Paige

 

I LOCKED THE store and turned to face Carl and Jen. “He left?” I asked Jen. She gave me a sympathetic smile and nodded.

“He said he was heading to the ranch to fix a fence for you, Carl.”

With a hearty laugh, Carl pulled me in for a hug, then kissed me on the forehead. “The boy always did take to hard labor to work out his anger.”

I echoed his smile with one of my own. “I remember.”

“Stop by. I’ll have Lynn make us some dinner.”

“I will after I run home and change. Can you get me your estimate for the front of the shop if I draw up some ideas?”

He nodded. “The building is in great shape. I think if you purchase it, you’d be making a wise investment.”

“I agree,” Jen said.

There was no way I could contain my smile. “I’m going to put in an offer, but I know the bank will want to see a business plan. I can have one written up quickly once I get the bids in.”

“We can chat at dinner, maybe then you can give me your vision.”

Reaching up on my toes, I kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

He winked, then turned to Jen. “I’ll see you girls around. I need to run a few other errands.”

We watched as Carl made his way to his truck. Once he was in and pulled out, I faced Jen. “Am I crazy?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?”

“Yes,” I said, wrapping my arm around hers as we made our way to the car.

“Well, what exactly are you asking me about? Your relationship with Lucas, which I might add happened rather quickly, even if no one was surprised. Everyone always thought the two of you belonged together.”

“I always knew I was crazy in love with him. He makes me stop thinking straight. That’s a whole other ‘night out with drinks’ conversation. What I mean is, am I crazy for opening a flower shop?”

She stopped walking and faced me. “You’re asking me if I think it’s crazy that you’re following a dream? No, I think it’s amazing. I envy you, Paige. And no matter what, you know I’ll always support you.”

“Why are you such a good friend?”

With a half shrug, she replied, “I have to be. You know some of my darkest secrets from when we were younger. If I don’t keep you happy, you could let them out.”

Laughing, I held her closer to me. “I would never.”

“Ha! That’s the difference between you and me. If you don’t give me free flowers and let me help run this little shop, I’m going to tell Lucas how you described his cock to all of us that one night you got drunk at my sixteenth slumber party.”

Gasping, I jerked away. “I never did any such thing!”

She raised a brow.

My cheeks heated, and I covered my mouth to hide my giggle.

“It was rather descriptive, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, and I had nightmares about cocks for weeks. I’m pretty sure your detailed description of it and how it worked made Annie Mason ask her mother about it, and that was why she was never allowed to hang out with us again.”

We both fell into a fit of laughter, and it felt amazing to laugh like only best friends could.

 

 

The moment I pulled down the driveway and saw the BMW, my heart raced. Lucas’s truck was parked in front of it. My hands shook. Weird. He said he was going to his parents’ ranch.

Pulling up next to the BMW, I turned off my car. I slipped out and walked toward the front porch.

He wouldn’t. He wouldn’t hurt me again. I knew it with every ounce of my being.

I turned the handle of the front door and walked in.

Male voices could be heard coming from the kitchen. I walked in and found Lou Howard sitting at the kitchen table with Lucas. They were both looking at papers.

“What’s going on? Lucas, I thought you were going to your folks’ place?”

Lucas looked up and gave me a smile. “Lou needed to meet with me, so we met here.”

I looked from Lucas to Lou and back again. “What’s going on?”

Lou cleared his throat. “Lucas asked me to draw up some papers for him a few days ago. I’m getting him to sign them.”

My stomach clenched. “What kind of papers?”

Lucas smiled as he made his way over to me. “I’ve asked Lou to bequest my half of the house back to you.”

“What?” I asked in a shocked voice. “Why would you do that? When did you do that?”

“The other morning, before we found the chest.”

I was stunned into silence. “I don’t want you to. Why would you do that?”

He smiled, and my knees felt weak. “Because I wanted you to know none of it mattered anymore.”

“But you never said—”

“I honestly never thought we’d find anything.”

“This house belongs to you as much as me. It’s ours. Both of ours. We’re going to get married here, raise a family, pour a crazy amount of money into making it amazing. All together. Not because we each own a share of it, but because it’s ours.”

I shook my head, almost violently.

Lucas placed his hand on the side of my face and whispered, “Shhh, don’t get upset.”

“I am upset.”

I stepped around him and walked to Lou. Glancing down, I saw the papers Lucas was about to sign. I picked them up and ripped them in half.

“Christ, Paige!” Lucas shouted as he rushed over to me.

“This is insane!”

Lou sat back in the chair, smiling. “Lord, the two of you remind me so much of William and May. It’s unbelievable. It really is.”

Lucas and I faced Lou. “What?” I asked in a disbelieving voice.

“Holy shit, you know the truth, too?” Lucas asked.

Lou let out a roar of laughter as he gathered up his things. “Of course I know. I was his best friend. William told me everything. My father was the one who drew up the adoption papers for both boys.”

I stared at Lou, my shock growing.

“I was wondering when you came in and asked me to refuse your bequest, if you had both found your answers yet. I see that you have.”

“Why didn’t you just tell us, Lou?” I asked.

He picked up his briefcase, looked at me, then Lucas, and then roared with laughter again. “Now, what would be the fun in that?”

Lucas and I stood in the kitchen and watched Lou walk away.

“Enjoy your evening,” he called out as Oreo came bounding into the kitchen.

Once we heard the front door shut, I faced Lucas and smacked him on the chest. “You ass!”

“What?”

“Why did you think I would want to take this house from you?”

He smirked. “To be fair, only weeks ago you were trying to take the house from me.”

I rolled my eyes and tossed my hands up. “I need a drink.”

Drawing me into his arms, Lucas pressed his mouth to mine. “First, we’re talking.”

He grabbed two beers from the refrigerator and walked us out onto the back porch. We sat down, and I took a long drink before looking out over the landscape.

“First, we need to tell our parents we’re engaged,” he said.

“You know they’re going to lecture us. Tell us we’re moving too fast.”

“Let them,” he said. “Second, nothing about what we found out changes anything in my eyes.”

With a smile, I reached for his hand. “It doesn’t change anything for me either.”

“Good. Next thing, and probably the most important, I hate the color of paint you picked for the office.”

My mouth dropped open. “What is wrong with the color?”

“It’s pink.”

“It is not pink! It’s a very light peach and it was the color of that room when it was first built. I found a strip of the original paint in the closet and took a picture of it. They matched the color.”

“The office is mine, you even said so. I don’t want that color. Maybe a blue.”

“Ugh, blue?”

“What’s wrong with blue?”

I shrugged and took another pull from the beer. “I guess I can find a blue shade that was used during that timeframe.”

“Next, I want to go somewhere neither of us has been before for our honeymoon.”

“Honeymoon? We’re restoring a house, I’m opening a new business, you’re going to be driving back and forth to Austin. Life is crazy. I think we need to push the idea of a wedding back some. At least until things settle.”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

With narrowed eyes, I asked, “No…to what?”

“The house only needs paint and some furniture changed around. The kitchen is the biggest renovation, and we can handle that. Milo is taking care of the outside reno. Between the two of us, we can take care of the interior painting.”

“Yes, but eventually you’ll be returning back to work full time.”

Lucas looked at me with a serious expression. “About that. I’ve decided to take a job offer I received earlier today.”

“From who?” I asked.

“My father. We always wanted to work together, so I’m going to take it.”

A warmth spread through my entire body. “Lucas, this is amazing news!”

He smiled, then let it fade some. “I won’t make as much money as I was making, but it’ll still be a decent amount. Plus, I’ll be helping on the ranch more. Dad really needs it. Your father could also use an extra hand to give Tom some time off every now and then.”

I sat down in his lap. The way he held me, his hand on my waist, sent a bolt of excitement and lust racing straight to my core.

“I know Daddy would love that, and Tom will appreciate it.”

He set his beer down, then pushed a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “As far as marrying you, Paige, I feel like I have wasted so much time, and I know it’s only a piece of paper, but I’ve wanted to marry you for as long as I could remember. I don’t want to wait. Can we go slow on the wedding, too?”

Smiling, I wrapped my arms around his neck, then kissed him gently. “Six months. Let’s let everything settle for that long, which will give us time to get the greenhouse in order for our wedding.”

The way he smiled made my breath catch in my throat. “You still want to get married in there?”

“Yes, I do.”

He frowned and let out a breath. “I’m going to have to think of a wedding present to match Granddad’s present to Millie.”

I turned and straddled him in the chair. “The only thing I want is you.”

“That I can give you as freely and as frequently as you want.”

I pressed against his hard-on. “How about now?”

Lucas groaned. “Here? Right now?”

“Yes.” I lifted my shirt over my head and tossed it to the side. Lucas let out a guttural growl from the back of his throat as he ran his thumb over the peak of my nipple. I gasped when he sucked it through the lace fabric.

“More,” I panted, reaching down to unfasten the button and zipper on his jeans. “I want more.”

“I don’t have a condom,” Lucas replied, unclasping my bra strap with expert fingers.

“I want to feel you, Lucas. All of you.”

He paused and stared at me. “What?”

“I don’t want you to wear condom.”

When his brows pulled in, I hated the look on his face.

“But if you don’t want—”

He placed his hand on the back of my neck and pulled my mouth to his, cutting my words off with the most passionate kiss I’d ever experienced.

“Get undressed,” he said gruffly, lifting me to stand. We quickly discarded the rest of our clothes. Lucas sat back down in the chair, his eyes sweeping greedily over my body.

“The idea of being inside you bare…I’m not going to last long, babe.”

I smiled and straddled him in the chair. “That makes two of us.”

His fingers slipped into my body first, and we both moaned. “Fucking hell, you’re so wet.”

I rolled my hips. “I want you so much.”

When he withdrew his fingers, I let out a whimper of protest. His hands went to my hips and guided me down onto him. My eyes closed as he filled every inch of me.

“God, yes,” I hissed when I was fully seated on him. I rolled my hips instinctively, but he dug his fingers into them.

“Wait, don’t move.”

“Is something wrong?” I asked, watching the pained expression on his face.

“It feels… God, it feels… I need a second, Paige. If you move, I think I’m going to come.”

With a giggle, I placed soft kisses along his jawline, then down his neck. “You feel so good inside me.”

He moaned when I moved slightly.

“Lucas, I have to move. I’m dying to move.”

“I can’t think straight. I’ve never had sex without a condom, this is big.”

My fingers sliced through his dark brown hair before I grabbed a handful and pulled his head back, causing him to look into my eyes.

“I want to fuck you,” I said.

“Oh God, I think I might have just come a little.”

I moved my body up and down, slowly at first, rolling my hips and loving the way his body rubbed against mine. It wasn’t going to take me long to come, and judging by how hard Lucas was, I had a feeling it wouldn’t take him much longer.

“It feels so good,” I whispered, moving faster, rolling my hips as I felt him inside me. “Lucas.”

His name sounded more like a plea than anything. I was aching to come. Needing to feel him deeper inside. The idea that he was going to come inside me left me nearly panting with lust and desire.

“Fuck me faster, Paige. Harder.”

I gripped my hands onto his shoulders and moved faster. The sound of my body hitting his filled the air, mixing with the sounds of nature. It was one of the most amazing moments of my life.

“I’m so close,” I gasped.

Lucas moved his hand down between us and pressed against my clit, causing me to buck even harder.

“Fuck, I’m not going to last. Paige. God.”

His voice was strained, and I loved that I was bringing this out in him.

The buildup of my orgasm came fast and raced through my entire body, causing me to cry out his name while I dropped my head back. I instantly felt him swell bigger inside of me.

“Christ, it feels so good. I’m coming.”

Lucas let out a string of curses mixed with moans of pleasure, and my body trembled again. I didn’t know if it was another orgasm, or if my first one hadn’t settled down yet. All I knew was my body had never felt anything so amazing.

Feeling spent, I leaned against him while he wrapped his arms around me. Our breathing stayed fast and hard. My heart pounded against his. I loved that we were connected to one another like this. If I thought I could crawl into his body, I would have.

“Holy hell, that was the most amazing moment of my life. I’m never wearing a condom ever, ever again.”

I laughed and drew my body back. Still sitting on him, I moved my hips some. He raised a brow and then cupped my face.

“I wish like hell he’d come back up that fast, but I need about thirty minutes after that mind-blowing orgasm.”

With a pout, I moved again, feeling the sticky wetness where our bodies were joined.

Lucas moaned and cupped my breasts with his hands. “Okay, ten minutes. I think I only need ten minutes.”

“That’s more like it, babe, slow and steady.”