Once Bitten, Twice Shy by Linda Louise Rigsbee - HTML preview

Epilogue

Alex replaced the last desk drawer and closed the box of personal items on his desk.

Gerald leaned against the office wall with one shoulder, watching him absently.

“I can’t believe you’re actually going to do this.”

Alex glanced up.  “Get married?”

Gerald lifted sandy brows.  “Quit this job and move to Arkansas to be a veterinarian. You’re the best salesman we have.”

Alex shrugged.  “Being a veterinarian is my lifelong dream.”

Gerald grunted.  “Any second thoughts?”

Alex retrieved Carmen’s picture from the desk and gazed at it, answering Gerald absently.

“About getting married?”

“About leaving the firm,” Gerald said.

“None,” Alex said confidently, his attention never leaving the picture.

“Okay,” Gerald’s said in a dry tone.  “Do you have any second thoughts about getting married?”

Alex lifted his gaze from the picture and regarded Gerald reflectively.

 “Not really.”

He had plenty of concern about holding up his end of the bargain.  He had promised to protect her, but Carmen didn’t think she needed protection.  She did, and deep inside she wanted to be protected – physically and emotionally.  In some ways she was still a little girl.

Gerald’s smile was sardonic.  “Why did I get the feeling you wanted to talk about getting married?”

Alex gave his full attention to tucking the photo into the box through a gap in the top.

“I have no idea.”

 “I can’t figure you,” Gerald said, moving away from the wall.  “You’re the one who taught me not to put all my eggs in one basket.  You bought a clinic, built a house and now you’re quitting your job to get married to a woman you’ve known for less than a year.”

Alex gave up trying to fit the picture into the gap in the box and laid it on top of it.  He looked up at Gerald.

 “I didn’t buy the clinic and build the house for her.”

Gerald’s tone was sarcastic.  “I sure hope you didn’t tell her that.”

Alex shrugged.  “I like the country and the laid-back people.  Besides, my sister and her husband are there, you know.”

There was no reason to tell Carmen that he had decided to purchase the land adjoining hers when Lori first told him about it – even before they had discussed the clinic.

Gerald eyed him with mild amusement.  “So, what part are you doing for the bride?”

Alex smiled.  “The marrying part.”

Gerald laughed.  “If you’re too busy to take her on the honeymoon, let me know.”  He stuck out a hand to Alex.  “Well, buddy, I hope you’re getting as good a deal as she is.”

Alex shook his hand.  “Thanks.  I am.  She’s quite a woman.”

Gerald walked to the door and then stopped, looking back at Alex.  “Tell me, what’s the most intriguing thing about her?”

Alex thought about it for a minute.  “There isn’t any one thing.  She’s a beautiful, sweet, innocent girl.”

Gerald considered the information.  “Girl . . .” He said reflectively.  “She needs you.”

Alex eyed him thoughtfully.  “Maybe we need each other.  She needs someone to take care of her and I need someone to take care of.”

Gerald made a face.  “There are lots of women out there who meet that requirement.  They’ve been chasing you for a long time.  Why this one?”

Alex lifted his brows and turned his palms up to the ceiling in defeat.  “Beats me.”

Gerald turned to the door.  “Love,” he said as he walked out of the office.  “If I live to be a thousand years old, I’ll never understand it.”

After he left, Alex picked up the picture and sat down in the plush office chair for the last time.  Leaning back, he studied the picture.  She was the one.  He knew it the day they met, but it was impossible to say exactly why.  Something about the way she smiled up at him, as though no one else existed . . . and the way she watched him when she thought he wasn’t aware she was looking.  That amethyst gaze openly displayed every emotion.  Browsing her face told him everything he needed to know about her thoughts.  The soft voice and the little dimple that played at the corner of her mouth when she teased him . . . she was so beautiful – and so utterly unaware of her charm.

He wasn’t entirely honest with Gerald, though.  He did have second thoughts about this marriage.  Carmen wasn’t the only one who wanted children so badly.  He had long ago accepted the fact that he would have no biological children.  In fact, he had already looked into adoption.  Carmen would probably eventually warm to that alternative, but she needed time to adjust to the idea.  He’d have to be patient with her.

As to Carmen’s idea about him being the final decision maker, he was still skeptical.  For her, it was a romantic idea.  All would go well until they had conflicting ideas about how something should be done.  She was naïve enough to think that wouldn’t happen.  To be honest, thinking about the responsibility of making those decisions was overwhelming at times.  No one made good decisions 100% of the time.

Last, but not least, was Josh.  Carmen expected him to switch to being a big brother now.  Maybe that was what he planned to do, but the way he looked at her was hardly brotherly.  From the expression on Lori’s face at those times, she didn’t think the romance was over either – at least not for Josh.

But Carmen was more than a beautiful face on an equally beautiful body.  She was passionate . . . about everything.   More than likely their marriage would be strained at times, but he couldn’t picture it ever being dull.  In spite of her strict moral standards on premarital relationships, Carmen was obviously stirred deeply by desire.  The way the pulse throbbed in her neck when he kissed it, and the way she sounded out of breath when she pushed him away – the feel of her breasts when she molded her body to his . . .

He stood and put the picture on top of the box.   It was best not to think about those things.  He could get into enough trouble without getting primed for it.

He grabbed the box and walked out of the room, shutting the door without looking back.  A new and exciting life lay ahead of him.  Few pleasant memories lay behind him in that office.

Alex turned toward the stairs, avoiding the front office.  He’d already said good bye to all of them earlier.  The last thing he wanted was another tear session with the girls.  It was his wedding, not his funeral.

He put the box behind the seat in the truck and climbed in, laying the picture beside him.  The movers had taken the last of his things from the apartment this morning and he had returned the key.  Home was in Arkansas now, over five hundred miles away, and he planned to sleep there tonight.