Trouble In Triplicate (20 page)

They wanted to touch, to taste every inch of each other. Caine felt Juliet tremble—with passion, with excitement and anticipation—wherever he touched her, and the feel of her sensitive fingers upon him drove him to heights he'd never reached before.

They spun on an upward spiral to ecstasy until they were both mad from the pleasure of it all. until the whirling urgency claimed them and sent them spinning together into the sweet planes of rapture.

They lay together, naked and intertwined and content, for a long, long time, savoring their closeness and the bright promise of their love.

Caine was the first to break the comfortable silence. "I didn't get a chance to tell you that I ate the piece of white-chocolate-mousse cake you brought down to the restaurant. It was delicious, Juliet. Will you make it again for me sometime?"

"Sure." She playfully nipped at his shoulder. "But don't expect me to give the recipe to your chef so he can serve it at the Friends of Mr. Jefferson Lawn and Garden Club's annual luncheon. Those defectors will have to miss it."

"Uh-oh." Caine arched his brows. "Here it comes. Miranda already read me the riot act at the restaurant tonight for allegedly stealing your customers."

Juliet arched her brows too. It seemed quite an effective gesture. " 'Allegedly'?"

"I'm an innocent man, honey. I've never spoken to a single one of Mr. Jefferson's friends. Grant was the one who went out and hustled the good ladies during his breakup with Miranda. He knew the anniversary story and decided it would be a terrific act of revenge to usurp the luncheon. And it would have been," he added with a grin, "if Grant had gotten up the nerve to tell Miranda what he'd done."

"He didn't tell her?"

"Not on your life. Since she seemed to believe that I was at fault he pleaded with me to take the rap."

"Which you did."

"Hey, I wasn't about to risk having to hear 'Send in the Clowns' forty-three more times in a row. Anything to keep the peace between those two."

Juliet looked thoughtful. "It worries me a little that Grant and Randi haven't been totally honest with one another. He thinks it was I who told him off here at the Apple Country Inn, and now she thinks it was you who pirated the luncheon. Do you think they'll ever tell each other the truth?"

"I hope so. Right now they're both walking on eggshells around each other. Maybe when they've lived together and are more sure of each other, they'll come clean—and have a good laugh about it."

Juliet snuggled closer to her lover. "Caine, I want you to promise not to keep anything from me, even if it means sometimes breaking the peace between us."

"You're not afraid to fight with me, hmm?"

"No." Her eyes shone with confidence and love. "Because I know we'll always make up afterward."

"Always." Their kiss was a tender, ardent affirmation of their love. "Juliet?" Caine murmured huskily. "Will you marry me?"

"Oh, yes, Caine." She hugged him tight.

"This isn't exactly the way I'd planned to propose." He smiled as he stroked her hair. "I'd planned to wine and dine you, to romance you with dancing and candlelight and soft music, and then I'd look deeply into your eyes and make some pretty speech about true love and our destinies being intertwined."

She sighed. "It sounds lovely. Can we do it tomorrow?"

He chuckled. "I suppose we ought to have a cover story to tell our children. I can hardly admit that I proposed to their mother in bed!"

"Our children." She sighed again. The thought of having Caine's babies sent a delicious ache of longing through her. "I'd like to have at least three. Maybe four."

"I'll be happy to oblige. But, sweetheart, could we have them one at a time? I'd sort of like to ease into fatherhood gradually."

She gave him a dreamy-eyed smile. "The only promise I can make is to keep on loving you, come what may."

"And that, sweet Juliet, is more than enough for me."