To Win Her Back

by Mackenzie Crowne

  At some point during the long hours of the unexpected mass vigil, Sam had spilled his guts. The Triple Gs had claimed the tactic was romantic when he admitted he’d fucked up with his note and ring instead of waiting until he could ask V to marry him in person. From the smirks and grins of the guys, they knew the truth. He was a sap.

  “Coffee?” Jake held up the pot.

  “If it’s laced with whiskey.”

  Sam crossed the room and pulled a mug from the shelf. Jake’s eyes gleamed with humor and Sam shook his head.

  “Just give it to me straight.” He held out the mug as Jake poured. “Where’s Lucy?”

  “She’s asleep on the couch with the rest of the kids.” Gracie eased into one of the kitchen chairs.

  Sam leaned against the counter and sipped at the scalding brew. “Seriously. You guys should head out. I appreciate the show of support, but….” The gong of the doorbell strangled the words in his throat.

  Daisy began to bark. Every eye in the room swung Sam’s way, and he swallowed. Down the hallway, several thumps were followed by the sound of the door opening.

  “Where have you been? Dad’s a wreck!” Lucy’s voice held more relief than accusation.

  Suddenly, chairs scraped and feet slapped the tiles as Gracie and CC abandoned their seats to rush from the kitchen. Tuck was slower to rise. He passed by Sam with a scowl.

  “I hate when they’re right. There’ll be no living with them for days.”

  Sam’s lungs didn’t seem to want to cooperate. Jake helped him along by slapping him on the back. “She’s back, buddy. Take my advice. Let her talk before you blow your top.” He wandered from the room leaving Sam to follow.

  He had to force his feet to move, then paused beneath the hall archway. V, looking as tired as he felt, attempted to field the questions flying at her from the women and Lucy. Anita stood behind her. Her mother? What the hell was going on?

  “I fell asleep. My phone was turned…off.” V’s voice drifted off as her gaze locked onto him.

  Silence fell as, one by one, his unlikely support group turned and looked his way.

  “Yes.” V held his gaze. “My answer is yes.” Her eyes flooded with tears. “If your offer is still on the table after I tell you what happened.”

  His heart thumped erratically in his chest.

  “Come on, everyone.” Gracie snapped into motion. Snatching coats from the hall tree, she randomly shoved them into reaching hands. “Breakfast at the farmhouse in ten.”

  V didn’t say a word, just stared at him as sleepy kids were gathered and wrapped haphazardly in whatever covering was handy. Lucy tugged Daisy and Anita outside behind everyone else, and silence returned.

  The moment the door shut, V took a step toward him, then stopped. “You said you’d wait. That you’d earn my trust. I need to earn yours.”

  He tensed as the echo of his words rang in his ears. “You already have it.”

  “No, I don’t. Not yet.” She moved closer. One step. “I’m sorry. I should have left you a message, but I expected to be back shortly after the game ended, and….” Uncertainty clouded her eyes. “I spent the night with Mom in Barlow. She deserved to hear the truth just as you do.”

  His pulse began to race. He’d wanted the answer to why she’d fled from him. Needed to know. But the hell in her eyes gutted him. “Don’t, Red. It no longer matters.” He started forward, but she stopped him with a raised hand.

  “Yes, it does.” Another step. “Do you remember the day I left?” Her eyes briefly slid shut and she shook her head. “Of course you remember.” Her throat convulsed on a swallow. “Your parents and aunt were there. TJ, too. None of them knew what to say to you, and you told them everything would be okay.”

  The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he recalled that afternoon, and he nodded.

  “You said you had a job awaiting you at ETU. That we would be returning to Barlow once you’d gotten your degree. I panicked, Sam, but not because your pro career hopes were done.” Her chest expanded on a bracing breath. “I didn’t run from you. I ran from the thought of returning to Barlow.”

  One step closer. “It was illogical and stupid, and within a few days, I knew I’d made a mistake. Knew I should have stayed and talked to you. Somehow made you understand. I should have convinced you there were other jobs, other towns or cities, places we could go where we could both be happy, because I couldn’t go back to Barlow. Not when I’d lived every moment from the time I was eleven, yearning for the day I could escape to somewhere my father wouldn’t know to find me.”

  Another step and she stopped a foot away. “A place that held no memories of his sick and twisted love.”

  Chills raced down Sam’s spine as he stared into her eyes. It was all there in the teary blue depths. The hell. The fear. Utter loathing for the man she’d adored and followed everywhere, according to Anita. Bubbling acid seared the lining of Sam’s stomach. “He molested you?”

  A lone tear slipped onto V’s cheek. “Yes, and the memories are mine alone to bear. Don’t ask me to speak them aloud, because I won’t. He’s dead, and I refuse to give him the power to hurt anyone else. I’ve given him enough already by letting him turn me into a coward.”

  She shook her head vehemently, as if to deny what had happened. “I let him steal my dreams. Let him destroy the pure and honest love I’d found with you.” She lifted her chin and her eyes shimmered with pain. “He broke something in me, Sam. Something I’ve never been able to repair. With you, I come close, but the damage is always there.”

  Fury curled his hands into fists, and he battled the urge to kill a man who was already dead.

  She closed the remaining distance and placed her hand over his hammering heart. The mix of resolve and acceptance in her eyes unmanned him, and his nose and eyes stung.

  “Knowing that, if you still want me, I’m yours.”

  Jesus. He dipped his head to brush a gentle kiss across her lips. Pressing his forehead to hers, he slipped his arms around her waist. He closed his eyes in relief when her body softened against his.

  He swallowed past the emotion blocking his throat before he could speak. “Fifteen years ago, on a warm spring day, a redheaded girl with a sultry smile climbed into my truck and stole my heart. I’ve wanted her ever since. The depravities of a sick fucker can’t change that.”

  He straightened to meet her gaze, and his heart constricted at the tears streaming over her cheeks. “You’re my life, Red. My woman. The heart that beats in my chest.”

  Capturing her mouth once more, he poured all the love he had for her into his kiss. He spoke without words, telling her what she meant to him, and she responded in kind. She slid her arms up his chest and around his neck, and she squirmed closer.

  The fire that always flared between them burned the chill from his bones, and he spoke against her lips. “Where’s the ring?”

  Laughing through her tears, she dropped one arm to slip her hand into the purse hanging from her shoulder. She lifted her mouth to his once more while digging blindly. A moment later, her irritated hum vibrated through her chest to his. She broke away and stepped back.

  “Damn it. It’s in here somewhere.”

  He chuckled at her grumbling tone, and stared at the top of her head as she continued her search. Finally, with a frustrated growl, she upended the bag. The contents spilled to the floor and she bent to scoop up the jeweler’s box. She held it up, heart in her eyes.

  He grinned, took the box, and lowered to one knee. Her tear-filled eyes sparkled like blue gems, and a beaming smile tugged her lips wide as he flipped the top open with his thumb.

  “I love you, Victoria Price. Marry me, and put me out of my misery.”

  “I love you, too, Samuel Fitzpatrick, and Lucy.”

  She held out her shaking hand, and he fumbled to slip the diamond on her finger. Once he had, she pressed her hands to his shoulders and shoved. He landed on his ass and she hiccup
ped a tearful laugh. Hiking her skirt to her upper thighs, she lowered to straddle his lap and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

  “I’ll put you out of your misery and more.” She tightened her hold on him and her smile held a teasing twist. “Trust me.”

  “Oh, I do, Red. I do.

  She shrieked with laughter as he spun them around and pinned her to the floor.

  Epilogue

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

  V stared at Sam’s smiling face and couldn’t contain the joy in her heart. She grinned and his smile broadened.

  “Kiss the girl already,” Tuck grumbled. “We’ve got a Super Bowl to win.”

  V blinked and turned her head. The skybox was stuffed to capacity with friends, new and old. Lucy was there, looking pretty as a picture in her salmon-pink bridesmaid’s dress. Her dark hair, minus the streak of purple, was swept up in a sophisticated twist that Sam had complained made her look too grown up for his liking.

  The Malones and Tuckers, Graysons and Fitzpatricks were all represented along with several others. There wasn’t an inch of space left in the glass-fronted suite. Two stories below, Everbank Field in Jacksonville was beginning to fill with fans finding their seats for the season’s biggest game.

  TJ winced and nodded. “Tuck’s right. Kiss the girl. You’re holding up the game.”

  Caroline snorted at the back of the room. “The Marauders don’t take the field until I say so.”

  Wyatt grinned and dropped his arm around TJ’s shoulders, making her blush. He sent Sam a leer. “Coach can’t kiss the girl until I ask her a question.”

  V started to laugh and Sam groaned. Gracie snickered and CC, Tuck, and Jake grinned.

  V lifted her lips to within a breath of Sam’s and sliced her gaze to Wyatt. “Well?”

  He opened his mouth, but whatever he said was drowned out by a chorus of “No’s!”

  Laughter rang in V’s ears as Sam captured her lips. He dipped her back in a hungry kiss to the catcalls and whistles of those gathered. As he brought her upright, the love in his eyes brought tears to hers.

  Pressing his cheek to hers, he whispered in her ear. “I love you, Mrs. Fitzpatrick.”

  She smiled against his cheek. “I love you, too, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and I’ve got my ring. Now, go get yours.”

  THE END

  Keep reading for another great Lyrical Press release!

  Fourth Down

  Go Big or Go Home.

  When her relationship goes up in flames, Holly Funchess jumps straight back into the heat—by becoming a firefighter. Running as far away from her past as she can, Holly trains hard and lands a job with a small San Diego firehouse. With everything to prove, she has no problem putting her love life on the back burner. But where there’s smoke…

  A former football player with a string of failed relationships behind him, Chase DeMarco has put his all into his Coast Guard career and the youth football team he coaches. He’s not about to let anyone distract him—especially Holly, the woman at his gym who seems to relish getting under his skin. But when their skirmishes turn into

  full-contact workouts—and they face off against the dangers of their jobs—Chase and Holly must choose between letting the clock run down or playing to win…

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  Chapter 1

  Chase DeMarco parked his SUV in front of Pump It Up and grabbed his gym bag from the backseat. Resigned, he climbed out and pressed his key fob to lock the doors, taking in the large two-story building in front of him. It was crazy to come to this gym—a study in concrete, steel, and glass, definitely not his kind of place—instead of his regular gym. But avoiding his friends tonight was more important than his comfort level, and he desperately wanted a workout after a long day at sea. Swallowing a sigh, he jogged up the sidewalk to the entrance.

  Just as he reached the doors, his cell phone rang. For a long moment, he hesitated, not sure if he wanted to answer. He had a feeling he knew who it was, and he wasn’t in the mood for the conversation. As the ringtone stopped, he pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at the readout. Yup. Right on the money.

  As usual, John “Johnny-On-The-Spot” McFarland had lousy timing, always in Chase’s face when Chase least wanted him around. He and John had been solid friends for sixteen years—four at the Academy and twelve in the Coast Guard. They had come up through the ranks together, and now John served on the patrol boat that Chase commanded. The phone rang for a second time. Persistent ass. Would John not leave him alone? When the phone rang yet a third time, Chase gave a sigh and tapped the screen to accept the call.

  “Hey, bud.” John’s voice rumbled through the connection. “Where are you? Don’t tell me you’re standing us up tonight. After we sweat for an hour, we’re all taking Mancini out to get him drunk and celebrate his engagement. We’re waiting for you.”

  Waiting for him. Great. Unless someone’s schedule made it impossible, Chase and three of his friends met at the Coast Guard’s fitness center every night to work out. They’d been doing it since they’d all arrived at the San Diego facility. Sometimes they went out afterward, sometimes not. But it was a comfortable habit and he enjoyed it. Except for tonight. He’d told John he wouldn’t be there, given him a lame excuse. He should have known his friend wouldn’t let him off the hook that easily.

  He just hated shit like this. It wasn’t just celebrating his friend’s engagement that left a sour taste in his mouth. It was the fact that every time one of his friends got hooked up, they wanted to find someone for him. Why was it when two people coupled up they wanted the same thing for everyone else? Couldn’t they see he was happy just the way he was? That he did just fine flying solo? He told them often enough. Damn John—and everyone else—for refusing to believe it.

  He swam on the surface of the dating pool, never sticking with any one female too long. He always broke it off before there was a chance for someone to get hurt.

  He sighed again. “Sorry, buddy. Remember I told you I had a conflict? Text me where you guys end up. If I can do it, I’ll catch up with you later.”

  Not.

  There was a long silence.

  “Jesus, Chase. Enough already. Get your ass in gear for later. I’ll text you where to meet.” John paused. “Don’t let us down,” he warned.

  Chase would have answered him, but he was listening to dead air.

  His life in the Guard was who and what he was, a man to be respected and admired. It was his anchor in life. Women came and went, but the Guard was always there, steadfast and loyal.

  The days at sea were exhilarating, the work he did soul satisfying. Validating.

  Validation, the thing he craved the most. It was a counterbalance to the words that never left his head.

  “It isn’t you, Chase. I just can’t stay in this house any more, not even for you. Be good for your dad.” His mother’s voice seemed permanently lodged in his brain.

  Along with that of his high school sweetheart. “Come on. Unbend a little. We’re celebrating graduation, right?”

  And Cheryl, the last straw for him. “We were just having a little fun. Why are you such a stick in the mud?”

  He’d wanted to ask her if she’d ever heard of a thing called fidelity, but it seemed the women he chose in his life either hadn’t heard of the word or didn’t pay much attention to it.

  The voices played in his head, echoing down through the years. Only his achievements in the Guard kept them locked away.

  John wasn’t right in his assessment, though. Chase was a commander in the United States Coast Guard. He wore his uniforms and his designation proudly. It defined him. No woman would ever be able to compete with that or shake his confidence again.

  No relationships. Ever. And he was fine with it, at last.

  But damn. Now he felt guilty for avoiding his friends tonight. Why couldn’t this be a prac
tice night for the youth-league football team he coached? It would have given him the best excuse in the world.

  Chase, you’re an asshole.

  Yeah, he probably was.

  “Are you planning to stand there blocking the door all day?”

  The words were hostile but the voice had a low, musical quality to it that for some reason teased at his nerve endings. He turned around and nearly smacked into the woman behind him. She took a step back and glared at him.

  “Did you hear me?” she demanded.

  A more fanciful man might call her an earth goddess. She was tall, the top of her head coming just past his shoulder. Her long legs were emphasized by the short shorts she wore. Brown hair with streaks of light scattered through it was scraped back in a tight ponytail, the style accenting the hazel of her eyes, her high cheekbones, and her almost translucent skin.

  Translucent skin?

  What the fuck? Who was that stranger talking in his head? He’d been listening to his friends’ wives and girlfriends too much.

  “Well?” Her voice was impatient now. “You know standing where you are you’re blocking the door, right? Some of us actually want to go inside and work out.”

  Chase shook himself.

  “Sorry.” He opened the door and stepped aside to let her enter, trying not to notice that she had a most excellent ass.

  “Geez,” she huffed. “Some people.”

  She flicked a glance at him over her shoulder as she moved into the building carrying her workout bag. Chase had to drag his eyes away from her. Tonight he was all about working out, not hooking up, not when his friend’s engagement had dredged up yet again all the reasons why happy ever after wasn’t for him.