by J. S. Scott
“What?”
“You didn’t really blackmail me. I didn’t want to end our marriage, either. I didn’t think it was going to work, but I wanted to steal whatever time I could to be with you.”
“I thought you wanted to make me miserable,” he reminded her teasingly.
“How could I do that when you were so hard to resist?” she asked him lightly. “You might be bossy, but you’re kind of sweet sometimes.”
“Sometimes?” he said with false indignation.
Kristin leaned forward and rested her forehead against his. “Most of the time,” she relented. “Julian, I love you just the way you are. There isn’t anything I’d change about you. And there’s nothing I’d change about us and the way things happened. If I did, I might not have learned so much about myself along the way.”
“I did lie,” he answered regretfully. “In my defense, I was a desperate man, Scarlet.”
“I forgive you . . . this time. Don’t do it again,” she admonished, trying to stay serious when all she wanted to do was wallow in the warmth of his love and her happiness. “I wasn’t that forthcoming about how I was feeling, either. I’m sorry. I was just so afraid I was going to end up heartbroken when all of this was over.”
“I don’t know how you couldn’t have known exactly how I felt,” Julian said, sounding confused as he sat back a little and kissed her on the forehead.
Kristin straightened up and looked him in the eyes. “Because nothing this good has ever happened to me. My life has never been normal. I didn’t really dream about falling in love. I just wanted to get through the day. I didn’t think about fairy-tale endings with the perfect guy. My life has never been that way. You were an unexpected gift who offered me a love like I’ve never had. I was confused, and it was scary. I lived out my fantasy in Vegas, and I thought it was over.”
“We’ll never be over, Scarlet. Your life has been too damn hard, and way too serious. It’s time for that to change,” Julian grumbled as he hauled her into his lap.
“It has been difficult sometimes, but I wouldn’t change what I did even if I could. I love my mom and dad, and they did the best they could under difficult circumstances,” Kristin shared as she wrapped her arms around his neck and inhaled his musky, masculine scent. “What you did for my parents . . . I’m not sure how I can ever repay something like that.”
“No repayment. It was nothing,” he said gruffly. “Unless you want to pay me in sexual favors. I’d take that.”
She giggled. “I’d give you anything you want because I love you.”
“Be careful what you promise,” he answered hoarsely. “I can think of some pretty kinky fantasies, sweetheart.”
Kristin knew he’d changed the subject because he didn’t want her to thank him. Julian took it for granted that she was his wife, and there was nothing he wouldn’t do to make her happy. For him, it was nothing life-changing. For her, the fact that he went out of his way to make her parents’ life easier meant the world to her.
No man had ever given a damn about her happiness or her emotional pain. But he did, and Julian being Julian, he’d just resolved her issues in the fastest way possible with minimal drama or fuss.
She let the subject go, accepting the fact that he’d always be a protective husband. Kristin planned to take care of him just like he took care of her.
“How kinky?” she asked breathlessly, thinking about just how much she wanted to explore with this man she loved so desperately.
Julian had her pinned beneath him in a heartbeat, his strong body covering hers. “There isn’t much I haven’t fantasized about when it comes to you,” he answered, his deep blue eyes piercing her soul as he pinned her arms over her head. “Most of them revolved around convincing you that you’re mine while we’re both naked.”
“Already convinced,” she panted, her gaze meeting his with a raw honesty she couldn’t and didn’t want to hide. “But if you want to keep trying, I’m up for that.”
The sensual, possessive stare he was giving her slammed her hard in the chest.
“Jesus, woman, do you know that you hold my heart and my entire life in your hands right now?” he rasped.
She did. She knew it. All it took was one look at his face to understand that he loved her just as much as she loved him. “Just like you hold mine,” she answered earnestly. “I love you, Julian Sinclair. I’ll guard your heart for the rest of my life.”
How many people had ever seen the real, beautiful man beneath the veneer of the superstar? Kristin considered how much people were missing if they didn’t see the kindness in his soul, but she was going to be greedy and keep that information close to her heart. Nobody needed to know him the way she did. She’d let the public have their gorgeous A-lister superstar. They saw a Julian who was handsome, but cool and aloof. She’d much rather have the real man beneath the facade.
“I love you, baby,” he finally answered. “There will never be a day when I won’t try to make sure you know that.”
His vow made tears spring to her eyes as she answered, “I know you do.”
The death of Julian’s parents would still haunt him sometimes, but she’d do whatever she could to help him preserve his memories while lessening the pain and regret. What happened had obviously changed him profoundly, made him the man he was today. She just wished it hadn’t taken so much painful loss for him to be the man he was right now.
Kristin didn’t really know what he was like before, but it didn’t matter. All she cared about was now, and the fact that she loved and accepted everything about him, just like he did for her.
“I have you exactly where I want you right now,” Julian told her wickedly.
She smiled back at him with an impish expression of her own. “Funny. I happen to be where I want to be,” she answered seductively, deliberately encouraging him.
Julian in caveman mode was one of the hottest things she’d ever experienced.
“Prepare to be thoroughly ravished,” he warned in an actor’s booming pirate voice.
“Feel free to pillage away,” she invited with an eager smile.
Julian didn’t need any further encouragement. He swooped down and captured her mouth in a heated embrace that made them both forget all about making s’mores until several hours later.
EPILOGUE
A Few Weeks Later . . .
The Youth Center had decided to make the Sinclairs’ Winter Ball an annual event. It seemed to energize the town just when the snow, cold, and gloomy season became intolerable.
This year, Kristin was there with her handsome husband, and so were her parents. Her mom was getting along well, with the help of some physical therapy and new medications the neurologist that Julian had found for her in Boston had prescribed. Not that she didn’t have bad days, but just like last year, her mother had felt well enough that Kristin’s parents could be in attendance again this year.
As Kristin hit the dance floor with Julian, he pulled her close and put his mouth near her ear. “Cinderella finally gets to attend the ball?”
Kristin knew exactly what he was talking about. Last year, she’d worked the bar so her parents could have their outing. Her mom had been feeling okay that day, and her dad had wanted to attend the first Winter Ball with his wife.
Kristin hadn’t wanted her mom to miss going out when she felt okay.
“You were right. I did want to go last year. But I wanted my parents to be there more,” she confided.
“That’s one of the reasons why I love you so damn much,” Julian answered huskily as he began to swing her around the dance floor.
“You would have done the same thing,” she accused, knowing that her husband had come to care about her parents a lot. Julian and her dad were close, not just because of the business, but due to a mutual respect and genuine friendship that had formed between them. And Lord knew that Julian could charm her mother with a word or two and a kiss on her cheek.
He was devoted to his brothers and his cousin
s, visiting Xander almost every day so Micah could spend some time with his new wife. Tessa had been approved for her cochlear implants, and she knew everyone in the family was nervous, especially Micah.
Julian shrugged. “Maybe I would,” he agreed. “But I’m glad we’re all here this time.”
Kristin was happy, too. Her mom couldn’t dance, but she was socializing with her dad, both of them looking so much happier and relaxed than they had been a year ago.
“I can’t believe how much has changed since the ball last year.” Kristin had seen Julian that night, but she’d never in her wildest dreams imagined she’d someday be married to him and so deliriously happy that she often wanted to cry because he showed her how much he loved her every single day.
“Congratulations, dear. I knew you two would be happy together.”
The female voice came from her left, and Kristin was startled to see Beatrice kicking up her heels right next to her with an older gentleman who Kristin knew was a local widower. “Thank you,” she answered sincerely. She had to respect Beatrice’s accuracy when she’d predicted that she and Julian would end up together. The elderly woman had been correct on every Sinclair premonition she’d had about who their true loves would be.
Luck or foresight?
Kristin didn’t know for certain, but there had to be something to Beatrice’s matchmaking.
“Would you like your stone back?” Kristin asked with a smile.
“Oh, no. You keep them. I’ve already hooked Xander up with a charm of his own. That boy needs it,” Beatrice answered with a frown.
“Who has the other one?” Kristin asked with breathless curiosity.
“She doesn’t have hers yet. But she will,” Beatrice said mysteriously. “She’ll arrive here soon.”
“A tourist?” Kristin guessed, wondering how in the world Xander would ever be hooked up with a visitor. He rarely went to town.
“It might take a while, but you’ll see,” Beatrice answered as she was swept away by her energetic partner until Kristin couldn’t see them in the crowd of dancers anymore.
“I hope to hell she gets here pretty soon,” Julian commented as he smoothly spun Kristin around.
“I hope so, too,” Kristin murmured, knowing just how much Julian worried about his reclusive, scarred little brother.
She spied a few of the other Sinclairs on the dance floor, each of them wearing a tux with an elegant bride in his arms. Kristin was becoming one of the family pretty quickly, and she loved having Emily, Hope, Sarah, Mara, Randi, and Tessa to talk to like they were sisters. Being an only child, she appreciated being part of the boisterous Sinclair clan. Maybe they’d grown apart for some time while they were all busy with their single lives, but now that they were settling down, the brothers and cousins were forming an unbreakable bond that nobody would ever sever.
When the dance was over, she heard Micah’s voice on the microphone. “Can I have your attention, please?”
All the noise suddenly stopped.
He continued. “I know we had a reception for my brother and his wife, Kristin, but we thought it would be nice if they could repeat their wedding ceremony, since we all missed it.”
The crowd suddenly separated and Kristin was stunned as she saw a makeshift altar next to the stage, decorated in flowers, with a justice of the peace behind it.
Julian bent down to speak to her. “I’m ready for my ring now. I thought it might be good if you could actually remember speaking your vows this time. It’s a short reaffirmation ceremony, just something our family and friends could be here for this time.”
Kristin couldn’t stop the tears as she saw her parents and all of the Sinclairs smiling next to the JP. “You did this for me,” she said tearfully, pulling the chain from around her neck to remove the ring that she’d never seen Julian wear before.
“For us,” he corrected. “Do you mind?”
She shook her head and swiped a tear from her cheek. It did bother her that she didn’t remember speaking her vows. There was nothing she wanted more than to say them to Julian out loud with all their friends and family present. Even more, she wanted to remember her husband saying them to her.
Kristin grasped Julian’s arm as he held it out to her. “As long as there’s nothing asking for obedience in this ceremony,” she teased through her tears.
“Already took it out,” he told her in an amused voice. “I knew that wasn’t going to happen.”
It didn’t matter that it wasn’t a real wedding. It didn’t matter that the ceremony was short as the two of them spoke their vows. It didn’t matter that she was in a cocktail dress rather than being dressed as a traditional bride.
What mattered was that the vows were spoken with devotion and love that Kristin could feel reverberate through her heart as she and Julian made their pledges to each other.
Loving Julian had taught Kristin that the superficial and inconsequential things really didn’t matter.
It was all about the heart.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many thanks to the entire Montlake Romance team for their continuing support on this series, with a special shout-out to my editor, Maria Gomez, who has always been there to listen and try to work out any problems that arise.
As always, thank you to my KA team, who deal with so many of the other responsibilities of an author so I can focus more of my attention on writing.
To my street team, Jan’s Gems . . . you ladies continue to amaze me every single day with your willingness to promote my books. Thanks for everything you do.
My sincere gratitude goes out to my readers, who make it possible for me to do what I love. I couldn’t do this without all of you.
~ Jan (J.S. Scott)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2013 Carrie Herzog
J.S. “Jan” Scott is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling romance author. She’s an avid reader of all types of books and literature, but romance has always been her genre of choice. Writing what she loves to read, Jan pens both contemporary and paranormal romances. They are almost always steamy, they generally feature an alpha male, and they include a happily ever after because she just can’t seem to write them any other way! Jan lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her husband and two very spoiled German Shepherds.
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