Lying Love (Lazy Love Book 3) (10 page)

“Like this.” He caught her lips again, pushing her down onto the bed on her back. “I’m not going to let you talk until you promise to be nice.” One hand skimmed down over her bare torso, causing her to suck in a breath, even as the other moved up to cup her breast, his thumb toying with her nipple.

Amber moaned beneath his mouth, her arms embracing him as one leg wrapped around his. She nipped his lower lip, arching up against him. “I want you, John.”

“You do? Are you sure?” His eyes were filled with laughter as they looked down into hers. He couldn’t believe how happy he was to have her as his wife, in bed or out.

“I’m sure.” Her hands stroked over his back, gently raking it with her nails. When he sucked in a breath, she laughed. “So I can get under your skin too, huh?”

“You’ve been under my skin since the day I met you. When you conned me out of my Twinkie.”

“I’ll buy you a whole box of Twinkies if you’ll stop talking about them and kiss me some more.”

He lowered his lips to hers, his kiss more insistent than before. His hand slipped under the waistband of her panties and down between her legs, stroking her most secret place. One finger gently entered her, making sure she was ready for him, because he wasn’t sure he could wait a whole lot longer. He was finally getting to make love to her—something he’d dreamed about for ten years. No, there was no way he could go slowly. Not this time.

He slipped her panties off and threw them to the floor, before kneeling between her spread legs. He waited until her gaze locked onto his. “I love you with everything inside me, Amber. I hope you know that I’m never going to let you go, and I’ll do everything in my power to never make you cry again.”

She bit her lip, anticipating the pain she knew was to come. He slid deep inside her, holding her hips in his hands, stroking her. “You okay?” he asked, his voice hoarse with the effort it took to remain still while he checked to see if she was all right.

She nodded slowly. “All systems go.”

He grinned. “All systems go? Only my Amber.” He began to move inside her, leaning down to kiss her sweetly even as his body sped up.

Amber felt the building of the passion inside her, her legs going around his waist as her arms wrapped around him tightly. When she broke, she clutched him to her, crying out.

John followed quickly, rolling to her side. He held her to him, stroking her back, his eyes closed, because he wasn’t sure he could open them and deal with the emotions of the moment. Everything he’d wanted and needed in his life was right there in his arms. She would be the wife he needed, and the mother his daughter had begged for.

“You okay?” he asked finally, once his breathing had slowed enough he could speak again.

“Oh yeah. It was as wonderful as I knew it would be because it was with you. How is it that I’ve dated some of the men women around the world drool over, and never felt half as much for them as I feel for you? I’ve been kissed by Andrew Dailey, a man most women would give their firstborn to kiss, and I felt nothing.
Nothing
! One touch from you, and I feel like I’m on fire. Do you want to explain that to me, please?”

He grinned. “I wish I could. It’s always been the same for me too. I tried to recreate the feelings I had with you when I dated Kayla. I was sure I would feel it all if I just kissed her enough.” He closed his eyes. “Never. I thought of you every time, and it was never half as good. It’s like you’re the other half of me. I hope you know you complete me.”

She sighed. “I hope you know you’re not ever allowed to talk about your ex-wife and the mother of your child when you’re in bed with me again.”

He winced. “I’m sorry. That was insensitive, wasn’t it?”

She shrugged. “If you’d made the same comparison, and she’d come out on top, it would have been insensitive. This way was empowering.” Her hands stroked his back. “I don’t know how we’re going to make all this work, and all the hurt from the past years go away, but I know our relationship is worth whatever effort it takes. I don’t think I could make it through if you broke my heart again, John. Please be gentle with me.”

He shook his head. “I won’t hurt you again. I’ve already been threatened by Bob, Jesse, and your dad. I’m not taking on all three of them. Your dad alone maybe. Either of the other two alone would be a possibility. All three of them? I’m not that stupid.”

“At least you know what scares you. I’ll take it for now.”

He kissed her again. “Losing you scares me more than anything else in the world. Go to sleep, my love. You’re going to need lots of energy.”

She smiled, kissing his bare shoulder. “I think you may find that you’re the one who needs energy. Not me.”

A
mber wasn’t
sure what the reality of being a wife and mother would bring her, but when they got back to his ranch Monday, she got a good idea. “I need to go out and check on the horses,” John said with a quick kiss. “I had my friend, Cody, take care of them, but I need to check them out myself now that we’re back.”

“Do you want me to go get Nicki?”

“No, we’ll get her together after I check the horses. You figure something out for dinner!”

Amber frowned as the door closed behind him. He knew she could barely cook. What was she supposed to figure out for dinner?

She wandered into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, seeing nothing that struck her as something she could cook. She opened the freezer and found a few frozen pizzas. She knew John’s appetite, so she’d make two. Maybe she should take some cooking lessons. She wondered if there was someone who would come into her home to teach her to cook.

She shook her head.
No, I’m not taking cooking lessons
.
If I have to, I’ll hire a good cook to make meals magically appear at my house every evening.
She thought through the women in Jupiter who had a good reputation for cooking.

Five minutes later, she was on the phone. “Mrs. Morgan? This is Amber Knight.”

The woman, the mother of one of the boys Amber had gone to school with, seemed surprised to hear from her. “Amber! It’s good to hear your voice. We didn’t get much of a chance to talk at the wedding.”

“I was pretty busy. I wish we’d had a chance to chat.” Amber wondered how she was going to tell her what she really needed.

“I do too. You were always one of my favorite girls to see when I went to help out with Sam’s classes.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Morgan. You were always my favorite room mom. You brought the best food!”

Mrs. Morgan laughed. “I am known for my food. You learn to be a good cook quickly when you have six kids.”

“That’s what I was calling about actually. I can’t cook. At all. I was wondering if you would be willing to prepare extra food in the evenings, and I’ll pick it up on my way home from work. I’ll pay you!”

There was silence for a moment. “Well, all my kids are grown, and we’ve been thinking about me going to work, but I like being home for the grandkids.”

“If you will cook for us, just on weekdays, I’ll pay you two-fifty a week. Would that make it worth your time?”

“Absolutely!” Mrs. Morgan sounded excited at the idea. “When would you want me to start?”

Amber all but squealed. “Tomorrow? Is that too soon? I have some frozen pizzas I can heat up tonight. I’ll drop by tomorrow morning with a check for the first week.”

“This will be perfect for me, and you won’t have to learn to cook. That sounds like a great arrangement to me, Amber. I can’t wait to tell Tom.”

“I’m sure Mr. Morgan will be thrilled.”

“Oh, and don’t come by in the morning. Just bring the check when you come to get the meal. I’ll have it done around five.”

“That would be wonderful. Thank you, Mrs. Morgan.”

Amber ended the call and smiled to herself, putting her feet up. Now she just needed to figure out who to hire to clean the house weekly. And maybe she could get someone to come in and do the laundry. That was it! She’d get a half-day maid.

Amber spent the next hour on the phone finding someone willing to come in every morning, pick up the house, make the beds, do the dishes, and keep up with the laundry. She was feeling pretty proud of herself when John came in an hour later.

She quickly explained how she’d handled the housework problem, and John shook his head. “You’ve never had a problem throwing money around if it kept you from having to work hard.”

All of Amber’s excitement at her problem-solving seeped out of her. “I work hard, John. I work really hard. It may not seem like it to you, but acting isn’t exactly a walk in the park. I work every single day.”

“I didn’t mean it that way!” he said, frowning. “I just mean you’ve never exactly been willing to cook and clean. I remember you were supposed to clean your room once, and you paid a girl in our class to come over and do it while your mom was out.”

Amber shrugged. “Why do things you don’t want to do when you can pay others to do it for you?” She wasn’t going to pretend to be ashamed that she didn’t have time to keep house or cook. She’d arranged good meals and a clean house. What more could be asked of her?

“I don’t think I could ever get used to throwing around money the way you do.”

“I just can’t stress myself out over little things like housework when I have to work as many hours as I do. I’d rather use my time at home to spend with you and Nicki.” She hoped he could see her logic.

“I’m not criticizing you. It’s not the way I’m used to doing things, but if it works for you, then it works for me. I wondered how you’d be able to handle adding the responsibilities of a family to what you already do.”

“I have no idea. But I hope this works. I know I can’t cook and clean and do laundry unless I learn all those things on my week off.”

“Learn laundry?”

She shrugged, blushing. “I meant cooking.”

“You don’t know how to do laundry, do you?” His eyes were wide as he realized just how different their lives had been.

“Well, the maids did laundry at home, and I went straight to the set where we all sent laundry out. I know it sounds like I’m a wastrel, but I really do work!”

“I’m not questioning that.” He shook his head. “We’ll just count on my mom to teach Nicki to do all the homemaking tasks she’ll eventually need.”

“That brings up a question for me.” Amber glanced at the clock. “How soon do we need to get Nicki?”

“Another hour. Why? Do you want to go pass the time trying out my bed?”

Amber shook her head at him. “That’s not exactly what I was thinking.” She took his hand and led him to the couch, sitting just far enough away he wouldn’t be able to start something. She did need to talk. “Do you want more kids?”

He frowned. He hadn’t expected this topic of conversation at all. “I haven’t thought about it much. I love Nicki more than anything, but I’m not sure if I want more or not.”

“Think about it. I think I’d like at least one, but not quite yet. We’re both still young, and we have plenty of time. I’m asking, because I’m on birth control, and I thought we should at least discuss it. If I went month after month without getting pregnant, and you expected it to happen any day, you might freak out.”

He grinned. “Someday is good. Maybe in a few years, after we’re more used to married life. I don’t want to start off our marriage with a pregnancy. I don’t want the strain that comes from no privacy and no sleep.”

“I don’t either, but I do want one eventually. Before I’m thirty would be good!”

“Sounds good to me.” He scooted closer to her on the couch. “Now, we still have about forty-five minutes before I need to go get Nicki!”

She laughed softly, leaning in for his kiss. “Are you saying there’s something you’re interested in doing?”

“I think it’s better if I demonstrate.” He took her hand and pulled her off toward the bedroom as Amber laughed behind him.

* * *

N
icki stayed
home with Amber for the rest of the week, and the girl was startled when Becky came to clean. She followed Becky around the first day, watching as she scrubbed the floor and cleaned out the fridge, as well as made beds and washed dishes.

After a morning of watching Becky work, Nicki went back to Amber. “I think I’m always going to have servants. There were yummy foods that turned green from being in the fridge so long, and Becky threw them away without throwing up!”

“Crazy, isn’t it?” Amber was in the spare room, setting up a Barbie universe for Nicki. “Would you rather take over this room as your Barbie room or do you want us to have a playhouse built?” She knew for now they’d need to use the spare room, but she really liked the idea of Nicki having a playhouse of her own. She’d had one and had loved it.

Nicki thought about it for a moment. “Can I use this room just until we get a playhouse built?”

“Absolutely! There’s a bed in here, but we’ll take that out to the garage, so there’s more room. Well, we’ll have your daddy take it to the garage.”

“It’s too bad Daddy has to work today, and he can’t play with us,” Nicki said.

Amber smiled. “Your daddy is like me. He’s doing work that he loves to do, so he doesn’t mind having to work while we play.”

“Are we going to stay home and play every day?” Nicki asked.

“No, but we’ll stay home and play every fourth week. I work for three weeks, and then I get a whole week off every month. We can spend that week together.”

“I’d like that! Are you going to be on your show still?”

“Yeah, I am. I love my job and the people I work with. You remember Miss Valerie, and Mr. Jesse, and Mr. Bob. I get to work with them every day.”

“And eat tacos.”

Amber laughed. “Tacos aren’t
usually
part of the plan.”

“I bet Miss Valerie doesn’t like that
at all
.”

“No, she doesn’t. Did you know before she had the baby in her tummy, she never even ate tacos? And now she won’t stop!”

“That’s funny. Are you going to have a baby in your tummy?”

“Probably someday. Your daddy and I are going to wait a little while to give you a brother or sister though. We want to give you all of our attention. Is that okay?”

Nicki nodded. “Especially if it means I get playhouses and Barbies.”

Amber laughed. “I’ll have to take you over to my mother’s house soon so you can thank her for all the Barbies.”

Nicki reached out for the camper, which was still in the box. “Can we take this out and set it up?”

“Of course, we can! We’ll do it now.” Amber ran to get a knife from the kitchen for cutting little pieces out of the box. While she was there, she saw John talking to her dad.

She stepped outside to hear what they were saying. When she got closer, she heard her dad say. “Thanks for bringing her back to us.”

“It’s my pleasure. Thanks for letting me know she’d be signing that night. I can’t believe I didn’t even notice she’d be making a public appearance.”

“I called you as soon as I realized. I knew you were the only one who could bring her back to Jupiter.”

Amber stood for a moment longer, listening, but the subject was changed. She wanted to run. She wanted to get in her car and drive off, back to the set where she could live without lies and betrayal.

She couldn’t leave Nicki, though. She’d promised.

Slipping back into the house unnoticed, Amber rejoined Nicki, and together, they put the Barbie camper together. Nicki was in charge of making sure the stickers got onto the correct places, while Amber put together the slide, the hammock, and the sundry other things.

The whole time they worked, Amber fumed over what she’d heard. Her dad had put John up to approaching her at the signing? What did that even mean? Had he paid John to do it? And since when were John and her father all chummy-chummy?

Later that night, after Nicki had gone to bed, Amber jerked away from John when he touched her shoulder. He stared at her with surprise. “What did I do?”

Amber wanted to kick him. She wanted to do so much worse than kick him! “I heard you and my dad earlier!”

“So?” He stared at her blankly as if he didn’t understand what she meant, when she knew darned well that he did.

“I heard him thank you for bringing me back to Jupiter. Did he pay you to come talk to me?”

“Pay me? What are you talking about? When he heard you were going to be signing in Wiggieville, he told me about it. That’s all.”

“Since when are you and my dad best friends?”

He sighed. “We’re far from best friends. After Kayla left, I went to the bank where he works for a loan, and even though he wasn't the person I dealt with, he knew why I was there. He also knew they turned me down flat.” He’d hoped he wouldn’t have to talk to her about this for a long time, but he wasn’t going to hide it from her.

“I’m listening.” Amber glared at him, as upset with him as she’d been the night of the prom. She couldn’t run off. Not this time. They were already married, and she didn’t believe in divorce. No, they were going to work it out if that meant putting on boxing gloves. Of course, she’d be the only one wearing boxing gloves as she pounded on him. She knew he’d stand there and take it rather than hurt her.

“He felt like he owed me something after the way our relationship ended, and he knew I was a single father fighting to make ends meet, so he made me a private loan with very favorable terms.” He shook his head. “I was so shocked at the time, I almost refused. But then your dad told me that he realized he’d made a huge mistake, and he was paying the price by having to live without you.”

Amber walked over to sit at the table, while John got a glass of water before continuing. “He told me if he ever found a way for the two of us to get back together, he was going to do everything he could to make it happen. I know your mom kept trying to get you to come back for holiday meals. They always made sure I was available to be there. They were trying to get us back together.”