Wedding Belles. Beth Albright

      “I’m so sorry I messed up your dinner plans,” I said.

      “Are you kidding? That was the best dinner I’ve had in years. It was delicious,” he said, and winked at me.

      Sonny wiped the countertops down, then opened the stainless-steel fridge and pulled out several sticks of butter and a carton of eggs.

      “Don’t tell me you can make pound cake from scratch, too, on top of your many other talents.” I sauntered around the kitchen, teasing him now that I was back in his shirt and barefooted.

      “I can if you let me concentrate.”

      Outside, it was raining a steady drizzle, and the massive kitchen window was streaked with the sudden condensation. Sonny had the cake in the oven in minutes. He had thrown in a can of 7-Up instead of milk. Meridee made it that way, too.

      “Okay, Officer,” he said to me, “we got about an hour with nothing to do. Need to make an arrest?”

      Sonny put his wrists together and held them in front of me as if to say, Cuff me.

      “Yes, sir. I do need to make an arrest. I’ve heard you’ve been a very bad boy.”

      He lifted me up onto the cool marble of the island and pressed me against him. “I intend to be a lot worse,” he whispered.

      He moved against me as I sat on the countertop, my legs wrapped around him tightly. Heat surged through my body as he kissed me. He slipped his arms around my waist and pulled me up into him, passionately kissing my neck, causing chills to join the heat.

      The showers outside grew heavy, hitting the window harder until it sounded like it was coming down in torrents, adding a little music and rhythm to our passion. Sonny carried me to the couch, my legs still wrapped around his waist, and we made love with the sounds of the storm all around us. Afterward, Sonny looked down at me and smiled.

      “I do love you, Blake. So much.”

      “I love you, too, baby.”

      “I think I’m hooked,” he said, kissing my nose.

      “I know I am.”

      “Let’s go have a drink on the porch.”

      I knew he wanted to talk. And I liked that.

      We stopped by the hallway closet for blankets and went outside to the porch swing. Sonny wrapped us tightly together in cozy cotton quilts I was sure his grandmother must’ve made. It made the cuddling even better.

      “I’ve had fun with you tonight, baby,” Sonny said, snuggling closer. “I enjoy being with you more than I can say. I always have. When I’m with you, I feel like I can come up for air, you know?” He let out a sigh. “You just make me happy, that’s all.”

      I was melting in a cool rainstorm. I gazed up at him.

      Sonny was being serious and that was a rare occurrence. He was a playful person. He found the fun and funny in almost every situation. But in this moment, his deeper side was coming out. I relaxed into him, feeling the wonder of what was happening between us.

      He kissed my forehead and pushed my mussed hair from my face, his fingertips caressing my cheeks. With a gentle touch, he lifted my mouth to his and kissed me softly. His lips were warm in the wet chill of the rainy night.

      “Sonny,” I said, pulling away and looking at him, “I want to stay here with you.”

      “Of course. I sure didn’t plan on having you home in this,” he said, referring to the downpour.

      I bit my lip, hesitating. “No, I mean I want to stay here, like...move in with you.”

      He was terrifyingly silent.

      I died inside. Oh, good, Blake, here you go, jumping the gun with your incessant planning and thinking ahead. Embarrassed, I tried to get up. I couldn’t believe I’d just blurted that out! Here we were having a beautiful night together, and now I’d ruined it by proposing the next step in our relationship that, by his stunned silence, I was sure Sonny wasn’t ready for.

      But before I could make it inside, he grabbed my hand and pulled me back down beside him. He cradled his hands around my face. “Oh, baby, I would love that. I thought you weren’t ready. That’s the only reason I haven’t asked. I don’t want to push you, but I can’t imagine anything more special than finally waking up with you beside me after all these years.” Sonny was genuinely excited at this prospect, and nothing could have made me happier.

      At that moment, I knew in my heart I would never go back to live in the house with Harry again. He had moved out the first few nights after the big breakup, but he’d recently moved back for the duration of the campaign. We had separate rooms and avoided all extraneous contact with each other, so the living arrangements were totally for show. Even still, it was a difficult setup. Though our divorce wasn’t final, living with Harry felt sort of like a betrayal of Sonny. Here was this man who was giving me the most honest, true and deepest love I’d ever known, and I was forcing us to keep it a dirty secret while I played house with my soon-to-be ex.

      Vivi now had her own full life with Lewis and Arthur at the plantation, so I couldn’t just barge in on her home. But I never wanted to live alone. I wasn’t even sure I could, and everything inside me let me know that living with Sonny was where I wanted to be.

      I was so out of my comfort zone, but I knew it was what I wanted. “It will have to be after the campaign because I promised, but being with you feels so right. What do you think?”

      “You seriously need to ask?” He was grinning as he pulled me into him. “To be able to go to sleep with you in my bed and wake up every mornin’ with you next to me has been a fantasy of mine for longer than I can remember. I’m here and ready, whenever you are.” He kissed me. “Actually, I’m not so sure about the sleepin’ part, but I know you’ll be in bed with me.”

      A damn of emotion broke inside and it was all I could do to hide my tears of joy. I would remember this moment forever. The soaking rain, the night air, the front porch swing and resting in Sonny’s embrace. Nothing had ever felt so right.

      9

      I woke up at Sonny’s happy and rested. He had already left for the day and in his spot next to me was a note and a magnolia blossom.

      Good morning, beautiful. Thank you for making my dreams come true. I finally woke up next to my angel. I love you, S.

      I wobbled to the shower with a smile on my face.

      It was already a scorcher by ten o’clock, but I wouldn’t have missed this day for anything. Lewis and Vivi would be in full socializing swing as the ground breaking and renovations at the station got underway. The mayor and Kitty and all of the media would be there, including Dallas Dubois—brazen reporter, ruthless attention-seeker and, of course, my ex-stepsister.

      I ran over to Vivi’s to pick her up for the event and we rode over to the mansion together, dreading the soaring temperatures outside the air-conditioned car.

      The heat was hardly bearable as I set my red sling-backs onto the dirt road near the side of the dilapidated Brooks Mansion. The historic old house had been placed on Alabama’s Places in Peril list for a reason. It needed saving. Lewis was our town’s official knight in shining armor for doing just that.

      Too bad he couldn’t do something about the weather. My makeup was already melting and I had only been out of the car for two seconds.

      Vivi was so excited as she struggled to get out of the passenger seat, looking anything but graceful in her navy blue sleeveless maternity pantsuit, her baby belly leading the way. She spread her legs in an unladylike squat and just heaved herself out.

      I watched her, smiling, and shut my door. Although I wasn’t looking forward to that part of being pregnant, for the first time in my life I started to wonder what it would be like to carry the baby of the man you loved.

      Harry