An Engagement in Seattle - Debbie Macomber [129]
“So?” Daisy said, her voice dipping suggestively. “How’s the honeymoon?”
Lesley closed her eyes and sagged against the velvet headboard. “Wonderful.”
“Are you two having fun with each other?”
“Daisy!”
“I meant sightseeing and all.”
“I know exactly what you meant.”
“Then why are you trying to be coy?”
“All right, if you must know, we’re having a very good time. There—are you satisfied?”
“Hardly. I’ve got to tell you, Lesley, I could be jealous. It’s been so long since I’ve been with a man, I feel like a virgin all over again.”
Lesley laughed. “If Tony gives you any more trouble, let me know and I’ll get a restraining order.”
“You’d do that?” Daisy sounded relieved.
“In a heartbeat.”
Chase stood on the other side of the room, his back to her. Lesley watched him for a moment and said to her neighbor, “Listen, we’ll talk as soon as we get back.”
“Which is when?”
“Day after tomorrow, but we’ll be flying up to Alaska almost immediately. You have my cell number. Keep in touch, okay?”
“I will,” Daisy promised and ended the conversation.
Lesley replaced the receiver. Her hand still on the phone, she mentally composed what she was going to say to Chase. “So it was Tony,” he commented, turning back to her.
“Yes. He’s making a pest of himself.” Chase’s hands were in his pockets and he looked unsure. Of her and their marriage. It seemed a bit soon to be having doubts, and she said as much.
“He wants you.”
“I know, but I married you.” Her words didn’t seem to reassure him. He stood there apparently deep in thought.
Kneeling on the bed, Lesley murmured, “I feel like having those chocolates and a hot bath. How about you?”
That got his attention. His eyes locked with hers and she started laughing. “Come here,” she said, holding her arms out to Chase. “It’s time you understood that neither of us has anything to fear from Tony. I’ve made my decision and chosen to be your wife. A jealous ex-fiancé doesn’t stand a chance.”
Chase remained where he was, as if he didn’t quite believe her.
Lesley got up from the bed and was halfway across the room before she realized she was nearly naked. It didn’t bother her—she was proud of her body. Chase had made her feel that way. She was focused on the man in front of her, not on herself.
Rising onto her toes, she kissed him lightly.
“Lesley…”
“Shhh.”
He stood perfectly still, and with his eyes closed, allowed her to continue kissing him. When she was satisfied with his lips, she kissed the underside of his jaw, moving her mouth down his neck, then up to his ear. After what seemed like the longest moment of her life, he threaded his fingers through her hair and raised her face to his.
“I want you to be very sure.”
“I am,” she whispered. “I am sure.”
He looked into her eyes. “A hot bath and chocolate sounds like an excellent suggestion,” he said.
Lesley smiled contentedly. Marriage was far better than she’d ever imagined.
“Where are we going?” Lesley asked. They’d left Victoria that afternoon and had traveled down the Kitsap Peninsula, boarding the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle. Lesley had assumed they’d be heading directly back to her house. If so, Chase was taking an interesting route.
“There’s something I want you to see.”
She glanced at her watch and swallowed her impatience. They’d gotten a later start than they’d expected. Their morning had begun with a hot bath. At least the water had initially been hot, but by the time they finished, it had cooled considerably. Because their schedule was off, they’d been forced to wait for a later ferry.
Their flight to Alaska was leaving early the next morning, and Lesley had a hundred details she needed to take care of before then.
“There,” Chase said, pulling into an asphalt parking lot.
“Where?” She didn’t see anything.
“The billboard,” he said.
Looking up, she saw the original billboard Chase had used to advertise for a wife. The sign had been changed and now read, in huge black letters, THANK YOU, LESLEY, FOR SHARING MY LIFE.