Making It Last - A Novella (Camelot Series) (17 page)

She kissed him. “What are you saying?”

“That you’re the one I want, Amber. Still. Even now. Especially now. And we’re going to make all of this happen.”

“We are.”

“We
are
. And in a year, when you’re running marathons and I’m working fifty-hour weeks, thinking about whether I can add on to that tiny little house we’re gonna be renting from
your brother—”

“—which is bigger than the house where you grew up—”

“—and the apartment where you grew up, too, I know. What I’m saying is that a year from now, and ten years from now, and forty years from now, you’re still going to be the best thing that ever happened to me.”

She put her arms around his neck and kissed the tip of his nose. “I would say the same for you.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

She was smiling up at him, and he was grinning down at her, stupidly content. Almost jealous of his future self, for being allowed that little house and those awesome kids and this woman.

The lucky bastard.

“Can we go to sleep now?” she asked.

“Fuck, yeah. Please. Let’s.”

When he reached over to get the light, her fingers snuck beneath his waistband and stroked over his ass.

It was going to be a while yet before they went to sleep. But once they did, he planned to sleep like the dead.

Tomorrow, he would see what he could do about what happened next.

He liked the sound of fifty-hour weeks and dinner with the kids. Amber running marathons and working at a job that got her out among people, feeling good about herself.

He liked the sound of his wife, happy.

Tony turned out the light and made her as happy as he could in the meantime.

Dear Readers,

There is romance in marriage.

This is why it’s so often the happy endpoint of romance novels, right? Because marriage contains within it all the best stuff: joy, understanding, comfort, mutual appreciation, companionship, lovemaking, and baked goods. Not necessarily in that order.

But marriage contains all the worst stuff, too—sorrow, alienation, incomprehension, discomfort, misunderstanding, loneliness, dry spells, burned roasts.

Marriage is an agreement two people make to move through life together. On the plus side, this means they’ll always have each other. On the minus side, it also means that life will keep happening to them, and they will keep having to cope with it.

The hope in any marriage—and the promise inherent in most romance novels’ happy endings—is that the couple in question will be better off coping with life together than they would have been alone.

When I wrote
How to Misbehave
, I left Amber Clark and Tony Mazzara a few days into their fledgling relationship. They’d found each other and taken halting but important steps toward intimacy and trust, yet on the last page of that book, Amber and Tony’s story was just beginning.

I knew how they ended up, of course. I gave you glimpses of them together in
Along Came Trouble
and
Flirting with Disaster
—married, with three rambunctious boys and a dog, still living near family in Camelot, with Tony continuing to run his father’s construction business.

But there was more. I knew there was more. And even though it didn’t fit in my plans, I didn’t have time to write it, and no one particularly
wanted
me to
write it, I had to tell this other piece of Amber and Tony’s story. Because I couldn’t stop thinking about them.

I couldn’t stop thinking about marriage—the best and the worst of it.

Making It Last
takes place almost fourteen years after
How to Misbehave
. I wrote it because I wanted to tell a story about how life happens to love. About how hard it is for men who are working at supporting their families and women who are working at raising their children to keep track of who they are and what matters most to them.

I wanted to write about how, in many marriages, there are these pausing points—ten, twenty, thirty years in—when two people who have committed to each other are forced to stop and think. To decide. Would they choose each other again?
Will
they?

And I wanted to show how this choice—if made correctly, with awareness and love and open communication—can give two people the courage to reframe their notions of themselves, so they can face the next stretch of road in front of them stronger, better, and more capable of handling whatever challenges come their way.

I believe that the romance of marriage is
about
these moments of choosing—these anniversary affirmations that, yes, you’re the one I want. Still. Even now. Especially now.

Only you.

Thank you, as ever, for reading.

All best wishes,

Ruthie

Without the support of Emily Sylvan Kim, Mary Ann Rivers, and Serena Bell, I might not have written this story. Thank you, you lovely, wonderful,
brilliant
women, for understanding what I was trying to do and encouraging me to carry on, even through the tough parts.

Thanks to my editor, Sue Grimshaw, for humoring me, and for the astute revision ideas.

And thanks to all of my readers, especially those of you who clamored for more Amber and Tony. (Just to get ahead of the next round of clamoring—Patrick. Yes, I know. I’m working on it.)

Ride with Me

About Last Night

Room at the Inn (Novella)

How to Misbehave (Novella)

Along Came Trouble

Flirting with Disaster

Making It Last (Novella)

Coming Soon:

Roman Holiday (Serialization)

P
HOTO
: M
ARK
A
NDERSON
, S
TUN
P
HOTOGRAPHY

R
UTHIE
K
NOX
writes contemporary romance that’s sexy, witty, and angsty—sometimes all three at once! She debuted as a romance novelist with
Ride with Me
—probably the only existing cross-country bicycling love story—and followed it up with
About Last Night
, which was a finalist for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA award. Her third story, the Christmas novella
Room at the Inn
, was also a RITA finalist.
Making It Last
is the fourth installment in her Camelot series and the last of the romantic adventures of the Clark siblings of Camelot, Ohio. Ruthie moonlights as a mother, Tweets incessantly, and bakes a mean focaccia.

Welcome to Loveswept!

I truly believe that one of the best things in life is spending long, leisurely days curled up with a book. Whether it’s a novel of erotic discovery and hidden desire like Stacey Kane’s scorching e-original
CLAIMED
, a sizzling small town romance like Elisabeth Barrett’s fourth e-original Star Harbor book,
SLOW SUMMER BURN
, or an electrifying story featuring hockey hunks like Toni Aleo’s contemporary e-original
BLUE LINES
 … it’s a wonderful feeling to be transported to a new and exciting world … especially one filled with sexy heroes and vibrant heroines. Pick up these reads and lose yourself in romance and love.

And for more wonderful reads, don’t miss:

Sandra Chastain’s
SURRENDER THE SHADOW
– an enthralling classic of secrets and suspense; Katie Rose’s charming historical romance,
COURTING TROUBLE
– where an attorney and a determined suffragette butt heads; Adrienne Staff and Sally Goldbaum’s
CRESCENDO
– a sparkling story about a princely society man and his everyday princess; Iris Johansen’s blazing
YORK, THE RENEGADE
– where passion takes a man and woman on a wild ride in a rough-and-tumble mining town; and Ruth Owen’s
BODY HEAT
– an alluring tale of love, betrayal and murder.

If you love romance … then you’re ready to be
Loveswept
!

Gina Wachtel

Associate Publisher

P.S. Watch for these terrific Loveswept titles coming soon: September arrives with more timeless stories for you – Three enticing stories from Sandra Chastain,
THE JUDGE AND THE GYPSY, FIREBRAND
, and
THE LAST DANCE
, beloved author Iris Johansen’s
THE DELANEY’S OF KILLAROO
, Fran Baker’s enchanting
SEEING STARS
, Julie Ortolon’s irresistible
DRIVE ME WILD
as well as three original stories: another fantastic installment from Ruthie Knox’s
ROMAN HOLIDAY
serialized novel, Lauren Layne’s seductive
AFTER THE KISS
, and Mira Lyn Kelly’s sexy and sweet
TRUTH OR DARE
. October has more e-originals in store: Maggie McGinnis’s brilliant
THE ACCIDENTAL COWGIRL
, Megan Frampton’s sweltering
WHAT NOT TO BARE
, and Katie Rose’s delightful
MISTLETOE AND MAGIC
, as well as some wonderful reissues: Connie Brockway’s dazzling stories,
DANGEROUS MAN
and
MY DEAREST ENERMY
, Ellen Fisher’s memorable
THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
, Ruth Owen’s riveting works,
SMOOTH OPERATOR
and
SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME
, Iris Johansen’s delicious
ACROSS THE RIVER OF YESTERDAY
, and three breathtaking books from Sandra Chastain,
THE MORNING AFTER, FOR LOVE OF LACEY
, and
GABRIEL’S OUTLAW
. Don’t miss any of these extraordinary reads. I promise that you’ll fall in love and treasure these stories for years to come.…

“Yes,” Katie said, gripping the steering wheel harder. “Uh-huh, yes, I get it.” She glanced in the rearview mirror, signaled left, and changed lanes. The traffic was getting thicker as they approached Louisville.

Her brother kept talking, his voice robbed of its customary power by the cheap speakers of her cell phone, which sat in a cup-holder mount and broadcast Caleb’s warnings upward at her head. “If you have the slightest indication that there’s danger attached to this threat, you’re going to call me, and—”

“Yesssssss,” she droned.

The drama was wasted on Caleb, who was going to give her this lecture for the seventeenth time whether she wanted to hear it or not.

It was wasted on Katie’s traveling companion, too. Sean didn’t react to anything she did. Ever.

Katie glanced at the man in the passenger seat of her Jetta, just to be sure. His expression as he stared out the windshield matched the bleak, featureless expanse of southbound I-71. He was like a human wall of granite, completely impervious to everything about her.

A stern, gorgeous cliff face.

Suppressing a sigh, she tuned back in to Caleb’s speech. “—you to be in charge of anything along those lines, Sean. This is a trial run for Katie. I’m only letting her go because Judah insists she’s the one he wants to work with. You got that, Katie? It’s Sean’s show. I need you to play nice and stay out of his way.”

“Yes,” she confirmed. “I know the deal. I agreed to the deal. I am on board with the deal. Now can we stop talking about it, please?”

She flinched at the way her voice came out, sharper than she’d meant to sound. It was only because she was nervous about this trip. Her palms had gone clammy and slimed the leather wheel cover, so uncomfortable did it make her to venture into an unknown city to do an unfamiliar job with a man who didn’t like her.

She had a tendency to bristle when nervous.

One more bad habit she needed to make an effort to tame. Better to be professional. What Katie really needed to figure out was how to act cool and icy like some kind of Bond Girl assassin, slinking around and poisoning people by slipping strychnine into their drinks.