by Jamie Beck
She shrugged. “I’ve got a little money saved.”
“Weren’t you saving that money to invest in your own business?”
“So I’ll put off those plans for a while longer. I’m not unhappy at the clinic. For now, I’ll have enough money for a first and last month’s deposit on a rental at least. It doesn’t matter. Like you said the other week, where I live isn’t as important as who is in my life.”
“But you love your house.” His eyes softened. “You’ve told me so more than once. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
She stood up, shaky from nervousness. Now or never, squeaked a little voice in her head. “But I love you more, Grey.” She noticed the muscles in his cheek twitch, but he didn’t move. She stepped closer. “I know I hurt you, and I hate that. Maybe you can’t forgive me or trust me, but I still don’t want you to lose everything, especially not because of my family. And I needed you to know that, even though I didn’t show it sooner, you meant—you mean so much to me.”
If she’d expected him to melt at her feet upon hearing her declaration, she’d be disappointed. The silence in the room suffocated her, but she couldn’t move or speak. Did her words really have no impact on his feelings?
“What are those papers?” He gestured toward the listing agreement she’d set on the table.
“The listing agreement.” Her mind had to work extra hard to process their conversation simultaneously with her own jumbled thoughts. “I just left Kelsey’s office. She’s probably adding the house to the MLS as we speak.”
She’d never admit it to him, but her heart sank a little at the thought.
“Call her now and pull the listing.” His brows lowered.
“No.” Avery stood firm, shaking her head. “I’ve made up my mind. This is the right thing to do. I wish I’d done it sooner. Maybe if I had, things would’ve turned out differently for us.”
“Is that what you want?” The hard edge faded from his voice. “For things to be different?”
She forced herself to risk rejection, to look him directly in the eye. “I want things to go back to how they were last week, before all this happened.”
“Call Kelsey and pull the listing, Avery.” He stepped closer, but didn’t touch her. Still, the heat of his body pulled at her like a magnet attracts nickel. “I don’t need the money.”
She tilted her head. “What?”
“I worked out a deal with Wade, and Trip’s buying a stake in the company, so I don’t need the money. Even if I did, I wouldn’t take it from you.”
Her head was swimming through unspoken questions as she tried to catch up, but all she really heard was that he didn’t want anything from her, not even her help.
“Oh.” She turned away to hide the tears collecting in her eyes. After retrieving the listing agreement from the table, she stuffed it back in her bag. “I’m glad everything has worked out for you. I guess,” she paused, “I guess I’ll go.”
His hands rested on her shoulders while her back was still to him. Her heart sped up as he ran his hands down her arms. He leaned close and whispered, “Thank you for being willing to give up your house for me. Tell me again why you did that.”
She turned to face him, her hands clutching his shirt. “Because I love you.”
His gray eyes flickered, the outer edges crinkling as he grinned. “I’m sorry, but I think all that piano playing has made me a little deaf. Can you speak up?”
“I love you, Grey.” She wound her arms around his neck, determined to never let go. “Forgive me.”
“No more secrets?” His intense gaze had turned serious as he pulled her against his body.
“Never again. I swear it.”
“Forgiven.” He reached his hand behind her neck and pulled her into a desperate kiss.
Avery clung to him, weak from the stress of the past few days. “I missed you. I hated myself, probably more than you and Trip hated me.”
“I never hated you.” He kissed her again, slow and hot, melting her insides. “But you have to believe in this, in us, Avery. We have to put each other first, or it will never work.”
“I know.” She burrowed her face into the crook of his neck. “I swear, Grey. You never have to doubt my loyalty again.”
He squeezed her hard, both their hearts pounding. When he eased away for a second, he smiled. “Trip won’t be back for at least thirty minutes. How do you feel about make-up sex?”
“Pretty enthusiastic.” She nuzzled his neck again.
“That’s my girl.” He tugged her into the bedroom, kicked the door closed, and stripped out of his clothes.
Any reservations Avery had been harboring after making herself so vulnerable faded the minute he captured her in his arms. In that moment she knew, no matter where she lived in the future, he would always be her home.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my husband, children, parents, brother, and friends for their continued love, encouragement, and support.
I am grateful to my agent, Jill Marsal, as well as my editor, Irene Billings, and the entire Montlake family for believing in me, and for working so hard on this story.
A special thanks to my friend, Herb Cohen, who patiently answered my questions about personal injury law, and to Bill Scrima for answering questions about arrests, arraignments, and other police matters. For the sake of fiction, I took liberties with the information they provided, but their time and input were invaluable.
I also owe much to The Revisionaries (Monique, Annette, and Rob), and my Beta Babes (Christie, Siri, Katherine, Suzanne, Tami, and Shelley), for their input on various drafts of this manuscript. And many thanks to the Alta 8 (Dusty, Jordan, Dan, Carol, Charlie, Pete, Stacey, and Brad) for helping me retitle this book.
As always, the wonderful members of my CTRWA chapter provided endless hours of support, feedback, and guidance, and I love and thank them for it as well.
Finally, thank you, readers, for making my work worthwhile. With so many available options, I’m honored by your choice to spend your time with me.
About the Author
Photo © 2013 Lora Haskins
Jamie Beck is a former attorney with a passion for inventing stories about love and redemption. In addition to writing novels, she also enjoys dancing around the kitchen while cooking, and hitting the slopes in Vermont and Utah. Above all, she is a grateful wife and mother to a very patient, supportive family.
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