ever doubt it.”
When they carried her out, she didn’t look back. That part of her
life was done, and it couldn’t hurt her again.
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Chapter Twenty
Laura watched as Stef and Jen Talbot had their first dance as
husband and wife. They were wrapped up in each other like vines
twining together, swaying to the music. The Bliss Reception Hall had
been completely decked out to look like a romantic forest complete
with greenery and trees along all the walls. Stef Talbot was a
billionaire who could have bought his own private island to have a
wedding, but he and his bride had insisted on the Feed Store Church
and the Rec Center.
“They look good together,” Holly said, locking arms with Laura.
For days, Holly had tried to keep a hand on Laura. Laura hadn’t been
able to miss the way her best friend refused to let her out of her sight.
Laura leaned over, brushing Holly’s head with her own. “Those
two definitely belong together. Jen is the perfect woman to deal with
King Stef. She makes him laugh.” And she put him in his place from
time to time. Everyone needed that.
“Caleb never laughs,” Holly said with a sad sigh. “Why do I like
him so much?”
Her poor friend. Caleb Burke was a puzzle and a half. He’d been
all over Holly when there was a threat, but he’d backed off the instant
the threat was gone. He was right back to sitting in Holly’s section at
Stella’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and staring without ever
asking her out. She didn’t envy Holly dealing with Caleb, but it was
obvious her friend was totally into the doctor. “You just need to give
him a little time. When is Nicky coming into town?”
That was the way to get Holly’s mind off her heartache. She lit up
at the mere mention of her son spending a week with her. It had been
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a long time since Holly had been able to spend time with her
seventeen-year-old son. “He’ll be here in a couple of days. He’s got a
tiny bit of time between his summer pre-college camp and football
camp. I’m so excited. And now that the serial killer is gone, I don’t
even have to worry about him being murdered.”
“Always a good thing.”
Bliss had settled back into a peaceful, sleepy existence. They had
only added two murders to their total this time around. Hiram, the
mayor of Bliss, had called it a win.
Laura had gone back to work, but only until Bart found a
replacement for her at the Stop ‘n’ Shop. She’d promised Rafe she’d
get her PI license and join him in building a real business. She meant
to keep that promise. He was passionate about finding missing
persons and reuniting loved ones.
Cam was finding his place. He was a hard-working deputy and
spent every night perfecting his software. Callie was rapidly
approaching her due date, and Cam had already been told he would be
in charge of Bliss while Nate was on paternity leave. Given Cam’s
longtime law enforcement experience, he’d been given the second in
command job. Logan had taken the news well. He’d shaken Cam’s
hand, and then Cam had had to pick him up at a bar two towns over
later that night. Cam was happily busy with his new job. Well, when
he wasn’t busy making love to her. He and Rafe seemed happy to
spend as much time in bed as possible.
Nell joined them, her face shining in the twinkle lights of the
reception hall. “Hey, you two. Stef had a vegan cake brought in. It’s
delicious.”
Trust Stef to make sure everyone had what they wanted. There
were three different cakes. A bridal cake, a groom’s cake, and a vegan
cake. Not a one of them was vanilla. “That’s great, Nell. I’m glad you
decided to give up your nude protest in order to attend the wedding.”
Nell shrugged. “Well, friendship is more important, isn’t it?
Rachel gave me her blessing. She said she found a very nice cover on
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the Internet that allows her to see Paige when she feeds her. I think
she should be allowed to run around topless if she wants to, but I got
outvoted. Besides, the bunker got too quiet once Mel and Cassidy left.
Henry was completely irrational about the whole topless thing. I was
very surprised.” She turned, and her face went from bright and shiny
to serious. “But he’s being reasonable about one thing.”
“Really?” In Laura’s opinion, Henry’s response to Nell’s topless
protest was one of the more rational things he’d ever done. She knew
what would happen if she tried that. Rafe and Cam would do way
worse than take her to a bunker. “What is that?”
“I know what happened to you. I know that you can’t carry a baby
anymore,” Nell said quietly, her eyes softening.
Laura felt Holly’s hand on her shoulder. Being reminded of what
she’d lost didn’t hurt the way it used to, but the thought still brought tears to her eyes. “When the time comes, we’ll see about adoption.”
“And that would be great,” Nell said, taking both of Laura’s hands
in hers. Nell’s brown eyes shone as she looked up at Laura. “If that’s
what you decide to do, I am all behind you. But if you want to, you
could choose a different path. You kept one of your ovaries. I could
be your surrogate. My womb works, at least I think it does. And
Henry and I decided a long time ago that we would forgo having
children, so you wouldn’t be intruding.”
Laura was utterly shocked. Nell had many principles, but this was
one of her most sacred. “Because of population control. Nell, you
believe in that.”
Nell gave her a watery smile and squeezed her hands. “I believe in
you more. Like I said, friends are more important. And you and Rafe
and Cam would raise an amazing kid. It’s just something to think
about. If you want to, we would like to give you that gift.”
Now Laura cried for a different reason. She hugged Nell, pulling
the delicate woman into her arms. “Thank you.”
Laura might never take her up on the offer, but it was a balm to
her soul that Nell had offered.
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“It’s something to think about.” Nell pulled back, and a little smile
curled her lips. “And if we need to do it the old-fashioned way, you
know I think Rafe is just cute as a button.”
“Bad girl!” Laura said playfully as Nell winked and scurried away
to dance with her husband.
Holly had tears in her eyes as she leaned forward and kissed
Laura’s cheek. “I’m going to get a drink. I love you, you know. You
and Nell, you’re my lifelines. Now you get out there and dance with
those hot hunks of yours.”
Holly turned and started a conversation with Marie and Teeny.
“So, this is what a wedding’s like in Bliss, huh?” Cam asked,
nodding to Holly as she walked off. He handed Laura a glass of
Laura looked at her loves. Rafe was right beside Cam. They
looked amazingly gorgeous in tuxedoes. Rafe was tall, dark, and
broodingly handsome. Cam was an all-American hottie. What had she
done to deserve them?
“Were you surprised when the bride danced down the aisle? I
think Stef was,” Laura said.
The ceremony had been joyous, utterly reflecting the quirky
beauty of the couple involved. There hadn’t been a dry eye in the
house. Laura had even caught Max wiping his eyes when Stef had
pledged to love his bride forever.
“I liked the bales of hay,” Rafe admitted with a broad smile. “I
haven’t been to a wedding where all the guests sat on hay.”
“That’s because you’ve never gotten married in a Feed Store
Church before,” Laura replied. “You get a beautiful wedding
ceremony, and all the attendees get ten percent off their next feed
order. I think that’s the only reason James Glen came. He says he’s
allergic to commitment of any kind.”
She looked across the room where the said commitment-phobe
was talking up Brooke Harper. He might not want to get married, but
he was definitely looking for some company. Wolf stood beside his
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closest friend. He didn’t look like he would mind spending some time
with Brooke Harper, either. Two cowboys strode up, trying to get into
Brooke’s space. Laura searched her memory. They were brothers.
Shane and Bay Kent. They were friends of Stef’s, but Max and Rye
Harper couldn’t stand the two cowboys. Brooke was about to get
herself into a very interesting situation. Wolf stepped back like he
didn’t want to get too involved. When he saw her, he smiled and
raised a glass.
She smiled back and did the same.
And found both of her men frowning down ferociously at her.
“Hey, I was just saying hi,” she said.
“See that you keep it that way,” Cam replied.
She threw back her head and laughed. “Because I need a third
guy. Trust me, baby, my dance card is totally full.”
“It’s full of us,” Cam said, getting close to her. He invaded her
space, his hips moving. He bumped against her in time to the music.
“We can keep you dancing, baby.”
She felt Rafe at her back. “We can dance all night, bella.”
They could dance forever. They would dance forever.
The music flowed around them as they swayed together. Laura
was surrounded by her men and her friends and her future.
She almost didn’t notice when the double doors to the reception
hall opened, and a big, broad figure filled the doorway.
“Oh my god,” she breathed as she realized who it was. “Alexei?”
“Who’s Alexei?” Rafe asked as he looked around at all the people
staring at the new guy. Everyone had stopped.
The big, gorgeous Russian walked in, a broad smile on his
handsome face. He glanced around the room, and his focus lasered in
on Holly. The room seemed to stop, every eye following the former
mobster as he made his way toward the woman he’d saved.
Laura watched as Holly turned, and her eyes widened. Alexei had
dressed for the occasion, wearing a perfectly tailored suit that clung to his muscular form. He was hotness personified, and Laura wasn’t
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Alexei walked up and stopped mere inches from his target. He
towered over Holly.
“Hello. My name is Howard, and I am be coming from Orlando.”
Holly seemed breathless as she looked up. “Is that your witness
protection name?”
“Yes.” Alexei started to reach a hand out. “But we can pick new
one if you do not like this one. The trials are over. I am free to go
where I like to go. I go with you.”
“No!” Caleb Burke’s favorite word didn’t fall out of his mouth
this time. It was pushed and with great force. Caleb’s face was a mask
of indignation. Unlike normal, his emotion could be read plainly on
his face.
Another song started. This one a happy, bouncy tune.
Holly was in a mess.
“Dance with us,” Cam whispered.
“Be with us,” Rafe said just as provocatively. “We found a closet
that’s unlocked. There’s plenty of room. We need you, bella.”
Their hands were on her hips and getting dangerously close to her
breasts. Laura’s heart sped up. It always did when they were around.
“Take me there.”
Holly would figure it out. She was caught in between two men,
and that was an amazing place to be. Laura gave her best friend a little wave as Cam and Rafe led her off.
It was time for Laura to dance.
THE END
WWW.SOPHIEOAK.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A lifetime devotee to the written word, Sophie published her first
novel in 2010. Prior to becoming a novelist, she worked in theater and
comic books. She is known primarily for her Texas Sirens series and Bliss, Colorado series. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband and three precocious children, who wonder when mom is
going to write a book they will be allowed to read. Her answer:
probably never. Sophie believes in happy endings for everyone, no
matter how extreme the story. Her stories may feature some of the
fringe elements of sexuality, but at heart they are always about love.
Also by Sophie Oak
Ménage Amour: Texas Sirens 1: Small Town Siren
Ménage Amour: Texas Sirens 2: Siren in the City
Ménage Everlasting: Texas Sirens 3: Siren Enslaved
Ménage Everlasting: Texas Sirens 4: Siren Beloved
Ménage Amour: Nights in Bliss, Colorado 1: Three to Ride
Ménage Everlasting: Nights in Bliss, Colorado 2: Two to Love
Everlasting Classic: Nights in Bliss, Colorado 3: One to Keep
Siren Classic: Away From Me
Ménage Everlasting: A Faery Story: Bound
Also by Sophie Oak and Chloe Lang
Siren LoveXtreme: Playing the Field
Available at
BOOKSTRAND.COM
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Document Outline
LOST IN BLISS
THE END