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He caught her hand when she started to rise. “If you need to leave the house, call my mother and have her go with you.”
Sheree frowned a moment, then nodded. She doubted anyone knew where they were, but, better safe than sorry.
After slipping out of bed, she went into the bathroom, which was state of the art, from the self-flushing toilet to the self-cleaning bathtub, shower and sink.
She lingered in the shower—which was big enough for two—for a long time, letting the deliciously hot water ease the pleasurable aches and pains in places she’d never had them before.
Mrs. Derek Blackwood. Mrs. Sheree Blackwood.
She couldn’t believe she had proposed to him on the spur of the moment and he had accepted without a second thought.
What would her mother think?
Her mother!
Sheree turned off the water, wrapped herself in a towel, and ran into the living room, where she grabbed her cell phone from her handbag and quickly punched in her mother’s number. How could she have been so thoughtless as to run off and get married without letting her mother know? Meredith must be frantic.
She answered on the first ring. “Sheree? Thank goodness! Are you all right? I’ve been calling you all morning.”
“I’m sorry, I should have called you last night.”
Meredith’s sigh of relief was clearly audible. “Where are you?”
“I’m in Sacramento.”
“Sacramento? What are you doing there?”
“I came with Derek.”
“I see.” There was no mistaking the censure in her mother’s voice.
“It’s not like that,” Sheree said, her temper flaring.
“Isn’t it?”
“We’re not having an affair!” Sheree snapped. “We got married.”
Her mother’s huff of disapproval came through loud and clear, followed by a loud click as she disconnected the call.
“Well, what did you expect?” Sheree muttered. “Hearts and flowers?” When her stomach growled, she punched in a new number. “Hi, Mara, could you do me a favor?”
Derek’s mother materialized in the living room five minutes later. “Is Derek all right?” she asked, glancing around.
“Yes, he’s fine. I just, that is, I’m hungry and there’s no food in the house.”
Mara regarded her through unblinking eyes, nostrils flaring. “Not very hospitable of him to seduce a young woman and not stock the cupboards.”
Sheree blushed from head to foot. She had planned to let Derek break the news to his mother, but she couldn’t just stand there and let Mara think what she was obviously thinking.
“We got married last night,” she said, her cheeks growing even hotter. “We didn’t have time to shop.”
Mara stared at her in disbelief. “He asked you to marry him?”
“Actually”—Sheree cleared her throat—“I asked him.”
“Well, you’re certainly not pregnant, so why the rush?”
First her own mother, Sheree thought, blinking back tears. And now Mara. It was just too much.
“I’m sorry,” Mara said, “I didn’t mean it to sound like that. I’m happy for you both. I just thought that when my son got married, I’d be there, and that Father Lanzoni would perform the ceremony.”
“Who’s Father Lanzoni?” Sheree sat down, her tears forgotten.
Mara sat beside her, smiling wistfully. “He’s an old friend of ours. He’s officiated at all the weddings in our family. He’ll be sorry we didn’t ask him to officiate at yours.”
“Well, Derek and I did talk about having another ceremony in the company of our friends and relatives. The one last night was rather brief, little more than the two of us saying ‘I do.’”
“You really are an old-fashioned girl, aren’t you?” Mara said, grinning. “Didn’t want the honeymoon before the wedding?”
Sheree nodded, her cheeks growing even hotter.
Mara gave her hand a squeeze. “Welcome to the family. Derek is lucky to have you.” She laughed softly when Sheree’s stomach growled loudly. “Come on, daughter, let’s get you something to eat,” she said with a wink. “I have a feeling you’ll need your strength when the sun sets.”
Mara spent the day with Sheree, liking the girl more and more. There was an innocence about her new daughter-in-law that she admired. There was nothing pretentious about her. Honest of heart was the phrase that came to mind. It was a rare attribute among humans and vampires alike.
After taking Sheree to lunch, Mara insisted on taking her shopping at one of the finer clothing stores.
“You want to look your best for Derek, don’t you? Every new bride needs a trousseau heavily stocked with sexy nightgowns and pretty underwear.”
“I appreciate it, really I do, but”—Sheree gestured at the wealth of clothes scattered in the dressing room—“this is too much. And everything is so expensive.”
“Child, I can afford it,” Mara replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Consider it my wedding gift. And speaking of weddings, I’m going to need a new dress. After all, I’m the groom’s mother.”
Sheree watched in awe as Mara dismissed the salesclerk with a wave of her hand. She looked at several dozen gowns, rejecting all of them until she found one in emerald green.
She disappeared into a nearby dressing room. Moments later, she stepped out, announcing, “This is the one.”
Sheree nodded in agreement. The dress fit Mara as if it had been made for her. The green silk was the exact color of her incredible eyes, and the narrow slit up the side was provocative without being too revealing.
“Now,” Mara said, “all we need is to find a dress for you.”
“Not today,” Sheree said. “I’m exhausted.”
Laden with packages, they left the mall a short time later.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” Sheree said as they climbed into a waiting taxi.
“No thanks are necessary, daughter. Just keep making my son happy.”
“I promise I’ll do my best.”
Derek was reading the newspaper when Sheree and Mara returned. If he was surprised to see his mother, it didn’t show, but then, Sheree thought, he had probably sensed that Mara had been there sometime during the day as soon as he woke up.
Laying the paper aside, he raised an inquiring brow when Sheree dumped a pile of bags and boxes on the floor. “Been shopping?” he asked dryly.
