“I’ve been thinking about everything since I threw you out of my apartment.” Her hands swept up and down his arms, his back, gazing at him like she was drinking him in. “I’m sorry about how I handled that. But I hated that you tossed me that ‘hey, move to Miami’ on a whim. We do need to talk about that.”
“Agreed. I screwed that up so badly.” He groaned, shaking his head. “You were right to kick my ass over it. I was selfish and stupid. But the sentiment was real. It came from a good place, Amanda, I swear. I just didn’t want to lose you. I didn’t want it to be over. I got desperate, because that whole week, every time I tried to talk about it—”
“I know. I screwed up too, Nick. You were right—I got scared. So I shut you down and pushed you away.” Her eyes held his, unwavering. “I pushed you away because I didn’t want to lose myself in something that wasn’t real, that wasn’t going to last. And I didn’t see how we could last. But . . . I can’t see not being with you. I want us, together.”
“I do too. That’s all I want, us together. We can figure it out if we just talk about it, can’t we?”
“Yes. I’m so sorry. I hope you can forgive me for shutting you out.”
“Forgiven,” he said. His hands smoothed down her back, stopping just above her ass to hold her tighter against him. She felt so good in his arms. “Does this mean you’ve forgiven me for dropping the move idea on you so stupidly?”
“Forgiven,” she said without pause. “I have to admit, it was kind of romantic. . . .”
He grinned, but something else occurred to him. “One last thing. You really gonna be okay with dating a cop? It breaks your big rule. . . .”
“It does.” She looked right into his eyes. “But I don’t care anymore, because I just want you. I’ll worry about you every damn day, but I’ll learn to deal with it. I’m willing to take the risk. Because I’ll have you, and that’s what matters most.”
“Okay then.” He held her close and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re here. We’re together. We’re going to work this out. That’s all that matters, mi reina.”
“Okay then.” She echoed him with a smile. “I was worried you gave up on me.”
“I gave up on calling or texting,” he admitted, “but only for a while. I was letting you do your turtle thing, waiting—hoping—that you’d cool down and realize I really do love you. I was giving you some time, then I was going to come after you again. I never gave up on you—I kept loving you.” He tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. “I didn’t know how to stop loving you, and I didn’t want to. I couldn’t if I tried.”
“Thank God.” She sighed and let her head drop to rest on his chest as she hugged him.
His hands skated over her hair, her back, everywhere he could touch. “The suitcase is a good sign,” he said, resting his chin on top of her head.
She chuckled and said, “We have a lot to talk about. I was hoping you’d let me stay long enough to do that. Might take a few days to figure this all out.”
“I’d love that.” He kissed her hair and hugged her. “Baby, I know we can make this work somehow. Maybe try a long-distance relationship for a few months, then . . . see where we go from there?”
“I was thinking something like that too. Whatever it takes.” She pulled back to look up into his eyes. “Because I love you, Nick. I’m yours. I have been from the start. I just hated to admit how much I wanted it. It scared me. I’m not scared of that anymore. The only thing that scared me now was the thought that I’d lost you for good.”
He smiled as his blood raced through his veins. “Say that again?”
Her brows puckered in confusion. “Which part?”
“The loving me part,” he murmured. “First time you finally admitted it, we were fighting. This time, it sounded like music.”
Her smile spread wide and bright as her eyes sparkled with joy. “I love you, Miami Vice. I love you so much I got on a plane and came here to work it out with nothing but a wing and a prayer, hoping it wasn’t too late.”
“I’m so glad you did.” His hands lifted to hold her face as he smiled back at her. “Te amo, mi reina bella.” He lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her softly. “Mi amor, mi cielo . . .” Another kiss, long and sweet, as his hands ran over her hair, down her back. “Mi vida . . .”
“I love when you call me mi reina,” she murmured against his lips. “And I understand mi amor.” She smiled. “But the other things? I need translation, please.”
“Mi cielo, my sky.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Mi vida . . .” He gently nipped her bottom lip. “Love of my life.”
“Ohhh. I really like that one,” she whispered, beaming. Her head cocked to the side, as if an idea hit her. “You know, if I’m eventually going to move down here, I better learn some Spanish. I think I’m going to start taking lessons.”
The idea made him smile so wide his cheeks hurt. “That sounds great. But I’ll gladly be your personal tutor, if you want.”
“Hmm. I’m serious about learning, but if you want to help me too, that could be fun. You’ll likely distract me, but . . .” She squeezed his ass and asked playfully, “How should I compensate you for your lessons?”
“Heh. I can think of several ways. . . .”
He drew her in tight, sifted his fingers along her hair, and kissed her again and again. She pressed herself against him, melting into his arms as their mouths met, their deep, passionate kisses saying all the things they couldn’t express with words.
Nick’s mind reeled as they willingly drowned in their embrace. They were together. She’d come around and admitted how she felt, both to herself and to him. She definitely loved him as much as he loved her, if the woman who hated taking risks took one like this to fly to Miami and seek him out. He’d made mistakes—they both had—but their love had won out, because it was real. They had connected in a way they would never deny again. It may have started in chaos, but they’d found each other in the storm.
They were meant to find each other. Nick believed that with all his heart.
So yeah, they’d talk tonight, and over the next few days. But he knew they’d work everything out, and that their future together was going to be incredible. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind. Amanda was his forever.
Epilogue
Three years later
Being a Harrison definitely had its perks.
Nick found that to be true when he had the funds needed to give his bride the destination wedding of their dreams. Marrying Amanda on the beach in Key West, following it with a reception at a luxurious resort, was like a fairy tale. But as he looked around the reception at everyone around them, he knew the perks were, of course, way more than financial. He’d gained a whole other family, filled with great people who had enriched his life for knowing them.
All of his family was there: his mom and dad, his two younger sisters, and his four older siblings with all their spouses and kids. Most of his aunts and uncles and cousins were there. Amanda’s parents and brother were there, and some of her aunts, uncles, and cousins. There were a few close friends too. Darin and Tom had made sure to be there for him, and Roni and Steph for Amanda, like anything would’ve kept them away. They were her wedding party.
And heartwarming as could be, his best man sat at a table, sipping soda as he laughed—Myles, now fifteen and a half, was strong and healthy. The journey after the transplant had been an arduous one, but he’d not only recovered, he’d gone into full remission. He had a good life, and a real future. Nick loved the kid like a little brother. Myles meant the world to him, and they were close. Even now, as he caught Myles’s eye, Nick tossed him a wink and a smile, which the teen returned.
The only direct relative not in attendance was his biological father, Charles Harrison II. The patriarch had passed away the year before, after suffering a massive heart attack at the office. He and Nick had barely spoken over the months in between, sharing only a few tense chats when Nick came to visit New York. Nick had
n’t felt a deep sense of loss. He’d never been sad that he and the old man didn’t have a relationship, and they’d at least gotten to a point of cold civility instead of open hostility.
And a week after the funeral, an attorney called Nick with the shocking news. Charles II had left ten million dollars to Nick, and a million to Maria.
At first, Maria refused to take it. Charles and Tess flew down to Florida and personally convinced her to do so. Nick wasn’t comfortable with his inheritance either. His four older siblings had had to persuade him to take it. He had, but he’d never get used to knowing he had money like that. He vowed that it would never change who he was. At least he knew Amanda loved him for who he was, not what had suddenly, fortuitously been dropped in his lap.
They’d dated long distance for eleven months. Amanda had been Myles’s private nurse from the day he got out of the hospital and went home, never leaving him as he fought through recovery. Nick had made trips to Long Island to see her for a weekend every two months, also seeing Myles and all the Harrisons when he visited. His relationship with Amanda had bloomed, deepened, and thrived. They’d made plans for the future. And two weeks after Myles’s medical team pronounced him well enough not to need any private care—a celebratory all-clear—Amanda had packed up her things and moved down to Florida to live with Nick.
Three months after that, he’d bought a diamond ring that was worthy of her, whisked her off on a surprise trip to Key West, and proposed.
Their life was full. She’d easily found work in Miami as a per diem nurse and transitioned well. His career as an investigator was as fulfilling as he’d hoped it would be. They bought a house with three bedrooms, thinking of filling them with kids in the future. Downtime was spent hanging out at home or enjoying time with his family and the friends Nick had, along with the new friends Amanda made. Each of the Harrison siblings came to visit him over the winter, and those relationships blossomed too.
Life was good, Nick thought as he looked around his wedding reception. He looked from one face to another, seeing people he cared about and who cared about him and his bride. His gaze came to rest on his beautiful Amanda, the love of his life. She looked radiant, a stunningly beautiful and happy bride. Her blond hair was pulled back from her face and held in place with flowers, but the rest of it flowed down her back in bouncy waves. The strapless ivory gown she wore was simple but gorgeous, and she looked like an angel, or a princess, or like magic itself. She laughed at something Roni and Steph said, and Nick couldn’t help but smile at her joyous smile.
He crossed the dance floor as the music played, as a soft, warm breeze blew and the palm trees shaded them from the sunshine. Eyes only for his bride, he moved in behind her to circle her waist with his hands. “Hey, Mrs. Martell,” he whispered in her ear. “Dance with me.”
She turned around, already smiling as she looked up at him. “I’d love to.”
They moved to the dance floor as a sweet ballad played. He pulled her close, dropping a light kiss on her lips as they began to move to the music together. Her arms looped around his neck as his slid around her waist.
“Are you having a good time?” she asked.
“The best ever,” he assured her. “Hope you are too?”
“Of course. I’m with the hottest guy in the place, and I get to go home with him. The food’s amazing. My dress rocks. . . .” She smiled brightly. “It’s a good day, yeah.”
He chuckled. “You know, I was looking around at everyone. . . thinking about the last three years. So many crazy turns. Unbelievable, some of them . . .”
“That’s for sure,” she agreed.
“But in the end, all good.” He kissed her forehead. “The best of it all, two things. Myles is alive and well, and I found you.” He pressed her closer. “I’m the luckiest man in the world because I found you.”
She smiled again. “I feel pretty lucky too.”
He gave her a little twirl, a dip, and yanked her back to him with a dazzling smile.
“Remember how when we met, it seemed too good to be true?” he asked. “Too right, too fast, too hot, too much . . . we tried to deny it.”
“I tried to leave you because it felt too good to be true,” she reminded him.
“No, you didn’t leave—you shoved me out the door. That’s a little different.”
She snorted. “Semantics, Miami Vice.”
“I think that’s an important distinction, Favorite Nurse.”
“I think it doesn’t matter now because we’re married.”
“Okay.” A wide, warm smile spread. He felt like he hadn’t stopped smiling all day. “Hey. We’re married.”
“We are.” She moved in and pulled his head down so she could kiss his lips.
“Te amo, mi reina bella,” he whispered against her mouth.
“Te amo mucho,” she whispered back.
While the Harrisons, Martells, Kozlovs, and their friends watched in enchantment, Nick and Amanda danced, kissed, and smiled as breezes made the palm trees sway and the sun slowly lowered in the sky.
Keep reading for an extra treat—the full Harrisons novella
Happily Ever After,
where we see Pierce and Abby tie the knot!
Loved getting to know the Harrison clan?
Then be sure to check out the entire series:
More Than You Know
Someone Like You
’Tis the Season
Between You and Me
Chapter One
Pierce Harrison looked around with something he’d only gotten used to feeling since he’d met Abby McCord: content satisfaction. It was a bone-deep, easy warmth, that contentment and sureness . . . and now the only person who’d ever enabled him to feel that way was about to become his wife.
He’d promised he’d give her the wedding of her dreams, and it seemed like it was going to be. So far, anyway. Everything had gone pretty smoothly, without much of the typical wedding planning drama he’d heard about from others. He’d simply given Abby carte blanche to do whatever she wanted. Being a millionaire had its benefits at times like these.
But his woman was no diva, and her friends and family were as down-to-earth as she was. There were times Pierce had actually had to insist that Abby choose the more expensive option if it was something she really liked, be it the entrée choices at the reception or the flowers for the tables. Abby had made his world a better place; he wanted her to have the wedding she wanted.
They’d gotten engaged the previous Thanksgiving, high on a mountain in Sedona. After a morning hike up the red rocks, under a crisp blue sky, he’d dropped to his knee and asked her to spend the rest of her life with him. Thankfully, she’d said yes and thrown her arms around him so hard, he’d fallen off balance and they’d gone crashing to the ground. They’d laughed and kissed and held each other in the red dirt, happy beyond measure. Every time he thought of it, he smiled again, infused with love.
The past nine months had flown by. She’d asked for an August wedding because she was a first-grade teacher and a summer wedding and honeymoon meant she wouldn’t miss even a day of work. It made sense. But that was Abby: sensible, focused, smart . . . how Pierce had gotten someone like her to fall in love with someone like him, he sometimes still didn’t know, but he thanked his lucky stars every day. This strong, grounded woman had seen past his bad-boy reputation, not cared about his tumultuous history—both in the English tabloids and within his own family—and seen the real him . . . the decent man he’d never realized was inside him until he met her.
Now he stood on the terrace of the bridal suite of the lavish, elegant Oceanview Hotel and Resort, drinking a bottle of his favorite IPA while admiring the panoramic view from seven floors up. Located in Westhampton, on the eastern end of Long Island, the five-star resort boasted magnificent lawns and grounds, with the beach and Atlantic Ocean fanning out only a few hundred feet beyond. He and Abby had arrived half an hour before, his idea. It was Wednesday afternoon and things were quiet. H
e wanted the two of them to have some time alone before all the friends and family descended.
There would be more than 120 guests coming to the wedding, most of whom were staying in the hotel at the resort. A select few—his older brother Charles and his family, for example—had rented some of the eight luxurious guest cottages on the property. The rehearsal dinner was Friday night and the wedding was Saturday evening. Afterward, there’d be a bonfire on the beach for the after-party and a brunch on Sunday morning . . . a long, busy weekend of celebration. Pierce had wanted to savor the last bit of calm before the storm.
Out on the terrace, he stared out at the ocean for a while, thinking about how different his life was now than it’d been before. Two years ago this month, he’d returned to Long Island with his life in shreds. Since leaving his professional football career in tatters and leaving England altogether, life in New York had been the 180-degree turn he’d desperately needed.
He had bought partial ownership of the New York professional soccer team and gotten immersed in management there. He was heavily involved in the Edgewater Soccer Club, the local kids’ league where he’d first met Abby. It was his way of giving back. Along with coaching and giving clinics, he’d been asked to join their board of directors for the new season and accepted, knowing he could make a difference. His relationships with his two older brothers had not only improved but he felt close to them, almost as solid as his always-strong bond with his sister, Tess. He spent time with his nephews and nieces . . . he was truly part of the family at long last, and it was more satisfying than he’d ever thought it could be.
And, of course, there was Abby. Loving her, and being loved by her, had been the single best thing that had ever happened to him. They now lived in a lovely four-bedroom house in Edgewater, right on the Sound, and only half a mile from her parents’ house—which was what they’d wanted, for whenever the family needed babysitting help for her nephew, Dylan. Abby loved her job as a first-grade teacher, still volunteered as a soccer coach for Dylan’s team, and was involved in community activities. Pierce couldn’t be prouder of her or more in love with her, and that just seemed to grow with every day.
It Might Be You Page 31