The Sometime Bride

unconditionally drawn straight into Mike’s warmth. They couldn’t have been more connected had they been in bed together. Or maybe they were, and she was dreaming.
    Mike reached up and stroked her hair, causing her to melt into him another inch. He’d never peel her off now. Carrie couldn’t even say where Mike ended and she began. The only thing she knew for certain was that she never wanted this feeling to stop.

    “I’m sorry, folks,” the band leader said, lightly tapping Mike’s shoulder. “But we’re closing up.”
    Carrie opened her eyes in astonishment to find the room had cleared. Only a few staff persons remained, busily bussing tables and stacking up chairs.
    “Holy cow,” Mike said, squinting into the brightness of the lights that were now turned way, way up.
    “Holy cow is right,” Carrie said, bolting back into foggy reality and sweeping a hand through her hair. “We’ve shut the place down!”

Chapter Fifteen

    A few hours later, Carrie stroked a hand down Mike’s naked chest and snuggled deeper into the crook of his arm. “You know,” she said as moonlight threaded through the spreading oak outside and danced with the sheers at the open window, “I really loved being your wife tonight.”
    Mike tightened his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “And I really loved the honeymoon,” he said with a growl.
    “Mike!” she said, swatting his biceps.
    Her hand relaxed against his skin and began to massage. He was all solid muscle but with just enough give. Rock hard, with a covering of bristly masculinity. Carrie shivered as she felt a renewed stirring in her loins. It was true. She was insatiable with Mike. But then what woman in her right mind wouldn’t be? No woman who would ever get the chance to find out again, Carrie told herself securely.
    “You know,” Mike said, trailing a finger down her back to the point where it met the sheet. “You were right about that dancing part. I sound like a sappy movie, but I could have danced all night.”
    “Hmm,” Carrie said, laying a light kiss on his shoulder. “But I’m awfully glad we came back to tango here.”
    Mike chuckled and patted her backside. “I could get used to this.”
    Carrie’s heart stilled.
    “Carrie?” Mike asked, as the wind rattled the window panes. “How would you feel about making things more permanent?”
    Carrie’s insides did cartwheels, but somehow she’d gone mute.
    “I mean, I’m not asking—yet.”
    “What?” she asked, finding her voice.
    “You’ll have to trust me on this. I really want things to be perfect. You deserve perfect.”
    Carrie didn’t understand. Nor could she imagine anything more perfect than this. “This—”
    Mike rolled sideways and shushed her with a kiss. “You’ll have to trust me, okay? Just swear you won’t go running off with any of my old swim-team buddies within the next couple of days.”
    “Not a chance,” Carrie said, her heart thundering as he threaded his fingers in her hair and brought his mouth to hers.

    “So?” Grandma Russell asked. “Tell all, sweetness! Details, details! You haven’t been answering the phone all morning.”
    Carrie walked to the kitchen with her portable phone and poured her coffee. “I’m answering now, aren’t I?”
    “Yes. But that only proves he’s finally gone.”
    Carrie smiled into her coffee mug, feeling wicked. For some reason, Grandma Russell’s accurate suspicion that Mike had stayed over didn’t embarrass her. She was a grown woman, after all. And her grandmother, for one, didn’t sound the least bit offended. “Why, Grandma Russell!” Carrie said, feigning shock.
    “Goodness, child,” her grandmother retorted, “I wasn’t born yesterday. So, tell me. I’m all ears. Did he pop the question?”
    Carrie frowned. “No.”
    “No?” her grandmother said with surprise. “Well, that’s a man for you. Probably waiting till the time is right.”
    Now it was Carrie’s turn to be surprised. “Grandma Russell, you are one cagey old bird, aren’t you? How ever did you know?”
    “Tweet, tweet,” her grandma said with a chuckle. “Oh darling, just because my hair’s gone mostly gray doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten entirely how the male species operates. You can chase them back all you’d like during the courting stage, but when it comes to asking the ‘big one,’ most men still want to feel like it’s their idea. Even if it generally isn’t.”
    Carrie took a sip of her coffee