surely do.’
‘I…I don’t know what to say.’
‘Yes to marrying me would be a good start.’
‘Oh, yes,’ she said, and he kissed her. When his mouth lifted she was smiling.
‘I’m glad to see I was right,’ she said.
‘About what?’ Nick asked.
‘The heroine in a romance never dies.’
‘DON’T you think people might think it’s odd,’ Flora said, ‘having a sixty-one-year-old bridesmaid?’
‘Who cares what people think?’ Sarah countered. ‘Besides, you look absolutely beautiful.’ She did, too. A few weeks of healthy eating and exercising had done wonders. So did her new blonde hair. Flora looked ten years younger.
‘Not as beautiful as the bride,’ Flora returned with a warm smile. ‘I’m so happy for you and Nick, love. If ever a couple were made for each other it’s you two. Ray would have been very pleased. Pleased about the baby, too.’
‘I think so,’ Sarah said, beaming with happiness.
She’d forgotten to take the Pill the morning after that traumatic night on Happy Island, and had fallen pregnant. At first she’d been a bit nervous about Nick’s reaction, but he’d been absolutely thrilled.
It seemed mother nature knew what she was doing.
Now here she was, almost four months pregnant, about to marry the father of her baby and the only man she’d ever loved. She was not, however, a super-rich heiress. The day before her twenty-fifth birthday, she’d discussed her feelings over her inheritance with Nick and decided to do what he’d once said her father should have done in the first place: give all the money to charity.
So she had, dividing up the many millions in the estate between various charities that supported the poor and the needy.
Of course, she wasn’t exactly broke. She still owned Goldmine, which was worth a conservative twenty million. Not that she would ever sell it. And then there were the royalties from Outback Bride, which would continue to flow in, the movie having been re-released after the worldwide success of its sequel. Nick had been so right about that tear-jerker ending.
Generally speaking, however, Nick would be the main provider for their family, an excellent source of motivation for him to keep working hard and feeling good about himself. Sarah vowed to never forget that underneath her husband’s façade of confidence lay a damaged child who constantly needed the healing power of love. Her love.
A loud knock on her bedroom door was accompanied by a familiar voice. ‘Time for the bride to make an appearance downstairs. We don’t want the groom thinking things, do we?’
Sarah was smiling as she opened the door.
‘Wow!’ Derek said, looking her up and down. ‘It’s at moments like these I wish I weren’t gay. And I’m not just talking about the bride.’
‘Oh, go on with you,’ Flora said, but with a big grin on her face.
Derek had become a frequent visitor to Goldmine, with Nick even warming to him. Derek had been delighted—and touched—when Sarah had asked him to give her away.
‘OK, girls,’ he said, linking arms with Sarah, ‘it’s showtime!’
‘Goddamn!’ Jim exclaimed beside Nick when an elegantly dressed blonde lady walked sedately down the steps into the rather crowded family room. ‘Is that my Flora?’
‘Indeed it is,’ Nick informed his best man. But his own admiring eyes moved quickly to the radiant bride following Flora, his heart filling with emotion as he watched Sarah walk towards him with the most glorious smile on her face. It was a smile of total love and trust, that love and trust which had soothed his soul and brought it out from the dungeon into the light.
Nick still found it hard to believe sometimes that he was happy about becoming a husband and father. Still, anything was possible with Sarah by his side.
‘You look amazing,’ he said softly to her as he took her hand and they turned to face the celebrant.
‘You do, too,’ she whispered back.
‘Ray would have been so proud of you.’
Her hand squeezed his tightly. ‘You, too, my darling heart. You, too.’
“Oh, Damien. I really am sorry I dragged you out of bed, but I’ve been working up the nerve to approach you concerning a certain, um, issue, for weeks now.”
One look at Lucy Cordell’s fresh face had Damien wishing he’d put something on under his robe. Still, he was very fond of Lucy. He led her into his suite as she blushed and said, “Thank you, Dami. You’re always so kind to me.” All at once her big eyes brimmed with moisture.
“Luce?” He jumped up, went around to her and knelt by her chair, taking care as he did it that the damn robe didn’t gape and embarrass them both. “What is this? Tears? Now dry your eyes and tell me what’s been troubling you.”
Lucy hesitated. “Oh, Dami. I’ve been out of the mainstream for so long. But not anymore. I’m well and I’m strong and I’m living my dream. And I really need to get started on doing the things that healthy women do—”
Dami made another stab at finding out where all this was going. “So you came to me for advice then?” He reached for his coffee cup.
And Lucy said, “No. Not advice. Sex.”
He set the cup down sharply. “Say again?”
“Dami, it’s so simple. I want you to be my first.”
The Bravo Royales: When it comes to love, Bravos rule!
Christine Rimmer came to her profession the long way around. Before settling down to write about the magic of romance, she’d been everything from an actress to a salesclerk to a waitress. Now that she’s finally found work that suits her perfectly, she insists she never had a problem keeping a job—she was merely gaining “life experience” for her future as a novelist. Christine is grateful not only for the joy she finds in writing, but for what waits when the day’s work is through: a man she loves who loves her right back, and the privilege of watching their children grow and change day to day. She lives with her family in Oregon. Visit Christine at www.christinerimmer.com.
For my sons,
Matt
