“I can’t believe you’re willing to marry me,” he said.
“I feel like the luckiest woman alive.”
“You?” He held his hand to his brow. “I want you so much I think I’m running a fever.”
“I’ve got a fever, too. Oh, James, we’re going to be so good for each other.”
“Don’t,” he growled.
“Don’t?”
“Don’t look at me like that, Summer. I’m weak enough where you’re concerned. Much more of this, and I’m going to make love to you right in this elevator.”
Summer smiled and moved against the back wall. “You’re so romantic, James—and I mean that.”
“You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Looking at me like you know exactly what I want. Your eyes are telling me you want it as much as I do.”
The elevator eased to a stop, and the doors slid open. Summer’s heart pounded fast as neither of them made the slightest effort to leave.
“We were going to call our families,” she reminded him just as the doors started to close.
James swallowed hard. “Yes, of course.”
With precise movements he led the way out of the elevator and down the hallway to his room. She noticed that when he inserted the key his hand trembled slightly, and she loved him all the more for it.
“The phone’s over by the—”
“Bed.” She completed his sentence, and the word seemed to stick in her throat. She walked across the room and sat on the edge of the mattres, then picked up the phone to dial the familiar number.
It might’ve helped if she’d taken the time to figure out what to tell her parents. But she was afraid she’d lose her nerve.
She couldn’t put into words what she felt for James. She’d never loved anyone this way, this much, and she believed he hadn’t, either. They’d each been in love with someone else, and that other person had caused deep pain. This time was different.
She knew, even before they answered the phone, what her mother and father were going to say.
“James,” she said, in a panic, banging down the telephone receiver and holding out her arms. “Please, could you kiss me first?”
She glanced over at the man she’d marry in less than twenty-four hours, and his face was a study in raw sexual need. He walked across the room. The bed dipped as his weight joined hers. With loving care he gathered her in his arms and claimed her mouth. The kiss was slow and sensual.
He broke away, and his breath was hard and labored. Eager for the taste of him, the touch and feel of him, she brushed her lips over the curve of his jaw, then brought her mouth back to his.
“Maybe you should call your father first,” she whispered when she pulled away.
“All right,” he agreed. Reluctantly he sat up and reached for the bedside phone. Summer knelt behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her head against his shoulder.
“Dad, it’s James,” she heard him say.
“Fine…yes, Vegas is just fine.” Summer could hear a voice on the other end of the line, but she couldn’t make out what was being said.
“I’m calling to let you know I’m getting married.”
The voice went silent.
“Dad? Are you still there?”
The faraway voice returned, this time speaking very fast.
“Dad…Dad…Dad.” Each time James tried to cut in, he was prevented from saying anything.
In frustration, he held the phone away from his ear. “I think you’d better talk to him.”
“Me?” Summer cried. “What do you want me to say?”
“Anything.”
Summer took the receiver and covered it with her hand. “Just remember this when we talk to my parents.”
“I will.” He kissed her briefly.
“Mr. Wilkens,” Summer said. It sounded as if the line had suddenly gone dead. “My name’s Summer Lawton. James and I have known each other a year. I love him very, very much.”
“If you’ve known my son for a year, how is it we’ve never met?”
“I live in California.”
“California?”
“Anaheim. I’m an actress.” She might as well give him all the bad news at once. She didn’t dare look at James.
“An actress?”
“That’s correct.”
“You’re sure you’ve got the right James Wilkens? My son’s the superior court judge.”
“Yes, I know. James and I are going to be married tomorrow evening at seven but we’re planning a larger ceremony in April. We felt it was only right to tell you about our plans.” Convinced she’d done a miserable job, Summer handed the telephone back to James.
Father and son talked a few moments more, and the conversation ended with James abruptly replacing the receiver. He looked at Summer, but she had the strangest feeling he wasn’t seeing her.
“James?”
“He’s decided to fly in for the ceremony.”
“That’s great. I’ll look forward to meeting him.”
“He’s anxious to meet you, as well. He hasn’t set eyes on you and already he thinks you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Summer laughed and slipped her arms around James’s neck. “He could be right.”