by Jenna Harte
Lexie’s feelings of hope and love welled and overwhelmed her, leaving her speechless. She stared at him, wide-eyed.
“I know you don’t think I know about love, Lexie, or that I can give it to you, but I can. I didn’t know it before because I’d never experienced it. I was a man going through the motions with a hard, dead heart because people just stomp on it anyway. And then I met you and, for the first time, life beat in me.”
More silence. It was a dream come true. She wondered if maybe it wasn’t a dream. Was she in bed and playing out her deepest wishes in her sleep?
His hopeful expression began to falter. “What do you have to say to that?”
Words stalled in her throat, but she was able to take action. With love and relief propelling her, she stood and, with a running leap, launched herself into his arms, wrapping her arms and legs around him as her lips crushed his. “I’m sorry I hurt you,” she said on a breathless whisper. “It was mean and—”
His arms gripped her, held her tight against him. “I’m over it. And you were right. A lot of this was about competition and trying to prove something to Oliver.”
“I was planning a trip to New York to tell you that you didn’t have to choose between love and business. That is, if you want me. I’m willing to go to New York or wherever.”
He spun her in a circle, making her dizzy with love. Then, looking a little dizzy himself, he sat on the porch swing, keeping her wrapped around him. It brought back memories of his first night in Charlotte Tavern when he’d tried to steal her notebook and she’d ended up straddled across his lap. Except now, she could pull him close, hold him, and kiss him. Because now, it was love.
“How about we live here? Oliver wants me to continue to do the work I’ve been doing, which I can do from here. I’ll have to go to New York occasionally but, for the most part, I can work as I have been right from this house. Your house.”
“My house? What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t Oliver tell you? He’s leaving you the house.”
Shock rocked Lexie. “He can’t do that. I’m not family. This is his childhood home. It needs to go to family.”
“Lexie, you’re the one who brought love and laughter into this home. I think Oliver would be offended if you didn’t take it. And there’s more.”
“More? Great day, Drake, I don’t know if I can take more.”
He smiled. “Try.” He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a ring with a diamond solitaire. “This was my great-grandmother’s, the one that lived in this house. She gave it to Oliver to give to his wife, but my grandmother…well, she wasn’t big on sentiment unless it had at least five karats. Oliver gave it to me today when I told him I want to marry you. Will you marry me, Lexie?”
Lexie gasped. Could it be true? Did he just propose?
“My whole life is on the line here. The least you can do is answer me.” He stared at her, vulnerability and fear etching his handsome face. Before she could respond, he said, “I love you, Lexie. I love you like I’ve never loved before.”
“It’s only been two weeks…”
“I know. I know. It seems fast. But the way I see it, we moved in together the day we met. We had our first kiss and grope within days. We made love by—”
“Four times.”
He grinned. “We made love four times by the end of the week. We broke up. We made up. We broke up and made up again. We’ve had an entire relationship in two weeks. I think we’re behind when it comes to an engagement.”
She could barely see him through her tears. It made her feel silly and dumb, but she didn’t care. “You’re talking like I do.”
“You taught me to speak my heart. And my heart says I love you. I know that might be hard to believe—”
“No.” When his expression dropped, she pressed her palms to his cheeks. “I mean no, it’s not hard to believe. I know you, Drake. You may have tried to hide it, but I saw your kindness and compassion. You’re fiercely loyal and when you let yourself be you, you have so much love inside.”
“You saw all that?”
“Yes.”
“I knew it. The first time I met you, you saw right through me with those beautiful green eyes.”
“And here I thought you didn’t like me.”
His expression turned serious. “You terrified me.”
“Terrif—”
“And then you saved me. You’re the only who really saw me, saw the real Drake.”
Good golly. A woman could go her whole life and not hear a man say things like that to her.
“And now, I’d like you to marry me.”
She grinned and then laughed. How could he ever think her answer would be anything but “yes”? “Yes. Yes. Yes. I love you, too, Drake. And I want four children.”
He slipped the ring on her finger and pulled her close. “Whatever you want, but can we get married first?”
Epilogue
For the first time in her life, Lexie struggled to put words in her journal because none were strong enough to convey the joy in her life. The last two months were the happiest she could have ever imagined. When Drake confessed his love for her and announced he was willing to give up the family business, Lexie finally understood what real love was about. Of course, she’d been willing to do the same and hoped he understood the depth of her love and devotion to him.
Oliver was pleased when Drake told him she’d accepted the ring and marriage proposal. And then Drake surprised her again by organizing a wedding ceremony the very next day. With Oliver’s time coming to an end, Drake didn’t want to risk having Oliver miss the ceremony. Lexie found herself loving him even more just for that. They visited the county clerk’s office first thing the next morning to get a marriage license and, with her mother and Claire’s help, Lexie and Drake were married that afternoon. Even Derrick and Sharon attended the quickly organized ceremony that also included Lexie’s father, brother, and her friend Chelsea. Drake and Lexie postponed their honeymoon and instead focused on spending time with Oliver. Three weeks later, Oliver was gone. Lexie thought they should take time to grieve, but Drake insisted they needed to have their honeymoon and enjoy married life.
“Oliver wouldn’t want us to hold off. He’d want us to live. To celebrate life and our love.”
She knew he was right, so they left for two weeks at a private estate in the Caribbean.
They had been home one day which, unfortunately, Drake spent holed up in his new home office on a web conference call with Derrick. Lexie thought she’d finally have him to herself after dinner, since he’d sent Claire home earlier than usual, but then Derrick called again.
She wasn’t worried. She understood it had been a lot for Drake to be gone for two weeks without a laptop or Smartphone. It took only half a day and her new bikini to get his mind off what Derrick might be doing while he was gone. Now they were home, she understood Drake needed a little extra time for work.
Of course, Drake wasn’t the only one starting a new career phase. Lexie had applied and been hired as a nurse for local hospice. She hadn’t started working yet as they were just back from their honeymoon, but she felt certain she was going to find the fulfillment she’d been looking for in a career.
The front door opened and she smiled when Drake emerged.
“I sent Claire home early,” he said.
“I noticed. Any particular reason?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to share it with me?”
“I’m going to do it to you.” His gaze skimmed over her, sending a thrill through her body. He sat on the porch swing, and Lexie climbed into his lap.
“Did everything go okay with Derrick today?” She looped her arms around his neck.
“He tried to fire Al again while I was away but, other than that, all is well. Carmichael Corporation will have better than expected growth this year if we stay on target.”
“That’s good. Right?”
“Right. He also wanted to let us k
now he and Sharon are expecting again.” His hands slid loosely up and down her sides.
“Oh. Wow. That’s good too.”
“And they want us to come visit. That part I think came from Sharon. The invite didn’t sound natural on Derrick’s part.” Drake shook his head, still reeling from the news about Tad, and he and Derrick’s attempts to forge a better relationship.
“I think it will be a while before Derrick sees you as something other than the enemy.”
“It’s better than it was. I don’t know if we’ll ever be like brothers, but maybe we’ll be friends.” He smiled, and Lexie was pleased that he was open to the possibility. “I bet Oliver would like that you and Derrick are doing so well. Happy and growing the business.”
“I think you’re right.”
She gave him a quick kiss. “Do you suppose Oliver is watching over us, pleased?”
“I hope not.” Drake slid his hands under her shirt, and as always, his touch felt divine. “I may not be stuffy anymore, but I still don’t want an audience when I make love to you.”
She smiled. “I guess you’re right. He’s probably busy with Kitty anyway.”
“So now maybe you’ll let me get busy with you.” His thumbs brushed over her already aching nipples.
She sighed. “Promises, promises.”
One dark brow lifted. He banded his arms around her, stood with her still wrapped around him, and headed back into the house.
“Where are we going?”
“Upstairs.” He stumbled on the steps a little bit as she rained kisses on his face and pressed her body close. He finally managed to get them into their room, the room she’d first brought him to when he arrived. He tossed her on the bed. “It’s time for me to keep my promise.”
Lexie grinned as he tugged off his shirt and pants. “You’ve got a great body, Drake. Do you know that?”
“I think you mentioned my pecs once before.” He assumed a body building pose to show them off.
“Swoon.” She laughed.
“You’re falling behind, Mrs. Carmichael.” He tossed his briefs aside.
He looked magnificent: hard, strong, hot, and all hers. Lexie stood on the bed and quickly removed her clothes. His hands and lips were on her before she finished. He helped her get rid of the last bit of clothing and then rolled her under him.
She looked up into his steel gray eyes, no longer dark or cool. Instead, they shone with love. Awe filled her heart, nearly bringing tears to her eyes. How often had she dreamt of this? Of being in this room with a man who loved her as she loved him? She didn’t believe it would come true, and yet, here she was, living the dream. She wanted him to know, without a doubt, how happy he made her.
She pushed at him and, despite her small size, pinned him down.
“Great day, Miz Lexie,” he drawled.
She smiled. “I’ll give you a great day.”
And she did. Day after day.
Acknowledgments
Writing is a solitary activity, but getting a book to readers takes the help and support of many. A big thank you to my agent, Dawn Dowdle, for helping me whip this story into shape. To my editor, Thalia Sutton, thank you for helping me flesh out weak areas while also respecting my ideas. A special thanks to Penner Publishing and Jessica Gadsden for taking a chance on a southern romance.
I want to give a shout out to everyone who has supported my late-in-life dream of writing, including my sister, Rachel Young, my writer’s group, the woman who stole my fan fiction (which led me to think I might have a knack for writing stories), and to my street team—you gals are SweetHartes!
Finally, I couldn’t do any of this without the support of my family, who give me the time to write and put up with me talking about my characters as if they’re real people.
About the Author
Jenna Harte is a die-hard romantic writing about characters who are passionate about and committed to each other, and frequently getting into trouble. She is the author of the Valentine Mysteries, the first of which, “Deadly Valentine,” reached the quarter-finals in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award in 2013. She has a bundle of stories filled with romance, mystery and even time travel rattling around in her head and is eager for the day when a device is invented allowing her to download what’s in her brain onto her computer. When she’s not telling stories, she works by day as a freelance writer, author, blogger and online entrepreneur. She lives in central Virginia with her husband, two college-bound children and a fat cat.
Connect with Jenna
@jenna_harte
JennaHarteAuthor
jennaharte.com/
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