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CHAPTER SIX
Almost two hours later, Lucy showered once again, wincing slightly at the aches in her body even as she smiled at how those aches had come to be.
There was no doubt in her mind now that she’d been right all those months ago. Jamie Whitcomb had been the best lover she’d ever had. The question was how she was going to live without his particular brand of lovin’ from here on out.
Because playtime in Vegas was over. It was time for her to return to northern California and deal with the matter of gaining guardianship of her niece. And as much as she appreciated his offer to help her, it was time for Jamie to finish up his vacation time at his sister’s wedding before fully taking his place at the helm of his family’s billion-dollar corporation.
With a sigh, Lucy turned off the water and quickly dressed back into the shirt, capris, and flip-flops Jamie had bought her. When she entered the bedroom, he was finishing buttoning his shirt. He immediately walked up to her, placed his hands on either side of her waist, and leaned down to kiss her.
When he pulled back, he smiled down at her. “I got a text from Rhys, and I’m betting you have a similar one on your phone from Melina. They’re looking for us. They want to see us before we leave.”
“What about your other friends? The ones here for the bachelor party?”
“I checked in with them earlier. We’re flying back to California together for the wedding. I have several hours until I have to meet them at the airport if you want to go to Rhys and Melina’s…”
Lucy crinkled her face and shook her head.
“Or not,” Jamie said.
“It’s just…Grace and Melina still have hope for something serious between us, and I don’t want to confuse them by showing up together.” As she said the words, she had to force herself not to look away from him.
Be strong, Lucy. You knew this was just temporary. Nothing’s changed.
Nothing.
So why does my heart feel differently?
“Right,” he said. “Well, why don’t you stop by first. I’ll tell them I can’t make it until later. If you happen to still be there, great. If not…” He shrugged.
“Right,” she echoed.
He caressed her cheek with his fingers, then said, “I wish…” He shook his head. “No. Not going to go there. You agreed to one night and that’s what we had. And it was fabulous.” He lowered his head, gave her a kiss, and said, “Stay as long as you want. I’ll catch you later, Lucy.”
With that he turned and walked out of the suite, closing the door softly behind him.
* * *
An hour later, Lucy, Melina, and Grace were sipping coffee on the patio of Melina’s house. Rhys and Max had just left for work, and as soon as they left, Lucy turned to Grace. “I was blown away by Max’s proposal last night. I couldn’t stop crying!”
Grace’s smile was brighter than the Vegas strip at night. “Me, too. When he asked me to help him with his opening night trick, I thought it was sweet of him to include me. I honestly didn’t suspect a thing. I mean, we’d talked about getting married but he hadn’t let on that he was thinking about proposing so soon.”
“It was beautiful,” Melina agreed.
“I guess even a blind hog finds an acorn now and then,” Grace said. “I’m just so glad Max and I found each other.”
For the next few minutes, they oohed-and-awed over Grace’s ring…as well as Grace’s Rated PG account of what had happened after Max had carried her off stage. Although Lucy was very tempted to share the fact she and Jamie had finally had sex, she didn’t want to take away from Grace’s moment; she also didn’t want to deal with all the questions that would follow. She did, however, need her friends’ support about Milly.
“So,” she said, “in the continuing dramatic saga that is my life, I was informed today that my sister and Mason left custody of Milly to me.”
“What?” Melina said, her eyes wide. “Why are you just now hearing about it?”
“Apparently it took a while before the lawyer knew Gail and Mason had died, and he went to my parents and Mason’s parents first. Mason’s family is contesting me being named Milly’s guardian. They don’t think I’m mother material.”
“That’s nonsense,” Grace said.
When Lucy didn’t respond, Melina asked, “You do know that’s nonsense, right?”
Lucy shrugged. “Is it?” she asked quietly. “I mean, I want her. She’s my last link to my sister and the fact that Gail wanted me to have her…” Lucy shook her head. “I’m not saying I’m a bad person, but being a good person isn’t the same as being a good mother.”
