Lying Love (Lazy Love Book 3) (9 page)

“Oops. Sorry, Mother.” Amber took John by the hand and pulled him toward the food line, laughing when she got there. There were tacos, and several kinds of them like her mother had promised, but there were also tiny quiches and foods Amber would have expected her mother to serve at a wedding.

“At least there’s something for everyone,” she whispered to John who was shaking his head.

“Only your mother.”

“She was appalled when I asked her to make sure we had tacos.”

John laughed. “I’m sure she was. How was it seeing your parents again?”

“They’ve both made it clear that they approve of our marriage. They’re glad that I’m happy, and they’re willing to leave it at that.”

“Seriously?” he asked.

She nodded. “Seriously. Mother told me she was just glad that I’m happy.”

“What did you say?”

“I didn’t know what to say. I’m glad I’m happy too, and I know that I belong with you. I always have.”

She fixed a plate for herself and one for Nicki as she walked down the line. “Does Nicki like tacos? I feel like this is something I should know.”

John kissed her cheek. “You won’t immediately know everything about her, just because you’re now her mother. It doesn’t work that way.”

She sighed heavily. “I know it doesn’t, but I wish it did. I want to be able to do the things she wants to make her happy.” She took one of the little quiches, carefully avoiding the tacos, because she’d had enough tacos to last a lifetime. “Oh, my mother called on Thursday and asked if she could get a wedding gift for Nicki. She said she worried that Nicki would get jealous if we got a bunch of gifts and she didn’t.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I told her Nicki loves Barbies and really wanted a Barbie camper.”

“Oh brother. Our house is going to look like the Barbie aisle at Walmart vomited everywhere, won't it?”

“Probably more like the Barbie aisle at Toys R Us, but sure.”

He frowned. “What’s the difference between the Barbie aisle at Walmart and the Barbie aisle at Toys R Us?”

She laughed softly. “The difference is several thousand dollars. Toys R Us is not only higher priced, but they have a much bigger variety. She’ll need a room just for her Barbies.”

He groaned softly. “Why did you let her do that?”

“Let her? Don’t you know yet that there’s no stopping Nancy Knight once she’s set her mind to something?”

“I guess I can’t complain since that’s a quality I love about you that she passed down to her daughter.”

They moved to one of the tables her mother had brought in. It was a long table that would fit at least eight, and she sat at one end with John, setting Nicki’s plate beside hers. Nicki quickly joined them, and soon all of her friends were sitting with them as well.

Valerie grinned at Amber. “It was a beautiful ceremony, and I can’t believe we really have tacos!”

Amber glanced at Valerie’s plate and saw that she had one of each. “I can’t believe you really think you’re going to eat four of them.”

Valerie laughed. “One for me, and three for baby boy.”

“What are you going to name him?” Amber asked for what felt like the thousandth time.

“We don’t know yet.”

“How about Bob?” Bob asked as he sat down beside Jesse.

Valerie wrinkled her nose. “You keep your Bob suggestions for your wife.”

Amber looked at John who hadn’t taken his eyes off her and winked. “Are you worried about the friends you’ve married into?”

He shrugged. “I’m just trying to concentrate on my beautiful bride and the life I’m starting with her.” He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “I can’t believe I made it through five and a half years without you.”

She smiled, feeling a tear prick her eye again. “I can’t either. How
did
you make it without an Amber in your life?” She ate a small bite of one of the quiches as she grinned at him.

“I have no idea. It was certainly not a life filled with a lot of joy. I certainly wouldn’t have made it without Nicki.”

He’d obviously taken her question seriously, which made her sad. “I had good friends to keep me going.”

Valerie rolled her eyes. “She missed you every single day. There was never a doubt who she was thinking of. She would get this look on her face, and I always knew you were on her mind.”

Amber glared at Valerie for a moment. She wasn’t quite ready to be that vulnerable with John.

After they’d finished eating, her mother came over to stand behind her. “I’ve instructed the orchestra to play two slow songs. One for you to dance with your new husband and the other for you to dance with your father. After that, there’s a DJ who will play the country songs I know you love.”

Amber smiled. “When?”

“As soon as you’re finished eating. The orchestra members have eaten and are ready to be finished.”

Amber got to her feet and looked at John. “I haven’t danced with you since prom.”

Nicki clapped. “You danced at your prob, and now you get to dance again! I can’t wait!”

Amber smiled. “I think we’d better hurry before our daughter explodes from excitement.”

John laughed, taking Amber’s hand in his and leading her to a cleared area beside the orchestra and the DJ. No one else in the state of Texas could have pulled off something so elaborate in six days. He’d have to remember to thank Nancy Knight later.

A
fter they’d cut
the cake and everyone was in full dance mode, John caught Amber’s hand. “Did you bring an overnight bag?”

She nodded. “I figured I’d leave most of my stuff in my trailer on the set, but I brought my clothes and stuff. I’ll do what Bob does and still use the trailer between scenes.”

“That’s perfect. Where’s the bag?”

“In your bedroom.”

“Our bedroom,” he whispered, trailing his hand down her arm.

Her eyes met his. “I like the sound of that.”

“I’m going to go get your bag. We’ll take off in a few, but I want all of our stuff in the truck and ready to go.”

“Go? We’re not spending the night here?”

“Are you kidding? Most of these people are still going to be dancing on our lawn past midnight. By then we’re going to be tucked in for the night and utterly exhausted.”

She blushed. “Oh we are, are we?”

He nodded. “I’ll be back.”

While Amber stood and watched, Nicki tore into the biggest of the boxes Amber’s mother had brought, unwrapping a Barbie house of some sort. Amber just rolled her eyes. The girl couldn’t seem to stop squealing, and who could blame her? Mother was so excited to have a grandchild, she’d probably buy her anything she wanted.

Maybe she would need to buy the girl her own trailer just to keep her Barbie stuff in. That could work. Or they could build her a playhouse. Her mind was caught up in the logistics of making room for the girl’s Barbie stuff even as Nicki opened more and more gifts, screaming and throwing her arms around Amber’s mother when she got to the camper.

A
mber felt
arms slide around her waist and she leaned back against John, happy for the moment to have him with her. She only prayed the happiness would continue.

“You called it,” John whispered against her ear, making her tingle. “Your mother bought out the whole Barbie aisle.”

Amber folded her arms over his, holding him to her. “Yup. She’s excited to have a granddaughter. I don’t think we need to worry about Nicki being mistreated by my mom.”

“Apparently not. Where are we going to put all that stuff?” His voice was incredulous. He’d obviously not spent enough time around Nancy Knight to have any idea what she was capable of.

“We’ll build her a playhouse with a small bathroom and a dorm fridge. She’ll love it.”

He laughed. “Only someone who is used to money could possibly suggest a playhouse with all that for a four-year-old.”

She shrugged. “I don’t want all that stuff underfoot. Do you?”

“Fine. We’ll build her a playhouse.”

Amber grinned. “I had a feeling you’d see things my way.”

“Let’s go.”

“Where are we going anyway?”

“I’m taking you to a nice hotel in Fort Worth.” He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck, making her tingle from head to toe.

She bit back the question that immediately popped into her head. She knew he probably couldn’t afford it, but she wasn’t going to ask. Money had always caused a barrier between them, and she wasn’t going to stir the pot. Now that they were married, her money was his money anyway.

“Let’s go then.”

He took her hand and they walked over to where Nicki was opening more and more clothes for her favorite doll. “Nicki, we’re going now. You be good for Grandma, and we’ll see you on Monday, okay?”

Nicki nodded, jumping to her feet to hug her father and Amber in turn. “Did you see all my Barbie stuff?” she asked.

Amber nodded, smiling. “Mother, please make sure someone gets the Barbie stuff put into the house somewhere it will be out of the way. We’ll make arrangements for it once we’re home.”

Amber’s mother approached them with a smile. “I may have gone a bit overboard, but she
is
my first grandchild.”

“Yes, she is.” Amber hugged her mother, something she hadn’t done in a lot of years. “Thank you for everything you did today. The wedding was beautiful, and you’ve made Nicki the happiest child alive.”

“And you’ve made me very happy by letting us back into your life. We do love you, Amber, even though we’re not good at showing it.”

After several more goodbyes, they hurried to the truck and John drove off. “I didn’t think we’d ever get out of there!”

Amber grinned, resting her cheek against the back of the seat as she looked over at him. “I didn’t either, but I’m glad we did. It’s nice to finally be alone with you.” All week, every time they’d seen each other, they were surrounded by people. There had been no time to even talk, let alone be affectionate with each other.

“We’re about to be alone for two whole days. Room service will be the name of the game, and I’m not letting you out of the room for any reason.”

She laughed. “Do you really think I’m going to fight you on this?”

“Tell me about the new guy,” he finally said. “I want to know what it’s like for MaryBeth to have a love interest.”

Amber wrinkled her nose. “He’s a good actor, but I don’t like him very much as a person. If I have my say, they’ll find MaryBeth someone else or just keep her single.”

“So you don’t mind his character, but you don’t like Tony?”

“Right. Tony is—well, he doesn’t like you much. He keeps bringing up the fact that you didn’t propose with a ring.”

John shook his head. “That’s none of his business.”

“No, it’s not, and I’ve told him that repeatedly. He doesn’t seem to care.”

“Was he respectful when you filmed the kissing scene?”

She frowned for a moment, wondering how he’d known they’d filmed one, and then she remembered mentioning it to him on the phone. “Yeah, he was. It felt weird kissing someone other than you, though.”

His hand reached out and caught hers on the seat between them. “You’ve made me the happiest man alive by marrying me today. You know that, right?”

“I guess so.” She stared out the window, saying nothing else. She hoped she could trust him, but how could she know for sure?

He frowned, wondering what she was thinking. He was afraid to ask, though. Only she could break his heart with a word. “We should be at the hotel in about fifteen minutes. Are you hungry?”

“No, there was enough food to feed an army there.” She hadn’t eaten a lot, but not because her mother hadn’t given them a lot of choices. Food just hadn’t sounded good.

John grinned. “I don’t think there was anyone who wasn’t satisfied. Did you see the pigs in a blanket and mac and cheese?”

“Those were so Nicki would have choices if she ate only kid food.” Amber shook her head. “I was never given those choices. I was expected to eat whatever Mother had the cook make.”

“Nicki loved your mom. I can’t believe she’s the same woman who once chased me out of her house, threatening to throw a vase at me, because she caught us kissing.”

Amber laughed. “They were always catching us kissing. Remember that one time by the pool when Daddy saw you feeling me up over my swimsuit?”

“I swear I thought he was going to get a gun and shoot me right then.”

“Which is why you climbed over the fence and ran for it.”

They both laughed at the memories. “You were the first boy to ever kiss me and the first boy to ever feel me up. And now you’re the first boy to ever marry me.”

“The only boy to ever marry you!”

“You’re still the only boy to ever feel me up, too.”

“Really?” he asked, looking at her in surprise as he stopped for a traffic light. “Not even Brian?”

She shook her head. “Brian and I had an arrangement. He didn’t touch me, and I’d marry him. We’d both get our inheritances and then we’d go our separate ways.”

“So why were you so upset that he was cheating on you?”

“Because he promised he wouldn’t. We both agreed no one in the world would know that our relationship wasn’t real, but he made it very clear it wasn’t. It just made me mad.”

“I can understand that.” He pulled under the awning of the Omni Hotel and waited as one of the valets came over to get the keys. He walked around and opened her door for her, smiling at how absolutely beautiful she was in the wedding dress. It didn’t have the long train of most wedding dresses, but it suited her well. “Let’s go check in and find our honeymoon suite.”

“Honeymoon suite, huh? You really did go all out.”

“I had to. My wife deserves the very best.” As he led her into the hotel, a bellhop with their luggage following along behind, he clutched her hand in his, afraid he was going to wake up and discover it was all a dream.

Moments later they were in the elevator headed for their suite, and John was as excited as Amber was nervous. She wasn’t nervous about making love with him…well, maybe a little, but she was very nervous about messing up their relationship and doing something that would keep them from being happy.

After he’d tipped the bellhop, he smiled at her. “Do you need help getting out of that thing?”

She nodded. “I do.” She turned her back to him and stood still as he slowly unbuttoned each of the buttons at the back of the dress.

“Whose idea was it to put three million buttons on the back of the dress your husband will want you to get out of the quickest in his whole life?”

Amber giggled. “Not mine. I’m as anxious to be naked with you as you are to be naked with me.”

“Oh really? Not nervous?”

She shrugged. “Not very. This is something that I’ve known would eventually happen since a sweet, lanky twelve-year-old boy kissed me under the bleachers during a ball game.”

“I feel like that lanky twelve-year-old boy again. My palms are sweaty and my mouth is dry. I’m so afraid I’ll do something wrong, and you’ll run away screaming.”

Amber smiled at his words, feeling as if they echoed her feelings exactly. “When was the last time I ever ran away from a challenge, John Baynard?”

He smiled. “I don’t know that you ever have. Well, maybe on prom night.”

She sighed. “Maybe we shouldn’t bring up prom night right about now.”

“You’re not still angry with me for getting upset, are you? I’d saved for over a month to be able to rent a hotel room, and you told me after I’d already spent my money that you weren’t going to go through with it.”

“I didn’t think about the money. I’d have happily reimbursed you.”

“I know you would have, but it would have been your parents’ money you reimbursed me with, and they were against me from the beginning. I couldn’t let that happen. I shouldn’t have gotten upset. I have no excuse except that I was eighteen and hormonal. I wanted to make love with you so badly I thought I would die, and you turned me down flat.”

“It didn’t feel right that night. Not like it does now.”

“So you’re not going to run out of here screaming? You promise?”

She laughed. “I promise.”

He finished the last button and pushed the dress forward and off her shoulders, watching as it pooled on the floor at her feet. His hands immediately went to the corset she wore beneath the dress, unfastening it. “I’m not stopping until I get rid of all this white!”

Amber grinned. “You do remember you were the one who wanted me to wear white to marry?”

He sighed. “I remember. But not this much! The dress was enough. You should have been naked beneath it.”

“Do you have any idea how see-through white fabric is? It would have been almost as bad as parading around completely naked.”

“Yeah, and Tony was there.” He didn’t want Tony to see any more of her than he already had.

Amber shook her head. “Are you jealous of Tony? Really? I was engaged to you before I even met the creep.”

“Creep?” John asked, frowning. “Why creep?”

“I don’t know. He gives me the heebie-jeebies. He told me he auditioned because he was sure he could win me, and we’d end up like Valerie and Jesse. He was disappointed that I was engaged when we got here.”

“I wish you’d told me that.” He pushed the last of her slips off, leaving her in just her bra and panties.

She turned to face him, her hands pushing off his suit coat and laying it on a desk behind her. While she worked at his tie, she thought about how to respond. “I didn’t know how it would make you feel. I’m used to dealing with these things on my own, or having Bob or Jesse help me with them. It’s strange having a man in my life I can turn to again—one who’s not just a friend.”

“And you have no feelings for Jesse or Bob? You never did?”

Amber shook her head. “Not at all. Jesse and Bob have been my brothers. They’ve stood between me and crazed fans. Between me and would-be boyfriends. Bob and I used to attend all the events together so no one would try to come on to either of us. It sometimes worked, but I think most people realized there was never going to be anything between us.” She paused, thinking for a moment about how much she was willing to reveal to him. “I haven’t felt anything special for a man since my high school sweetheart.”

He caught her chin and tilted her face up to his, so he could look into her green eyes. “Are you sure?”

Amber nodded. “I’m sure. I’m happy for both of them, and I love their wives. Do you think if I had feelings for one of them, I would call their wives my best friends?” She pushed his shirt off and onto the floor. “You’re wearing altogether too many clothes, you know.”

He grinned. “Do you want me to help you with that little problem?”

She shrugged. “No, just stand there. It’s kind of fun unwrapping my own present this way!”

Within minutes she’d stripped off the rest of his clothes, even though she still stood there in her bra and panties. “I think it’s time we took this show horizontal, don’t you?”

“I would not be opposed to that idea. Not at all, actually.”

He took her hand, leading her over to the bed, and stripping the covers down. “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve dreamed of making love to you?”

“Would the answer scare me? You were never very good at math…can you count that high?”

John chuckled, reaching around to unfasten her bra even as he lowered his head to take her lips with his. “Don’t bring high school into this. I’m not going to let you make fun of my math skills.”

“How exactly are you going to stop me?” she asked, cocking her head to one side and raising an eyebrow at him.