by Nana Malone
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Alec watched Jaya with Adele. The woman of his dreams. The woman who had literally haunted him for six months. And here she was, right in front of him. So close he could reach out and touch. So why were his feet making like Crazy Glue with the floor?
For six months he'd tried to get the bitter taste of the last time he'd seen her out of his mouth, but cases of Lagavulin Scotch later, he still couldn’t forget her. He hadn't left the way he’d wanted to. He hadn't said goodbye the way he'd planned to. Not that it mattered to her much. She’d done okay for herself. More than okay. He pumped Adele for information about Jaya and God bless the old woman, she'd scolded him then told him everything he'd wanted to know. She might be no nonsense, but she'd been a romantic once upon a zillion years ago.
Things were different now. He had something to offer Jaya. Something more than adrenaline chasing—on to the next job instability. He'd done the one stable thing in his life. Taken a job with Westhorpe, Inc. The new mantle of VP Operations felt a tad snug, but Adele had promised him wiggle room in the neck. After all, Max had opted out. Hadn't he? Sure, Max was marrying Sue. Turned out, he was the marrying kind after all. And preparing to testify against the Sandovals.
He and Mimi had some issues to work on, but they were working through it. It wasn't even Adele who had suggested the gig to him. He went to her, crazy in the head from the mind-fuck of being away from Jaya. He'd asked if he could come home. Her answer—he'd never been the prodigal he thought himself.
So here he was. Maybe he could put himself out of his misery and talk to Jaya, or he could surprise the hell out of her when she got to the office on Monday and he was her new boss—or point of contact if she did what he thought she'd do and became a contractor.
They’d see each other all the time. The way he figured it; he could lay out his heart again. Well, fully this time. Tell her he loved her. That he couldn't live without her—he’d tried. And when it hadn’t worked, he'd tried drinking the memory of her from his brain. And still remembered everything in the morning.
Stinger would be if she told him to pack it in. He'd told himself he could do it, but was that the truth? Could he just walk away from her and let her lead her life?
He navigated the throngs on a slow approach. He couldn't decide if a strong direct approach worked well or if he should try for surprise. No surprises, asshole. Keep it direct. He watched as both Adele and Pierre Trudeaux left Jaya standing alone, then took the stairs two at a time to the balcony she stood on, wiping his sweat slicked palms against his slacks.
You weren’t supposed to do that to silk, but at this point, heart hammering in his chest, what did he care? There she was, in a teal, sexy, backless number, heels stacked so high she looked like she was teetering. They weren’t the gold number she'd favored. This pair was black and metallic, but no less sexy than the pair she'd worn that first night she'd wrapped her legs around his hips. Cool it. Focus. He cleared his throat. Twice.
“Hi, Jaya.”
She didn't even turn to face him.
He tried again. “Jaya.”
She turned, pure disbelief etched tiny lies along her usually smiling mouth. The disbelief gave way to something that looked like worry, then something that looked like cold anger. And finally resolve.
“Alec. I didn’t know you would be here.” She smoothed an imaginary strand of hair off her face. “But of course I should have assumed. Is your brother in attendance? It would be great to get a family photo.”
She still had a way with zingers. “Max won’t be coming tonight. He’s laying low while the Feds sort through his information on the Sandovals. It could be some time before he’s home again.” He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep them from pulling her into his arms. “In the meantime, I’ll be taking over most of his duties at the Westhorpe as the new VP of Operations.”
Her eyes widened and her lips parted. “So you’re back for good.” The wobble in her voice gave him hope.
“Yes, I am.”
“That must be—difficult. I know you can’t stand being in one place for too long.”
“I—” Shit, why had he suddenly forgotten everything he was going to say? He tried again. Mouth open. No words. While his mouth did the guppy routine, he drank in every inch of her. She looked beautiful. Right now he'd kill to have her make a list of tasks for him. Anything. “I've missed you.”
Her response—blink blink blink.
Okay. So, not a good start. Once more with feeling. “You were right. I was a total prick. I was selfish and a liar. I never lied to you about how I felt, but I hid who I was from you. Deliberately. I didn’t give you a chance to love me as I was. Instead, I gave you who I wanted to be. And that wasn't fair. I should have told you right from the start and there's no going back, but I'm sorrier than you know.”
Now she pulled a guppy routine, so he kept going. After all, if you were going to cut open your chest, you might as well perform open heart surgery right? “I was a complete asshole for abandoning you. I knew you needed me, but I was in love with you and scared shitless, so I ran. I told myself I had a good reason. But it could have waited. I seized the excuse I had and ran with it. Then I wanted to apologize to you ‘til the cows came home, but my secret slipped before I could explain everything.”
“You left me.” Her voice wobbled just a little.
He hung his head. “I should have tried harder. You were right. I was running. My whole life I’ve been running away. I can’t keep running from you. I love you. And I know I don’t deserve you. But if you would even give me the chance to—shit, I don’t know, even be your friend, I'd take it.” Except he knew he couldn’t be her friend. Shit, were those tears pricking at his eyes? Damn it. He was a full on pussy. “I've really missed you.”
Her chin went up, but there was a shimmer in her eyes. “What happens when things get hard and I ask you to commit to something? Are you going to bail again?”
“No. I swear to you. I belong here with you. I tried to leave you behind and forget you, but there was no getting you out of my head. I'm not going to say I don’t like adventure, I do, but we can go on them together. Without you, none of it held any meaning or value for me.”
She shifted in her shoes. “Give me one good reason why I should trust you. Why I should believe that you're here for good and won’t just get on a plane tomorrow?”
Here it was. His hands started to shake. It seemed like the whole room slowed down to the speed of a sloth. Shoving a hand in his pocket, he slowly bent to one knee and grabbed the small velvet box inside. Opening it, he cleared his throat. “Because I’m willing to give you the stars.”
Her mouth fell open as she gaped at the ring. Had he gotten it wrong? Gone too big? Too small? Maybe the star was too childish. Shit. This was all sorts of wrong.
He dared a peek into her eyes and they were brimming over with tears. From the distance he heard someone shout, “For the love of God, Jai, put the man out of his misery already. You’ve been pining for months. Everything you want is right in front of you. You going to throw it away?” He would remember to give Micha a giant hug later. Well maybe buy her a drink and forego the hug.
Jaya stared at the ring. Then stared back at him. She slowly walked over to him and pulled him to his feet. The crushing despair. He thought he could die of it. A soft hand went to his face.
“I would take you without the ring.”
“I know. That's precisely why I want you to have it. You’re gorgeous and smart and could organize an ant colony to make it more efficient. And your lists. I've missed your endless lists and your attempts to manage my chaotic life. I want it all with you. Be my wife.”
The kiss she gave him was soft, but determined. Hope bloomed in his chest. “Yes, Alec. I'll marry you.”
“Well, it’s about damn time,” both Micha and Adele said as they stood shoulder to shoulder under the balcony. Adele sniffed and added, “I’ve always wanted a daughte
r.”
Alec held her close, relief pouring from his soul. As he embraced Jaya, he whispered into her ear. “No more running away. I will never leave you.” He sealed the promise with a kiss.
Other Books by Nana Malone
Game, Set, Match
©2010 Nana Malone
“Titillating and heartwarming, GAME, SET, MATCH is a delightful contemporary romance that will touch your heart….Wonderfully enhanced with a poignant plot, compelling characters, humor, secrets, blazing hot sex scenes, surprising plot twists and plenty of love, this story is brought to life right before your eyes by the appealing writing style of author Nana Malone.”
~Review by Dottie for Romance Junkies
https://romancejunkiesreviews.com/artman/publish/contemporary/Game_Set_Match_NM2.shtml
“Game, Set, Match had me enjoying Izzie’s sass and Jason’s coming back for more attitudes. Ms. Malone’s depth to her characters, their actions, and their choices made them more lifelike and gratifying in this story.”
