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  Karlie’s eyes welled with tears. “Yes, Madison, if you’re absolutely sure.”

  “More than anything.” She removed the ring from the box and placed it on Karlie’s finger.

  “Alice B and me?”

  Madison laughed. “Yes, you and our dog.”

  “Our dog. God, I love the way that sounds, especially when a little voice in me kept warning me that you might be changing your mind.” Karlie brushed Madison’s thick hair. “I love you so much.”

  Madison wiped away the tears. Karlie’s face was so soft she felt like she was touching love. Her hand trembled on Karlie’s cheek. “Two of my junior partners have asked to become senior partners. I’ve promoted my secretary to executive assistant, so she will run all the day-to-day operations. I’m free of the practice except to occasionally attend some partner meetings.”

  “You’re full of surprises. I do love you, and”—Karlie gestured to the room filled with wait staff, musicians, and crew, and lowered her voice—“if there weren’t so many people in this room, I would make mad passionate love to you right here.”

  Madison raised an eyebrow. “I think there’s a private suite on board if you want to avoid dinner, but you’d miss the view as we circle Île de la Cité and Notre Dame.”

  “Ugh, there’s something almost sacrilegious about having sex anywhere within five hundred feet of such a religious symbol. I can wait. Let’s eat. Food, I mean.”

  Madison laughed, happy that everything had gone smoothly so far.

  That evening, when they had returned to their hotel, there was a new intensity to their lovemaking. Madison couldn’t believe she was capable of the things Karlie made her feel. For the first time in her life, making love brought her near to tears. As the tension built in her body, she whispered, “I love you so much, Karlie,” and those words brought her to a magnificent orgasm. She trembled and clung to Karlie. “Hold me. Hold me just like this always.”

  Karlie did.

  Gun Brooke lives and works in her Viking-era village in Sweden, where she divides her time between writing, family, friends, and dogs. She often visits the USA on her travels and is constantly on the lookout for great characters and locations. This short story takes us back to Carolyn and Annelie from Course of Action, the very first romance Gun published with Bold Strokes. These characters also make an appearance in Gun’s latest romance, Fierce Overture (July 2010).

  Through the Eyes of a Child

  Gun Brooke

  Christmas Eve

  “But, Carolyn, you’re not ready.” The reproach in Annelie Peterson’s voice was obvious, but the tenderness in her eyes belied her exasperated expression.

  “I…I think this might be a mistake, darling.” Carolyn Black donned her best version of a convincing smile as she tugged at the belt of her silk robe. Sitting at her vanity, she had begun to put on impeccable makeup, making sure every auburn hair was in place, but she was not dressed. She told herself that she had rehearsed similar scenes in movies and films enough times to make it sound believable.

  “You don’t fool me for a second,” her wife said quietly and took her by the shoulders, effectively vanquishing the illusion that she’d ever be able to fool the stunning, tall blonde whom she’d loved more than life for over five years.

  “I don’t?”

  “No. You’re intimidated at what’s going on, and you hate that.” Annelie pressed her full lips to Carolyn’s temple.

  “No, I mean, yes, perhaps, but I still think that subjecting Piper to a multitude of friends so soon is perhaps not the best course of action.”

  “Are you sure that’s the real reason?” Annelie didn’t break contact, and her bright blue eyes penetrated every single one of Carolyn’s defenses, as usual.

  “No.” Carolyn rolled her shoulders. “I’m not sure of much of anything, but the fact remains, Piper’s been with us for less than two months—”

  “And she’s already dressed in her Christmas dress that you bought her, sitting on the stairs, waiting.”

  “She is?” Carolyn faltered, unable to remember what she intended to say. “Perhaps because we more or less talked her into this.”

  “She’ll be introduced to family and friends who will be her support network next to the two of us.” Annelie was frowning now, a familiar but certainly disconcerting knitting of her perfect eyebrows that could still make Carolyn cringe.

  “What if we introduce them to her a few at a time?”

  “But, Carolyn, we’ve done that. Your sister and her family. Jem and the others at Key Line Productions. Now we’re extending her world a little more by having our annual Christmas party. I don’t see the harm.” Annelie pulled Carolyn off the vanity chair and into her arms. “Unless you have a reason you’re not telling me about?”

  “I don’t. I just don’t want to do anything that puts unnecessary pressure on her. She’s just a child.”

  “And you’re a mother hen.” Annelie’s narrow features softened as she leaned in for a kiss. She nibbled along Carolyn’s lips, coaxing them apart.

  “I’m not!” Carolyn insisted after the deep, searing kiss ended. Annelie’s mouth usually distracted her no end, but right now thoughts of what was best for Piper took precedence.

  “You have about twenty minutes before our guests are here. If we were going to cancel, it’s a tad on the late side.”

  “All right, all right,” Carolyn muttered and sat down at the vanity again. “I’ll be ready in two minutes.” Carolyn snorted at Annelie’s expression of doubt. “I promise. Two minutes.” She pulled her shoulder-length hair into her trademark twist and pushed bobby pins into it without even looking. Perfecting the already applied mascara and blush took twenty seconds, some dark berry red lipstick took another ten, and then she slipped into a black cocktail dress and black pumps. “There.”

  Annelie looked impressed and quite shocked. “You’re telling me that you could’ve moved that fast at any given time during our years together and you’ve kept it a secret?”

  “Funny.” Carolyn stood and gently but insistently pushed Annelie up against the door leading into their walk-in closet. She held Annelie by her waist and pressed her lips against her neck, inwardly blessing whoever invented her smearproof lipstick. Annelie’s familiar scent of citrus and vanilla made Carolyn dizzy and she had to remind herself they were running late. She reluctantly let go, but was pleased to see Annelie’s eyes darkened with the same passion. Five years, and she can still take my breath away. And I hers, apparently. Carolyn thought back to the time when it had just been the two of them. A few months ago, their lives had changed forever, but most of all it changed irreversibly for a little nine-year-old girl named Piper.

  Two months earlier

  Annelie looked at the sleeping child next to her. The plane was only thirty minutes from landing at Miami International. It had been a long flight, more than five hours, and the little girl had already been exhausted before they left Los Angeles.

  Finding an unusually rain-drenched City of Angels utterly depressing, Annelie had spent most of her forty-eight-hour stay indoors. It had been an eerie sense of continued déjà vu when she’d sat in the social worker’s office, trying to wrap her brain around the fact that she had a little family member she’d never known existed. So used to being alone until she met Carolyn, Annelie had sometimes envied the people around her with large families. A place to feel safe, where you could be yourself among people who actually knew you. The real you. Annelie saw that when Carolyn spent time with her younger sister Beth and her family, she was far from the famous iconic actress who couldn’t go anywhere without being recognized. She would tumble with the kids and joke with Beth and her husband Joe. Nowadays, they all regarded Annelie just as much a part of their family, which had taken some getting used to.

  Glancing down at the white-blond head resting against her shoulder, Annelie sighed. I’m going from no living relatives to having a little sister. It was so surreal, it wasn’t even funny. Suddenly blinking aw
ay persistent tears, Annelie thought of the haunted look in Piper’s eyes when the social worker introduced them at the temporary foster parents’ house. Her first impression was a pair of huge, porcelain blue eyes in a triangular little face, looking at her with a dulled expression. The unreal feeling was reinforced by the fact that her little sister looked exactly like Annelie at that age. Unexpected, since Annelie was the very image of her mother. Perhaps my father fell for a certain type of woman. Blond, tall, and curvaceous.

  Annelie’s father had only lived with Piper’s mother for a year, then left before the little girl was born. He had never paid any child support or taken any interest in Piper whatsoever, something that didn’t surprise Annelie in the least. She remembered many birthdays and Christmases when she’d waited by the phone and the mailbox, hoping to hear from him. It hurt her to imagine this elfin girl doing the same, and pained her even more to think of Piper losing her mother less than a week ago. The social worker had sounded relieved to find a relative so soon, and had been quite perplexed when the half-sister turned out to be a famous Hollywood producer and publisher. At first this seemed to bother the conscientious woman, but she mellowed when she realized Annelie was also a prolific philanthropist who generated enormous amounts for programs for women and children, as well as HIV / AIDs victims of any age.

  “Piper, this is your big sister Annelie.” The social worker carefully made the introduction together with the foster parents. Piper had not spoken a word for the first hour, but when it became apparent she was going to stay with Annelie, she had whisperingly asked if Annelie’s trailer park was far from where she had stayed with her mother.

  “Oh, Piper.” Annelie sank to her knees, taking both of Piper’s hands in gentle grip. “I don’t live in a trailer park. I live in a house in Miami, Florida. I have plane tickets for us to go there tomorrow. I’ll be back here tomorrow morning to pick you up.”

  “I can’t go with you now? Please?” Piper asked and clung to Annelie’s fingers, her own hands ice cold.

  “No, sweetie. Not yet. Tomorrow.”

  “You promise to come back?”

  It broke Annelie’s heart to hear Piper plead. “I promise.” Annelie acted on impulse and pulled the little girl into her arms. She felt how thin Piper was, how she trembled. Annelie rocked her, wanting to infuse some of her own warmth. When she let go, she dug in her purse for a business card. “Here. If there is anything you need, or you just want to say hello, you can call this number.” Annelie pointed at the number at the bottom. “That goes to my cell phone.”

  “Okay.” Piper pressed the business card to her chest.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve started our descent to Miami International and expect to touch down in fifteen minutes…” The captain’s voice made Annelie flinch and return to the present. Piper still slept soundly, and considering this was her first flight ever, it was no doubt a sign of her exhaustion that she hadn’t been able to keep her eyes open.

  “Piper? Sweetie? We’re about to land.”

  Piper stirred and then sat up, wide eyed when she noticed she had slept leaning against Annelie. “Will Ca-Carolyn be there?”

  “I know she will. She’s so eager to meet you.”

  “She won’t think I’m in the way?”

  “Far from it.” Annelie knew that Carolyn was probably pacing the VIP section of Miami International as they spoke, impatiently waving off the staff as they tried to cater to her. “She’s been really busy getting your room ready.”

  “My room.” Piper suddenly had that dazed look from yesterday when Annelie first met her.

  “Shh. Everything will be fine.” Annelie hoped she sounded more convincing that she felt.

  Christmas Eve

  “You thinking about what Santa might bring tomorrow?” Carolyn asked and sat down next to Piper halfway down the landing.

  “Santa?” Piper blinked repeatedly. “I don’t think he knows I’m here. He thinks I’m still at the trailer park with…with Mama.”

  “Oh, honey.” Carolyn hugged Piper close. She kissed the top of Piper’s head. “I think Santa knows exactly where you are. And he knows you lost your mom as well, sweetie. He knows these things.”

  “Really?”

  “Absolutely,” Annelie chimed in, sending Carolyn a grateful nod as she took a seat on Piper’s other side. “Santa is a clever guy.”

  “Not always,” Piper murmured.

  “What do you mean?” Carolyn asked.

  “He didn’t always come to the trailer park. He forgot me and my friends.” Piper sighed.

  “Oh, honey, I understand.” Annelie briefly touched Piper’s cheek, but the girl pulled back suddenly.

  “No, you don’t.” Piper sounded angry and glowered at Annelie and Carolyn. Her small body was tense and she trembled. “You don’t know anything. You never came to see us. You never saw how sick Mama was.”

  “Piper, sweetheart.” Carolyn spoke softly. “We didn’t know. If anyone had contacted Annelie, we would’ve helped, I promise.”

  “Nobody could help Mama.” Piper stood up, but her legs buckled beneath her and she slumped down on the plush-carpeted step again. “Mama was always afraid that social workers would take me away from her. I tried to tell her that she shouldn’t worry. I wouldn’t let them take me, but…then she left me.” She wiped furiously at her eyes. “That’s not fair.”

  “God almighty, it’s not fair at all,” Annelie muttered.

  “You know what? You’re right.” Carolyn extended a hand to Piper. “We have only some idea what you’ve been through. I lost my mother when I was twelve, just a little older than you. I had to take care of my sister, who was one, and my brother, who was six, because my father had to work.”

  Piper sobbed, but her eyes had softened marginally. “Really?”

  “Really.” Carolyn motioned for Piper to move closer. “And one thing I can promise you, you’re going to be okay. You will think of your mama many times and cry, but you’ll be fine in the end.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “We just do.” Annelie wrapped her arms around Piper and Carolyn. “And there’s one more thing I know for sure.” She waited until Piper’s curiosity made the girl scoot closer. “Your mama wouldn’t want you to be sad forever. She wanted what was best for you. Always. That’s what mothers do.”

  “Yes.” Piper nodded and finally relaxed into Annelie’s arms. “I just want her back so bad.”

  “Of course you do. That’s only natural.” Annelie looked through tears at Carolyn. The thin arms around her neck obviously choked her in more ways than one. “I can make you another promise, Piper. You’re not alone. We’re not going to abandon you.”

  Trembling and crying quietly, Piper hid in Annelie’s arms long enough for her legs to go numb and her back to ache, but Annelie kept her gentle hold on the little girl. Eventually Piper’s tears ceased and she accepted a tissue from Carolyn.

  “Let’s go downstairs and make sure everything is ready for the party.” Carolyn rose. “I think I can hear cars pulling up outside.”

  *

  The house glittered and sparkled like a treasure chest. Not one but three Christmas trees stood tall and abundantly decorated in the living, family, and dining rooms. Illuminated garlands adorned the doorways and staircase railings, and Mary’s efforts at the stove added to the holiday spirit as their aromas wafted from the kitchen. Carolyn stood in the wide doorway leading into the living room, where all their guests gathered around the fireplace. Outside, Miami was quite cool, which in turn added to the illusion of a winter season. The skyline across the water was a jewel in its own right, reflecting in the calm water. A few illuminated boats glided silently across the bay, making it picture perfect.

  “The last of our guests are arriving, Carolyn. Noelle and Helena are walking up the driveway as we speak.”

  “Oh, so that’s actually Noelle singing ‘Silent Night’? I thought you put her new Christmas CD on.” Carolyn smiled and tilted her h
ead. In the distance a strong, blues-inspired voice could be heard singing. “Can you believe that voice?”

  “Can anyone? Noelle has shown the world that she can sing anything.”

  “And Piper?” Carolyn looked around, suddenly alarmed.

  “She’s playing with Pamela. Beth is keeping an eye on them, and she says it’s like they’ve been friends forever.”

  “I think we should take turns staying close to her, at least for now,” Annelie said, still looking concerned. “She looked a bit shell-shocked at first at the sight of this many people. Perhaps you were right and we should’ve canceled our plans?”

  “Actually, I think you were right.” Carolyn brushed her thumb across Annelie’s lower lip. “This way she sees that life goes on. It will become part of what’s normal for her from now on. Piper will be fine.”

  “All right.” Annelie took a deep breath. “Oh, look, I think Chicory Ariose are arriving.”

  “Oh, good, they made it.” Carolyn smiled at the thought of the famous all-women group. “Tell them I’ll be there in a little bit.”

  Annelie took the time to kiss Carolyn softly on the lips before she walked toward the cheerful voices, calling out “Merry Christmas” to everybody.

  Carolyn hid halfway behind a column next to one of the Christmas trees, spying on the two girls sitting on the stairs together, one auburn head and one blond close together while looking at something Piper was holding. The sudden thought that Pamela looked so much like her, and Piper being the spitting image of Annelie, brought tears to Carolyn’s eyes. Piper was the image of an angel in white leggings and a crisp light blue cotton dress that went almost to her knees. Carolyn knew Annelie hadn’t expected her to pick up something quite so stylish for a nine-year-old, but Carolyn had claimed that this outfit was much more Piper than a regular red or green Christmas dress that would make the child cringe. The fact was, this looked entirely right on Piper, and the girl’s pink cheeks spoke volumes when she tried it on before the party.