Dream Eyes

places where those ritzy Coppersmiths generally don’t hang out.”
    His tone was as cool and cynical as ever, but Gwen recognized the hope and longing just beneath the surface. Like her, Nick was looking for a place he could call home, a place where he belonged. He was searching for a family of his own.
    Judson smiled at Gwen and Nick. “Coppersmith Consulting is hiring, and the firm could use your talents.”
    Nick nodded once, satisfied. “Just so you know, since I’ve been assisting your father, I’ve developed a taste for first class when it comes to travel and accommodations. That corporate-jet thing sure is convenient.”
    “I’ve created a monster,” Elias said. “But his B-and-E skills make him worth it.”

Forty-seven
    T hat night, Judson made love to her beneath a brilliant Caribbean moon that splashed the sea with silver light. Gwen abandoned herself to his touch, savoring the tenderness and the power that he brought to the bed they shared. But it was the sense of intimacy that flared between them that she would treasure all the days of her life.
    When it was over, Judson rolled onto his back and pulled her down across his damp, heated body.
    “I love you, Dream Eyes,” he said. “I have since that night in Seattle.”
    She laughed. “You were looking for some hot sex that night because you thought it would take your mind off the dreams.”
    “That’s what I told myself at the time, but when I didn’t get the hot sex, I realized I was wrong.”
    “And just how did you figure that out?”
    He smiled and twined a strand of her hair around his finger. “Because it dawned on me that if I couldn’t have hot sex with you, I didn’t want to have it with anyone else, even if it meant that I wouldn’t get a break from the dreams. How long is it going to take for you to figure out that you love me?”
    “Oh, I fell in love with you that night, too,” she said.
    “Is that right?” He looked pleased.
    “I knew from the start that you were the one I’d been waiting for. But I screwed up our first date when I offered to fix your dreams, didn’t I? You got pissed off and disappeared to Eclipse Bay.”
    “You felt sorry for me because of the dreams. Pity was the last thing I wanted from you.”
    “I knew you were having a few dream issues and I was sympathetic, sure. I also knew I could probably fix your dreams. But that had nothing to do with falling in love with you.”
    “You’re positive?”
    “I told you,” she said. “I never sleep with clients. I certainly don’t fall in love with them, either. I love you, Judson. I have from the start and I always will.”
    “Glad we got that settled.” He smiled and framed her face between his hands. “I could only think about two things that month in Eclipse Bay—you and that damn recurring dream. It was only a matter of time before I went looking for you. But I told myself I needed to clear up the dream issues first. Then Sam called and told me that you had a problem.”
    “What a coincidence. I spent that month telling myself that I would see you at the wedding,” Gwen said. She touched one fingertip to the corner of his mouth. “I had a cunning plan.”
    Judson’s eyes gleamed with laughter. “What was your cunning plan?”
    “I wasn’t going to say a word about your dream issues at the wedding. I was going to pretend that I couldn’t see a thing wrong in your aura. Instead of talking about my terrific skills as a psychic counselor, I was going to try to seduce you instead.”
    “A very cunning plan, all right. I can guarantee you that it would have been successful, too.”
    “Do you really think so?”
    “Without a doubt,” he assured her. “I can prove it.”
    “How?”
    “You can try your cunning plan on me right now and we’ll see if it works.”
    “What a brilliant idea.”
    She kissed him there in the moonlight and put her cunning plan into action.
    The results were extraordinary.

Forty-eight
    T he day of the wedding had been made-to-order for an outdoor ceremony. Legacy Island was bathed in the warm glow of a summer light that was unique to the San Juans. But it seemed to Gwen that the Coppersmith family compound at Copper Beach was illuminated with a little extra energy.
    The sun flashed on the surface of the sea. The air was so crystalline that the small, neighboring islands appeared to be within touching distance. And as if hired by the wedding planner to make the picture-postcard scene perfect, a pod of