She hated this movie. Yet every single fucking time it came on, she watched it.
Darcy wished she could close her eyes and fall into oblivion. But with all the sugar she’d been eating, there was no way she could fall asleep anytime soon. Plus, it was only seven o’clock.
At least she had jelly beans.
The Toros and the Clovers were getting ready for their final cheer-off when she heard a knock at the door.
“Jesus Christ,” she muttered.
Throwing her pillow and afghan to the side, she smashed her finger down on the pause button and stalked to the door. Was it possible for a girl to watch Bring It On in peace, for fuck’s sake?
She yanked open the door and her body froze.
“Hey.”
His voice flowed like silken ribbons and her heart skipped in her chest. She stared at Sean in disbelief, taking him all in.
He was gorgeous as usual, with tousled blond hair. He wore a dark gray pea coat on top of dark jeans and a crisp white button-down that was open at the base of his neck. He held a small bakery box in front of him with both hands. His bright blue eyes looked guarded yet determined.
Like he was on a mission.
Darcy pulled a deep breath into her lungs and tried to steady her pulse. “What are you doing here, Sean?”
He smiled tentatively. “Mind if I come in?”
She could say she minded. She should say she minded. Instead, she stepped to the side and allowed him to enter.
He stood just inside the door, as if he were a guest there for the first time. Funny how breaking up with someone you’d known for nearly twenty years turned them into a stranger.
Darcy debated whether she should stand or go sit on the couch. Her knees were a little wobbly, and she really should sit. But she knew that if she got comfortable, he might take it as a sign that she didn’t mind him being there.
She did mind. Because her resolve was so fragile, especially when he was standing right in front of her, she couldn’t afford to listen to how sorry he was. Presuming he was there to apologize. She knew it wouldn’t take much groveling on his part to get her to reconsider. She’d been reconsidering since the night they broke up.
So instead of sitting, she stepped into the living room and turned to face him. He paced to the dining table and slid the white bakery box onto it.
“What’s in the box?”
He looked up at her and smiled sheepishly. “Backup.”
“It’s New Year’s Eve. Why aren’t you at your family’s party?”
“I hate that fucking party. I haven’t been to it since I left for college.”
Darcy drew her brows up. That was news to her. So maybe the McKenna New Year’s party wasn’t the place to be every year.
Whatever, that didn’t matter. She shook the thought away and crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s going on, Sean?”
“Wellington called me this week. He wants to change the entrance of the hotel to Central Street. He thinks a Central Street address sounds more impressive.”
Darcy shrugged. “He’s right.”
“Yeah, that’s what I told him.”
She tilted her head impatiently. What did that have to do with her?
Sean shrugged under her stare. “I just thought I would tell you since it will have a small impact on your lobby design plans.”
“Fine. Just send me the new blueprints, and I’ll amend my plan.”
He nodded slowly.
“Did you come all the way to Providence to tell me that?”
“No. I actually have a lot more to say.”
She raised her brows and waited. He blew out a noisy breath and focused his eyes on her, almost as if he was calming his nerves.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said, Darcy. About you deserving one hundred percent of someone’s love. You’re absolutely right. I want that for you. But I want a lot of things.”
He started to pace as he talked. “I want to head Rolland Construction one day. I want to buy a nice house in a nice neighborhood like an adult and stop living with my college roommates.” He became more animated, talking with his hands. “I want to stop blaming my sister for everyone comparing me to her because it’s not her fault. I want Quinn and Ewan to live happily ever after. I want my mom to mostly stay out of my business but still send me care packages in the mail. I want my dad to stay healthy and not work so much. I want all my friends to be successful.”
He stopped pacing and looked at her. “I want to grab a drink with you after work. I want to wait forever while you get dressed so we can go get dinner. I want to see your crazy tall shoes in my closet and all your girly beauty products in my bathroom. I want to sleep on purple sheets and under a purple comforter. I want to watch you drink all my friends under the table and listen to you curse like a sailor.”
He took a step toward her. “I want to hear your voice every day. I want to wake up beside you every morning. I want to make pancakes for you every Sunday, rain or shine. I don’t want a long-distance relationship with you anymore, and if that means me moving to Providence, so be it. I want to come home from work knowing I get to see you every night. I want to watch you kick the shit out of your interior design competition. I want to hear all about your day when you get home. I never want to miss a Thanksgiving meal with you ever again.”
He approached her carefully like she might spook and run.
“The way I see it, wanting is when you don’t have something, and you wish you did. Needing is when you don’t have something, and you can’t go on without it.” This time he reached out slowly and touched her cheek with his fingertips. “Those are all things I want, but let me tell you what I need. I need you.”
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, and she tried hard to stop the whimper surging to escape her throat. She bit her lip as he cupped her face in his warm hands.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to figure this shit out.”
“Sean…” Her voice faltered.
“Wait, I’m not finished. I saved the best for last.” He looked deep into her eyes, his brow furrowing in concentration. “I love you. I think I might have loved you since the day I met you.”
The words she’d waited ten lifetimes to hear squeezed her heart. She desperately wanted to believe him. She should have felt elated, yet disbelief and doubt were niggling away at her.
“Sean,” she whispered, “I don’t doubt that you care for me. But forgive me if I’m having a hard time believing that you’re all of a sudden in love with me.”
His thumb brushed the crest of her cheek. “Trust me, I can understand that. I can’t explain to you how I know that I love you. And I know that doesn’t give you much confidence in me. My realization might have been sudden, but this feeling has always been there. When you told me all about your past, it changed things for me. At that moment, things got real. I was furious that you had to go through what you did. And the fact that I didn’t know how to handle my feelings scared the shit out of me. I acted like a complete dick because, for the first time in my life, I realized that there was a possibility that I could let you down, just like your fucking parents let you down. And that would be the worst failure I could have. So instead of manning up and dealing with it, I threw myself into the only thing I’ve ever succeeded at, which was my work.”
She felt her chin start to wobble as tears threatened to fall.
“To be honest, I’m still scared,” he continued. “I was so focused on the fact that you loved me and how I couldn’t screw that up because you needed me. But all this time, it was actually me who needed you. Throughout our whole friendship, I’ve always thought I’ve been trying to make you laugh and smile and be happy because I thought that’s what you needed me to do. I was happy to do that for you. Hell, I insisted on it. But I’m pretty sure the real reason it was so important to me is because I loved you. You’re the other side of my seesaw.”
She blinked in confusion. “Your seesaw?”
“Yes. We bal
ance each other. I need you, and you need me. Like a seesaw. I lift you up, but you also lift me up.”
“Okay,” she said.
His analogy wasn’t the most romantic thing she’d ever heard, but she wasn’t going to complain.
“I know I sound crazy,” he admitted, “but I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. So I offer you this, Darcy Owens: one hundred percent unconditional love. Take or leave it.” He smiled down at her before he quickly added, “Even if you decide to leave it, it’s still yours.”
Warm euphoria pulsed throughout her entire body. Darcy closed her eyes. She felt joy dance inside as the tears she was trying to hold back fell down her cheeks.
“Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear you say that?”
“Eighteen years?”
“Pretty much.”
“I meant every word I said,” he whispered.
She lifted up on her toes and kissed him. It wasn’t a hard kiss, but it wasn’t a soft one either. Their lips lazily melded together like they had all the time in the world. In the past few months that they’d been dating, there hadn’t been one kiss that could rival the sweetness or the tenderness of this kiss.
He rested his forehead against hers and pulled her tight against him. He sighed, seemingly content to stay there for the rest of the night.
“I accept your offer,” Darcy said.
“Thank Christ,” he replied, pulling back to look down at her. “Because it would be a giant kick in the balls if we shared a kiss like that and then you turned me down. That kiss was so good I think I may have impregnated you.”
Darcy laughed. “You’re so full of it.”
“Hey, when you’re good, you’re good.”
“And the thought of impregnating me doesn’t scare you?”
He smiled as he searched her face. “Scare me? Yes. Scare me away? Never.”
Her heart was so full of love and longing and joy that it was close to bursting. Darcy pressed her lips to his before laying her head on his chest.
Catching sight of the white bakery box on the table, she asked, “What’s really in the box?”
“Carrot cake cupcakes. Extra cream cheese icing.”
Darcy grinned. He really did love her.
Epilogue
One Year Later….
“Don’t worry, Mrs. McKenna.” Darcy spoke into her cell phone as she tried to get her heels on. “We’ll be there early for the party to help you set up.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sean stomping his feet like a five-year-old. She tried to stop the giggle that worked its way up her throat.
“Wonderful, dear. And Darcy, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Katherine?”
“Sorry, old habit.”
Mrs. McKenna—Katherine—had been beside herself with happiness when Sean finally told her that he was dating Darcy. She’d proclaimed she’d just known the two of them would end up together.
Now Darcy was on Katherine’s weekly call list. When the older woman just wanted to chat, she called Darcy. When there was gossip in Ballagh that needed to be shared, she called Darcy. When she couldn’t get ahold of her son, she called Darcy. If the woman called her actual daughter as much as she called Darcy, there wouldn’t be much time left in her day.
“All right, we’ll see you in a week,” Katherine said, “although I’m sure we’ll chat before then. Have a wonderful time at your party tonight!”
“Thanks. See you on New Year’s Eve.”
She hadn’t even hit disconnect before Sean started in on her. “Are you really making me go to their New Year’s party?”
She smiled as she walked to her jewelry box to fish out the purple teardrop earrings Sean had given her. “Yes. And stop whining. I’m looking forward to it.”
“But it’s a bunch of old people, half of whom fall asleep before midnight.”
“Quinn and Ewan will be there.”
Sean slumped onto their giant king-size bed covered with plum-colored pillows and blankets. “The only thing Quinn talks about these days is their upcoming wedding. I don’t care what she says, I am not wearing a fucking green cummerbund.”
Darcy knew for a fact that Sean wouldn’t be wearing a green cummerbund at Quinn and Ewan’s wedding in the spring, but she didn’t want to ruin Quinn’s fun.
“I promised your mother we’d be at the party. It was hard enough on her that we aren’t spending Christmas with them. We’ll go to the party for an hour or two and then we’ll leave, okay?”
He stuck his bottom lip out. His exaggerated pout did nothing to take away from how mouthwateringly delicious he looked dressed in a navy blue suit and vest with copper-colored tie. His light hair was long again, curling just over the collar of his white shirt.
The fabric of his trousers hugged his strong thighs as he sat on the side of the bed. He was all man sitting on their purple duvet.
And all hers.
“If you keep looking at me like that, we aren’t gonna make it to the party.”
Darcy knew he wasn’t kidding. His gaze was heated with all types of temptations. She smiled and quickly moved to the full-length mirror to finish getting ready.
She’d made the move to Boston in February. It hadn’t made sense for Sean to relocate to Providence when Darcy’s business was more flexible.
She still traveled to Providence often to meet with her existing clients, but the move had proved lucrative for her in the long run. Her clientele had doubled in Boston, leaving her very little time to do anything but work.
Similarly, Sean continued his arduous work schedule after Michael had announced he was retiring. The transition would be final in the second quarter of the following year, but since the announcement, Sean had been at the helm of the company.
When Darcy had decided to move to Boston, she and Sean had immediately started to house hunt. They’d struck gold when they found a partially finished single-family bungalow just outside the city.
Although the layout and structure were already underway, Darcy and Sean were able to make the final calls on the finishings. The downside was that it had taken two months to be move-in ready, and Darcy had had to live with the three amigos in their cesspool townhouse.
Their bungalow was small, but it was perfect. Darcy still had to pinch herself when Sean walked through the door every evening when he returned home from work.
Darcy looked in the mirror at the two necklaces she held against her dress. Deciding on the pearls, she doubled the long strand around her neck so it cascaded down her chest in two loops.
“Finished.” She turned to Sean and held her hands out. “What do you think?”
He stood and prowled toward her, his eyes sweeping up her long, glistening champagne-colored dress. He put his hands around her waist and turned her in a circle. The beaded fringe overlay of her skirt swung out as she twirled.
She felt his warm breath on her bare back and over her bare shoulder. His hands skimmed up her arms as she faced him again, one hand stopping at her neck and the other moving into her hair to trace her vintage art-deco crystal hairband she’d found while wedding dress shopping with Quinn.
His sparkling blue eyes met hers and he smiled. “You look gorgeous, Darcy.”
She couldn’t take her eyes off his mouth as he said the words. She’d never tire of his compliments. There used to be so few, but now there were many. Since Sean had broken through his dam of emotions, he was quick to let her know how he felt about everything, especially when that something had to do with her.
Now, he freely shared his feelings. Some days Darcy teased him that he’d grown a vagina. Sean would proceed to unzip his pants to show her that wasn’t true. When he’d threatened to show her at the movie theater, she’d stopped teasing him about it.
“Shall we head to The Roswell?” he asked.
“Let’s go.”
###
It was definitely the swankiest Christmas party that Rolland Construction had ever thrown. Sean had been at
the grand opening of The Roswell, but it hadn’t looked anything like this.
The dimly light room of wall-to-wall windows had been transformed into a winter wonderland. White garland, white lights, and white trees decorated the entire space. Silver and gold candles glistened around the room; white tablecloths with silver table runners adorned the tables. Even the wait and bar staff wore white.
The Roswell Hotel, named for Rosalind Wellington, was the premier boutique hotel in all of New England. It was impossible to get a room reservation there, let alone reserve their entire bar. Good thing Sean had connections.
Or rather, good thing Darcy had connections.
One mention to Ros that Rolland Construction was looking for a space for their annual Christmas party and, bada-bing, the entire hotel bar was theirs for the night.
The room and catering were free of charge. The only thing the company paid for was the bar tab.
Sean had his suspicions that if it’d been up to Hyde, there would have been a hefty discount for the use of their facility, but there still would have been a charge. One didn’t get to where Hyde Wellington was in his career by being a nice guy and passing out freebies. But Rosalind had been the one to make the arrangements, and therefore they were living it up on the Wellingtons’ dime.
Sean skirted the outside of the room, saying hello to everyone. Michael was still CEO, but in name only. Sean was running the entire company.
With Michael’s permission, Sean had restructured the executive team, adding a level of vice-presidents to help him oversee all the functions of the company. It had taken some time to find the right people for the positions, but now that they were in place and all the kinks had been worked out, Sean was relishing his new role.
Finally, he made it to his table near where the jazz trio had set up. Darcy was seated there, looking like she’d stepped out of The Great Gatsby, talking to a couple other women at the table.
Her legs were crossed, which parted her skirt up to well above her knee. The shallow indentation along her thigh muscle beckoned to him like a magnetic pull. Her dark-painted lips were turned up in a smile, while her shoulder-length dark hair was perfectly curled against her slender neck.
Not In My Wildest Dreams (McKenna Series Book 2) Page 34