Thankfully, Raine still had insurance coverage under Chem-Co’s policy, but there would still be exorbitant out of pocket expenses. Melody wanted to cover the cost since it’d been her family who was responsible for her injuries but when she tried to explain that to the hospital accounting office, she was told the bills had been taken care of already. Her brother had beaten her to the punch.
She’d talked to Grant each night, but she hadn’t seen him since Max spirited her away. He’d dropped off Fred and her belongings, but she’d been asleep when he arrived, and Max hadn’t thought it necessary to wake her. She’d pointed out the error in his thinking, quite loudly and forcefully.
Melody had no idea where she stood with Grant. Each night they discussed everything and nothing, chatting into the wee hours of the morning. They never ran out of topics to discuss. Still, he hadn’t brought up the L word and she’d been too chicken to say it first. When she woke this morning, she decided to go for it. This state of limbo was killing her. Plus, she missed being held in his arms.
“Hey, sis, how are you feeling today?”
It was the same question Max asked a hundred times a day. She knew he’d been out of his mind with worry when Rich had abducted her, so she refrained from biting off his head. She waited until he’d dropped down into the chaise beside her before responding.
“I’m fine, Max.”
“Good. I heard from the owner of the property and the sale is a done deal.”
“That’s great. Thank you for taking care of it, and for finding the land in the first place.”
“I didn’t.”
She pulled her gaze away from the waterfall to stare at her brother. “You didn’t what, take care of the sale?”
“Oh, I did that, but I didn’t find the lot. Grant Colton did.”
Melody jerked upright. “What? Grant found the location?” Why was she just now hearing of this?
“Sure did.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe I don’t want to give up the title of favorite man in your life.”
“Oh, Max, no one could ever replace you. But there’s also room for Grant. I love him.”
Max just nodded slowly. “I know. He loves you, too.”
“He told you?”
“Didn’t have to. I can tell by the way he calls me daily to check up on you.” His tone was exasperated.
“He does?”
He gave her a sour look. “It’s annoying.”
“He didn’t mention me going home with him from the hospital, so I just assumed that since the job was over, so were we.”
“Oh, he wanted to take you home. Fought me so hard, it almost came to blows until Luke stepped in.”
Melody’s mouth hung agape. Again, more information she wasn’t privy to. “Why didn’t you let him?”
“Because I almost lost you, Mel. When I found out Rich took you, I couldn’t get home fast enough. I’m not even sure I still have a fiancée since I left Jana alone in France to get back as quickly as possible. She hasn’t responded to my calls or texts, so I take that as a bad sign.”
She reached over and clutched his arm. “Oh, Max, I’m so sorry. I’ll call her.”
He shook his head. “No need. If she hasn’t ended the engagement, I will. She didn’t even bother to check on you. When I needed her, she wasn’t there, so she’s not the woman for me.”
Melody felt horrible. Max was a certified workaholic. She’d been so happy when he met Jana and then proposed. She wanted him to have a life outside the office. It’d been Jana who encouraged, or rather forced, Max to take the extended vacation. But truthfully, she was relieved. She’d never clicked with Jana. Plus, Melody thought she saw sparks between Max and Raine. She hoped something might blossom between them.
If things had happened the other way around and Max had gone missing, Melody had no doubt Grant would’ve been by her side the entire time, supporting her and comforting her and being the air she needed to breathe.
“Will you take me to him?” She had to purchase a vehicle soon. Being dependent on others for transportation sucked.
“No.”
“You won’t, Max? Why not.”
The sliding glass door swished open behind them. She twisted to see Grant’s handsome face smiling at her. With a cry, she sprang from the chair and launched herself in his arms.
#
The obligatory one-week deadline was up, and Grant wasn’t waiting another minute to claim the woman he loved. He’d wanted to take Melody home with him from the hospital, but her brother had stepped in and forbidden it. Grant argued to no avail. It would’ve come to blows if Luke hadn’t intervened. With his brother’s expert negotiation skills, Max relented slightly, asking for one full week. He thought their relationship had progressed too quickly. He wanted them both to take a step back and if they felt the same way seven days later, he wouldn’t stand in the way.
Well, one hundred sixty-eight hours had passed and if anything, Grant’s feelings were stronger. He loved her. He couldn’t imagine a life without her. He wanted to spend the rest of his days with her. He’d been her first and he wanted to be her last.
He wondered if Max knew they talked every night. He was careful to steer clear of any mention of a future together, but it was there each time they spoke.
As soon as he returned home alone, he’d crashed. His body needed to rest and recover. He’d pushed himself too hard and he probably should’ve stayed and been admitted himself, but with sleep, Kaitlyn’s cooking, and both of his brothers hovering, he’d managed fine at home. After dropping off Melody’s belongings at her brother’s house, he found the property for her new production facility with Ben’s help. They’d barely had time to look it over when Kaitlyn called. Rachel’s water had broken. His brother had been a nervous wreck, so Grant drove him to the hospital where a short six hours later, Gwendoline Raye Colton made her debut. She already had Grant wrapped around her tiny chubby finger.
In between visiting with his new niece, he’d overseen the excavation of the bodies Rich Franklin had buried on Melody’s land. The number had been staggering. Rich had been murdering women for years. It would take time for all the remains to be identified, if ever.
Grant grabbed a manila folder from the counter before heading out. He patted his pocket, making sure the ring he’d slipped inside was still there. It had belonged to his maternal grandmother. It would be a perfect engagement ring, but he wanted Melody to pick out her own wedding set…assuming she said yes.
His various injuries were healing nicely. The road rash was still raw and sore, but better. He still needed to have the stitches in his glutes removed, along with the ones in his neck from where the bullet tore out a chunk of skin. He’d have a nasty scar from that one. Ah, well, what was one more on his battle-hardened body?
He’d called Max earlier to let him know his ridiculous deadline had passed. He expected an argument from Melody’s over-protective older brother. Instead, Max invited Grant over and had even given them his blessing. Hard to believe he might end up liking the guy after all.
He parked and jogged up the steps to Max’s impressive wood and stone house. Max told him to come on in and that he’d find Melody out on the deck. He half-expected the door to be locked, but it opened easily. He’d gotten a quick look around when he dropped off Melody’s belongings. The inside was as grand as the outside, with luxurious décor in neutral tones.
He spotted her as he approached. Her beautiful blond hair was piled haphazardly on her head. It was all he could see of her as she lounged in a chair with Max on one side and Fred the other. Damn, he’d even missed the Ficus.
He slid the door open. Melody jerked around with wide eyes. “Grant!” Then she was in his arms. He buried his face against her neck and vowed to himself that he would never let her go again. He wasn’t sure how long they stayed that way, but several outdoor lights kicked on against the dusk. When he reluctantly released her, he discovered Max had c
onveniently disappeared.
“I missed you,” she whispered.
“I missed you, too.” Then he was kissing her because he just couldn’t help himself. But if he didn’t stop, he’d end up dragging her down to the decking and his new-found truce with his future brother-in-law would effectively be severed.
He ended the kiss and framed her lovely face with his hands. His thumbs traced the bruises, some faded, some not. He had the overwhelming urge to dig Richard Franklin up and kill him again for hurting her.
“I know I look hideous.” Her lids lowered, and he realized he’d been scowling.
“Melody, look at me.”
He waited until her blue eyes locked onto his. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I’m so damn sorry you were hurt, and I’ll never forgive myself for letting Richard take you. I’ll have to live with that the rest of my life.”
“Grant, you were poisoned. And tased. And shot!” Her voice rose with each sentence. “There was nothing you could’ve done to stop him.”
Oh, there was, and he’d never forgive himself. He should’ve anticipated Franklin’s desperation and insisted Mason or Ethan accompany them to Raine’s apartment. He could’ve not allowed her to go at all. He’d have to live with his failure, but he vowed to never let anything happen to her again.
“I have something for you.”
#
Melody’s heartbeat picked up speed at Grant’s words. Was it small and black and a box? Was that too much to hope for? Before he gave her anything, she needed to make something very clear.
“Wait, Grant. You tend to avoid topics you don’t want to discuss. I can tell by the look on your face that you don’t believe me when I say you couldn’t have stopped Rich.”
“I don’t.”
Ugh, frustrating man. “You’re not superman.”
“I’m not?” He sounded aghast.
She smiled, so in love with him it wasn’t even funny. “Well, let me amend that. You are my superman, but you can’t stop every bad thing from happening. No, let me finish,” she warned, and he closed his mouth. “I’ll admit I’m pathetically helpless about protecting myself. I want to take lessons in self-defense. If I’d been able to fight back, Rich might not have succeeded. There are classes at the—”
“I’ll teach you,” he rumbled. She hid her grin this time. It was what she hoped.
“So, you promise you won’t flagellate yourself for Rich’s actions?” When he looked like he wanted to disagree, she gently slapped her hands against his face and held on. “I’m serious, Grant. Don’t make me get rough with you.”
“That might be fun.” When she didn’t smile with him—this was too important—he finally sighed.
“Fine, I promise.”
“Good boy.” She pecked him on the lips before taking a step back and holding out her palm. “You have a surprise for me?”
“Oh, yeah.” He tugged something from his back pocket and handed it to her. It wasn’t small or black or a box. It was a manila envelope.
“What’s this?”
“You mentioned the other night that you never had a chance to sign the contract. Even though the job’s done, I thought we should make it official.”
“Good. The contract was on my to do list.” She told herself she was not disappointed. Was. Not. He was only doing what she’d asked of him.
She opened the flap and slid the stapled pages out, glancing at the top sheet. It was blank. She flipped to the next. Also blank. “Grant,” she warned. The next few were blank as well. Finally she spotted writing on the very last page, but the only words on the white linen paper were: Will you marry me?
###
Notes
I hope you enjoyed Say Goodbye to Melody, the thirteenth book in the COBRA Securities series. Several characters from previous books made appearances in Say Goodbye to Melody. If you would like to read their stories, you can find them here:
Logan and Jade Bradley from The Fan
Ben and Rachel Colton from Committed
Dorian and Kendall Demarchis from Trust No One
Dante, Taylor and Kai Costa from Hide and Seek and Kidnapped
Dan and Kaitlyn Bradley from Killer Cuisine
Olivia Larrson and Alex Mylonas from Vigilante
Luke, Layla, Sean and Tiffany Colton from Face the Music
Hillary and Kota Billings and Reed Steele from Tough as Nails
Sawyer Oldham and Harlow Duquesne from Hunted
About the Author
Velvet Vaughn is the author of The List, The Fan, Committed, Violets are Blue, Trust No One, Hide and Seek, Killer Cuisine, Vigilante, Face the Music, Tough as Nails, Total Surrender, Hunted, and Say Goodbye to Melody, the first thirteen books in the COBRA Securities series, as well as Saving Santa, and Kidnapped, COBRA Securities Short Stories. In addition, two novellas: A Christmas Miracle and Flying High Christmas are available as stand-alone books or in the anthologies All I Want For Christmas and Yuletide Treasures, respectively. The fourteenth book in the COBRA Securities series, Last Dance, will be published soon.
Connect With Velvet
Website: www.velvetvaughn.com
Facebook Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/authorvelvetvaughn
Blog: http://www.velvetvaughn.com/blog.html
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/velvetvaughn/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/velvetvaughn/
Email: [email protected]
From Velvet
Thank you so much for purchasing Say Goodbye to Melody. I hope you enjoyed Grant and Melody’s story. If you did, I would appreciate you leaving feedback. Thank you!
The fourteenth book in the COBRA Securities series will be out in early fall. Last Dance is former Delta Force soldier and current COBRA Securities agent Mason Rossi and professional dancer Cassidy Swain’s story.
If you would like to read the story of one of the characters from my books, let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website or my Facebook Fanpage. I'd love to hear from you. And be sure to like my Fanpage so you can take part in giveaways.
Thank you again for your support!
Say Goodbye to Melody Page 23
