Romancing the Bachelor (A Hamilton Family Series)

by Diane Alberts

  Eric stared out the window. “Shit.”

  “Did you ever consider going with her?” Wyatt asked after a while.

  “Of course I did.” The waitress came and set the two mugs of coffee on the table then politely left them alone. “I signed a contract with my firm right before we met. I’m locked in for four years.”

  “Get a lawyer,” Wyatt immediately said.

  Eric snorted. “Ha-ha, very funny.”

  “I’m serious. Get a damn lawyer. Find a way out.” Wyatt rested his elbows on the table. “If you really want to be with her, you’ll find a way. You might have to take a loss, but you’ll gain more, if you’re with her. If you really love her…don’t give up without a fight. Don’t regret this for the rest of your life.”

  “There’s no getting out of it. I’m junior partner now. I can’t just walk away.”

  “Then fucking run,” Wyatt shot back. “Dad taught us to fight for what we wanted. To never back down. You’ve lived your life this way for years now. You fought your way to being the youngest junior partner in your firm. Now, fight your damn way out of it.”

  Eric stared at him, speechless.

  Could he…?

  “Unless you’d rather let her go,” Wyatt finished, shrugging and leaning back in his chair. “Ultimately, that’s up to you, though.”

  Eric stood, his heart racing. “Rain check?”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Three days.

  That’s how long she’d been in the tiny Texas town called Williamsport. The people here were friendly, the store owners were even friendlier, and everything was just the way she imagined it would be. Her boss had come to personally welcome her into the town, and they’d had dinner last night with his family. He had two kids, a kind wife, and had nothing but good things to say about this tiny little blip on the map they called a town.

  It was all she dreamed of, and more.

  It was perfect.

  But she was…she felt…lost.

  She’d seen him, through the window. He’d watched her go, his face torn, and he’d waved from the pub across the street. She had no idea how she’d known he was there, but it was like some sixth sense kicked in and the hair rose on the back of her neck. Sure enough, as she’d turned slowly, he’d been there.

  Waving.

  Just like he promised.

  God, she hated him. Even worse? She hated that she didn’t really hate him at all. She should. She wanted to. But she loved him, and nothing was going to change that.

  Not even him not feeling the same way about her.

  “Get it together, Shelby,” she muttered under her breath, bending over to rip the tape off a box. After opening it, she unwrapped an item and swallowed hard when she saw it was a mug. Not just any mug—the one that Eric had always used. She stared down at it, tears blurring her vision, and tightened her grip on it.

  Walking toward the garbage, she had it extended over the trash can when—

  “That’s a waste of a perfectly good mug,” said a voice she knew as well as her own.

  She jumped, gasping, and dropped it into the trash can.

  It clanged against the can she’d thrown in there earlier, and she turned around slowly.

  Eric stood there, wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt that said Got beer? on it. She’d never seen him in anything besides a suit, or naked, but that wasn’t what threw her off.

  It was that Eric was here, in Texas, in the first place.

  What was he doing here?

  She pressed her hand to her chest. It trembled, a telltale sign of her nerves, so she pressed it harder against her racing heart. “What are you—?”

  “You should really lock your front door. Small town or not, it’s just safer.”

  “Yeah.” She finally pulled herself together and accepted that this was, indeed, reality. Eric Hamilton was in her new home. “I will from now on, believe me.”

  He ran his hand through his hair. It looked like he’d been doing that a lot. It stood up slightly, and had less curl than usual. “It was hard to find this place.”

  “How did you?” she asked out of curiosity. “I never told you where I was going.”

  “I know.” He ducked his head slightly. “I had to bribe a coworker of yours back home to find out what town you moved to. Needless to say, Wyatt is taking her on a date Friday night.”

  She swallowed. “Marcy?”

  “Yeah.”

  She said nothing.

  Eric looked like he hadn’t slept in a few days. Heck, maybe a few weeks. She hadn’t either, really. Funny, she used to enjoy having her queen-size bed to herself. After only a handful of nights sharing it with Eric, suddenly it felt too big, too empty, to sleep in. No matter how many times she washed the sheets, she swore she could still smell him there, next to her. She’d even bought new sheets. The feeling remained. She’d taken to sleeping on the couch.

  It hurt less.

  Why was he here?

  “This place is nice. It’s bigger than your apartment back in Atlanta.”

  She crossed her arms. “Did you come all the way out here to tell me that?”

  “Yes. No.” He rubbed his jaw. “You look good, Shel.”

  Pain knifed through her. “Why are you here?”

  “I needed to see you.” He dropped his hands to his sides and stood there, staring at her. “I miss you.”

  She said nothing. Betrayed nothing.

  Just waited.

  “When I said all those things…all those terrible things…I didn’t mean them. I swear to God, I didn’t mean them. My offer of a long-distance relationship was real. Everything I felt for you, everything you thought I felt for you, was real. I didn’t make that offer as an empty way to let you go so we could avoid an awkward good-bye. I offered it because I didn’t want to let you go, period.”

  She bit down on her lip. “But you did.”

  “I know. It was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, giving you up without a fight.”

  “There was no fight to be had. I literally threw myself at you, told you I loved you, and asked you to love me, too.” Her throat throbbed with the sobs she barely managed to hold back. “In return, you told me to go, and said that you didn’t want to be with me.”

  He winced. “Shel—”

  “And now, you’re here, saying all these pretty things, and I’m just supposed to, what, forgive you and jump into a long-distance relationship with both feet? Trust you again? Love you again? Give you my trust and my heart?”

  “Yes. No. I don’t know.” He curled and uncurled his hands. “All I know is I can’t sleep without you. I can’t breathe without you. I can’t live without you. More importantly, I don’t fucking want to. I’m here to beg you for another chance. I’m here to ask you to trust me one more time, and if you do, I promise I won’t let you down. I promise I’ll make you happy.”

  She shook her head. “It’s too late. I trusted you. I gave my heart to you, and you crushed it like it was nothing. You broke it. I’m not giving it back to you because you flew down here for a day to tell me you missed me. It’s not enough.”

  “I know it’s not.” He closed the distance between them. “That’s why I’m not down here for a day, asking for forgiveness. I came to earn it, and I’m not leaving until I do.”

  Her heart jumped into her throat. “What?”

  “I quit my job, Shel. I packed my shit up, rented a U-Haul, and came here. To you.” He caught her hands. She didn’t even try to pull away, because she was in shock. He quit his job and drove to Texas for her. “I fucked up, Shel. I know it. You know it. More importantly, I know I need to make it right. I’m not giving up until I find some way to make this up to you.”

  “You quit your job?” she said slowly, staring up at him. “How? Why? You signed a contract to be a partner. You had a five-year plan.”

  “Fuck my plan. It was nothing without you. You’re my new plan.”

  She took a step back, pulling free. “I…I don’t know
what to say.”

  “Say what you’re thinking,” he said, echoing her words from a week ago, when he’d crushed her heart into broken shards. “Yell at me. Curse me out. Tell me you hate me. I can take it.”

  “I don’t hate you,” she whispered, tears blurring her vision. “But I wish I did. You broke me.”

  “I know,” he said, closing the distance between them again, giving her no respite. She couldn’t breathe when he was that close to her, but at the same time, oddly enough, she finally could. “I’m so fucking sorry for that, Shel.”

  She shook her head. “It’s not enough.”

  “I know. I’m not asking it to be. Be mad at me. Be sad. Be whatever you have to be.” He cradled her chin with his thumb and forefinger, lifting her face up and smiling gently down at her. “When you’re done being angry, when you don’t want to yell at me anymore, I’ll be here, waiting, ready to show you that you can trust me. Ready to show you that despite what I said back in Atlanta, there is nothing I’d like more than to be with you, to have your love. If I can’t have your love, then I’ll just take you. If I can’t have you, then I’ll just be here, waiting, watching, hoping one day you’ll forgive me, because…” His grip on her chin shifted, and his nostrils flared. “Because I love you, Shel. I love you with all my heart, and I never want to spend another second of my life without you in it. I love you more than I ever thought possible, and if I have to choose between a world without you in it, and a world where you’re there but hate me, I’d choose the latter option, every damn time. I’d choose you. I choose you.”

  She stared at him, his words echoing in her head, and grabbed his wrist. The world was spinning around her, and she needed something solid to hold on to. “You love me?”

  “I do. I swear it. I love you, Shelby Jefferson.” He rested his forehead on hers, splaying his hand across her upper back as he pulled her closer. “I’m not asking for you to love me. I’m not even asking for you to forgive me, or even to give me another chance. All I’m asking is for you to let me try to earn that chance eventually. Please, let me try.”

  She closed her eyes, breathing in his scent. She’d been so sure she would never smell that again. Never feel his skin against hers, and his breath on her cheek. She’d been pretty frigging sure, too, that she would never hear those words from him, either. Yet here he was, touching her, holding her, and saying things she’d longed to hear.

  Was it enough? How could she trust him again? Should she open herself up to him like that again? What if he broke her heart so badly it never recovered? What if this time he destroyed her for good? But…what if he didn’t? God, he’d quit his dream job for her—something she had tried to do, too, and he hadn’t let her. He’d given up everything, packed up his whole life, and drove down here to beg her for a shot at proving himself, and she wanted to give it to him.

  God, she wanted to.

  But was that just her falling for another trick, from another handsome boy, like she always did? Or was this the real thing? The type of love that could be hers forever and ever?

  The type of love that never died?

  “You quit your job?”

  He nodded, lifting his head and meeting her eyes. “I signed the amended contract last night before I got in the truck. I had to give back the signing bonus, plus six month’s salary, since they’re now going to have to search for a replacement for me, but I don’t give a damn. All that mattered was getting here, to you, so I paid them, and I got in my car…and I drove straight here, only stopping for gas.”

  She’d heard rumors of how much he’d gotten for becoming junior partner. It was a lot of money, plus six month’s salary. That was…that was…insane. “You did that? For me?”

  “For us,” he amended.

  “Eric…God. I can’t believe you did that.”

  “I’d do it again.” He gripped her hips, staring down at her. “I love you, Shelby. I’ll say it over and over again until you believe it. Until I’m worthy of you.”

  She shook her head, letting out a laugh. Didn’t he see she was already his? She had been from the second he made her forget why she’d sworn off men in the first place. “Eric…”

  He closed his eyes. “Fuck, I missed that laugh. When you left, and I thought I was never going to see you again, a part of me died. That’s when I knew that couldn’t be my life anymore. That’s when I knew I had to find a way to be with you. When Wyatt told me to get out of my contract, it was like I was at a fork in the road. The world became clearer, and I saw the road I was supposed to choose—the one that led me here to you, so I could do what I should have done all along. I’m here to fight for us.”

  “You silly man. What did I tell you? There’s nothing to fight for.” She fisted his shirt, holding on tight, tears blurring her vision. Her heartbeat sped up, because she was going for it. She was grabbing her happy ending, and she wasn’t letting go this time. “Say it again.”

  He smiled tenderly, pushing her hair off her cheek, still holding on to her hip with his other hand. He stepped slightly closer, his eyes turning more blue than gray as he towered over her. “I love you, Shelby Jefferson, with all my heart, body, and soul. I love you, and I swear to never stop loving you for all of eternity.”

  She blinked rapidly. “I love you, too.”

  He let out a sound of relief, and before she could so much as blink, his mouth was on hers…

  And the world finally felt right again.

  Epilogue

  Guests mingled throughout the halls of the mansion, all wearing designer clothing, pearls, diamonds, and Louboutin’s. Money oozed out of every pore of every one of these guests, but Shelby didn’t feel out of place at all. Everyone here was kind and welcoming—and soon, they would be family. She touched the back of her engagement ring, smiling and dipping her head down low to hide it. Eric had popped the question last night as they sat on his parent’s porch watching the sun set in the warm Jefferson summer sky.

  They hadn’t told anyone yet, but Eric had insisted she wear the ring. “If they notice, we’ll tell them,” he’d said, smiling up at her from bended knee as he slid the stunner of a diamond on to her ring finger. “But it’s Anna and Brett’s weekend, so we’ll keep quiet unless asked.”

  So far, no one had asked.

  Shelby preferred it that way.

  She didn’t want to steal the spotlight away from the wedding couple.

  Eric came up behind her, splaying his hand over her lower back, and bent down to kiss her temple. “It’s official.”

  “What is?” she asked quietly, watching the bride and groom dance to their last song before leaving for their honeymoon. The wedding had been beautiful, elegant, and simple.

  “I’m officially a small-town guy. I was walking in the city last night with Brett, Wyatt, Chris, and Cole—and I swear, everywhere I turned, someone was there in my way. Drove me fucking insane.”

  She laughed, cutting it off quickly. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously. I love our little town back home.” He wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on top of her head. “And our little house, and our little dog, and my little firm…”

  She thought of their scarred old Pitbull back home. “Think Princess is okay?” she asked, biting her lip.

  “She’s fine. Mrs. Wallace is taking good care of her, I’m sure, and spoiling her with treats.” He chuckled. “She spoils that dog rotten, you know. Imagine what it’ll be like when we have kids.”

  “Kids?” She pressed a hand to her stomach. “You’re thinking about that stuff?”

  “I’m thinking about it all. Life. Happiness. Family. Love.” He spun her around slowly, tipped her chin up, and kissed her gently. “Because of you, I have it all.”

  “Me, too,” she whispered back.

  He kissed her, and didn’t stop until someone cleared his throat. “Ahem.”

  Moaning, Eric stepped back, reluctantly ending the kiss. “What?”

  “You know what.” Chris crossed h
is arms. He was a cop here in Jefferson and had gotten married recently, too. Shelby liked him. “It’s time.”

  Shelby frowned. “For what?”

  “Poker. Lots of poker,” Chris replied.

  Wyatt grinned, throwing an arm over Eric’s shoulder. “Brett’s coming while Anna changes into her traveling clothes. We have time for one round before he’s off.”

  Eric laughed. “Do you mind, Shel?”

  “Of course not,” she said, rising up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Win big.”

  “I already did,” he whispered.

  Wyatt rolled his eyes. “Jesus.”

  “Seriously,” Cole, Eric’s other brother, grunted. He was in the military and was taller than his brothers. Harder, too. “Get a damn room.”

  Chris laughed. “Ignore them. They’ll understand soon enough.”

  Cole flipped Chris off.

  Wyatt rolled his eyes. “Never. Gonna. Happen.”

  The brothers wandered off, ribbing each other, and Brett followed after them, waving at Anna as she stood on the stage. Anna waved back, looking so incredibly happy at this moment that it almost felt like Shelby was intruding by witnessing it.

  But then the DJ announced that all the single ladies had to come onto the dance floor, and before Shelby could fade away against the wall, Eric’s mother was dragging her onto the dance floor, laughing. “Come on, Shelby. You’re not getting out of this one!”

  Shelby let her future mother-in-law drag her onto the floor, and as she crowded in with the rest of the women, she glanced around the room. White tablecloths. Flickering candles. Pink flowers. Laughing people. Family. All of this, all of her life, was good. She never thought she could be so happy, so complete, until she met Eric Hamilton…

  And he swept her off her feet.

  “One. Two.” Anna laughed, chucking the flowers over her shoulder without counting to three. The bouquet arced in the air, twisting and turning as it cascaded down to the crowd…

  Right into Shelby’s hands.

  The person next to her, a cousin of Eric’s, gasped. “What’s on your finger? Is that an engagement ring?”