Marie cried all the way to the church and Christine felt like crying, too. She just needed to get her bearings again, she decided. Work had been blissfully quiet and political consultants had left her alone. But it was perfectly reasonable to say that the events of the previous month had left her shaken. She and Marie just had to get back to normal, that was all.
Which was all well and good—but try telling a fourteen-month-old that.
By the time they made it to the Red Rock church, Marie had almost cried herself out. Christine carried her inside, already mentally apologizing to the day care ladies and hoping that Marie would keep it together long enough that Christine could find some comfort in the service.
“I want my Daniel,” Marie whimpered pitifully, although it came out sounding like “Wan anal.”
“I know, sweetie. But you’ll have fun today,” Christine promised in a voice that was obnoxiously perky even to her own ears.
Normally, Christine could lose herself in the service. She enjoyed the chance to reconnect with her faith and the music wasn’t bad either. But today, all she could think about was how she would cushion her little girl’s disappointment that “her Daniel” wasn’t here and then, when Marie finally went to bed, how Christine would deal with her own disappointment that Daniel wasn’t going to call.
No. Better not think of it.
After the service, she went down to get Marie from the day care. Marie fussed some more as they followed the crowd out of the building. Then, suddenly, she squirmed in Christine’s arms and squealed in what sounded like...excitement?
“Hey!” Christine said, struggling to hold on to her daughter. But Marie somehow wiggled out of her coat and slid to the floor with an unceremonious plop. Then she was off, walking on wobbly legs through the crowded lobby.
“Marie!” Christine cried, struggling to get through the crowd before her daughter got trampled. She lost sight of Marie for just a second and then, when the crowd parted, Marie wasn’t there.
Panic dumped into Christine’s bloodstream as she frantically looked around—who had her daughter? Marie wasn’t fast enough to just disappear.
Then she came to a screeching halt because someone did have Marie. Someone tall and dark, someone who made cable-knit sweaters look surprisingly glamorous.
Oh, God—Daniel.
She’d never been so glad to see anyone in her entire life. “You’re here,” she said in shock.
“I am,” he agreed, giving Marie a hug. The little girl threw her arms round his neck, screaming with delight.
Christine’s heart melted at the sight of them together. “What are you doing here?”
He smiled hesitantly. “Is there someplace we can go to talk?” he asked, his eyes intent as the rest of the church slowly emptied out around them. “Someplace inconspicuous?”
He had come for her. Not under the cover of darkness, not just for sex. At least, she hoped. That kernel of hope took root in her chest and began to blossom into something far greater. “Come with me.”
They went back down to the place where it all started—the old living room set outside the day care. Back to the place where it had first occurred to her that maybe he’d come to help after all.
As they walked down the stairs, though, a horrible thought occurred to her. What if he wasn’t here for her? What if something else had happened and she was back in the news again? What if he were only here because of his misguided sense of protecting her?
What if he didn’t feel about her the way she felt about him?
Paralyzed by this thought, she sat awkwardly in the exact spot she had sat so many weeks ago. “Has something gone wrong?”
He cuddled Marie, then put her down. She went off to get a book, chattering happily about “her Daniel.” “No,” he said, standing in front of her. “Nothing’s happened.”
“Okay...” How she was supposed to take that?
“I mean—something did happen.” He looked anxious again, which didn’t help her nerves. “But it doesn’t concern your father’s political campaign or your reputation on the internet.”
“That’s...good?”
She hadn’t seen him this unsettled since he’d told her about his grandfather and his business in Korea.
“I miss you,” he blurted out. “I didn’t expect to. I’ve never missed anyone before. But I miss you.”
He said it like it’d come as a complete and total surprise to him. And frankly, she was a little surprised herself. “I miss you, too,” she said, pushing herself out of the chair. She didn’t want him looking down on her. She wanted to meet him as an equal. “But you made it clear that there wasn’t anything else to our relationship. You’ve atoned for your mistakes in the past and I’ve forgiven you. Everything else was just an...unexpected bonus.”
Somehow, he managed to look ashamed by this statement. “That’s how it was supposed to be. But that’s not how it worked out. I...” He took a deep breath and took her hands in his. “I thought I could go back to the way I was before. I thought I would be fine without you—without anyone. Watching and waiting—always above everyone else. Never with them. Does that even make sense?”
She thought back to his apartment, looking down on the world but never touching it—or anyone in it. “I think so. You never had anyone come over to your place before and then suddenly Marie and I were there and your brother and Natalie...”
He stepped in closer, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his chest through her layers. “I thought I could go back to watching you from a distance—monitoring you online, having Porter shadow you. But I missed you, Christine.” He sounded continually surprised by this realization.
She smiled in spite of herself. “You said that already.”
He took a deep breath and for some reason, she thought of a man standing on a bridge, ready to jump. “I thought about what you said to me that one night on the couch. I don’t have to prove anything to my grandfather. I never did. But I thought that, by keeping my distance from my family and never getting involved with anyone, hiding behind my political work—somehow I was showing him how wrong he was about me. But I was still letting him make my choices for me. I never wanted to be alone. I just didn’t want to marry the person he said I had to and I didn’t want to marry someone who saw me as a family name first and my wealth second. I didn’t want to be used like he wanted to use me.”
At that moment, Marie bumped into his leg, a book in her hand. He leaned down and picked her up, but his gaze never left Christine.
“That’s all I wanted, too,” she told him. “I didn’t want to be a cog in my father’s political machine and I didn’t want Marie to be one, either. I just wanted to be accepted as I am. I just wanted to be good enough. And then I wanted to be good enough for you.” She hung her head. Even now—with him right here—she couldn’t believe he thought she was on the same level as he was.
“But you are,” he said. Then, turning his attention to Marie, he said, “I need to talk to Mommy. Can you sit on the couch and read quietly?”
And, miracle of miracles, Marie nodded. He sat her down and she curled up on the couch, intent on her story.
Daniel turned his attention back to her. “You changed me, Christine. You’re the one thing I never saw coming. I couldn’t plan for you and the thought of not having a plan scares me—but not as much as the thought of not having you in my life. I always believed that I didn’t fit anywhere but when I’m with you, I feel like I belong. I want to belong to you, Christine. Not to my grandfather and not to someone like Brian White. I don’t want to live my life on the fringe of humanity anymore. I want to play with Marie in the park and have breakfast with you in the morning and I want to know that, at the end of the day—no matter what state or country I’m in—that I’m coming home to you.”
One thing was clear. Daniel Lee had ruined her for anyone else. Even now—he was saying all the things she needed to hear. But there was one thing that still worried her. “I don’t want this to
be all because of some misguided notion that you’re protecting me or that you owe it to me. And I don’t want you to think that I only care for you because you’re this elusive billionaire.”
His eyes got wide. “Do you? Care for me, that is?”
“Oh, Daniel,” she whispered, stretching up on her tiptoes and brushing her lips over his. “You ruined me for any other man. You stood by me when I needed you and you make things better. You’re kind to my daughter and you make me feel like the woman I was always meant to be. How could I not love you?”
His arms went around her waist, holding her tight. “Do you really love me? Because I love you, too. I know it’s quick, but I kept waiting for things to go back to normal again after you left and they didn’t.”
“Me, too,” she said, her eyes stinging. “And they didn’t.”
“We can’t go back,” he said with a grin that got more confident by the second. “You changed me, Christine—for the better. You forgave me and I...this sounds crazy, but I think I’ve forgiven myself. This isn’t about rescuing you. This is about having you by my side because I can’t stand back and watch you walk away.”
Her heart was pounding. Was this really happening? “So what are you saying? Do you want to try dating? Or...”
“I want more than that. I don’t want you one night a week or lunch every other Thursday. I want you all the time. I want you always. Would you marry me, Christine?” From behind them, Marie trilled. Daniel smiled and, turning to the little girl, said, “Would you be my family, too, Marie?”
Christine gaped at him. “What?”
His grin sharpened and there it was, that intense feeling of being in Daniel Lee’s sights. “Marry me, Christine. You’re the strongest woman I know, but let me be the soft place you can land. Let me show you every day that you’re the only woman for me. I want to adopt Marie. I want to be the man I think I was always meant to be. That’s who I am when I’m with you.”
Christine didn’t even bother to blink back the tears. As far as proposals went, it was perfect—just like Daniel. Oh, she was under no illusions that he was perfect. But he was perfect for her and that was the most important thing of all. “Yes,” she said, laughing and crying at the same time. “But promise me that you won’t listen to his voice inside your head more.”
With a huge grin on his face, he picked her up and spun her in a small circle. “The only voice I want inside my head is yours,” he told her, lowering her back down to the ground and touching his forehead to hers. “Your voice is the only one that matters to me.”
And then he kissed her and no one said anything at all for quite some time.
* * * * *
EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT
Read on for a sneak preview of
Twin Secrets
by Jules Bennett
One
How the hell could her father have gambled away all of his savings? As in, every last penny to his name. His reckless way of living finally caught up with him...with them. He’d lost major things before: his car, his retirement funds, all of her mother’s jewelry—save for the one piece Annabelle had hidden away. But he’d gone too far this time.
As if Annabelle Carter didn’t have enough on her plate. She’d come home to Stone River, Texas, to start over. She’d brought her sweet twins, six-month-old Emily and Lucy, and planned to offer them a new life and begin building her dream...a vision of her late mother’s.
But, no. Now Annabelle was driving to the ranch next door to do damage control. As she turned onto the long drive, flanked by a pristine white fence, she pulled in a breath. The arched, metal sign over the entrance was a good indicator of the amount of money these people had. The stone columns suspending the sign were nothing short of remarkable. The beauty started from the street and she could only imagine what she was about to see at the end of this drive.
Pebblebrook Ranch was one place she’d never ventured into. It was owned by the hoity-toity Elliott family, and they didn’t necessarily run in the same circles. The five–thousand-acre spread boasted several massive homes. Just one of their mansions was worth more than Annabelle’s entire farm.
And that was when they’d actually had livestock. Her father, however, had gambled animals away, too. She’d been gone two years, living in Houston, and in that time he’d completely lost everything.
Rage ripped through her. What would he have done had she not come back home to nurse her own wounds? A fresh wave of anger surged through Annabelle as she remembered her sister and fiancé’s betrayal. And the crippling effects of her sister’s recent death. So much pain, Annabelle wasn’t sure how to log it all inside her heart.
Now she had to deal with Colt Elliott on top of everything else. She’d never met the man, but she knew of the Elliott brothers. Sexy ladies’ men, all much older than her. If she recalled correctly, Colt was a twin. Were the twins the youngest of the siblings?
None of that mattered. What mattered was that her father had borrowed money to pay off the farm loan before it could go into foreclosure, without informing her. Of all people to go to, her father had gone to Colt Elliott. Not that there were many people who could’ve helped, but Neil Carter could have come to Annabelle first. She didn’t have that chunk of cash, but she would’ve gone through hell before borrowing from the Elliotts.
Now her father owed Colt instead of the bank. Perfect. Just perfect. The loan had been so close to being paid off, but her father just couldn’t hang on any longer. He’d gone through all the money he’d put aside. Thankfully, Annabelle had set aside money for her sister’s funeral expenses, or her father would’ve gone through that, as well.
According to her father, he and Colt had come to an agreement that he had to pay off the debt within three months. The bimonthly payments couldn’t be a day late or a penny short or the farm would permanently belong to Colt.
Fine. Annabelle had no problem taking over her dad’s end of the bargain. She refused to lose the only thing she had left. Her childhood home would not go to the family whose hobby was probably sitting around counting their wad of cash.
Annabelle’s father claimed Colt was helping, but she didn’t believe that for a second. People like the Elliotts didn’t just do things out of the kindness of their hearts. In terms of wealth and influence, they were a giant leap above all other people in this town. With their mansions on the sprawling estate, the billions of dollars that passed through the farm from all their livestock...the rest of the businesses in the area didn’t even compare. They were Stone River’s answer to a cattle monopoly...if that was a thing. Random people didn’t just go to Pebblebrook. It was like some sacred ground that mere peons didn’t dare trespass on.
Well, too bad because she wanted to know what Colt’s agenda truly was. She suspected he wanted her land for himself and she was going to have no part of that. She had her own dreams: marriage, siblings for her twins, opening her bed-and-breakfast. She’d already lost so much—she wasn’t about to lose her home or her future.
Annabelle approached the sprawling three-story log and stone home. Sturdy wooden porches stretched across the first and second floors and two balconies extended from double glass doors off the third floor. Probably bedrooms. She imagined Colt on a balcony overlooking his massive estate, as if he were a king overlooking his kingdom. Annabelle swallowed. She couldn’t even fathom the money these people had.
When a horse came from around the side of the two-story stable, Annabelle immediately forgot about the house. And it wasn’t even the striking black stallion that had her attention.
Hellllo, Shirtless Stable Boy.
She may be nursing a shattered heart but she wasn’t dead, and this hottie with excellent, tanned muscle tone was a perfect temporary distraction. How much work did it take to get ripped like that? Ranching certainly produced some fine—
Annabelle jerked as her car hit something and came to an abrupt stop. Gripping the wheel, eyes squeezed shut, she had no clue what had just happened, but she’d been distracted
and obviously ran into...oh, please don’t be a person or an animal.
Opening one eye at a time, she saw nothing but the barn and grassy fields...and the shattered post where the fence had been. Mercy, she’d been so caught up in the hunk on horseback, she’d run into the fence. Way to make an entrance.
As if she needed another problem in her life.
Mortified and shaken up, Annabelle shut off her car, thankful the babies weren’t in the backseat. Her door jerked open, startling a squeal out of her.
“Are you all right, ma’am?”
That perfect Southern drawl combined with the bare chest she now stared at was enough to render her speechless. But even that couldn’t override the reason she came. Just because she’d wrecked her sporty car, her only material possession worth any money, didn’t mean she could deviate from her plan. What was one more setback at this point?
“I’m fine,” she stated, trembling more from the sight of the sexy stranger than the actual accident.
Annabelle swung her legs out and came to stand, but the cowboy didn’t back up. With one hand on her open car door and the other on the hood, he had her trapped. On any other day, she would’ve welcomed this stranger getting in her space and making her forget her cheating fiancé, but today there was no time for lustful thoughts. She shivered again as his eyes swept over her.
“Sorry about the fence,” she stated, shoving her hair away from her face. “I’ll pay to have it repaired.”
With the savings that were supposed to go toward realizing my mother’s dream.
“The sun was in my eyes,” she went on. No way was she about to admit she’d been staring at his perfect...riding form.
“Don’t worry about the fence.”
Now he stepped back, but just enough for her to take in his well-worn cowboy boots, fitted jeans over a narrow waist...that glistening chest and his tipped cowboy hat. Black, of course.
“What brings you to Pebblebrook?” he asked, propping his hands on his hips.
Billionaire's Baby Promise (Mills & Boon Desire) (Billionaires and Babies, Book 79) Page 16
