Begging for Bad Boys

by Willow Winters

“So? Do you really need the money and the house, or would you rather be with someone who actually loves you, someone who’s loved you for years.”

  He paused and sucked in a breath. “Love? Are you in love with me, Jaime?”

  I felt the blood drain from my face. “No. I didn’t say that.”

  “You basically did,” he argued. “You just said you love me, that you always have. That’s why you’ve been acting so weird. I don’t understand though. If you love me, why not marry me?”

  “Of course you wouldn’t understand,” I said as the wall of emotions collapsed around me. “You left me, Charlie. You just took off and abandoned me. You were the one person who understood me. You were always there for me, and then you were just gone, with no calls, no…anything. What was I supposed to think?”

  He reached out for my hands, but I yanked them back. “But I came back,” he argued.

  “Ha! Yeah, you did, but did you look me up right away? Did you come find me to tell me you realize, after all these years that you really want to be with me?” I asked, angrily swiping the tears from my eyes. “No. You didn’t come back for me. You came back for the money, and you thought you could sucker your best friend into scamming everyone, without any repercussions.”

  “I just thought you’d be okay with it because we were such good friends, because of all the crazy stunts we’ve pulled in the past.”

  “Were,” I said, hanging my head. “That’s just it. You were my good friend, but I-I can’t lie anymore. I’ll admit it, Charlie. I am in love with you. And I want more than to be your partner in crime so you can get your inheritance. I want a helluva lot more! The other night, I thought maybe you were finally on the same page with me. I guess I was wrong.”

  With that, I ran past him for the front door, grabbing my keys as I went. “Walking away from someone that I’m madly in love with is the absolute hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. But we’re over. I’ll send Tammy to get my things tomorrow.”

  “What about the dogs?”

  “She’ll get them too. Goodbye.”

  “Jaime, wait!” he called, but I was already out the door.

  I climbed into my car, tears blurring my vision as I took off down the driveway and hit the road fast. The temperature had dropped, and everything was black ice, but I needed to get away, as far away from Charlie as I could, even if I couldn’t run away from my broken heart. I wiped at my eyes again as I reached the main road. The car skidded around a turn, and I slowed, sucking in a breath as I struggled to gain control of the vehicle and my raging emotions.

  I should’ve never broken into his house, never should’ve let that asshole back into my life, and none of this would’ve happened. Charlie will never love me like that, no matter how much I wish he would.

  My stupid old car fishtailed around another turn, and I slowed even more. It was simply too treacherous to be driving around, no matter how angry I was, so I decided I’d turn around in the first driveway and head back.

  “Change of plans. I’ll pack up my stuff and call Tammy in the morning,” I said to my reflection in the rearview mirror. “Maybe she can loan me some money so I can move out. In two years, he’ll be gone for good, and then I can forget about him.”

  Headlights flashed as another car came around a turn too fast, its tires squealing on the slick pavement. I gripped the wheel and swerved to the side to avoid it, but I was too late. I screamed as the collision happened, then screamed again as my car flipped. Then, in the next second, the whole world was quiet, and everything went black.

  Chapter 22

  Pain and flashing lights, I thought, the only thought I could muster. I felt like I was floating. I heard voices yelling all around me, but I couldn’t open my eyes and couldn’t speak. I swam through another bout of darkness, wondering where I was and what happened.

  Just as I began to fade away again, another voice reached my ear, a voice I would have known anywhere: “Jaime!”

  In the back of my mind, I yelled at myself to open my eyes, but my lids wouldn’t budge.

  A hand slipped into mine to hold it tightly, and there was the sound of someone crying nearby.

  “Don’t you dare leave me,” the voice said, gruff and hoarse with fear. “You can’t leave me, Jaime. You were right. I haven’t told you everything, not yet. You need to know how I feel about you. I-I…”

  Charlie? I tried to open my eyes again, to call out and say something, but I was trapped in the darkness. His voice faded, and I feared he was leaving me, but the pressure of his reassuring grip never left my hand. I tried to remember what happened, but only our fight came back to me. I recalled every word he said, everything I yelled at him before I left; as horrible as it was, it was all true.

  Sadness overwhelmed me as I lay in the darkness, thinking about Charlie, my family, my friends, and my dogs. My poor little guys! I needed to wake up, but I just couldn’t. I expected bodily pain, but I wasn’t ready to face the heartache.

  Eventually, the darkness faded, and a quiet beeping sound met my ears. I cringed at the agony in my sides and leg, gasping as the full force of it hit me. My eyes fluttered open, and I looked around at the dimly lit room. I still wasn’t sure why I was injured or why I was in the hospital.

  I tried to push up in the bed, but something had hold of my hand, and I couldn’t move it. Wincing, I turned my head and stared in surprise at Charlie, passed out on the side of my bed, with his hand clenching mine. His hair was messy, and he had more of a five-o’clock forest than a shadow, wayward stubble spurting out all over his chin and jawline. He was wearing the same clothes he’d worn during our argument, the same rumpled garments.

  “Charlie?” I asked, sounding as if I’d eaten sandpaper for breakfast.

  He didn’t answer, didn’t even move.

  I tugged my hand a little and tried again. “Charlie.”

  His head popped up off the bed, and he looked around wildly, until his gaze landed on mine. “Jaime? You’re awake! Oh, Jaime! I was so scared!” He cradled my face gently in his hands and kissed my forehead. “Don’t ever do that to me again. Do you understand me? Not ever!”

  “You’re here,” I whispered.

  “Of course I’m here! I would never leave you!”

  “Are my mom and dad here too?”

  “They went to get something to eat, but they’ll be back soon. Tammy called and told me she was stopping by in a few minutes. You have no idea how happy everyone’s going to be that you finally woke up.” He kissed my cheek. “Let me go get the doctor, okay?”

  I nodded.

  He yelled for the nurses to come in who gave me a quick exam, followed by the doctor. The doctor told me I was going to be okay and excused himself to give us some alone time. He promised to be back in a few minutes.

  “What happened?” I asked, melting at Charlie’s soft touch.

  “You were in an accident after we, uh…after we fought,” he said quietly. “It’s all my fault.”

  “No,” I said sternly and tried to move as he pushed me gently back down. “The blame belongs to that asshole who hit me.”

  “No,” he insisted sadly. “If I would’ve told you the truth… I wouldn’t have been such a damn coward…”

  I shook my head until it throbbed with pain. “What are you talking about? You didn’t do anything.”

  “That’s exactly the problem. I should have…done something, said something.” He ran his fingers through my hair, and he could only muster a half-smile. “Jaime, I wanted to come back to Blue Ridge so many times. I wanted to call you, wanted to come get you and take you away from this small town, but I never found that dream job. I was going to look you up when I came back in town. I made it all the way to your door, but I got scared.”

  “Scared about what?”

  “About…what you’d think of me.”

  “Why?” I asked, confused.

  “Because I didn’t deserve you. I’ve always been crazy about you, but—”

  “Then
why did you leave in the first place?”

  He chewed his lip for a minute, and an overwhelming amount of love seemed to flow right out of his eyes as he stared at me. “I felt like I was drowning in this small town. I wanted to see the world, to try to make something out of myself…for you. I even mentioned you to my dad. I think that’s why he made the Will. I think he wanted me to come back here and make a life with you.”

  “What are you saying, Charlie?” I asked.

  “It’s amazing what you can see when you finally open up your eyes.” I cocked a brow and he continued. “I’m saying I love you, damn it,” he said with a growl. “I love you, your dogs, your don’t-give-a-shit attitude. Hell, I even love this town, even if it never hit me till recently. When I finally realized it, it scared the shit outta me. You scare the shit out of me.”

  I reached for his hand and held it as tightly as I could. “And why is that?”

  “Because I was scared of commitment. And I never met a woman I wanted to settle down with before. Not ever…until you. You know everything about me. I’ve told you so much, things I could never even admit to myself, yet you just accept me exactly like I am. Then this accident happened, and I… Jaime, I thought I lost you,” he said as tears filled his eyes.

  I reached up to cup his cheek in my hand.

  “You were out for two days. That gave me lots of time to think.”

  “And what did you think about?”

  His gaze narrowed. “Lots of things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, for one thing, I really love my new business, and I think we could make it a real success if we work together. We’d both make excellent instructors, and we’re both passionate about fencing. I know we’re both crazy about each other, and we can’t deny the spark we feel. When I kissed you, I just…knew.”

  “Knew what?”

  “That I want to spend the rest of my life with you, not just two years to fulfill some stupid legal stipulation. That feeling scared the hell outta me though. I don’t do commitment. Still, when I thought I was going to lose you, I saw how much of an idiot I’ve been for not declaring how I felt and not admitting what I was really feeling. I want you and nobody else. I’ve imagined us living in the mansion, laughing and happy. I’ve seen you and our children chasing butterflies with us in the back yard. I can picture myself cooking steaks on the grill, shooing Oreo away from them. When I think of that, I felt content and happy. That’s what I want more than anything else. I started thinking about how wonderful it’d be to finally settle down with one woman I love, in our hometown. I really do love this place, and I missed it. I don’t want to marry somebody for money. I want to marry someone I truly love. And baby, that’s you.”

  “Really?” I asked, shocked but also pleased.

  “Really,” he said. “Screw the money. I’m willing to wait for you, no matter how long it takes. If you need a few years, then I’m fine with it. There’s no need to rush into a shotgun marriage for money. Let’s take it slow and plan a long two year engagement. And I’ll give you the wedding of your dreams. I know you need time to think, but I want you to know that I’m going to fight like hell for you. You’re more important than some stupid Will. Having all this stuff won’t mean a damn thing without you in my life to share it with. Please don’t give up on us. Because when you love somebody, you don’t give up.”

  “That’s so sweet. You’re fighting for me. Why?”

  “Because you’re worth fighting for. And I’m never going to give up on us. Not ever. I know I could marry Marlene or some other chick and be filthy rich, but that would only leave me feeling empty and alone. When I’m with you, I feel joy, absolute happiness. Finally, after all these years, I know what I want, what I’ve been truly looking for. It’s you, Jaime. It’s always been you. I love you, I love this place, and I don’t ever want to leave. I just want to spend the rest of my life staring into your gorgeous eyes, because you are my world.”

  “You love me?” I asked, my heart beating a million times a minute.

  “Yes, I love you. I’m just sorry it took me so damn long to realize that what I’ve been looking for my whole damn life was right here in front of me. You were right when you said I’ve been blind. And yes, initially, I did come here for the money. But something changed when we started hanging out. At first, I thought it would be fun to con everyone and pretend to be married, get the money. But then things turned real and feelings got involved, and we had this amazing chemistry, this spark, and I’ve never been so attracted to someone in all my life. You’re my best friend and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  A tear dripped down my cheek. “Just me.”

  “Just you. I want to spend today, tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year, and for the rest of my life. I want to spend every possible minute with you, and only you, the love of my life. How can I ever let you go when you’re the best thing to ever happen to me? I love you with all of my heart and soul. And I want that ‘white picket fence’ dream we talked about. I want the house, the kids, the dogs, the white picket fence, and even the minivan!”

  “No, not the minivan!”

  “Yes, the minivan.”

  Smiling, he slipped a glittering diamond ring on my finger.

  I smiled, and tears welled in my eyes as I glanced down to admire the stone, a one-carat diamond, beautifully set in a band of white gold. “Oh, Charlie, it’s so pretty, just…gorgeous.” Tears filled my eyes, happy tears of disbelief.

  “You are the love of my life, my best friend, my soulmate, my lover, and my everything. Will you spend the rest of your life with me and be my wife?”

  “Are you really asking me to marry you?” I asked.

  “Yes.” He stared deeply into my eyes. “I’ve been waiting for two days to ask you that question. Please say yes.”

  I swallowed hard. “I was out for two whole days? No wonder you look like shit.”

  “I never left your side,” he said. “I just couldn’t. I was afraid you wouldn’t wake up.”

  For a long moment, we just stared at each other. In that moment, for the first time in my life, I felt true love from Charlie, the kind of love I’d wanted to feel for so many years but never thought he could give me, the kind of love I had for him.

  “We’re ridiculous,” I finally said. “All along, we kept fighting our feelings, like some angsty teens in a dumb CW drama.” I laughed. “If only we’d admitted the truth sooner.”

  “I’m so sorry,” he said and kissed me sweetly. “I’m so damn sorry.”

  I kissed him back. “Well, at least now your problem is solved.”

  He leaned back with a quizzical look on his face. “What are you talking about?”

  I said nothing and only widened my smile.

  “Are you… Is that a yes?”

  I leaned in closer, so close our lips brushed against each other. “That’s a yes, Charlie. I will marry you.”

  He dragged me closer, kissing me fiercely.

  “We’ve got a wedding to plan!” I squealed.

  “How about next year? Or the year after? That’ll give us plenty of time, right? We have to get all those flowers and all that girly stuff. I just hope you don’t turn into one of those bridezillas.”

  I laughed. “My bridesmaids would have a greater chance of that,” I thought, imagining Tammy in some awful mint-green taffeta creation. “If we’re going to get married, why not just do it now?”

  “What’s your hurry?” he asked.

  “Well, you’ll have your inheritance then. We know we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together, so why wait another minute? Let’s just do it. Let’s start our lives together as soon as possible!”

  “Listen, honey. We don’t have to rush it. I’d rather skip the deadline just to show and prove to you that you’re far more important than a house and some money. I don’t want any doubts ever lingering in your mind. Not ever, okay? Let’s get married for the right reasons.”

  “But you
r father wanted you to have that house and all that money. He saved it for your future. We can’t just throw it away. It’ll go to the lawyers working for your father who are already filthy rich. Why just hand them this beautiful house? We can raise our children here. And you have nothing to prove to me. So let’s get married right now!”

  He pondered long and hard.

  “It’s not that hard of a decision,” I said with a smile.

  “I don’t want there to ever be any doubts between us.”

  “There won’t be. So c’mon, baby! Are we getting hitched or what?”

  He shot me a glorious smile. “Okay, if you’re sure. I mean, there’s barely a week left.”

  “I know, and I’m okay with a small, simple wedding,” I said, but inside, my stomach twisted in knots at the thought of trying to plan a wedding in such short time.

  “Jaime?” a familiar voice said after a knock sounded at the door.

  “Come in,” I said.

  Tammy looked at me with tears in her eyes. “Oh my gosh! You’re finally awake.” She ran over and hugged me tightly. “Are you okay? How are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine. Just thankful to be alive.”

  “Do your parents know? Because I saw them downstairs in the cafeteria and they didn’t say a word.”

  “I just woke up. No, they don’t know yet.”

  “All right. Well, I have to go get them!”

  “You can deliver more news than that,” I said, wiggling my ring finger around at her.

  She screamed so loudly that a nurse peeked in the room to ask if everything was all right. “We’re fine,” Tammy said, “and my friend’s getting married!”

  The nurse smiled. “Well, congratulations, you two!”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  After the nurse walked out, Tammy asked, “This isn’t the two-year thing, is it? I mean, it’s the real thing, right? Because you two confuse the hell out of me!”

  Charlie smiled. “It’s the real deal. I want to spend the rest of my life making Jaime happy. I love her more than anything in the world.”

  Tammy whistled as she took my hand and watched the light sparkle off the huge gem. “It’s gorgeous! Well, I guess we have a wedding to plan, don’t we?”