One Christmas Wish by Brenda Jackson
CHAPTER NINETEEN
VAUGHNALWAYSENJOYEDthis stretch of open highway between Catalina Cove and New Orleans. The beautiful scenery made the drive one of the most pleasant he knew of.
Giant oak trees, whose leaves were now the fall colors of yellow, orange and brown, lined both sides of the highway. Through the low-hanging branches you could clearly see the sea marshes. Above, they were so tall and huge their limbs stretched across the roadway to join and formed a colorful autumn canopy for miles. It was like driving through a picturesque tunnel.
He tried putting his encounter with Laura Crawford out of his mind. That wasn’t the first time she had approached him, trying to garner his attention, since his name had been cleared.
Vaughn remembered her from their high school days and recalled how in their senior year she’d shown interest in him, and when he didn’t return that interest, she’d then set her sights on Julius. Julius had been secretly in love with Vashti Alcindor, so Laura had wasted her time there.
He wasn’t sure who was worse, Laura or her cousin Alicia. Both were in his graduating class and both had a tendency to put themselves on pedestals and weren’t very nice women. Vaughn recalled how at the school’s holiday class reunion Alicia shamelessly went after Isaac Elloran when it was obvious that he and his divorced wife, Donna, had been trying to get back together.
Vaughn did a side-glance at Sierra. “I picked up on Laura’s less-than-nice attitude toward you. She’s that way with everybody.”
Sierra chuckled. “Not with you, though.”
“Well, she was only friendly with me because she wanted something. Namely, to make her friend an exception to the rule.”
“I don’t think she liked your answer, Vaughn.”
Now he was the one to chuckle. “She’ll get over it.”
And speaking of getting over it... He decided to ask her something he needed to know. “Tell me what I’m up against, Sierra. What did your ex-husband do to make you so set against developing a serious relationship with a man?”
“I told you that he cheated on me.”
Yes, she had told him that, but for some reason he thought there was more to it than that. “Did you know the woman?” he asked.
“Yes. I also knew her husband. They were our neighbors.”
Her husband had had an affair with one of their neighbors? “Did the man suspect that his wife and your husband were having an affair or was he caught unawares like you?”
She chuckled and the sound was filled with so much derisiveness that Vaughn gazed over at her. “Oh, he knew alright. In fact, he was in on it. I caught my husband engaging in a threesome, Vaughn.”
“What the hell! Are you kidding me?”
“Nope. Although I wish I was. I went to Houston to visit Rhonda, who wasn’t doing well. I returned home early and that’s what I walked in on. Three people having sex in our bed.”
“What did you do?”
“When I finally recovered from shock, I left and went to a hotel. The next day I went back to get my things and then filed for a divorce.”
Damn. No wonder she had trust issues. “And you hadn’t suspected anything?”
“No. The three of them were into sports so I didn’t think twice about him hanging out at their place or when the three of them would take fishing trips over the weekend or go hunting together. Some women are into stuff like that, but I’m not, and it didn’t bother him when I didn’t go. Now I know why.” She paused and continued, “I later found out that his threesome was just the tip of the iceberg. He was into swinging. It seemed a number of times I thought he was on camping trips they were sharing cabins in mountains having group orgies.”
“How did you find out?”
“He told me. It was one of those ‘come to Jesus’ moments and he figured confessing all and promising to change would stop me from going through with the divorce. It did just the opposite. I was more determined to see it through.”
Vaughn shook his head. “He honestly expected you to take him back after that?”
“Yes. We were at a point in our lives where we’d become a power couple. We both had good jobs and had accumulated a lot of wealth and assets. He figured I wasn’t willing to lose it all, no matter what. I proved him wrong.”
“How long were the two of you married?”
“Seven years. We met my first year out of college.”
Vaughn didn’t say anything as he tried to wrap his head around what she’d shared with him. “At least the two of you didn’t have any kids. I understand divorces can be hard on them.”
“Nathan never wanted kids. He’d had a voluntary vasectomy years before we’d even met. I knew if I married him, I would never become a mom.”
His brows shot up. “And you were okay with that?”
“At the time, yes. He’d told me what a rough childhood he’d had as a foster child, and that he never wanted to bring a child into this world under any circumstances. I loved him enough to accept those conditions although my family and Rhonda tried talking me out of it. They knew how much I loved kids. Nathan convinced me that we should put our energy into building our wealth instead of building a family.” She paused, then added, “I bought into his vision for our future.”
Vaughn let that sink in. She had given up something she’d wanted for her ex-husband and in the end, he had betrayed her. What an asshole. “How would he have adapted to Teryn coming to live with the two of you?”
“Luckily, I didn’t have to find out. Nathan and I weren’t together when I adopted Teryn.”
Vaughn pulled into a parking space in front of a shop in the French Quarter and brought the car to a stop. A part of him wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her. No woman deserved to have gone through what she had. Reaching out he gently caressed the side of her face with his fingertip.
“Just so you know, Sierra. I’m a one-woman man. I’m not into sharing or swinging, and like I told you, I love kids. I’m nothing like that bastard you were married to.”
Dropping his hand, he gave her a smile and said, “Now, get ready, because we’ll have fun today.”
SIERRALOOKEDATVaughn and couldn’t help smiling. He’d said they would have fun and so far he’d stayed true to his word.
As soon as they’d arrived in New Orleans, they had grabbed beignets and coffees at a sidewalk café. Afterward, they were just in time to take in a matinee at the movie theater. It was a movie both of them had wanted to see.
While walking around the French Quarter, he’d held her hand. They had enjoyed lunch at Snappers, one of her favorite seafood restaurants. What she liked most was the live jazz band that always played. She had eaten her fill of shrimp and oysters while thumping her feet to the music.
It had been Vaughn’s idea to have their tarot cards read by Madam Josey. Even after she’d told him how wrong the woman had been the last time she’d visited her, Vaughn had still wanted to do it.
“Next time you’ll listen to me,” Sierra said. They had just left Madam Josey, who’d given them tarot readings that were so inaccurate it was laughable. “I told you a few years ago she claimed I would live a long and happy life with the man I loved, and look how that turned out. And today, she actually looked us both dead in the eyes and said our destinies have been entwined since we first connected six years ago.” She laughed. “Boy, was she off base.”
“I know,” Vaughn said, grinning. “I was tempted to tell her that couldn’t be true since I didn’t even know you seven years ago.”
Sierra shook her head. “Madam Josey definitely needs to retire.”
Vaughn checked his watch. “What time do you have to pick up Teryn?”
“By five.”
“Then it’s time for us to head back to the cove.”
“Okay.” She walked beside him as they headed for the SUV.
Sierra tried not to side-eye him but he looked good in jeans, a sweatshirt and sneakers. She had truly enjoyed herself. He had been so accommodating with everything they’d done. He hadn’t taken anything for granted and always asked for her preference on things and had never decided for her. At the movies he had held her hand. She couldn’t recall the last time she and Nathan had gone to a movie, let alone held hands. Today they had shared popcorn but he had drawn the line when it came to his gummy bears. He liked them as much as she did and had bought Sierra her own box.
When they reached the vehicle, he opened the door for her to get in, and then walked around to the other side. Before starting the engine he turned to her and said, “I enjoyed our day together, Sierra. Our first official date.”
Had it been a date? Did she want to think of it as one? At that moment, it really didn’t matter what it was called. The bottom line was that she had enjoyed their day together, too. “And so did I, Vaughn.”
He gave her that smile that was droolworthy and said, “We’re going to have to do this again.”
“What?” she asked, although she had an idea what he meant.
“Spend another day together. That’s why I’m looking forward to next Saturday when you and Teryn go boating with me.”
“I’m looking forward to it as well.”
He still didn’t make a move to start the car. Instead he kept looking at her. She wanted him to kiss her and wasn’t sure what gave her away. Maybe it was the way she was staring at his mouth, or maybe he’d detected it by the way she was breathing. All she knew was that when he began leaning his head toward hers, she was ready for a Vaughn Miller kiss.
She was operating on a primal need she hadn’t known she was capable of feeling until last night. Now, his mouth fit perfectly with hers and his tongue...that tongue that knew how to pleasure her so much...was taking things up a notch. She was getting aroused and she greedily returned his kiss. He always managed to do that...drive her to match his passion.
It felt as if they were alone, and she was enjoying the moment. The kiss. The feel of being kissed by him. Everything.
When someone hit the window and hollered, “Get a hotel room,” they broke off the kiss. Before he pulled away, he traced his tongue around her lips. They stared at each other for a moment and then she instinctively licked the path on her mouth that his had traced.
“You’re killing me, cherie. I hope you know that.” Reaching out, he took her hand and brought it to his lips to place a kiss on her knuckles.
She didn’t know that. But the one thing she did know was that their relationship had changed. At some point during this fun-filled, whimsical day, they had reached a silent agreement and Sierra had a feeling her life wouldn’t be the same.
LATERTHATNIGHTafter taking a shower, Vaughn sat outside on the screened veranda that overlooked the gulf and sipped a beer. He reached for his cell phone, recognizing the ringtone. He answered, “It’s Saturday night. Why are you calling me and not on a date?”
He heard his sister chuckle. “I could be asking you the same thing.”
“My date was earlier today.”
There was silence and he understood. Zara was taking it all in. He hadn’t ever mentioned anything to her about dating anybody. For one, the kind of dates he’d gone on while on his business trips weren’t ones she needed to know about. And there hadn’t been any others.
“You went on a date?” she asked, with disbelief in her voice. “A real date?”
“I thought of it as a real date but not sure if she did. We spent the day in New Orleans.”
“Wow! Who is she?”
He started to say it wasn’t anyone she knew, but then she just might. Sierra mentioned they had graduated the same year. “Sierra Crane.”
“Sierra Crane? I remember her. We came out of school the same year. Her father was Preston Crane, that nice man who ran Dad’s gas station. In school, she was best friends with Rhonda Fleming. I recall seeing her at the school’s holiday reunion two years ago. She’s moved back?”
He shook his head, amazed his sister could remember all of that. “Yes, she moved back. She’s divorced and is raising her six-year-old goddaughter, Teryn. Teryn is Rhonda’s daughter.”
“Where is Rhonda?”
“She passed away. Her husband had been killed two years earlier in Afghanistan. Sierra’s deathbed promise to Rhonda was that she would raise Teryn as her own.”
“I’m sorry to hear about Rhonda. She was nice. Both she and Sierra were.”
“Sierra said the same thing about you.”
“Vaughn, I want details. How did the two of you begin talking and how serious is it?”
His sister asked too many questions. He would only tell her what he wanted her to know for now. “Sierra owns a soup café in the cove and I drop by on occasion to get takeout. I’d never seen her up close before, but one evening I did. I liked what I saw.”
“So, it’s just lust for you?” she asked, and he could hear the disappointment in her tone.
He could let her continue to think that way, but he wouldn’t sully what was—and could be—between him and Sierra. “No, Zara, it’s more than that. And that’s all I plan to tell you.”
“Well, you’ve told me more than I expected you to. I hope things work out.”
“I hope so, too. She had a bad first marriage and is in no hurry to enter a serious relationship. That means I have my work cut out for me.” Deciding to change the subject, he asked, “Anything I need to contribute toward our Thanksgiving dinner?”
“No. This year is my treat, Vaughn, and since I won’t be spending Christmas with you this year, I want to make Thanksgiving special.”
After ending the call, he thought about what he’d told Zara. Although he loved making love to Sierra and got turned on whenever he saw her, it was more than lust for him. Much more.