when you opened your arms and let me go…and I discovered I wasn’t ready to leave. And then when I found out what happened to you while we were apart, well. I have some guilt to work through about not finding you and helping you, and that might have played a part in my revenge fantasy, too. Like I could make up for not being there for you back then.”
“You can make up for it by being with me now,” Vivian said urgently. “Cooper, that’s all I want. For us to be together. Everything else will work itself out.”
Love and desire warmed Cooper’s hazel eyes in the instant before he covered her mouth with his for a deep, searching kiss that only ended when a distant buzzing filtered through Vivian’s hazed brain.
Sucking in oxygen, she turned her head in search of the source of the odd noise. A few paces away, her phone lay vibrating amongst the fallen leaves. And that reminded her of the odd email she’d received right before Cooper showed up.
“Speaking of working things out,” he said, a mischievous grin curling his lips. “I told Janine to call this morning to finalize the paperwork.”
Vivian scooped up her phone, and sure enough, it was the title company. “That poor woman. We must be running her ragged.”
Arching a brow, Cooper tilted his head. “We don’t have to make the change. I’m fine with things as they are.”
In answer, Vivian hit the ‘talk’ button, her eyes never leaving Cooper’s. “Hi, Janine? So sorry for all the confusion. Yes, I want to transfer ownership of the Lantern Lake house into both our names. Cooper Hayes and Vivian Banks. Together. Final answer. Thanks.”
She hung up, blood bursting with joy. The possessive edge to Cooper’s jaw and the soft tenderness in his gaze both combined to steal her breath. “It’s a big step,” she said huskily. “Owning property together. A lot of responsibility.”
“We can handle it,” Cooper said confidently, wrapping his arms around her from behind and turning them so they both could gaze up at the ramshackle, partially renovated cabin. “We’re all grown up now, we know how to see something through.”
The enormity of what they were doing hit Vivian suddenly, sending a wave of fear through her. “And you won’t miss roving all over the world, footloose and fancy free?”
She felt his big chest move as he shrugged. “We can still travel. There are lots of places I want to kiss you—the top of the Eiffel Tower, in the shadow of the Parthenon, under an arch at the Alhambra…the list goes on and on. And when we’re done making out around the globe, we’ll come back home.”
“Home,” Vivian echoed, perfectly content in the circle of Cooper’s arms, with the whole world at their feet and the promise of many happy years to come.
The future had never looked so wonderful.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lily Everett grew up in a small town in Virginia reading
Misty of Chincoteague
and
Black Beauty
, taking riding lessons, and longing for a horse of her own. Sadly, her parents gave her a college education instead—but she never forgot what the world looked like from the back of a horse. She currently lives in Austin, Texas, where she writes full-time. Find out more at lilyeverett.com .
Don’t miss the other heartwarming novellas in Lily Everett’s romantic e-original trilogies!
THE BILLIONAIRE BACHELORS
THE BILLIONAIRE BROTHERS
Get even more romance with Lily Everett’s full-length Sanctuary Island series!
Available
February 2014
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
“Lantern Lake” copyright © 2014 by Lily Everett.
All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover: Couple © wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com; lake © zhu difeng/Shutterstock.com; laterns © Alexandra Giese/Shutterstock.com
eISBN
“You can make up for it by being with me now,” Vivian said urgently. “Cooper, that’s all I want. For us to be together. Everything else will work itself out.”
Love and desire warmed Cooper’s hazel eyes in the instant before he covered her mouth with his for a deep, searching kiss that only ended when a distant buzzing filtered through Vivian’s hazed brain.
Sucking in oxygen, she turned her head in search of the source of the odd noise. A few paces away, her phone lay vibrating amongst the fallen leaves. And that reminded her of the odd email she’d received right before Cooper showed up.
“Speaking of working things out,” he said, a mischievous grin curling his lips. “I told Janine to call this morning to finalize the paperwork.”
Vivian scooped up her phone, and sure enough, it was the title company. “That poor woman. We must be running her ragged.”
Arching a brow, Cooper tilted his head. “We don’t have to make the change. I’m fine with things as they are.”
In answer, Vivian hit the ‘talk’ button, her eyes never leaving Cooper’s. “Hi, Janine? So sorry for all the confusion. Yes, I want to transfer ownership of the Lantern Lake house into both our names. Cooper Hayes and Vivian Banks. Together. Final answer. Thanks.”
She hung up, blood bursting with joy. The possessive edge to Cooper’s jaw and the soft tenderness in his gaze both combined to steal her breath. “It’s a big step,” she said huskily. “Owning property together. A lot of responsibility.”
“We can handle it,” Cooper said confidently, wrapping his arms around her from behind and turning them so they both could gaze up at the ramshackle, partially renovated cabin. “We’re all grown up now, we know how to see something through.”
The enormity of what they were doing hit Vivian suddenly, sending a wave of fear through her. “And you won’t miss roving all over the world, footloose and fancy free?”
She felt his big chest move as he shrugged. “We can still travel. There are lots of places I want to kiss you—the top of the Eiffel Tower, in the shadow of the Parthenon, under an arch at the Alhambra…the list goes on and on. And when we’re done making out around the globe, we’ll come back home.”
“Home,” Vivian echoed, perfectly content in the circle of Cooper’s arms, with the whole world at their feet and the promise of many happy years to come.
The future had never looked so wonderful.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lily Everett grew up in a small town in Virginia reading
Misty of Chincoteague
and
Black Beauty
, taking riding lessons, and longing for a horse of her own. Sadly, her parents gave her a college education instead—but she never forgot what the world looked like from the back of a horse. She currently lives in Austin, Texas, where she writes full-time. Find out more at lilyeverett.com .
Don’t miss the other heartwarming novellas in Lily Everett’s romantic e-original trilogies!
THE BILLIONAIRE BACHELORS
THE BILLIONAIRE BROTHERS
Get even more romance with Lily Everett’s full-length Sanctuary Island series!
Available
February 2014
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
“Lantern Lake” copyright © 2014 by Lily Everett.
All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover: Couple © wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com; lake © zhu difeng/Shutterstock.com; laterns © Alexandra Giese/Shutterstock.com
eISBN
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