“Are you serious?” I exclaimed.
“You’ve spent all these years caring for other people’s horses, I thought it was time you had one of your own. She’s a Palomino and has quite the personality. I think the two of you were made for each other.”
“This is the most incredible gift, Mason. You did good.”
“I knew I did, but at the last minute I had doubts.”
As the sun began to set, we made our way back to the yacht. We lay down together on an oversized lounge at the rear of the ship while the driver steered out of the marina. Mason was quiet again. I knew he had something on his mind.
“What’s bothering you?” I asked.
“I was just thinking,” he said. “I’ve traveled the world and I’ve seen a lot of things, but I only have one regret in life.”
“What is it?”
“That I never asked you to marry me before I left for Germany.” He shook his head as his brows drew together. “I was stupid. I thought you knew how I felt and that would be enough for you.”
“There’s no point in this, Mason. The past is in the past. What’s important now is that we’re together and whatever problems we had have been solved.”
“You’re right, but I’m thinking about the future now. I know I’ve asked you before and I made a lot of presumptions about us, but that house I’m building in Canyon Cove? That entire ranch is for you. No matter how many times you say no to me, it doesn’t matter. I will keep building it and I will wait for you to change your mind.”
I was wondering when he would bring it up again and I was surprised he hadn’t mentioned it before. I expected Mason to ask me when he showed me around the property the other day and now that we were together with nothing to get in the way, I kept waiting for him to ask me again. I wanted him to ask me again. I was ready for it this time.
“You sound very sure of yourself,” I said.
“That’s how confident I am in our feelings for each other. I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life than when I think about a future with you.”
“Then ask me.”
He sat up, a brow cocked at me in mild surprise.
“Come live with me and be my Love,” he said.
I laughed. “Now ask me without quoting Shakespeare.”
“That’s Marlowe,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
“Well, you know some people say they’re the same people.”
“You’re changing the subject,” he said.
“Then ask me like a normal person.”
“Will you move in with me?”
“You live in a hotel, why would I move in there?”
“Tara...” he scolded.
“I know, I know. There’s a time for jokes and now isn’t one of them. I can’t help it.”
“I know you can’t. It’s what you do when you’re nervous. But you have no reason to be nervous with me.”
“I know I don’t. Being with you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done. Of course I’ll move in with you. I love you,” I said.
“I love you too. Always,” he said.
* * *
Five Months Later
March
The shrieks of wild parrots flying overhead woke me. I opened my eyes and tried to focus on the alarm clock. Whatever time it was, it was too early. I rolled over to check on Mason, but he wasn’t there. He usually woke before I did, but never this early.
The glass wall facing the courtyard was open, explaining why I was awakened. I reached for the button to close it, then noticed sunflowers on my lounge chair.
I stepped outside and noticed the calming ocean in the distance. The sun was just beginning to rise, making the sky colorful.
“Since I’m already awake, I might as well watch the sunrise,” I grumbled.
Curling up on the chair, I admired the flowers for a moment and thought back to the day we met.
“I was hoping you’d wake,” Mason said as he entered the courtyard. In his hand was my favorite mug, a purple mug with a cranky Tinkerbell on it that said ‘mornings aren’t magical!’ “I brought you some hot chocolate.”
“You have some nerve waking me up so early,” I said as I took the mug from him. “I was looking forward to sleeping in.”
“Maybe tomorrow, darling. Today is special.”
“Anything special can wait until I’m awake.”
“There are a lot of things I can do to wake you up,” he said as he kissed my neck.
I yawned and gently pushed him away. “Not now. I have morning breath and morning everything.”
“I love your everything no matter what time of day it is. You always look beautiful to me.”
“Now I know you’re just kissing my ass. What’s going on?” I laughed.
Mason sat on the edge of the lounge chair, facing me. He cocked his head to the side and grinned, deepening his dimples and reminding me of the first time we met. I might have been falling through the door, but when I thought back, that was the moment he swept me off my feet.
“Do you know what today is?” he asked.
“Hmm.” I pretended to be deep in thought, but I knew what the date was. How could I forget it? “St. Patrick’s Day?”
“You know that’s next week. We’re having dinner with Ashley and Xander,” he said. “You give up?”
“Yup, I give up. I have no idea what today could be.”
He eyed me suspiciously for a moment.
“I don’t believe you, but I’ll tell you anyway. Sixteen years ago today you fell into my arms for the first time.”
“Has it really been that long?”
“I think that was the moment I fell for you,” he said.
“Now I know you’re lying. You don’t believe in love at first sight. Plus I was the one who fell. Literally.”
“It wasn't first sight,” he said. “I held you in my arms and that was it for me. I actually think hearing you call me an asshole was what cinched the deal.”
“You really are one, you know?” I playfully swatted him with a sunflower. “I couldn’t stand the thought of you. You were so smug and confident.”
“I think you’ve used the word cocky to describe me.”
“Yes, you are the definition of that word.”
“You didn’t like me, yet somehow you kept falling into my arms.”
“I’m a klutz. Don’t confuse that with my swooning over you.”
“You were my damsel in distress. You’re lucky I was always around.”
“I’m lucky you’re still around,” I said. “I’m still very klutzy, you know.”
“Since you didn’t remember today is the anniversary of our meeting, I’m sure you don't remember what I told you on our first date.”
“Which first date? The actual date or the one you like to pretend was a date? You know, I’ve been thinking, and I can see an argument for our trip to Spain as our first date.”
“Spain was our second date. I’m talking about the one I know was our first date. I made a promise to you out in the clearing that day.” He lowered himself to one knee. “I told you one day I’d marry you.”
Mason brought a small jewelry box out of his pocket and held it in his hand. He opened it, but I didn’t see what was inside. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his.
“Will you marry me?”
“I’m not sure,” I said.
He snapped the lid closed and stared at me blankly.
“What do you mean you’re not sure?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking about what you said, and basically it’s taken you sixteen years to propose to me. I think you’re settling.” I tried to hold back my laughter.
“I’m serious, Tara. In all of this time that we were apart, I had only one regret. And that was that I didn’t ask you to marry me when I had the chance. When I ran into you that day at Jefferson Manor, I knew I was being given my second chance. There was no way I was going to waste it. And even that didn’t turn out as planned.”
“No, i
t didn’t because you acted like Mr. Alpha Male Caveman.”
“What can I say? Seeing you made me think with something other than my brain.”
“I know. I’m just teasing you, Mason.”
“You were always a ball buster,” he said with a laugh. “Besides, I figured since I waited sixteen years to propose, maybe we could wait another sixteen to get married.”
“I hate you,” I said as I swatted him with a flower again.
“Does that mean you’re saying yes?”
“That means I’ll pencil you in in sixteen years.”
“Pencil?”
“Yes, in case I need to erase. I have to keep my options open in case someone else comes along.”
“That’s no way to talk to your fiancé.”
“Fiancé? I never said yes,” I said.
“The caveman in me isn’t taking no for an answer.”
He picked me up from my seat and carried me back into our bedroom. He dumped me on the bed and lay back, facing me with his head on his hand, his elbow on the bed. He rested the ring box inches away.
“Hey, not fair!” I said between laughs. “I’m still weighing my options.”
“Whether you marry me or not, you know we’ll be together for the rest of our lives.”
“I do. I even knew that when we were apart. I always knew some day we would get back together again. That’s why being away from you hurt so much.”
We lay on the bed together and he leaned forward. His lips closed over mine as his tongue slipped into my mouth. I forgot about how early it was, I even forgot about my morning breath. All that mattered was that we were together. I didn’t need someone to tell me something I felt deep down inside.
The piece of paper didn’t matter to me, but I knew it mattered to him. I grabbed the box and opened it. Inside was a simple diamond solitaire. I slipped it on my finger and Mason pulled me closer and kissed me.
“I promise you I’ll spend the rest of our lives making up for the time we lost,” Mason said. “I love you and I don’t want you to ever question that.”
“No more promises. Just being here with you every day is enough. Even if sometimes you’re a cocky asshole.”
“I’m a cocky asshole who has always loved you and will always love you,” he said.
“I love you too.”
I didn’t know when we would get married, but knowing Mason, he would want to do it soon. As I closed my eyes, his lips moved along my body as he removed my nightshirt. I imagined a small wedding at our home with our friends and family. The thought made me smile and with it, any pain that I held on to from the past finally vanished.
As he held me, I wrapped my arms tightly around him, grateful to have him beside me after all this time. It saddened me to think that his mother had caused so much pain, but the past didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was that despite everything, we never stopped loving each other. I had always called Mason the love of my life, and now I knew I was his too.
The End
Thank you so much for reading Won’t Fall Again! I hope you enjoyed it.
Read Jackie & Brent’s story in
LOVE TO HATE YOU.
Continue reading for an excerpt.
About Love to Hate You
“Stay with me for just one night. You can go back to hating me in the morning.”
After one bad relationship after another, Jackie Stone is done with men. Jackie has seen Brent’s kind before. He’s devastatingly handsome, funny, and can charm anyone, even her. But after he lets her down, she’s convinced he’s just another bad relationship waiting to happen.
But billionaire Brent Winslow isn’t the man Jackie thinks he is. After coming to her rescue, he devises a plan to make her fall in love with him. He wants just one night. And he’ll make it one she’ll never forget.
What happens when the one person you hate becomes the one you can’t live without?
Prologue
Jackie
It was a perfect June day in Canyon Cove. The sun was beginning to set into the Pacific Ocean and one of my best friends just married the love of her life. Things couldn’t be better.
I sat at a table in the corner of the large patio facing the beach, admiring the view. It was a small wedding and even though I was happy for Samantha and Drake, I couldn’t deny the emptiness I felt. I looked at my new friend with his warm brown eyes and silky black hair and smiled.
“There’s nothing like a romantic beach wedding. And of course to heighten the romance even more it has to happen at sunset, with the orange haze of the sun glittering perfectly off the calm ocean,” I said as a bird squawked.
“Just ignore the seagulls flying overhead, cackling to each other about the cake they’re ready to dive bomb. Or the sand flying into everyone’s eyes and hair with the gentle breeze,” I added, dryly.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked, tilting my head to mirror my friend. “No, I’m not bitter. Trust me when I say that getting married is the last thing on my mind. Sure, I like to play the game and ooh and ahh over the diamond engagement rings and fancy place settings no one ever uses, but it’s not something I even think about.
“Really, I am ecstatic for Samantha and Drake. I mean look at her, she is literally glowing. And with that red hair, she’s giving the sun a run for its money. Everything turned out perfect for her -- she got her fairy tale, her prince, her perfect June beach wedding. I just wish she’d lay off trying to fix me up with the best man. I need a boyfriend like I need a hole in my head,” I said.
“I don’t need it. I don’t want it,” I said, waving my hand in front of me. “Dating is too complicated. And it’ll just distract me from the things that are important to me like finishing my Masters in Social Work. I’m thirty, I have a lot going on in my life. I could care less if I ever get married.”
I stopped to admire my companion’s quizzical look.
“You’re looking at me like I’m crazy, but it’s true,” I said. “I don’t want to get married. I don’t even want a boyfriend. Well, not unless he’s battery-powered.”
I laughed as I scratched my new friend’s wide head. His tongue rolled out of his mouth as he panted happily.
“You have it easy, my friend,” I said as the dog tilted his head. “No, no, you keep giving me that look, but trust me when I say that life is much easier for you than it is for me.”
He nudged the plate in my lap and then looked at me with his big brown eyes. I broke off a small piece of cheese and held it out to him. With his tail wagging, he took the cheese and swallowed it whole.
“I had a Lab like you about five years ago,” I said. “He loved cheese. Actually loved everything and everyone, he wasn’t very picky.”
I handed him another small piece of cheese as he drooled a little on my blue dress.
“There you are, Shade.” A man’s voice came from behind me. It was smooth and deep and even without seeing who it was, it made my heart skip.
I turned around and recognized Mr. Best Man himself, Brent Winslow. Brother of the groom and my dream guy, at least according to Samantha.
“I trained him to find the most beautiful women wherever we go,” Brent said as he flashed a perfect smile at me.
I rolled my eyes.
“Does that ever work?” I asked.
“He found you, didn’t he?”
“No, I meant the line,” I said.
He laughed, and small crinkles appeared at the corners of his smoky gray eyes and around his mouth. Samantha was right, he was a really good-looking man. Better than good-looking, he was hot. But it was obvious he knew that.
Brent was a human Ken doll with his perfect blond hair parted on the side, square jaw, chiseled cheekbones, and broad shoulders. The fact that he was wearing a dusty blue guayabera shirt and pale linen pants didn’t help. I could easily imagine him living in a hot pink box at the toy store. Malibu Brent.
I didn’t know what Samantha was thinking by saying he was perfect for me. I definit
ely was not a Barbie.
Pushing some loose strands of my brown hair back behind my ear, I looked back at my conversation partner, who was eyeing the rest of the cheese on my plate.
“Was he the only date you could get for the wedding?” I asked as I scratched Shade under his chin.
“I don’t need a date,” Brent said. “I’m the best man, remember? As maid of honor, you’re practically required to sleep with me.”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” I said, turning towards Brent. “I was talking to Shade.” I turned my attention back to Shade. “You know, you really could do a lot better.”
“At least I have a date,” Brent said, grinning.
“Figures you would bring a dog as a date. You probably read something about it in GQ or something.”
“You seem to keep forgetting that I’m the best man,” he said. “I don’t need a date. But maybe I should have brought you instead of Shade.”
“Are you saying I’m a dog? No offense, Shade,” I said.
“If I didn’t think you were attractive, like I said before, I’m the best man. I can take my pick from the single women. Look at all the ladies lining up for me.”
He opened his arms wide as he laughed, then sat down next to me.
This guy is too much, I thought.
“You realize there’s less than fifty people here, right?” I said. “And you’re related to some of them. That lessens your chances.”
He shrugged.
“What do I need anyone else for when I have you, Miss Maid of Honor?” he said.
I slumped back in my chair and groaned.
“You cannot be serious,” I said.
“Hmm I can see my charm isn’t working on you.” He looked at his dog and leaned closer to him. “Shade, I thought you would’ve softened her up for me.” He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and grinned.
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