“Understood,” Wynn stated. Then he turned to Giana. “Can we talk in private?”
Giana glanced at Xavier, Julian and Roman, then back to Wynn. The pleading look in his eyes won her over. “All right. There’s a room in the back. Let’s go.” She took off, not looking behind her to see if he followed.
Once they were inside the empty room, she spun around to face him. “So, what do you want, Wynn? To take more potshots at me? To demean my character further? Because you already did a bang-up job.”
Wynn shook his head. “I don’t want to do that, Giana. I came here to apologize.”
“Apologize?” Giana croaked.
“Yes.” Wynn moved toward her, but Giana swiftly took a few steps back. She hadn’t been prepared for this.
“Why?”
“I misjudged you. I treated you unfairly. I believed the worst when you never gave me any reason to doubt your affection for me. And I’m terribly sorry, Giana.” His eyes brimmed with tenderness and passion.
“You hurt me, Wynn.”
“I know. And I deserve your scorn. But if you will hear me out, I’d like to explain.”
Giana folded her arms across her chest. “Very well.”
“I’ve talked to you about my divorce from Christine, but I didn’t tell you what my mistrust really stems from.”
“Go on.”
“Having my mother walk out on me when I was young affected me. She left me and my dad for another man to live her life without us, without me. Do you have any idea how that made me feel?” Giana shook her head. “I’ll tell you. I felt unloved and unwanted.”
“But you had your dad.”
“My father was a broken man. Losing my mother devastated him. He wasn’t able to recover from a failed marriage and losing the house he’d bought for her and all the hopes and dreams that came with it. He checked out on me, Giana. It’s why I turned to the Boys & Girls Club, because I was desperate for someone to care. And I found that person in my mentor, Les. I wish you could have met him. He was a fantastic guy. Anyway, as the years went by, I hardened my heart and became angrier and angrier at my mother for her betrayal. At one time, I didn’t think any woman could be trusted, and then I met Christine.”
“And you fell in love.” She didn’t need to hear him wax lyrical about another woman.
“In lust was more like it,” Wynn said. “Looking back, I realize we didn’t share the same values or want the same things out of life. I was enamored with a pretty face and so when she too left me for another man, it only proved my theory that all women were evil. And so, like my father, I shut down, closing myself off from the rest of the world for years. I didn’t date other women. I focused on my work and became more determined than ever to become a success so no one could take my joy again.”
“Wynn, that’s a lonely existence.”
Wynn nodded. “I didn’t even want to acknowledge that side of myself, because I was afraid. Afraid of allowing someone in. But then you came along, pushing through the barriers I’d erected around myself. You were relentless, never taking no for an answer, and when I met you, I was blown away by your beauty and your fierce spirit, too. It’s why I didn’t want to let you go.”
“I thought it was just about sex.”
“Oh, the sex has been off the charts, but Giana, for the first time, I was laughing and talking and sharing my life with someone—with you. You were like a breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed. And I fell for you. I fell hard.”
“No.” A tear slid down her cheek. “Don’t say that, because you don’t really mean it.”
“It’s true, baby,” Wynn said, moving closer until he was just inches away and could cup her cheeks in his large palms. “It’s why it hurt so much when I thought you betrayed me.”
“How could you believe that when I’ve always been on your side? Team Wynn all the way.”
“I know, and I’m sorry, Giana. I was a fool,” Wynn said. “I meant it when I told your father and brothers that I would never want to hurt you. I love you, Giana. I think I have from the moment I saw you at the boxing ring, and I’ve been falling deeper and deeper in love with you each day.”
Giana lowered her head as tears streamed down her face.
“I know I don’t have the right to ask you this, but I’m going to. Forgive me, please. Give me another chance to be the man you want, the man you deserve.” Wynn lowered himself to one knee and, reaching inside his tuxedo jacket, produced a ring box. “Be my wife, Giana.”
* * *
Wynn looked up into Giana’s beautiful brown eyes and prayed she would give them a chance to have their happily-ever-after.
Giana was sobbing, so he asked, “Did you hear me?”
She nodded. “I love you, too, Wynn. I think I knew after the first time we made love. I was so overwhelmed by the intensity of my feelings for you. It frightened me and I had to leave.”
“I assumed you were running scared because you’d crossed a professional line.”
“That, too,” Giana said. “I’d never been as intimate with another man like I was with you. I laid it all on the line, Wynn—sharing my hopes, fears and my family with you, and that was scary for me, because I had my life planned out, with my career coming first. But meeting you changed that. Changed me.” She stepped away from him. “But sometimes love isn’t enough. It’s about trust, Wynn. And I’m not sure you trust me. Or that I can trust you with my heart.”
“I do trust you, Giana,” Wynn said, rising to his feet. “I admit I was momentarily blindsided because of my fear. I’ve always thought I wasn’t good enough or worthy of love because every woman I’ve loved or thought I loved left me.”
“You are worthy, Wynn. And I would never leave you.”
He smiled. “I’ve let my fear of being unwanted and unloved rule me for too long, but no more.” Wynn was not going to let his past determine his future. He wanted a life with Giana, and he was going to fight for it. “Tell me it’s not too late, Giana. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”
Giana was quiet for several beats, and Wynn thought that it was over, that he’d ruined the best thing that had ever happened to him. But then she surprised him. “I can and I do forgive you, Wynn.” She smiled through her tears.
“You do?” Wynn furiously kissed her nose and wet cheeks and placed his forehead on hers. “Your capacity for forgiveness humbles me, Giana.”
“That’s because you haven’t known the kind of love in your life that I’ve known in mine,” Giana responded, reaching upward to stroke his cheek. “But I want that for you, Wynn. For us. I want a life with you. I want marriage and babies. I want the whole thing!”
Wynn whooped loudly and picked Giana up, twirling her in his arms before eventually setting her back on her feet and placing the six-carat cushion-cut halo diamond ring on her finger. “But we don’t have to start a family right away. Whenever you’re ready and you feel like you’ve accomplished all your goals, Giana, only then.”
Seconds later, he heard the crowd in the ballroom counting down. “Ten, nine, eight, seven...”
Giana circled her arms around Wynn’s neck and pulled him into a searing kiss just as the clock struck midnight. “Don’t you get it, silly? I’ve accomplished the greatest thing in my life, and that was finding true love with you.”
Epilogue
Two months later
“I can’t believe Xavier got the Porscha Childs to sing at our engagement party,” Giana gushed to Wynn after the popular R&B songstress belted out one of Giana’s favorite love songs. The entire family was gathered in the great room at the Lockett mansion, where a small stage had been erected for Porscha.
“Neither can I,” Wynn said. “She’s amazing. As are you, my love.” He swept his lips over hers.
Giana still couldn’t believe she was engaged to be married. When they’d come out into the b
allroom on New Year’s Eve, all smiles, with Giana sporting a huge rock, her family had cheered with delight. And her mother had whispered in Giana’s ear, “I told you so.”
Her mother’s only request had been for Giana to have a long enough engagement so she could plan a proper wedding, since she claimed she’d been thwarted by her older sons’ swift marriages. Giana and Wynn had agreed. The extra time would allow Giana to become familiar with her new position as CEO of the Atlanta Cougars. She’d been thrilled when Roman chose her as his second in command.
Meanwhile, Wynn’s new sports drink would be coming out in the summer. The first ad would feature Curtis and his dad and other single fathers with their sons. Giana was proud of Wynn, but even more so because he’d gone into therapy to deal with his trust and abandonment issues. Eventually, she hoped he would make peace with his mother, but in the meantime, he was taking steps to heal old wounds.
“So, what did you guys think of Porscha?” Xavier asked with a big grin as he walked toward them.
“You did good, Xavier,” Wynn said, shaking his hand.
“Anything for my big sis.” He leaned in to give Giana a bear hug. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go see if I can get an autograph.” And then her wayward brother was rushing off toward the stage.
Giana watched him and Porscha. It might not be discernible to most, but they seemed awfully familiar with one another. She glanced up at Wynn. “Do you...” She paused. “Do you think Porscha is the girl Xavier’s been secretly dating?”
Wynn shrugged. “Anything’s possible. I mean, look at us. You were a career woman who wasn’t looking for love and marriage, and I’d vowed never to commit again. Yet here we are.”
“We were struck by Cupid’s arrow,” Giana said with a smile, turning to her fiancé. Her heart was full of love and joy. “I hope one day Xavier meets the woman who will make him believe in happily-ever-after like I do.” She brushed her lips across Wynn’s.
“And I want to thank you for taking a chance on me, Giana. I love you.”
“And I love you.” Giana stood on her tippy toes to bring Wynn’s head down to hers in a kiss for the ages. “I’m so glad we got locked in that elevator, because that one kiss in the dark changed my life forever.”
* * *
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One Christmas Wish
by Brenda Jackson
PROLOGUE
“Vaughn? Are you awake?”
Vaughn Miller rubbed sleep from his eyes, shifted in bed and adjusted his cell phone against his ear. He recognized the caller immediately. “I’m awake now, Deke. What’s going on?” There had to be a reason Deke Hollister was calling him at three in the morning.
“I wanted you to know before it hit the papers that your name is being cleared.”
Vaughn jerked upright in bed. “Say that again.”
Deke chuckled. “You heard me, pal. I couldn’t say anything before now, but the FBI uncovered a white-collar crime syndicate that stretched across several states including New York. They were able to link the group to what happened at your former employer on Wall Street. Arrests have been made and several confessions collected. One of which will exonerate you of all charges. I’m sure some type of restitution will also be in order.”
Vaughn rubbed a hand down his face. No amount of restitution could make up for the two years that his freedom had been taken away from him. Not only his freedom, but also his respect and dignity.
“Thanks for everything you did, Deke. You’re one of the few who believed in my innocence.” The two had met years ago while in college at Yale. Whereas Vaughn had chosen a career on Wall Street, Deke had always wanted to be a crime fighter, and after a short time in the marines, he went to work for the FBI as one of their top agents investigating domestic terrorism. Last year he left the Bureau and started his own security/investigative firm in DC. He was doing quite well for himself due to his ability to solve crimes and the close connections he still had with the FBI.
“There were others who believed in your innocence as well, Vaughn. Don’t forget the people of Catalina Cove welcomed you home.”
Yes, they had. Thirty-five years ago, he was born in Catalina Cove, Louisiana, a small shipping town an hour’s drive from New Orleans. When he’d left for college, he only returned a few times to visit his parents and sister. When they’d eventually moved away as well, there had been no reason to ever return.
When Vaughn decided to return to the cove to live four years ago, he was aware that some of the locals knew he’d served time. It honestly didn’t matter since Reid Lacroix, the wealthiest man in Catalina Cove, had trusted Vaughn enough to immediately hire him as part of his executive team at Lacroix Industries. That hadn’t come as a big surprise to many since, while growing up in the cove, Vaughn and Reid’s son Julius had been best friends. Julius had also been Vaughn’s roommate in college for four years. Sadly, Julius had been killed in a car accident close to nine years ago. He’d been like a brother to Vaughn and it was a loss that still pained him.
“I told you why they were so quick to welcome me, Deke,” Vaughn said. “If Reid Lacroix likes you then the entire town loves you. Very few people go against Reid on anything.” Reid was still the wealthiest man in town. Half the people living in the cove worked at the Lacroix blueberry plant. Back in the day, the Lacroix and Miller families had run in the same circles since both were part of the cove’s old money elites.
The difference between Reid and some of the other wealthy people in town was that not only did Reid have a big heart, but he also genuinely cared about the welfare of Catalina Cove and the people who lived here. He paid his employees a more than fair wage, which is why very few people left until retirement. And Reid believed in giving hefty bonuses. When his companies did well, he had no problem rewarding his employees. Because of his generosity people were very loyal to him.
A part of Vaughn was glad he had decided to return. Although no comments were ever made about him serving time, he often felt there were those who hadn’t been all that certain of his innocence. He hoped his name being cleared would remove all doubt.
“With both you and Sawyer there,” Deke said, pulling Vaughn’s focus back to the conversation, “when I get the time, I plan to visit the cove more often to get some fishing in.”
“You do that. I owe you, buddy, for everything.”
“You would have done the same for me, Vaughn.”
Yes, he would have. A short while later, Vaughn ended the call with Deke. His friend had believed in his innocence from day one and had promised Vaughn that he would clear his name. When Vaughn was released from prison and decided to move back to Catalina Cove, Deke had paved the way by contacting the cove’s new sheriff, Sawyer Grisham, who happened to be a former FBI agent and good friend of Deke’s.
In addition to Reid, Sawyer and Sawyer’s wife, Vashti, who’d been a classmate of Vaughn’s, a number of former classmates had gone out of their way to welcome him back.
His thoughts shifted to Camila Elderberry, his girlfriend at the time he’d been arrested. The moment charges had been filed, she’d bolted, and hadn’t even wa
ited for the trial.
And then there had been Marie.
She was the person he’d come to think of as “his Marie.” He’d never met her, but she had touched his life through her letters. She’d been part of the prison’s Inmate Pen Pal Program, an agency that connected an inmate with someone on the outside who they exchanged letters with, whose sole purpose was keeping inmates motivated and encouraged while confined. He’d only received a total of eight letters from his pen pal Marie and they always seemed to arrive on some of his worst days, when he was at his lowest and needed motivation and encouragement. The letters had been a beacon of hope against the injustices that had put an innocent man behind bars. They had kept him positive, and that optimistic attitude was the reason he had been released after serving only two years of a five-year sentence.
The guidelines of the program prohibited the pen pals from sharing personal information so Vaughn was fairly certain Marie was not even his pen pal’s real name. The letters were delivered to him through the agency and when he wrote back, they were delivered to his pen pal the same way. He definitely owed “his Marie” a debt of gratitude.
And now his name was being cleared.
Vaughn drew in a deep breath, feeling like a heavy weight had been lifted off his chest. Knowing he couldn’t get back to sleep, he eased out of bed. One of the first places he went was to the dresser where he kept a packet full of important papers. He knew just what he was looking for. The letters he’d received from Marie, which he still read on occasion.
Shuffling through the letters, he came to the last one he’d received, which was the one that had inspired him the most.
There are days that will seem hopeless.
And nights that seem filled with despair.
Always look forward to tomorrow.
Brighter days are coming, even when it appears they aren’t.
Holiday Playbook--A Christmas workplace romance Page 17
