She inclined her head. “Of course.” She brushed past him quickly, leaving Angela and Daniel alone, staring at each other.
Angela was stunned, not just by Daniel’s appearance, but that he was standing in front of her in pain. He looked like he hadn’t slept. He looked as bad as she felt.
“Are you okay?” she asked quietly.
He didn’t answer and gave a resigned shrug. He glanced around her office, taking in the upheaval of boxes everywhere. “You’re packing?”
Angela didn’t answer. Her mouth felt as dry as a bone and she was unable to speak.
“So you’re going to leave me, too?”
Too? She was confused. He wasn’t making any sense.
Swallowing, Angela found her voice. “What do you want, Daniel?”
“We need to talk.”
“You didn’t want to talk a few days ago. What’s changed now?”
“Please, Angela. I need to talk to you in private. Away from prying eyes.” He opened her glass door and held it for her.
Angela noticed that several members of the agency were standing near her office watching the scene unfold between them. He was right. She didn’t want to be fodder for office gossip, so she nodded. “All right.” She grabbed her purse and walked out past him.
Several sets of eyes followed them as they made their way to the elevator bank. She didn’t know what to say as she stood beside Daniel. It was odd to be standing beside him as if they were strangers. But after he’d walked out on her, Angela was at a loss as to what he could possibly want to talk about. Would he tell her how much Mia meant to him?
Quite frankly, she could do without that personal revelation, but he was determined to speak with her so she’d acquiesced.
Once in the garage, she followed him to his car and slid in when he opened the passenger door of his Ferrari. He got in and started the engine.
Angela didn’t know where they were going, and Daniel was silent as they drove. When nearly a half hour passed by, she asked, “Where are we going?”
“We’ll be there soon.”
“That doesn’t exactly answer my question,” Angela responded, but left it alone.
Eventually, they got off the interstate and after several twists and turns, came to an estate in South Beach. After punching in the code, Daniel drove up the driveway. Shutting off the engine, he came around to open the door, but not before pulling a blanket from his trunk.
Angela stared at the mansion before her. “Daniel, is this one of your clients’ homes?”
He nodded. “I’ve been allowed the use of it for the week while he’s out of town.”
She snorted. “Must be nice. But if you think you can just romance me into bed with all this—” she motioned toward the luxury home “—then you’re mistaken. You can’t just shut me up with sex anymore. It won’t work.”
He stared at her. “I realize that. And that’s not why I brought you here. Now will you come with me?” He held out his hand to her while carrying the blanket underneath his other arm.
Angela glanced down at his large masculine hand. She’d come this far, so she would hear him out. She accepted his hand and when she did, a spark of electricity shot through her just as it always did when they touched. They were connected, and Angela forced herself to breathe and not look in his direction.
Instead of going inside, he led her around the side of the home and keyed in another code, unlocking the side fence. What was on the other side was breathtakingly beautiful. It was a garden oasis far removed from the spice of South Beach, with a luxurious pool and beach house. She would never have known a home like this existed, but then again a lot more doors were open to the wealthy.
She followed Daniel down a pebbled path until eventually they hit the beach. It was secluded and private. She watched Daniel remove his tennis shoes, so she did the same and rolled up her jeans and walked onto the sand.
“I think this is far enough,” Angela said. When they made it to the surf, she let go of his hand. “Say what you have to say.”
“Walk with me, please.”
Angela was torn. If she could, she’d run in the other direction, but another part of her was curious, so she joined him for a walk along the beach.
* * *
Daniel was thankful Angela had come with him. He wasn’t sure she would agree after he’d left her a few nights ago. He’d had to do a lot of soul-searching and he’d come to realize that he had to let go of the past, and part of that process was sharing it with Angela so he could let her in. Into his life, into his heart.
But it wouldn’t be easy. He’d spent years holding on to his hurt like a safety blanket.
Angela walked with him, quietly waiting. It took him several minutes to begin, but eventually he did.
“I met Mia in college,” Daniel began. “She was attending Nilson on scholarship. Initially, we were just best friends, living in the same dormitory and helping each other study, but eventually my feelings grew toward her.”
Angela stopped short and he could see she was anxious to hear more. “Listen, I get it. No one will ever be Mia or take her place in your heart. Is that why you brought me here, to rub salt in the wound?”
“No, I brought you here so I can tell you some realizations I’ve come to. But you have to know the entire story. Can you bear with me with, please?”
“I suppose.”
“Good.”
They walked for a short time until Daniel found a spot between two dunes, out of sight from any beachgoers or onlookers. He placed the blanket on the ground and helped her down before sitting beside her. But they didn’t touch.
She sat facing him and he could see wariness and weariness in her eyes. He’d done that to her, and he hated it. He could only hope that what he had to say would make things right between them.
Daniel continued. “By senior year, I thought I was close to winning her over. I foolishly thought that if I bided my time, Mia would see the light and see how well-suited we were for each other. She didn’t. Mia didn’t want me. She’d had a crush on Ashton Rollins for years. And when he finally paid attention to her, they started seeing each other.”
Angela looked at him, confused. She’d probably thought he’d had this great love affair with Mia. How wrong she was.
He laughed. “That’s right. She didn’t think the great Daniel Cobb was all that. She chose Ashton. He was good-looking and rich and apparently everything she could ever want. And once they began dating, I did my best to be supportive because Mia had no family. Her parents were dead and she’d grown up in the foster care system. She had no one but me. So I stuck around even though it hurt me to watch her with Ashton. But then she was killed in a tragic car accident right after we graduated from college. At her funeral, everyone hovered over her grieving fiancé, Ashton, while the press speculated that Mia might have been drinking, which caused her to lose control of her car. I knew it wasn’t true, because Mia didn’t drink, but what could I do? And what did it really matter? She was gone. And I was left alone with my regret.”
“That if you’d tried harder to win her from Ashton, she’d still be alive?”
He nodded. “I thought that for a long time, but it wouldn’t have ever happened. She loved Ashton and not me. It’s as simple as that. But Mia’s death changed me, Angela. It made me scared. It made me second-guess my judgment when it came to women. And it wasn’t just her. When I look back, my parents have never really been a part of my life. There’s always been a void there. I closed myself off at a young age and learned not to feel. And I guess after Mia, I never wanted to let anyone get too close for fear of getting hurt again. I tried with Farrah, but she wasn’t the right woman. She was only using me to get ahead, and she certainly didn’t push me or call me out on my bull crap like you do. You were the first person who wasn’t willing to back d
own.”
Angela couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “And you’ve come to realize all of this now?”
“Yes. You’ve opened my eyes and forced me to look at the past and realize that I put Mia on a pedestal as some sort of ideal woman when she was just as human and flawed as both of us. And, most importantly, she was a woman in love with another man. Maybe that’s why I was so into her, wanting someone I could never truly have.”
“I’m glad that you’ve come to these realizations,” Angela said, turning her hands over and over, “but I’m not sure what this means for you, for me, for us.”
“It means I was never really in love with Mia. Just this idealized version of her that I’d carried around in my mind for years. And I know now that it wasn’t love. Real love doesn’t make you feel bad, or question your self-worth. Real love makes you feel like a king. And I know that because that’s how I feel when I’m with you.”
“What?” He could see a gamut of perplexing emotions cross her face because he had never spoken of love before, and she probably wasn’t sure what it all meant.
So he made it clear.
“I love you, Angela,” he confessed. “And I think I’ve known it for some time, but I’ve been running scared. Afraid to take a risk again and get hurt. Afraid you might not love me, too. And I’m sorry I made you doubt my feelings for you, but it’s true. I love you with all my heart.”
* * *
“You do?” Hope spread through Angela like wildfire at his admission, but she wasn’t jumping in his arms just yet. Was this really happening? Or was she dreaming? Since they’d become involved, Daniel had closed off his heart to her even though she’d given him all of herself. Could she believe what he said was genuine?
She wanted to. It was up to her now to take the risk and tell him how she felt, because he’d just bared his soul to her. Before she could say anything, Daniel spoke again.
“I know you don’t need a ring.” She watched in shock as he rose to one knee on the blanket. “And I know you aren’t looking to be a Mrs.” He pulled out a tiny box from his jeans pocket. “But I would very much like to make you one.”
Angela’s breath caught her in chest. “Oh my God!”
“Angela Trainor, I love you so much and I hope I haven’t royally screwed this up, so would you please do me the honor of being my wife? Will you marry me? And before you answer, know that I promise to be committed to you and only you to the day I die.”
“Oh, Daniel.” Angela threw her arms around him and began kissing him furiously on his neck, cheeks and finally his lips. When she lifted her head, she said, “Do you have any idea how I’ve longed to hear you say those words?” She cupped his face and in his eyes she saw the love she’d always known was there, but he’d been afraid to let shine. “Because I love you, too. And I have since Key West.”
“Since then?”
She nodded. “But I knew you weren’t looking for love, for marriage, for any of it. You’d shied away from it for years. You’re the media’s quintessential bachelor and you played up the role. But I thought if I showed you my love, with my actions, that you’d see it, feel it, know it.”
“I knew that night in Key West when we made love that something had shifted between us, that it wasn’t just sex anymore. But if I looked too closely I’d have to look inside myself to a place I’d kept hidden until now. I’m just so glad that I haven’t lost you, Angela. But you haven’t answered my question. Will you marry me?”
“Yes, I will marry you.”
Daniel pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
It was the kiss of her dreams.
Hot and demanding, his mouth claimed hers as he took and tasted all at the same time. His body pressed into hers and Angela welcomed him and the invasion of his tongue in her mouth. She wrapped her fingers around his head and kissed him back. They were possessing each other in a wildly passionate kiss on the blanket in the sand as red-hot desire pulsated between them.
At the contact of his rigid length against her, her nipples hardened and her stomach quivered as heat pooled in her lower half. Daniel hauled her on top of him, clutching her bottom as he molded her against him. She felt his hands on her top, pulling it up and over her head. Then he unfastened her bra and tossed it aside.
Before she knew it, Daniel was rolling her over onto her back, unzipping her jeans and pulling them and her panties off in one swift moment until she was naked. Then he furiously began tearing at his own clothes, eager to be as naked as she was. Neither of them cared where they were, only that they wanted each other and wanted to consummate their love.
It took Daniel only a few seconds to find a condom in his wallet, sheath himself and return to cover Angela’s naked body with his. Angela felt a surge of elation when he plunged deep inside her. Wrapping her legs around him, she abandoned herself to the thrust of his hips against hers. She clenched around him, taking him in and enjoying the glorious sensation of having him fill her completely.
He loved her.
He adored her.
It was sheer ecstasy.
She was consumed with happiness so it didn’t take long for her to float away as she reached utter satiation.
* * *
“You realize we’re both exhibitionists,” Daniel said as they lay naked, limbs wrapped around each other and fully satisfied, on the blanket between the dunes.
She smiled. “I guess we are, but there’s no place I would rather be.”
“I love you, Angela,” Daniel said again. Now that he’d said the words aloud, he couldn’t stop repeating them. “And I know it’s been a whirlwind romance, but I can’t wait to make you my wife. The sooner, the better. What do you think of a September wedding? Maybe we could go back to Key West?”
“What’s the rush?” Angela laughed, sitting up on one elbow and staring down at him. “If we rush into marriage, people might think we have to get married, that you’ve knocked me up or something.”
Daniel’s heart began to palpitate and he was a bit breathless when he asked, “You’re not pregnant, are you?”
“Of course not,” Angela replied. “You do recall how diligent you’ve been with protection, even just now.”
She was right. Despite how overcome with passion he’d been, he had reached for the emergency condom he always kept in his wallet. Of course, he wouldn’t need them for too much longer. He couldn’t wait for the moment when they were husband and wife and he could dispense with protection. He wanted no barriers between them when they made love.
“Yeah, well, you never know.” Daniel shrugged. “Maybe it wouldn’t be bad if you were pregnant. I’d like nothing more than to have a little girl with your eyes.”
She stared wordlessly across at him. “Neither one of us is ready for a baby any time soon, Daniel. You do realize a glass penthouse is not the ideal place to raise a child.”
“Doesn’t matter. We can buy a new house. The penthouse has never felt like home anyway. It was just a place I used to shower and sleep until you came along and brightened it with flowers and pictures. You made it home. But you know what that means?”
“What does it mean?”
“We’ll just have to find a place that suits the both of us and whatever children may come to be.”
“Children, plural?” Angela asked with a raised brow. “How many do you want to have?”
“A few,” he answered. Daniel had always hated being the only child and had always wanted brothers and sisters.
“So you’re going to keep me barefoot and pregnant?”
“Mmm…” He smiled. “I like the sound of that, but—” he leaned her back onto the blanket “—I have to knock you up first.”
He lowered his lips to hers and began making love to her again. Being with Angela felt so good and so right. To be so close to her.
; Skin to skin.
Flesh to flesh.
Soft against hard. It was everything he could have ever wanted and more.
Why? Because he’d finally found the woman he was meant to be with. He’d finally found love.
EPILOGUE
Angela stared at Daniel as he stood next to her parents at their anniversary celebration at the Mezz. She still couldn’t believe just how far and how fast their relationship had blossomed. Two months ago, she was just a budding real estate agent working at Daniel’s firm. Now she was his fiancée.
She stared down at the three-carat diamond halo ring adorning her third finger. When Daniel had found her packing up her desk, she’d thought that was it. They were over. Finished. Kaput. She couldn’t have been more surprised when Daniel finally revealed to her his past infatuation with Mia Landers and how he’d held her up on a pedestal as his ideal woman. A woman who had been in love with Ashton Rollins.
Angela was just thankful that Daniel had come to realize that what they shared was stronger than anything he’d ever felt for Mia. Unlike his college crush, Angela loved him back and would always love him until she was old and gray.
She certainly hoped to share the same kind of marriage her parents did. Even now, thirty years later, they were just as in love as they were when they first wed. Angela could see it as she’d watched them the entire night. She wanted that for her and Daniel.
“They’re pretty amazing, huh?” her sister, Denise, asked from her side as she caught Angela eyeing their parents.
Angela glanced in her direction. “I was just thinking how lucky we are that our parents are still together after all these years. And I was just hoping that Daniel and I might one day have the same thing.”
Her sister smiled. “You will. I’ve never seen a man as in love as Daniel is with you. He can’t take his eyes off you. Several times tonight, I’ve caught him staring in your direction when he thought you weren’t looking.”
“Really?”
“He’s besotted with you,” Denise said. “And with good reason. You’re a great catch.”
Harlequin Kimani Romance June 2017 Box Set Page 36
