Just Married! (17 page)

Daniel waved a hand in dismissal. “How do you know what kind of woman Colton needs?”

“You’ve met his mother, Dad. She’s the perfect politician’s wife. And me…” Vivian let out a laugh. “I’m
so
not.”

“Says who?”

“Edward St. John, for one.”

“What does he have to do with anything? He’s been dead three years.”

“He told me how awful I’d be for Colton’s political career.”

Daniel’s face tightened. “That man had the gall to say something to you?”

“It’s why I left, Dad.” Vivian let out a long breath. She’d held all this inside for so long. She was tired of keeping the secrets to herself. What good had they done, really, except drive her to the other side of the country? Despite what she’d said to Colton,
she’d realized in the last few weeks that she did miss St. John’s Cove. Her friends, her family, heck, even the Clam Digger restaurant. She might not be able to have Colton, but maybe she could spend more time here, with the other people she loved. She knew, though, that she could only do that if she stopped hiding from the real reasons she left. “Back then, Colton and I were so much in love. I know Colton was thinking marriage, because he mentioned it a couple of times. I guess his father must have found out, because Edward came to the diner where I was working one afternoon and told me I’d never be the kind of woman his son needed.”

Her father muttered several unflattering things under his breath.

Now that the story was out, she might as well tell it all. “And…he offered me ten thousand dollars if I’d leave town.”

This time, her father didn’t bother to keep the unflattering words under his breath. “If he was still alive, I’d kill him.”

“I didn’t take the money. I didn’t want his money. I didn’t want anything from him.”

Her father rose and paced the room, his face red. “How could he do that? Say that to you?”

“He was watching out for Colton’s interests.” She drew in a breath, let it out and faced the truth. “For years, I’ve been blaming Edward for my leaving. But honestly, he was right.”

“Right? The man was a jerk, saying things like that to my daughter.”

“Maybe, but he had a point. I was always in trouble back then. I didn’t have a clue about living conventionally. All I wanted to do was—”

“Escape.” Her father let out the word on a long, heavy breath.

Their gazes met, shared pain unfurling between them. “Yeah.”

Vivian picked at an invisible piece of lint on her jeans, then smoothed the denim. “I wasn’t cut out back then to be the wife of the mayor. The wife of the governor? Or God forbid, the First Lady? Leaving Colton was the best thing I could have done for his career.”

“And what about for you?”

She lifted her head to meet her father’s gaze, tears burning in her eyes. “I survived.”

He harrumphed. Then he sat down on the bed, across from her. “What would be so wrong about you as the governor’s wife? Or even better, First Lady? I think you’d be great.”

“You’re my father, you’re supposed to say that.”

“No, I’m supposed to tell you the truth. And you, my dear—” he reached out and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes, making her feel ten again “—would be a breath of fresh air. I’d rather have you than some cardboard yes-wife at the side of the politician I vote for, any day.”

She laughed. “Lord knows I’d never be a yes-wife.”

“And you’ve changed, Vivian. Look what you’re doing with those kids who work for you. Amazing stuff. I wish someone like you had been around when I’d been raising you. Those are the days when I missed your mother. Still do.” His voice caught on the last few syllables.

“Dad, you didn’t do such a bad job.”

“I could have done better. Could have been there.”

Vivian’s eyes misted, and she reached for her father’s hand. Age had put lines in the back of the strong hands that had done everything from build her a bookcase to change the tires on her battered first car. The same hands that had bandaged her knees and taken her picture at graduation. He’d been a great father. More than she could have asked for. “You were, Dad. And you’re here now.”

His smile wobbled, and he swiped at his face. “Got something in my damned eye,” he said, his voice as gruff as sandpaper.

“Yeah, me, too.”

After a minute, Daniel cleared his throat. “Vivian, I don’t care what that fool Edward St. John said to you back then. You’re made of the kind of tough stuff we all need more of. I’m damned proud of you, and…” His gaze met hers, and she saw the tears had never really gone away. “I know your mother would be, too.”

“She’d be proud of you, too,” Vivian whispered.
Then she reached forward and drew her father into a hug. One that lasted until every one of Vivian’s doubts had been erased.

It took Colton five minutes after he’d watched Vivian walk away from him yet again to put the pieces together. He called Amanda and Charlie and offered them a romantic clambake on the beach, complete with all the fixings, if they wanted it. “Sure, we’d love that,” Charlie said. “But I thought you made that for you and Vivian.”

“Things didn’t work out as I planned.”

“Sorry, man. Anything I can do?”

“No. This is one problem I have to take care of myself. Enjoy the lobster.”

“We will.” As Charlie said goodbye, Colton heard a lightness in his friend’s voice that he hadn’t heard in weeks. Clearly his marriage had improved, and things were on the right track. That made for two happy endings among the Group of Six—Samantha and Ethan, and now Charlie and Amanda.

Colton was holding out for one more.

V
IVIAN
looked at the address on the paper Bryce had dropped off at her father’s house a few minutes ago, then shook her head. It had to be a mistake.

She got out of the car, her steps slow and cautious. Night had fallen, the only light coming from the moon overhead.

Bryce hadn’t said anything more than “Go here,” before running back out to his car. The message had been as mysterious as the destination. She started to turn back to her car when she heard someone call her name.

“I hope you brought your swimsuit.”

Colton.

Vivian pivoted back. She couldn’t see him in the dark, but she would recognize his voice anywhere. “Don’t tell me you’re in that pool, because I’ll never believe it. Did you…climb over the fence? Actually break the law?”

“You’ll never know if you don’t come in here yourself.”

“Where’s Ely?” She looked around, but the house was still and dark. “Colton,” she said, lowering her voice to a whisper, “you really shouldn’t do this. If you get caught, it would be awful for your career.”

“Vivian Reilly, are you going to keep asking questions or make me throw you into this pool myself?”

She laughed, then grabbed the tote bag she’d packed for the beach earlier, slid past the open gate and into the fenced-in pool area. “Okay, I’m here.”

“Now change. I won’t talk to you unless you’re in the water, too.”

“Colton—”

“Don’t tell me you’re frozen with fear with a little challenge?”

“Who, me?”

She could almost hear him smirk. “You have fifteen seconds, Vivian Reilly.”

Vivian grinned. Maybe the Colton she’d remembered hadn’t disappeared after all. “I only need ten.”

She ducked into the small shed Ely had beside the pool and changed into her swimsuit, then slid into the water. Silky warmth covered her body, enticing her to dive under.

When she came up for air, Colton was there.

As he’d always been. All her life. Colton St. John, the one man she could depend on, the only man who had ever really had her heart.

Vivian looked around. Still quiet and dark. “Am I going to get shot?”

“Not tonight,” Colton said. “This time, I’m older and wiser than when I was a teenager. I called Ely in Florida and asked his permission to use his pool. Even called the neighbors and told them what I was doing so no one would call the cops.”

“You did? How did you ever convince Ely to let you use his pool?” She treaded water gently beside Colton, the warm water sluicing over her skin.

“I told him my girlfriend was really hot, and she needed a way to cool off.”

She arched a brow.

“Truth? I reminded Ely that the new library is going to have a special Civil War history section, the thing he lobbied hardest for, and he owed me a favor or two.” Colton shrugged. “Plus, Ely is head of the historical committee, and he’s…kind of become a friend of mine.”

“Ely, a friend? I guess the residents of St. John’s Cove have changed since I’ve been gone.”

He moved forward and slid a hand up her bare back, teasing at the edge of her bikini top and sending a shiver of desire down her skin. “Not all of them. At least not in the ways that count.”

She laughed, then slid into his arms. With a couple of kicks, they were out of the deep end, and into shallower waters. But that didn’t stop the building heat between them, quadrupled by the silky feel of the water. “I’m glad to hear that. But…”

“What?”

Vivian sobered. Back at her father’s house, packed suitcases waited for her. And here in St. John’s Cove, Colton had a political future waiting for him. Regardless of what she might want, she had to do what was right—for him. She’d seen how much this job, this town, mattered to him. “This is all great for one night, but in the morning, you’re still the mayor and I’m still the girl who got you into trouble faster than you could count to ten.”

“And I still don’t care.” Colton reached up and cupped her jaw, then kissed her, deeply, thoroughly, telling Vivian with his mouth, his touch, how he felt.

Every second in his arms was as wonderful as the last, and Vivian wanted to believe that this could work. She really did. Vivian drew back. “You really want a woman who rides a motorcycle in a bikini in your life?”

“I definitely want a woman in a bikini in my life. As long as you promise only I get to see you wear it on the motorcycle. Because otherwise I’ll have every voter in town following you…right out of town, if you do that again.” Then he kissed her again, and a third time. “I love you, Vivian Reilly, in a bikini, in a snowsuit, in whatever you want to wear or do. I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. And I always will.”

Her heart leaped in her chest. She had waited so long to hear those words, and not just from anyone, but from Colton St. John. He loved her—

And not just as a friend. Even better, he loved her just the way she was.

Still, Vivian hesitated. “Listen, Colton, you should know what happened five years ago.”

“My father was the one who told you to leave, wasn’t he?”

“How…how did you know?”

“I put the pieces together. First, I asked myself who would do such a thing? Then, who would be the only person who could tell you what to do. It all came back to one answer—my father. The only question I have is why. Why you would ever think I would be better off without you than with you.”

“It was the right choice then,” she said. “I wasn’t ready to do anything except leave and grow up.”

He brushed a wet tendril of hair off her cheek. “I guess we both did a lot of growing up during those years, didn’t we?”

She nodded. “And we changed.”

“We did.” His gaze met hers. “Too much?”

Had they changed too much? The question hung between them. She thought of Colton’s commitment to his career. His love for politics, not because he wanted to win, but because he wanted to change lives and communities.

But wasn’t that what she was doing, too, only on a

smaller scale? One cone at a time? “No, not too much.”

A grin spread across his face. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“One thing
has
changed, though.”

The grin faltered. “What?”

Now it was her turn to surprise him—one more time. She smiled up at him. “I’m not afraid to tell you I’m in love with you, too.”

He hauled her to him. “Oh, God, Vivian, you have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say that.” He kissed her, this time thoroughly, until she could no longer see straight. He released her, the grin planted firmly again on his face.

A small round object bobbed nearby in the water. Something round and inflated, from what Vivian could see. She moved to push it away, when Colton stopped her. “Uh-uh. I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“Why?”

“What’s on that floating drink caddy—” his eyes twinkled in the moonlight with a mischievous glint “—is the biggest Dare ever.”

“A Dare?”

“Yep. And if you thought the trouble we got into years ago was big, it’s nothing compared to what I have planned for you with this.”

This was the Colton she remembered—the one she loved—the man who teased and tempted, who had brought as much fun into her life as she had tried to seek. He was still there, and hadn’t been lost in his political career.

They were still the same people—only older, wiser, more mature. She could still have the Colton
she had always known, the one who, in those difficult years after her mother had died, had been not just a friend, but a salvation. Because he’d made her laugh—and that had made her forget.

That had been the beginning for her, the first days when she’d fallen in love with him. For taking care of her when he didn’t even know he was. Later, she’d tell him about that—

After she found out what was in that floating caddy.

She reached out a hand, then pulled it back. “Big trouble, you say?”

“The biggest.”

Vivian pretended to think. “What kind?”

Colton reached into the well of the drink caddy, then took Vivian’s left hand with his own, holding it up out of the water. “Do you dare…to become my wife?”

She inhaled sharply. The ring—a one-carat round stone—caught the light from the stars and sparkled softly as Colton slid it onto her finger. At first, the jewelry felt foreign, out of place. Then a moment later, absolutely perfect. “Wife?”

Colton grinned. “The biggest trouble ever. The kind that spells a permanent hitch.” His hand closed over hers, and he narrowed the gap between them. “You could have your ice cream shop in St. John’s Cove, and at the end of the day, come home to your husband and our kids. Just like you wrote about.”

“You were listening.”

“I told you, Vivian, I remember everything about
you.” He kissed her lightly, then trailed several kisses along her jaw. “You’re a pretty unforgettable woman.”

“What about being governor?”

“If
I win…how would you like to take what you’re doing with those kids at the Frozen Scoop and do it on a state level?”

She hadn’t even thought about having influence as a politician’s wife. That she, of all people, could have a positive impact. She thought of how the teenagers working for her had changed in the last few weeks, and what a difference she could make if she could multiply that by ten kids, a hundred…a thousand.

This, Vivian realized, was what she had been working toward all these years. It was as if every step of her path had been leading her to this. To Colton. To a life together, changing the world one person, one town at a time. She smiled. “I think I could start learning to serve tea.”

Colton laughed. “Just be who you are, Vivian, and that’ll be perfect.”

Then he took her in his arms, and with one more kiss, cast a vote for the only term of office he wanted in Vivian’s life—

Forever.