The Bride Takes a Powder (15 page)

He'd expressed every bit of the
passion and love he had in him, hoping it would be enough to bring her back to
him. Of course there was a lot for her to think about especially if she'd be
spending hours in the car alone with her former fiancé. Would she relent,
forgive him, and reset the wedding? Mike had told her he'd wait. He would wait,
not forever, but he'd wait. Then he'd go get her. He had no intention of losing
her. Done and done!

***

The ride back to Chicago was
excruciating for Norah. It turned out that the reason neither she nor Mike had
seen Garrett the day of the sand bagging was that he'd gone inside Ollie's to
help with the food. Maybe he wasn't a total asshole after all.

But on the highway Garrett couldn't
keep his glee from showing. He thought he'd won her back and that was why she
was in the car with him. By the time they hit the Kennedy Expressway, she'd
made sure he knew the truth. It was over.

What wasn't clear for her was
exactly what she intended to do about Mike. She couldn't hold back her little
secret smiles when she thought of how they'd made love, especially that last
time. He was a master at teasing and arousing her and keeping her on the edge
not knowing what he was going to do or where he was going to caress next. A
whimper escaped, and Garrett asked if anything was wrong.

No, nothing was wrong. Mike Banning
was the real deal. Gorgeous and hunky were the least of his attributes. He was
strong, confident, loyal, honest. She'd known the minute she'd heard about the
scandal that he wasn't involved. How had she known that? Instinct? Which should
have been shattered because of Garrett. How could she have been so wrong about
him and so right about Mike?

The big question was whether she
could give up her life and career in Chicago. She'd been on the partner track
at her law firm. Her clients, many of them, thought very highly of her and had
even tried to lure her away to their corporations. She'd respected a couple of
the companies and considered becoming corporation counsel as a coup.

What did she think now? What did
she want out of life?

Obviously, not everyone in B Falls
was honest and honorable. There had been a contingent of teachers and
administrators who would definitely be charged in the cheating scandal. But
there were many more people who were the heart of the town. She'd worked side
by side with them to save the Falls River from flooding.

She talked with her parents, told
them about Mike, and admitted her feelings for him. What was awkward was that
they acknowledged they'd had doubts about Garrett but were willing to put them
aside if she loved him. Of course her parents loved her, but they were willing
to let her make a mistake? It was more than awkward. It was troubling. She'd
been blind to what others felt about her choice.

And was she right about her new
choice? Of that she was one hundred percent sure.

That decided, she hurriedly
returned gifts, and decided that notes could be written from B Falls as well as
Chicago. Leaving her condo to be sold furnished, she removed her personal
items—books and artwork—bought a car, and arranged to send everything important
to Birchwood Falls. Mike had made it clear he loved her. All she could think of
was how quickly she could get back to him. She wouldn't write, call, or text
him until she was sure of her plan.

The morning she began driving back
to Iowa, she finally texted, "See you soon."

She'd learned the hard way that
even though she thought she had all the control in the world over her life, she
sure hadn't. The debacle of the cancelled wedding at the very last minute
proved that. Falling in the river and almost drowning during a storm proved it
too. Mike had been there for her both times.

***

Mike glanced at his phone when it
vibrated with a text. "See you soon." He had two seconds to digest
that and its meaning before his name was called for testimony. Nervous, it
would be perfect if Norah was by his side, but he'd get through this. All he
had to do was tell the school board where he was on the dates and times of the
cheating parties. Then the board could ask his witnesses, and it would be over.
It turned out the one morning he hadn't been in the bar, Marc Rahn had seen him
driving out of town. So, even though he'd been alone, he'd been in the opposite
direction of the party.

Half an hour later it was over. At
least for him. Shocked about the teachers who had betrayed him, he no longer
wondered who he could still trust. The accusations hadn't been personal. The
guilty ones had thrown out names to cast suspicion in other directions.

Marc and Phoebe, as well as his
parents, walked out with him. "Thanks for being here," he said.

"Of course we would be,"
replied Phoebe. "Good Lord! Anyone who'd believe you'd do this is nuts."

Marc clapped him on the back. "I'm
glad this is over, friend."

"Me too." He pointed
across the street to Ollie's. "You guys want to come over for a drink?"
He leaned over to Phoebe. "Milk or soda for you, young lady."

"We'll buy you dinner. No one
makes better burgers than your dad."

Marc had always said that, said he'd
missed his dad's burgers all the years he was deployed overseas in the Marines.

At the back table, Bernice joined
her son and the Rahns while Ollie flipped the burgers, brought them to the
table, then sat down too. Mike leaned back, closing his eyes in pleasure at the
delicious food and being with his parents and best friends. One more person
would make it perfect. See you soon she'd texted. Did that mean she was coming
back to stay or to tell him goodbye? Listening to the chatter, he kept his eyes
closed and reveled in the companionship of these people he loved. The bar was
almost full of customers. That was good for his folks' retirement account.

Suddenly, the noise level dropped.

He opened his eyes to stare
directly into the beautiful warm gray eyes of the woman he'd been waiting for
all his life. Rising to his feet, he came around the table, and stopped in
front of her.

"Mike…"

"Norah…"

"You're here."

"Yes." She glanced
around. Every eye in the place was on them.

"Why?" Idiotically, he
felt his face heat. He was actually embarrassed.

"Can we talk?" she asked.

He slipped an arm around her waist,
the crowd parted, and they made it outside the door. He gave her barely a
second to catch her breath before he pulled her into his arms to seize her
mouth.

"It's you." He slid his
fingers into her hair, cupping her head, angling it for more access to her
lips. He felt her arms around him, hands tucked into the back of his slacks to
pull him closer. That was fine with him. Perfect, as a matter of fact.

"Norah, why are you here?"
he whispered when they finally came up for air.

She didn't say anything, just
surveyed his face as if memorizing his features.

That scared the hell out of him.
Was she planning to leave again? "The hearing was today. It's over."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I wanted to
be here to support you."

"They held it early."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. It was found that I wasn't
involved. My witnesses held."

She held his face between her
palms. "I knew that would be the case. I'm just sorry I wasn't here. I
meant to be."

"You were here in my heart,
honey." He traced a finger down her cheek to her lips.

"That's where I want to be."

"What are you saying?" He
was almost afraid to hear this. He wanted her to stay more than he'd ever
wanted anything in his life. "We haven't known each other long."
Why in hell are you coming up with
obstacles?

"I knew Garrett for a long
time before we got engaged. You see where that got me. It didn't take me long
to see the kind of man you are."

"Boring and naïve?" He
smiled.

"Oh, stop. I never said that.
You're neither of those things. You're incredibly strong and dedicated and
honorable."

"What else?" This time he
laughed aloud.

"We need to go somewhere so I
can show you what else. Do you think we can go to your apartment without
everyone inside realizing what we're up to?"

"No problem, honey. Remember
the outside stairway?" He led her around the corner to the side stairs and
caught sight of several heads peeping out the front window of the bar. Scooting
her along so she didn't see them, he gave a thumbs-up to the peepers.

Inside his apartment, she took
over, pulling off his tie and unbuttoning his shirt. He was right with her in
the removal of clothing. Her sweater and bra were off before she could get to
the button on his pants. Both completely naked, he tumbled her into bed and
whispered, "I want to take my time with you."

"Um…that's okay, but I really
need you now." Her voice went down deep and husky. "And fast."
She wrestled him onto his back, leaning over him. "And more of your kisses."

Her lush nakedness on top of him
was like a homecoming and not the high school type. Norah was here in his arms,
in his bed, and she was staying. He could have her any time he wanted, and boy
did he want her now. They kissed, tangling tongues, nipping and sipping each
other. She was a little frenzied, which he didn't mind at all.

He drew a quick breath when she
trailed her lips down his body. He let her lick and suck his nipples because it
felt so very good. Already as hard as he'd ever been, he knew the ache would be
taken care of eventually. She was here. To stay. These were his last thoughts
as she roamed farther down his torso to his cock.
Yes. Thank you!

Licking the tip while she squeezed
his shaft with strong fingers drove him insane. His belly tensed, his fingers
sought her head, sliding through the strands of her hair, keeping her prisoner.
She didn't seem to want to escape though. "Jesus, Nor. What are you
doing…?" His rough breath ended on a gasp.

Then he was in her mouth, as far in
as possible. He tried to remember and catalogue what she was doing to him up
until the moment she cradled his balls and brushed her finger on that sensitive
spot right behind them. Groaning, he made her let him go. "God, baby, I
need to come inside you. Now!" It was his turn to grab her arms, pull her
up, and roll her onto her back. Perching over her between her thighs, he
feasted his eyes on her warm, red, glistening sex. "I want to make love to
you in every way possible, but I want you to watch this time."

"Watch?"

"Look, Nor. Watch me enter
you." He could barely get the words out, could barely breathe. He held the
head of his cock sheathing himself just inside her, just with the very tip,
then gazed up at her. Mouth open, her eyes were fastened on where they were
joined. It was what he wanted her to see. "See how beautiful we are?"
He surged in a little more. His head throbbed, his body shook. It was almost
impossible to go slowly, but the sight of her body enveloping his was not to be
missed. Or hurried.

"Oh Mike," she sobbed. "I
love you."

"Because of this?" He
surged deeper.

"Oh, yes," she sighed.

He drew a finger along the line
where his cock met her body, then pressed her clit between thumb and
forefinger. Her hips bucked forcing him home, his shaft embedded fully, her
interior muscles convulsing around him. He came and for long, long moments he
emptied himself inside her. Nothing else would ever feel as good as she did.
That's what she did to him. Turned him into Superman.

Later, after their breathing
returned somewhat to normal, he grinned at her and asked, "Was it as good
for you as it was for me, darling?"

"Shut up," she mumbled.

"That was pretty halfhearted,
sweetheart."

"…all I could manage,"
she mumbled. Then her expression got serious. "Yes, baby, it was wonderful."

"What do you plan to do now?"
He wanted to get this settled. Get their future settled.

She traced circles on his chest,
ran her fingers around his nipples.

"I mean beside this?" He
rested a hand on hers, not to stop her though.

"Would you want me to stay?"
She kept her focus on his chest.

"Only if you want to. I love
you, Norah. I asked you before if you could care about me." His heart
thudded. Of course she felt it on her fingers.

She lifted a hand to caress his
cheek. "Yes. I love you and what's more, I want to stay here and see where
this all leads."

"I may as well be honest,"
he admitted. "I want it to lead to marriage and kids and a life together."

"Yes, Mike. I'm here to stay.
I'll admit when I first got into town I didn't think it could compare to
Chicago. But almost immediately I felt myself relaxed by the slower pace. I met
Phoebe in the grocery store, and she invited me to her show. Then Marc greeted
me at the door and brought me to your table. You all welcomed me no questions
asked. I felt more at home here than I was in the city I was raised in."

"Not everyone in B Falls is a
good guy."

"There are always bad people,
but in this town the good ones outnumber them. That day at the river was one of
the hardest I've ever lived through. And one of the most satisfying."

"Yeah, you were part of the
good people, sweetheart."

"I want to be here, be part of
your life."

He cupped her cheek. "You are
my life. So you'll marry me?"

"I do have a wedding dress.
Hardly used," she chuckled.

He burst out with a laugh. "What
kind of an omen…?"

"It's a good omen," she
replied. "I designed it for myself, and you'll be the guy who deserves to
see me in it, my love."

They didn't speak for quite some
time. He'd thought his life was pretty nice and ordinary. Then he was hit with
a shock that showed him life was uncertain no matter how nice a guy you were.
Norah had been there for him, and he had no intention of letting this lady
escape from him again. That she loved him back was the best news he'd ever had.