They all filed out, talking and joking as they walked back to the house. Sophie stood there, right next to Beck with his hands on her waist.
If the spinning didn’t stop soon, she’d be sick. “What’s going on?”
“I should have listened to you.” Beck’s husky voice shot through her.
She really looked at him then. The big blue eyes so filled with concern and the face taut and serious. “I was in Callen’s room. I can’t deny that.”
“Did you intend to hurt me or my brothers?” There was no accusation in the question. Instead of fighting, his fingertips brushed over her cheek.
This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t go down the road and have him turn back.
She tried to step back but he held her close. “Never.”
“See, I’ve had my fill of people saying one thing and showing me another. That’s what I thought you had done, but in my confusion and anger it all got messed up in my head. I couldn’t see the truth.”
She held up her hands to fight off the hope-inducing words before they took hold. “No, you said—”
“I was a complete ass.”
Her arms dropped. “Yes.”
“I was wrong and I’m sorry. Baby, I am so sorry.” It was all there in his eyes. All the anger had disappeared and a calm fell over him.
She had to fight it all off, make him understand what his words did to her. He was the one person she trusted not to hurt her. He’d taken her news about her aunt and handled it. That made her believe he could accept anything . . . and then he didn’t. Something small turned him against her and it ripped her apart.
“I’ve spent my whole life waiting for people to leave me.” Pain filled her words until it ached to say them.
“And I did that.”
“You shoved me away.”
“Even though it was temporary, I still didn’t defend you and that sucked. I see it all now.” His hands were all over her then. In her hair and skimming over her body and face. “I’m sorry, honey. I promise to make that up to you because the one thing I need you to know is I don’t run. I stick.”
Her breath hiccupped inside her. The words, so small in many ways, were huge to her. Having someone stick, refuse to leave her or try to use her, was all she ever wanted and something she never dreamed she could have.
She wanted to hold back from him and not trust him, but the dam broke and everything came spilling out. “You broke my heart.”
He framed her face with his palms. “Let me fix it. God, please give me the chance to put it back together.”
“I didn’t mean to break a promise. I was going to tell you.”
“I know. It’s okay.” He kissed her then. Not long or deep. A soft touch of lips against lips that soothed. “This was all me.”
But she couldn’t let him take that on. Not when he was right there all around her. “Both of us messed up.”
“Mine was bigger.”
She wanted to laugh at that but couldn’t find the air. “True.”
“The problem is we keep trying to do things separately. You’re used to handling things when they go wrong but not getting too close to people.”
She leaned her forehead against his and closed her eyes at the relief the touch gave her. “That kind of sounds pathetic.”
“I hope not since I’m the same way.” He lifted her chin until she faced him again. “That’s my point. We’re alike and we’re talking past each other and fighting each other, when we need to work this all out together.”
The words made sense. Maybe the easy acceptance came from his closeness and how good it felt to be near him. “You want to?”
“I’m digging a pit for you.”
She looked down at the mess of broken concrete. The mess was better than any box of chocolate or bouquet of expensive flowers. “For me?”
“I would never willingly let my brothers see I can do hard labor, except for you. I will do anything to win you back.”
Her heart did a little dance. “Including use a sledgehammer.”
“Now that my brothers know I can, I’m screwed.”
She had to laugh at that. “You really are.”
“But not when it comes to you. I’m clear about you.”
Since he looked so serious, she sobered. “Meaning?”
“We’re going to try something different. We’re going to work together.” His thumb slipped over her bottom lip. “And when we mess up, and we will because we’re human, we’re going to work it out. Together. No running. No blaming.”
“The words you—”
“And no vicious verbal slaps.” He nodded. “I’ll listen next time. Every time.”
The last of her doubt broke free. He was exactly the man she believed him to be. They’d hit a bump and instead of holding the grudge, he found a way to do something for her. She should be on her knees digging with her bare hands for the jewels, but for the first time in months they didn’t matter. All she wanted was him.
In this moment, standing out there on the lawn even as she knew his family watched, the only thing she cared about was him.
She understood his message. They had each other. Through him she could have people who cared about her. Just her. Not what she could do for them or what happened in her past. They would accept her for her.
It was the gold ring and she didn’t fight it. She grabbed it. The arguments and the envelope didn’t matter. He did.
But that didn’t mean she wanted it to be too easy.
She slipped her arms around his neck. “You’re asking me or telling me?”
He closed one eye and stared at her. “Which one will work?”
“That’s really what you want? Us, together, working it all out.”
His arms tightened around her. “Don’t you?”
Joking aside, she needed him to understand this piece. He gave her more than he knew and she wanted him to see that. “It’s all I ever wanted. Someone like you. To be a part of a family and not have to shoulder everything alone.
His intense stare didn’t let up. “How about love?”
Her heart bounced. Actually dipped right to her feet and came back up again as if she was on an out-of-control rollercoaster. “What?”
“I want us to put in the time and effort because I’ve fallen for you.” His open hands pressed against her back. “I figure if I’m going to love you it would be nice if you thought about loving me back. You know, someday.”
“You’re asking . . . ”
He shrugged. “But no pressure.”
She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t even remember how. “Are you kidding?”
A smile lit up his face. “About loving you?”
Everything rested on this and the flirty smile wasn’t enough. “It’s not funny.”
“Sophie, look at me.” There was no anger in his voice. He sounded sweet and loving and matched the spark of life in his eyes. “This is the face of a man who loves you. Who has been falling for you since the first time you showed up with a mop.”
He didn’t even have to say the words. She saw the love in his eyes. “A guy who believes in me.”
“Yes, definitely.”
She waited for the fear to come but it didn’t. So, she jumped with him. “And I love him back.”
A loud exhale escaped his chest. “Really?”
“Definitely,” she said, repeating it back to him.
“That’s sure a good start.”
It was more than that. It was a future and hope. Her fingers plunged in his hair. “So, what happens now?”
Beck glanced at the ground around them. “We look for those damn jewels and whatever else Dad and Grandmother hid out here.”
Wrong answer. “I’d rather kiss you.”
That smile, dimples and all, lit up his face. “I like your p
riorities.”
That was the easy part. Where Beck fit in her life was no mystery. “It’s you first. Always.”
He spun her around as his mouth lowered toward hers. “Then let’s give the family a show.”
Then his mouth was on hers and nothing else mattered.
HelenKay Dimon is a bestselling, award-winning author whose books have been featured at E! Online and in the Chicago Tribune, and had two books named “Red-Hot Reads” in Cosmopolitan magazine. When not writing, she teaches fiction and romance writing at MiraCosta College and UCSD. Visit her online at www.helenkaydimon.com.
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