Engaged in Embellishments: Tulle and Tulips, Book 5.5 Read online

  He slipped the ring on her finger and finally she felt like she was moving forward with life. “How did I ever tell you no?”

  “It only matters that you stopped.” He pulled her close and kissed her again. “You know, when we tell them, you’ll have made the year for my parents.”

  “A side bonus. You’re the only one I really care about.” Except she adored his parents and would be lucky to call them hers. “I love you, Trevor.”

  “I’ll let you show me how much when we get home.”

  “I have a room upstairs.” After checking in last night she hadn’t bothered to check out of the room. She hadn’t expected to be newly engaged after the wedding, but she had thought it would be nice to have an escape with him after they made up.

  “What? When did you book a room?”

  “When I wasn’t sure where else to go.” She shrugged.

  “You were here? All night?” Annoyance landed hard on the syllables of his words. It was nice to see him flustered.

  “I wasn’t in the mood to drive home.”

  “Do you know what I went through looking for you? I slept on the beach, afraid to leave.”

  “I’m sorry. I needed some time.”

  “Yeah well, it doesn’t matter.” He was grinning when he kissed her again. “I put you in that mood by not proposing. Besides, anything that wound up with you not only accepting me but offering the proposal was worthwhile.”

  “Want me to make it up to you?”

  “Absolutely. Upstairs. A few times. Then again when we get home.”

  “Okay.” She was laughing when she pulled him back toward the tent. “I’m just going to go tell Darci and Vic goodbye.”

  He laced his fingers with hers. “Hey, Lori?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Does this mean you’ll finally let your apartment go and live with me full-time?”

  “I don’t use it very often.” She glanced up at him, looking through her thick eyelashes. “And I guess if I’m going to marry you I won’t need my own place.”

  “You’re never getting away. Starting now.” Trevor swept Lori off her feet and carried her toward the hotel.

  “But… We should say goodbye.”

  “They’re smart enough to figure out where we went.”

  Glancing back at the tent as he carried her away, Lori saw her friends watching, with their hands linked, as they danced happily in place. She wouldn’t have a comic book wedding, but it seemed fitting that she’d be at one when she accepted Trevor as the guardian of her galaxy. It was, after all, a scene set around the unlikely pairing that became an amazing team.

  She was ready to get busy with their next beginning.

  About the Author

  Heart-stopping chaos, triple-tongue fluting, vocal practices of Diva proportions, boy crushes and girl drama are all in a day’s work for Nikki Duncan. This athletic equestrian turned reluctant homemaker turned daring author is drawn to the siren song of a fresh storyline.

  Nikki plots character mayhem over breakfast, scandalous exposés at lunch and the sensual turn of phrase after dinner. Nevertheless, it is the pleasurable excitement and anticipation of unraveling a character’s motivation that drives her to write long past the witching hour.

  The only anxiety and apprehension haunting this author comes from pondering the outcome of her latest twist.

  Nikki loves to hear from her readers. She can be found at all the predictable online places.

  Twitter @NDuncanWriter and @TulleTulips

  Facebook /NDuncanWriter

  Pinterest /TulleTulips

  Website www.nikkiduncan.com and www.tulleandtulipsweddings.com

  Look for these titles by Nikki Duncan

  Now Available:

  Sensory Ops

  Sounds to Die By

  Scent of Persuasion

  Illicit Intuitions

  A Killing Touch

  Taste Me Deadly

  Cyber Illusions

  Tulle and Tulips

  Tangled in Tulle

  Twisted in Tulips

  Handcuffed in Housewares

  Debauched in Diamonds

  Seduced in Sand

  Whispering Cove

  Wicked

  Burned

  Serenades

  Fiery

  Her Miracle Man

  Coming Soon:

  Controlled Burn

  Frisked in Fondant

  Don’t miss the other titles in the Tulle and Tulips Series!

  Winning her heart may require sneaking a dink past her defenses.

  Tulle and Tulips, Book 5

  If Queen of Venues Tabatha Sampson wasn’t so easy to like she’d be universally hated. At Tulle and Tulips, she wins over her clients with a deft likeability, and a gift for finding them the wedding venue of their dreams.

  Her polished veneer fools everyone into thinking she’s never known hardship, that everything she touches is blessed with perfection. In truth, her deepest secret is her life’s biggest failure—her husband.

  A reformed beach bum turned professional volleyball player, Danny Hampton knows a thing or two about how to work a crowd. On the circuit he wins the hearts of spectators and sponsors while keeping his own safely shielded. Since stepping onto the sand he’s done nothing but win. Behind his easy smile lies the heart of his biggest loss—his wife.

  Now he’s determined to show Tabatha he’s a changed man. But it’ll take more than heated kisses to keep her pen off the dotted line at the bottom of their divorce papers.

  Warning: This title contains a man determined to be the hero every woman could want, and one woman needs.

  Don’t miss these other titles by Nikk Duncan!

  Hardened by scars. Softened by heart. Melded by fire.

  Scarred Hearts, Book 1

  Petite in stature but not in attitude, Delancey Winston put her fellow firefighters’ doubts to rest when she carried a half-burned man out of an arson fire. But she can’t shake the need to learn more about the haunting power of the man in her dreams—the one she pulled from a dead woman’s side to save.

  Even more disturbing is the power of newly awakened memories she’s tried to bury.

  Logan Mathis lost more than his accounting firm that day. He lost his beloved sister, his only remaining family. Now, his days filled with painful skin grafts and therapy, he works to avoid people. Until he runs into the woman who saved his life, who seems to see beyond his scars.

  Slowly, Delancey’s generosity of spirit begins healing Logan from the inside. But their connection resurrects memories Logan would rather forget. Memories that could make Logan a target of someone who’s still trying to burn away his tracks.

  Warning: The damsel saves the dude, and that’s not a spoiler. It’s a clue that things are about to get hot. Really hot.

  eBooks are not transferable.

  They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

  Cincinnati OH 45249

  Engaged in Embellishments

  Copyright © 2015 by Nikki Duncan

  ISBN: 978-1-61923-162-7

  Edited by Tera Cuskaden

  Cover by Kanaxa

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

 
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: July 2015

  www.samhainpublishing.com