Sarasota Bride (14 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Libby shook her head, dropping the note to the ground. “Trey?” She pursed her lips. This was only her second visit to Gilda’s house. How could she or
they
have an old spot? Her heart started thundering as her head swiveled around. Was he really here? Libby hadn’t seen him at the ceremony.

Around the corner, she spotted a dark green shed. Her first thoughts crushed her heart, her mind recalling how Trey used to wait for her behind her parent’s shed.
Our old spot.
She nearly tripped as she moved closer, closer, closer. Looking left and right, she couldn’t find him anywhere.

“Where are you?”

Trey moved from behind the shed, stepping a little to the side so he could face her. For a moment, he seemed to regret showing himself, his mask slipping to prove he was as vulnerable as she. Then he opened his arms, free of his walking cane, and beckoned her to join him. “You look beautiful, Elizabeth.”

She took a step, and then another. “I remember meeting you behind Daddy’s old shed and shoving my tongue down your throat.”

“Lucky for me, you grabbed me in all the places a sixteen year old boy needed to be grabbed.”

She stepped so close their breaths mingled. “The best nights were when it rained, and the grass smelled fresh and earthy.”

“Your skin was slick, wet, and I lived for licking you.” Trey toed a clump of dirt away from her shoe. “Whenever it rains, I always think of you.”

Libby clasped his hands. “Where’s your cane?” she blurted, pretending not to notice the glassiness in his eyes.

“Inside the house.” He stroked the center of her palms with his thumbs. “To curtail a spinal fusion, I’ve been rigorously rehabilitating, again, and the pain this time…the pain has been reduced significantly.”


“I’m relieved to hear it.” She took a fortifying breath. “What about your kidney?”

He groaned. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Tell me.”


“I’ll still need a transplant in the next year or so.” His green tourmalines locked onto her blues.

Whatever their relationship had turned into, he was the father of her children. “No matter what, I will be there for you, day in and day out, during your kidney surgery and recovery.” She moved her fingers to intertwine with his. “Maybe this will be your last medical procedure. I pray that’s true.”

He stayed quiet, so she said. “I didn’t see you during the wedding.”

“I saw you, watching your best friend marry the men she loves.” He gave her hands a tender squeeze, and a tear slipped down her cheek. Pulling her around the shed, Trey rested her back against its smooth wall. “All the while, I couldn’t stomach how I tried to make an abomination out of something that should have been sacred with you, with us. So I gave Drake the note and came out here.”

“I forgave you.”

Trey tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “I don’t know how to forgive myself.”

She could see the fear in his eyes, but there was love stashed in there, too. She wanted Trey to admit he loved her, before she told him about the babies. “Stop thinking too much and hiding behind excuses.”


“There’s a big difference between excuses and mistakes, Elizabeth. Excuses are a prelude to mistakes but they can always be stopped. Mistakes, however, are etched in our shared history, and I’ve hurt you unbearably again and again.” He brushed his lips across her temple, smelling her hair before he pulled away. “Even if you’ve forgiven me, how can you ever forget?”

She bristled. “My father basically crippled you but I know you…” She pulled her hands from his, pointing her finger at his nose. “I know how you feel about me, Trey Easton.”

“Yes, I love you.” He closed his eyes, his chest heaving. “I’ll always love you, Elizabeth.”

The words were right, yet they were spoken in the wrong form. “That sounded like a final goodbye.” He kept his eyes closed, swallowing hard. She waited a few heartbeats, and when he continued to say absolutely nothing, she started walking away.

“Wait!”

“I’m tired, Trey.” She kept walking, nearly tripping over an aboveground sprinkler head in her haste to get to the house. The way she was feeling right now, it would be far better for Dylan to tell Trey about the children anyway.

“Elizabeth, please!” He was behind her now. “Just let me say one thing!”

She spun on him. Her fist came over her heart, the pain unbearable. “I think of all those years we were supposed to be together and we weren’t.” Her fist came to his chest, and she flattened his fingers against his heartbeat. “But I won’t waste another minute waiting for you to get your head together.”

“Is that so?”

“Oh, that’s so,” she lied boldly, “because I’m marrying Drake.”

His eyes darkened with a flash of anger. “What did you say?”

“You heard me.” She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder. “He proposed to me back there, because Dylan found out last night that I’m carrying your children and Drake doesn’t want me raising them all by myself!”

“You’re pregnant?” His shoulders sagged, his mouth going slack. “Children, t-twins?”

“Yeah, how do you think I feel about it?” She felt wonderful, ecstatic even, whenever she wasn’t throwing up. “I’m the one who’s going to have stretch marks and varicose veins marring my body like a freaking roadmap, but that’s not your concern. You wanted me to take the emergency contraception, after all.” She elbowed away from him, and found her way to the brick terrace.

“You have no idea how glad I am that you didn’t listen.”

“Sure,” she replied drolly.

“I don’t expect you to believe me. But I told you there was something I wanted to say.”

“I’ve heard enough.”


He bellowed so loudly her teeth rattled. “Elizabeth Bailey, I love you! And you are not going to marry Drake Easton, because you are going to marry me!”

A wave of thunderous applause erupted behind them. “Finally,” Dylan called out.

She spun to catch him lifting a glass of champagne in salute. All the doors were wide open across the terrace and every eye was on Libby and Trey. “Oh, dear God.” Had she ever been this embarrassed?

“To Libby, Trey, and our newest little Eastons,” Drake proposed a toast, lifting his glass to join Dylan’s, “may the very best of your yesterdays be the worst of your tomorrows.”

Julian lifted his glass. “Salute!”

Evan tilted his glass. “To the babies!”

Gilda brought her hands to her chest. “Oh, another wedding.” She glanced over at Julian, Evan, and Drake. “Don’t worry, sweeties, your wives will come when you least expect it.” Then her brow furrowed. “Maybe I should rush it along, though, a few of my friends have daughters…”

Someone swore a blue streak under his breath and Avery swooped in and caught Gilda by the arm. “Let’s discuss redecorating the old upstairs nursery, while Dylan and Payton dance. With three babies on the way, there isn’t a moment to spare.”

“Three? Oh, let’s go take a look!” She beamed up at him, the woman who never had children of her own, but was blessed with them anyway.

Trey carefully spun Libby to face him. “Never mind them, answer me, Elizabeth. This time from your heart, I’m not forcing you into anything.”

Her voice thick with tears, Libby whispered, “I love you.”

“That’s not an answer,” he pointed out. “I already know that.”

“You have to promise you will never walk out on me again, and I’ll think about it.”

He sighed. “Drake, a little assistance, please?”

Drake chuckled and sat down his champagne. When he reached Libby, he lifted her in his arms.

“What are you doing?” she huffed, while the Easton men hooted raunchy encouragements and clapped boldly. Drake laughed as he carried her through the main house, reaching the grand foyer.

“Helping you out,” he said, smiling down at her as he climbed the main stairwell. “Though I suspect one day soon, Trey will be able to carry you over the threshold.” To Trey, he said, “Your old room?”

“Perfect.”

On the second floor landing, they entered double doors to the right. Drake strolled through the spacious room furnished with mahogany wood, floor-to-ceiling shelves, and forest green fabrics. The space was dark and manly, just like Trey. Drake deposited her on the bed, the silky duvet a sensual stroke across her exposed skin. After placing a gentle kiss on her stomach, he gave her a playful wink. “I’ll save you some of that cake.”

After he left, Trey clicked the lock. “I never brought a girl up here.”

“I’m not a girl anymore,” she said, cupping her stomach with her hand, wondering what their kids would look like. Oh, she hoped one or both had his mesmerizing eyes. “Are you okay? The climb up those stairs…Geez how does Gilda do it?”

“She has an elevator by the kitchen.”

“There’s an elevator in this place, and you let Drake carry me up the stairs?”

“He likes to show off.” He took a deep breath, leaning against the door. “I’m going to be a father, starting with two instead of one.”

“Yeah, I was a little freaked out when I was first told.”

“And I wasn’t there for you.”

“How long are you going to stand over there staring at me?” She crooked her finger at him. “Come here.”

“I’m waiting for my heart to settle down,” he admitted. “I’ve spent nearly half of my life needing vengeance. Then I truly receive the answer to unspoken prayers, and all that hatred and anger has melted away to make room for your love, for my children’s love.” He trailed slowly to the bed, still without his cane, only swaying a little. “I will never leave you again. I would feel like a thousand bricks were lifted from my shoulders, if you answered my question.
Will you marry me
?”

“I ache to be your wife, can scarcely think of nothing else since I found out I was pregnant.” She gave her stomach another rub. “I want this family with you by my side, always by my side. So, yes, Trey Easton, I will say vows before God and marry you.”

For a long moment, Trey hovered above her wordlessly. Then he opened and shut his mouth a few times before words left it. “We’ll spend the night here, and then tomorrow we’re marrying. Do you hear me, Elizabeth? Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow…I don’t even have a dress,” she said, his excitement electrifying her.

“Oh, don’t you worry about anything but my babies.” His green tourmalines were swirling vortexes of lust and love fixed right on her. “Haven’t I told you there are certain privileges to being wealthy, Mrs. Easton?”

“You have no idea how little value I put on money, do you? Just kiss me and we’ll go from there.”

Trey dipped his head, burying his hands in her hair, and brushed her lips with his mouth hungrily. Libby’s body immediately responded to him, and she pulled him closer. His mouth dropped below her bottom lip, kissing the small divot. “I love this mouth.”

She reached down and cupped him. “If I were asked to pick a favorite part of you…hmmm.”

Laughter rumbled in his chest. “Now, do we have the doctor’s okay?”

“Yeah, we’re good for a while at least.” She trailed her fingers up his throat. “Of course, I’ll be as big as this bed soon and you’ll run the other way.”

“Are you sure about that?” He smiled knowingly, his eyes sparkling down at her. “Many men enjoy their pregnant wives thoroughly, every growing inch.” His hand found her stomach, gently rubbing. “I must say, I’m pretty proud of my accomplishments right here. You make me want to mark my territory again and again.”

Nibbling her lip, Libby said, “You are sexy when you go caveman.”

After a moment’s reflection, Trey said, “I’m so glad I can see you today, that I was able to watch you answer my proposal with clarity. And now, I can watch your expression as you come for me.” His hands moved up her thighs, touching her as though he saw her through his fingers, in the same way he read braille. Libby groaned when he slipped a finger beneath the crotch of her panties, twirling her entrance, teasing. His thumb slid under the elastic and found her clitoris.

“You’re always so snug, Elizabeth,” he said as he leaned down and nuzzled her thighs. “When I took you on the balcony that first night, I couldn’t believe how well you fit around me. But you were always perfect for me, weren’t you?” His breath tickled her thighs as his mouth slid to her core. Fingers dipping inside, he gently stroked her.

She lost her words when he swiveled his wrist and struck her G-spot dead on, her body heading straight for an immediate climax. Trey moved his thumb and licked her clitoris through her panties, the fabric and his tongue abrading the bundle of nerves, while he worked his fingers in and out of her body.

“I’m going to…Ah,” she groaned, her legs tensing.

“Wait for me, Elizabeth.” Slowly, he removed his fingers and Libby nearly growled over the loss. She watched as Trey brought them to his mouth, tasting her glistening passion. “You are salty-sweet.” He sucked his forefinger, then his third, closing his eyes in blatant pleasure.

“Trey,” she pleaded, her pussy aching to be filled. She jumped when he hooked his fingers at the sides of her panties and snapped them off.

“Tell me what you want.” His words were muffled against her nether lips as his velvet tongue licked straight down her opening. She shuddered, her nerves sparking to life. He stopped and stared up between her wide-open thighs, waiting.