by Bella Andre
Mary took a deep breath. All she could do was tell Yvette the truth of her feelings and then trust her to do the best she could with the information. “Romain is quite a ladies’ man. I know that because I didn’t just work with him,” she admitted in a voice she worked hard to keep steady. “I dated him for a while, too.” Jack’s hand on hers kept her warm and grounded as she told Yvette, “It didn’t end well, and the reason it didn’t is because he cheated on me. To him, I was nothing more than an expendable pretty face. I could never forgive myself if something like that happened to you—I just wanted you to know.”
“He sounds like scum,” Yvette said in a passionate voice. “And stupid, too, for cheating on you. What guy could be that dumb when you’re so amazing?”
Mary was more than a little surprised to find herself starting to smile at Yvette’s reaction. And then when the girl said, “Besides, I’m not interested in old guys like him,” she could all but see Yvette’s nose scrunch up as she added, “Eww.”
Mary couldn’t keep her laughter from bubbling up and over as she agreed with a simple and heartfelt, “Yuck.”
All those years ago, when Mary had been telling her mother about her grand opportunities to model in New York City, all she’d wanted was for her mother to have faith that her daughter would make good decisions. Now, she realized, it was her turn to do that for Yvette.
Of course, Mary had known all along that Yvette had a good head on her beautiful shoulders. Which was why she meant every word when she told her, “You’re going to knock them off their feet in Switzerland, honey. I can’t wait to hear all about it when you get back. And thank you for sharing this great news with me.”
When Yvette told her that of course she had to call, because Mary was family, her eyes finally teared up, but not with fear or worry.
With joy.
* * *
Women had often told Jack over the years that he didn’t pay enough attention to their needs, their feelings, that he was too focused on his computers and circuits to understand them. And they’d been right, but only because none of them had captured enough of his heart to get all his attention.
But Mary had had his full attention from the first moment he’d set eyes on her. He’d watched her shift from an animated phone conversation with Yvette to turning pale as a ghost and when he’d heard the name Romain fall from her lips, he’d immediately sensed her concern for the young woman she’d been watching over.
At the same time, he’d instinctively known that Mary’s doubts and fears about their relationship had to be rising up again. What could have been a better reminder of the need to be careful with Jack than hearing about that bastard again?
Back at the movie theater, it had meant so much to Jack when she’d said she didn’t want their relationship to be a secret anymore. And yet, even as she’d said it, he’d known that she was still holding something back from him, that final piece of herself…just in case.
Jack knew how badly she’d been hurt. Not only by the Swiss watch mogul, but also by the way her own family had pushed her out of their lives. And he’d meant it when he’d said he’d wait as long as he needed to for her.
She’d told him that day in his garage that it would take her some time to heal all the way. Well, he was a very patient man when he needed to be…and he would just keep loving her through her doubts and fears until they were completely gone.
As she hung up the phone, Jack moved beside her on the couch and asked, “Are you okay?”
She put one hand on his cheek and held it there. “You know what? I am.” She stroked her fingertips lightly over the stubble on his cheek. “I’ve never had a man to lean on,” she said softly. “Not until you.”
In that instant, all of the vows he’d just made to himself to be patient snapped in two.
He had to tell her how he felt.
She had to know.
“I love you, Mary.”
She’d blinked at him in pain and confusion minutes earlier when Romain’s name had left her lips. And then, when she’d put her hand on his cheek after she’d hung up the phone, she’d gazed at him with warmth. Now, she was clearly shocked by his sudden declaration.
As an engineer, Jack understood precision and timing better than most. And yet, even if he was screwing up everything in this moment, he simply couldn’t hold back the depths of what he felt for Mary one more second.
“I never want to keep anything from you, Angel.” Now he was the one cupping her face in his hands as he told her, “Even when my professional dreams stretched from a few years to a decade, I always felt like I was holding the reins of control. I could see steady progress, and I was certain that nothing would knock me off course before I achieved my goal. But then I met you, and from that moment I’ve been hit with countless feelings—and desires—that I never saw coming. Not just the desire to kiss you, to touch you, to make love with you, but the need to make a life with you. I want to know that you’re mine and I’m yours and that everything we do from here on out, we’ll do together. I want you to become a part of my family. I want to find a way to reconcile you with your family. And I want the two of us to create a family of our own together, too.”
Jack hoped like hell that he was making some sense, but he’d never been caught up in a storm of emotions like this before. Only Mary could have unleashed such passion from a man who had always been so rational.
“I don’t want to push you any faster than you’re ready to go, and you’ve already given me so much more than I ever dreamed I’d have, but—”
Mary lifted her hands to touch his as they rested on her cheeks and, at that exact moment, her mouth covered his, and her kiss stole the rest of his words. His heart hammered in his chest as she stroked her tongue over his. Of course, he loved kissing her, but right now he needed to understand what her kiss meant. Was she trying to tell him she felt the same way…or was she trying to stop him before he said anything more?
Gently, he drew her back, but before he could ask her anything, she was looking at him with such open trust and so much emotion that his hands would have trembled if she hadn’t been holding them.
“I love you, too, Jack.”
For the first few seconds after she spoke, all he could do was stare at the most beautiful woman he’d ever known and marvel not only that she was here with him but also that she’d actually said the three sweetest words he’d ever heard.
Finally, when he thought he’d found his voice again, he said, “You—”
He stopped, more than a little afraid to repeat the words out of fear that she’d take them back when she finally realized she’d said them aloud to him.
“I meant what I said earlier tonight,” she said in a soft but steady voice. “I don’t want to let what happened with Romain ruin the best thing I’ve ever known.” Her eyes were the clearest blue he’d ever seen as she said, “I know you told me you’d wait for me, but I don’t want either of us to wait anymore. Especially when I knew from the first moment I saw you that you were special. I feel like I’ve been running my whole life, speeding from a small town into a big city, jumping from one place to the next for years until they all blurred together. And right when I decided it was time to finally stop running and set down some roots, there you were. My new beginning.” Her eyes filled with tears as she smiled up at him and slid her arms around his neck to pull him closer. “My love.”
Jack sank down onto the couch with Mary, her curves soft beneath his muscles. “I’ll always be yours, Angel. Forever.”
Jack would never forget their first kiss under the mistletoe, and he would never forget this one, either.
Their first kiss after I love you…
Chapter Sixteen
The next day Jack was surprisingly full of energy as he went from meeting to meeting, despite the fact that neither he nor Mary had gotten much sleep, having spent most of the night discovering ever new joys of being with each other. Not even the string of corporate meetings he’d been in today coul
d tax his strength when he knew Mary would be waiting for him at her house that evening with open arms.
Jack could still hardly believe he’d been lucky enough to stumble onto her photo shoot in Union Square that fateful afternoon, when all hope for his career had almost been lost. Just as she’d said, it had been a new beginning to something so much bigger, so much sweeter, than anything he could ever have imagined.
He’d been looking for a miracle to save his company…but in Mary he’d found far more than that.
This morning, when the first rays of light had come in through her bedroom window, he’d awakened with Mary spooned into his chest and hips, with his hand over her heart, and hers curled into his palm. Jack had been hit with a fierce need to keep her love all to himself, just for a little while longer. Soon he’d shout from the rooftops that Mary was his, but for just a few extra hours, he didn’t want to have to answer the questions that would surely come from all quarters—from people who knew them and journalists who didn’t—when their relationship was revealed.
“I know we’re not hiding anymore,” he’d said softly as she’d turned into his arms so that her head was in the crook of his shoulder and her hand was resting over his heart, “but I don’t think I’m ready to share you just yet.”
She’d smiled up at him, her olive skin and long, dark hair a beautiful contrast to the ivory sheets. “You know what they say about secret kisses, don’t you?”
He should have been completely tapped out from their lovemaking during the night, but when she let the sheets slip from her shoulders and moved her gorgeous naked curves over him, then showed him exactly how good secret kisses could be, Jack knew he’d never get enough of Mary. Their lovemaking had also helped him to ignore the relief that had flashed across her face when he’d said he wanted to keep things private between them a little while longer.
Still, he knew they couldn’t keep their love a secret forever. At some point in the very near future, they’d have to weather the fascination that was bound to come from an international celebrity choosing to settle down with an ordinary man who fiddled with electronics for a living. Jack desperately hoped Mary would be ready for that when it happened….
With bumper-to-bumper traffic in the city that afternoon, Jack decided it would be faster to forgo a taxi to Walter Industries and head there on foot, instead. Allen had asked to see Jack, Larry and Howie this afternoon so that they could touch base on the progress they’d made these past two weeks and to make sure they were all on the same page heading into the big pre-Christmas launch in a couple of days.
As he walked past a strip of high-end stores, the glint of light off a ring in a jewelry store window stopped Jack in his tracks.
He’d often heard it said that the key to success was never to make the mistake of letting something shiny along the path pull one’s attention away from the end goal. But, as an inventor, Jack had learned the enormous value of paying attention to those little glimmers that arrived and surprised him. Because sometimes you were so busy looking for answers that you missed seeing them when they were right in front of you.
He was inside the jewelry store a moment later asking to see the ring in the window. The diamond at the center of the slender band had been cut into a perfect circle and was set with smaller diamonds in a delicate ring all around it.
“This is a traditional Italian engagement ring from our estate collection,” the slim woman behind the counter told him. “It’s approximately eighty years old, and the woman who sold it to us said her grandmother wore it with great love her whole life. The smaller diamonds surrounding the center diamond symbolize the eternity of love.”
No wonder he’d been so drawn to the ring. It was not only from Italy, but it had a history of great love.
The woman discreetly showed him the price, and he had to blink a couple of times to process the large number before saying, “I’d appreciate it a great deal if you’d hold this ring for me. I don’t have the money right now, but I’ll get it.”
“I can hold it until closing, sir.”
“I’ll be back for it before then,” he promised.
It had been less than twenty-four hours since they’d declared their love for each other, but Jack had waited his whole life to meet Mary. Most people took a while to go from “I love you” to “Will you marry me?” But just as he couldn’t have held back that love from her last night, he knew he wouldn’t be able to wait for their new beginning to be official, either.
This was the ring he would give to Mary when he asked her to be his forever.
* * *
Fifteen minutes later, Jack walked into Allen’s office, barely noticing the spectacular view of the Bay and the bridge from the chairman’s windows.
“Great news, Jack,” Allen greeted him as he came around his desk and shook Jack’s hand. “We’ve got nearly all of the major retailers on board already, and we haven’t even had our official campaign launch yet.” Allen was as animated—and pleased—as Jack had ever seen him. “Mary’s face and personal endorsement of the Pocket Planner have been pure advertising gold. You were right not to give up hope on your invention. I’ve got a very good feeling about what the Christmas season is going to bring for all of us.”
Jack had a good feeling about things, too, but for different reasons. Because, while he was happy that their business was going well, solidifying his future with Mary now took precedence over everything else.
“I’m glad to hear things are going well,” Jack said, and then in his characteristically direct way, he said, “I need an advance on my earnings, Allen. This afternoon, actually.”
“You need money this afternoon?” The other man raised an eyebrow. “How much?”
Jack told him the number, and Allen stared at him for a long moment before finally nodding. “Excuse me while I call my personal banker to let him know to have a cashier’s check for that amount waiting for you immediately.”
“Thank you.” Jack had never asked anyone for a loan before, and he’d very rarely asked for a favor, either. But his pride could take a backseat for a few hours. Mary was more important.
After concluding the call, Allen sat back in his chair. “You don’t strike me as the kind of man who would get himself into trouble gambling, Jack.” Clearly, he was dying for more details, but in the end he simply said, “Whatever you’re planning to use that money for, I hope it’s worth it.”
“I don’t have a single doubt about that.” Jack decided that Allen’s vote of confidence in him deserved one in return. “I’m going to ask Mary to marry me. Your generous advance on profits has just made it possible for me to buy her the ring she deserves.”
Allen’s eyes grew big. “You’re with Mary? Our Mary?” When Jack nodded, Allen had to clarify one more time, “Mary Ferrer?”
“I’m in love with her.”
“Of course, you’re in love with her. Who isn’t?” Allen replied, but his shock was already shifting to admiration. “I couldn’t have written the headlines better myself: An Unexpected Christmas Romance Between Our Brilliant Inventor and the Gorgeous Model. She was already the golden touch we needed for this campaign, but if she says yes to your proposal, the two of you together will be the best story we could ever have—”
Jack cut Allen off. “I appreciate your cashier’s check, and that you’re so excited about things working out between Mary and myself. But we’d like to keep things private between us for as long as we possibly can.” The chairman had just done him a great favor by issuing the check, but Jack’s gratitude didn’t extend to selling their “love story” to the press, especially not given Mary’s past with Romain. “I would never exploit our relationship for increased profits.”
After a long silence, Allen spoke. “Very few people stand up to me anymore. I’m richer, smarter, and more powerful than all of them. But you’ve surprised me from the start, Jack.” Allen suddenly grinned, looking ten years younger as he waved Jack out of the room. “Go get your ring and the girl. I’d w
ish you luck, but I have a feeling you’re not going to need it.”
Jack thanked Allen again and was just getting into the elevator when Howie and Larry stepped out of it.
“Where are you going?” Howie asked. “Isn’t Allen waiting for all of us in his office?”
“You two can take this meeting without me. I’ll see you all tomorrow at the final shoot.”
Where, hopefully, he’d arrive as a newly engaged man.
* * *
Mary had really enjoyed the mix of photo shoots and interviews while working on Jack’s campaign, but tonight was her favorite moment so far. The ad agency had booked her to be a part of the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Union Square, and she would be giving away twenty-five free Pocket Planners as early Christmas gifts to people in the crowd.
Already, Mary had spotted several people who she guessed would really benefit from one. A young mother trying to simultaneously hold the hands of three rambunctious children. A businessman who had arrived tense and harried but who, when he saw his kids in the crowd, immediately dropped his briefcase to the ground to catch their hugs. Even the teenage girl with the heavy backpack who was clearly dreaming of finishing her classes for the semester so that she could enjoy winter break with her friends.
The night air was crisp and the sky was clear and sparkling with stars. The only thing that could make Mary’s night better was if Jack were here to share it with her.
For the dozenth time that day, she worked to push back her impatient longing for him…especially when there was only an hour left to go before she could meet him at her house.
Though the night was cool, remembering their lovemaking from the night before made Mary warm all over. How sweet Jack had been as he whispered “I love you” over every bare inch of her skin, then followed up his words with heated kisses that stole every last rational thought from her brain. Again and again they’d loved each other, until they’d finally fallen asleep in each other’s arms. They’d awakened to tangled sheets and a sensual hunger that hadn’t even come close to being sated. Mary had never known pleasure so sweet, so decadent or so overwhelming.