Winning his Heart
Page 17
“I was coming to get you.”
“What?” She took another step toward him.
He ran his good hand down his face the way he did when he was nervous. What was he nervous about? He winced, forgetting his injuries as his fingers brushed against the cuts and bruises.
“After my race, I was planning on coming to New York. I wanted to tell you...”
He put his hand out. “Please come closer. I can’t stand saying this to you with you so far away where I can’t touch you or make sure you look at me and hear every word.”
Her heart raced in her chest as she sat beside him on the bed, his hand now wrapped around hers.
“I was an idiot, Franchesca. You said you were going to New York to audition and I freaked out. I thought for sure you’d make it and want to live there and I panicked. I used Annalise as an excuse and turned away.” He moved his hand to her cheek and cradled her face. “I am so sorry. And if you let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
She let the tears fall, tears of joy rather than pain. Ones filled with hope and love and a future with him.
“You’re my dream, Franchesca.”
She laughed. “Isn’t that a line from a movie?”
He laughed as well. “I watch so many of those damned Disney things...you’re probably right.” Those warm chocolate colored eyes of his found hers. “But I mean it. If you want to live and act in New York, I’m with you. I’m all in. I’m in love with you and I want you any way I can get you, Miss Stone.”
A shiver ran through her as she leaned forward and kissed his lips. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Any chance you’d wanna marry a guy with a precocious daughter and who may or may not quote princess movie lines to you in an attempt at being romantic?”
She leaned her forehead to his. “There’s nothing more I’d rather do than be a St. Claire.”
“Ah, let’s be clear. There’s a lot of us. You’ll be my St. Claire.”
“Forever.” She nodded and kissed him again.
Epilogue
A few months later...
Franchesca dug her feet into the grass and pushed causing the tire swing to move back and forth. Curled up on it with Mike, she tucked into his shoulder and watched as the clouds swayed in her vision above them.
Mike had taken the tire swing from her house and hung it in the backyard once she’d sold her parents’ cottage and moved in with Mike and Annalise after the wedding.
As much as she loved the spotlight, a big wedding was never something she’d wanted. They’d had a small ceremony at the house with family and close friends. Her mother had looked beautiful and the St. Claires, as always, made it an elegant, but relaxed affair.
“What are you thinking about?” Mike asked, the rumble of his voice vibrating against her cheek that lay on his chest.
“You.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” She smiled, in love with how Mike teased her. In love with everything that was Mike St. Claire.
“Good thoughts, I hope.”
“Always.”
His deep laugh moved her body as much as it did his.
“I was thinking about what you said in the hospital. That you were going to come get me in New York.”
“Yeah. I was planning a grand gesture.”
She turned her head to look up at him. “You were?”
He kissed her forehead. “You’re a grand gesture kind of woman.”
“Ah, that I am.”
He laughed again.
“What did you have planned?”
“I hadn’t gotten that far. I was in that wreck and never got to the planning stages.”
The nonchalant way in which he could talk about his accident baffled Franchesca. His injuries had healed, but a small scar now sat above his left eye.
“Well, you overshot things there with the accident, hospital, making me lose years off my life from worry situation.”
“I’m sorry, Franchesca. I don’t ever want you to hurt on my account ever again.” He wrapped his arms around her tighter.
She wouldn’t. Mike had meant what he said. After getting home and as he healed from his injuries, he pressed her to try in New York again, go to another audition. She hadn’t gotten a call back from the first one, which didn’t surprise her. Her mind had been anywhere but in that theater that day. But she reassured Mike that their life in Marietta was what she wanted.
He’d decided to quit racing. He loved it, but he loved her and Annalise more. The risk was too great. Wes was talking to him about owning a team, seeing if that was something he wanted, but he hadn’t decided yet. And she had been offered a part-time job at the local middle school teaching drama in the fall.
The tire swing slowed, the clouds above moving less.
Her life may not have followed the path she thought it would, but she had won Mike’s heart. And that...that was all she’d ever want.
The End
The St.Claires of Montana
Book 1: A Recipe for Romance
Book 2: Winning His Heart
Book 3: His Christmas Bride
Check out Lara Van Hulzen’s new series....
The Silver Bay series
Silver Bay is a town in Northern California where high school sweethearts are reunited, people brave new beginnings, and love is found in the most unexpected circumstances. A small town that draws visitors in with coastal views, friends old and new, and sweet stories that warm the heart.
Book 1: Return to Silver Bay
Book 2: Loving Kate
Book 3: Saving Drew
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About the Author
Lara is a published author and public speaker with a degree in journalism.
Writing stories since she was a young girl, Lara’s dream of being a novelist became a reality with her Men of Honor Series.
An avid reader, she worked as a book reviewer for 18 years with various organizations such as Crossings Doubleday, YouthWorker Journal, and www.radiantlit.com
Lover of movies, music, art, travel, baseball, CrossFit and her dog, Lara lives in California with her husband, teenage daughter, and teenage twin boys.
Visit Lara at: www.laramvanhulzen.com
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