by Gina Gordon
“Sterling Andrews.” Her name was called out from above the crowd in a muffled tone, the voice oddly familiar.
She rose on her tiptoes, trying to see above the crowd, but she didn’t have to try very hard. It parted in front of her and she walked into the throng of people, a nervous excitement in her stomach.
“Keep moving,” the voice directed. “Thank you very much.” It grew louder.
When the crowd had fully parted she spotted Jack at the end of the square, a bullhorn in his hand. She froze. What the hell was he doing here? Where the hell was Penn?
Damn it, Penn! She had been duped again. She had to give her best friend credit. She was an excellent liar.
When the crowd had parted further, she noticed a cameraman and a woman with a microphone standing beside Jack. She gasped and lifted her hand to her chest. It wasn’t just any cameraman. She recognized the red lettering and the logo for Toronto Gossip. The city’s most trashy—and most visited—gossip blog.
When Jack finally spotted her from the other end of the square, he planted his feet on the ground and motioned for the cameraman to turn the camera in her direction, then put the bullhorn to his mouth. Was he really going to air their dirty laundry in the most intimate and public way possible?
“Sterling Andrews, I’m sorry.”
Maybe he was. She smiled, unable to stop her feet from walking toward him.
“I was a jackass,” he continued. “I let my insecurities push you away.”
She walked closer still, the eyes of the crowd following her as she approached. Given her current situation, she now knew why Jack disliked being in the public eye. It was unnerving.
“I have all the money in the world and I realized I want the only thing that my money can’t buy.” He paused and her heart seized, waiting for his answer. “You. The only thing in this world I want…is you.”
She had closed the distance between them now. A woman sighed to her right.
That sigh, that romantic gesture, forced Sterling to growl in disgust. She’d bet the two dollars in her bank account the woman wouldn’t be swooning if she knew exactly what Mr. Vaughn had accused her of.
“Please tell me I still have a chance with you. I’m so sorry.”
She’d spent the last couple of days moping around, depressed that Jack thought so poorly of her, but now anger simmered beneath her skin. She crossed her arms over her chest. “What made you change your mind?”
The cameraman panned over to Jack.
He stood straight, breathing at a rapid pace. “Well…” He grinned. “I got this really cool scrapbook.”
She was happy he appreciated her efforts. But was it too little too late? She tapped her foot in a steady rhythm, waiting for more.
He placed one hand on her shoulder and squeezed her tightly. “And because I love you.”
She sucked in a hard breath just as the cameraman swooped in for a closer shot. “What did you just say?”
He lifted the bullhorn to his mouth. “I—”
Sterling swatted it away. She didn’t understand. He hated his private business being splashed around the Internet.
Her heart fluttered. “Jack… This is all on camera.” She pointed to the man standing beside her. “This is very public. I thought you—”
“I love you, Sterling. I want the whole world to know it. And I want you to know that I’m willing to do the one thing I despise to prove to you just how much.”
Even if his confession was true, there was no way he could continue to love a woman who had let herself get caught up in her parents’ addiction. She shook her head. “There are things you don’t know. Things that would make you think twice about loving me.” She looked over at the camera, tears welling in her eyes. It seemed as though not only Jack’s dirty laundry was going to be exposed today.
He smiled. “I know all about your parents.”
“How…” The reporter shoved the microphone closer to her mouth. “What…”
“Penn told me.”
Damn Penn sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. Again.
“So you know…”
He nodded.
“And you still said…”
He nodded again. “I didn’t think I’d ever find a woman who would love me for more than just money, and everything that comes along with being a part of the Madewood legacy. Then I met you.”
She shook her head. “I’m broke. I have addict parents. I have siblings who are going to need to be put through university. I—”
He swooped in and kissed her. She softened against him, responding to the heat and hard flesh of his body. She would never get used to this. His kisses. Every time was like the first time.
“You have more money than you can spend in five lifetimes. You can go anywhere, do anything, be with anyone you want. Why would you want to be with me?”
“Because when the rest of the world has me pigeonholed, you have an uncanny ability to see me—the real me.”
Tears stung her eyes. This was exactly what she wanted to hear. “But… You’re leaving. You…left.”
He shook his head and pointed to the billboard. “I have a foundation to run.”
She gripped his shoulders, her arm bumping into the microphone. “I knew you could do it.”
“Sterling, this last week without you has been torture. I’ll still be able to run my restaurants, check in with them when I can, but my home is here. With you.”
The reporter sighed beside them just before she was bumped from behind and stumbled into his body. Behind them the crowd returned to their business, obviously bored with their spectacle. The entire world had fallen away. That’s what happened when he was near. She loved him. All of him. With or without money.
“I get butterflies every time I think of you,” she blurted. “I realize now that everything in my life was boring. I was boring. But I like salsa dancing, puking off the side of boats, and having sex on countertops and the beach, and—”
He raised his hand and squeezed her lips between his thumb and forefinger. “I’m the one supposed to be making the speech here.”
She laughed. She did sort of take the situation and run with it. But when the realization hit, there was nothing that was going to stop her from getting what she wanted. And what she wanted was right in front of her.
“I don’t care if you’re boring. I just need you.” Jack brought the bullhorn up to his mouth. “I love you, Sterling Andrews.” His declaration was likely heard from blocks away.
Tears fell from her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. “I love you, too.”
Jack raised his hand and cupped her cheek. His thumb rubbed against her skin, a soft caress she would never tire of.
She hurled herself into his arms and fused their mouths together. She was pretty sure the crowd cheered, but it was all in the background. The only thing that mattered was the feel of Jack in her arms, the tender kisses he placed on her lips, and the love in her heart.
A shuffling of feet caught her attention and she pulled away. The cameraman had brought the lens right to their faces capturing their intimate kiss. Sterling looked up at Jack and smiled. Reaching out, she covered the lens with her hand and said, “That’s a wrap.”
The cameraman peeked from around the camera and smiled. Walking away, he tugged along the reporter, who held out her microphone for as long as she could.
Sterling rested her forehead against his. “You know this means you’ve just inherited an entire family who loves nothing more than to spend money. I’m literally your worst nightmare.”
He leaned in a kissed her, soft and loving. Lazily, as if this was only the first of a million kisses.
His brushed the tip of his nose against hers. “If you’re the worst nightmare I’ll ever have, I’m going to have sweet dreams for the rest of my life.”
Acknowledgements
Writing a book is a solitary endeavor, but when you step out of that writing cave, it’s important to have people around you who make it all wo
rthwhile.
Libby Murphy, editor extraordinaire, thank you for making me a better writer than I could have ever imagined. I’m so happy to have you in my corner.
Liz Pelletier, thank you for believing in me and giving me a chance to succeed.
Thank you to my inner circle of writer friends. This book caused a lot of whining and a lot of ranting. Thank you for listening.
Thank you to all of my friends and family for the positive energy and excitement. Having the support of the people you love makes the journey so much sweeter.
About the Author
When her dream of becoming a mafia princess didn’t pan out, Gina Gordon went after her second dream…becoming a writer. And she hasn’t looked back.
Gina, a self-proclaimed happily-ever-after junkie and cupcake connoisseuse, loves spinning contemporary tales of knee-bending first kisses, unconditional love, and super-hot sex. She broke out onto the romance scene with her number one Amazon best-selling erotic short story “Her Five Favorite Words,” which has been called a “deliciously naughty tale” by Joyfully Reviewed.
When not chained to her computer, you can find Gina sipping Starbucks, making cupcakes or feeding her addiction to celebrity gossip. She lives in Milton, Ontario, with her husband and lovable dog.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Acknowledgements
About the Author