Complicated Relationships (The Southern Devotion Series Book 3) (18 page)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Save the Last Dance for me

After Cameron had left, I found Lanie sound asleep curled against the arm of the couch. Her soft snores were the only sound in the room. Slipping my arm behind her back, I lifted her up. She stirred enough to wrap her arms around my neck and shoulders. I tried to carry her up the stairs, but I was too tired to keep from falling backward each time I tried to take a step. I kissed her forehead softly and said, "Baby, can you wake up long enough to walk to bed?"

She grumbled as I set her feet on the ground. She had on heels, so I lifted her feet to remove them before she trudged up the stairs with her head bowed, arms dragging beside her. At the top of the stairs, I scooped her back up in my arms, and she squealed in surprise. When I lay her on the bed, she was asleep in no time. I unzipped her jeans and put them on the chair. She woke up at the movement and sat up to remove her shirt and bra. My lips pressed against her collarbone, and she moaned my name. It made me harden instantly.

"Baby," I whispered as I kissed my way up her neck and then flicked my tongue against her earlobe. When I nibbled on her ear, I felt her hands move to my pants. She wrapped her hand around my length and began to stroke. She was wide awake now, lips eager for mine. I dipped to taste her luscious rose lips and slid my tongue across her bottom lip before sucking it into my mouth.

Pulling her hand away, I reached for her hips and slid her panties off. She laid back on the bed as I climbed above her. Each thrust was slow and methodical; each moan captured the bliss we both felt. Lanie rolled to her side, and I pressed up against her back, kissing her neck. "I love you."

Her skin had goosebumps from the chill in the room. I pulled the sheet up, covering her sexy body and wrapped my arms around her for warmth. She fell asleep before saying the words herself, but her body had already told me she felt the same. I didn’t need more reassurance than that.

As tired as I was, I couldn’t sleep. Instead, I watched Lanie sleep, enjoying the soft purr of her snores. Now and then she'd smile in her sleep, and I thought she might have awaken, but instead it seemed like a good dream instead.  The curls in her hair were limp from our rolling around. I twirled the silky auburn strand around my finger pulling it away from her face.  Her skin smelled like coconut and felt like warm silk. Something came over me at that moment. I pressed my mouth against her ear and whispered, "Marry me." Lanie gave a small chuckle in her sleep. "I'm serious Melanie Harris, Marry me."

Her eyes popped open, and she flipped over to face me. "Do you have a ring?" she asked in a panic of excitement.

"Not yet," I admitted sheepishly, "but if you say yes, we'll pick one out together."

              "Yes."

Chapter Thirty-Three

What Happens in Vegas

Lanie is my fiancé. Lanie is going to be my wife. Lanie and I are getting married. No matter how I said it, it still scared the hell out of me. In the moment of proposing it seemed like the most natural thing to do. We'd hit every relationship step in such a short span of time that this seemed the next logical step. At the time, I hadn't considered all the obstacles involved. My life was full of complicated relationships. How would Macy feel about me getting married? How would this affect Angel who already felt like the last single person on Earth? Am I sure that Lanie's the one? A year ago I was in love with Mary Jane. How could I know this time is for life?

These thoughts went through my mind as I kept my eyes closed lying in bed. I could feel that she wasn't beside me anymore. The groan of the bedroom door opening caused me to open my eyes finally facing the day. Lanie had on one of my t-shirts, and she sat next to me on the bed. "I took Macy to school this morning. I'm off work today, so I made you breakfast. I can bring it to you in bed if you want to stay up here?"

And at that moment I knew this is how I wanted to wake up every day for the rest of my life. I trailed my fingers along her smooth calf and moved them up to her inner thigh. "You drove her to school like this?" I teased.

She gasped as my fingers grazed over her panty line. "Tristan, your eggs will get cold," she said with unconvincing concern. My hands moved up under her shirt, softly caressing her skin until I could cup her breast. The moment my hand found her taut nipple,  she gave in. "We'll microwave them."

She removed her t-shirt and panties before straddling my waist. Afterward, we sat with our hands pressed together, fingers entwining.  With a resounding sigh, I said, "I suppose we need to get up. Breakfast is waiting, and we have shopping to do."

"Shopping?" Lanie asked.

I lifted her left hand and pointed to her ring finger. "This finger needs some bling, don't you think."

She bit her lip as she held back her smile. "We're engaged? I thought maybe it was a moment you'd regret. I wasn't going to mention it in case you wanted to take it back."

I never regretted asking her, only questioned whether it was the right decision. "Do you regret your answer?"

"No. Tristan, I've never felt this way about anyone in my entire life. You're sweet, funny, charming, incredibly sexy. Besides all that though, you have the biggest heart of anyone I know. I couldn't imagine a better husband and father for my children." I tensed up at the mention of children. "Don’t worry, no kids for a few years. I simply meant that I see us having children one day. And with the way you've raised Macy I know you'll be wonderful."

"And you'll be an amazing mother. So let's get dressed and go find you a ring. I want to tell Macy when we pick her up from school. She needs to be the first to know, before anyone else."

"I agree. There's one more thing I need to tell you. She's scared to tell you herself but talked to me about it this morning."

My mind immediately shot to a worst case scenario, and I sat up in a panic. "Is she okay? What's wrong?"

Lanie stroked my back, "Calm down, she's fine. She wants to call your dad. She's scared it will hurt your feelings. She wants to hear him out though. She'd like to see if he can be a part of both your lives now."

"Oh. Um…no it's fine. That's the reason I got his number." The truth is it did hurt a little. It shouldn't, but it did. I needed a few minutes to deal with it, so I got out of bed quickly. "I'm going to get a shower."

"Want me to join you," she asked with a wink.

"Not this time. I need a moment."

"Ok, no problem.  I'll go finish breakfast for when you get out." She gave me a quick kiss and left the room.

The hot water beating down on my skin felt like heaven. As I soaped up I regretted one decision I had made in the last twenty-four hours; telling Lanie not to join me in here. I don't know what made me think I needed time to myself. Macy deserved to know her father. He was an ass for leaving her behind, but we made it. It was difficult, but we both survived and if he hadn't left we wouldn't be here in Nashville. I'd never have met Lanie. For once I felt that saying was true; everything happens for a reason.

Once out of the shower, I stood in front of the mirror, and I grinned at myself. Everything in my life was falling into place for a change. I closed my eyes and breathed out a sigh of relief.  "Mom, if you're listening. Because of you, Macy and I are fine, and she's going to her dream school next year. And you'll be the first to know that I'm getting married. You'd have loved Lanie. She's, well, there are hardly words worthy of describing her. None of them match up to how extraordinary of a woman she is. I wish you could be here. I miss you, so much."

Gathering my composure, I dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Lanie had the table set for breakfast. She went ahead and ate while I got my shower so that I could eat while she took one herself. "Do you think Angel would mind if I borrow some clean clothes? I'll get them back to her too."

"No, she wouldn’t mind at all."

Lanie went upstairs, and I grabbed my phone and dialed Mary Jane. "Hello, new Momma. How are you feeling?"

"Tired, but happy. I'll be going home in the morning. I fed him last night. It was the coolest thing, T."

"When you get home, Lanie and I would like to come over and make dinner for you. It would give us a chance to tell you about the trip too."

"Is that all you want to tell me?" she hinted. He knew what she was asking but couldn't give it away. Macy had to be the first to know for certain.

"Yep, that's all for now."

It only took one stop for Lanie to find the ring she wanted. She picked out a very simple gold band with a petite diamond. "Are you sure you don't want something fancier?"

"We don't need to go broke for an engagement ring, this is beautiful and says 'I'm taken' so it seems perfect to me. "

"Aren't I suppose to spend three months salary on it though? This amount is barely a months."

She rolled her eyes, "I never understood where someone came up with that number. I chose the ring because of its beauty, not its price. I'd rather you spend three months salary on a down payment for a house or something we can both enjoy."

"Damn. If I hadn't already proposed, I'd do it again right now."

Lanie giggled, and we waved the jeweler back over. "We'll take this one," she said handing him the simple gold band with a half karat diamond in the middle and three smaller diamonds on each side. When she slipped it on her finger, it was the perfect fit.

With a smile on her face, she held her hand out straight ahead and stared at the ring the entire ride to Macy's school. As we pulled into the parking lot, she put her hand down to hide it until we could break the news.

Macy slipped into the backseat a few moments later. "You two have fun today?"

"We did a little shopping, " I said giving a wink to Lanie. "How was your day, squirt."

"Carter and I are officially dating."
              I groaned, but Lanie expressed enough excitement for both of us, "That's awesome, Macy! Do you have a picture? I must see this guy you've told me so much about."

Macy quickly handed Lanie her phone. Lanie had shown me before I drove off. The picture was a selfie of the two teens with their faces pressed together smiling happily. "Ooh, he's cute," Lanie gushed. "I may have to fight you for him," she said teasingly.

"Hey now." I teased back. Lanie and Macy both laughed at my attempt at jealousy.  "We have something to tell you, Macy."

Lanie handed the phone back, and Macy screamed. I swerved the car out of surprise. "What the hell?" I shouted.

Macy grabbed Lanie's hand, "You guys are getting married?!"

"I guess you're happy?" Lanie said with a laugh.

"Ecstatic! You two are perfect together. Can I be a bridesmaid?"

"I was hoping you'd me my maid of honor," Lanie replied, taking both of us by surprise. "I don't have any sisters and most of my closest friends are guys. There's no one I'd rather have stand beside me."

Macy unbuckled and thrust forward to hug Lanie. I pulled the car over. "Buckle back up, squirmy. We need you in one piece for the ceremony one day. I spoke to Mary Jane earlier. When she gets out of the hospital, the three of us are going to go make them dinner and break the news at that time. For now, you're the only one that knows."

Macy squealed again, "I want to help with all the planning."

"I'd love that," Lanie exclaimed.

"I thought maybe we'd go to Vegas and elope," I half-joked. The idea of planning a large wedding seemed scarier than just running away to get married in a more intimate setting. The look on Lanie's face told me that my joke wasn't funny.  "I'm kidding." Once I said those two little words she seemed relieved.

"I don't want to spend thousands of dollars on a wedding, Tristan. I'd rather be surrounded by our closest friends in a small chapel here than in Vegas getting married in a tacky chapel with an Elvis impersonator performing the service as he gyrates his hips in character." Her tone wasn't full of anger, only a plea for understanding.

"What if we got married at A Shot in the Dark?" The idea to get married in the bar came to me as a cheap venue but after saying it I thought it might be offensive to her.

Instead, it received the opposite result. Her eyes misted over with tears, and she said, "The place we met? That's amazingly romantic. Let's do that."

Hmm, who knew being cheap, would be construed as romantic for a change. "Great. I'll check with Derrick and Ashton as soon as we tell them."

"Carter's uncle is a preacher. I could see if he would perform the ceremony for you guys."

"This is coming together quite nicely," Lanie replied.

For the rest of the afternoon, I could not get the girls to drift away from marriage talk. Macy animated emotions over the entire thing made it, so I didn’t even mind them ignoring me. She needed a good dose of happy and this seemed to be the perfect amount.