He hadn't said anything, just looking at me as I blathered on about the history of the gardens – and then, in a swift burst of motion, he rushed forward to sweep me up in his strong, powerful arms.
He held me, pulled me up against his strength, as he poured out his feelings and professed his love to me. I listened, barely able to keep my face straight as shock echoed in my head. He really felt so strongly about me? He'd never lie again, he'd give up everything if I was willing to offer him one last chance?
I tried to find my own voice, to tell him that I wanted him even more than he wanted me, that I was crazy about him, that I'd been pining away without him in the darkness of my bedroom. Only his book, his words, had been able to pull me out of my spiral of depression and bring me back to life.
He finished his speech, his blue eyes locked on mine. I felt lost in them, soothed and cooled by their glow like dipping my toes into an icy mountain stream after a long and exhausting hike. He pulled me in close, as if he feared that I'd break away from him, that I'd want to leave him.
"You're my muse, Helen O'Callahan," he said softly, his voice filled with love. "You're my inspiration, and I can't imagine life without you."
And then he drew me in a little closer, to cross that last foot of distance between us, and I tilted my head up so that my lips could meet his.
His kiss swept me away, filled with such need and love that I could barely breathe, couldn't even think. I needed him, wanted him to stay here forever, loved him with a deepness that was unlike anything I'd felt before, not since Marcone – and maybe not even then. Tanner was his own man, and I had to have him. My hands, still in these silly, stupid gardening gloves, failed to gain traction on the skin of his neck as I tried to pull him closer.
He understood, and he drew me up until my toes barely touched the ground. His lips pushed against mine, and mine parted to let him in. He took advantage of the offer, his tongue moving in to taste me, to explore my inner contours, and I met it eagerly with my own. They moved together, opposite and then in sync, in their own little private dance as our bodies melted together into one.
I wanted the kiss to last forever. It seemed like hours, although it was probably only seconds until it ended. I sagged back, panting but with every synapse of my brain burning for more. For once, my head and my heart agreed on this point: tackle the man to the ground, rip off his clothes, and drive him so crazy with loving me that he'd never be able to think of leaving me, never again!
But I held back, despite the Herculean effort. I had to ask him some questions, and I needed to know the truth. There, still clutched in his arms, I took an unsteady breath.
"What about my money?" I asked, my heart shaking as it feared the answer.
Tanner looked at me blankly, his mouth still slightly open from that incredible kiss. He looked so strong. I noticed that, despite my first impression, he had trimmed his beard. It wasn't a wild tangle but a well-groomed feature that slightly softened his strong cheekbones and jaw.
"What?" he asked, eyebrows dropping slightly.
"My money," I repeated. "I'm worth a lot of money, Tanner. I don't want that to be an issue, or for anyone to think that's the reason..." I took a deep breath, tried to start again. "When I married for the first time, everyone believed that it was for money, and that hung over my head for years. I don't want you to be subjected to the same kind of rumors-"
"Helen, I don't care about money," Tanner said, his face breaking into a broad smile as he realized the thrust of my question. "Is that what you've been worried about?" He shook his head. "I was fearful that you wouldn't think that I deserved you! That's why I lied. I was ashamed of being broke, but it's because I thought it made me less of a person, one who didn't deserve someone..."
He took a deep breath, looking down at me. "Someone like you."
This time, it was my turn to look surprised. "The money doesn't make me a better person!" I exclaimed. "Tanner, I didn't do anything to earn it, besides marrying a man who was rich. Even if money did denote someone's worth, I've earned no more of it than you have!"
"Well, just to make it clear," Tanner said. Stepping back, he released his hold on me. Instantly, I missed his arms around my body, the warmth of him pressed against me, but I didn't rush after him. Not just yet.
Tanner glanced around, and it was only then that I realized that we still had an audience. Julius stood at the entrance to the house, unable to completely hide the little smile on his face as he watched us. Champagne, meanwhile, made no effort to hide her avid interest; she'd plopped down on one of the garden chairs, leaning forward and watching us frankly. A little part of me suspected that she had been ogling Tanner's ass, and I fought the wild urge to growl at her like a jealous dog.
"I don't want a single dollar of your money, Helen," Tanner declared, speaking loudly so that everyone present could hear. "All I want is you. And if you'll have me, I will sign any document you put in front of me, any pre-nuptial agreement you want, to prove to you that I don't care about a single dollar of what you have."
His eyes locked on mine, and they burned with such intensity of love that I found it a miracle I didn't turn to cinders. "All I want, all I've ever wanted, is you."
And then, in that instant, an answer sprang into my mind. One that was, in its own little unique way, perfect for now.
"You know," I began conversationally, stepping forward to halve the distance between us, "the last time I got married, I married a very rich man." Another step, another halving of the distance. "I did it for love, but it started a lot of ugly rumors." One more step, and now there were only inches separating us.
"So?" he asked, but I heard the little tremor in his voice.
"So maybe this time," I continued, my voice dropping to a whisper, "I'll marry a poor man. See if it has a better ending."
I saw Tanner's shoulders slump. "I'm afraid, then, that I have some bad news for you," he sighed.
"What?"
"I'm not a poor man any longer." He couldn't keep up the sad expression any longer, and I watched him lose the fight against his smile. "My book has only been out for a few days, but it's already on the bestseller list, and my agent tells me that there are multiple publishing houses fighting over the sequel – which is already all but finished, since I've been working on it night and day so I didn't have to think about losing you. I'm not going to be worried about running out of money anytime soon."
I pretended to stomp my foot, make a fist, even as I laughed. "Damn you, Tanner McCallister, you've foiled my plan to marry poor!"
"Looks like you're stuck with another rich man," he said, and he finally closed the distance to take me in his arms once again. He kissed me, and I felt the last vestiges of worry wash away.
Love surged in to take their place.
Love for this man, who cared so deeply about me.
Love for the man who, even after finding real success for the first time in his life, was willing to give it all up in an instant to have me.
Love for a man who loved me, who didn't just tell me, but wrote a bestseller to tell the entire world about the strength of his conviction.
We kissed, came together, and lost ourselves in our love.
Eventually, what felt like an eternity later, we separated. I immediately spun around to point at Champagne – who had, sometime during our kiss, managed to get a cocktail into her hand? How did she pull that off?
"You're the witness," I declared, pointing at her. "Tanner McCallister just agreed to marry me! He can't take that back!"
Champagne rolled her eyes, although even she couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Seems like a pretty lousy proposal to me," she retorted. "He doesn't even have a ring!"
Tanner cleared his throat. "Actually, about that," he said.
What?
I turned to look at him – and found that I had to shift my gaze down. He'd dropped down to one knee, slipped a hand down inside his pocket. "Admittedly, buying this seemed like stretching my hope, and my luck,
too far," he began, as he tightened his fingers around a small object and drew it out. "But I also wanted to be prepared, and I knew that this was what I wanted. If the opportunity came up, I didn't want to miss it."
Mouth open, unable to speak, I stared down at the sparkling ring that he held up between thumb and forefinger.
Oh my god. Oh my GOD.
"Oh my gawd," Champagne said behind me, echoing the thought that seemed to be stuck on repeat in my head. "No way. He can't be serious."
"I'm fully serious," Tanner answered her, although his eyes never left mine. I saw the corners of his lips twitch up in the slightest of smiles. Incredibly, even though this ought to be the most nerve-wracking question of his life, he seemed far more confident now than when he'd first appeared at my house. Maybe, now that he knew that his love for me was reciprocated, he felt that he could do anything.
He probably could. I opened my mouth, my brain still completely at a loss for words.
"I know it's not the biggest diamond," Tanner said, and I saw his eyes flick over towards the monstrosity that Champagne somehow managed to keep on her own finger. "But I hope that-"
"You idiot," I said, my voice filled with fondness. "Didn't you just hear my speech about money? You could have proposed with a prize out of a Cracker Jack box."
He laughed. "So is that a yes?"
My heart was waiting and ready with an answer. "Yes," it said with my lips. "Yes, I'll marry you."
Tanner slowly rose to his feet, up until he looked down slightly at me, a couple inches taller than me. His hands reached out to wrap around mine, and I saw surprise and happiness warring on his face. "Really?" he asked.
I'd made the decision, and I knew instantly that it was the right one. "Really," I promised him, laughing as I reached out to kiss him again.
He met me passionately, our bodies melting together. The rest of the world faded into the background as I gave myself up to this man, the only one for me, the one who made me feel like a true goddess. He had looked at me, seen past all the rumors and problems, seen the amazing person that I could become. He'd always believed in me, done everything he could to better himself only so that he could convince himself that he was deserving of me. He was perfect, and I couldn't think of giving him up.
Not now, not ever.
We pulled apart just long enough for Tanner to capture my hand. He carefully, gently slid the ring from his hand onto my ring finger. It fit perfectly, and I held it up and stared down at the huge diamond.
"Not the biggest diamond?? How much did this cost?" I gasped. Maybe it wasn't quite as big as Champagne's, but he'd still picked out a ring that was big enough to dazzle me with its fiery brilliance in the sunlight!
He shrugged idly. "A good portion of my advance on my first novel, but I got the jeweler to agree to take it back if you said no."
"Really? He agreed to that?"
Tanner laughed. "Given how much money I was spending at his store on this, I'm pretty sure he would have agreed to let me take his mother back to my bedroom if it meant I went through with the purchase!"
I laughed along with him, clung to him, my rock, my man. I squeezed him tightly, but then pulled back just enough to look up at him.
"You can't ever leave me," I commanded. "Got it? Even if you do something incredibly stupid, shove your foot in your mouth, I'm not letting you get away. I love you, and that means that you're stuck with me forever. Don't even think of dying to get away – I'm onto that escape route, and it doesn't work any longer. You understand that, right?"
He just laughed. "Trust me, I'm going to do plenty of stupid things," he promised. "But one thing that I'll never do, Helen O'Callahan, is leave you. Never."
I kissed him again, blood pounding in my ears and making my veins sing. He drew me against him and I inhaled the scent of him, lost myself in all the sensations he triggered. I wanted to pull him down to the grass, strip away every barrier between us, and make him love me from now until the end of time.
"Right," Julius said carefully from behind us. "Mrs. Phillips, if you'd come this way?"
"But I wanted to stay and watch!" Champagne complained. But Julius quietly but firmly insisted, and I heard the mansion door close behind them, leaving us alone in the garden.
I smiled at Tanner, my fiancé, my love. I took a step back, just out of reach of his arms – and carefully shed one gardening glove, and then another.
His eyebrows climbed. "Out here, in the garden?"
I just kept smiling at him. His shocked expression faded, replaced by lust and love and desire, all for me. "If it's what you want," he murmured, undoing the buttons of his shirt and exposing the ripple of muscles beneath.
He reached out for me, but I danced back out of his grasp, laughing as I shed another article of clothing. "Gotta catch me!" I giggled as I scooted back, darting between the bushes and festooning them with abandoned garments.
Tanner growled deeply, a lion's lusty roar, and chased after me.
Eventually, he caught me.
Once I let him – and after I'd teased him enough to know that he was all but mindless with desire.
When he caught me, he certainly proved me right.
Epilogue
HELEN
*
"Oh my gawd!" Champagne's cry echoed through the entire house, making it clear to me, even from the kitchen, that she'd arrived at the party. "Helen, where are you!"
"In the kitchen!" I called out, raising my voice to carry out to where she stood, probably just inside the front door.
"Well, get out here, girl! Aren't you supposed to come greet your guests when they arrive?"
"You're not the only guest, Champagne," I sighed in a softer voice, one that she wouldn't hear. I glanced around the fairly full kitchen, but got only understanding smiles.
"Go say hello to her," Linda said, waving a hand at me. "We've got everything here under control."
"Yeah, it's not like none of us know each other," cracked the short-haired brunette sitting on a stool at the kitchen's massive center island. Her short little legs dangled from the stool, not reaching all the way to the ground, but that didn't stop her from radiating out a simultaneously calming and commanding presence. Only the mischievous twinkle in her eyes suggested that she was anything but level-headed.
The third guest in my kitchen, a tall blonde who looked like she'd stepped straight out of the glitzy pages of a glamour magazine, gave me a smile. "In fact, I'll come with you," she said, stepping away from the vegetables she'd been chopping. "I'm hopeless at cooking, and I should make sure that my husband hasn't gotten our child into some sort of dangerous situation."
"Would he?" I asked, uncertain if she was joking.
Victoria Lilly tossed back her head and laughed. "You clearly don't know Sebastian Stone very well," she said to me, reaching out and looping one arm through mine as we headed out of the kitchen. "At any time, there's about a fifty-fifty chance that he's up to something stupid and ill-considered."
"Yeah, Tori definitely got the worst Stone brother," Cali Vere shouted after us as we left the kitchen.
Tori just laughed again. "He's a handful, yes, but he's a wonderful man," she murmured to me as we cut through the main dining room, across the expanse of gleaming, newly polished hardwood. "Although it did take a pregnancy to convince him that he had to put aside his wild, playboy ways."
"Wild ways?" I had heard rumors about Sebastian Stone, of course, but I knew better than to put much belief in rumors. After all, they hadn't done me any favors.
The dazzlingly beautiful blonde sighed. "Oh yeah. Remind me to tell you about the time that he decided to start the world's first naked airline service. Bought a jet and everything, got a custom paint job for it." She shook her head. "In fact, I'm pretty sure he never did sell the thing. It's likely still stashed in a hangar, somewhere."
I looked at her, not sure if I should be laughing or not. Tori saw my confused expression, pulled her hand out of the crook of my arm so that she cou
ld pat me on the back.
"It's a bit much at first, isn't it?" she asked. "Linda's a great psychiatrist, but she's decided that she's the mother for everyone, and acts that way without a second thought. Callie doesn't hesitate to say the first thing that pops into her head, no matter how inappropriate it might be. I can't believe that she and Teddy Stone get along; he's the most proper man I've ever met. Opposites really do attract, I suppose."
"It is a bit overwhelming," I admitted. "Everyone seems to have just slipped into my life, all of a sudden."
Tori laughed. "Good way of describing it. But it's not so bad, is it? Once the initial surprise wears off?"
She was right. It was scarcely a month since I impulsively accepted Tanner, not just back into my life, but into my heart – forever, if the massive diamond still weighing on my hand was any indication. I hadn't even gotten used to the weight of the ring!
And now, it seemed, along with getting a new husband-to-be, I'd also picked up his set of friends, almost like an adoptive family.
Linda contacted me a week or two ago, explaining how the Stone brothers had, for as long as any of them could remember, held a monthly brunch, where they caught up on the details of each other's lives. "Of course, before any of them got married, it was mostly just talking about who they'd slept with and comparing notches on bedposts," she sighed into the telephone. "But now that we, the wives, have got them settled down a bit, it's actually quite pleasant."
"Okay," I said, not sure why Linda Stone was calling me to tell me all of this.
"I know that Tanner McCallister isn't actually a family member, but he's come to feel that way," Linda went on, as if she sensed my confusion. "And while I can promise you that none of us give the slightest credence to those rumors about you, we were hoping you might be willing to consider accepting a few more friends into your circle."
At that unexpected offer, I suddenly found myself choked up. "Of course," I said, touched by this woman's goodwill. She barely knew me, and she already wanted to include me, introduce me to her social circle, just because I was marrying Tanner?
For Love of Passion (Stone Brothers Book 4) Page 19