Taking Fire Page 23

  “Feels like forever.” She snuggled against his chest.

  He wasn’t inclined to rush a hug from his sweet Christie and he held her for a few moments longer. “Our table is ready whenever you are.”

  “I’m starving.” She grinned and stepped back and he took her hand. She looked so carefree in comparison to what she’d faced for over a year now. “What are you waiting for?”

  He laughed. “After you.” He rested his fingers at the base of her spine, feeling the silky material of her dress beneath his fingertips as he guided her into Table 10, the hotel’s exclusive fine dining establishment.

  Like every time he touched her, raw desire stirred inside him. This woman meant everything to him and he needed her on every level imaginable.

  The hostess seated them at a small table for two in a private room. Trace couldn’t take his eyes off Christie the entire night. From the moment they’d sat, through the last bite of dessert, she had him completely enthralled. He could barely remember what they had eaten. The server had said something about Mexican fusion, but the only thing he’d been able to pay attention to had been Christie.

  Every now and then he’d experience a bout of nervousness that made him itch a little more around his collar. Feeling anything along those veins around Christie was an alien concept, but tonight was too important to him to screw up.

  They left the restaurant after dinner and walked hand in hand to the room he had reserved. Her hand felt warm in his and perfectly right. Everything about her was right.

  He used the old-fashioned brass key to open the door and let them into the room. She gave a little gasp as she looked around.

  “Trace.” She whirled to face him. “This is beautiful. Amazing. I can’t believe you went to all this trouble.”

  He couldn’t help but smile at the look in her wide blue eyes and the look of wonder on her expression. He just might pull this off after all.

  Christie swept her gaze again over the rose petals strewn across the floor, the three vases filled with dozens of red roses, and the bottle of champagne chilling next to a plate of chocolate-dipped strawberries.

  She flung her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a long kiss. She drew in a deep breath of his light cologne and his warm, masculine scent.

  “Thank you,” she whispered against his lips. “You are incredible.”

  He trailed his knuckles along her cheekbone. “You deserve everything I could ever give you or do for you, Christie. You mean everything to me.”

  “You mean just as much to me.” She searched his eyes. “Everything, Trace. I never want to be apart from you again.”

  The corners of his mouth curved into a smile. “Sure you mean that?”

  She nodded emphatically. “With all my heart.”

  “In that case…” He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate-brown velvet ring box. “I have a question for you.”

  Her eyes widened. “I—” She had no idea what to say as he lowered himself onto one knee.

  He opened the box and held it up to her. She clapped her hands over her mouth, as if she might scream from disbelief at what Trace was doing.

  A ring with a setting of chocolate diamonds lay nestled inside the box. She moved her hands aside. “Trace—”

  “Will you marry me, Christie?” He looked nervous yet confident in asking her the question. “I promise to love you with all my heart and soul. I will care for you and love you as long as I live.” He gave her a sexy smile. “And several lifetimes beyond that.”

  She found herself bouncing on her toes with excitement. “Yes, yes, yes, yes! With all my heart, yes!”

  An expression of relief and pleasure swept over his handsome features. He surged to his feet and wrapped her in his embrace. She fell into him, a part of the man who meant the world to her.

  “I love you, Trace.” She held on to him with everything she had. “I’ve loved you for a lifetime and back.”

  He swept hair away from her face with his fingertips. “You are the most amazing woman I have ever known. I love you, Christie.” He moved so that there was enough space to grasp her hand.

  He slipped the ring onto her finger. “We’ll have to have it made a little smaller but not bad for a guess.”

  She stretched out her hand and looked at the ring that sparkled in the low lighting. She smiled at him. “Perfect. Everything is perfect.”

  He wrapped her in his arms and held her so tightly she almost couldn’t breathe. But she didn’t care. She was with the man she loved and life couldn’t get any better than this.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  In disbelief, Christie stared at the test stick. It was like a dream, almost as though it couldn’t be real. But she stared at the truth.

  A plus sign. A dark pink plus sign.

  She was pregnant.

  A wave of warmth washed over her and she could almost feel life starting to grow inside her.

  “I’m pregnant.” She said the words aloud and found herself almost shouting it in the small bathroom as she said it again. “I’m pregnant! We’re going to have a baby!”

  Her thoughts focused on Trace and her body tingled, giddy with excitement. Today they would be married and she had the best present ever to give to her soon-to-be husband.

  She wanted to run out of the church’s back room, find Trace and tell him now. It didn’t matter she wore only her bra and the long slip she’d have on beneath her wedding dress. Well, it almost didn’t matter. They were in a church, after all.

  A knock came at the door. “Christie, is everything all right?” Natasha’s voice. “You’re yelling.”

  “In a church,” Belle added.

  Christie still held the stick when she yanked open the door. She flung her arms around her Matron of Honor, Belle, and her bridesmaid, Natasha, in a trio hug.

  “What’s this all about?” Belle laughed and Natasha giggled as they pulled apart.

  Christie raised the pregnancy test stick.

  “Oh, my God.” Belle wrapped her arms around Christie. “You’re going to be a mommy!”

  Natasha joined in on the group hug again. “I’m going to be an aunt. Well, more like a second cousin once removed, but he—or she—can call me Aunty.”

  “I’m a month late.” Tears formed at the corners of Christie’s eyes. She drew back and grabbed a tissue from a box on a side table and carefully dabbed it to avoid smudging her wedding makeup. “I’d hoped, but all those years doctors repeatedly told me I couldn’t have children. I can’t believe it.”

  “Trace is such a hunk of a man.” Natasha grinned, mischief in her eyes. “He probably has super-sperm.”

  Belle and Christie laughed.

  “That’s my man.” Christie didn’t think she could possibly ever be happier—she would soon marry the man she loved and she’d just found out they were having a baby. “Don’t say a word until after I tell Trace.”

  Natasha pantomimed zipping her lips and tossing the key.

  “I can’t wait until he hears the news.” Belle grinned. “He’s going to be floored.”

  Natasha bounced up and down on her toes, her dark hair swinging around the bare shoulders of her purple bridesmaid’s dress. “You see how he plays with Shane. Trace is going to be an awesome dad.”

  “No doubt about it.” Christie nodded, unable to stop smiling. Belle and Dylan’s baby had had his first birthday not long ago, and Trace was adorably smitten with the little guy.

  Belle tilted her head, smiling. “What made you decide to do the test here at the church?”

  Christie shrugged. “I just had this strange feeling. Like it would be good luck to do it before the ceremony.”

  “Perfect timing.” Belle nodded. “Are you going to tell him today or on your honeymoon to Fiji?”

  Christie pursed her lips. “I’m still thinking about it.”

  Natasha pointed to the pregnancy test stick. “Keeping it for a scrapbook?”

  “Maybe I should carry it with m
y bouquet.” Christie grinned. But she found a nearby wastebasket and tossed the stick in it.

  “I know you’re crazy happy out of your mind but let’s get you dressed so you don’t forget and head down the aisle in your silky underthings.” Belle’s purple dress, similar to Natasha’s bridesmaid dress, swirled around her calves as she moved. She headed to the corner where the beaded white wedding dress hung. “We don’t want you walking down the aisle in your slip.”

  The door opened and in bustled Christie’s grandmother, Madelyn, who’d swept up her graying hair in a poufy style. Madelyn, a stocky woman with a motherly yet busybody air about her, had arrived with Harry, Christie’s grandfather, on a flight from Florida just yesterday.

  Thankfully, Christie had thrown away the test stick. Madelyn Simpson did not know how to keep quiet about anything. If she had seen the plus sign, she would have put two and two together. Every guest present would then know before Christie could have had a chance to tell Trace herself.

  “You’re not even dressed.” Madelyn swept up the veil as Belle reached Christie with the dress. “The church is standing room only. They’re going to start the wedding march just as soon as you’re ready.”

  “This won’t take long.” Christie smiled at her grandmother, who normally drove her a little crazy. Today nothing could dampen Christie’s mood for so many reasons. “My hair and makeup are done, so all I need are the dress and the veil.”

  Natasha and Belle helped Christie carefully pull the strapless dress with the beaded bodice over her head so her hair and makeup wouldn’t be mussed.

  When her bridesmaids had zipped her dress and fluffed out the short train, Madelyn held up a piece of jewelry. “Don’t forget your great-grandmother’s diamond bracelet for something old.”

  As Madelyn put the bracelet on Christie’s wrist, Belle picked up a heart-shaped pendant on a gold chain and clasped it around Christie’s neck. “Of course, the diamond necklace Trace gave you on your birthday for something new.”

  Madelyn arranged the veil that had a crystal-studded tiara at the top. “The wedding veil is something borrowed.”

  “And the garter for something blue.” Natasha motioned for Christie to extend her leg.

  Christie pulled up her dress and slip on one side, revealing her stocking-covered leg. She still hadn’t put on her shoes. She raised her foot and Natasha slid the bunched blue satin elastic garter to Christie’s mid-thigh. Hidden above that, Christie wore a sexy garter belt set, the straps holding up her white stockings. Trace would love the garters and tiny matching panties meant for only him to see.

  The three women finished primping and preparing Christie, and Madelyn slipped out to check on things and let the organist know Christie was ready.

  Natasha handed Christie the wildflower cascade bridal bouquet with silk Shasta daisies, pink mini lilies, blue lupine, lavender accents, and goldenrod. Natasha and Belle each carried similar but smaller bouquets.

  Madelyn opened the door and Natasha and Belle went ahead of her. A few moments later, the first strains of the wedding march began. Christie’s belly did a major flip-flop. Shaking, she stepped through the doorway and met up with her grandfather, Harry, who held out the crook of his arm. She took it and they moved forward to the wedding march.

  Trace couldn’t breathe as Christie stepped out of the darker recesses of the back of the church and started to proceed down the aisle with her grandfather.

  He almost forgot his best man and ushers, Dare, Brooks, and Dylan, standing beside him. They’d been giving him a hard time for being the next of their friends to get married after accidentally catching the bouquet at Dylan’s wedding. He’d never heard the end of it.

  Thoughts of the razzing his friends had given him faded to nothing as Christie walked toward him.

  He forgot the reverend’s name. He almost forgot his own name.

  Christie was a beautiful woman to begin with, but right now she positively glowed. Her brilliant smile lit up the church as she looked only at him while she stepped closer and closer. She couldn’t reach him soon enough, couldn’t become his wife fast enough.

  His throat grew dry and he wondered if he’d be able to say his vows, much less remember them.

  When her grandfather released her to give her away, he said something, but Trace’s ears were buzzing. He had eyes only for Christie. She clung to her bridal bouquet, which trembled in her hands. He wanted to reach for her, comfort her, hold her in his arms, something that would calm his own nerves.

  He had no second thoughts. He’d wanted to spend the rest of his life with this woman for what seemed like forever. Maybe since the first time he’d met her.

  Christie handed her bouquet to Belle to hold. They stood at the altar and faced each other, hand in hand, in front of Reverend Jones.

  Trace thought he’d get lost in Christie’s blue eyes. He wanted to reach out and touch the red strands of hair that curved against her cheek, skim his fingertips along her cheekbone, and slide his fingers into her hair. He wanted to draw her into a kiss, take her away from the church to a private hideaway and make love to her for hours.

  “Trace?” Her sweet lips formed his name and her soft voice brought him back to reality. A slow heat traveled through his body and he hoped to hell red wouldn’t start creeping up his neck to his face.

  She smiled then nothing else mattered.

  The moments seemed to crawl by while at the same time passing in a blur. He didn’t even know if he’d said the vows he’d memorized correctly. But he did remember her smile, the glitter of tears in her eyes as he told her how much he loved her.

  Dallas carried the rings on a purple ribbon surrounding a sprig of flowers on his collar.

  Before he knew it, he slid the diamond on her finger and she slid one on his. The ring felt good, like a promise that became reality as the reverend told him he could kiss his new wife.

  They filled the long kiss with meaning only the two of them understood. When they broke the kiss to the sound of applause, he started to lead her away from the altar.

  She held his hands, drawing him back to her so they still faced each other. “There’s something I have to tell you, husband. A wedding gift I want to give you now.” Her smile glowed in a way he’d never seen in her.

  “Go on.” Should I be worried or excited?

  “You are going to be a daddy.” She lit up even more as she spoke, her smile broadening. “In about eight months.”

  Trace understood then what it meant to have one’s knees go weak. He’d always thought it as something dramatic used in books. But for one moment he thought he would drop to his knees on the platform in front of the altar.

  “We’re pregnant?” The words barely made it out through his lips. “We’re going to have a baby?”

  She squeezed his hands. “Yes.”

  He grasped her by the waist and whirled her around in a circle and knew his grin spread from ear to ear. She giggled as he spun her and set her on her feet. She clung to his arms as if to steady herself.

  Trace placed his hand on her stomach, where soon a baby bump would start to appear. He turned and grinned at everyone in the church. “We’re having a baby!”

  The explosive applause grew even louder now than it had been after their first kiss as husband and wife.

  As they ran down the aisle, guests beamed or shouted congratulations. He saw Christie’s grandmother crying, as were several other women.

  They made it out into the June sunshine, only to have guests follow them and toss birdseed at them. He swept Christie up into his arms. She let out a happy squeal of surprise and wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him. Her joyous laugh matched the even brighter joy in his heart as they entered a future brilliant with everything he’d ever wanted since falling in love with the woman of his dreams.

  He jogged down the church’s stairs to his waiting Explorer, a Just Married sign on the back with tin cans tied to the trailer hitch with twine. Obviously his friends had been at work
since he’d gone into the church.

  Christie giggled as he deposited her in the passenger seat, shut the door then ran to his side of the truck. He ducked inside as guests pelted him with more birdseed.

  Dallas remained behind, at Dare’s side. He would stay with Trace’s friend until he and Christie returned from Fiji.

  If a dog could smile, Trace had a feeling Dallas had a wide grin.

  Trace started the vehicle and took Christie’s hand in his. He ignored the crowd of onlookers as he held her hand.

  “I love you, Christie.” He kissed her tenderly before drawing back. “You are my everything.”

  “God, I love you, Trace.” She leaned into him. “I can’t imagine ever being happier in my life.”

  “We’ll make more memories.” He cupped her face. “Lots more memories just as special as this one. I promise.”

  She stroked his cheek. “Yes. Many, many more.”

  Trace put the Explorer into gear, took Christie’s hand again, and they drove to a future filled with each other. Filled with love.

  Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:

  Deadly Intent: No Mercy

  Cheyenne McCray

  Excerpt

  Chapter One

  November rain fell from the Arizona sky and thrummed on the tin shed’s roof in a steady rhythm, but Dylan Curtis’ throat felt as dry as a desert.

  A special agent with the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Dylan witnessed a lot of bad shit. But seeing one of his closest friends hanging from a noose was one of the worst things he could remember experiencing.

  The pain eating at Dylan ripped through him like a chainsaw cutting through his ribcage. He adjusted his Stetson while he surveyed the gut-wrenching scene of police officers cutting down from the rafters the rope around Nate O’Malley’s neck.

  After the officers lowered the body, they put the remains into a body bag on the floor of the storage shed. Dylan could barely watch as the officers zipped the body bag until he could no longer see Nate’s corpse.