33. Josh
“I’ve got good news and bad news,” Josh announced to Effie.
“And I have to admit that you were right.” His future wife was in their backyard, picking tomatoes from her garden.
Last spring, Effie had spent hours planting tomatoes, green beans, cabbage, potatoes, peppers, carrots, radishes, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, onions, garlic, basil, parsley, and strawberries.
Now that her small crops were ready for harvest, Effie was pondering enlarging the garden next year so she could preserve her produce by either canning or freezing it.
“Well, you know I’m always thrilled when someone admits I’m right about something.” Effie grinned, wiping her wrist across one of her arched, black eyebrows. “But I’m almost scared to ask what the bad news is.” She straightened and sauntered his way.
Even covered in dirt, his body reacted to her, breathtakingly gorgeous, with shining raven-black hair pulled into two braids and a pair of ridiculously large sunglasses protecting her exotic amber eyes.
The halter top she wore exposed much of her silky back, tempting Josh to untie the strings and stroke her smooth skin.
“You put some sunscreen on, right? Even with your darker pigment, the risk of skin cancer is—”
Effie interrupted, “Do you know how sexy you are,” wrapping her arms around his shoulders, “when you lecture me about the importance of SPF?” Quaking as her teeth captured his earlobe, he held his breath when her hands slid under his polo shirt.
“It’s my duty as a doctor and your husband—” he managed, just before one of her slim hands travelled down to the front of his khaki shorts.
“Uh uh,” she whispered into his ear, “not my husband yet. Still just my hot fiancé.” Slanting her mouth against his, her tongue licked the seam of his lips, and Josh forgot both the good and the bad news he had been about to tell her.
Tall trees and a wooden fence surrounding the perimeter of the backyard secluded the couple for every single outdoor activity Effie loved, and she drew Josh into a shaded area of their patio, replete with a padded lounger big enough for the both of them.
Extending her endlessly long legs, Effie reclined, and a small patch of sunlight fell on the strip of her stomach exposed between her top and her shorts.
His thumb traced a line of sweat between her breasts.
“I think we can do better than this.” Grinning, he reached behind her back, untied her top, and stretched out beside the most tantalizing woman known to man. Hooking both thumbs into the elastic waistband of her shorts, he gave a small tug, dropping them next to their lounger.
“You know, I’ve always thought you had the very best bedside manner.” With her knees parting to accommodate his hips, Josh tasted her flesh, sweet and salty, the true essence of Effie. “Josh,” she panted, and her fingers were in his hair, tugging at his blond head.
Josh had been engaged before; had, in fact, almost gotten married three years ago, and every day he sent a mental thank you to Tess for falling in love with his best friend, Sam.
If they hadn’t met on that train, Josh would never have discovered everlasting love.
What he had with Effie outshone anything he could imagine experiencing with anyone else.
And as this unbelievable woman writhed under his every touch, he knew she would be the only woman for him for the rest of his life.
“I love you.” Her golden-brown eyes mirrored the emotion in his own blue eyes.
Caressing her face with the back of his hand, he inquired, “Tell me again why we aren’t already married?
” His surgeon’s fingers deftly retied her top, and he easily slipped her shorts back up over her long brown legs before pulling his own on.
Effie laughed in the carefree manner she had, brushing back hair from his forehead. “Babe, if we were already married, I wouldn’t get to call you my hot fiancé.” She tracked her lips across his chest. “But I seriously can’t wait until you are my very desirable and seriously studly husband.”
“Studly? Is that even a word?”
She answered as she draped her body over him. “When I’m describing you, it is most definitely. You are so handsome.” She kissed his jaw. “I can’t believe you’ll be mine forever.” Her hands stroked his chest. “Hey, where did you disappear to this morning? And what was I right about?”
“Oh, yeah, what I was about to tell you before you seduced me.” He laughed when she nipped his neck, then moaned when she licked it. “Do you want me to finish my story, or should we just take this inside?”
“No,” she curled up in his arms, “please tell me the news!”
“Well, I ran over to Dad’s house to see if he wanted to get breakfast before I took the car to the shop, since he never really answered about it last night.
” Early Saturday morning breakfasts had been their thing after Josh moved into Effie’s house, which was, conveniently for him, located right around the block from his dad’s.
When Effie bought the house, she and Josh weren’t a couple; in fact, they hadn’t even been dating.
Josh still had one foot firmly in New York City then, with plans to return once his surgical leave was complete.
When his fiancée had moved in here, she had no way of knowing that she would one day be living so close to her future father-in-law, but that was just another link in their chain of fate.
“And you were right about Dad and Charlotte. She was just getting ready to leave when I got there.”
Effie interjected with an ear-deafening squeal, screaming, “God, I knew it! I’ve said all week that I thought they were spending their nights together!
Those two practically devoured each other at dinner last night.
I’m shocked they made it out of the restaurant without ripping each other’s clothes off. ”
“I wouldn’t know, because I only had eyes for you. But can we please remember this is my dad you’re talking about?”
“I knew they were perfect for each other,” Effie sighed. “But please tell me you didn’t interrupt them.”
“No, no, they were fully clothed. Thank god.”
“Okay, then tell me more,” Effie demanded.
His hand caressed her smooth back. “She made my dad breakfast.”
“Oh, how romantic! Henry loves breakfast.” Josh nodded. “What’d she make?”
“Breakfast casserole.”
“Ooh, I love that stuff!”
“I know you do. I almost called you over, but thought that might be weird. It was really sweet because she had made up containers of leftovers for my dad—”
“And you ate some.” Josh nodded again. “I know my fiancé. You’re so sexy when you’re hungry,” Effie moved her hand to his waistband. “So, what were he and Charlotte like this morning?”
“Happy. Giddy, practically. After Charlotte left, though, he got tense…god, this sucks.”
“What? What is it?”
“Well, he told me my mom called him this morning-”
“When Charlotte was there?”
“Yeah, but she didn’t know. He told her it was a customer from the shop.”
“I thought he blocked her ages ago?”
“He did, but apparently, she started calling the shop and then hanging up, so he unblocked her on his cell so she’d stop annoying him at work, and boom, she immediately restarted her cycle of emotional abuse: texting him, saying she wants to meet up with him, but won’t tell him why.
” Josh spoke rapidly, irritated with his mom.
“Oh, no. Do you think it’s about the wedding? Do you think she knows?”
Josh had agonized over inviting his mom to their wedding.
Would he regret not having her there? For years, he’s assumed she’d walked away without a backward glance, but after he’d first come home to South Dakota, he’d learned that she had been keeping tabs on him through his grandpa, so obviously, she cared about him or at least hadn’t forgotten about him.
“I don’t see how, since Grandpa swears he hasn’t said anything.
” Josh inhaled deeply, knowing this next part would be troubling.
“But Dad told me that Charlotte doesn’t know about Mom contacting him.
In fact, she assumes that he hasn’t spoken to Mom, I think, since she left. ”
“Oh, no—that’s so not good, Josh! They can’t start a relationship with him hiding this from her!
Remember how upset I was when I found out about your secrets?
This is the same thing,” Effie declared.
Josh flinched, but she was right. Two years ago, after first encountering Effie, he’d been working as a mechanic in his dad’s shop.
Keeping two truths from her: that he was a surgeon and that he lived in New York City, had almost come between them.
“I can’t believe Henry isn’t being honest! That’s so unlike him.”
“Except for when we moved to Beverley, and he let everyone believe he was a widower.”
Effie nudged his arm. “Joshua Livingston, you know why he did that! He was trying to help you!”
Laughing, Josh shook his head. The way Effie loved his dad was one of his favorite things about her.
“Settle down, mama bear. Before we solve part one of the bad news, I need to give you part two. So while Dad was upstairs talking to my mom on the phone, with Charlotte cooking breakfast in the kitchen, your mom showed up at his house. And Charlotte answered the door.”
Effie sat up. “Oh, hell no!”
“Yep, he’s right.” In unison, Josh and Effie turned to Hamilton, who was peeking out from the sliding glass doors.
“What the hell, Ham? Ever hear of ringing a doorbell?” Effie chastised her younger brother.
“For your information, I did, but no one answered, so I figured you two were…indisposed. But I’m glad to see you’re both wearing clothes, unlike last time. You guys really need to learn how to lock your front door.”
“And you need to learn how to call first, not just pop in.” Effie shouldered past her brother on her way into the house. Josh followed, closing the door behind him and nodded in greeting to his future brother-in-law.