Resisting the Hero

by Cindi Madsen

  “I’m digging this kinky side of you, Faith Fitzpatrick.”

  Faith shook her head and pulled up in front of the Rusty Anchor. She quickly got out of the car and helped Connor. “Okay, watch the step.”

  He lifted his foot much higher than the sidewalk, but that was better than tripping, at least. After five days, he was finally moving better and the giant bruise on the left side of his back that’d been black and blue was fading to purple and yellow.

  Keeping one hand on his elbow, Faith pushed open the door to the Rusty Anchor.

  Cheers erupted and Faith reached onto her toes and took off the blindfold so he could see the guys from the station and the rest of the SWAT team, Dani, Wes, Brynn, Sawyer, Paul, and Carly, along with Connor’s entire family and Anna, Kaleb, and Ella. She’d wanted to do something big. As the smile spread across his face, happiness bubbled up in her, too.

  He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, babe,” he said and then moved into the crowd, getting lots of guy-hugs and slaps that made her flinch for him. Watch his back and ribs, she silently aimed toward them, though Connor didn’t seem to notice. All the guys in black, the Rusty Anchor—it was a lot like the first night she’d laid eyes on Connor Maguire. Except she wasn’t angry anymore. She wasn’t even fighting her ghosts. Every day things got better.

  She was living in Cornelius again and dating a cop, two things she’d sworn she’d never do—there really was something to that never say never saying.

  Ella ran through the crowd, a pink princess in a sea of dark colors. She ran to Connor first, who tossed her in the air—dang guy never took it easy like he was supposed to. Ella leaned for Faith, and she carried her as she and Connor moved around the room, talking with his family and the guys he worked with.

  After a while, Faith split off to the table where Anna and Kaleb were seated. Ella lunged for Kaleb and he let her stand on his lap. Faith glanced at Anna. “How are you feeling?”

  “It’s so good to be out. Exhausting, but nice.” Anna put her hand on her stomach. “And I haven’t had any contractions so far, but it’s a relief to know that we’re in the safe zone now, if it does happen.”

  “Holy shit,” Kaleb said, his eyes on the door.

  “Shit!” Ella parroted and Anna frowned and said, “Kaleb!”

  But when Faith turned, she had the same thought. She’d invited Mom, but she didn’t think she’d actually come. Mom, in Cornelius. Not just Cornelius, either. The Rusty Anchor—Daddy’s place. Pride welled up in Faith, along with the urge to burst into tears. She ran over and hugged her, squeezing her the way she’d squeezed Faith back in Virginia. Trying to silently tell her that she was here for her if she needed help coping with all the memories. Kaleb and Ella joined in on the hugging, and Anna wasn’t far behind.

  Connor came over and put his hand on Faith’s back. “Connor,” Faith said, “this is my mom, Mary Fitzpatrick. Mom, Connor.”

  Connor shook Mom’s hand. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

  “Thank you.” She placed her other hand over their clasped ones. “So, you’re the guy.”

  Connor flashed his killer grin at Faith and then nodded at Mom. “I’m the guy.”

  There were more introductions, food, music, and drinks. Faith was over at the bar getting a refill when her gaze drifted to Dad’s picture. Her heart tugged, like it always did, but there was happiness protecting it from letting the sorrow take over.

  Connor came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her cheek. Daddy was Connor’s hero, and he’d always be hers as well. But her brother and the guy holding her now were her heroes, too. She knew she was going to have to be strong as she dealt with the stress of worrying about them and being involved with a man who spent long hours on a job that never quite ended. But she knew she could do it—that she was going to have to be a different kind of hero. She might not be able to take out bad guys, but she could be a comforting shoulder, a listening ear, and a counselor to those who did. For Connor, she could be a soft place for him to fall at the end of the day, and loving him would give her the strength she’d need to be there for him.

  She stared at Dad’s smiling image, and she knew he’d be proud of how all his kids turned out, including the little boy who used to call him for help.

  She grabbed the two Cokes—Connor was still taking pain pills, and she was driving—and turned to face her sexy cop, handing him one of them. He took a large swig, set his glass on the bar, then hooked a finger through her belt loop and tugged her close. “So I decided that I’m leaving the bar with a hot blonde tonight.”

  Faith raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah.” He took her glass from her and pressed his body against hers, leaving no doubt where his thoughts were headed. Heat flared between them and she bit her lip. His hungry eyes followed the gesture and he made a low noise in the back of his throat.

  She leaned in and brushed her lips against his, pulling back when he tried to kiss her. He growled and another wave of heat shot through her core. In the next instant, she was in his arms. “Connor, put me down. You’re going to hurt your back, and your ribs aren’t healed yet.”

  “My back’s just fine. And I’m ready to go home.” He nodded at the crowd as he walked through. A bunch of guys whooped and hollered and Faith’s cheeks burned with embarrassment.

  She sighed. “You’re such a caveman sometimes.”

  Connor shot her a crooked grin, tightening his grip on her. “How else am I supposed to let everyone know you’re mine?” He pushed out of the restaurant. The sun had set, and like that night when she’d first started to think there was more to Connor, lightning bugs glittered all around them, out in full force tonight.

  The rest of the world disappeared, and it was just Connor holding her in his massive arms, staring down at her with such affection she thought her heart might burst. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said.

  Faith put her hand on his cheek, running her palm down the scruff he’d let grow the past few days, and gently pressed her lips to his. Then she did her best cocky Connor impression. “Right back at you, babe.”

  Epilogue

  Connor glanced around the decked-out atrium of the Levine Museum. At first he’d thought Wes was kidding when he said he was getting married in a museum. He’d never expected the large room with flowers and tables and twinkling lights.

  He tugged on his tie and then held up the boutonniere Wes’s mom had just given him. The tux he could rock, but a rose with tiny flowers bursting from it?

  “Right?” Wes asked, holding up his own boutonniere. “Dani said she didn’t care if we had them, but my mom and sisters said everyone would notice, and you couldn’t just not have them.”

  “Come on, guys,” Faith said. “Where’s your sense of adventure? You can jump out of a helicopter but you can’t handle wearing a little flower on your lapel?” She took the boutonniere out of Connor’s hand and pinned it on for him.

  He didn’t get weddings, but he now got wanting to spend your entire life with someone. The past three months with Faith had been amazing, whether they were chilling at home or doing adventure tours with Dani and Wes. When Faith had gotten serious about apartment hunting in Charlotte again, what with her internship starting, Connor found he didn’t like the thought of her living a town away. So he’d asked her to move in with him instead, and luckily, she’d said yes. He liked that she fussed over him, like now, when she was fixing his collar and running her hands down his tux to make sure it was all in order. She still couldn’t cook for shit, so they ate a lot of takeout, or he grilled. He was happier than he’d ever been, and he’d do anything for the feisty blonde in front of him—he didn’t even care if that made him whipped.

  Nate Walsh, Wes’s cousin who’d gone to the police academy with Connor, walked over to them. He was holding hands with a pretty blonde who had purple and blue streaks through her hair and tattoos peeking out of her strappy dress.

  Connor s
hook Nate’s hand and pulled him in for a one-armed hug. “How you been, man?”

  “Good.” Nate glanced at the girl at his side, and she grinned at him. “Awesome, actually.” After he’d graduated the police academy, he’d gone back to his small hometown near the mountains to be a cop there.

  “Looks like that helicopter ride was worth it,” Wes said, smiling at Nate and his girlfriend, and Connor remembered he’d mentioned flying to Marion and then Kentucky on New Year’s Eve to help Nate try to win over a girl. Apparently, it’d worked.

  Nate introduced Kelsey to them, Connor introduced Faith, and then Wes’s mom came over and asked them to all take their places. They walked down the aisle like they’d practiced the night before. Connor was paired with Brynn. He and Faith had gone out fishing with her, Sawyer, Anna, and Kaleb last weekend. It’d been Anna’s first outing since having Jackson. Ella was crazy about her new little brother, even though he didn’t do much besides cry and sleep.

  As crazy as it was hanging with Kaleb and his family right now, Connor couldn’t help thinking about the day he and Faith would have kids of their own. He caught her eye in the crowd and winked at her. After they’d lined up at the front, the “Wedding March” started and Dani came down the aisle.

  Wes’s face lit up with a lovesick grin Connor might’ve given him a bad time about a few months ago. But now he got it. He glanced at Faith again, a thrill going through his gut when she was looking back at him, a beautiful smile on her face. He’d had his doubts about love before, but there was no doubt anymore.

  She raised an eyebrow, eyes full of mischief, and his blood heated. He couldn’t believe she could still drive him so crazy with a simple glance. He had a feeling that one day in the not so distant future, he’d be asking Kaleb for his blessing.

  He was even pretty sure that he’d give it to him.

  Acknowledgments

  There are always so many people to thank, and different people help me every book. (Some of the same people help me through it as well.) And oh my gosh, I wrote a whole series! Now that I’m thinking about how it’s the end of the Accidentally in Love series, I’m getting a little misty. It’s just been so much fun! Thanks to Stacy Abrams once again for asking me if I wanted to write for the Bliss line—totally changed my life. Thanks for pushing me to be better even when I don’t know how I’m gonna pull it off, and for your insight. Same to Alycia Tornetta. I’m so glad to have you both on my team. Thanks to Heather Riccio, publicist ninja who’s helped me out a ton throughout the past couple of years. Jessica Turner and Debbie Suzuki, thanks for all of your help as well! I get to work with so many awesome people! Everyone at Entangled has been so great, from the editors to publicists to the other authors I’m so proud to be associated with. Thanks to Rachel Harris for the brainstorming sessions, as well as Brandy Vallance and Evangeline Denmark, who got the first glimpse at Connor and always make writing more fun. Lisa Burstein and Ophelia London, you both rock and help keep me sane—so glad I know you! Also, thanks to Victoria James for the help with the Italian in this book.

  Huge shout-out to Jess Anderson, who answered all of my SWAT questions and gave me cool acronyms and terms to use. I’m super impressed by what you do (and even more impressed because you take care of my awesome aunt Malinda.) Malinda, thanks for always being one of my biggest cheerleaders, and for knowing one day outside of Taco Bell, that I’d make it. Lol. Thanks to Nichole Vikdal for all of the info on pottery. That was much needed when I was looking for an extra something to add, and I’m also awed by your talent.

  As always, thanks to my family—my parents, brothers and sisters, awesome kids, and my husband, Michael. Also to my friend Amanda Price, for keeping me entertained as I write and making me laugh when I have a bad day. Shout out to the TZWNDU Book Club! Love you gals! I’ve met so many awesome book bloggers, and I’m grateful for each one of you for help spreading the word about my books and for the reviews. I always worry about leaving someone out, but I’ve got to give an extra shout-out to Autumn, Andrea, and Monique.

  And last, but certainly not least, is all of my readers! You guys rock, and this past year I’ve had so many dreams come true because of you! THANKS!

  About the Author

  Cindi Madsen sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting, revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a new pretty pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super-tall. She loves music, dancing, and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband and three children. She is the author of YA books All the Broken Pieces, Cipher, and Demons of the Sun and adult romances Falling for Her Fiancé, Act Like You Love Me, and Cinderella Screwed Me Over.

  You can visit Cindi at: www.cindimadsen.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter to get all the up-to-date information on her books.

  Follow her on twitter @cindimadsen

  Find your Bliss with Cindi Madsen’s Accidentally in Love series

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  What’s a little fake engagement between best friends?

  Danielle and Wes have been best friends since college, so when Wes needs a date for his sister’s wedding and Dani needs a partner for her company’s retreat, they devise the perfect plan: a fake engagement to get through both events unscathed. Adrenaline-junkie Wes can prove to both his ex and his family that he’s well and truly moved on, and serious-minded Dani can prove to her boss that she’s worthy of the promotion he seems to only want to give to a family-oriented employee.

  But amid the fake swoons, fake kisses, and forced proximity, neither expects the very real feelings that develop. There’s nothing more dangerous than falling for your best friend…but what if the landing is worth the fall?

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  Brynn McAdams isn’t the awkward geek she was in high school--she’s grown up and confident, or at least she tries to be. But when her old crush, the impossibly handsome and impossibly unattainable Sawyer Raines, comes back to town to direct her community play, Brynn finds herself determined to be the glamorous girl she knows he’d want, not the shy girl he doesn’t even recognize. Good thing she’s an excellent actress.

  After his bad breakup in NYC, the last thing Sawyer wants is to get involved with another actress. But the poised and beautiful Brynn draws him in, even though as her director, he knows she’s off-limits. The few glimpses he gets of the goofy, carefree Brynn just makes her feel...familiar. Like home.

  As Brynn’s lies start to snowball, she struggles to stop acting and come clean. But what if Sawyer is already falling for the fake Brynn, not the Brynn she truly is?

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  Find your Bliss with Farrah Taylor’s Love Songs for the Road

  Serena stepped inside, saying, “Hello?” and Ryan followed her into a large, sparsely furnished room. The man Ryan assumed was Marcus Troy lay in its center, blind-folded, hog-tied, and motionless. He wore a pair of black boxer briefs; unlaced, rugged-looking work boots—and that was all.

  “Oh my God,” Serena said, shielding her eyes with her hand. “I’m so sorry, Marcus!”

  “Whoa,” Ryan said under her breath. She had never seen a male form so beautiful. Marcus’s skin was perfectly bronzed, his chest bare and sculpted. His shoulders stood broad as a swimmer’s, and his arms were covered in sexy, intricate tattoos. But it was his rock-hard abdomen that made Ryan feel so light-headed she found herself looking for the nearest place to sit. Even as Marcus lay still, his insanely defined abs seemed to almost shimmer when they caught the sunlight coming through the window.

  Slowly, a smile curled across Marcus’s lips, but still he said nothing. He seemed to be waiting for something, moving his neck slightly as if to better listen.
Turning his head toward Ryan and Serena, he raised his index finger to his lips. Why was he shushing them?

  Suddenly, a closet door across the room swung open, and two children ran out toward Marcus, screaming—a boy of four or five carrying a plastic ax and a girl who looked about ten wielding an enormous Nerf bat and wearing a football helmet. Their battle cries were so shrill that Serena stuck her fingers in her ears, while the children began beating the hell out of their dad, who tried and failed to defend himself against the punishing blows.

  “I give up! I’ve had enough,” Marcus cried, his fear and terror sounding real enough. “Just don’t hurt me anymore. I can’t take the pain!”

  The children collapsed into giggles and fell upon their father. Of course, it wasn’t every day that Ryan interviewed with a gorgeous, captive man, but she was nearly as surprised by the sexy prisoner’s parenting skills. By all appearances, Marcus was a fantastic dad, easy and affectionate with his kids, not someone who would leave the child-rearing to professionals while he wrote chart-topping singles and bedded breathless groupies.

  He took off his blindfold and hopped over to Ryan and Serena, still struggling with the cloth ties that bound his ankles and wrists.

  “Hi,” he said excitedly. “Are you the nanny?”

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