Borrowing Alex Page 17
Nikki’s entire body twitched when he stroked her!
Everyone in her life worshipped the man, including her.
Alex took back the box, removed the ring, and put the box in an outer jacket pocket. Nikki’s breath lodged in her lungs as she extended her shaking hand. He clasped it, his palm warm against her fingers. A cool breeze lifted from the lake, and the scents of clean mountain water, spring wildflowers, and blessed nature swirled around them. Alex’s housecoat fluttered at her knees.
“Do you remember what you said last year, when I accused you of making love with me on the rebound?” he asked.
Her heart skipped. “Y-yes.” Something about being of sound mind and—
He slipped the ring onto the tip of her finger, and the thought fled. She couldn’t breathe!
“You were right,” he continued. “You knew what you were doing, and maybe we should have made things official then.”
“Instead of wasting a year.” She pushed her finger forward—just a little, not too much, surely inconspicuous to the average man—and the ring edged over the base of her fingernail.
Alex nodded. “But I wouldn’t call the last year wasted.”
“Neither would I.” He’d proposed last June, and she, the dimbulb, had suggested waiting.
“Nikki, every moment with you has been a delight, even when we argue.”
“And especially when we make up.”
He chuckled. “Stop moving your finger.”
“Then get on with it.” She hopped up and down on the pebbled shore.
He gazed into her eyes. “I want to make up with you for the rest of my life.”
“Alex!”
He drew in a breath. “Nikki St. James, being of sound mind and a damn horny body, will you marry me?”
Tears crept down her cheeks. He’d remembered her exact words—the romantic fool.
Nodding, she whispered through a tight throat, “Yes.”
“I love you, Nikki.” He seated the ring onto her finger. A perfect fit.
“I love you, too.” Nikki kissed her fiancé, her forever man. Life was wonderful. Filled with challenges, of course, but they tackled them together. Like her grandparents had. Like Violet and Willie demonstrated every time she and Alex encountered the elderly couple at this special place, Lake Eden. True love’s paradise.
They kissed again.
“Alex, I don’t want a long engagement,” Nikki said as she relaxed within his embrace. “Let’s have the ceremony in this very spot, with our family and friends. It will be beautiful.” Memorable. Totally them.
He squeezed her waist. “Excellent idea. Name the date.”
“Mid-July.” Two months away. “The sun should cooperate. If not, the guests can bring umbrellas.”
“That’s my girl, always planning.” His lips sought out hers again.
During a breathing break, she said, “I’d like Karin to be my maid of honor.” She hesitated. “Is that okay?” Her cousin would have performed the duty if Nikki had married... that other guy. Neither she nor Alex had seen Royce since the night she’d returned the slime’s garish ring. After an unsuccessful confrontation with her father and the other dermatology clinic partners, El Carbuncle had shuffled off to a new life in Pittsburgh.
“Karin’s your best friend,” Alex replied. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
He really was the most amazing man. “Who do you want to ask?” To stand up for him. As she’d discovered over the last year, her sexy professor made new friends easily.
“Willie, if he agrees. He knew from the first time he saw us together that we were meant to be.”
“You mean the morning we stopped him—”
“—from whacking Lucy the garter snake to pieces. Yes.”
Nikki beamed. “I love it. Have you asked him?”
“Not yet. But speak of the devil—”
Hands clasped, they turned. Willie strolled down the slope from two cabins away, shabby jeans encasing his thin legs and chunky boots on his feet. His white T-shirt ruffled against his narrow chest in the brisk morning air.
“Ahoy, young lovers!” The elderly gent waved. “Vi’s fixing blueberry waffles for breakfast. Want to join us?” His arms chugged like pistons at his sides as he neared them. “Hey, young fellow, what’s with the fancy duds?” he asked Alex. His gaze roved over Nikki swaddled in her fiancé’s housecoat. A split-second later, eyes snapping to her ring, he whooped. “I’ll be! Took you long enough. When’s the weddin’?”
Nikki nudged the man of her heart. Together, they stepped forward.
Alex smiled. “Funny you should ask...”
THE END
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Author’s Note
The first edition of BORROWING ALEX was published in trade paperback and eBook by Amber Quill Press in 2007. This second edition, published under the imprint Blue Orchard Books, has been revised to reflect changes in my writing style as well as address technological changes that have occurred over the years. The second edition also includes two additional scenes.
The audiobook of BORROWING ALEX, published by AudioLark in 2011 and available on Audible and iTunes, is an unabridged narration of the 2007 Amber Quill Press edition.
About the Author
Cindy Procter-King earned a B.A. in English Lit. before unleashing herself on the unsuspecting workforce. She quickly realized her aversion to fluorescent lights and the numbers 9-2-5 wouldn’t earn her kudos from her various bosses. So she moved to a tiny forestry town where she couldn’t find a job—unless you count a stint as a prison secretary. There, she began writing novels, and she hasn’t looked back.
Cindy is a Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart finalist and author of poignant contemporary romances and rollicking romantic comedies. Her mission in life is to see her surname spelled properly—with an E. That’s P-r-o-c-t-E-r. So take heed. Cindy lives in beautiful British Columbia with her family, a cat obsessed with dripping tap water, and Allie McBeagle.
Website http://www.cindyprocter-king.com
Blog http://www.museinterrupted.com
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Email: cindy@cindyprocter-king.com
Contents
About this Story
Dedication
Chapter 1 - Here Goes Something
Chapter 2 - The Get-Away
Chapter 3 - The Captive Grows Restless
Chapter 4 - Foiled Again
Chapter 5 - Now or Never
Chapter 6 - Never
Chapter 7 - Where There’s a Willie...
Chapter 8 - The Jig’s Up
Chapter 9 - Ooh-La-La
Chapter 10 - Afterglow, Afterglow, Where Art Thou?
Chapter 11 - Making a New Bed
Epilogue - Ever After
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