by Alexis James
Jesus, I did this. My fear, my trepidation to be in a relationship, almost caused me to lose her forever. I sit here stunned, pain ratcheting through my chest and the need to hold her close barreling down on me, and yet I’ve never been so certain of anything in my life. She is mine and I intend to make sure there’s not a day that goes by where she doesn’t understand and believe that.
Amita sets her cup aside and stares out at the water. “I didn’t tell you this so you’d feel like you had to decide about us right now. I told you because it’s the truth. I can’t be here if we’re not together. There’s just too much…” she gestures to the house behind us “…I have to be honest with you.”
“Babe, there’s no decision to be made. The moment I walked away from you, I knew I’d made a mistake. Believing I had the right to ask for a second chance just took me a while, that’s all.”
Curious brown eyes find mine. “Did you think I was going to start putting demands on you and take away your freedom completely? Is that why you took off like you did?”
Shrugging, I reply, “Yeah, I guess. I can’t really say what it was exactly. Part of it was all the assumptions my family made. I could practically hear the wedding bells every time we were all together.” I take her hand in mine once again. “Part of it was in my head.” She shoots me a skeptical look. “Okay, most of it was in my head. But you need to understand that I’d never had a girlfriend before you, not really anyway. Not like this. Grown-up Marco lived his life one shot and one chick at a time. No romance, no feelings, no relationships.”
“Not so grown-up after all,” she replies.
“Yeah, I’m working on that.”
“I know you are.”
Turning to face her, I state, “I can’t promise I won’t occasionally freak out about stuff. And I can’t promise that I’ll always behave like a grownup.” I drop a brief kiss on her lips. “But I can promise to tell you when I’m freaking out. And I can promise to talk it out with you.” Our foreheads meet and I take a shaky breath and whisper, “I can promise to love you. Forever.” I wait for the fear to transcend, the doubts to surface, the warning voices to start screaming, but as the seconds tick by and nothing but calm acceptance settles over me, I know for certain that my days of running are finally over.
Her lips lift in a smile that I’m sure I’ll remember until I’m old and gray. “I can promise to love you forever too.”
Pulling her into my arms, I sigh with relief. “That was much easier than I thought it would be.”
“Say it again.”
Without hesitating, I reply, “I love you, sweet cheeks.”
Grinning, eyes filled with tears, she laughs. “I love you too, hot stuff.”
Pulling her into my lap, I kiss her like I’ve wanted to since the day I walked out and left her behind—with my whole heart and every bit of my soul. I know we won’t be perfect, but then what relationship is? I do know that we’ll laugh a lot and chances are I’ll be crass when I shouldn’t be, but she’ll keep me in line. She’ll also give me room to breathe as well as a love I’ve been searching for my entire life … but just didn’t know it. We may date for many years, or I might whisk her off to Vegas and marry her next week, but whatever happens she’s mine, I’m hers, and that’s how it was meant to be.
Lifting her head, she says, “You know you’re going to have to learn to love Phantom, right? It’s sort of a deal-breaker for me.”
Grinning, I palm one of those sweet cheeks of hers and nuzzle her neck with my nose. “And you’re going to have to learn when to shut up and kiss me. That’s my deal-breaker.”
“I can do that.”
Our lips join and because she’s who she is and I’m who I am, we both start laughing. Who would have thought it would have taken us a year to figure this all out? Who would have thought that one simple and slightly flirtatious introduction at the office would give me the one woman who would not only change me for the better, but make me hers to boot?
I’m sure there will be more changes to come for both of us, but I’m certain a few things will never change. Years from now she’ll still be hot as hell, with a sassy mouth and a heart the size of Florida. And I’ll still be myself: cocky, arrogant and not always appropriate, completely untamable … except to the brown-eyed beauty with the sweet cheeks who owns me. Completely. Always. And forever.
The End
Once again, my core group of supporters/contributors/cheerleaders has helped to make this book shine. This entire series has been a real group effort. From helping me come up with perfect titles, to subtle nuances that bring my characters and their stories to life, the amazing group that supports me in this endeavor did not disappoint.
As this book goes into production, my sweet hubby has decided to take book 1 of the series - “Saving Cruz” - with him on a business trip and give it a try. He’s done this all on his own, without any expectations (or guilt) from me. I know I sound like a broken record, but I really do have the most amazing hubby in the world. He fully supports me and my writing, without ever knowing what the heck I’m putting out there. Mark…you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’m grateful every day for the life we share. I love you sweetie!
Mom…you love my Spanish boys as much or more than I do. Thank you for that. Thank you for reading this manuscript (and all the others) at least five times. Thank you for finding all my dumb typos. Thank you for reading it AGAIN simply because I’m neurotic and I just need another set of eyes on it. You are as much a part of this project as I am and I could not have done it without you.
Deb…I’ve said it before, you are my voice of reason. You ask the smart questions. You point out the obvious flaws, and you do it with love and kindness each and every time. You inquire about things like “magic” coffee and mystery honeymoons; because you’re a reader and your reader’s brain NEEDS to know that information. So thank you…for being my cousin first, a reader second, a reviewer third. Thank you for taking the time to peruse my manuscripts with your keen eye. Thank you for never holding back your constructive criticism. Trust me…I live for that. It makes me a better writer.
My sweet kiddos….like your father, you support me no matter what. I’m so very blessed to have you both and to be your mom (which is the best job in the world). I love you!
My cheering section – as always – has risen above and beyond with this book. My dad – and head cheerleader – leads this crazy pack and never, ever forgets to say how proud he is of me. My long list of family members and friends makes up the rest of the pack; always encouraging me and eager for the next book. I love you guys…each and every one of you…and in case you haven’t heard me say it enough, I’m blessed to have your support.
Max…once again thank you for all your wise words, for finding my flaws, and for always encouraging me to do better. I’m forever grateful to have found you and call you my editor.
Kari…you captured Marco completely with this cover, and I can’t thank you enough for bringing my boys to life. Everything you do, you do with happiness and patience.
Stacey…your beautiful formatting is the perfect final touch to each one of my books. Thank you for all you’ve done!
Giselle at XPresso Book Tours…you guided me through my first book blitz with “Saving Cruz”, patiently answering all my weird questions. I had no idea what to expect from it, and was shocked beyond belief at the exposure I received. Thank you!
I can’t pass up any opportunity to say a quick shout-out and thank you to all the folks who I’ve connected with on Twitter. The writing community as a whole is so supportive of one another, and I’m thankful to have found so many folks to chat with.
Last…but never, ever least….I want to thank my readers. You’ve taken a chance on me and I’m honored and humbled that you’ve read my books. A writer is nothing without his/her readers. You ARE the reason we do what we do. You are the best!
Happy reading!
-AJ
Alexis James lives on
the beautiful Central California coast. When she’s not spending time with her hubby of almost 30 years or her amazing kids, you can find her tapping away on the computer. She loves reading, spending time with family, reading, camping, reading….and writing too! She enjoys a good date night, an inexpensive glass of wine, and any story that can make her smile and/or cry.
Alexis’s first novel, “Losing Faith”, was released in September 2014. Her second novel, “Loving Emma”, is a standalone, though it does feature some characters from “Losing Faith”. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America.
She invites you to visit her author pages on Facebook and Goodreads, and her website: alexisjamesauthor.com. You can also follow her on Twitter (@alexisjames27) or you can email her at: [email protected].
Alexis loves to hear from her readers, so please don’t hesitate to reach out and share your thoughts on her books. For the latest news on upcoming releases and giveaways, signup for her newsletter.
Taming Marco is the second book in The Moran Family series, but it can be read as a standalone. Saving Cruz is the first book in the series.
Look for book three, “Breaking Roman”, due out soon!
Losing Faith
Loving Emma
The Moran Family series:
Saving Cruz
Taming Marco