by Mandy Baxter
A tight knot of emotion lodged in Reily’s chest. She wanted those words to be true so badly that she ached. “I don’t know what to think, Travis. I was so ready to believe you in that elevator. I went to your room to tell you that I don’t think you’re a dumb, superficial jock,” she said, low. “I think you’re amazing. Caring. Sincere. So real. When you opened the door and she was in your bed…” She swallowed down the tears that threatened. “It confirmed what I’d suspected all along. I’m not special. You didn’t see anything in me. You were only working an angle.”
His expression softened. “Are you kidding me?”
“No.” Admitting it hurt more than she thought it would. “I’m being serious.”
“For someone so damned smart and put together, you really aren’t very good at owning how amazing you are. How many times do I have to tell you?”
Reily opened her mouth to respond. Closed it. Heat flooded her cheeks and she cleared her throat. He’d said it before and she didn’t believe him. How could she when he was larger than life? She felt so inconsequential in comparison. “You think I’m amazing?”
“Honey,” Travis drawled as he closed the space between them. “You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
She wanted to believe him. Every last bit of it. But she didn’t know if she’d survive it if he broke her heart again.
“I don’t know, Travis. I don’t know what to think.”
“That’s not as important as what you feel,” he replied. “You know me, Reily. You know the me that only a few other people get to see. You can trust me. I’d never, ever hurt you. I’d do anything for you.” He gave a little laugh. “Hell, I wore a suit for you! Give me another chance. Let me prove how much I love you. We’re great together and you know it.”
She wanted another chance with him more than she was willing to admit. She never took risks, always hedged her bets. For the first time in her life, she wanted to be reckless. To abandon her heart, give it completely over to him. Travis was right, she did know him. And he never would have invited a woman up to his room after saying the things he’d said to her. When he said he cared about someone, he meant it. She’d seen that loving side of Travis. He loved his family. His team. Hockey. Was it so far-fetched to believe that he could love her too?
“I’m scared, Travis.” Scared to trust him. To give her heart to him. To take a chance.
“I’m scared too,” he replied. His voice was soft and warm and Reily wished she could wrap herself up in the sound. “I’m scared to death that I’m going to lose you. I can’t. I won’t. I love you, Reily. I won’t ever love anyone else. You’re it for me. Period.”
“What if it doesn’t work out?” she whispered.
He flashed an arrogant smile. “Honey, what if it does?”
* * *
On the outside, Reily was so sure of herself. On the inside, Travis saw her insecurities and they baffled him. “You’re beautiful, Reily. Smart. Funny.” Her face screwed up into a disbelieving grimace. “You are. Especially when you get all flustered. You want to be the best version of yourself and whether you think so or not, helping other people to do the same is damned noble of you.” Travis grinned. “Especially with hard-luck cases like me.”
“I wouldn’t ever call you a hard-luck case.” Reily gave him a wry grin and tender emotion bloomed in Travis’s chest.
“I am when it comes to you,” he said. “Especially when I’m trying to show you how I feel about you and you think I only want to add you to a list of conquests.”
“You have to admit,” Reily said. “It’s a pretty long list.”
“Who says?” Travis was tired of playing into the media’s perception of him. He was ready to make a real, permanent change. For her. “You should know better than anyone how the media skews things in the name of sensationalism.”
“You’re right.” Realization came through in her tone. “I’ve jumped to a lot of conclusions about you. And almost all of them were wrong.”
Travis flashed a devilish grin. “Not all of them were wrong.”
“No,” Reily agreed. “You’re charming, honest, and dead sexy. Women have a tendency to throw themselves at you. The media got that part right.”
“I swear to God, I didn’t know her. I sort of fell apart after I got her out of my room. I didn’t know how to fix things with you. By the time I got my shit together, you’d already checked out.”
“It’ll happen again,” she said. The sadness in her tone cut through him. “How can it not? I mean, have you seen you? And it’s not that I think you’ll succumb to temptation. It’s that…” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and looked away. “I don’t know if my self-esteem can take it.”
“Reily,” Travis said. “You have nothing to worry about. No one compares to you. You blow all of the competition out of the water.”
“I want to believe that,” she said. “But I don’t have your confidence.”
“Then I’ll spend every day of my life making you believe it,” he said. “It’s not going to happen again, because I won’t let it. I’m ready to make a real and permanent change. No one is ever going to think that I’m the wild party guy again. Everyone is going to know that there is one woman for me. Period. And that’s you, Reily. I don’t ever want us to be apart. I’ve been a fucking mess this week. I can’t function without you.”
“That makes two of us,” Reily said. “I’ve spent the entire week in a state of chaos. I can’t sleep or eat. My brain’s all over the place. I haven’t returned any calls or even gone into the office.” She gave a rueful laugh. “I’m a mess.”
“If you’re a mess, you’re a beautiful one,” Travis said.
Color crept to Reily’s cheeks. So beautiful. She could stop him dead in his tracks with so little effort. “Bob needs you on the ice, Travis. This is it. The game of your life. The opportunity to prove yourself to all of the doubting assholes out there. We can work out our issues after you help bring home the Stanley Cup.”
“I told you, I don’t care about that. All I care about is you.” He meant it, too. Nothing mattered more than Reily.
“You love hockey,” she said.
“I love you more.”
Reily’s eyes met this. The brilliant blue shimmered with emotion. “I love you, too.”
She loved him? Fuck yeah! Travis fought the urge to pump his fist into the air and shout his elation. He closed the space between them in two long strides and cupped Reily’s cheek in one palm. Words refused to form on his tongue, at least anything that would adequately convey how he felt about her. Instead, he let his actions speak for him and he put his mouth to hers.
Goddamn. Kissing Reily felt like coming home. It was such a cliché thought but Travis couldn’t help it. There was a rightness in the meeting of their mouths that he couldn’t explain. As though her lips had been made to fit perfectly against his. As if he’d been born for just this moment.
Fucking surreal.
Her mouth parted on a sweet sigh and Travis traced her bottom lip with the tip of his tongue. The sigh turned into a husky moan as her tongue darted out to meet his in a soft, wet tangle. Perfect. She was perfect. He was in love with her and he meant what he’d said. There would never be another woman for him but Reily Martin.
Reily’s arms came around his shoulders as she went up on her tiptoes. He let his own arms encircle her waist and he lifted her up to meet his height. Travis kissed a path down the narrow column of her neck, which caused a riot of husky giggles to erupt in Reily’s throat. God, that sound. He couldn’t get enough of it.
“I love you,” he murmured against her ear. He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of saying it. “I don’t think I could love anyone more.”
“Then do me a favor.” The sound of Reily’s voice rippled over his skin in a pleasant shiver. “Get dressed, get out there, and show everyone exactly what Travis Christensen is about. Show them that you’re the most badass goalie out there. Make sure that Dallas never ha
s any reason not to do everything in their power to make you stay.”
“I’ll go out there,” he said. “But not for them. I’ll do it for you.”
Reily pulled back and studied his face. Her brow furrowed in the cute, bemused expression he loved. “For me?”
“For you,” he said. “From here on out.”
“I think it’s okay to do some things for you,” she said with a laugh. “And for your team. This is for them, not me.”
“I want you to have it all,” Travis said. “Your career, money, success. Whatever you want that I can help give you, it’s yours.”
“Let’s just start with a quiet dinner,” Reily suggested. “And go from there.”
“Done.” His grin widened to the point that his cheeks ached. “Your place or mine?”
“Is Carter’s family still at your place?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Travis said. “For another month.”
“We’ll go to my place first then.” She gave him a brilliant smile that caused his heart to pound in his chest. “I think we need some time alone, don’t you?”
He kissed her once, slow. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”
“But first,” Reily said. “Go out there and win a Stanley Cup.”
Travis kissed her again before he turned toward his locker. He had five minutes to gear up and get his ass out on the ice. “It’s a done deal, honey. That cup is as good as ours.”
“Good. You’ll make the perfect poster boy for my firm,” she said in a teasing tone.
“A poster boy, huh? That’s gonna cost you.”
Reily smiled. “Name your price.”
“You. Naked. In my bed.”
Her voice dropped to a husky murmur. “Done.”
“But the glasses stay on.”
Reily headed for the locker room door. “You win that cup, and I’ll keep the glasses, and I’ll wear your jersey.”
Oh, hell yeah. Tonight’s game was as good as won.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mandy Baxter lives in rural Idaho. She’s a part-time pet wrangler, a full-time sun worshipper, and only goes out into the cold when coerced. She loves black clothes, pink appliances and thinks junk food should be a recognized food group. In the summer, she can be found sitting by the lake, enjoying the view from her dock. She also writes urban fantasy under Amanda Bonilla. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
“The Billionaire Heartbreaker” copyright © 2015 by Mandy Baxter.
All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover photograph © Artem_Furman/iStockphoto.com
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
eISBN 978-1-4668-9037-4
First eBook Edition: December 2015
