Margaret’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I don’t know…wait, yes. Yes, I think I did. Why, was it a secret?”
He ignored the question. No, it wasn’t a secret, but it also wasn’t the truth. Or not the whole truth, anyway. He’d decided to put the Chicago plan on hold indefinitely…for her. But she didn’t know that.
His gaze moved to her father who had his head buried in a file again, completely unaware that it was partly his fault. Okay, maybe not this misunderstanding—that was his fault, and maybe Margaret’s too. But Donald’s gigantic mess-ups in the love department had scarred Jenna, probably more deeply than this man knew.
He’d seen it—the fear. The trust issues. And when he’d pushed she’d even admitted it. She’d been terrified…because she liked him. Because she’d been conditioned to believe that romantic love didn’t last. That passion and love were fleeting emotions that left hearts and homes in ruins.
Oh man. He bit back the panicky urge to run out of there. “I’ve got to go.” He held up the check. “Thanks for this and, uh…I’m glad to hear you found your daughter.”
Margaret turned to Donald and the two adversaries exchanged a smile so intimate, he found himself looking anywhere else. Staring at a flower pattern in the rug, he backed away as quickly as possible. “I’ll, uh, I’ll see you around.”
He was out of the office and back on the street in a matter of minutes and he didn’t pause before heading to his next destination.
Relief and hope gave him an extra kick of adrenaline and he found himself racing other pedestrians down the long avenue blocks to reach Jenna’s office. Could it really be this simple? Was his gut right, after all?
He made a mental note to apologize to his gut for ever doubting it…if his next meeting went as planned. Now he just needed to track her down. There was one person who would know where he could find her…
He pulled out his phone and called Eddie. “Hey man, I need a favor. Do you have a number for Mackenzie Rivers?”
Chapter Thirteen
“Jenna, there’s someone here to see you.”
She didn’t look up at the new intern whose name she couldn’t remember. “I don’t have any appointments this morning.”
Her office was exactly as she’d left it—clean, spacious, and filled with light. Between the comfort of her office and the stack of cases waiting for her undivided attention—she could almost pretend the last week never happened.
Almost.
“He said he didn’t have an appointment, but that you’d want to see him.”
She sighed. What use was having gatekeepers if they didn’t keep out people she didn’t want to see? “I’m in the middle of something here. Tell him he needs to make an appointment.”
The intern didn’t respond but Jenna didn’t hear footsteps leaving her office, either. Finally she looked, biting back another sigh. “What?”
The intern, who looked too young to be working, blushed a bright crimson. “I’m sorry, it’s just that…it’s just that…”
“Spit it out, please.”
“He said you’d want to see him because you’re in love with him.”
Jenna’s head shot up and she stared wide-eyed at the intern. “He said what?”
The intern opened his mouth and she raised a hand.
“No, don’t repeat it.” She clamped her lips together to keep from cursing out loud. Who did he think he was? Was his ego so massive that he needed to hear her admit that she’d fallen for him before he got on the next plane out of town and out of her life?
Jeeze, the man had some nerve.
Telling an intern that she loved him? That was low. And ridiculous. And—
“Send him in.”
She hated the way her stomach got all fluttery with excitement at the prospect of seeing him. She was just looking forward to putting him in his place, she assured herself. That was it. He probably just wanted to have the last word like every other man she’d ever met. Fine, she’d give him the last word…before she kicked him out of her office and made him wish he’d never been born.
Her hands were clenched in fists at her sides when he sauntered in, looking far too smug for her liking. Oh she was going to enjoy putting him in his place again. She might have been feeling guilty about her harsh words the day before, but he’d come to her office and was purposefully tormenting her.
He deserved whatever he got.
“What are you doing here?” Shoot, that hadn’t sounded cold enough. Had he heard that waver in her voice?
His smirk said he had.
“I’m here for the truth.” He crossed the distance between them as if he owned the place, not stopping until he reached her. Before she could protest, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, his mouth crushing hers beneath his.
For one horrifying moment, she lost her grip on her anger. She forgot how to think and how to breathe as his lips claimed hers in a possessive and mind-numbing kiss. When he pulled back to meet her gaze, her mental faculties returned with a vengeance.
She shoved him away from her. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Clearing the air.” He didn’t try to kiss her again but he didn’t loosen his grip on her, either. She was trapped, and not just physically. His gaze met hers and held it.
No! He saw too much. He always had but now…now she didn’t have any defenses to hide behind. He’d smashed them all one by one and now she was left standing there, emotionally naked. “What do you want from me?”
It had come out as a plea and the sympathy in his eyes was humiliating.
She pushed against his chest harder. “Let go of me, you big brute.”
His hands fell away, leaving her cold. He didn’t take a step back, and though she told her feet to move, she remained standing dangerously close. The scent of him surrounded her, taunting her with memories of kisses and touches and emotions that were too delicate and fragile to name.
“You love me.”
Not too fragile for Hunter, apparently, because he threw the words in her face and she felt it like a punch. Her head jerked back as her mind scrambled to come up with the right words to argue.
But for the first time in her entire life, she couldn’t summon up an argument. Maybe it was because those warm brown eyes were fixed on her and she knew that he would see through any lie.
Some of the anger she’d been clinging to for days dissipated, leaving her hollow and deflated.
If she argued and said she didn’t love him, he would know that she was lying.
Heck, she’d been lying to herself but she couldn’t do it any longer. She had fallen for this man. Stupid as it might be, she’d fallen in love for the first time in her life.
And for the first time in her life someone had broken her heart, just like she should have expected.
His eyes grew dark with unspoken emotions at her silence. “Admit that you love me.”
She shook her head and swallowed down the thick lump in her throat. “Why? Why would you make me say it out loud? Leave me alone.”
He reached a hand out a stroked her cheek. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She pulled her head away from his hand but her feet stubbornly stayed put. “I’ll call security and have you—”
“That’s not what I meant. I meant, I’m not going to Chicago.”
Her gasp sounded too loud in the quiet office. “What did you say?”
A little smile tugged at the corner of her lips, distracting her. “I said, I’m not going to Chicago. I should have told you about that plan and I would have if I hadn’t changed my mind.”
“You…changed your mind?” Hope was a scary thing. It threatened to break loose. Even as she told herself not to get her hopes up, they ran away from her and her body flooded with happiness despite the fact that her mind hadn’t quite caught up. “Why?”
He lowered his voice and cupped her face in his hands. “Because I fell in love with you. I didn’t set out to fall for you and it didn’t lin
e up with my plans to start over in Chicago but once I realized that I was a goner, I changed my plan.”
The relief was so intense it bordered on pain. She launched herself into his arms and kissed him. Hard. With everything she had. She couldn’t bring herself to say the words but she could show him.
He groaned as he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the floor, their bodies pressed together from head to toe. But that still wasn’t enough.
“Let’s get out of here.” She tugged on his hand and tried to head for the door but he didn’t budge.
“Not so fast.” He pulled her back against him. “I want to hear you say it.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he nearly killed her with the gentleness in his eyes. “Please.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat that kept threatening to choke her. The lump that wouldn’t let the words out. With a look of regret, she shook her head. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
He leaned forward until his forehead was pressing against hers. “But you do, I know you do. For a little while there, I thought I’d gotten it wrong. That I didn’t know you the way I thought I did.”
She smiled. If there was one thing this man knew well, it was her. He’d seen her—the real Jenna—from the very start. “You do know me.”
At his questioning silence, she added, “But it’s only been a week. Give me time.”
His laughter was soft and low. She loved that laugh. “Sorry, sweetheart. I can’t let you off the hook on this one. You need to admit it, for your sake, not just mine.”
She pulled back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He tightened his grip on her hands as if afraid she might bolt. “I know why you pushed me away the other day. I know how scared you are of getting close emotionally, of letting someone in.”
She licked dry lips. Why did it suddenly feel like she was on a psychiatrist’s couch?
“You’ve got to conquer that fear, sweetheart, or there’s no hope for us. You have to learn to trust.”
She frowned up at him. “I do trust you.”
His quick grin made her heart melt. “And I appreciate that. But it’s you that you need to trust right now.”
His words knocked the air out of her lungs. That was it exactly. She hadn’t trusted her own judgment. She meant it when she’d said she trusted him. The moment he told her he wasn’t leaving, it clicked into place. It made sense. Her instincts had never truly believed he was heartless and callow.
But did she trust herself to love and be loved? She wouldn’t know a healthy relationship if it walked into her. How was she supposed to function in one? “I can’t…” She swallowed and tried again. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve never felt this way before.”
“We’ll take it slow.” His voice was soothing, but he still wore that expectant look.
When she stared back at him in silence, he let out a loud sigh and dropped her hands. “Fine. Just know that I don’t want to do this.” He headed toward her office door slowly and with a look of regret.
She gave a choked laugh. “What are you doing?”
He paused with one hand on her office door. “You’re forcing my hand here, Jenna. If you don’t admit how you feel about me, I’m going to be forced to reveal your secret.”
She was outright laughing now. “Oh yeah, and what’s that?”
He glanced at the door and back to her before lowering his voice as if letting her in on a secret. “That you’re a nice person. A good person.” He raised his eyebrows knowingly. “That you are an ice queen with a heart.”
Her jaw dropped as she struggled to hold back laughter. “You wouldn’t dare. I have a reputation, you know.”
“Mmm, and one that will be blown out of the water once I tell the world how sweet you really are.”
“Ugh.” She wrinkled her nose up in distaste. “I hate that word.”
“Then say it,” he ordered.
Maybe it was the laughter that did it, but the choking feeling was gone. She didn’t overthink it or overanalyze, she took the plunge knowing that he would be there to catch her. “I love you.”
They both stood there stunned silent for a second before he strode toward her and rewarded her with a kiss.
“Are you happy now?” she asked when they came up for air.
He grinned. “Ecstatic.”
She found herself struggling not to laugh again, just because she was too happy to keep it in. “Now can we get out of here?”
“Absolutely.” He scooped her up into his arms and strode to the door, ignoring her laughing protests that this kind of behavior was not appropriate in the office.
Grudgingly he set her down before opening the door. “After you, Snow White.”
Jenna stopped in her tracks. “What did you just call me?”
He clamped his lips together but she saw him struggling not to laugh.
“You’ve been talking to Mackenzie, haven’t you?”
He leaned down and kissed her on the nose. “I may have called her to find out where you’d be this morning. I didn’t know the name of your firm and didn’t have time to investigate.”
Jenna rolled her eyes. “I’m sure Mack was more than happy to help you.”
“Mmm,” he agreed. “Your former stepsister has some interesting thoughts about you and me.”
Jenna laughed. “That’s a nice way of putting it. She’s been living in a fantasy world ever since she and Jacob got together. Now she wants the fairy-tale ending for everyone she loves.”
He smiled down at her as he held the door open. “I don’t know. Happily ever after doesn’t sound so bad to me.”
Jenna returned the smile as she took his hand and led him out of the office. “I suppose I could get used to it too. You know… eventually.”
Epilogue
Mackenzie sat on Jenna’s kitchen counter and watched Jenna unpack one of the boxes that Jacob and Hunter had brought in.
“What happened to taking it slow?”
Jenna sniffed and tilted her chin up. “He’s just moving in, we’re not getting married or anything.”
“Uh huh.” Mackenzie looked highly amused and Jenna couldn’t bring herself to argue the point any further. So maybe they were moving quicker than expected. But they were also happier than she could ever have expected.
They both had some trust issues to work through but they were getting there…together.
“Where’s Rose Red? I thought you said she’d be coming over to help.”
Jenna shot Mack a look. “Stop calling her that.”
“She likes it.”
“Andie is just being nice. She clearly hasn’t learned yet that you shouldn’t be too nice to crazy people.”
“Very funny.” Mack hopped of the counter. “But where is she?”
Jenna shrugged. “Something’s going on with her and that guy…I was going to call her today to find out more.”
Mack’s eyes lit up.
“Uh uh. You’re staying out of it. We both are. She’s just getting used to this sister thing.”
Mack’s protests were cut short by Hunter and Jacob walking in. “You ready to go, hon?” Jacob asked. Mack nodded. “Sorry, guys, but we’ve got a hot date.”
She and Hunter showed them out and when they shut the door behind them he turned to face her. “So…”
“So,” she echoed. A rare flutter of nerves had her taking a deep breath. Moving in was a big step, after all. But it was right, she knew that. She’d gotten better at listening to her gut—a skill Hunter had helped her develop.
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I guess this is my home now, huh?”
And that was when she realized that he was nervous too. Because this was a big step and he was worried that she would bolt. Hadn’t she taught him anything? She closed the distance between them as she nodded slowly. “I love you, you know.”
His smile was slow and seductive. “You’ve gotten awfully good at saying that.”
She shrugged. “I’ve al
ways been a quick study.”
He reached out an arm and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her close. “I love you too, sweetheart.”
“I know.” She smiled up at him and cast a quick glance around the apartment. “This is your home.” She placed a hand over his heart and met his warm, tender gaze. “And this is mine.”
“That’s right,” he said as he dropped a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. “And don’t you forget it.”
Thank you for reading Winning Snow White! If you enjoyed it, reviews are greatly appreciated.
Keep reading for a free sample of Andie’s story in Saving Rose Red
Missed Mackenzie and Jacob’s story? You can find it here: Dating Prince Charming
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For more sweet romance, check out Maggie Dallen’s other works:
Sweet Contemporary Romance:
Homecoming Promise
Promise to Return
Promise Me Forever (Releasing Summer 2019)
Sweet Young Adult Romance:
Geeks Gone Wild
Love at First Fight
My Virtual Prince Charming
Once Upon a Comic-Con
Kissing the Enemy
The Perfect Catch
The Perfect Match
The Perfect Score
Briarwood High
Out of His League
A Whole New League
The Perfect League
The Holiday Kiss
The Prom Kiss
The Candy Cane Kiss
Summer of Love
Senior Week Fling
Senior Week Crush
Senior Week Kiss
Saving Rose Red
The Brooklyn angel was back. Cole Michaels recognized her the moment she entered his tattoo shop. With her pink hair, she didn’t exactly blend in, but he could have picked her out of a lineup no matter what color her hair was. Last time he’d seen her she’d been bartending at the dive bar around the corner and she’d been a blonde with blue streaks in her hair. That had been months ago and he’d started to think the neighborhood angel had moved away.
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