Текст книги "Lunch at the Club"

Автор книги: Kate Kane

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Текущая страница: 8 (всего у книги 11 страниц)

She looked at Jess.  “What time is your flight tomorrow?”

“My flight’s at 7:30.”

“I’m having my teeth cleaned at three o’clock and was hoping I didn’t have to reschedule.”

Ben laughed.  “My appointment must be right after yours.  I’m at four o’clock.”  Lane and Ben used the same dentist.  She smiled.  Ben had made recommendations for so many things dentist, doctor, hair dresser, grocery store and mechanic when she’d first moved, and she’d followed every one.

“Good.  Then Mom should easily be out before five o’clock.  So, I should be Okay.  Since I’m doing carry on, I could even be a little later.  You know it usually doesn’t take very long to get through security at KCI.  It sure isn’t LAX.”

The oven timer went off, and Lane got up and put the asparagus into the steamer and set its timer.  When that timer went off, everything would be ready.  Out of habit, she sent the kids to “clean up before dinner.”  She was alone in the kitchen with Ben.  He stepped behind her and putting his arms around her, he kissed her neck.  She leaned back against him.  He was right, there really wasn’t any reason for a long engagement.  She turned around and kissed him.

Jamie cleared his throat from the doorway and Lane hugged Ben before stepping out of his embrace. Ben reached into the cupboard for dinnerware and handed the plates to Jamie.  “Here, Bambino, why don’t you set the table?”

Jamie took the plates.  “Okay, Dad.”

Jake had rounded the corner from the hall.  “Dad?  I thought you were waiting until after the wedding to start with that.”

Ben handed Jake the silverware. Jamie just grinned. He’d caught Ben in the kitchen kissing his mother so he’d better be Dad, Jamie thought.  Jess had come in and was taking drink orders.

Ben smiled.  This was familiar and comfortable.  Maybe Carol Anne had been right when she’d told Ben he had a nice little family of his own. They’d been a family for three years and only his stupidity had kept it from being official long ago.  Of course, he’d been 33 when he met Lane.  His birthday and hers were only three days apart.  Well, 12 years and three days.  He thought she was younger than he was when they met and was shocked, there was just no other word for it, when she told him her age and followed that by telling him the three kids she talked about being in Omaha with their paternal grandmother were teenagers, not toddlers.

Thoughts of Carol Anne brought thoughts of Lila Crane.  It had been a couple of days since Lila had shown up with that search warrant.  It was a good sign that she’d decided to leave Lane alone and let go of whatever animosity she held toward Ben for ending their relationship months before.

Ben and the boys had set the table, Jess had gotten drinks and Lane had placed the food on the table.  They sat down and held hands.  It was Tuesday.  Jess’s turn to say grace.  Heaven only knew what they were in for.  It could be anything from the quick standard Catholic grace to a scene from some movie.

“Lord, we come gratefully before you and ask you to bless the food set before us. We ask that you bless our family and the work of our hands. Bless us Lord and keep us safe.  Help us to love and respect each other.  And thanks for bringing Ben into our mother’s life.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray.”

Before the family said Amen, Ben said, “And Lord, we ask that you help Jess wow them in her audition.”

Then everyone said Amen.

Chapter 17

Things heat up

After dinner, the kids did clean-up and Lane walked Ben to his car. “Are you going to come over after you and Jess go shopping?”

“I’ll have Jess drop me off, if you’ll drive me home.”  They shared a deep, lingering kiss in the relative privacy of the garage.  He wanted to hold her forever, protect her from anything that could possibly hurt her or the kids, their kids.  Who could have ever predicted that Ben Bellini would claim responsibility for someone else’s kids as though they were his own?  But they were his.  His, they were all his.

“Sure, Red. At least that way we’ll both be reluctantly getting out of bed, getting dressed and making the drive.  If the wedding has to wait longer than a couple of weeks, maybe I can talk to Jamie.  You know, man to man.  But my preference would be to fly Jess back here immediately after the audition.  I love you.”  And he kissed her again.

“And I love you.  We’ll work it out,”  Lane said as she opened the garage door.

~~~~~

She and Jess always had fun shopping, but in truth, Lane hated trying on clothes in the store.  She found a couple of possibilities and, as was her habit; instead of asking them to hold the dresses, she purchased both.  She’d try them on again in the privacy of her own home and make the decision.  Then she’d return the reject.  They moved on to the shoes. Both of the Parker women loved shoes, didn’t most women?  But Lane and Jess politely parted ways on the choice of heel height.  Jess preferred platforms making the heel at least five inches high, the higher the heel the better. While Lane preferred no platform and a three to three and a half inch heel.  But then Jess was five feet four inches tall and Lane was five feet ten inches tall.  While Jess needed that extra height, Lane didn’t.

Lane tapped in the code for Ben’s garage and waved to Jess as she went in.  She signaled to Jess, making that international sign with thumb and little finger, meaning to call when she got home.  Ben met her at the door and swept her up in his arms.  He’d told her when he dropped her at work, after they’d applied for their marriage license, that he needed to see her naked.  And he did, but he wasn’t some kind of animal in heat, well, not quite.  He kissed her, and as always she moaned as their tongues mingled.  It always made him hard.  He had his hand in her hair as he held her close.  She didn’t use a ton of product or hair spray, and he loved the way her long strawberry blonde hair felt like strands of silk between his fingers. God she was so sexy.  She loved him and she’d agreed to be his wife. He heard her cell ring.

She answered.  Obviously Jess was safely home.  She ended the call and leaned to purr in his ear.  “I think you said something earlier about getting naked.”

It was all he needed.  He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom kissing her and whispering I love you with every step.  He gently placed her on the bed and began unbuttoning her blouse, as he continued his kisses to her lips, her neck and moving his lips lower as his fingers moved on to the fly of her Levi’s.  Yesterday she’d worn a white lace bra and panties, he couldn’t wait to see what was behind all those buttons.  She was moaning and whispering I love you and as his kisses moved lower and lower, she was busy pulling his polo shirt out of his khakis.  Ben worked out.  He ran at least five miles a day rain, shine, or snow.  During the months when his pool was open he swam laps.  He had washboard abs and just enough chest hair for her to bury her fingers in.  She pulled his shirt over his head and began working first with his belt and then with the zipper of his slacks.  He stood, dropping his khakis to the floor and in one fluid motion he pulled her jeans off.

The sight of her lying on his bed, her shirt open exposing her pink lace bra and her little pink lace panties, took his breath away.  He lay next to her, holding her; kissing his way down her neck, as he reached behind her and unhooked her bra.  He kissed first one shoulder and then the other as he moved each bra strap away.  She moaned with each kiss and flick of his tongue as he skillfully made his way toward her breasts.

She had run her fingers through his chest hair, down his abs and slipped her hand under the waistband of his boxers.  She ran her hand down the length of him, cupping his testicles before moving her hand back up.  She’d only been with two men, well maybe three but she really wasn’t sure about that last one.  She’d gone out with friends and gotten very drunk just after Phillip had come out of the closet and then walked out of her life.  She’d woken up naked, hung over and alone in a hotel room the next morning, not knowing whether she’d spent the night alone or with someone. It didn’t matter, she was sure that Ben had the biggest penis she’d ever seen.

He took her left nipple in his mouth, moving slowing to the right nipple.  Her breasts were very sensitive and seemed to have a direct link to her vagina because just as yesterday, when Ben took her nipple in his mouth she was suddenly very wet.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record she whispered, “I’m wet and I need to get these panties off.  How do you do this to me?”

Ben pushed one hand down her abdomen, following it with his lips, as he reached under the elastic and pulled the panties down and off. He didn’t think it was because of any expertise he had, but he thanked God for it as he moved his hand to cup that sweet wetness. He gently moved her thighs apart and kissed his way to the source of that wetness.  She moaned and raised her hips slightly, as his tongue flicked in and out.  She reached down, wrapping both hands in his hair urging him to move back up.

“Not yet.” He whispered.  “You taste so good and I’m just not quite finished yet.” And he went back to the exquisite motion he’d been making with his tongue.

Suddenly she thrust her hips up and screamed “Oh my God, Ben, please.”

“That’s what I was waiting for,” he said, as he moved his lips and tongue up her abdomen, pausing at her navel before moving up to first one nipple and then the other. He pulled his boxers off and entered her.  As she screamed his name again, he covered her mouth with his.  It was like her orgasms came wave after wave, the next one starting before the last one was over.  No one had ever given her multiple orgasms let alone waves of orgasms like this.  Dear God if this was what sex with Ben was like, then maybe she understood Lila Crane’s obsession.  But there was no time to think about that because another wave was coming.

He was enjoying the ride so much that he didn’t want it to stop. She was begging him to come.  “Please, please, it’s your turn now.”  It was so easy to make sure Lane was satisfied and he finally let himself go over. They lay tangled in the sheets and in each other’s arms.  “My God, will making love with you always be like this,” he whispered, as he kissed his way from her lips to her neck and back again.

She moaned.  “I don’t know.  I thought it was you, I’ve never experienced anything like this before.”

He glanced at the clock.  It was 10:30.  They’d spent more than an hour making love and he knew she was going to feel the need to get up and go home soon.

A few weeks ago, she had stayed with him because it wasn’t safe for her to be in her house.  He had held her as she slept, but they hadn’t made love.  He wanted to feel her sleeping in his arms again.  She had her head on his shoulder and was tracing circles around his right nipple with the fingers of her left hand.  He felt a twitch.  He was getting hard again.  If she kept this up much longer no one would be getting out of bed any time soon.

She kissed his chest.  “I have a question.”

“The future Mrs. Bellini can ask me anything,” he replied.  He lifted her hand and kissed it.

“You’re a lawyer, how do you feel about prenups?”

Yes, he was a lawyer.  One who was planning to make the trip down the aisle only once in his life.  He knew she’d been hurt in the past and he understood that they each had their own money, but everything he had was hers, and he would do everything humanly possible to make sure she was happy for the rest of her life.  There would be no divorce for them and without the possibility of divorce, there was no need for a prenup.

“Are you already thinking about divorcing me,” he replied, as he kissed the palm of her hand and then ran his tongue to the tip of her middle finger and he took it in his mouth.  She moaned and he wiggled her engagement ring.  “I love you.  I promise I’m going to love you forever.  I’ll never cheat on you.”  He lifted her chin and kissed her.  “I’ll never abandon you.”  He kissed her again.  “And I promise always to make sure you have at least two orgasms before I think about having one.”  He bent his head and took her nipple in his mouth.  “Well maybe not before I think about it.  I’m already thinking about it,” he whispered, as he lowered her onto her back and moved to the other nipple.

God, it wasn’t fair.  He knew what that did to her. She moaned as she rolled him onto his back and straddled him, taking him inside. She stroked twice and said, “That’s Okay, you won’t have to wait long. I’m already having one.”

He rolled her onto her back without missing a stroke.  “I love you,” he said bending his head and taking a nipple in his mouth.

She wrapped her hands in his hair and screamed his name.  For months now, he had fanaticized about making love with her.  Imagined her writhing beneath him, screaming his name.  Reality was far better, but already he wasn’t sure he could keep the promise he’d just made.  The urgency he felt was overpowering.  He moved to her other nipple.  She thrust her hips up and moved both hands to grasp the sheets to prevent herself from scratching the hell out of his back as she screamed.  Dear God, where was this coming from?

She whispered, “I need to be on top.”  He put his hand on her back and rolled them over, as she pulled her knees up and raised herself to a sitting position.  She put her hand in the middle of his chest and bent down to kiss him.  “You’ve kept your promise.  It’s your turn.”  She bent close to his ear.  “Come with me,” she purred, and then she moaned and took his ear lobe in her mouth.

His body was completely willing to obey.  “It’s a promise I plan to keep at least once a day for the rest of my life,” he said, as he pulled her down to lay on top of him.  He wasn’t ready to break their connection yet.

Hell, if the woman wanted a prenup, she’d have one.  She could have anything she wanted, now and forever.  Before he could say anything she’d glanced at the clock.  “My God, it’s midnight.  I need to go home.  Tomorrow’s a school day.”

Chapter 18

WOW that’s some rock

Since the wedding plans were still in flux, Lane was glad she hadn’t given her boss, Al Edwards, notice about her upcoming marriage yet.  Al himself had eloped two months ago, and while that alone meant that he understood all about quick weddings, there was no reason to tell him until she had some solid plans.

At 2:30 Lane packed up her laptop and left for the dentist.  She registered with Rochelle, the receptionist, and sat down with her iPhone to read.  Since Jess was auditioning for the Harts in Time trilogy, Lane had pulled the first book in the series from her archives and had started reading it again.  When Lane read, it was as though the book was playing like a movie in her head, only now when she saw Kit and Kate, the identical twin sisters at the heart (no pun intended) of the story, they had Jess’s face.

The hygienist called her name and she followed her back.  Lane sat in the chair and folded her hands over her abdomen.

“WOW.  That’s some rock.  Did you get engaged?  Congratulations,” Emma the hygienist said.

“Thank-you,” Lane said.  Most people didn’t know the proper etiquette was to congratulate the future groom and give best wishes to the future bride. While Lane thought of it each time she heard the incorrect sentiment, she didn’t think it was her job to educate the well-wisher.

Lane sat back and opened her mouth while x-rays were taken and the cleaning and polishing went on.  Finally, the dentist came in and looked her over, giving Lane the news of a great check-up.  She went out to the receptionist to get her next appointment, and met Ben checking in.  She put her purse on the counter, and was reaching for the zipper to open it so she could put the appointment card in it when Rochelle noticed her engagement ring.

“What a beautiful ring, Mrs. Parker.  I see best wishes are in order.  Who’s the lucky man?”

Ben put his right hand in the small of Lane’s back, the way some men do, and leaned forward toward the receptionist. “That would be me, Rochelle,” he said, flashing that million watt Bellini smile.

The receptionist looked at Ben.  “Well, then congratulations, Mr. Bellini.  When’s the happy day?”  Rochelle handed Lane her appointment card.

“It won’t be soon enough for me,” Ben replied giving Lane a quick kiss on the cheek.  “Call me after you drop Jess at the airport,” he whispered in Lane’s ear. The hygienist had called his name and he was following Emma toward the exam room.

Lane put the appointment card in her purse.  While she had an iPhone and her calendar was readily accessible, it was an agreement she’d made with Meg long ago.  Only one of them had complete control over Lane’s calendar, and it was Meg.  When Lane went to the office Thursday, she’d hand the card over to Meg, who would be sure it was on her calendar.  Of course, Lane kept a calendar at home on the pantry door where she’d write the appointment when she got home tonight but that was so she and Jamie knew what was going on.  She had written the appointments for dentists, doctors, football practice and games for Jamie; baseball practice and games for Jake; auditions, play practice, piano and voice lessons for Jess on the calendar since they were small.  It was the way she had maintained everyone’s busy schedules for years.

She hurried home, running in to quickly change while Jess gathered up everything she needed and loaded her things into the cargo area of the Escalade.  Jess’s flight wasn’t until 7:30, but it was about a 45 minute drive to the airport; and by leaving now, they’d be able to hit a drive through and grab a bite on the way and still miss traffic.

Jess had spent the day studying the audition script to learn her lines.  Thursday, when she was back in L.A., she’d run lines with one of her friends.

“I pulled Harts in Time from my archived books and started reading it again.  I think you’ll make a wonderful Kit and Kate.”

Jess smiled.  She knew her mother was biased, but still she appreciated hearing it.  “Thanks, Mom.  Does that mean you see me in the movie in your head while you’re reading?”

Lane smiled.  “Yes, that’s exactly what it means.”

They went through the McDonald’s drive through for drinks and fries and then went through the Burger King’s drive through for food.  Luckily they were only blocks apart from each other and both on the way, north on Metcalf where Lane would get on Interstate 635 to head to the airport.

Jess had checked in on-line and was carrying her luggage on, but all four Parkers liked to do their waiting at the airport.  Lane liked to be at the airport at least two hours before her flight.  Sure that meant that she’d be stuck in the airport, but she’d work or read while she waited and she had never missed a flight.  Lane knew Jess would spend the time studying the script for the audition.

She pulled up to the door for United’s flights and got out of the SUV.  She opened the hatch for the cargo area and Jess got out her bag.  “Mom, I really am sorry about ruining your wedding plans.”

“Jess, you haven’t ruined anything.  Ben and I will still get married, just not this Friday.  The only thing you need to think about right now is your audition.  Break a leg Friday.  And call me when you get home tonight.  No matter how late.”

They hugged, each saying, “Love You, Bye,” to the other, as Jess walked into the airport.

It was a little after five o’clock as Lane got back in the Escalade.  She made sure her phone’s blue tooth was connected and called Ben.

“Hey, Red.  Did you just drop Jess off?”

“Yes.  Have you finished at the dentist?”

“Absolutely.  I’m home and in the middle of changing.  Hold on a minute,” Ben said as he put the phone on speaker and put it on his dresser.  “All right, I’ve got you on speaker so I can finish changing,” he said as he hung up his suit.  Lane heard a scuffling noise.  She waited a couple of beats imagining Ben opening his closet and hanging up his suit, getting his khakis and polo shirt out.  Then she heard him talking and it was obviously not to her.

“Rochelle, how did you get in here?”

“Mr. Bellini, I know everything about you.  I know the code for your garage.”

Ben knew Lane was still on the phone. Rochelle had a gun, but Lane couldn’t see that through the phone.  He knew better than to charge someone holding a gun and he hoped his tone was calm and casual enough so he could find out what the dentist’s receptionist was doing in his bedroom.

“I see, Rochelle, but what are you doing in my bedroom?

“Why’d you do it, Mr. Bellini?”

“Rochelle, do you mind if I finish dressing?”

Lane had heard enough, she pulled onto the shoulder and put Ben’s call on hold.  She scrolled through her contacts until she came to Mick McGuire.  Mick was a detective with the Leawood police department.  Lane had met him during the summer when she’d found her first dead body.  He was a friend of Ben’s, and since Ben’s house was in Leawood, and since Mick was the only Leawood cop she knew, she called him.

“Lane,” Mick said as he answered the call.

Mick had fallen for her, but she had no idea.  He knew she was dating Ben, but he’d known Ben for a long time and knew it was only a matter of time before Ben moved on to his next woman.  Ben wasn’t exactly a womanizer.  As far as Mick knew, Ben was what you might call serially monogamous.  He only dated one woman at a time, but he just didn’t stay with any one of them for long.  Mick had been waiting for Ben to screw up and let this one go too.  Maybe this was his lucky day.

“Mick?  I have Ben on my other line and it sounds like the receptionist from our dentist’s office is with him.  I think there’s something wrong.  I can three-way you in so you can listen.”

“Sure.  Where is he?”

“He’s home.  I was talking to him while he was changing clothes and then he started talking to Rochelle.”

“Patch me in.”

“Mr. Bellini, you know I love you,” a voice that must have been Rochelle’s said.  Oh, God, Mick thought, please tell me that Bellini isn’t cheating on the best woman in the world and making her listen in.

“Why’d you do it?  Why’d you get engaged to Mrs. Parker?”  Engaged, Bellini and Lane were engaged?  Mick was driving toward Ben’s house but was approaching without lights or sirens.

“You know that I’ve loved you since you started seeing Dr. Andersen.  You know that you belong with me, right?”

Lane knew that Ben kept a loaded gun in his night stand.  Rochelle sounded calm and rational but Ben hadn’t said anything for a while.  She was speeding toward Leawood, but there was the damned rush hour traffic to contend with.  Should she get off Interstate 635 at Metcalf?  Then she would run into the city rush hour traffic.  She knew Mick wouldn’t say anything to her now that they were on the line with Ben, because they both wanted to hear every word that was being said in that bedroom.  Ben and Rochelle must still be in the bedroom.  Ben had put his cell on speaker and put it on the dresser so he could finish changing.

“Rochelle, I had no idea you cared so much about me.  Maybe it would be easier to talk if you gave the gun to me.”

“No, Mr. Bellini, I don’t think so.  Do you love her?  Mrs. Parker I mean.  Do you love her?”

Hell, what was the right thing to say in a situation like this?  Rochelle was obviously walking the fine line between sanity and insanity; like a high wire act working without a net.  What would upset her the least?  What would keep him alive so that he could marry the woman he loved?  Sometimes the right thing to say was nothing.

“I know she’s prettier than I am and smarter, more sophisticated and more refined, has more money and a better job but she doesn’t love you the way I do.”

“No,” Ben thought, “she sure as hell doesn’t love me the way you do.  And you left out that she’s saner than you are.”

“You know she’s a lot older than you are. You know she has grown kids, kids my age, don’t you, Mr. Bellini?”

What was this woman thinking?  That he’d gotten engaged to Lane without knowing all of that?  He knew she wasn’t rational, but wouldn’t she know he wouldn’t get engaged to someone without at least meeting her family.  He did a mental head shake.  This woman really did think that she had some kind of relationship with Ben.  Maybe even thought he had feelings for her too.  Hell.

“I could prove it to you.  Right now.  I could prove to you how much I love you.”

Holy Hell what was she thinking?  That he was going to have sex with her so she could prove in some perverted way that she loved him more than Lane did?  But if she took her clothes off, she’d have to lay the gun down.  Unless… oh dear God, she could tie him up.  That particular fantasy had never appealed to Ben.  Bondage just wasn’t on his play list.

“Can I call you Shelly?  I’ve heard people at Dr. Andersen’s call you Shelly.”

She nodded.

“Bonding.” Ben thought, “Bonding is good, bondage is not.” He took a breath and said calmly, “Shelly, you don’t have to prove anything to me.  I believe you.”  He forced himself to flash his million watt smile.

“It’s because I’m not pretty enough isn’t it?  I’ve seen your picture in the society pages with cheerleaders and radio personalities.  You only date pretty women.  Rich, famous, pretty women.”

Lane’s phone buzzed with a text message.  It was from Mick.  “Ben’s code?”

She pulled over and sent Mick Ben’s garage code. Thank God.  Mick was there.  Everything would be okay now.

“But none of those other women can have you, Mr. Bellini.  Because you are mine.”

Did she hear herself?  What kind of relationship did she think they had?  She was still calling him Mr. Bellini.  And then it hit him. Cheerleaders and radio personalities is what Rochelle had said.  Had she been Liza’s stalker?  Had she stopped stalking Liza because Ben had broken up with her?  Had Rochelle killed Carol Anne?  Ben wasn’t sure what category that moved her into.  He didn’t know what brand of crazy she was, he just knew she was crazy.  But was she a killer?  And if she’d killed someone she saw as a threat to her relationship with Ben, then thank God she’d come here instead of going to Lane’s.

“Freeze.  Police,” Mick called as he entered the bedroom.

Ben dove toward Rochelle as she turned to look at Mick, knocking her off balance and causing her to drop the gun.  Mick was on her in seconds Mirandizing and cuffing her.

“It’s all right, Red.  Everything’s good.”  Ben said as he approached the dresser.  He picked up his phone and took it off speaker.

“Thank God, Ben are you all right?  Did she hurt you?”

“I’m fine.  You did good, calling Mickey.  Thanks.  Where are you?”

“I’m right here,” she said and he turned around as she flew into his arms.

Mick looked up and saw Lane run into the bedroom.  Bellini was standing there in his boxers.  They positively glowed as they looked at each other.  It made him sick with envy and jealousy.

“Let me call a squad to come get her.  You know I need statements from both of you at the station, right?”  But Mick knew they weren’t listening.  It was clear that they only had eyes and ears for each other.

“I was so afraid,” Lane said as she kissed Ben.  “I love you.”

Mick had just saved her boyfriend’s life and he might as well have been a fly on the wall.  And watching them pet and fawn over each other was more than he could stomach.

“I love you.  I’m fine.  You did everything right.  You saved me.”  Ben kissed her.

Mick cleared his throat.  They looked at him.

“I’ll just call a squad to come get her.”  He looked at Ben.  “I’ll give you two some privacy.  Maybe you want to get dressed?”

Mick pulled Rochelle out of the bedroom.  Ben pulled Lane into the closet with him.  God he wanted to make love to her right now, right there in the closet.  Every cue he knew told him she was thinking the same thing. Instead he pulled on a pair of khakis.

“I need to call Lila.  I think Rochelle might have killed Carol Anne.  Did you hear her talking about cheerleaders and radio personalities?”

He pulled on a polo shirt and would have tucked it in except Lane’s hand was on his chest.  She pushed him into the wall.  “I have never been so afraid and worried in all of my life,” she said, as she kissed him as if her life depended on it.  “Is that how you felt last month when you rescued me from Craig and Kyle?”

Just about five weeks ago, he and Mickey had rushed into her office, guns drawn, to save her from a murderer and his accomplice.

“Yes, you scared the hell out of me.”

“Benito Giovanni Bellini, I love you.  I don’t know that I can live without you.  Please don’t ever make me try.”

“Red, same goes for me.  You’re my heart and my life.”

There was a knock on the closet door.  “You two okay in there?”

Ben finished pulling his shirt on and tucked it into his pants as Lane opened the closet door.

“Mick, thank you so much,” Lane said as she hugged him.

A month ago he had thought he’d march into hell and sell his soul to the devil himself if she would look at him the way she looked at Bellini.

“That’s twice that you’ve ridden to the rescue,” she said as she held him.  He smelled her hair.  It smelled like heaven.  Dear God, was she really going to marry Bellini?

He looked to Ben and then back to Lane as he released her from the hug.  “Did I hear correctly, the two of you are engaged?”

Lane smiled at him.  “Yes, for two whole days now.”

The lunatic was right about at least one thing, Lane was beautiful. “Well then, may I offer my congratulations to the groom and best wishes for the future happiness of the bride,” he said, as he reached to shake hands with Ben.   “Now back to the business at hand.  The squad car has picked her up and now I need both of you to come to the station to make statements.”

“Mickey, we need to call Lila Crane from OPPD.  She’s investigating a possible homicide and I think that Rochelle might be the suspect she’s been looking for.”  Ben explained about Lane finding Carol Anne and the subsequent search warrant.