He slipped into the crowd, following the occasional glimpse of Lexie’s lavender top in the sea of students, snippets of conversations interrupting his focus as he moved around them…
“Wonder if the food is any better than that crap they served us at Granger?”
“I said, don’t be throwin’ shade. I’m no threat to you.”
“Can’t be doing that at a party and not expect it go viral.” That last one stopped him in his tracks.
What if one of the guests had shot video at the fundraiser Saturday and shared it online? His simple apology, no matter how heartfelt, would never make up for that kind of humiliation.
“This next building is Whittaker Hall…”
Ah, the kid with the bullhorn. “Excuse me, need to get through,” he repeated until he’d reached the front of the tour group, then popped out of the crowd next to the guide. “Mind if I borrow that a minute?”
The upperclassman glanced at Matthew’s name tag, and handed over the bullhorn.
“Thanks.” Gulping down the bile that threatened at the back of his throat, Matthew turned and jumped over the rope to the cordoned-off section of Whittaker Hall’s steps, then raced up to the top landing and turned to face the crowd. Colleagues, students, and parents now swarmed over three-quarters of the quad. He wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand and swallowed hard. “May I have your attention?” His voice boomed through the bullhorn, echoing off the buildings.
A hush fell over the quad. His department chair stared at him, arms crossed.
I love her. She’s worth it.
He searched until he found lavender again, ignoring the sweat rolling down the side of his face. He had one chance. Better make it right. “I’m Matthew Hennessey, English professor at Manhattan U. Welcome. What a gorgeous spring day in the city. If you’ll humor me for a moment.” He swallowed and willed his legs to stop shaking. “I hurt a woman I care about because I wasn’t honest with her.”
Lexie stood near the back of the crowd to the right of the oak tree, her hand clapped over her mouth and her eyes wide.
“I lied to myself, too.” He tried to breathe. “Rationalized that the ends justified the means, and she called me out on it. I apologized, but I get that this is one of those situations where actions speak far louder than words.”
Shaking her head, she moved through the crowd.
Fuck.
She was leaving. His heart raced. He had to hurry, make certain she heard. “I was selfish and I was wrong. She’s the single best thing that has ever happened to me. I’ll never forgive myself for scr—messing up our relationship. I hope that someday she’ll forgive me.”
There was a smattering of nods and applause.
He thumped his hand over his sternum. “And maybe, just maybe, she’d find it in her heart to give me one more chance.”
Lexie appeared at the base of the stairs to his right, her eyes imploring him to stop.
He fought the urge to run to her; he refused to risk humiliating her all over again. “So I’m going to sing a Broadway Show tune.”
A few guys near the front snickered while a few women smiled at him. The majority of the crowd stared, waiting, and more than a few phones were held up high. Department colleagues whispered among themselves, probably wondering who would replace him after he was asked to resign.
Let them. Lexie’s opinion was all that mattered. He focused on her, his heart in his throat, where it seemed to be more often than not since he’d fallen in love with her. But he wouldn’t have it any other way. “This one’s for you.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Tears streamed down Lexie’s face as the man she loved butchered the song that had become her earworm ever since they’d seen the musical together. The guy who suffered from a true phobia, who couldn’t sing in front of a couple dozen strangers, was making a complete ass of himself in front of his colleagues and students—loud and off-key and sweating bullets, in front of kids he’d have to teach next year.
For me.
She wiped a hand across her face.
“Lexie?”
“Dr. Prescotti.” She swallowed and pasted on a smile. “I was on my way to see you.”
He wasn’t fooled. “Was that horrendous rendition for you, my dear?”
She kept his gaze. “I’m afraid so, sir.”
Her mentor smiled. “He must’ve really messed up.”
She nodded. “I wasn’t perfect, either.”
“None of us are, dear. He must’ve really wanted to be forgiven. Did you see him quaking in his khakis?”
Lexie laughed weakly. “He’s a good guy, Dr. Prescotti. Please don’t fire him.”
“You going to give him a second chance?”
“I don’t know.” The fantasy flash mob was fun to joke about with Sam, but marriage was serious business. “We’ll have to sit down and talk about it, see if we both want the same things.”
Before the professor could respond, Matthew’s voice rumbled over her.
“I just want to be with you.”
His scent was like heaven.
What was he doing? The man was going to lose all he’d worked for because of her.
“Please excuse us, Doctor.” She grabbed Matthew’s hand and moved into the crowd, rushing past the various department booths. “Seriously?” She frowned at him over her shoulder. “He’s your department chair, and you’re serenading a woman in front of him and the whole campus like an eighteenth-century troubadour.”
“Not just any woman, but the woman I love. You.” He grinned.
Away from the crowd and out of breath, she stopped under a shady tree. “You might have just lost your job. Why are you so happy?”
“Because I love you.” He glanced down. “And you’re holding my hand.”
She looked down. “So?” His hand felt good. It always did. “I missed you so much,” she confessed. “It was all I could do not to chase after you that night.”
“I almost stopped you from getting in that cab alone.” His gaze was intense.
“What cab? When?”
“I was worried about you after I left the dinner party Saturday, so I hung out outside. When you came out a little while later, I was so tempted to stop you and make you change your mind about us, even if that meant begging you to give us one more chance.”
“Oh, Matthew.” She’d wanted him to fight for her.
“Thanks for coming.” He inched closer. “Sorry about the crowd.”
Lexie wanted to look away, but his gaze kept her captive. “You sing awful.”
“Yup, but it was worth it because you’re talking to me.” His tone was solemn.
“So, what’s the surprise?”
He laughed softly. “In a moment. Want to sit for a while?”
She nodded and sank next to him on a nearby bench.
He leaned back. “I just want another chance to make you happy for the rest of my life.”
Lexie gazed at their entwined hands and turned toward him. “Maybe that’s where people go wrong in relationships. They think they can make another person happy, but they can’t. Happiness comes from within.” She took a deep breath—and another risk—then asked the most personal question she could imagine, the one weighing on her mind. If they were going to have a real shot at forever, they needed to understand where the other stood. “Are you happy with yourself?”
Matthew threaded a hand through his hair. “Sure you’re not a psychologist like Chris?”
She nudged him with her shoulder. “It’s your turn.”
Scrubbing the scruff on his jaw, he sighed. “I’d always assumed that making people happy and having them depend on me gave me purpose. After we met, I started thinking about things I’ve avoided, like why I live in that big house alone. I didn’t like all the answers I found, but you stood by me in spite of my karaoke phobia, two oddly uninvolved parents, and my sad days after Etta passed.” He shook his head. “And now I have the balls to ask you to forgive me for a mistake Ch
ris says would doom most relationships. I know it’s too much to expect, but I’m grateful you’ve given me a chance to explain myself. You’re a very special woman, and you’ve helped me change for the better.”
She reached up and held his face as she gazed into his solemn eyes. “I love you so much.”
With a groan, he crushed her against him.
And she felt his heat, the flames sweeping through her everywhere they touched. “I ache thinking about you. That’s how much I love you,” she breathed.
“But can you forgive me?” he rasped, leaving trails of kisses along her jawline and neck and back up again.
“I think I forgave you by the time I got home that night. It hit me how many times you’d tried to tell me. And that you did tell me that day on the phone.” She brushed her lips against his. “I don’t know. Maybe I wasn’t ready.” She snuggled closer. “But don’t think you can make breaking my heart a habit,” she warned. “That was a one-time deal.”
“Never again,” he vowed, and covered her mouth with his.
A long moment later, he lifted his head. “Want your surprise now?”
She tilted her head. “Is it a good one?”
He nodded. “I put the house up for sale yesterday, and I’m set to go apartment hunting.”
“Wow.” He had grown.
“Turns out my life is in Midtown, and I’m hoping you’ll go with me since the realtor advised me it’s important that all interested parties are involved when making such a big decision.”
Her heart grew. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
He smiled and squeezed her close, likely remembering when he’d asked her that very question the night she’d decided to take plunge and be with him. “I love you, and I promise to always strive to be my best self, while supporting you and bringing out your best. Will you take the next step in our relationship, and move in with me?”
“What about Sam?”
“We’ll either help her find another renter or cover your share of the lease. Fair?”
“Fair.” She nodded. “When’s our appointment?”
“As soon as I speak with Dr. Prescotti. Think he’ll forgive me?”
“Oh, I think so. After all, you do have me as a connection.” She cuddled with him as he made the phone call, received permission to leave early, and accepted her mentor’s good wishes.
They raced together to the parking garage, and as Lexie jumped into the Jeep and buckled her seat belt a few minutes later, she turned to him for another kiss—thrumming with awareness and filled with faith and happiness.
“Ready?” He grinned, his hand on the ignition.
“Yep.” She giggled, excited about opening the curtain on the most wonderful act of her life, the one show that would never close…her love and life with Matthew.
Epilogue
Six months later…
Matthew stepped onto the large, flat rock to join the woman he loved. He hugged her from behind and gazed at the sun shimmering gold across the water. Would she say yes? He swallowed. “Did you know the Montauk Lighthouse is a national historic landmark? Or that the tower is one hundred and ten feet tall with one hundred thirty-seven iron steps?”
She turned in his arms and smiled. “Will this be on the test, Dr. Hennessey?”
“Hmm, better pay attention, or I’ll have to ask you to stay after class.” He trailed kisses down the nape of her neck to distract her from his seemingly random facts.
“Ooh, now that’s an idea.” She leaned in and playfully grabbed his ass. “Always did love to play school.”
His smile broadened. Their weekend on Long Island’s south fork had been perfect. But then, every day with Lexie was the best day of his life. Every kiss with her felt like the first.
He dipped his head. “For the win, what’s Montauk Point’s nickname?”
“That’s easy. The End.” She brushed her lips against his.
“You sure?” So far, so good.
“Considering I’ve seen that phrase plastered pretty much everywhere since we arrived on Friday, yes, final answer.”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I see how that could be a problem.” He shook his head slowly. “I’d wanted to put in a special request. Thought we might have a shot at getting the nickname changed to the Beginning.” Holding her hands, he sank down on one knee.
“Why would you want to do that?” she breathed.
“Because I want it to symbolize the official beginning of our lives together.” He pulled the little blue box from his jacket pocket. “‘A heaven on earth I have won by wooing you.’ Will you marry me?”
Lexie gazed at the ring for a long moment, then pulled him up beside her.
Matthew’s heart tripped. Had he misread her? Was she still unsure, in spite of all they’d been through? He rose to his feet, staring at their laced hands. If she was happy the way they were now, he’d be content. As long as they were together.
“Can I ask you a question?” Her lips curved into a loving smile.
His heart started beating again, and the world resumed its rotation.
“Actually, one question with three parts. Do you promise to share your life with me, and not just spend it with me?”
The muscles in his neck began to relax and his knees stopped shaking. “I’ll even share my black cherry ice cream.”
“Good answer.” She grinned. “But this one’s harder, so listen carefully. Do you promise that any children we have will root for the Phillies?”
The feeling returned to his limbs, and he could take in regular breaths. “Baseball’s like a religion to me, but since you’re talking Phillies and not the Red Sox…yes.”
“I’ll take it.” She laughed softly. “Now for the hardest. Do you promise to text me I love you whenever we’re apart?”
He locked eyes with her. “Baby, I’ll text it, say it, I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you, even if it means giving up my entire classic poetry collection.”
Her eyes shone. “Then yes, I want to marry you, Matthew John ‘Buns of Steel’ Hennessey. I want to be your everything, and for you to always be mine.” She reached up, her hand soft against his cheek. “I think I started falling in love the moment you saved me from that speeding SUV. Thank you for making a believer out of me.”
Unable to wait any longer, he kissed her with all the passion in his body and love in his heart.
Long, delicious moments later, they came up for air.
“So do I get the ring now?”
Surprised to find his hands shaking, Matthew reopened the box and dropped the diamond solitaire into his palm before sliding it onto her eager finger. Etta was right. The world did love a giver. Lexie had a point, too, that sharing was best. He picked her up, holding her against his length. “I want to kiss you until you’re too weak to stand.”
His fiancée smiled. “As long as you’re my spotter.”
“I’ll always be there to catch you.” He covered her lips with his and sealed their vow…for that night and all of their nights ever after.
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Acknowledgments
My sincere appreciation to Liz Pelletier and Heather Howland, and the Entangled Publishing team, including my awesome production editor, Christine Chhun, and savvy publicity director, Debbie Suzuki, for their time and talent given on behalf of this project. Extra-special kudos to my powerhouse editor, the fabulous Candace Havens, for embracing my twist on the classic Cyrano de Bergerac tale, and for helping me shape this love story into the sweet, sexy romance we envisioned. It’s an honor to be part of the Entangled family.
A huge shout-out to my romance writer pals in and out of RWA, LIRW, and CTRWA. To the ever-patient Nika Rhone, whose positive mojo and tireless beta reading efforts buoyed me through endless drafts. To Patty Blount, Maggie Van Well, and Vivi Parish for their creative brainstorming and practical feedback at critical junctures. And to the rest of my awe
some texting tribe—Jeannie, Jen, Pam, Elizabeth, Liz, and Myra. I’m beyond blessed to have each of them in my life.
To Midtown Manhattan, where this country girl learned how to survive and thrive in the big city over three glorious summers working as an office temp, and to Lynda, David, and Heather Jo, for welcoming me into their NYC home. I cherish the memories.
To Allen and Danielle Amsler for sharing the joy of their beautiful proposal, which inspired Matthew and Lexie’s happily-ever-after moment. I wish the happy couple a lifetime of love, laughter, and togetherness.
As always, heartfelt gratitude to my husband, my children, and loving circle of family and friends for their unwavering support. And last, but not least, to all the romance readers near and far who make this journey truly a labor of love. Thanks from the bottom of this quirky writer’s heart.
I would not wish any companion in the world but you.
~ William Shakespeare
About the Author
Country girl living her own happily-ever-after in suburbia with her real-life hero, two kids, and one furry feline.
jolysebarnett.com
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