Cherished (Wanted) (29 page)

After we kissed for what felt like forever, he slowly let me down. I felt his erection, and I wanted nothing more than to strip down and tell him to take me up against a tree. I wanted him so badly.

“I’ve been so damn nervous about asking you,” he said with a small laugh. “I’ve been carrying that ring around with me for a few months now.”

I sucked in a breath of air. “You were going to ask me before the baby?”

He gave me that crooked smile of his and nodded his head. “I was going to ask you on Christmas Eve, but…well, shit happened, and then I remembered that day we came down here. I thought it would be kind of cool to do it here.”

I smiled so big that it almost felt like my cheeks were going to cramp. “It was beyond cool. It was the most romantic thing ever, and I will never forget this moment for as long as I live.”

He put his hand on the side of my face and winked at me. “Good. That makes my heart happy.”

He pulled me into a hug, and we stood there for a few minutes.

“Scott, your parents are going to be
pissed
. We are really, really late.”

He laughed and threw his arm over my shoulder as we made our way back to his truck. I kept glancing down at the ring on my finger. It was breathtaking, and knowing it was his grandmother’s made my heart swell even more.

The platinum filigree ring was stunning. The princess cut diamond was huge and had to be over a carat. It sat atop two smaller princess cut diamonds flanking the main diamond. Then, it tapered down to baguettes. Scott had mentioned before that his grandmother’s platinum engagement ring was the most beautiful ring he’d ever seen and how he would never be able to find a ring as beautiful as it was.

He was right. It is breathtaking.
The engraving on the band was exquisite.

“Scott, did your grandmother give you this ring before she passed away?” I asked.

Scott looked at me and smiled. “Nope,” was all he said as we walked up to where we had just spent the most amazing few hours of my life.

I was shocked to see everything had been cleaned up, and the catering company trailer was pulling away.

“Holy crap. They’re fast,” I said.

“Come on, Mom and Dad are waiting for us,” Scott said.

My heart dropped just a little. I really wanted to go home and celebrate being engaged, not go see his parents who hated me.

As we stood at the door, waiting for someone to answer it, a strong urge to break free of Scott’s grip and make a run for the woods hit me. Anything else would be better than facing his mom’s constant stares of disgust.

Melody threw open the door and was wearing the biggest smile on her face. “Well…it’s about time y’all showed up!”

She walked into Scott’s arms and told him how much she loved him and then she turned to me. When she pulled me into her arms, I was momentarily worried she might try to squeeze me to death.

She whispered in my ear, “I was so worried about you, sweetheart. I’m so glad you’re back.” When she pulled back from me, she shook her head. “When I found out what that little evil bitch did to my two boys and how she hurt you…well, let me tell you, it took every ounce of my Southern manners to hold myself back from going and giving her a piece of my mind.”

I just stood there, stunned.
Who is this person? Where did Mrs. Tight-Ass Reynolds go?
I gave her a weak smile and nodded my head. I quickly glanced over her shoulder, only to see Scott’s dad, Scott, Senior walking up.

He pushed his wife out of the way and took me in his arms as he spun me around. “Jesus, darlin’. Don’t you ever do that to us again.” He put me down and kissed the side of my cheek. “Come on, I’ve got a fire going in the pit on the back patio.”

They both turned and walked into the house. Scott started to walk in, and I grabbed his arm.

“Did you pay them?” I asked in a whisper.

“What?”

“You had to have paid them…or promised them something in return for acting that way toward me.” I looked back into the house.

Scott threw his head back and laughed. “Nope. No promises and no money have been exchanged. It looks like they’ve liked you all along. I told you they liked you.” He shrugged his shoulders and headed into the house, making his way out to the back patio.

I followed closely behind with my guard up. I was ready for what was sure to be an ambush attack from either one or both of them.

We sat for a few minutes, catching up on what had been going on. I felt like I was in the twilight zone. I noticed Melody glance down at my hand. She brought her hand up to her mouth, and tears started forming.

Oh shit!

Scott and I seemed to be so shocked by their behavior toward me that we’d totally forgotten about our engagement.

Scott must have noticed at the same time because he cleared his throat and started to talk. “Um…Mom and Dad, I asked Jessie to marry me earlier. Well, really, it was right before we got here. Obviously, she said yes,” he said with an awkward laugh.

I peeked over at him and smiled before looking back at Melody and then Scott, Senior. The smile that spread across Scott’s dad’s face caused me to giggle. Melody then jumped up and started making these goofy sounds.

Okay, clearly, she’s drunk or something.

They both hugged Scott and then me.

Melody said, “Oh, Jessie, sweetheart, welcome to the family!”

Shocked—there is no other word for what is happening. She must be in a state of shock. I know I am.

I smiled and nodded. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Reynolds.”

“Pesh! Good heavens, don’t call me that. I always felt so funny having you call me that. It’s Melody or…or…” Her eyes filled up with tears again. “Mom. You can call me Mom, if you want, sweetheart.”

I felt my stomach drop, and now, it was my turn to have tears in my eyes. I didn’t know what to say. I’d always dreamed of having a mother figure in my life. I’d longed for it really, and now, with the baby…

“Uh…Mom, Dad, that’s not the only news we have for you,” Scott said. “You might want to sit down for this one.”

They both looked at Scott and then me. “Okay,” they said at the same time.

“Well…”

Scott reached over and grabbed me. He pulled me to him and sat me down on his lap. I felt so strange, sitting there on his lap, but at the same time, I felt all the tension just melt away with his hands touching my body.

“Jessie is pregnant. We think she’s a little over two months and—” Scott didn’t even get to finish.

Melody jumped up, screaming, and Scott, Senior stood up. They both threw themselves into each other’s arms.

My mouth dropped open, and I looked at Scott. “What in the hell happened to your parents? These are not your parents,” I whispered.

“Um…I, um…I don’t…” Scott shook his head as if he was trying to clear his thoughts.

After about two minutes of Melody and Scott, Senior hugging and dancing around, they reached for me and pulled me off of Scott’s lap. They each took a turn hugging me, and then Melody wrapped her arm in mine as we started to walk back into the house.

“Oh Lord, we have a wedding to plan and a birth to plan. Oh! Scout’s honor, I promise not to be one of those overbearing mother-in-laws who tries to plan everything…but we need to get cracking.”

I turned and looked at Scott. He was standing there, shocked.

He turned to his dad, and I heard him ask, “How much have you and Mom had to drink today, Dad?”

His father laughed and pulled Scott in for another hug.

The next thing I knew, I was sitting in front of a computer, laughing my ass off and sipping sweet tea, as I began to plan my wedding…with Scott and my future in-laws.

Either I was dreaming, or the pregnancy hormones were affecting Melody and Scott, Senior. Whatever it was, I didn’t want it to stop.

I’d never in my life felt so much love.

“Skip, don’t worry. I’ll take care of it when I get back to Austin. Just let me enjoy my vacation, please. Yep. I know it’s back to work on January fourth. Yes, I know our work doesn’t take a vacation. January fourth, we are heading to Columbia at oh five hundred. I’ll make sure everything is ready to go.”

I heard the buzzer for Scott’s gate go off.

“Listen, Skip, I’ve got to run. If anything comes up, I’m just a few hours away from Austin, and I can get things up within a matter of hours.”

The gate buzzed again.

“Have to run. Stop stressing. Fuck, in our line of work, how have you not had a heart attack yet? Talk to ya later.”

I walked up to the intercom and pushed a button. “Talk to me.”

“Hey, Scott! It’s Azurdee. I’m so sorry that I’m a day early.”

I smiled and shook my head. I glanced at the clock. It was nearly nine, and I was pretty sure that Scott and Jessie were going to be home soon.

“Come on up. I’ll meet you on the front porch.”

“Okay!”

I quickly walked to the front door and out onto the porch. I perched myself up against the post and waited to lay my sights on the P.U.R.E. Azurdee.

How in the hell does a girl in her early twenties stay a virgin these days?

As I saw her Toyota Camry pull up and park, I couldn’t help but smile when I saw it was a Hybrid. The moment she stepped out of the car, she stretched, and my knees about buckled. I grabbed on to the railing.

Holy fucking shit. That hasn’t happened in a long time. Get a grip, for Christ’s sake, Williams. She’s just another pussy. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.

I watched her as she took her hair down from her ponytail. She had long, wavy dark brown hair that went down to the middle of her back. She pulled it back up into a ponytail as she turned and saw me standing there. I followed her eyes as they moved up and down my body. When her eyes caught mine, she smiled.

Jesus Christ.

“You most certainly are not Scott,” she said with a smile.

It took me all of thirty seconds to get my wits about me. “No, ma’am, I am not. You must be Azurdee,” I said as I made my way down to her car.

I put my hand out, and she shook it. I was pretty damn sure she just felt the same thing I did when we touched.

She looked away quickly before glancing back at me and focusing in on my lips. “You have an advantage on me, it seems. Mister…”

“Lark Williams, old college friend of Scott’s. Going to be staying for a few days.”

I purposely licked my lips and bit down on my bottom lip. She sucked in a small breath as her caramel eyes darkened. They were breathtaking, and I swore they sparkled.

Those are the most beautiful brown eyes I’ve ever seen.
I wonder what they would look like when fucking her.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Williams,” she said with the cutest damn smile I’d ever seen.

“Lark, please call me Lark.”

She nodded and looked around. “Azurdee Emerson. Are Jessie and Scott here?”

She seemed nervous as hell, and I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“I promise I won’t bite, sweetheart,” I said with a wink.

“Azurdee.”

I tilted my head at her.
Feisty.
“You don’t like the word
sweetheart
?” I asked.

Now, it was her turn to lick her lips before biting down on her bottom lip. She tilted her head back as she said, “Oh, I love the word
sweetheart
. I just don’t like it coming from a guy who probably bags at least two girls a week.”

My mouth dropped open as she pushed past me. She opened her trunk and started to pull out her suitcase. Then, she stopped and looked at me.

Pure, my fucking ass.

I walked over and took the suitcase from her. I made my way into the house and up the stairs as she pulled out her cell phone and called Jessie. From the sound of it, Jessie was freaking out that Azurdee was here alone with me.

“Honestly, Jess, I’m fine. It was my fault for coming in a day early. I finished up work, and I was so excited to see you that I didn’t even think of calling.”

I made a beeline straight to the bedroom next to mine. Before I walked into the room, she cleared her throat. I stopped and turned around to see her standing outside the bedroom at the end of the hall. She smiled and pointed into the room.