Back on Solid Ground (45 page)

“Oh, that
feels so good,” Stacy said, and she relaxed to dead weight on top of him.  “Am
I squishing you?” she said, into his neck.

“Uh uh,” Niki
said.  He massaged her back with the tips of his fingers and then she sat up
and unbuttoned Niki’s shirt, but he held it closed. 

“I’ll show
you mine if you show me yours,” he said, and Stacy laughed.  She pulled her
dress down further exposing her scar and Niki opened his shirt and they
compared bullet wounds.

“Mine’s
better,” Niki said.

“No way.”

“Get that
dress off,” he told her, and he got up and tossed Stacy onto the bed.  He took
off his pants and kicked them onto the floor then pulled Stacy’s dress off and
threw it on a chair.  He took off her shoes one at a time and tossed them in
different directions, then he pinned her to the bed and started kissing her
neck, tickling her.  Stacy was laughing and squirming underneath him and Jason
pounded on the wall again.  Niki laughed and banged back.

Niki brought
his mouth to hers and kissed her hard.  Stacy pulled him closer and she wrapped
her legs around him and they topped off the night with their best romp yet. When
they finished they were both wet with sweat. 

“So much for
not exerting yourself for two weeks,” Stacy said.

Niki pulled
Stacy over to him and squeezed her.  “I can’t get close enough to you.”  She
snuggled into him and Niki reached over and turned off the light then banged on
the wall again.

“We’re
finished in here,” he yelled, and both he and Stacy laughed. 

“Good night,
Niki.  I had a really good time tonight.”

“Me too.”  He
kissed Stacy and pulled her closer and they slept in each other’s arms for what
was left of the night.

Everyone
slept late the next morning and Eli and Carlos came down to the French Quarter
and the group met at Brennan’s for lunch.  Holly and Stacy were sitting next to
each other and when Jason got up to talk to someone, Stacy moved her chair
closer to Holly’s.

“So, how was
it last night?” Stacy asked.

“It was
great,” Holly said.   “I’m in serious like.”

“Well I have
a great idea, but I haven’t brought it up to Niki yet.  I think we should all
go to the island when we leave here.”  Stacy looked over at Niki, and he and
Eli were watching them.

“What are you
conspiring about over there?” Niki asked.

“Nothing,”
Stacy said innocently.

“Bullshit, Trent,” Niki said.

“You guys
want to check out a cemetery after we leave here?” she asked, changing the
subject.

No one was
enthusiastic, but Carlos was adamantly against the idea.  “Not me,” Carlos
said.  “Too many ghosts in one place.”

“Oh, come on
Carlos.  Nothing’s gonna happen,” Stacy said.

“You go in my
place.  You know, San Antonio has a lot of ghosts,” Carlos said, taking a bite
of food.

“Yeah, I’ve
heard a lot of stories,” Stacy said.  “Like the Onion House and the Witte Museum and the Menger Hotel.”

“There’s an
ancient burial ground in a flood plain where the ghosts gather early in the
morning.  There are so many of them you can actually see their breath,” Carlos
said.

“In a flood plain? 
Where are you talking about?” Stacy asked.

“The highway
runs right through it now.  The one that goes from the airport downtown,” he
said.

“Highway 281. 
You mean the Olmos Flood Basin?” Stacy asked in disbelief.

“That’s it. 
Haven’t you ever been past there in the morning?  It will be a crystal clear
day without a cloud in the sky, and there will be a thick fog sitting on the
ground in that whole area beside the highway.” 

“Yeah.  I see
it all the time,” Stacy acknowledged.

“It’s not
fog.  It’s ghost breath.”

“Oh, please!”
Stacy said. 

Carlos threw
his hands in the air.  “Believe what you want, but it’s true.”

Stacy turned
to Holly.  “Let’s go shopping instead,” Stacy said, and Holly nodded in
agreement.

 They split
up after lunch and Holly and Stacy went shopping and the men went off in their
own direction and they met up at the hotel late in the afternoon to get ready
for the wedding.  Stacy was wearing a long backless emerald green dress with a
slit up the front and a matching shawl.  She rummaged through her cosmetic bag
and pulled out a diamond drop necklace just as Niki came in. 

Stacy’s eyes
lit up when she saw him.  “Hi!  Will you help me?” she asked, handing him the
necklace.

Niki looked
her up and down.  “Hubba hubba,” he said, and Stacy laughed out loud.

She turned
around so Niki could put the necklace on her.  “Are you excited about Charlotte’s wedding?” she asked. 

“Not really. 
But I’m excited to show you off,” he said, kissing her neck. He put the
necklace on her and she turned back around.  “You’ll be the prettiest one
there,” he said, checking her out.  The green in her dress made her eyes look
incredible and Niki was mesmerized, staring at her. 

“Hello,”
Stacy said, waving her hand in front of his face.  “Are you okay?  You’re
zoning.”

“I just can’t
believe I’m with you.  You are so pretty, Stacy.” 

Niki took her
hands in his and kissed her lightly on the lips and Stacy put her arms around his
waist and smiled at him. 

“Are you
getting sentimental on me?” Stacy asked.

“Hell no. 
You might accuse me of being sweet again.”

Stacy
laughed. “What’s wrong with sweet?”

“It doesn’t
fit with my image,” Niki informed her, running his hand up her back.  “I’m not
going to be able to keep my hands off of you tonight.  You wore that dress just
to torment me, didn’t you?”

Stacy laughed
again.  “I am so in love with you Nikolas Lautrec.”

Jason knocked
and poked his head in the door.

“The limo’s
here.”

Stacy, Niki,
Holly and Jason piled into the limo and drank champagne on the way to the
church.  The wedding was being held at Trinity Church and when the limo
arrived, there was a line out the front of the church of guests waiting to be
seated.  The four were seated in the front row and shortly after they sat down,
Niki’s mother was seated. 

The church
was packed and Charlotte was standing at the back of the church waiting for the
Wedding March to begin.  The organist played the first notes and Charlotte started down the aisle with her father.  Niki squeezed Stacy’s hand as he
watched his little sister moving towards the front of the church.  Lillie
looked over at Niki and smiled.  She could tell what was on her son’s mind and
she wondered how long it would be before he announced his engagement.  The
ceremony was short and when it was over, the preacher presented the newly
married couple to the congregation and everyone applauded. 

The reception
was held in a Mediterranean style courtyard at a posh restaurant, and it provided
as romantic a backdrop for a reception as Stacy had ever seen.  There was an
incredible selection of food and drink, and the band played everything from
disco to rock and roll, to jazz, and the blues.  By the end of the night, Stacy
and Holly had them playing show tunes and they were up on stage with the band
singing songs from Oklahoma, South Pacific, and the Sound of Music.  It was a
blowout party and everyone danced until the band quit playing at 1:00 a.m.  It
was after 2:00 when the last guests left, and Niki, Stacy, Jason, Holly, Eli
and Carlos were the only ones left at the reception. 

A Frank
Sinatra CD was playing on the sound system and they were all sitting at a round
table laughing and visiting.  The song
The Way You Look
came on and Niki
stood up and offered his hand to Stacy. 

“May I have
this dance.”

“This is like
my favorite song!” she said, and Holly winked at Niki. 

Stacy got up
and she and Niki went out on the dance floor.  Niki took Stacy in his arms and
she leaned against him, closed her eyes and let the music take over.  She had
never been happier.  They danced beautifully together and the others sat
captivated, watching the two spinning around the dance floor like they had
danced together all their lives.  They were a strikingly beautiful couple and
the way they moved together, they looked like something straight out of an old
movie.  The two looked into each other’s eyes, smiling, as they dipped and
spun, and covered every inch of the dance floor.  When the song ended, Stacy
laughed and hugged Niki around the neck.

“Where did
you learn to dance like that?  That was amazing!” she said. 

“Close your
eyes,” Niki told her. 

“Close my
eyes?” she asked.

“Close your
eyes,” he repeated.

Stacy was
standing there in front of him smiling with her eyes closed and she reminded
him of a kid at Christmas.  He could just picture what their children would
look like.  He took her hand and slipped a ring on her finger. Stacy opened her
eyes and her jaw dropped.  It was an enormous emerald cut diamond in an antique
platinum setting that had belonged to Niki’s grandmother. 

“Oh my God!”
she exclaimed, looking from her hand to Niki and back to her hand. 

Niki got down
on one knee and took Stacy’s hands in his.  “I’ve never loved anyone the way I
love you, Stacy.  And I know we’ve had an unconventional beginning to our
relationship and that we haven’t known each other long.  But I can’t imagine my
world without you in it,” he said.  “I promise I will always love you and
respect you, and I will always be faithful to you, if you will do me the honor
of becoming my wife.   Will you marry me, Stacy?”

Stacy was
smiling down at Niki and she reached out and touched his face, tears welling up
in her eyes.  “I would love to be your wife.   Yes, I will marry you, Niki.”

“Thank God,”
Niki said.

Stacy laughed
and threw her arms around Niki.  He stood and picked Stacy up and spun her
around.

“She said
yes!” Niki yelled to the others.

Everyone
stood up and cheered and they all gathered around to congratulate the happy
couple.  Stacy was showing off her ring while Eli opened a bottle of champagne
and filled six glasses and passed them around.  Niki put his arm around Stacy
and she wrapped her arm around his waist, and Eli held up his glass.

“To Stacy and
Niki, and a future filled with love and happiness and lots of laughing children.”

They raised
their glasses in the air and clinked them together and everyone drank a toast
to them.  Niki and Stacy sealed it with a kiss.

“I love you,
Niki,” Stacy said. 

Niki looked
into her green eyes and his stomach did its flip.

“I love you
too, Stacy Lautrec.”

Want more?

Check out
Advice of Counsel
,
a lighthearted and entertaining Mystery Romance/Romantic Suspense.

Advice of Counsel

by
Debra Trueman

Young attorney Samuel Collins
moves to the tranquil community of Hollywood Park, Texas, wanting nothing more
than to be left alone by his nosy neighbors.  But between the 4-year-old kid
from next door and the 80-year-old widow from across the street, he quickly
finds himself drowning in neighborhood hospitality. In no time, Samuel is
representing neighbors on all sides in various legal matters, but when two of
his neighbors hire him to revise their will to include one Landra Krally as a
beneficiary, Sam smells a rat.  He calls on his investigator friend, Niki
Lautrec, to check her out, but when Samuel ends up dating the subject of his
investigation, things get increasingly complicated. Samuel’s life, or death,
may depend on the very neighbors he had hoped to ignore. 

Available on Amazon in paperback:  
http://amzn.com/1479376558

and on Kindle:
http://amzn.com/B00937920K

and through your local
bookstore.

www.debratrueman.com

Acknowledgements

Thanks
to my BFF, Holly Hagy, for being with me every step of the way when I wrote
this book; to Michael Galo, Ruben Cantu, Mada Coffee, Susan Synek Nix, and
Richard Rowland for letting me pick their brains or providing input about a
certain aspect of the book; to my Editor, Faye Makarsky, whom I look forward to
working with again; to Laura Wright LaRoche at LLPix Photography and Design for
the cover design; to my sister, Pam Uhr, for the inspiration to finally get
published; and to my family for being my family.