by Mari Madison
I glanced at Troy, giving him a nervously excited look. He reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly in his own. It had been six months since we started dating again, and I still couldn’t get used to the sparks that flew from even the simplest touch. I squeezed his hand back and then got into position in front of the camera.
“Are you ready for this?” he whispered.
“So ready.”
It had taken a lot of convincing to get Mrs. Anderson to let us work on an investigative story together. She preferred we concentrate on our continued success with the He Said, She Said franchise, which was getting its own half-hour slot in a couple weeks. But once we showed her the footage we’d gotten she couldn’t very well say no. After all, this was about to be the biggest story in San Diego. Maybe even the US. She wasn’t about to let us take it to the competition.
The floor director held up his hand. “One minute,” he said. My heart picked up its pace. This was it. The moment I’d been waiting for for five and a half years. The moment I thought was never going to come.
The floor director pointed at us. “Thirty seconds.” I shot Troy a nervous smile.
“Here goes nothing.”
He grinned back. “Here goes everything.”
The camera light came on. Ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.
“Thank you, Beth,” I said. “I’m Sarah Martin. You probably know Troy and me from our He Said, She Said film review segment. And, actually, we’ve got some film for you tonight, too.”
“But this isn’t some Hollywood blockbuster this time,” Troy added. “Though you may find it a bit of a horror show. An undercover look at some of the actual goings-on at Water World, the sea life theme park that’s located right here in San Diego.”
“If you have sensitive viewers,” I finished, “you might want to change the channel now. Some of what you’re about to see may be a little upsetting.”
And with that, the producers rolled the story. The segment Troy and I had spent the last six months putting together. Featuring interviews with ex–Water World employees, marine biologists, veterinarians, and animal rights activists. And most importantly, an undercover video revealing it all.
Yes, in the end we’d gotten our video. Not in the dead of night, led by a whistleblower, but right out in the open, using our phones as our cameras, as if we were just tourists. Each day we’d consult the DVD footage Ryan had given Troy that we’d shot five years before, then we’d go out and try to duplicate those shots now. Then we took both shots and edited them together so the people of San Diego could see these atrocities had been going on for years. That these animals had been suffering a very long time.
It hadn’t been an easy story to put together. We didn’t have much time to work on it, after all, with our News 9 jobs taking up a lot of our time and Troy doing his intensive therapy to combat his PTSD. He’d also started volunteering at a local veterans’ hospital, working with soldiers who had just returned home and were trying to acclimate to life back in the US. After all, he knew how hard it could be to try to find a new normal, something he, himself, still struggled with at times.
He wasn’t cured. But he’d come to terms with the fact that he might never totally be himself again. He might always jump at loud noises or have nightmares wake him in a cold sweat. Sometimes he got angry, too. But now, thanks to his therapy, he knew how to combat that anger. To better analyze his feelings and figure out the cause of his distress so he could better manage it. Instead of withdrawing and feeling guilty over his lapses, he knew now he could come to me to share how he was feeling. I wasn’t going to judge him or think less of him. In fact, admitting weakness seemed to me like the bravest thing in the world.
I was so proud of how far he’d come. And how far he was determined to go. He wasn’t the boy I’d fallen in love with five years ago. But he was the man I wanted to be with now. We’d taken it slow. Learned to trust each other again. And now we would finally have our moment. The chance to make a difference as we had always hoped to do.
And the best part? We were doing it together.
• • •
The segment ran many more times. On stations around the country and all around the world. Not long after that, the government launched a full investigation into Water World that ended with them being shut down forever. The animals that could safely be reintroduced to the wild were set free and the ones that were unable to transition were transferred to sanctuaries to live out their days. And other investigations were launched against similar parks, to see if similar atrocities could be found.
“So, Miss Martin,” Troy began, cuddling up to me on our blanket on the beach one afternoon about a week after the story had run. We’d fled down to Rosarito, back to our favorite beach hotel. We were pretty much celebrities after the story ran—even more so than before—and it was difficult, some days, to find peace and quiet for our much-needed alone time. “You’ve finally saved the whales. What are you going to do now?”
“I’m going to Disney World?” I quipped, then grinned. “Though, come to think of it, I might be too busy for a vacation. After all, there are a lot more animals out there, needing to be saved. Not to mention children, and the environment, and—”
“And . . . you’re not going to have any time left over for your poor, neglected boyfriend,” he teased, poking me in the ribs. “Though,” he said with a contemplative nod, “I suppose you already went and saved me.”
“Nah. I’m pretty sure you saved yourself. I was just there for the hot sex.”
His eyebrows waggled. “It was, indeed, hot sex. Still is, for that matter.”
I laughed. “You aren’t sick of me yet?”
“God, I could never get sick of you. I could never even get half of what I want from you.” He crawled on top of me, kissing me on the mouth. I kissed him back, feeling chills run up and down my arms. I knew very well what it was like to never get enough. Luckily we had a lifetime ahead of us to satisfy those cravings.
“Maybe we should get back to that hotel room,” I suggested. “Before we get arrested on the beach.”
He nodded. “Actually, there’s something there I want to show you.”
“Is there now?” I teased, raising an eyebrow.
He laughed. “Not like that. I mean, definitely like that. But there’s . . . something else, too.”
I cocked my head. “What is it?”
He shrugged, looking a little sheepish. “The first chapters of my book.”
“What?” I stared at him. “But I thought—”
“I know. I never thought I’d get to the point where I’d want to write it, either,” he agreed. “But my therapist said it can be therapeutic to write it all down. Get the story out of my head and onto paper. At first I wasn’t thinking about publishing it—it was just for me, really. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to go ahead and take a publishing deal. I think it might be able to help people see what’s truly going on over there. Not just my story. But all the stories I saw while I was there.” He gave me a rueful smile. “I went over there to make a difference, after all. Maybe this was how I was supposed to do that, all along.”
I smiled at him, my heart soaring at his words. I knew how hard it must have been for him to take this step. But he was taking it. Just like he was learning how to take control over the rest of his life.
“I’m proud of you,” I said, leaning over to cuddle against his shoulder. “This is a big step.”
“Yeah, well, there’s one more big step I’m hoping to take as well,” he replied, his face flushing as he spoke the words. “You see, they gave me a pretty big advance for the book. And I thought maybe I’d spend a little bit of that on you.”
I watched, breathless, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. I stared down at it, my eyes widening. Shyly, he got down on his knees before me, opening the box, reve
aling a huge diamond ring.
“You are the most amazing woman I have ever met,” he said in a choked voice. “Not to mention the most patient. The biggest mistake I ever made was to let you go. And I’m going to make sure you never have the chance to get away from me again.”
“Oh, Troy . . .”
“I’m not a perfect guy. I’m still screwed up in the head—I probably always will be. But I promise you, I will keep working on that. I’ll never stop working on it.” He smiled at me, a smile that tore my heart in two. But also mended it all at the same time. “Will you, Sarah Martin, do me the greatest honor? Will you agree to become my wife?”
I smiled through my tears. “Are you sure you can handle that? A simple life with a simple girl?”
“You are the furthest thing in the world from a simple girl,” he teased. “But you’re absolutely wonderful all the same. A partner, a confidante, a best friend. My best friend. And I can’t think of a more Hollywood happily ever after than having you agree to stay by my side.”
“Well, then roll the credits,” I declared, grinning from ear to ear. “And let’s you and me go walk off into the sunset, once and for all.”
Turn the page for an excerpt of the first Exclusive Romance from Mari Madison
Just This Night
Available now from Berkley Sensation
JAKE “MAC” MACDONALD
Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!”
I jerked up in bed, swinging around, my feet hitting the floorboards before my mind had a chance to process the movement. For a split second, fighting the fog of deep sleep, I didn’t know where I was. What time it was. Why I was here.
“Mommy? Where are you, Mommy?”
But I knew that voice. And the rest didn’t matter.
“I’m coming, Ashley!”
Bolting from the bedroom, I dashed down the hall, bursting into her room like some kind of superman on steroids. Ashley was sitting up in bed, hugging her grubby stuffed lion—the one I’d bought her from the hospital gift shop the day she was born, four years ago last month. Tears streamed down her chubby little cheeks and her thumb was firmly lodged in her mouth.
Dropping to my knees I pulled her into a fierce hug, forcing myself to be gentle and not squeeze too hard as my heart thumped wildly in my chest, working overtime to rid my body of the excess adrenaline her cries had unleashed.
She was fine. She was safe. She was okay.
“Shh,” I whispered. “Daddy’s here, baby. Are you all right? Did you have a bad dream?” I could feel the sweat dripping down her back, soaking through her thin princess nightgown as she snuggled closer, pushing her head against my chest as if she was literally trying to crawl inside of me and hide. My heart squeezed. Poor little thing. Was she actually shaking?
“I was scared,” she whimpered. “I woke up and I didn’t know where Mommy was.”
I could feel her head lift off my chest and realized she was looking around the darkened bedroom. As if her mother might magically appear out of thin air at any moment.
Sorry, kid. No magic in the world was that strong.
“We talked about this, sweetheart,” I reminded her gently, the bile churning in my stomach now. “Mommy has an important job to do far, far away. She can’t be with us right now.”
“I don’t want her to do her important job,” Ashley sobbed, dropping her head to my chest again. “I want her here, with us.”
Closing my eyes, I forced myself to draw in a heavy breath. “I know, baby, I know. You and me both.” I stroked her hair, leaning in to kiss the top of her head. “Now why don’t you lie down and I’ll use the magic pixie dust on you, okay? So you can fall back asleep.”
Ashley whimpered. “What if I have another dream?”
“If you do, it’ll be a good one,” I assured her with a confidence I didn’t feel. “That’s the great thing about pixie dust.” I reached for the tub of glitter-infused baby powder sitting on her nightstand. “It only allows for happy dreams about princesses and puppy dogs and hungry little caterpillars . . .” I turned the tub upside down and squeezed, releasing a puff of powder. The glitter dusted her skin and she smiled, snuggling against her stuffed lion again and looking up at me with wide brown eyes. Her mother’s eyes. Which was so unfair.
“I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too, baby girl,” I managed to say, my emotions swelling. I leaned down to kiss her cheek. “More than anything ever.”
“Anything ever . . .” she repeated sleepily, her eyes fluttering closed. “Hey! I think the magic pixie dust is . . .” She trailed off, drifting back into sleep.
For a few moments, I didn’t move. I just sat there, watching her. She looked so tiny in the giant king-sized bed that took up most of my sister’s guest room. So sweet and fragile and precious. How could anyone willingly walk away from this little girl? Hell, I would rather die a thousand times over than leave her for just one night. But her mother. Her own goddamned mother . . .
I realized I was clenching the sheets with white-knuckled fists. Forcing myself to release them, I rose to my feet, the churning anger making me sick to my stomach. I stormed from the room, shutting the door behind me a little too hard, and I paused for a moment, listening, making sure I hadn’t woken her. But the magic pixie dust had done its job and the room remained silent. My princess was asleep.
“Is she okay?”
I looked up. Lost in my tortured thoughts I hadn’t seen my sister, Sadie, hovering at the landing, dressed in an oversized Padres jersey and boxer shorts. Her long brown hair hung down her back in a tangle of curls and her face was washed clean of all makeup.
I sighed. “She’s fine. She just had a bad dream.”
Sadie gave me a sympathetic look. “Poor kid. Moving can be tough. And then being in a strange house . . . I’m sure she’s going to feel a lot more adjusted once you guys get all unpacked and settled in your new place.”
“Yeah,” I stared down at my feet. “Probably so.”
I could feel her peering closely at me. “What about you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said quickly. Probably too quickly.
Sure enough, Sadie raised an eyebrow. “No offense, bro. But you don’t look so fine from here.”
I sighed. She was always too perceptive, my sister. “I’m just . . . frustrated, I guess,” I admitted. “I mean, I want to be a good dad, you know. But no matter what I do I can’t give her what she really wants. And it makes me feel so fucking helpless.”
My voice broke and Sadie moved to wrap her arms around me. But I shrugged her off. I didn’t need her pity. It was already bad enough I was practically a charity case, moving cross-country to San Diego to take advantage of her offer of free babysitting while I was at work. I’d offered to pay her, of course, but she had argued that she was already staying home with two kids—how hard could one more be? And like the pathetic broke bastard I was, I allowed myself to believe it to be true.
Sadie, to her credit, didn’t try to press me. Instead, she smiled. “I’m going to go make myself a sandwich. You want one?”
“Sure,” I reluctantly agreed. It wasn’t as if I was going to get back to sleep anytime soon anyway. Then I looked down at my current getup. I’d been in such a rush to reach Ashley’s side I’d forgotten I was bare-chested, only wearing a pair of ratty boxer shorts. Not exactly good houseguest attire. “Let me grab a shirt and some pants and I’ll meet you down there.”
By the time I reached the kitchen a few minutes later, Sadie had already gotten out all the sandwich supplies and was currently spreading a thick layer of mayo on my ham and cheese. I sat down at the breakfast bar, scrubbing my face with my hands, trying to banish the memory of Ashley’s frightened eyes from my mind. Her cries for “Mommy” that would never be answered.
God, I hated lying to her. But what else could I say? The truth?
The bi
tch left us, baby girl. She’s not coming back. But trust me—we’re much better off without her.
“Is this some kind of brother and sister secret powwow or does a poor, hungry husband stand a chance at scoring a sandwich, too?”
I looked up, stifling a groan as Sadie’s husband, Joe, stepped into the kitchen wearing a black Batman bathrobe and bare feet. Great. Ashley must have woken the whole house with her screams.
“What, are your hands broken? You can’t make your own?” Sadie shot back with mock grumpiness. But I caught the adoring looks they exchanged when they thought I wasn’t looking.
“Hey! I’m just saving my strength for that extra-long back massage I plan to give you once we’re back in bed,” Joe said with a sly wink. My sister laughed.
“Oh, fine. Just this once. But it better be a damned good massage.” She grabbed two more slices of bread from the bag and tossed them on the counter. Then she caught my look and her smile faded. “Are you sure you’re okay, Mac?” she asked worriedly.
Joe turned to look at me for the first time. “Yeah, man. You look like hell. No offense.”
I groaned. “Why thank you. I’ll be here all week.”
To my annoyance, he continued to study me. “You know what this guy needs?” he asked, turning to Sadie. “To get out of the house. A night on the town. That would fix him right up.”
“Uh, no,” I interjected before my sister could answer. “I’m good. Really.”
Joe turned back to me. “When’s the last time you went out?” he demanded. Before I could reply he added, “And, no, Chuck E. Cheese does not count.”
“Joe . . .” Sadie said warningly.
“What?” Joe asked, holding up his hands in mock innocence. “I’m just saying. A man needs a night out with grown-ups every once in a while.” He grinned wickedly. “Think about it, Mac. Endless lines of tequila shots, pretty girls, maybe some sexy, sexy times?”