Lying Love (Lazy Love Book 3) (5 page)

He led her into the stable and saddled two horses, tying the basket behind her saddle. He adjusted her stirrups as best he could until she swung up into the saddle, and then he fit them to her. “I always forget how short you are!”

She made a face. “I’m not short. I’m just not a giant like you are.”

He wrinkled his nose as he hoisted Nicki up in front of the saddle, before mounting behind her. “Let’s go down by the river.”

Amber nodded and led the way. She had been to the river so many times in the past, it was instinctive which way to go, even though she’d never been on this particular property. She couldn’t believe how happy it made her to ride with John and Nicki. It was like going back in time.

She found a good flat spot not far from the river and dismounted, untying the picnic basket.

She walked over and held her hands up for Nicki, helping her down. “Want to help me with the picnic?” she asked.

The little girl nodded. John got down and untied the quilt he’d brought for them to eat on and handed it to Amber.

As he watched, Amber and Nicki spread the quilt out, and unpacked the picnic supper. They chatted happily, and John realized that Nicki didn’t just want a mother. She
needed
one. The rapport she already had with Amber amazed him.

Once the picnic was ready, he joined them on the quilt. “When are you going to marry my daddy?” Nicki asked.

Amber smiled. “Well, I can’t marry a man who hasn’t asked me, can I?”

Nicki shrugged. “I asked you for both of us.”

“It doesn’t work that way.”

Nicki scrunched up her face. “I don’t know why not!”

“Because a man has to have a ring, and he has to get down on one knee. Then he has to declare his undying love for his lady, promising to never make her cry. And only then can he ask her to marry him. If he asks nicely enough, then she can say yes.”

Nicki nodded. “Okay.” She looked at her father. “Well?”

“Well what?” John asked, after swallowing his mouthful of fried chicken.

“Well, when are you going to get down on one knee?”

“I’m supposed to do it at a time that would surprise her. Not now!”

“It would surprise her now, because you just said you couldn’t do it now,” Nicki argued.

Amber put her hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh, loving that Nicki was putting him on the spot and making him so uncomfortable.

John looked between their faces, Amber’s amused and Nicki’s confused. Finally, he decided to just go with it. He got onto one knee and took Amber’s hand in his, bringing it to his lips. “Amber, I’ve loved you since I was eight years old. You were the first girl I ever kissed and the only girl I’ve ever loved. I promise I will never make you cry if you will marry me and be Nicki’s new mama.”

Amber looked at him, thinking of what her friends had told her at lunch. She looked over at Nicki who seemed to be more excited than a child should be.

Finally, Amber nodded. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

J
ohn gaped at Amber
, his jaw dropped. “Really? You’ll marry me?” He’d never expected her to say yes. He’d wanted her to, of course, but in his wildest dreams the answer was always no.

Amber nodded. “I will.” She almost laughed at the dumbfounded look on his face, but decided that would be rude.

“But—I don’t even have a ring. I was sure you’d say no!”

“Did you want me to say no?” she asked, getting confused, even while Nicki had thrown herself into Amber’s arms. “I can change my answer.”

Nicki shook her head emphatically. “You can’t change your answer! You said yes!”

Amber smiled at the girl in her arms. “I can’t marry your daddy if he doesn’t want me to. If he asked the question without meaning to, then I’ll have to change my answer.” She kissed Nicki’s forehead affectionately while she waited for John to respond.

“But why?” he finally asked.

Amber blinked a few times, not sure how to answer that. Why would she marry him? She’d been in love with him for years! “Nicki needs a mother, and she chose me. I won’t have to deal with men throwing themselves at me once news gets around that I’m married. It just makes sense.” She kept her voice cautious, afraid he’d tell her he’d been joking when he asked.

John’s face became shuttered as he nodded. “All right. Let’s plan a wedding.”

“I figured we’d just elope. You don’t really want a real wedding, do you?” Amber didn’t know why she hated the idea of a wedding so much, but she did. He said he loved her, but he’d made it clear he was doing all this for Nicki, so why would they go through the motions of a real wedding?

“I’d rather do a real wedding. We can do it quick if you want. Maybe two weeks from now? On Saturday?”

Amber nodded slowly. It seemed that was forever away, but she’d already loved him for more than ten years. What was thirteen more days? “That could work. If we did it next weekend, I’d have the week following the wedding off work, though.”

He thought about that for a moment, liking the idea of a honeymoon, no matter if they were able to go somewhere or had to stay home for it. “Yeah, let’s do that. Maybe my mom can keep Nicki for the week.”

“Maybe she can keep her for a night or two, and then she can come home. I want to spend that week getting to know her better. I can’t wait to have a daughter!” Amber smiled at the little girl in her arms. “Do you want to be my flower girl? If we’re doing a wedding, I want two attendants. Valerie and May need to be there with me.”

Nicki nodded emphatically. “I want to be the flower girl! I can walk down the aisle throwing flowers at everyone!”

Amber made a mental note to be sure the girl only had flower petals in her basket so no one would be injured. “Are you okay with two attendants?” she asked John.

He nodded. “That should be fine.”

“If you don’t have anyone you want to ask, Bob and Jesse would do it. Along with Valerie, they’ve been my family for the last four years.”

“I might ask them. Would your attendants feel more comfortable with their husbands at the front with them?”

“I think Valerie would be okay either way, because she’s an actress and used to being in front of people. May is a romance writer, and she has a harder time being in front of crowds.”

“Then I’ll make sure I ask Bob to be one of my attendants, and I will decide later if I want Jesse or someone else.” He had mixed feelings about Jesse after the way the other man had tried to interfere earlier. Of course he was glad someone had been watching out for Amber during the time he’d been out of her life.

Nicki got off Amber’s lap. “I’m going to walk down to the river. I want to throw rocks in.”

“Stay where you can see me and don’t get too close. Okay?” John asked, knowing that she was fascinated by the water.

“Okay.” Nicki hurried off, leaving the couple totally alone.

John looked at Amber. “I won’t be able to stand it if I lose you again. Are you sure?” His eyes were intense.

Amber nodded. “I’m sure. I’ve thought about you a lot over the years.”

“What made you change your mind since dinner last night? You seemed afraid of being around me then.”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure,” she lied. “I just decided I wouldn’t be hurt again.” She couldn’t give him the kind of power he’d had over her years ago. Keeping him from knowing how much she cared would be the only way she could keep her sanity…and her heart intact.

He glanced down at the river, seeing that Nicki was playing on the bank as promised. She was usually good about not getting too close to the water when he reminded her beforehand, but he had to be sure she was safe.

He caught Amber’s hand and pulled her toward him on the blanket. “I need something to sustain me until Saturday. What if we can’t get the church for the wedding?”

She shrugged. “Let’s just marry in your yard. It won’t hurt anything, and we’ll be just as married.” She frowned. “Are you going to invite your parents?”

He nodded. “Of course I’m going to invite my parents. I wouldn’t have made it through the past few years without them!”

She sighed. “If you’re inviting your parents, then I have to invite my parents. I left the week after Brian died, and I haven’t seen them since.” Already she was dreading seeing them again.

His eyes widened. “I’d heard you were estranged, but I didn’t know it was that bad.”

“I can handle it. My mother called this afternoon, because she’d already heard we went to dinner together last night. She wants me to move back to Jupiter, so I can live under her thumb again.”

He cupped her cheek with his hand, stroking her lips with his thumb. “My business is in Jupiter. If you marry me, that’s where we’ll have to live.”

She closed her eyes for a moment. “I know it is. I just don’t necessarily think it’s what I want.”

“Are you changing your mind?”

She shook her head. “Not about marrying you. I just need to come to peace with living so close to my parents. I won’t let them be rude to Nicki.”

He sighed. “They won’t get time with her. Not if I can help it.”

She moved closer to him, wishing she still believed he could protect her from the venom that her mother had always spewed toward her. “I miss the days when I thought we could avoid them forever.”

He slowly brushed a kiss across her lips. “We can’t avoid them. We both know that now. But we
can
stay strong and not let them hurt us.” He glanced over her shoulder and saw that Nicki was still keeping her distance from the water as she threw more rocks into the river. “Are you going to wear a white dress?”

She shrugged. “Only if you want me to, and then I’ll do everything I can to make it happen. May found one with only a three-day engagement. I could find one in six. I think.”

“Try. If you can’t, it won’t be too terrible, but try.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Wait! The dress Valerie wore for Jo’s wedding to Dylan in the show is still in wardrobe, and we’re the same size. I could wear that, if it wouldn’t bother you that I wore a show prop.”

He grinned, shaking his head. “Not at all. You were beautiful in your bridesmaid dress on that episode.”

“Thank you.” Amber shook her head. “It’s strange that you’ve been able to watch me all these years, and kind of keep track of what I’m doing through the tabloids, but I knew nothing about you.”

John smiled at her. “Maybe it’s best this way. If you’d known all my struggles, maybe you wouldn’t have agreed to date me again.”

“Why is that?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Lots of financial troubles. The kind that come with being a single father and starting a new business.”

“Are you marrying me for the financial help I can give you?” she asked, needing to know. It was all right with her if he was, because she felt like they could overcome anything together, but she didn’t want to be blindsided.

He shook his head. “I’d never use you that way. I’m marrying you because I never got over you. A small part of it is that you’ll be a good mother to Nicki, but not one ounce of it is financial. I’ll sign a prenup if you feel the need.”

“No, I don’t. I never thought you were after money. People like that are pretty obvious usually.”

“Why do I feel like we’re talking business instead of basking in our just-engagedness?”

“Just-engagedness? You’re as bad as May!”

“As bad as May?”

Amber shook her head. “She says that because she’s a writer, she’s allowed to make up words whenever she wants to. She wants bobilicious to be a word in the
Oxford English Dictionary
. The woman is nuts.”

“Maybe I’m a secret writer. Is that not possible?” John asked, winking at her.

“If you were a writer, you certainly wouldn’t be writing about engagements. You’re more the non-fiction kind of guy.”

“Are you calling me boring? Cuz I won’t put up with my future wife calling me boring.”

She glanced over her shoulder to be sure Nicki was all right before turning back to him. “Just kiss me!”

He pulled her toward him and kissed her softly, one hand going to the back of her neck beneath her braid, and the other resting at her waist. His fingers ached to touch her more intimately, but he was aware that Nicki could come back at any moment. It was going to be interesting to be a newlywed with a four-year-old girl in the house.

After a moment, she sighed. “I’m going to need Nicki this week to buy her a flower girl dress. Can you make sure the preacher can be here on Saturday to marry us? I’ll arrange for flowers. Is Pastor Steve still the pastor of the little church in town?”

“He is. He’s always been there and always will be.”

She smiled at that, having fond memories of the kindly man. “What about the marriage license?”

He thought about that for a moment. “We’ll need to be together to get that. And we need it by Wednesday. What is your schedule like this week?”

“I’ve got scenes all day tomorrow. They’re introducing a love interest for me, so the whole episode is kind of focused on me and of me spreading my wings.”

His eyes widened. “A love interest?”

She nodded. “Does that bother you?”

“I don’t know. I don’t like the idea of you kissing someone else.”

“It’s my job, John. If it doesn’t happen this week, it’ll be happening soon. I don’t have a lot of choice in the matter.”

“You love what you do, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I really do. My mother used to tell me that a lady need never work. She didn’t need to know how to do anything but throw a good party. I—I couldn’t live that way. I like feeling useful!”

“Who’s playing your love interest?”

“Anthony Murrah. He’s supposed to arrive this evening. I’ll meet him in the morning.”

John shook his head. “I’ve never heard of him.”

“I haven’t either. They were going to screen test us together, but something happened. I’ll let you know what I think of him.” She thought a moment. “I have Tuesday afternoon free. My last scene will be finished before lunch. Could we go for our license then?”

“Yeah, I can make that work. I need to pick Nicki up from my mom’s before six, so she can go bowl. She’s in a Tuesday night league.”

Amber had always liked his mother, but at that moment, she couldn’t help wondering what her own mother would think of participating in a bowling league. She had to stifle a giggle as she thought about it. Her mother was always dressed perfectly and never did anything she considered common.

“I didn’t get my dessert cookies!” Nicki called as she came running. “You didn’t eat them, did you, Daddy?”

Amber started to move away from him, but he caught her arm, shaking his head slightly. “I didn’t eat your cookies, princess. I wouldn’t do that to you!”

Nicki looked into the picnic basket and pulled out the cellophane-wrapped package of cookies, baked in the grocery bakery. “Chocolate chip are my favorite. What’s your favorite, Amber?”

Amber pretended to think about it for a long time. “I think I like chocolate chip best too!”

“Yay! We’re cookie twins.” Nicki plopped down on the quilt beside Amber. “Were you and Daddy kissing?”

Amber choked for a moment, before nodding. “We were. But I told him to stop kissing me, because that’s disgusting.”

Nicki giggled. “It’s not disgusting! Married people are supposed to kiss, so you’d better start practicing.” She watched Amber intently.

“What?” Amber asked, feeling a bit unnerved.

“You’re supposed to practice kissing with Daddy, so you know you’re doing it right when you get married.”

Amber laughed, shaking her head. “I think we practiced enough when we were younger that we got it absolutely perfect.”

“You mean you kissed when you went to prob together?”

Amber briefly considered correcting Nicki’s mispronunciation of the word prom, but thought better of it. It was so cute the way she said it that Amber didn’t want to change it. “Yeah, we kissed at prom. And before that!”

“You did? Did your daddy know you were kissing him?”

Amber laughed at the question. “You know, he caught us kissing once, and he was
not
happy with me!”

“Why not?”

“My parents didn’t like your daddy very much,” Amber admitted. “They’re not going to be very happy when we get married, but they don’t need to be, because they won’t be married to us.”

“No, they won’t. Did Daddy like your parents?”

Amber grinned at the question. “You’ll have to ask him that.”

John thought for a moment. “I didn’t like them very much at the time, but now that I have a little girl, I can understand how they felt. I wouldn’t want some boy that I didn’t think was good enough to come along and kiss you. It would make me very angry.”

“So do you like them now?” Nicki persisted.

“I haven’t seen them in a long time.” If her parents had been normal, he’d have seen them in the grocery store or around town on occasion. They were wealthy enough that the maids did the shopping for them, though, so they were more isolated from town than most.

“You’ll get to meet them at the wedding, Nicki,” Amber said. She couldn’t not invite her parents if his parents were coming. If he’d said he wasn’t going to invite his parents, that would have given her a perfect excuse.