Sex and Key Lime Pie (26 page)

“He had the jackass gene. I hope you didn’t inherit it from him.” She glanced at the others, whose attempts to politely ignore them were seriously hindered by the laughter. “Do we really have to do this now?”

“We can do it here or you can talk to me outside, but we are going to finish it today.”

Typical caveman mentality! He was focused on his prey and he couldn’t concentrate on anything else. What was really left to discuss? He knew the truth and he could either live with it or use it as another excuse to be angry with her.

****

Luc waited by the truck for Cheyanne to join him. In the past two weeks, he hadn’t had a moment alone with her. His fault, he knew. He tried to figure out what he missed about her. The sex? The key lime pie? Of course. But it was more. She filled a void. Whether it was the eight-year-old girl who didn’t give a shit what other kids thought about her friendship with his outcast sister. Or the eighteen-year-old woman who didn’t care what anyone thought about her affair with the town rebel. Her unconditional acceptance made them acceptable. So why had he continued to hurt the twenty-eight-year-old mother of his child? The love of his life. He must have inherited the jackass gene after all. Why hadn’t she given up on him long ago?

Cheyanne walked toward him wearing her attitude on her sleeve. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest. “I’m here. Talk so I can get back.”

“We owe you big time.”

“You owe me nothing.” Thankfully she used her hands for expression so he didn’t have to pry them from her body. He laced his fingers through hers.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I’m never going to hurt you again. Can you relax a minute?”

Apparently she couldn’t. He hadn’t given her many reasons to trust him. “The loan was paid in full. Does it really matter if the money came from the Bank of America or the Bank of Sam?”

“If we had fallen behind on payments, would you have called in the loan?”

She rolled her shoulders. “I guess we’ll never know. Fact is, you two made it all on your own, and Sam and I benefited greatly in the process.”

“How?”

“When I told you I never touched Harlan’s money that was true. But the interest you paid on the loan took care of Sam’s private schools, his vacations, his Tae Kwon Do and his soccer camps.”

He had to give her credit. Cheyanne knew how to stroke an ego. Even when hurting inside, she didn’t lash out. “Is that why he thinks I supported him all these years instead of his stepfather?”

“You did. Pierre was never a stepfather to Sam. He never lived with us. He needed an American wife to stay in America. I needed a French husband to work and attend school in France. It was a business arrangement between friends but we were never lovers.”

“You don’t need to tell me this.”

“I know, but you need to hear it.” Damn, she knew him so well. Yes, he was guilty of a macho double standard. He would become more enlightened for the future, but right then he felt relieved that another man had not replaced him, even temporarily.

She took a breath before continuing. “I also used the interest to pay for the best culinary institute in France, so as long as we’re being technical, you put me through school. Does that mean I owe you big time?”

He tried to apologize for behaving like an ass, while she insisted on telling him how generous he had been. She should be working the guilt like any normal woman in her position instead of assuaging his, but Cheyanne had always been unique.

She pulled her hands free and took a step back. “Can this be the last time the money is mentioned?  Can we move on and leave the past buried finally? For Sam’s sake.”

“There are still some things...”

Her eyes glazed over and her face reflected a mix of emotions. “We’ll discuss it tomorrow, Luc. I’m exhausted and I’m about ready to go clobber my mother.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t want the family to know about the loan.”

“Even me?”

“Especially you.”

“Given my behavior of late, I deserved that. However, the only reaction you’re going to get from me is one of gratitude. And if you think you do gratitude good, wait until you see how I do it.” He’d already lost her once because of his pride. No way he’d make the same idiotic mistake twice. He raised one hand and stroked her soft cheek. “As for the rest of the gang. You know by now that the family knows everything. You signed on for that when you were eight years old and you decided you wanted to be part of it.”

“I can’t argue with that one.”

“But one thing, Cheyanne. We don’t want to bury all the past. Sam came out of that past, so we did something right.”

She shrugged a reluctant agreement. “We’ll finish this later. I’m going back inside.”

“In a second. I have something for you in the truck.” First he removed his polo shirt and dropped it on the seat. Although she pretended not to notice his striptease, she couldn’t miss the undersized T-shirt he wore beneath that was choking him.

Her jaw dropped and her mouth formed a surprised O. “Where did you get that?”

“My Grateful Dead T-shirt? Funny you should ask. I was out at the cabin on Black Oak, remembering the good old days when I stumbled upon a box of buried treasures.”

Stumbled? He’d searched for an hour before finding the damned thing. If it hadn’t been so important, he would have given up. But each item had a special memory that he couldn’t let her forget. “You’re not allowed to give up on me now.”

Cheyanne slumped against the truck. “Aren’t you finished with me?”

“I will never be finished with you.” He grabbed a bunch of daisies and a package of Kisses from the seat. A flash of recognition brought a melancholy smile. He cupped her chin with his thumb and forefinger to make her look at him. “I didn’t mean what I said at the cabin that night. None of it. You deserved a hell of a lot better than me.”

Her blue eyes filled with tears that spilled down her cheeks. “Did Sam tell you to do this?” Maybe this was progress because she’d never cried in front of him, but he still felt like a louse.

“I’ve always believed in going to the experts. He said it worked for him. He even said you let him eat the chocolate.”

Bittersweet laughter mingled with a hiccup. “That’s because I don’t like chocolate.”

He moved a step closer and pinned her to the truck with his thigh. Her warmth enveloped him. “Let me guess. You don’t care for daisies either.”

“They’re not my favorite. But I love my son, and it was the sentiment that counted.”

“And me?” Luc cupped his fingers over her slender neck and traced his thumb along her jaw line.

Silver droplets continued to fall down her face. “It depends on your motive.”

“The same as Sam’s.”

“You’re afraid I’m going to ground you?” She sniffed and took a moment to try to compose herself.

“Or did Sam forget to tell you that he didn’t apologize until he wanted to go somewhere with his friends again?”

“It slipped his mind.” He dropped the flowers and candy into the back of the truck. “Luckily, I have a contingency plan in case this one didn’t work.”

“You don’t need a plan, Luc. Just tell me what you want that I haven’t already given you.”

“Your heart.”

Her face reflected her genuine shock. She wiped the back of her hand across a fresh run of tears on her cheek. “I gave that to you a long time ago.”

“Are you saying I still have it?”

“Of course you do.”

His kissed her salty lips. “I love you, Cheyanne. I always have and I always will.”

She muttered something that sounded vaguely like, “Me too.” At least he chose to believe that was the two-word phrase she uttered.

His admission was supposed to end her weeping not make the situation worse. “You have to stop. I made a deal with Sam. I’m not allowed to make you cry.”

She sucked in a large gulp of air then exhaled deeply and slowly. “You’re not supposed to be making deals with him behind my back.”

He snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her against his body. She fit as if made for him alone. “I won’t need to as soon as we’re a family.”

She draped her arms around his neck. “How do you propose we do that?”

“All we need to do is change your name to Allesandro too. But that is going to take more than an amended birth certificate in your case.”

“Do you know what you’re saying?”

“I’m asking you to marry me.”

Her shimmering eyes widened. She shook her head as if she didn’t quite believe his words.

“I don’t know why you’re so surprised. I’ve been hinting at it since you got back from California.”

He held his breath, waiting for a reply. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. “Are you going to answer me?” he finally asked.

“No.”

“Your answer is no, or you’re not going to answer me?”

“I’m not going to answer.”

“Why?”

She brushed against him, arousing him to distraction. Only she had the ability to get to him so damned fast and so completely. And worse, she knew her power over him. “You made me wait nine years for that question. You can wait for your answer.”

She wanted to play games? He was not without his own powers. He slipped his hand below her shirt and covered the soft mound of her breast. It took little effort to rub the nipple to a hard peak. Her lips parted in a satisfied sigh. He pressed his mouth to hers and plunged his tongue inside, exploring her sweetness. She didn’t surrender, but she was close.

One funny joker from inside the house flashed the porch light. Either Isabelle or Tony, getting even for the two-minute warning Luc used to give them when they came home from a date.

He knew where he stood now and they would continue the challenge when they were alone. “Your answer is going to be yes. You never could say no to me.”

She laughed and slipped out of his arms. “It’s nice to see your ego hasn’t suffered.”

“You keep building it up for me. Why is that?”

“Because I love you. I always have and I always will.” He reached for her but she ducked under his grasp and jogged toward the house.

“You can’t run away now.”

“It’s either that or we provide explicit entertainment for the audience that keeps peeking out. The family may know everything, but they don’t need to see it.”

He glanced at the window just as the curtains fell back into place. The driveway wasn’t the most private setting for a seduction. He had time. “One last thing, Cheyanne.”

She stopped and turned back. Her smile warmed him to the core. It had been a long time since she’d looked at him with such love. He had forgotten how great it made him feel. “Yes?”

He caught up to her on the landing. “I hope you realize that since I put you through school, you owe me a lifetime supply of key lime pie.”

As he leaned closer to seal the deal, she placed her hand gently on his shoulder. “First I have to see how good you do gratitude.”

The End

“A sexy story of family, friendship and love, SEX AND KEY LIME PIE is a feast for the heart and the mind!”

~Carly Phillips, NYT Bestselling Author “Ms. Attalla writes in such a way that the characters are real. They blend with each other so naturally that their relationship is innate.”

~Kim N., Night Owl Reviews “Ms. Attalla writes with a fiery intensity, developing a highly sensual, explosive romance between two strong-willed lovers.”

~Melinda Helfer, Romantic Times

Kat Attala has published 14 books in Contemporary Romance and Romantic Suspense. Her books have been nominated for Romantic Times Best First and Best Kismet awards. She has won the Golden Leaf, and was a finalist for the Eppie, as well as

Like most authors, I didn't start out as a writer, but rather as a reader. My passion for romance novels began in my late teens and left me with an itch to discover the world.

After living in places as culturally diverse as Athens, Greece and Cairo, Egypt (where I met and married my own romantic hero), we returned to the States.

From a very young age, I showed an aptitude for telling stories. Of course my mother called me a pathological liar, but I prefer to think back on those days as an apprenticeship for my future craft.

Also Published by Books We Love

Code Name: Romeo

Murphy’s Law

Homeward Bound

Hawk’s Haven

Note from the Publisher

Thank you for purchasing and reading this Books We Love eBook. We hope you have enjoyed your reading experience. Books We Love and the author would very much appreciate you returning to the online retailer where you purchased this book and leaving a review for the author. 
Best Regards and Happy Reading, Jamie and Jude

http://bookswelove.net