by Scott, Kadie
“Just having you in my life helps.” His voice had gone gruff with the emotions pouring from him, and Gina swallowed.
Meanwhile, T-Bone got sick of waiting for them to work through their issues and needs. He jumped up from where he stood on the sidewalk, secure on his leash, his little legs scrabbling to get to Max. They shared a smile, and Max handed her the adorable puppy he brought—a sleepy black Lab.
He picked T-Bone up and chuckled as he received a tongue bath. The Max she’d met that first night in his apartment when he blackmailed her would’ve put the dog down immediately, and probably gone straight for a bathroom to wash off the saliva. He had changed already, only she hadn’t believed until this moment that his behavior wasn’t all a show in preparation to deceive his parents.
This was no show. This was genuine. Max’s need for her, his love for her, was genuine, too.
Gina bit back her smile as happiness radiated inside her. Could people glow when they felt this blissfully sublime?
“Where’d you get this little guy?” she asked, petting the puppy’s silky fur.
Max tucked T-Bone under an arm and returned his focus to her, sobering. Still unsure. “One of my coworkers bought it for her daughter, only to find out she was allergic last night. Rather than let the dog be sent to the shelter or wherever he’d have ended up, I rescued him.” He paused, eyes searching. “Just like you rescued me.”
Finally, Gina let her smile show, her love for this man filling her, all the way from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. “I think Mateo will love having a Lab,” she murmured.
Max sucked in a sharp breath as he took in her meaning. “Thank God. I’d thought I lost you.”
With a heart-melting smile, the one that lit his blue eyes with true, shared love and happiness, he scooped her in close with his one free arm, stealing her breath and even more of hear heart with desperate, deep kisses, the two dogs sandwiched between them.
Wriggling bodies cut the kisses short. When they pulled apart, only enough to allow the dogs to keep from suffocating, Gina grinned up at Max.
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, I will move in with you. Yes, we should keep T-Bone as our dog, so I guess we need a new apartment. And yes, I will go with you to therapy, but only if you’d like me to.”
Epilogue
Max let himself into the apartment as quietly as he could. A quick check of the place showed it empty, but Christmas music blared down the hallway from Gina’s studio. He smiled. Perfect. He’d have time to get set up and get out.
“Potato,” he whispered.
T-Bone would be on his bed in Gina’s office, but the new puppy they’d rescued this summer wasn’t allowed in there because he chewed up everything. Gina had convinced Max that T-Bone needed a friend, and they’d ended up with a ten-pound lunatic.
Sure enough, a sleek white-furred head popped up over the leather couch. Seeing Max, the dog sprinted around the couch to run circles around him. Half Chihuahua and half Whippet, he scrabbled to find purchase on the wood floors thanks to his spindly, overlong legs. His long, thin tail whipped his body from side to side as he made little whimpering noises of happiness.
“Shhhhh…” Max managed to snatch the dog up. He needed to get back to the bedroom without Gina knowing he was here if this was going to work.
After almost a year in their new place, and any doubts he’d ever had that they might be too opposite to make this work had long been laid to rest. Sure, they’d had clashes of personal preference, but through therapy he’d begun to address his excessive rigidness, and they’d eventually talk it out and find a middle ground. All without accusing, attempting to fix the other person, or leaving.
Look at the home they’d made.
Gina had compromised on his need for order by happily keeping the décor to a minimum—modern and spartan—while still adding her own touches. The art on the wall was eclectic and colorful, and she’d added a handful of framed pictures, some of him and Gina together, some of family, to his shelves. They’d even managed to find an apartment with “His” and “Hers” closets, something they’d both agreed was critical to their sanity.
He managed to get past the closed door to her space without getting caught, grinning as he heard her humming to the music while she worked.
Her creative process was given free rein in a dedicated room that Max tried to avoid, or risk hyperventilation. He’d never fully understand her method, but the madness worked for her. She’d gotten that Broadway job, which had led to another opportunity she was working on now.
In the bedroom, he retrieved the small box he’d been hiding for over a month and pulled out the ring. They’d proven that long-term was possible, and now he planned to seal the deal. Spending the rest of his life with Gina was the only future he could picture, the only future he wanted.
Working quickly, he tied the ring and a note around Potato’s neck with a big red Christmas bow, then wrapped the little dog up in his jacket to sneak back down the hallway.
He’d made it to the front door and was just about to open it when Gina’s laughter-filled voice sounded behind him.
“What on earth are you doing? Practicing a new FBI spy move?”
Max froze.
Dammit. This was not how this was supposed to happen.
“Max?”
He only turned his head, keeping his body angled toward the door. “I forgot something at work and have to go back.”
“Uh-huh.” She crossed her arms, not remotely buying it. “Why are you bringing Potato with you? I can see his legs sticking out from under your jacket.”
Hearing his name, the puppy in his arms started to squirm, and Max lost his grip. The dog slid to the ground and gave a crazy little bark. Then the nutty animal used his Whippet speed to race down the hall, between the love of his life’s legs, and into her studio.
“Hey!” Gina shouted, dashing after him.
“Wait!” Max called, hustling after them both.
By the time he got to the door, Gina had managed to capture Potato before the dog wreaked too much havoc. She was sitting on the floor, laughing as Potato tried to crawl under the heavy fall of her hair to nibble at her ear, and T-Bone jumped into her lap, wanting equal attention.
“What’s this?” she asked, pulling Potato back so she could see the big red bow.
Max lifted his eyes to the ceiling. Some romantic proposal, on the floor with the dogs and surrounded by all her mess.
He huffed a laugh. Actually, maybe this was perfect.
“Max?” His name came out shaky.
Max looked down to encounter wide brown eyes swimming with questions.
Guess we’re doing this here. “It’s an early Christmas present.”
“But we only just had Thanksgiving. Christmas isn’t for another month,” she pointed out.
She was seriously going to argue about his timing? “Today is the anniversary of the day you burst into my life and turned it upside down.”
“Oh.”
“And this is not how this proposal was supposed to go,” he added.
A laugh bubbled out of her. “So this is a proposal?”
Max snorted. “There is a ridiculously expensive ring tied to our dog’s neck.”
She lifted her chin, even as a wicked, irresistible light danced in her eyes. “How was I to know? The note only says, ‘To my love.’ And you were sneaking out of the apartment.”
With a smile, he dropped to one knee, and Gina’s lips parted in a gasp.
Max sobered as an unexpected bout of nerves hit. But he pushed through it. “I think I fell in love with you the day we met. Otherwise I would never have asked a total stranger to be my fake girlfriend. But now that I have you for real, I’m never letting you go.”
She didn’t speak, but the smile she bestowed on him spoke volumes for her. Happiness glowed from her eyes, and Max blew out a short breath of relief. He smiled back and reached across to take her face in his hands
, memorizing every detail, every curve. God he loved this woman.
“Take pity on an arrogant control freak who doesn’t know what’s hit him. Marry me?”
Tears welled in her beautiful eyes and her lips trembled even as her smile widened. “Do you think we could make it to Vegas this weekend—”
He pulled her into his arms, kissing her long and hard—love, and relief, and pure elation fueling every brush of their lips. A kiss that had him thinking of ditching the rest of the plan and heading to their bedroom.
She pulled back before he could give in and carry her there. “May I have my ring now?”
Only Potato, impatient with their absorption with each other, had absconded with it. Laughing, they chased him around the apartment for a few minutes, until Max managed to catch his wriggling body under the dining room table. Carefully, he untied the ring, set the dog down, and turned to Gina. She held out her left hand, and he slipped the ring on her finger.
“It’s gorgeous,” she murmured, gazing at the pinkish-orange center stone surrounded by diamonds. “What is it?”
“It’s called a padparadscha sapphire. It’s rare and is filled with the most beautiful colors. Just like you.”
Again, her eyes welled with tears. “Thank you,” she whispered.
She went up on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. A kiss that heated quickly, only Max pulled back this time with a groan. “We have somewhere to be.”
“What?” She blinked up at him in a daze.
“Our friends and families are gathered in the park, waiting for us.” He lifted an eyebrow. “That’s where I was supposed to propose.”
She laughed at the resigned tone in his voice even as a question lit her eyes. “You were going to propose with everyone there to watch?”
Max grinned as he lead her toward the door. “Of course. No way was I going to let anyone call you my fake fiancée. I figured they’d need proof.”
“You don’t think they’d figure it out after the wedding?” she teased.
He chuckled. “I guess now that Vegas is on the table, it won’t be an issue for long.”
She tugged on his hand. “I was only kidding.”
Max leaned down to kiss her. “I wasn’t,” he whispered against her lips.
She gave a happy sigh. “Vegas here we come.”
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Acknowledgments
As always, I have a ton of thanks that I owe to a wide support network of fantastic folks.
To the readers, thanks for the support, and hugs, and interest, and being awesome. And especially for reading my books! Max and Gina jumped off the page for me, although his darn control freak side was a definite challenge (which I know my editor will agree with). Lol. I hope you loved them as much as I loved writing their story! If you have a free sec, please think about leaving a review. I love to connect with my readers, so I hope you’ll drop a line and say “Howdy” on any of my social media!
To my amazing editor, Heather Howland. My stories always come out a thousand times better after you work your magic. I am so happy and grateful to have you in my corner!
To my agent for this contract, Dawn Dowdle, thank you for picking me from the crowd and believing in me.
To my writing partner Nicole Flockton, you make this gig fun, day in and day out, with your support, love, and straight talk.
To my support team of beta readers, critique partners, writing buddies, reviewers, RWA chapters, friends, and family (you know who you are). I know I say this every time, but I mean it…you’re the best and make my days brighter being part of them.
Finally, a huge THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU to my happily-ever-after husband and my incredible kids, who laugh and shake their heads as I wander around in a daze 90% of the time, living in the worlds in my head. You are my inspiration and my heart. Because of your support and love, I get to live my dream.
About the Author
Award-winning contemporary romance author Kadie Scott attempted to find a practical career by earning a degree in English Rhetoric (Technical Writing). However, she swiftly discovered that writing without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it.
No matter the genre, she loves to write witty, feisty heroines, sexy heroes who deserve them, and a cast of lovable characters to surround them (and maybe get their own stories). She currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her own personal hero, her husband, and their two children, who are growing up way too fast.
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