‘You’ve changed your mind?’ she asks as I stand and take the chubby babe from her arms. ‘See, no one can resist the charms of baby Beryl.’
I press my lips to the top of my fiancée’s head. ‘I’m returning Ruby to her parents because you and I have plans.’
‘That sounds ominous,’ she says, her words ending in a playful curl.
‘Almost as ominous as marrying me in the morning.’
‘There’s still time for me to escape,’ she teases, chuckling as I reach the door when Ruby grabs my bottom lip, cooing delightedly.
‘Not for you,’ I murmur, though the words don’t quite come out that way as I peel baby fingers from my lip. ‘These lips belong to Tante Rose.’ I press a kiss to Ruby’s chubby fist. ‘She’s going to need them later when I tie her to the bed.’
‘Is that a fact?’ Her voice is pitched lightly, though I’m conscious of the way her eyes flare. Of how she presses her thighs together as she stretches out in the chair.
‘It’s a promise. There’s no escape, ma Rose.’
‘As if I’d even try. Don’t let Byron pour you a drink. Hurry back.’
‘I’ll be gone only long enough for you to make a list.’
‘A list of what?’ she asks, a little bemused now.
‘A list of all the things you want me to do to you between now and tomorrow morning.’
‘You mean between now and our wedding ceremony?’
‘Exactly. The way I look at it, the next fifteen hours will be the only time in your life you get to be fucked by someone other than your husband.’
‘Are you trying to manage my expectations, Remy Durrand? I don’t believe I’m looking forward to a lifetime of missionary with the lights off.’
‘Who knows what will happen after tomorrow. ‘Except that I will love her always. That she will always be my home. ‘We should put the next fifteen hours to good use. The kind of use that encourages unrestrained debauchery.’
‘Then what are you waiting for?’ she asks with a smirk. ‘Get baby Beryl back to where she belongs. It’s time we started baby making on our own.’
‘Ma Rose, I would like that very much.’
THE END
WANT A LITTLE MORE REMY & ROSE?
Jump into the ahead and take a glimpse of their fabulous future in this
extended epilogue
In the following pages you can also check out a sneaky snippet of Amber’s story as she tries not to fall in love with a hot Aussie single dad in Down Under
Acknowledgement
To the usual cast of wonderful characters, my mahoosive thanks, but especially to Elizabeth (the keeper of the rear) who was at the beginning, the middle, and the end of this one.
Thanks to Lisa for her encouragement and medical skillz, and to Michelle, the Bo-Peep of the Lambs, and excellent cheerleader.
To Michelle C & Annette (good cop and also good cop) for trying to get my bum in some kind of order. I’m a work in progress.
Thank you to the Lambs for hanging out in my corner of Romancelandia. You rock my socks! Also, thank you to you lovely people who pick up this book, the girlies who read my stuff religiously and those giving a Donna Alam book their first whirl. You both amaze and humble me. I just don’t possess the words to say exactly how much.
Also, thanks to COVID and 2020 for giving me serious brain drain, along with a new “colleague” in the form of my daughter. How come it’s my office yet I have to make the coffee?
Down Under Sneak Peek
AMBER
‘Birthday sex.’
‘Sorry, sweetie. Repeat that, would you? I think the line dropped out.’
‘Birthday sex,’ I repeat into my phone, a little louder this time. Maybe a little too loud for these thickly carpeted and stylishly wallpapered hallways.
‘You’ve checked into a swanky hotel because you want to have . . . birthday sex? It’s barely five minutes after midnight. Have you already begun drinking?’
‘Emma, it’s after seven in the evening here. My birthday is almost over.’
‘Oh, yeah. Right. Stupid time zones,’ she mumbles through a yawn as I’m overtaken by a sudden burst of warmth that she stayed awake long enough to call. As someone who also used to spend her day wrangling five-year-olds, I appreciate she’s probably beat.
‘I really miss your judgmental ass.’ I really do. ‘Are you gonna visit me soon?’
‘Just as soon as my credit card recovers from visiting you in Paris, Miss International Jetsetter.’
‘I’m not sure living out of a backpack and staying in hostels falls under jet-setting, Emma.’