Fortune's Promise: A Fortune Story

by Karen Erickson

  Had he been angry that he ran into Paula? Did they argue? Did they make up? Had he really wanted to be with her and was stuck with Maddie instead?

  She had no idea.

  Reading the article, she shook her head, nibbled on her lower lip. It really said nothing at all. Just talked about a movie Paula was being considered for, Tanner’s upcoming album and wondered if Paula had broken up with her girlfriend. No mention of Maddie, no mention of the exes getting back together.

  Maddie didn’t know what to believe.

  “Have you talked to Tanner?”

  “No, I haven’t.” Sighing, Maddie closed the website, pushed herself away from the computer monitor. “Brittney, what does this mean?”

  “I don’t know, honey. I think you need to give Tanner a call.”

  Maddie shook her head, her throat aching to release a sob, her eyes ready to spill a torrent of tears. Damn it, she had told herself to keep her heart out of this and of course, she hadn’t listened. After spending three days with Tanner, she was afraid she could fall desperately in love with him.

  If she wasn’t more than halfway there already.

  Yet he’d been kissing his ex-wife while she was in another room.

  And if there even was an explanation for all of this, she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it.

  “Maddie, do you have his number? You should call him. You know he’s seen this by now, and hopefully the asshole has a good explanation for it all.” Maddie could hear the anger lacing her friend’s voice and she couldn’t help smiling in appreciation. Her girls were always there for her, no matter what.

  Unlike the men in her life. None of them stuck around long enough to spend a major holiday with her.

  She wasn’t cut out for this, had been fooling herself thinking otherwise. There was too much temptation out there for Tanner to see and do. He would grow bored with her eventually. She knew she couldn’t deal with that.

  Couldn’t deal with what had already happened. How could she trust him if he was sneaking off and kissing his ex-wife at a party she had also attended, a woman he supposedly hated?

  “I don’t want to call him,” Maddie finally said. “I need to process all of this first.”

  “What are you going to do? Tell Tanner to fuck off?”

  “I don’t know. I know I can’t continue seeing him if he’s still involved somehow with his ex. Should I listen to his explanation or is it even worth it?”

  “You do what you think is right, hon. I’m so sorry I had to be the one to tell you this, Mads,” Brittney said, her voice soft.

  “I’d rather it be you or Lauren than someone else.” A tear slipped down Maddie’s cheek and she wiped it away, frustrated with herself. She did not want to cry over this.

  Too late.

  “Call me if you need me, sweets. You know Lauren and I are here for you.”

  “Thanks, Britt. I appreciate it more than you know.” Maddie hung up, staring at the top of her desk until her vision went fuzzy. Her mind raced, thoughts becoming jumbled when the tears started flowing freely.

  Thank goodness her office door was closed. She did not want to explain the crying jag to anyone, especially her mother.

  Her mother who she’d been hiding all of this from, who she’d barely talked to since Brittney’s wedding. That in itself felt liberating, especially when she saw the woman five days a week.

  At least she could thank Tanner for that.

  Yet she had no idea what to say to him, or how to react when and if he did call her. How could she confront him with this when she had no right doing so? She wasn’t his girlfriend. She wasn’t anything but a one night stand that had turned into a weekend fling. That was it. He probably did things like that all of the time.

  No, she wasn’t going to call him. Too afraid to hear his rejection, too afraid to fall apart while talking to him, all of it scared her too much. Best she wait for his call, for his explanation, if he even had one. Though she knew deep down inside it would do him no good.

  Maddie sat straight, tugged a tissue from the box on her desk and wiped the tears from her face. Her mind was made up. She couldn’t continue in a relationship with a man she didn’t trust. It would never work.

  It couldn’t.

  Tanner drove the unfamiliar streets of Santa Augustina, glancing at the piece of paper that contained Maddie’s home address for at least the fiftieth time. Pressing his foot on the accelerator he passed a slow moving car, ran a yellow light and prayed to God he wasn’t wasting his time trying to see her.

  It had been a week since that fucking photograph had appeared in all of the gossip magazines, websites and on television shows. Completely set up by Paula to add some fuel to her dwindling career in the hopes it would land her the movie role she wanted so badly, it hadn’t worked. The part had been given to someone else and Tanner’s life as he knew it had been destroyed.

  Yet again by Paula. The woman was destructive with a capital D.

  His first thought upon seeing the photo had been of Maddie. He’d been so busy in the studio, he’d absolutely had no time to call her though he knew that wasn’t a smart thing. But he’d been stuck, unable to try and call her until much later that evening.

  No surprise, she had ignored his call, and all of the subsequent calls he made after that.

  When he did finally get a hold of her by some stroke of luck, she’d been distant, uncommunicative. Told him she didn’t think she could see him anymore before she hung up on him, which had felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest.

  He’d known her for such a short time and yet he had such strong emotions for her. He couldn’t deny it.

  He’d left her alone for the past week, the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life. Sure he’d been busy applying the finishing touches to his new album, planning out the tour that would follow its release and all of the other bullshit that came along with it.

  Yet every night he went to bed lonely. Missed Maddie so much his arms literally ached to hold her, his heart heavy with sadness at what happened. Pissed at himself that he didn’t know how to make it right.

  Correction. He was too afraid to try and make it right for fear she’d kick him to the curb. He knew he was a selfish bastard, but he hadn’t realized he was also such a coward.

  Unable to stand himself or the situation any longer, his inner voice telling him to get the fuck over himself, he’d looked up her address, hopped in his car and headed towards his destiny.

  Maddie.

  The chance was there that she’d turn him away, but he couldn’t think about that. He’d thought of nothing but the negative for the past seven days. Now he could only focus on the positive, hopeful that she’d listen to him, believe in him and forgive him.

  He could only hope. Had a feeling it wouldn’t be that easy.

  After a few minutes of driving around a neighborhood full of similar looking condominiums, he found her address and pulled over on the side of the street. He sat there, wondering if he should rehearse a speech, plan exactly what he should say to her word for word.

  “Ah fuck it,” he muttered, pushing open the door and climbing out of the car.

  Telling himself it was now or never, he headed towards her front door.

  Ready to plead his case.

  He knocked on the door once, twice, and it finally swung open. There she stood. Red hair pulled into a high ponytail, clad in a tank top and shorts, she was as beautiful as ever. Her dark brown eyes widened when she saw him standing on her doorstep.

  “Tanner! What are you doing here? You should’ve called or…something.”

  “I came to see you. I knew if I called you’d tell me not to bother.” He didn’t smile, didn’t even try to come in. Just stood there in her doorway like the beggar he was.

  “Oh.” She looked like she didn’t know what to do. “Um…what do you want, Tanner?”

  “I want to talk to you, Maddie. I want to explain about the picture, about Paula. You never gave me the chance a
nd I think I at least deserve that.”

  She glanced down, studied her feet. “I don’t think there’s anything else to say. I don’t feel comfortable with your lifestyle, and I’m afraid I would always get lost in the shuffle. I don’t want that in a relationship, not that we had one. I can’t even deal with the simple, carefree, so-called relationship we had like you suggested.”

  “Maddie.” He gulped, finding it harder than hell to say the word he rarely, if ever used. “Please.”

  Her head lifted, their gazes met. She didn’t flinch, didn’t look away, just stared deep into his eyes and it felt like she was looking directly into his soul.

  Releasing a ragged breath, he waited for her answer, his entire body taut, on edge.

  “Come in,” she finally said, opening the door wider. “I’ll listen to what you have to say, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to agree with it.”

  He followed her inside, surprised at how drab her place was. Considering she was a multi-millionaire, he thought she would live in a bigger, nicer home. This was more like something he’d expected she lived in before she won the money.

  “I’m sure you think my house is awful.”

  It was as if she could read his mind. “I’m just surprised you don’t have a bigger place since you won all that money.”

  She shrugged, indicated for him to sit down on the couch. “I don’t feel comfortable with my wealth, to tell you the truth. My life really hasn’t changed since I won the lottery. I didn’t even quit my job or go on a crazy trip, a shopping spree, nothing.”

  “So you’re paralyzed in your current life, afraid to take chances?” It dawned on him the second the words left his mouth.

  Maddie was afraid, just as afraid as he was.

  She stood straighter, a surprised expression on her face. “No, I’m not afraid to take chances.”

  “Seems like you are to me.” He watched her sit heavily in the chair opposite from him. Ready to defend himself now that he understood her a little better.

  “I took a chance on you,” she pointed out.

  “Yeah and the minute things got rough you took off back to your safe little hiding place.” He glanced about the living room, wondered how she could live here. It was so drab. The walls needed fresh painting, new curtains and furniture, something to liven the joint up.

  He’d been there two minutes, and already he was depressed.

  “Don’t try and turn this around on me, Tanner. You’re the one who was caught kissing your ex-wife.” She pointed a finger in his direction, her pretty little mouth tight with displeasure. Bringing the point right back to where it originated.

  “I was set up. She showed up at the party, she’s good friends with Magdalena and she must’ve tipped Paula off that I’d be there. Paula arranged for the photographer to be there as well, hiding in the neighbor’s bushes or whatever and she made sure he snapped a pic of us. She’s the one who grabbed and kissed me. I had no idea she was going to do that. The photo clearly shows I’m trying to get away from her, which I was. And did.”

  A cloud of doubt crossed Maddie’s face. “Is this always going to happen? You getting sabotaged by some strange woman or your ex-wife or whatever and having pictures documenting it all? Some sort of scandalous morsel of gossip appearing in a magazine or a website or whatever?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. Yes, it could happen again, but I can’t live my life running scared, afraid to have that shit happen. Look, Maddie, I’m telling you this from the heart—I’d never lie to you. I did not kiss Paula. She grabbed me.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about it that night at the party? You should’ve, you know. That was a lie of omission.” She crossed her arms in front of her.

  “I was so angry and surprised and so utterly pissed I wanted to forget all about it, to tell you the truth. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that night, it was a mistake on my part and I regret it. You don’t know how much I regret it.”

  Her face softened at his words and she released a startled gasp when he got up and crouched in front of her, taking her cold hands into his own, gripping them tight. “I know this sounds crazy because we haven’t known each other long, but I need you, Maddie. Since meeting you I can’t get you out of my mind, I’m lonely without you and I want you in my life. I need you in my life.”

  “Oh, Tanner…”

  He squeezed her slender hands, trying to warm them. “This week has been the toughest week I’ve ever experienced, knowing I couldn’t talk to you. I don’t want you to shut me out of your life, Maddie. I’m begging you for another chance, desperate for it. Please.”

  She blinked, watching him with her steady gaze. He couldn’t read it, had no idea what she thought, what she might say. Fear rose within him at the thought of rejection, and he could only hope she wouldn’t tell him to get the hell away from her.

  “I-I don’t know.” She paused, and he took his opportunity.

  “Teach me how to love, and I’ll teach you how to live. I think you need help coming out of your shell, escaping from your safe world and trying out a new one.”

  A shaky breath escaped from her. “You scare me, Tanner. Your life scares me, my feelings for you scare me, all of it. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Stay with me and we can figure this out together. Please, Maddie.” His throat ached. His heart ached too. His entire body tensed, leaning towards her, waiting for her reply.

  “Oh my God.” Maddie nodded, closing her eyes and twin tears drifted down her cheeks. “Okay, fine.”

  “Okay, fine what?” His stomach hurt, he was nauseous, sick. What the hell did her answer mean?

  “Yes, I’ll give you, us another chance. You’re probably right, I need to come out of my shell and hanging around you will certainly help with that.”

  He drew her into his arms and held her close, her tears wetting his shirtfront, her fragrant hair tickling his nose. He stroked her back with unsteady hands, his heart still racing though at least now he was relieved.

  So very thankful she didn’t turn him away.

  “I’ve missed you too, Tanner. I’ve missed you so much,” she whispered against his chest, his heart.

  “I think you should move in with me,” he murmured against her hair, kissing the top of her head.

  “It’s too soon,” she immediately replied. Just what he thought she’d say.

  “Why wait when we both want it now? Quit your job, sell this hellhole and come live with me in Malibu. If you hate the Malibu house I’ll get rid of it, and we’ll find somewhere else. Just say you’ll move in with me.”

  “Tanner…”

  “Don’t doubt yourself, baby. Go with your gut,” he whispered.

  She pulled away, smiled up at him, her brown eyes sparkling. “Then my gut says…”

  Tanner swallowed her answer with a kiss.

  About the Author

  After leaving the crazy working world to become a stay at home mom, Karen realized she needed to get crackin’ and pursue her lifelong dream of being a published writer. A busy mother of three, she fits her precious writing time in between chasing her children, hanging out with her wonderful husband and pretending she has a maid. She lives in California.

  To learn more about Karen Erickson, please visit www.karenwritesromance.com. Send an email to Karen at http://karenwritesromance.com/contact or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Karen! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/karenericksons_newsletter

  Look for these titles by Karen Erickson

  Now Available:

  Fortune’s Deception

  Coming Soon:

  Fortune’s Chance

  Winning the lottery changes her life forever…in more ways than one.

  Fortune’s Deception

  © 2008 Karen Erickson

  One minute Brittney Jones is living paycheck to paycheck, and the next she and three friends win a record-breaking lottery jackpot. Sure, she’s spent some money on herself—after her rough childhoo
d, she figures she deserves a few indulgences, big and small.

  To financial advisor Charlie Manning, his client Brittney is a shallow beauty out to spend all of her money. He thinks she should rein it in. She thinks he should loosen up, and resolves to help him do just that—in a very naughty way.

  The passion between them burns hot and fast, and Charlie comes to realize Brittney’s heart is as big as her newly fattened bank account. She’s not only smart, but beautiful and sexy. And he can’t resist her.

  Still, Charlie is aware that Brittney’s keeping secrets from him. If only she would trust him enough to tell the truth!

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Fortune’s Deception:

  Brittney was going to turn him away. She had to.

  With a sigh, she threw her brush into the sink and pulled her hair into a high ponytail. No reason getting glammed up if she was going to spend the night alone. She’d realized the minute she walked out of his office she had to do this, sever all sexual ties with her financial planner. She should’ve never done it with him in the first place, and she’d made more than her share of mistakes in her life.

  Then he called her at six, his voice so sexy, a little gruff as he spoke. When he asked if he could come over, she didn’t even hesitate with her answer. Just hearing him talk made her sex weep with moisture, caused her nipples to stiffen into tight little aching buds.

  She’d hung up the phone and known immediately she’d made a mistake. No way could he come over to her house and essentially fuck her brains out. She didn’t want to lead him on, didn’t want him to think she could offer him something more. Relationships were not a part of her life, they never had been. She didn’t do consecutive dating, didn’t do any of that stuff. She had no idea how to do any of it.

  Of course, what she and Charlie had certainly couldn’t be called dating. That description was downright laughable. No, one illicit encounter in his office did not constitute dating, but she had a feeling he was a serious kind of guy.