by KB Winters
Gemma squeezed my hand.
Agent Montgomery gave us both a curt nod. “We wish you the best and will be in touch if further assistance is needed.”
Gemma waved as the two men turned and left the room. Once the door was closed, she lay back against the sliver of bed not occupied by my body and tucked her head against my shoulder. She let out a long sigh, vocalizing the way I felt as I watched them leave.
“All right, I guess it’s your turn now,” I said to her, mentally bracing for a reaming.
“My turn for what?”
“To rip me a new asshole about how stupid I was for showing O’Keefe the wire and going rogue.”
“Honestly? I probably would have done the same thing.”
I chuckled, surprised at her reply. “You really are perfect, aren’t you?”
She laughed and shook her head. “Far from it, but I do have a bit of a temper. I don’t know…maybe you’ve noticed?”
“Nah.” I shook my head and then dropped a kiss to the side of her head, breathing in the gentle floral scent of her shampoo.
“So, what now?” Gemma asked, propping her chin on my chest and turning her eyes up towards mine.
“Well, first thing on my to-do list is to get out of this place once and for all.”
“Good. Solid plan.”
I laughed. “Be straight with me. How long am I gonna be stuck in here?”
“That really depends…”
“On?”
She grinned. “On whether or not you’re going to behave yourself once you’re released. You’d already set the record of stitch popping from the first time you were in here. Now you have over twice as many stitches. I’m not sure I trust you to go home. At least not unsupervised.”
“You volunteering for the job?” I asked, twisting my fingertips through a stray strand of hair that had fallen from her loose ponytail.
“Ha! Lord knows I can’t keep you in line.”
“I think you can…”
She laughed softly. “We’ll see. It’ll probably be at least a few more days.”
I groaned. “Got any ideas for keeping me entertained?” I asked, a wicked grin tugging the corners of my mouth up.
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s out of the question for a long, long time.”
“Damn. That’s gonna be pretty near impossible with you looking so smokin’ hot all the time.”
“Oh my God. I think that’s the drugs talking.” She looked down at her outfit to emphasis her point. “I don’t even remember the last time I showered. Between work and being here—”
“Dirty girl,” I drawled.
She pushed my arm but then snuggled back against it.
“Thanks for being here for me, baby. I can’t even say how much it all means to me.” I reached for her hand and held it tightly.
“Of course, Aaron.”
“I’m sorry if I scared you.”
She bit her lip and nodded. My guts twisted at the pain on her face. “I thought you were gone…when I heard the shots fired…I broke loose from the other agents. I punched one in the face actually…”
“You did?”
She nodded. There wasn’t even a hint of pride in her expression. “I had to get to you. To see you. And then…there was so much blood everywhere and you were unresponsive—I thought you’d been shot. It was like one of those movie moments. Everything in slo-mo, but my mind was racing a thousand miles a minute—I couldn’t think at all.”
I kissed the side of her face again, wishing I could erase the terrible memory from her mind. “I’m so sorry, baby. I promise I’ll never do anything like that again.”
She nodded and a tear slid down her cheek.
I tipped her chin up and swiped away the stray tear. “Marry me, Gemma.”
She smiled softly. But shook her head.
“What? Why not?”
She leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to my brow. “Because right now, you’re high on pain meds. You don’t know what you’re saying. Call me old fashioned, but when I get proposed to, I want it to be when the man I love is lucid.”
“Gemma, I swear—”
She placed a finger on my lips to silence me. “Ask me again in a week.”
I tried to argue, but she kept her finger firmly in place.
Resigned, I nodded my agreement and she replaced her finger with her lips, sweeping a sweet kiss over mine, before she turned to leave.
As soon as her footsteps faded from the room, I closed my eyes and began plotting the real proposal that she deserved.
She might roll her eyes and think I was kidding, but I’d find a way to show her that she was wrong.
I’d made up my mind.
* * * *
“Are you ready to head back? You don’t want to push yourself too hard your first time out,” Gemma said, glancing behind us to see our progress. She’d accompanied me for my first outing to the beach since being released from the hospital.
Even the short distance we’d covered had me huffing and puffing like I’d run a fuckin’ marathon. Her suggestion to turn back was tempting, but I pushed on. “Just a little farther,” I insisted, tugging lightly on her arm to get her attention.
“Okay…”
We walked in silence—well, plodded, would be a more accurate description—and when I abruptly stopped in the sand, Gemma turned to face me. “Are you all right? Do you feel dizzy?”
I shook my head. “I’m fine, Gemma, you gotta stop fussing. I just wanted to get to this spot.”
She looked around, as though trying to place the significance. We were standing in the middle of the beach, halfway between the surf and the waves, where the sand was packed down and easier for walking.
“I like the view of the bluff from here,” I offered, jutting my chin over her shoulder. She turned again and stood by my side.
The fog was clearing away as the late morning sun made its arrival, but it still clung to the sides of the bluff, casting an almost ethereal air around the place. From our spot on the sand, the museum wasn’t visible, but my father’s house was there, on the edge, looking down on us.
“It’s beautiful. I bet you’re happy things are back up and running,” Gemma commented.
We’d been able to get the museum up and running, and although the official re-launch party was still in the works, it was starting to look like it wouldn’t even be necessary. Thanks to the coverage of O’Keefe’s death and deceit, business had kicked into high gear with very little effort. Everyone wanted to come and see the museum and talk to the person who caught him red handed.
I didn’t mind, as long as they paid for their tickets at the door just like everyone else.
“It’ll be nice to get back to normal,” I agreed. “Although, there is one change I’m gonna make—a big one.…”
“What’s that?” Gemma asked, raising an eyebrow as she glanced at me out of the corner of her eye.
“Well, after everything that’s happened, I’m thinking I need to change my name.”
“Oh really?” A grin tugged at her lips. “Why’s that?”
I took a deep breath and then dropped to one knee, right there in the sand. Gemma’s hands flew to her mouth. “Oh my God, Aaron!”
“Gemma Henderson, you are the most beautiful woman in the world, inside and out. I never thought I’d be doing this—like really, what is going on here?” She laughed as I dropped a dramatic look down at myself, kneeling in the sand. “But it feels right. I don’t want to be Player anymore. I only want to be with you. That is, if you’ll have me.”
Before she could reply, I pulled a small Tiffany blue box from the pocket of my favorite leather jacket and popped it open to reveal the rather stunning, vintage inspired diamond ring perched inside.
“Gemma, will you marry me?”
My breath hitched in my chest, waiting that split second for her reply, thinking back to her rejection in the hospital, but it was a quick lived panic attack, as a heartbeat later, she was nodding and s
quealing. “Yes!”
Grinning like a fool, I took the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger just like in the movies and then—with some assistance—got back up and took her into my arms. With her hair whipping around us in the breezy sea air, we sealed the deal with one helluva kiss.
“So, I guess it’s game over then?” Gemma asked, laughing.
“Oh, baby, I got plenty of games we can play.”
Six Months Later…
“Well, shit! How in the hell did Aaron “The Player” Rosen beat me to the jewelry store?”
I grinned at Boomer’s reaction. It was perfect. Just as I’d expected.
“Damn. I better step it up, or Holly’s gonna be after me with a frying pan,” he continued with a laugh.
“She’d probably just sic Hunter on your ass,” I quipped, leaning back in the weather worn Adirondack chair overlooking the ocean below. “How is that rascal anyway? Chewed his way through Germany yet?’
Boomer laughed. “He’s all right. Still chewing, but Princess keeps him in line. Seriously though, I’m so happy for you. And Gemma too, although her and I should probably have a little talk before she goes picking out a dress. I need to make sure she’s got the full story on you.”
I twisted at the sound of the back door sliding open. Gemma stepped out, her body showcased to perfection in a sexy turquoise bikini I’d picked out for her a few weekends ago when we’d gone shopping in town. My mouth watered at the sight of her and the tent that popped up in my shorts let me know I needed to cut the call with Boomer short.
“Hey baby, Boomer wants to set up a meeting with you so he can make sure you know what you’re getting into, before the big day,” I called over to her.
On the other end of the phone, Jack laughed in my ear.
“Tell him thank you for his concern, but that I already know all your dirty little secrets, and I’m confident I can handle anything you throw my way,” she tossed back with a sassy smile. She winked at me before she slid on her oversized shades.
“You hear that, Boomer? She thinks she’s got me all figured out,” I said, smiling at Gemma.
He just chuckled. “I can’t wait to get a front row seat for this.”
“Well, I was planning on asking you to be my best man, but that’s a little hard to do when you’re on a different fuckin’ continent.”
“Not so fast, Player. You just might be in luck,” he replied. I could almost hear the smile coming through the phone. “We’re gonna be stateside this summer and if all goes according to plan, we’ll be staying.”
“What?” I jerked upright in my chair. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. Holly doesn’t know yet. I don’t want to get her hopes up until I know for sure, but I have a big meeting with the powers that be and they might be pulling me back early. So, instead of a month in August, we may be moving back permanently.”
“Wow! That’d be amazing!” I looked over at Gemma, my eyes following the lines of her long legs as she reclined back in her seat. She turned her head at my exclamation and I could see the arch of her brow over her dark shades. “Hey baby, what would you say to an August wedding?”
The smile she gave me was all the answer I needed.
“She’s on board. So you two get your asses back stateside and we’ll have a summer showdown. The war of the weddings.”
Boomer laughed. “I swear—I’m tempted to call you on video chat just to make sure I’m actually talking to Aaron Rosen.”
“It’s me, man. I promise.” I laughed and dropped my head back against the polished wood frame of the chair. “Would it make you feel better if I said I was mostly excited about the open bar and the chance to look badass in a suit?”
Gemma’s laugh chimed in the same time as Jack’s and I looked over to catch her shaking her head to herself.
“That’s more like it,” Jack replied. “Listen, man, I gotta run, but seriously, congrats. Gemma’s a lucky woman. You make one hell of a best friend, pilot, son, and business man. I see no reason why husband won’t be another great role for you to fill.”
A sudden swoop of emotions swelled in my chest at Boomer’s words and I tried to shrug it off before it got to me too much. I may be getting married and changing my ways, but I wasn’t gonna start crying at the drop of a hat. I had to draw the line somewhere.
“Thanks, Boomer. Tell Holly hello from both of us and we’ll see you this summer.”
“The war of the weddings.”
“Game on!”
~ T H E E N D ~
Wow! I hope you loved Player and Gemma as much as I enjoyed writing it! Next up is Slow Burn where Carly gets her man!
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I never thought I’d fall for the billionaire, but his cool-blue eyes and sexy swagger drew me to him like a moth to a flame. Okay, inferno.
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Acknowledgments
Thank you so much for making my books a success! I appreciate all of you! Come chat with us in our FB Group, Bitches, Babes and Bad Decisions! We’d love to hear from you!
Thanks to all of my beta readers, street teamers, ARC readers and Facebook fans. Y’all are THE BEST!
And a huge very special thanks to Jessie! I’m such a *hot mess, but without your keen sense of organization and skills, I’d be a burny fiery inferno of hot mess!! Thank you!
And a very special thanks to my editors (who sometimes have to work all through the night! *See HOT MESS above!) Thank you for making my words make sense.
Copyright © 2016 KB Winters and BookBoyfriends Publishing LLC
About The Author
KB Winters is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author of steamy hot books about Bikers, Billionaires, Bad Boys and Badass Military Men. Just the way you like them. She has an addiction to caffeine, tattoos and hard-bodied alpha males. The men in her books are very sexy, protective and sometimes bossy, her ladies are...well...bossier!
Living in sunny Southern California, with her five kids and three fur babies, this embarrassingly hopeless romantic writes every chance she gets!
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