He shrugged. “Actually, it really doesn’t matter that much to me. You can keep McKinnon, hyphenate your name – hell, I’d change my name if it came to that. Because the only thing that matters is that you’re finally my wife. That after all that time apart we’re back together. And back in this house that is the only place I’ve ever really felt at home.”
“Speaking of which,” she murmured softly, “how has it been going with your dad?”
He smiled down at her, for she was still barefoot as she’d been all day, and the top of her head barely reached his shoulder. “Surprisingly well. My dad has always been the quiet type, a lot like me, actually, and talking about his feelings and such just isn’t his sort of thing. But he did manage to mumble something about not having been the greatest father over the years, and that he hoped we could try to mend some fences. He’s divorced again, you know. Third time. He swears he’s never getting married again, that he makes a lousy husband, but that he wants to try and be a better father. We’ll see.”
“It takes two, you know,” she reminded him gently. “You’ve accused me of holding a grudge before, but I think perhaps you do as well when it comes to your family. I don’t blame you for being resentful, but maybe if we reach out a little to them it would make things easier.”
“Maybe,” agreed Ben. “At least with my Dad. My mother – well, that’s going to be a much tougher one to crack. But not tonight, hmm? The last thing I want to think about tonight is my screwed-up childhood.”
Lauren smiled at him very suggestively. “Okay, I’ll bite. What do you want to think about tonight, Mr. Rafferty?”
“How fast we can get all of these people out of our house,” he growled in a low voice. “And after that how fast I can get you out of this dress and what’s underneath it.”
She gave him a flirty pat on the cheek. “Honey, who said I’ve got anything on underneath? But let’s see if we can’t hurry things along here so you can find out for yourself.”
Ben wasn’t sure what Lauren said to her mother and sister, but within the next half hour everyone had left – after Lauren had tossed her bridal bouquet to the half dozen single women who’d gathered around to catch it. At first Angela had hung back, shaking her head emphatically when Julia had urged her to join the little group. But then Nick had taken her by the arm and marched her firmly out to take her spot, refusing to let her argue with him on the matter.
But it wasn’t the five foot eleven inch Angela who caught the pretty nosegay of roses and daisies. Instead, it was Madelyn Benoit who snagged the bouquet, to the utter delight of her sister and nieces. Lauren, bold as ever, had then turned to a beaming James Butterfield and told him quite plainly, “Well, now you have to marry her, Uncle James. After all, it’s tradition.”
James had winked at her. “Already in the works, my dear. Isn’t that right, Madelyn?”
Maddy had nodded happily. “We didn’t want to say anything, darling, didn’t want to take anything away from your big day. But James and I plan to marry on Valentine’s Day next year.”
Lauren had given her beloved aunt a hug. “Looks like you and I are more alike than we thought, Aunt Maddy,” she’d whispered. “Because we’ve finally snagged the men of our dreams, the ones we never stopped mooning over, even when we thought we’d lost them forever. I guess sometimes it just takes a little bit longer for dreams to come true.”
***
They honeymooned in Hawaii – a place that astonishingly enough neither of them had ever visited. They spent a week on the island of Maui, where they rented a spacious surf cottage only steps from the beach, and packed a month’s worth of adventures into just seven days – wind surfing, paddle boarding, ziplining, snorkeling, hiking, and driving to the 10,000 foot peak of Haleakala before dawn in order to watch the sunrise before embarking on a death-defying bike ride back down the mountain.
It was a wondrous, magical week, and the newlyweds quickly discovered they had each met their adventure soulmate, both of them up for just about anything daring and fun. They played hard during the day, basking in the hot sun and refreshing tradewinds, and then relaxed in the evenings with sumptuous meals of the local cuisine and Lauren’s new favorite drink – a Mai Tai with an extra floater of rum on top.
And of course they spent a great deal of time engaging in the sort of activities that honeymooners were notorious for – morning, noon, and night; in every room of the cottage; on the porch swing, the double hammock, and the hot tub; in their rented Jeep perched high atop a cliff; and on a deserted stretch of beach just before sunrise.
Ben had grimaced after that particular encounter, however, grumbling that it had taken three separate showers to get all the sand out of certain body parts. Lauren had merely laughed and offered to help him with any sand removal in the future.
It was their last night in Maui, their flight back to San Francisco due to leave late the next morning. They would spend a single night with Julia and Nathan before returning to New York. Ben had less than two months remaining in his editorial job, and would begin to train his replacement in about a week’s time. Lauren was scheduled to fly out on an assignment soon after their return – the second to last one she would embark on without Ben. And then, come January, they would be together all the time, every day and every night.
“You’re probably going to get sick of me,” she told him as they snuggled up next to each other in the hot tub.
“Impossible,” he assured her, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Because this next year is going to be the best time of our life, sweetheart. At least until the next year begins. All of those things you told me you wanted to do six years ago – we’re finally going to have the chance to do them together. And it’s going to be epic. Sensational.”
Lauren heaved a blissful sigh and tilted her head back to gaze up at the night sky. “Every time I would stand out on the deck of the cabin, or on a hotel balcony – no matter where I happened to be in the world – I would always think of you whenever I looked up at the stars,” she confessed. “And I’d remember that night like it had just happened. You know the one I mean?”
“Of course I do,” he replied. “Out of all the memories I have of Big Sur, that one definitely makes the top five.”
She laughed softly, looping her arms around his neck. “And I think I’ve finally got all those damned constellations right. That one right there – it’s Gemini, isn’t it?”
Ben shook his head. “’Fraid not, sweetheart. It’s still Cassiopeia.”
“Dammit!” she swore, slapping her palm on top of the water and inadvertently splashing Ben in the face.
He gave her a mock glare before pulling her astride him. “That’s two things I have to punish you for now,” he teased. “Splashing water in my eyes, and still not knowing your constellations. Let’s see – what would a fitting punishment be? A spanking?” He swatted her butt.
Lauren rolled her eyes. “Really? I barely felt that.”
Ben grinned. “How about I find some rope and tie you up again?”
She gave him a scornful look. “You’d have to catch me first, Blue Eyes.”
“Hmm. Let me think then,” he drawled, tapping a finger against his chin. “I know. Just thought up the perfect punishment. No sex for a week.”
She gasped in outrage, just before laughing riotously. “Oh, that’s a good one! Like you’d really hold out that long. Honey, all I’d have to do would be to parade around in my underwear for five minutes and you’d forget all about your so-called punishment.”
Ben’s mouth moved to the side of her throat as his hands cupped her ass. “Especially since I’d be punishing myself at the same time,” he murmured in her ear, his tongue tracing a wet, erotic circle around the lobe. “So I think instead that your punishment should be you on top for the next seventy two hours. That way you can do most of the work.”