Surrender to Temptation (29 page)

Laughing, he jumped up, grabbed a blade of grass, and fashioned a ring. Then he went on his knees. Nikki was laughing hard by the time he finished proposing.

“I promise to replace it with the real thing as soon as I can,” Chase vowed.

“Oh, no. I love this. It’s a symbol of our commitment to each other.” She lifted her hand and spread her fingers. “I’m wearing it to your family picnic.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to see Aunt Viv’s face when she sees it.” He gripped her hand and pulled her up.

“Is she like your Aunt Siobhán?”

Chase laughed. “No one is like Aunt Viv, but she’s going to love you when she realizes how much I adore you.”

“Are you trying to scare me?”

He laughed. “Never. I’m preparing you. Even though I love my family, some of us can be scary.”

Nikki chuckled. “That’s okay. If you haven’t noticed, I don’t scare easily.” She kissed him. For him, she’d put up with anything. Even his Aunt Viv.

EPILOGUE

“The turnout is amazing,” Nikki said, her eyes sweeping the brimming parking lot as she walked beside Chase.

“With the heavy advertising and every member of our family inviting their friends, Dee’s Corner is off to a good start.”

Having the trial of the decade had helped, too. Behind them, the Fitzgeralds piled out of their SUVs and vans with their kids and handed their keys to the valets. She and Chase had flown to L.A. from Montana two days ago for the grand opening. Chase had even stopped by the restaurant to check if Dee needed his help.

A year had passed since Chase proposed to her with a grass ring, a year since Aunt Viv had watched her during the Fitzgerald picnic and then imperiously said, “Why haven’t you lost that deplorable accent, young lady?”

“I’m sorry to insult your sensibility, ma’am,” Nikki had answered, smiling. “I’ve tried so hard to lose it, but it just refuses to go away. Like most problems in life, I chose to embrace it.”

She wasn’t sure whether her response had won over the formidable woman or her accent had grown on her, but Aunt Viv never mentioned Nikki’s southern twang again.

Chase had sold his Burbank restaurant to Dee at a loss, even though she’d received a huge settlement from Finch’s family for punitive damages and had all her medical expenses paid. Like the Fitzgeralds liked to say, she was family.

Inside the restaurant, the hostess showed them to a table reserved for them. Her parents were already seated. They were sharing a table with some of the uncles and aunts, including Aunt Viv.

Her mom angled her head and gracefully received a kiss from Chase. She gripped his hand. “Thank you, dear. If you hadn’t believed in our Dee, she’d be in jail now and not opening her own restaurant.”

“What do you mean?” Aunt Viv asked. “I knew he sold her the restaurant at a price below the market,” she added with disapproval, “but I was okay with that. After all, we are family. But I haven’t heard anything about Chase keeping her out of jail.”

Chase kissed her cheek. “I didn’t do anything, Aunt Viv. Nice to see you as usual. We’re still waiting for you to visit the ranch.”

She harrumphed and patted his cheek. “In due time, my dear boy.” Then she leveled Uncle Lou and Aunt Iona with a glare. “I want to hear this story. From your faces you know about it. Why am I the last to hear things in this family?”

Chase moved to Nikki’s father, who was already on his feet.

“Son.” Her dad shook Chase’s hand and hugged him. “Are you taking good care of my Nikki?”

“Yes, sir. We are still waiting for you to visit the ranch, too.”

“Now that Dee’s back on her feet, we can travel a bit.”

“That would be great, Dad,” Nikki said. They’d been saying they’d visit but kept putting it off because of Dee and her slow recovery.

“She wants to see you two,” Nikki’s dad whispered.

Nikki and Chase made their way past the crowd of people in the restaurant. Quite a number of the diners knew Chase, so they stopped while he shook hands and he introduced Nikki. Finally, they reached the kitchen. The place was like a hive, cooks working efficiently at their stations and the aroma of spices in the air. Chase no longer flinched around fires. His panic attacks had disappeared months ago.

Nikki’s eyes found her sister at a table, her back to them. One of her workers, all formerly Chase’s employees, saw them and tapped Dee’s arm.

Dee turned, saw them, and smiled. Her left eye was a little droopy, and her smile was lopsided to the left. The burns on her face had been on the left side, and there was only so much makeup could cover. She wiped her scarred hands on her apron and started toward them.

Nikki was so proud of her sister. She was still healing, physically, emotionally, and mentally, but buying the restaurant and going back to cooking was helping. It didn’t matter that she was still on pain meds and she had physical therapy twice a week, or that she had years of plastic surgery ahead of her, or that her fingers weren’t as flexible and nimble as they used to be. She was doing what she loved.

Nikki hugged Dee, her throat closing. When she leaned back, she searched Dee’s face. “Ready?”

Dee nodded. “Oh yeah. Please, don’t tell me it’s empty out there.”

Nikki laughed. “It is packed. I’m so proud of you.”

Dee blew out air, her eyes tearing. “Thank you. For being the best older sister any girl could ever have. I don’t know if…” She shook her head, and they hugged again. Then Dee turned to Chase. She indicated he should lean down, and she planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you.”

“No, thank
you
for taking all this,” he indicated the restaurant, “off my hands.”

Dee rolled her eyes. “You had already moved on. Continue making my sister happy and you can take over my kitchen whenever you like.”

Chase grinned. “Deal.”

“Now go.” Dee shooed them out. “Be my eyes and ears out there. If anyone complains about anything, I want to know so I can come out there without makeup and scare the crap out of them.” She laughed. “I’m kidding. You should see your faces.”

Nikki and Chase left the kitchen laughing. The fact that her sister could crack jokes about her injuries said a lot.

“She is happy, isn’t she?” Nikki asked.

“Yes, love. And she knows she has you if she ever needs anything.”

“No, she has us.” They kissed and went to join their family.

THE END

BIOGRAPHY

EDNAH WALTERS writes adult romance under the pseudonym E. B. Walters. SLOW BURN, the first contemporary romance with suspense was released in April 2011. It is the first book in the Fitzgerald family series. Book 2, MINE UNTIL DAWN, was released in July 2011. KISS ME CRAZY, book 3 in the series followed three months later. Book 4, DANGEROUS LOVE was released end of January 2012. Ednah is presently working on the next book, Lex’s story.

When she is not writing adult romance,
Ednah is the author of The Guardian Legacy series, a YA fantasy series about children of the fallen angels, who fight demons and protect mankind. AWAKENED, the prequel was released in September 2010 with rave reviews. BETRAYED, book one in the series was released by her new publisher Spencer Hill Press in June 2012 and HUNTED, the third installment, was released April 2013. She’s working on the next book in the series, FORGOTTEN.

Ednah also writes Young Adult/New Adult paranormal romance. RUNES is the first book in her new series. IMMORTALS (book 2) was released three months later. GRIMNIRS (book 2.5) is the bridge between book 2 and 3. Ednah is presently working on book 3, SEERS.

You can visit her online at
www.ednahwalters.com
or
www.ebwalters.com
.She’s also on Facebook, twitter and is a prolific blogger.