felt him smile against the crown of her hair.

She took his hand and guided him into his office at the back of the shop.

When they reached the door, Steve said, “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

Victoria went to the shelf by the refrigerator, found wine glasses and a bottle of wine, and placed them on the counter. Suddenly, nothing else mattered except the privacy of this room, where she and Steve would make new plans and promises.

In the soft afternoon light, Victoria unbuttoned her blouse and draped it over the back of a chair. Next, she pulled off her boots, unzipped her jeans, and slid them over her hips. She stepped out of the denims and laid them across the chair as the office door opened and Steve entered the room. A blanket and throw pillows filled his arms.

He eyed her with undisguised lust. “A lavender thong. And matching lace bra. You remembered.”

She lifted her arms over her head and made a slow pirouette. The skin on her buttocks burned from the smoldering stare he swept over them. Her nipples hardened in anticipation of his touch. The temperate air inside the office traveled over her flesh, making her shiver.

“I hadn’t forgotten my promise.”

Steve dropped the blanket and pillows on the floor and arranged them in a hastily made bed. He pulled off his shirt and swiped it over his face before tossing it to the floor. The muscles of his chest flexed with the movements of his powerful arms.

She took in the ripples of his abdomen and her gaze drifted lower.

“This will be my first time having make-up sex,” she teased.

“Is that what we’re having?” he replied with a lascivious grin.

“I’ve heard that’s the best kind.”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

He took quick steps toward her and took her into his arms. “I’ll always love you,” he said. “That’s a promise.”

Victoria closed her eyes, pressed tighter against the man to whom she’d given herself body and soul, and then let him guide her to their makeshift bed.

*****

Six months later, Victoria descended the oval staircase from her private quarters inside the Van Orr mansion to answer the doorbell. The clacking computer keys and ringing telephones inside the offices of the former great room promised another busy day. The board of directors of the James Van Orr Foundation would assemble at nine o’clock to plan the coming year. Coffee brewed in the kitchen and pastries and fruit had been set out on trays. Victoria was confident that today would be a good one as she opened the front door.

“Package,” the deliveryman said, holding out an electronic device for her signature. An enormous brown box sat at his feet on the porch. A cold blast of winter air swirled around them and chilled the foyer. “Let me bring this in for you, Mrs. Van Orr.” The man scooped up the box and lugged it inside.

Victoria nodded her thanks. “Please take it into the offices.”

There was no time to inspect the package until after the meeting. Pirate still had to be fed before the board members arrived.

The heels of her leather pumps clicked against the Italian tiles as she strode into the kitchen to prepare Pirate’s breakfast. She poured her first cup of coffee of the day and savored the taste as she sliced an apple and laid it on a china plate.

“Give me a kiss.” Pirate called from his new perch in the hall adjacent the kitchen. Victoria made kissing sounds through the room to the bird. “Be right there.”

“Bad boy,” he sang. “Dirty bad boy.”

“I’ve got your favorite this morning. Macintosh.” Victoria walked to the cage and opened the door.

Pirate hopped toward her to feed on a slice of fruit. His strong beak nipped the treat. “Got any weed?” he said, before taking another bite.

“I wish Beverly hadn’t taught you that.” Victoria shook her head and sighed. “What am I going to do with the two of you?”

Pirate sought more of his apple. Victoria scraped the fruit into his food bowl before locking the cage. “I’ve got a meeting in a few minutes, sweetheart. Got to go. See you later.” She blew him an extra kiss.

“Show me the money,” Pirate replied, before turning back to his Macintosh.

The doorbell rang again. “Flowers,” the deliverywoman said when Victoria opened the door. She handed Victoria the largest bouquet of fresh flowers she’d ever seen.

“Who is this from?”

“Dr. James Van Orr,” the deliverywoman replied.

“Thank you,” Victoria said, going back through the kitchen and into the adjoining conference room that had once been the formal dining area. She set the bouquet in the center of the thick mahogany table that had been delivered the week before.

“Like the flowers?” A voice startled her from behind. Jimmy Van Orr entered the conference room, briefcase in hand. He set the leather satchel beside his chair near the head of the table, to Victoria’s right.

“They’re stunning.” She kissed his cheek. Though their relationship had a long way to go before it healed, the process had begun. “There’s coffee and breakfast in the kitchen. Help yourself. The others should be arriving any minute.”

“Hey, where’s mine?” Beverly came into the room behind them, plunked her briefcase on a chair, and reached out to hug Victoria.

“Refreshments in the kitchen,” Victoria replied, returning the hug.

“No, not that. I meant my gift to you. A big box should have arrived by now.”

Victoria gestured toward the offices. “Was that yours? It just got here.” She spoke through the intercom and requested the box be delivered to the conference room.

Captain Norman Leighton arrived, with Officer Wilson right behind him, and exchanged greetings with the others before moving to the kitchen for food and drink. The din of conversation filtered from the kitchen to the conference area, adding an air of celebration to the board’s first gathering.

Steve arrived and Victoria resisted the urge to fling herself into his arms. All her plans for her organization’s future rested on this day, and it meant the world to her that Steve would share her dream. Once, she’d been a scared, homeless child in need of protection and shelter. Having the means to provide those basic needs to other women and children meant more to her than she could ever express.

Victoria touched his sleeve. That small connection was enough to send warm tingles over her skin and bolster her already elated mood. Steve winked at her before bussing her cheek. He smelled wonderful—like shave gel, citrus, and dark spices.

“You make it hard to think about business,” she whispered.

“I know what you mean.” He grinned down at her and then cleared his throat. “We’ll talk after the meeting, okay?”

Victoria nodded. “I’ll meet you in my sitting room when everyone else is gone.” She squeezed his arm and then walked over to welcome new arrivals.

Six board members of the James Van Orr Foundation came to order. Victoria led the discussion, starting with galley copies of the brochure she hoped they’d approve.

A member of the office staff appeared in the doorway holding the oversized brown delivery box.

“Set it here, please,” Beverly said, pointing to the spot beside her chair. The office worker complied.

Beverly opened the box and everyone leaned forward to see the contents.

Beverly withdrew a tall white window box and handed it to Victoria. Her bracelets and rings jangled with her movements, and Victoria smiled.

“Read what it says on the front, so that everyone can hear,” Beverly told her, grinning from ear to ear.

Victoria stood and held up the box. “
The James Van Orr Foundation Special Edition Strawberry Shortcake Doll
.” Tears welled and a lump filled her throat as she realized the doll she held was an exact replica of the only doll she’d owned as a child.

The doll her father had slashed to ribbons.

“Strawberry Shortcake dolls have been reissued,” Beverly said. “I placed an order with the manufacturer for our own edition. These are the samples. If you like them, I thought we’d give them as gifts to the girls who stay at the shelter. I’m having Strawberry Shortcake bears made for the boys and teens. The bear samples are inside the shipping box, too.”

Overwhelming gratitude took Victoria’s breath away. Her head spun with memories of her grandmother and the scent of
Emeraude
perfume. She remembered the soft feel of Strawberry Shortcake while her doll comforted her at night. Victoria recalled snuggling with the toy and giving it kisses.

As a child, the only person who’d returned Victoria’s kisses had been her grandmother.

Victoria’s knees had turned to jelly, but she somehow reached out to wrap Beverly in an embrace. “This is the most wonderful gift I’ve ever received.” Applause burst through the room.

Beverly passed around the samples of the Strawberry Shortcake dolls and bears for the board to inspect and approve. The vote to adopt the dolls and bears as the signature gifts of the foundation was unanimous.

When the meeting ended an hour later, Victoria gathered her financial papers and notes, tucked them in her briefcase, and said good-bye to the departing members.

Steve waited for her in the sitting room and her heart skipped a beat at the welcome thought of being alone with him to celebrate.

Had she ever been this happy? The dark days after James’s death had become a bittersweet memory. This house was once again filled with life and hope.