by Marie Force
Jenny and Alex exchanged a glance along with small, private smiles. “We have,” she said. “My fiancé takes exquisite care of them.”
“He does a brilliant job,” Jared agreed.
“So, let me get this straight,” Alex said. “We needed a place for our wedding, so you bought the Chesterfield Estate?”
“I made an offer,” Jared said, trying not to squirm as they all stared at him, no one more intently than Lizzie. “It’d be a great place for a wedding, but it’s also a hell of an investment. The place is incredible.”
Jenny sniffled and dabbed at her eyes. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“It’s not a done deal, so don’t start planning the wedding quite yet. I’ll keep you posted.”
She jumped up and took Jared by surprise with a big hug. “You are too much, Mr. James.”
“It’s no big deal.”
“It’s a very big deal.” Alex extended his hand. “We appreciate it.”
Jared shrugged off their praise but was acutely aware of Lizzie watching the exchange with interest. Maybe he shouldn’t have told Alex and Jenny the news in front of her in light of their differing philosophies about money and all the perks that came with it. “I’ll let you know when I hear back from the broker.”
Jenny, Alex and Paul left a few minutes later, followed by Victoria and Shannon, which left him finally alone with Lizzie.
He sat on the lounge chair next to the one she occupied. Taken in by the glow of the firelight on her gorgeous face, he was silent for a long moment, until he couldn’t wait any longer to ask her the one question that’d been burning in his mind all evening.
“What’re you doing here, babe?”
Chapter 4
“I can’t believe she showed up after all this time,” Daisy said to David as they shared the sink in his bathroom to brush their teeth. “Tell me every detail of where you found her and what she said.”
David spit out the toothpaste, dried his mouth and told the story again, making sure to include every detail as requested.
“So she thought he was fooling around with Jenny and me? At the same time?”
“Apparently.”
Wearing one of his T-shirts over a tiny pair of panties he’d caught a glimpse of as she’d undressed, Daisy got into bed ahead of him and propped her head on her upturned hand. “That’s kinky.”
David cracked up laughing as he got into bed wearing only a pair of boxers. “From what I heard before I actually met him, Jared had a heck of a reputation as a man about town back in the day. No doubt she’s heard that, too.”
“So she thought he’d gone back to his old ways.”
“Something like that.”
“Imagine if you hadn’t seen her,” Daisy said as she curled up to him the way she did every night.
David lived for this time with her at the end of every long day.
“He might never have known she’d come.”
“He said that, too. He realizes it was a close call.”
“Did he say if he was happy to see her?”
“It seemed he might be reserving judgment on how he felt about it until he heard what she had to say.”
“It’s a good sign that she came, right?”
“It could be, or it could mean she’s looking for some closure so they can both move on.”
“I hope that’s not why she’s here,” Daisy said with a sigh. “That would kill him.”
Her soft curves pressed against his side and her hand caressing his belly had him thinking about his own love life rather than Jared’s. He tightened his hold on her and scooted down to better align his lips with hers.
“I want to go spy on them.”
The comment made him laugh. “You’re not spying on them.”
“Come on… He wouldn’t care. He knows I’m invested.”
“What about me and what I need?”
Her brows knitted adorably. “What do you need?”
“You. I need you. This, right here, is what gets me through the day. Knowing I have you all to myself at the end of it.”
Her smile lit up her gorgeous face.
He loved to see her smile like that. For a while after her ex-boyfriend attacked her, he’d wondered if she’d ever smile again, and now her smiles were frequent and dazzling—and all for him. “I love you,” he said as he captured her full, sexy lips in the kiss he’d been craving since he left her that morning to go to work.
Her arms curled around his neck as she teased him with gentle dabs of her tongue.
David worked his hands under the T-shirt and had it up and over her head in record time. Nothing felt as good as her soft skin pressed against his. Oh God, except for that, he thought, as her hand curled around his erection and stroked him. “Daisy,” he said on a gasp.
“Mmm, I love you, too. So much.”
Already on the edge after only a few gentle strokes of her hand, he rolled on top of her, gazing down at her blonde hair spread out on his pillow. “Isn’t this better than spying?”
“This is better than anything.”
He couldn’t disagree with her there. Nothing in his life could compare to the sweet magic they created together. Bending his head, he rolled a firm nipple between his lips, tugging and sucking until she writhed beneath him, looking for more.
“David…”
“Hmm?” He turned his attention to her other breast and gave it equal time.
Her tight grip on his hair demanded his attention as he kissed his way down the front of her. Grasping her panties, he tugged them down her legs and over her feet.
She held out her arms to him, welcoming him into her sweet embrace.
He went willingly, powerless to resist her when she looked at him with such love and longing in her expressive eyes.
Daisy wrapped her arms and legs around him, took him into her body and arched her back. Her lips on his neck were like a trigger, sending a live current through him. Every time she touched him it was like the first time all over again.
He took her slowly, wanting to draw out the pleasure as long as he could.
She clung to him, her fingertips digging into his back, her legs tightening around his hips.
The tight grip of her internal muscles derailed his plans to go slowly. He picked up the pace, rocking into her over and over again as he captured her lips in another incendiary kiss. She did this to him every time. She made him forget everything except the incredible high of losing himself in her.
And the high was indeed incredible, especially when they reached it together like they did this time. He loved that she was no longer shy about letting him hear how much she loved the way he made her feel. Her cries of pleasure did him in, and he finally let himself join her, making some noise of his own.
One of the things he loved best about making love to Daisy was the way she always soothed him afterward with soft strokes of her hand on his back and her fingers sliding through his hair. He knew absolute contentment in the arms of the woman he loved and could only hope his friend Jared would find a way back to the woman he loved.
Now that the moment was upon her, Elisabeth couldn’t think of a single thing to say. Watching Jared interact with his new friends had been illuminating. She’d seen their genuine affection for him and the generosity he’d shown in opening his home to them. Not to mention what he’d apparently done for Alex and Jenny. As incredible as it was, it was that kind of gesture that brought home how different they were. Those differences had caused her to often wonder if their relationship could work long term despite the incredible love they’d felt for each other almost from the very first night they spent together.
“Lizzie?” he said softly. “Are you going to tell me why you’re here?”
“I wanted to see you. I’ve missed you.”
He blew out a long deep breath filled with what sounded like angst. She couldn’t be sure. She’d never seen him filled with angst. She’d known only the happy, cocky, overly confident Jared James. The Ja
red sitting on the lounge next to hers was so far removed from that guy, she almost didn’t recognize him.
He was diminished, hesitant, wary and uncertain—four words she’d never have used to describe the Jared she knew and loved.
Even his hair was different. He’d let it grow out from the close-cropped cut he favored in the city. She’d never seen it so long but had to confess she liked it—a lot. Despite the other changes she saw in him, he was even hotter than he’d been before, if that was possible.
“I missed you, too.”
He wasn’t going to make this easy on her. Not that she could blame him after she’d ruined everything. She swallowed the hard lump that had formed in her throat and forced herself to continue. “I wanted to explain…”
“That’s okay. You don’t have to. It was really good of you to come here and all, but I don’t need any explanations.”
“I need it! I need you to know why.”
“What does it matter, Elisabeth?”
That he called her by her full name hit her like a shot to the heart. He hadn’t called her Elisabeth since the night they met when he’d decided she would be his Lizzie. He’d never called her anything else, except for honey, baby, babe and sweetheart. She’d teased him about how he refused to settle on any one endearment, preferring to make use of them all. “I’m too late,” she said, trying to resign herself to a bleak future that didn’t include Jared at the center of it.
As if he could no longer sit still, he got up suddenly to bank the fire. He squatted before the stone pit that was built into the pool deck, his shoulders rigid with tension as he tended to the fire with stabbing motions.
She couldn’t stand to see him so wound up, especially knowing she had caused his dismay. Quietly, she moved to the end of the chair he’d occupied and rested her hands on his bare shoulders.
His sharp intake of air was audible over the cricket music coming from the nearby bushes.
“I’m so sorry, Jared,” she whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“What did you think would happen when you turned me down?”
“I didn’t mean to turn you down. I… You caught me off guard, and I wasn’t prepared…”
Remaining in a squat, he turned to face her. “You didn’t mean to turn me down? Then why’d you say no?”
“I didn’t intend to. I shook my head because it was happening too fast, and I couldn’t process it. But I never actually said no.”
“Lizzie… Yes, you did.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“So what you’re saying is you didn’t actually turn down my proposal?”
“I didn’t turn down your proposal.”
He tilted his head like he was trying to get a read on her, the gesture so familiar and so totally him that she couldn’t stop herself from placing her hands on his face.
His eyes closed as he released another deep breath that shuddered through his big body. “Don’t do this to me, Lizzie. I can’t handle it. You broke me. You have no idea…”
“I think I do. You broke me when you wouldn’t take my calls or respond to my texts. I couldn’t sleep or eat. I couldn’t find you. No one would tell me where you were. I didn’t even know you owned a place out here.”
“You couldn’t eat?” he asked softly, his gaze filled with concern.
She knew he was asking whether she’d suffered a setback in her recovery and appreciated that he remembered and cared so much. “Because I was upset, not because of the anorexia. I swear.”
“Thank goodness.” He curled his hands around her wrists and pressed his lips into one of her palms.
Elisabeth felt the charge of that small connection throughout her entire body.
“How did you find me?”
“I finally wore down Marcy, but you have to promise not to fire her.”
“What do you mean ‘finally’?”
“I’ve been to your office every day since that night.”
“That’s four trains. Each way.”
“Believe me, I know. You won’t fire Marcy, will you?”
“I won’t fire Marcy.”
“Good.”
“Why did you shake your head when I asked you to marry me?”
“You caught me by surprise.”
“How could you be surprised after everything we’d shared? You knew how much I loved you. I’ve never loved anyone the way I loved you. You knew that.”
“Past tense?”
“I… I don’t know. I just don’t know. You’ve caught me by surprise this time.”
“Does that make us even?”
His sinfully sexy lips curved into the slightest of smiles, which she took as a small victory. She’d made him smile. “I should get going.”
“Going where?”
“Back to town to find a hotel, since I missed the last boat.”
“You can stay here, Lizzie.”
“I don’t want to put you out.”
“You’re not putting me out. I have five empty bedrooms.”
She took it as a good sign that he wasn’t planning to send her away. She wouldn’t have blamed him if he had. “When did you buy this place?”
“A couple of years ago, after I came here for a friend’s bachelor party and fell in love with the island.”
“You never brought me here.”
“I hadn’t brought you here yet. The place in the Hamptons is closer to the city.”
“I like this one better.”
“You haven’t even seen the house yet.”
“I already know I like it better.”
“I do, too. I’ve become quite fond of it in the last month.” He stood but kept a firm grip on her hand as he reached for the backpack she’d abandoned on the pool deck. “Let’s get you settled.”
Thankful for the familiar feel of his hand wrapped around hers, Elisabeth let him lead her inside, her eyes glued to the back of the board shorts that hugged his sexy rear. From the first minute she’d met him, she’d been struck by his incredible smile, those sharp blue eyes, his crackling intelligence and the cocky arrogance that was somehow charming on him. In addition to all those things, the fact that he was incredibly good-looking hadn’t hurt anything.
She’d found out about the money a few days later—days in which she’d spent every minute with him while he literally swept her off her feet into love. That first weekend had been dizzying, and he’d kept her off-balance ever since. She, who’d prided herself on being a level-headed, modern, career-oriented woman, had fallen hard and fast for a sweet-talking billionaire with a heart of gold.
She’d become someone she’d always mocked—the woman who wanted to be with her boyfriend all the time, at the expense of other relationships, at the expense of sleep and time to herself and the extra hours she’d always given to the important work she did on behalf of homeless women and children. She wanted to be with him every second of every day.
He showed her to a bedroom that included an en suite bathroom. “Is this okay?”
Elisabeth didn’t tell him she’d much rather share his bed like she had every night for a year. Instead, she nodded. “It’s lovely. Thank you.” She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do now. Should she release his hand and send him on his way? Or should she do what she really wanted and ask him to stay? Even if just for a little while longer.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said after a brief silence.
“I’m glad to be here. Will you stay awhile?”
The battle he waged with himself was plainly obvious to her, but only because she knew him so well. “Sure.”
It wasn’t a resounding “sure,” but she’d take it. She released his hand to remove her sandals. “I’ll be out in a minute.” Taking her backpack with her, she went into the bathroom to freshen up and change. She debated over her limited options—a tank top and boy shorts or the silk nightgown she’d brought in case things went really well. Fearing the nightgown would send the wrong mes
sage, she settled on the tank and shorts. He’d always told her he loved her in anything—and nothing. The memory of that nearly doubled her over in pain. The possibility that they’d never get back to where they’d been was almost too much to bear.
She brushed her teeth and hair and waited until she’d gotten herself together before she returned to the bedroom. He’d stretched out on top of the bed, and she took a moment to appreciate the well-defined pecs, the golden blond hair on his chest and the rippling muscles on his belly. She’d never understood how he managed to spend twelve hours a day at work and still stay so incredibly buff.
Suddenly, she felt self-conscious about the amount of skin she had on display and what her extreme thinness would say about how upset she’d been. When he took a greedy look at her, she wished she’d gone with the nightgown.
He held up the covers, inviting her into bed.
Anxious to be covered, she scooted under the white comforter with the yellow daisies. “I like this room. Did you do it yourself?”
“Hell no,” he said with a scoffing laugh. “Sydney Donovan did the house. She’s a decorator on the island.”
“She did a nice job.”
“Yes, she did.”
“Are we going to talk about comforters and paint, Jared?”
“I don’t know. Are we?”
“It’s safer.”
“Probably,” he acknowledged. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do or say right now, and that never happens. I always know what to do and what to say.”
Because she couldn’t help it, because she’d missed him so terribly and because she loved him more than anything, she reached for him. “You could hold me. I’ve missed having your arms around me.”
For a second she thought he might reject her, but he didn’t. Rather, he slid under the covers and put his arms around her.
Elisabeth released a sigh full of relief as she pressed her face against his chest and heard the strong beat of his heart for the first time in far too long. Acting out of habit, she slid her leg between his and closed her eyes against the burn of tears at the familiar scratch of his hairy legs against her much smoother skin.
He held her so closely, so tightly she could barely breathe. “Lizzie… God, am I dreaming this? Are you really here with me?”
