“Nope.” She straddled him and settled into his lap, facing him.
“How about the hearing? Can we talk about that?”
“Eventually.”
He blew out a long breath and eased back against the couch, settling in. He figured he’d be here a while. “Go.”
“Yeah.” She let out a nervous laugh. “I wish it were that easy or simple.” She ran a shaking hand through her hair. “I just went to visit Franny. I thought if Eric has his way, it might be the last time, so I wanted to make sure I said everything I could think of. Whether or not she could hear or understand.”
His heart twisted for her. And this time, he didn’t offer her platitudes, because as she’d learned today, it didn’t matter what should happen, a judge could rule any way he wanted. Fairness be damned.
“While I was talking to her, she thought I was her sister Gracie … and she was happy. She was in the past and reliving her life, and she laughed and smiled. I thought, I need to accept that at least she’s happy where she is at this moment. That has to be enough for me. It’s certainly enough for her right now.”
He smoothed his hand over her hair. “That’s huge for you. I’m glad you’re finding a way to come to terms with losing her.” Because loss was the one thing Madison feared.
“She’s not gone. The woman I knew is gone, but another one is here. And you know what? She taught me something today.”
Alex caught the twinkle in her eye, and he suddenly had more hope than he’d experienced since seeing her in Ian’s conference room that first day.
“What’s that?” he asked.
She met his gaze. “Living in the moment has to count. It has to be everything, or I’ll have nothing, like you said. It just took seeing Franny happy today to make me realize it.”
He waited, sensing she needed to keep going, and he remained silent.
“You’re right. I’ve had a lot of loss. Too much. But here you are, offering me everything in the moment, and I’m so busy worrying about the future that I’m pushing you away. When I could be happy now. We could be happy now.”
His head began to spin with the possibilities of what she was saying. “So—”
“So…” She drew a deep breath. “I’m here. I’m all in. And now I want to know what the hell you think you were doing with that blonde in New York.”
He couldn’t help it. He threw his head back and laughed.
She poked him in the stomach with her finger. “Cut that out.”
“I was set up.” He raised both hands in front of him before she could argue. “I kid you not. My bastard of an agent decided to ambush me with meeting after meeting. He told me this was a test for the job when, in reality, they just wanted to get good publicity shots for the show. He basically told them I’d take the job without my permission. And last night at the restaurant, Allison was in on it. The damned restaurant was loud, she moved in closer. She knew someone was snapping pictures. I didn’t.”
Madison eyed him, eyes narrowed.
“What? You don’t believe me?”
“Of course I believe you. I just can’t believe your agent would do something like that to you.”
That she trusted his word was huge, and hearing her say it, relief flooded him. “Ex-agent. I fired him as soon as I landed. And I couldn’t call you last night or this morning because it was after midnight when I got back to the hotel, and I was up at four for a six a.m. flight.”
She nodded. “I didn’t like it, but I didn’t jump to conclusions. But I was going to call it quits between us.”
His gut clenched, and this time, he narrowed his gaze.
“I didn’t think I could handle this kind of publicity and the women in your life, waiting for the other shoe to fall and you to decide you were finished with me again.”
“Madison,” he said on a low growl.
She placed her finger over his lips. “But I realized I can’t live waiting to be miserable. That will happen—or it won’t. But I need you in my life, and that means getting over my past and my fears.”
“I’m here to help you, Angel.”
She smiled, but it was far from genuine. “I’m broken, Alex,” she said with tears in her eyes. “But I want to get better. I want to get it right with you.”
He slid his hand behind her neck and pulled her hair tight. “Let’s get one thing straight, okay? There are no other women in my life. None who matter. Want to know why?”
She nodded, staring at him with wide eyes.
“Because I love you. I. Love. You.” He said the three words he’d only said to one other woman before, when he’d been nothing more than a kid who didn’t know better. He hadn’t known what life had in store. Couldn’t imagine that this wounded woman who needed him would find a place so deep in his heart he could never let her go.
Madison’s breath caught, and a sob escaped. “I love you too.” Her throat hurt from holding back tears, but her heart … that she thought might burst out of her chest.
Those three words meant everything to her. Hours earlier, they might not have been enough to ground her and keep her from leaving. She might not have trusted them. But time with a wise woman who’d lost herself had managed to teach Madison the one lesson she’d desperately needed.
“I love you,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his.
He kissed her back, devouring her mouth, sealing them together deeply. “You’re not getting rid of me, Madison,” he promised, separating from her only to pull her against him tightly.
Her cheek rested against his, and she breathed him in. “Whatever happens with the job, we’ll make it work. Don’t give anything up for me. I promise you, I’m not going anywhere. I know I’ll struggle, but I’ll work through it.”
“No more pulling away? No more giving into fear, right? You have a problem, we talk it out.”
She nodded.
“Good. Because I want to give you everything you’ve never had. Love, trust, a home…”
Another sob rose up in her throat at his words.
“And a family.”
She smiled at him. “You already did. Your family accepted me, and I’m so grateful for that.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “I don’t mean just my family. I mean our family. Yours and mine. I want kids I can teach to throw a baseball and girls who look just like you.”
She shook her head back and forth, unable to speak or form a coherent word.
“You don’t want kids?” He reared back in shock.
“I do. I just never let myself think about having them. I didn’t ever allow myself that dream.”
“Well, it’s not going to be a dream. It’s going to be our reality. I’m going to make sure of it.”
“You’re so good to me.” She looked into the face of the man she loved, unable to believe life had given them a second chance. Had given her a chance to get her head on straight and not lose the best thing that had ever happened to her.
“We’re good together. Don’t forget that.”
She grinned. “You can be sure I’ll remind you … if you ever forget.”
“Not likely. Got a question for you now.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Marry me. Make this official.”
She blinked at him, stunned, surprised, and overwhelmed. “Are you sure you know what you’re getting into?”
“What kind of question is that? For one thing, we belong together. For another, don’t you think you’ll feel better knowing I want to make a lifetime commitment to you?”
She shook her head. “No. You can’t marry me because I have abandonment issues.”
He cupped her face in his hand, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “You’re right. But I can marry you because I have issues with being apart from you in any way. And because I know how I feel. It’s a plus that it’ll give you even more security. And that’s important to me. But binding you to me in every way is exactly what I want.”
She shr
ugged. What else could she say to that? “Yes.”
“Yes?”
“Yes.”
He grinned and kissed her hard. “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“To buy a ring. My fiancée needs to have my ring on her finger.”
She smiled. “What kind of female would I be if I said no to that?”
She didn’t kid herself that things would be easy or that she wouldn’t backslide, but she had the world in her hands and this wonderful man in her life. She’d do everything she could to keep him there. Including fix herself.
* * *
Three Months Later
Alex drove toward Ian’s house to join his brother at the end of Riley’s baby shower. Ian had asked for moral support, and this way, Alex could pick up Madison, who’d gone to the party with some women from work. Alex drove north on I-95, catching sight of the damned billboard with his face plastered there in split screen. Exactly as the PR people had pitched the idea months ago.
He really hadn’t wanted to go along with the idea, but a myriad of circumstances had changed his mind. First was Jake, the boy he’d met in New York. They’d become email pals, and at some point, Ian’s words about Alex being able to make a difference for kids, and even injured athletes who could be taught to prepare for the future, had gotten to him. And when training camps began over the summer, Alex had begun meeting with the players, both in groups and individually, and he’d come to see the wisdom of the PR campaign. Finally, there was his new TV gig.
When Rachel had called him months ago on behalf of the owners of S&E Network, he hadn’t wanted to hear what she had to say. Once again, her persistence had paid off, and he’d been forced to listen. He learned that the setup had been all Allison and his ex-agent’s idea. The executives still wanted Alex. He wanted a new cohost. To his shock, they were agreeable.
The show would be Sundays only during football season, which meant his travel time was limited. He was able to keep his job with the Thunder and take on the new opportunity. That was when Madison had approached him again about doing the PR campaign. She believed the new job would be the perfect comeback tool and would bolster the efforts they were doing behind the scenes if coordinated with a public campaign. With Alex as the face of success.
Put like that, he hadn’t been able to refuse. If Madison could face her insecurities while he traveled to New York and worked with his female cohost and renewed fame, he could damn well face his own insecurities. Especially if it meant helping others.
Alex pulled his Porsche into the long driveway of his brother’s house. He met up with Ian at the front door.
“Eager to escape?” Alex asked, laughing.
“You don’t understand what all those drunk women in one room are like,” he muttered.
“But Riley can’t drink.”
“She insisted on mimosas for her friends. Tipsy females giving gifts like breast pumps, nipple cream, and a wiseass one gave her a voucher for a vasectomy. Said she’d be begging me to get one during delivery.”
“Ouch, man. That’s harsh.”
“You’re telling me. My brothers left after the first high-pitched screaming laugh.” He slapped Alex on the back. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Jesus. Can we stay out here?”
“No way. I’ve stayed out of their way for the most part, but Riley wants me there for cake and a toast. You can damn well earn your brother stripes and back me up.”
“You owe me,” Alex muttered, following Ian into the house.
An hour later, Alex was ready to escape the excited women, the tiny-people clothes—how did you hold something that small and not drop it, anyway?—and all those diapers, creams, and instruction books. He was glad he was engaged to be married and had time before he had to face all this … stuff.
He cornered a tipsy Madison in the hall near the kitchen. “Ready to go?” he asked hopefully.
“Another mimosa first.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the full bar with a professional mixer Ian had hired.
“Oh, no. I think you’ve had enough.”
She turned toward him. “I haven’t. Really. I just think we should stay till the end. For Riley.”
He nodded. “Can I get something in exchange for the sacrifice?”
“Such as?” she asked, leaning in close and looping her arms around his neck.
He pulled her into the nearest room and shut the door behind them. “This.” He slid his lips over hers and took her mouth, kissing her as if he hadn’t seen her and made love to her earlier this morning.
“Mmm. What was that for?”
“Do I need a reason to kiss my soon-to-be wife?” he asked.
“Nope.” She threaded her fingers through his hair and refastened her lips over his.
Her tongue glided over his mouth, pushed inside, and she moaned, pulling tighter on his hair and not letting him get away. Not that he wanted to.
With a moan, she finally separated from him. “I’ve been thinking.”
“About?”
“What kind of wedding I want.” Before today, Madison had been putting off making a decision on anything to do with the actual ceremony.
Not because she had any doubts but because she didn’t know how to have something traditional when her life was anything but. Still, spending the day with a lot of married women talking about babies and families had her ready to make a decision.
Alex grasped her waist in his hands. “Anything you want, it’s yours.”
She swallowed hard. “I want to be your wife, but I don’t want a big wedding with a lot of people. I don’t have parents and—”
“No explanations necessary,” he assured her.
“I don’t want to walk down the aisle alone or with someone who isn’t really my father. I just want to marry you. I’d say Las Vegas, but I want your family to be there.”
He squeezed her tighter. “And I love you for that. So why not do Vegas? My family can fly out there as easily as we can. Gabe owns a club there. I’m sure he knows all the best places for us to go. It’ll be simple.”
She stared in surprise. “Really?”
He grinned. “Really.”
She blew out a long breath. “Thank you,” she said, so relieved he’d agreed. “If Riley can fly, I’d love for her and Ian to be there. If not, I know she’ll understand.”
He nodded. “I agree.”
He was so easy. So special. She stared into those dark chocolate eyes so full of love. For her. She was lucky, she thought not for the first time. Not for the hundredth. He’d turned into the perfect man for her. And throughout the last few months, she’d grown a lot too.
She’d learned to talk to herself during his travels, reassuring herself that his on-air chemistry with the co-host of his show didn’t mean he was interested in her. That the other proverbial shoe didn’t have to fall. That he didn’t have to leave her like others in her life. And thanks to his patience, it was all starting to stick. She was more self-aware, more trusting. And she hoped she could be half the partner for him that he was for her.
“If my family can be there, great. If not … you’re all I need, Angel.”
“Good thing,” she said, smiling. “Because you’re all I need too.”
EPILOGUE
Gabriel Dare stared at the email he’d received from his cousin Alex. Another Dare male soon to be married. Gabe stared out the window over one of the four terraces in his apartment that overlooked the East River. He had varied business interests, owned the most exclusive nightclubs in the world’s most sought-after locations, and he was bored. Not with the business end of things but with his personal life.
The endless available supply of beautiful women did nothing for him. Easy catches didn’t stimulate his interest. No, there was only one woman who’d done that lately, and she was living with a pompous ass who didn’t deserve her. He ran a hand through his hair, understanding that her lack of availability was for the best.
Gabe had married
young and miscalculated badly. He felt responsible for his wife’s death, leaving him certain that being alone was his best—his only—option. One look at her had him wanting to do what he always did when hit with a business challenge. Reassess. But matters of the heart had little in common with business, which was more calculated and controlling. He had to put her out of his mind.
Unfortunately, there was something about Isabelle …
If you missed book 1 in the Dare to Love series, Riley & Ian’s story, Dare to Love is available NOW!
Dare to Surrender – Isabelle & Gabe’s story – available July 15, 2014
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Read on for an excerpt from my upcoming book, DARE TO SURRENDER.
Dare to Surrender – Excerpt
Isabelle: Out of the Frying Pan
I was arrested a mile outside of Manhattan. Grand theft auto, the cop said. Bullshit, I replied. The baby Benz belonged to me.
Still, he cuffed me and hauled me to the nearest police station. He said his name was Officer Dare and he was a dark haired man, tall, taller than Lance, who prided himself on his height, and broader from what I could tell beneath his uniform. His intense expression never wavered. All seriousness, all the time, but I sensed he’d be handsome if he smiled. So far, he hadn’t.
Dare to Desire Page 18
