Call Me Irresistible (48 page)

“I understand, sweetheart. Getting married for the first time can be nerve-racking for anybody, even a courageous person like yourself. Fortunately, I have experience with weddings, so I can help you.” This time he risked messing up her makeup to give her a tender kiss on her lips. “The sooner we get through this, the sooner I can strip you naked, lose my self-control, and humiliate myself again.”

“That’s true.” The color finally began to return to her cheeks. “I’m being stupid. But I’m under a lot of stress. And when I’m stressed, I sometimes forget that I’m good enough for you. Too good for you. You’re still kind of screwed up, you know, with the people-pleasing thing.”

“You’ll protect me from myself.”
And everyone else,
he thought.

“It’s going to be a full-time job.”

“Are you up for it?”

She finally smiled. “I am.”

He stole another kiss. “You know how much I love you, right?”

“I do.”

“Good. Hold on to that thought.” He scooped her into his arms, and before she could tell him it was unnecessary—that she’d pulled herself back together and he needed to put her down
right this minute.
Before she could say any of that, he’d started down the aisle.

“This one,” he announced to everybody, “is not getting away.”

E
very book I write stands on its own, which doesn’t prevent the characters in one book from wandering into another. Lots of old friends wandered into this book—Francesca and Dallie Beaudine from
Fancy Pants;
Nealy Case and Mat Jorik from
First Lady;
Fleur and Jake Koranda from
Glitter Baby;
Kenny Traveler and Emma (oops . . .
Lady
Emma) from
Lady Be Good,
which also includes Torie and Dex’s unorthodox love affair. You can catch an earlier glimpse of Meg in
What I Did for Love
and meet a younger version of Ted in both
Fancy Pants
and
Lady Be Good.
And, yes, Lucy Jorik deserves her happy ending. As I write this, I’m hard at work on her story.

I have so many people to thank for their encouragement, including my irresistible dear friend and editor Carrie Feron, my longtime agent, Steven Axelrod, and my wonderful cheerleaders at HarperCollins, William Morrow, and Avon Books. Yes, I know exactly how lucky I am to have all of you in my corner.

I don’t know what I’d do without my able assistant Sharon Mitchell, who makes my world run so much smoother. Huge thanks to my peerless golf adviser, Bill Phillips. Also to Claire Smith and Jessie Niermeyer for sharing their “Tales from a Drink Cart.”

A standing ovation to my writing buddies: Jennifer Greene, Kristin Hannah, Jayne Ann Krentz, Cathie Linz, Suzette Van, and Margaret Watson, with a special round of applause for Lindsay Longford.

Hugs to the new friends I’ve made on Facebook and to all the incredible, extraordinary Seppies on my message board!

SUSAN ELIZABETH PHILLIPS

www.susanelizabethphillips.com