Last call, p.18
Last Call,
p.18
When he thrust into her moments later, their fingers were laced, and she gave herself completely to him. Tears were in her eyes at knowing she was falling right back down that rabbit hole of love. Who was she kidding? She’d never gotten out.
Soon they were both boneless and spent, bodies intertwined and hearts pounding in near unison. But nothing had really changed, she thought. Maybe this was one last, relief-filled lovemaking celebrating the fact she was alive, but it couldn’t happen again. She wasn’t strong enough to survive it again.
She tried to pull away from him, feeling tears roll down her cheeks, but he held firm in his grip around her waist.
“I love you,” he whispered. “I didn’t want to love you, but in the end I couldn’t stop it any more than I could stop the setting sun.”
She closed her eyes and her heart twisted. “You’re only saying this because you thought I’d died, Aleck.”
“Aye, maybe that’s what finally made me say it. But I felt it long before I admitted the truth. I knew I loved you in Edinburgh.” He gave an incredulous laugh. “But I denied it to you, and to myself. Because I refused to go through the pain of losing someone again. And then…for nearly an hour, I thought I had.”
She stroked his cheek, touched and amazed to find a tear on it. Just like the tear on her own.
“And denying I loved you didn’t make it hurt any less in the end,” he continued raggedly. “It hurt more, Lana, because I thought you’d died without knowing the truth. That I loved you. That I loved you so fookin’ much I didn’t even know who I was without you anymore.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks and she shook her head. “I think I knew, Aleck. That you were just afraid to love again. But I thought you’d never open up. You’d never give us a chance.”
“I want more than a chance.” He flipped her onto her back and climbed on top of her again, his gaze holding hers. “I want everything, Lana. I want marriage, I want babies, and I want everything I’m so terrified of losing again. I want to take that chance that life will turn out okay. That we’ll have forever.”
“It will turn out okay,” she promised, her heart so full now.
“And, if you’ll have it, I want you to take not just my name, but half of McLaughlin’s Pub. Be a co-owner, luv. There’s no need to start your own.”
Her breath caught and her eyes rounded. “That’s huge. Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been more certain about anything in my life,” he said thickly. “And I know you’re young, and if you want to wait on marriage and children, I’ll wait until you’re ready.”
“I don’t need to wait.” She gave a choked laugh. “I’ve waited this long for you to come to your senses. I love you so much, if there were a minister in the room I’d marry you now.”
She felt his body stir to life again, and a moment later he began to ease back inside her.
“You’d get married now? While we’re doing this?”
Pleasure shone in her eyes. “Why not?”
“He might be scandalized.”
“I don’t mind a good scandal.” She closed her eyes as passion took over. “Aleck.”
“Lana.”
For once she let herself think beyond the passionate moment, knew that this was so much more than just sex and lust. This was the man she loved. Her future. The father of her future children.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you more.”
“The fook you do.”
“Mmm. The fook I do.” He sank deep. “And veery well.”
“Aye, you do.” She smiled and pulled his head down for another kiss.
*
Never would she have thought it possible to be this happy. Brenda McLaughlin looked around the family barbeque and felt her heart swell with emotion.
Happiness had been a constant in her life since she’d met Rodrick and they’d made their own challenging way to a happily ever after.
But now, her happiness expanded further than her four children and amazing husband. They were still her children, but now they were all grown up and blissfully married with kids.
There were grandchildren, one old enough to be texting her boyfriend on her cell phone, another at the age where he could run from his grandpa as Rodrick chased him about the backyard, and then a bunch of chubby-faced babies. This, being a grandmother, was Brenda’s heaven on earth.
“Can I get you another glass of wine?”
She smiled as her son-in-law approached. “That would be lovely, thank you, Brett.”
When he returned a moment later with her glass, she accepted it with a murmur of thanks. He stayed by her side, lingering on the porch and staring out over the backyard as she did the same.
“Y’all should be proud of them. You raised amazing kids.”
“I am proud. And I must say, you all are doing a lovely job raising my equally amazing grandchildren.”
Pride swept across Brett’s face. “Thank you. I think we’re doing all right. And it seems like your kids learned from the best, with you and Rodrick. You’re a good solid couple.”
“We’ve had our highs and lows. Every couple does. But love, love and a determination to keep the love alive is what will keep two people together.”
“Yes, ma’am. I couldn’t agree more.”
She glanced first at Kenzie, who was carrying an infant on her chest, while chasing down their two-year-old, and then glanced at Delonna and Aleck who each held one of the newborn twins.
“Brett, a little help over here?” Kenzie cried, clearly needing assistance with their preschooler.
He grinned and dashed off, calling out, “Enjoy that wine, Brenda. We’ll catch up more later.”
She would enjoy the wine. She’d also enjoy staring both at the picturesque island town of Coupeville, which sprawled before them, and watching the generation of McLaughlins who’d all found their own happily ever afters.
Life was good indeed.
The End
The McLaughlins
Book 1: One More Round
Ian McLaughlin’s story
Buy now!
Book 2: Straight, No Chaser
Colin McLaughlin’s story
Buy now!
Book 3: Top Shelf
Kenzie McLaughlin’s story
Buy now!
Book 4: Last Call
Aleck McLaughlin’s story
View the series here!
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About the Author
Shelli is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author who read her first romance novel when she snatched it off her mother’s bookshelf at the age of eleven. One taste and she was forever hooked. It wasn’t until many years later that she decided to pursue writing stories of her own. By then she acknowledged the voices in her head didn’t make her crazy, they made her a writer.
Shelli is a true pluviophile (lover of rain) and currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two daughters. She writes various genres of romance, but is most known for her contemporary series such as Holding Out for a Hero, The McLaughlins, and A is for Alpha. She’s a compulsive volunteer, and has been known to spontaneously burst into song.
Visit her website at ShelliStevens.com
*
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Shelli Stevens, Last Call
