Very Private Duty (13 page)

Jeremy leaned forward on the rocker and toyed with the curls on the nape of her neck. “Are you nervous?”

“A little.” Tricia’s breath was a hushed whisper. “I take that back. I’m frightened, Jeremy.”

His fingers stilled. “Why?”

“I keep thinking something is going to happen that will prevent us from getting married.”

Leaning down, Jeremy pressed a kiss to her fragrant curls. “Nothing’s going to happen, sweetheart. Saturday, at exactly four o’clock you and I are going
to stand in front of Judge Campbell and take our vows with our family and friends as witnesses.

“We’re going to hang around long enough to share a toast, eat cake, then we are going to disappear for the next three days.”

Tilting her chin, Tricia stared up at Jeremy. The soft light from porch lamps flattered his deeply tanned face. His white linen shirt was unbuttoned to his waist, and each time she glanced at his furred chest she found it hard to swallow.

“I feel guilty leaving Grandpa.”

“He’s going to be all right staying with Pop. He has already made arrangements with a registry to have a nurse come out and check on him.”

Tricia nodded. She and Jeremy planned to spend three days at Sheldon’s cabin near the West Virginia border. Reaching up, she grasped his hands and squeezed them gently.

“I love you, Jeremy.”

There was a pulse beat of silence before he said, “I love you, too.”

Her eyes filled with tears, but they didn’t fall. It was the first since they were reunited that he admitted to loving her.

Tricia felt as if she was on a runaway roller coaster that had no intention of stopping as she drove to Richmond for the final fitting of her dress. She had chosen a sleeveless, full length, silk-lined, off-white lace sheath dress covered with seed pearls from the
scooped neckline to the scalloped hem. A single strand of opera-length pearls, matching earrings, a garland headpiece made with miniature white roses and a pair of wispy lace shoes with sturdy embroidered heels rounded out the former turn-of-the century romantic ensemble. The seamstress made the adjustments and informed Tricia that the dress would be delivered to Blackstone Farms before noon on Saturday. She left the bridal shop for her scheduled appointment at a day spa.

Dusk had descended on the farm when she returned, feeling as good as she looked. Her skin glowed from a European facial, her hands and feet soft and dewy from a hydrating manicure and pedicure and her body supple and relaxed from a full body massage. She’d had her hair cut and styled so it framed her face in feathery curls.

Her pulse quickened when she spied the pale-blue streamers fluttering from the poles of the large white tent set up in a grassy meadow. The blue matched the yards of organza-swathed chairs lined up in precise rows under the tent. A portable stage for a band and dancing was also in place for the reception that would follow the ceremony.

Tricia maneuvered her car into the driveway behind Jeremy’s SUV. A day after the orthopedist removed the cast, he began driving again.

She got out of her car and mounted the porch steps. Pausing on the top step, she stared at her fiancé
sprawled on the chaise. Moving closer, she leaned down and kissed him.

A slow smile tilted the corners of Jeremy’s mouth upward as he straightened and patted the cushioned seat. “Come sit down.”

Tricia sat between his legs and pressed her back to his chest. “Where’s Grandpa?”

Jeremy kissed her ear. “He went to bed early. He said he wanted to be rested for tomorrow.”

Gus had openly expressed his relief once Tricia revealed she did not want a formal wedding. He had worn a tuxedo for his own wedding, swearing he would never look like a penguin again. The wedding party included Ryan as best man, Kelly as matron of honor and their son, Sean, as ring bearer.

Curving an arm around Tricia’s waist, Jeremy shifted her effortlessly until she straddled his lap. “You look fantastic.” There was no mistaking the awe in his voice.

She smiled demurely. “Thank you. I’ve decided I’m going to treat myself to a full body massage at least once a month.” The hands cupping her hips feathered up her ribs to cradle her breasts and she drew in a sharp breath. Her head fell limply to his solid shoulder. “What are you doing, Jeremy?” she asked in a trembling whisper.

He laughed deep in his throat. “Offering you a sample of my special massage. You have a choice between the basic, all the way up to the deluxe package.” His thumbs caressed her breasts in a sweeping
back and forth motion, bringing the nipples into prominence.

Gasping, she breathed heavily against his ear. “What are you charging for the basic package?”

Jeremy’s fingers stilled. “The rest of your life.”

Easing back in his embrace, Tricia studied his features in the encroaching darkness. “How about the deluxe package?”

“The rest of your life.”

Tricia ran a finger down the length of his nose. “You should be reported for price fix—”

Her statement died on her lips when his mouth covered hers in an explosive kiss that sucked the breath from her lungs. She melted into Jeremy’s strength, loving him with all of her senses.

They’d promised each other that they wouldn’t make love until they were married, but each time he touched her, kissed her, silent screams of unexploded passion roiled with nowhere to escape. Nothing had changed. All Jeremy had to do was fix his smoldering smoky gaze on her, touch her, kiss her and she dissolved into a trembling, heated mass of wanting.

Her lips parted to his probing tongue as she drew it into her mouth. In that instant everything about Jeremy seeped into her and made them one—indivisible. It had been that way the first time they’d become lovers. It hadn’t been planned, nothing said, but both had known it was time their friendship had to change. There had been too much awareness of the other, too much sexual tension between them.

Tricia moaned softly when she felt Jeremy’s sex hardening under her bottom. She tore her mouth away from his, her smile as intimate as the kiss they’d shared.

“What are you trying to do, seduce me?”

He nodded and offered her a grin that was irresistibly devastating. “I don’t plan to go all the way. Just a little kiss here.” He pressed his mouth to the area under her ear. “And one here.” His voice had lowered seductively as he moved to the fluttering pulse in her throat. “And a little feel here.” He gathered the flowing fabric of her dress and slipped his hand under the silken material of her bikini panties.

A shudder shook Tricia. “I think we’d better stop and continue this tomorrow. Same time, different place.”

Jeremy released her hip and reached around his back. “I bought you a little something as a wedding gift.” She stared at a small square package wrapped in silver paper and tied with velvet ribbon. “Take it, Tricia.”

She took it, slipped off the ribbon and peeled away the paper. As soon as she saw the black velvet box she knew it contained a piece of jewelry. She opened the box and went still. Jeremy had given her an exquisite filigree bar pin with a sprinkling of diamonds surrounding a brilliant blue topaz.

Her eyes filled with moisture and she blinked it back before the tears fell. “It’s beautiful.”

Cupping her chin, he raised her face. “You’re
beautiful. I gave you my mother’s and grandmother’s jewelry, but I wanted you to have something from me that no other woman wore before.”

Curving her arms around his neck, she breathed a kiss under his ear. “Thank you. I have something for you. Do you want it now or tomorrow?”

“Give it to me tomorrow.”

Tricia dropped her arms and slipped off his lap. “I’m going upstairs to turn in early. No one wants to see a bride with bags under her eyes.”

Reaching for his cane, Jeremy propelled himself off the chaise. “I’m going in, too.”

She held the door open for him and they walked through the entryway and into the living room. Corrugated boxes labeled Living Room were stacked in a corner near the curving staircase.

“They were delivered while you were out,” Jeremy explained.

Tricia nodded. Her future father-in-law had arranged for her furniture to be stored in a warehouse in Richmond until she decided what she wanted to use or give away.

“I’m not going to open one box until after we get back.”

“You don’t have to put everything away in one day.”

“I’d like to have them done before the school year begins.”

“Tricia, baby, you have the rest of your life to decorate the house however you wish.”

She knew he was right, but there were changes she wanted to make in the overtly masculine home. “You’re right.” She kissed his cheek. “Good night.”

Jeremy’s lids came down, shielding his gaze. “Good night.” He watched Tricia walk up the staircase, knowing he would not see her again until she was to become his wife. He planned to rise early and go to his father’s house. He, Sheldon, Ryan and Sean would leave together, while Kelly would accompany Tricia and Gus.

He’d asked Tricia to hold on to his heart a long time ago, and in less than twenty-four hours he would claim the only woman he had ever loved as his partner for life.

I
t was a picture-perfect day for an outdoor wedding in Virginia’s horse country. Tricia rose early, showered and pulled on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Gus was up when she went downstairs, and she decided to prepare breakfast for them instead of ordering it from the dining hall.

Gus sat across the table from Tricia in the large kitchen, his gaze fixed on her face. “You’ve been asking me about your mother for a long time.”

Tricia felt her heart lurch. “If what you intend to tell me is going to make me upset, then I don’t want to know. Not on my wedding day, Grandpa.”

He reached across the table and his large veined hand covered one of hers. “You don’t want to know?”

She shook her head. “Not anymore. I don’t need to know where my mother is or who my father was, because the only daddy I know is sitting in front of me. And if my mother wanted to find me all she had to do was come back to Blackstone Farms.” She chewed her lower lip for several seconds. “I don’t hate my mother, but in all honesty I can’t say that I love her because I don’t know her. And if she couldn’t take care of me, then she did the next best thing giving me to you and Grandma. If I ever meet her one day, then that’s something I will tell her.”

Gus smiled and character lines deepened around his dark eyes. “You’ve made me proud, grandbaby girl.”

“Thank you.” Tricia returned his smile. “I love you, Grandpa.” Gus withdrew his hand, dropped his head and stared down at his plate. It was a full minute before his head came up. Pride and tenderness shimmered in his gaze.

They lingered at the table, reminiscing until the doorbell rang. Tricia glanced up at the clock over the stove. It wasn’t quite eight o’clock. She got up and made her way to the door.

A young man stood on the other side, holding up a plastic-covered garment on a hanger. It was her dress. She thanked him and returned to the kitchen.

“Do you want to see my dress?” she asked Gus.

He shook his head. “I don’t want to see you in all your finery until I’m ready to give you to your young man. I know,” he said quickly when he saw Tricia’s
expression, “his name is Jeremy. He’s nice, Tricia. And he’s good for you.”

She flashed a wide grin. “I hope so, because he’s going to become my husband in less than eight hours.”

Kelly buttoned the tiny covered buttons on the back of Tricia’s dress, then placed the garland of miniature roses on her head. It was the perfect complement to the vintage-style dress. “Make certain you have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.”

Tricia admired the pale-blue slip dress caressing the curves of Kelly’s slim figure. “The pearls are old, my dress is new and the pin has a blue stone.” She had affixed Jeremy’s wedding gift to the bodice of her dress.

“What about borrowed?”

Her eyes widened. “I don’t have anything borrowed.” Lifting the hem of the lacy dress, she crossed the room and opened the door to a massive armoire. She pulled out a drawer filled with handkerchief squares and took one. “This will have to do.” She refolded the handkerchief, pushing it between her breasts.

Kelly laughed. “There was a time when I used to fill my bra with socks and tissues to make me look bigger. Thanks to Vivienne I no longer need a Wonderbra.”

Tricia wanted to tell Kelly that her own breasts had
increased during her pregnancy and breastfeeding, but hadn’t returned to their former size. She hadn’t begun weaning Juliet when she lost her.

A clock on the mantel of the fireplace chimed the quarter hour. It was 3:45. Waiting until Tricia pulled on a pair of lace gloves, Kelly picked up a bouquet of a combination of creamy-toned roses, hyacinths and astilbe and handed it to her. The stems were wrapped in a long piece of wide white silk ribbon and tied in a bow at the neck of the bouquet. A blue pearl stickpin at the center of the bow held it in place.

“Are you ready, girlfriend?”

Large near-black eyes sparkled like polished onyx. “Yes.” The single word mirrored the confidence flowing through Tricia. She had waited a long time for this day.

Kelly pushed her hands into a pair of lace ice-blue gloves, grasped a bouquet made up of blue and white flowers and walked out of the bedroom, Tricia following. They descended the staircase and found Gus, resplendent in a dark-gray suit waiting for them. His smile spoke volumes.

He extended his arm to Tricia. “You look beautiful, grandbaby girl.”

Resting her head on his shoulder, Tricia smiled. “Thank you, Grandpa.”

Gus covered the gloved hand on his jacket sleeve. “The car is waiting for us.” He led her out of Jeremy’s house that would soon become Jeremy and Tricia’s home to the chauffeur-driven limousine parked
in the driveway. The driver assisted Tricia, Gus and then Kelly into the car.

Tricia forced herself not to chew her lower lip and eat away the lipstick the cosmetologist had applied earlier. She closed her eyes and took in deep breaths in an attempt to slow down her runaway pulse. All too soon the ride ended. She opened her eyes and under the tent were rows of chairs occupied by full-time, part-time and resident employees of Blackstone Farms and several neighboring horse farms. At the opposite end of a white carpet littered with white and blue flower petals Jeremy waited with Judge Campbell, Ryan and Sean.

The driver opened the rear door, extending his hand to Kelly. Gus followed and held out his hand to Tricia. She placed hers trustingly in his, smiling.

“Are you ready, Grandpa?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you ready, grandbaby?”

She inhaled, then let out her breath slowly. “Yes.”

All heads turned to stare at Tricia and Gus when a keyboard player began to play the familiar chords of the wedding march. Kelly led the procession over the carpet, and less than a minute later Gus escorted Tricia over the flower-strewn path to where Jeremy stood, a stunned expression freezing his handsome features.

Jeremy did not want to believe that Tricia could look so innocent and wanton at the same time. The
lace skimming her curvy body made her appear ethereal in the streams of diffused sunlight coming into the large tent.

Don’t lose it, he told himself over and over as she drew closer. He, who had lost count of the number of times he’d been in situations where his life hung in the balance, was unnerved by the image of a woman he’d loved for so long that he could not remember when he did not love her.

She was now close enough for him to detect the dewy sheen on her flawless face, the scent of the flowers in her bouquet and the soft sensual smell of her perfume.

The judge squared his shoulders under his black robe. “Who gives this woman in marriage?”

“I do.” Gus’s voice carried easily in the warm air. He took Tricia’s hand and placed it in Jeremy’s. “Be happy,” he whispered before he stepped back and sat down in the chair that had been left vacant for him. He looked across the aisle at Sheldon and smiled.

Sheldon nodded and mouthed, “Boo-yaw!”

Grinning, Gus pumped his fist in the air. He and Sheldon had begun their association as employer and employee, but since his retirement Gus counted Sheldon as a friend and now, with his granddaughter’s marriage to Jeremy, family.

“We are gathered together in the sight of God and man to reunite two families in matrimony.” Judge Campbell’s sonorous voice captured everyone’s attention.

Tricia barely registered the judge’s words as she stared up into the sooty eyes staring down at her. Jeremy was incredibly handsome in a charcoal-gray pinstriped suit, white shirt and robin’s-egg-blue silk tie. His close-cropped raven hair lay neatly on his well-shaped head.

When it came time to exchange vows and rings, she smiled at Sean who stood ramrod straight holding a white pillow with the wedding bands secured with silk ribbon. She handed her bouquet and gloves to Kelly before Jeremy repeated his vows and slipped a band on her hand. Her voice was steady but her hands were shaking when she repeated the gesture.

She heard the judge telling Jeremy he could kiss his bride, and she knew then it was over. Her wish had been granted. She’d waited fourteen years to become Tricia Blackstone.

Her smile was dazzling as she and Jeremy followed Sean, Ryan and Kelly down the carpet to receive the best wishes of those who had come to witness the joining of another generation of Virginia Blackstones.

Tricia curved her arm around her husband’s waist inside his suit jacket to steady him. “Careful, hotshot,” she teased softly. “Cut another step like that and you’ll be on your face.”

Jeremy swung her around. “What I want to do is cut out of here.”

They had planned to leave right after cutting the cake, but Sheldon offered a toast, a toast that was
echoed individually by every farm employee. Teenagers and the young children who now knew that Tricia would become their school nurse offered their own reticent toasts.

“Do you think it’s safe to leave now?”

Jeremy glanced over Tricia’s head. He met his father’s gaze and smiled. He released his wife’s hand long enough to pantomime a wave. Sheldon nodded and returned the wave.

“Let’s go,” Jeremy whispered, leading her out of the tent. They skirted several couples and managed to make it to an area where he had parked his SUV. Their luggage had been loaded in the cargo area earlier that morning.

“How’s the ankle holding up?” she asked once Jeremy removed his jacket and sat behind the wheel.

He gave her a quick glance. “It’s okay.”

“Do you want me to drive?”

“No. I can make it. Sit back and relax, Mrs. Blackstone. I don’t want you to plead a headache or fatigue later.”

Tricia folded a hand on her hip. “Have you ever known me to plead a headache, Mr. Blackstone?”

Jeremy turned the key in the ignition and shifted into gear. “Nope,” he said after a lengthy silence.

Tricia did as Jeremy suggested and closed her eyes. She hadn’t realized she had fallen asleep until he shook her gently. “Wake up, sweetheart. We’re here.”

The house in the mountains was larger than she had
expected. Rising two stories in height, it looked more like a chalet than a rustic cabin. It was surrounded by towering pine trees growing so close together that she doubted whether light reached the earth even during the daylight hours.

Jeremy touched her shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

Tricia watched as Jeremy made his way to the front door. He hadn’t used his cane, and his gait was off. He was scheduled to begin intensive physical therapy the following week, and she hoped the exercise would strengthen his ankle so he would not be left with a limp.

Within minutes golden light blazed from every window so like the many jack-o’-lanterns on display at Blackstone Farms during its annual Halloween celebration.

Jeremy returned, unloaded their luggage and minutes later Tricia found herself in the middle of a large bedroom with an adjoining bath that resembled a European spa with a massive sunken tub with enough room for four people, a free-standing shower and a steam room.

She shivered slightly as warm breath feathered over her nape. Smiling, she said, “So this is where the Wild Bunch rough it.”

Curving his arms around Tricia’s waist, Jeremy lowered his head and trailed kisses along the column of her long neck. “It’s not so rough, is it?”

She rested her hands over the dark-brown ones pressed against her belly. “I see why they like to
come here and hang out. It’s better than those over-priced spas in California and Arizona.”

“Will you share a bath with me?”

Tricia closed her eyes. “Yes.”

Turning her in his embrace, Jeremy cradled her face between his palms. “I love you so much, Tricia.” His voice was pregnant with emotion. Her lids fluttered wildly before she met his heated gaze.

“I have to give you your wedding gift.”

A hint of a smile touched Jeremy’s mouth. “You are my wedding, birthday, Christmas, New Year’s and every day and holiday gift. I don’t need anything—only you.”

Leaning into him, Tricia’s lips brushed against his. “And you’re all I’ll ever need, Jeremy.” She kissed him again, then turned in his embrace and presented him with her back. “Please unbutton me.”

Jeremy made a big production of undoing the little buttons. With each inch of flesh he bared he kissed. The top of the dress slid off her shoulders and the handkerchief fell to the floor. He bent over and picked it up. Tricia quickly explained the significance of something borrowed, eliciting a laugh from him.

“I thought you wanted to plump up your—”

“Don’t even go there, Jeremy Blackstone,” she said, cutting him off. “I have enough, thank you.”

Slipping his fingers under the straps of her slip, he eased it off her shoulders before unhooking her bra and baring her chest. Her breasts were large and firm
like ripened fruit, fruit he wanted to suckle, fruit he wanted to feast on.

Tricia felt the heat of her husband’s gaze on her chest, and the area between her legs responded immediately with a rush of moisture that left the nether region pulsing with a need that only Jeremy could assuage.

Jeremy’s eyes widened until the dark centers fused with the sooty gray. His nostrils flared as he detected the scent of Tricia’s rising desire. She was ready for him.