On today’s walk, her mom let her talk about Jose and the affair and urged her to try to figure out her feelings for Inigo. Then she just calmly said, “You were a girl who made foolish choices, but now you’re a woman. Make wise choices. I had to face my part in your father’s affair all those years ago. I’m not saying it was my fault he cheated. That’s on him. But...this is the complicated part... I sort of liked it that he was gone and not in my business with the boys. He used to fight a lot with Leo, and I hated that.”
“He’s still so hard on Leo,” Marielle agreed. “Why is that?”
“They are too alike. I don’t know what was in Jose’s head, and he’s not here to explain it to us. My only advice to you is leave it in the past. It’s out there, so it can’t hurt you any longer. You have a career that will survive this,” her mom said.
“Thanks, Mom,” she said at last, hugging her mother.
“Now about Inigo...”
“What about him? His sister isn’t ever going to forgive me,” she said.
“Is that all that is keeping you apart?”
Was it? He had a busy life and schedule. He’d asked her to give him a chance at a relationship, but she’d never been good at them. She really was better in short doses. Inigo’s sister made things complicated, but it was the thought of hurting Inigo that kept her from reaching out.
She might have fallen for him, but he saw her as a possible good-luck charm, someone who could help him win. What if she no longer could do that? What if...what if she wasn’t enough?
“No,” she admitted to her mom. “It’s me. I’m not sure I’ll ever be enough for him.”
“Does he make you feel like you are less?” her mom asked. “I don’t know him at all. I did ask around and heard some encouraging things, but that’s never the same as knowing a man intimately. Out of the public eye, life is always different.”
Marielle linked her arm through her mom’s. “He’s never made me feel less than. In fact if I’m being completely honest, he sort of makes me feel like it’s okay to be the real me. You know what I mean?”
Her mom tipped her head to the side, studying her. “The real you?”
“Yes,” Marielle said, realizing how true it was. “You know how I can sometimes do things without thinking them through...well, Inigo just goes with it.”
She stopped walking, as it dawned on her that she’d said no to being in a relationship with him not because she was unsure of him but because she was unsure of herself. She couldn’t trust that he could really like her. And she knew a lot of that stemmed from not liking the woman she’d been. But since New Year’s—since the night they’d first been together—she’d been changing. Some of it had started before all that, when she’d stopped pretending to have a good life and started sharing more honest posts on her social media channel.
Inigo had seen the real her.
And he liked her.
“Good. That’s what I like to hear. I’m not supposed to tell you this, but he’s called every day since the story broke, and he wants to see you,” her mom said.
“Why aren’t you supposed to tell me?”
“Carlton said it would be better if we had no contact with Jose’s wife’s family,” her mom said. “Your father agreed, but I wanted to talk to you first. I’m not saying he won’t back you—you know your father would give you the moon—just that he wasn’t sure if this Inigo was worthy of you. And frankly, neither was I.”
Worthy of her?
She couldn’t help the tears that burned her eyes and blinked to keep them from falling. For the first time in a really long time, maybe ever, she felt her parents’ love. She wasn’t that consolation baby anymore. She wasn’t the daughter they didn’t want but had needed to move away from scandal. And it meant more to her than she’d thought it would.
Her mom hugged her close and then wiped her own eyes. “I’m sorry it’s taken us so long to have this conversation.”
“Me too,” Marielle admitted.
* * *
Inigo hadn’t liked going to his brothers for advice, but that’s how it had worked out in the end. He’d had no choice. He’d flown to Cole’s Hill to be there for the birth of his niece, Aurora, and ended up having a family discussion on how he could win back Marielle. Derek’s brothers were there as well, so he’d gotten way more advice than he could use. His brother Mauricio and Nate Caruthers had both agreed he needed to get Marielle naked and in bed as soon as he could.
“Remind her how good you two are together—unless you aren’t? Is that the problem?” Mauricio had asked.
Which had led to some good-natured fighting.
Derek and his brother Alec had both reminded him to be honest and speak from the heart. Ethan had joked that at least they knew no one was coming back from the dead, which Inigo had to be honest was a complete relief. Ethan’s wife’s former fiancé had been presumed dead after a plane crash but then it turned out he’d survived. His return had forced Ethan to admit he loved Crisanne and wanted her for himself not just to console her because of what she’d lost.
Finally it had been Diego on the private plane from Cole’s Hill back to New York who had offered him the best advice. “Take her back to the beginning. Show her how much you love her and what it means to you that you met her. It’s not easy being vulnerable to a woman, but if she knows she’s your heart...it makes everything easier.”
So here he was in the O’Malley mansion with only their house staff, waiting and hoping that Marielle would accept Scarlet’s invitation to an imaginary party. Scarlet had agreed to set Marielle up.
He had asked the staff to direct her to the large ballroom that overlooked the ocean where he’d first seen her. He waited for what felt like hours before he heard the peal of the doorbell, which he hummed along to, realizing it was the O’Malley Beer jingle. Then he stood there tensely waiting. He heard the sound of heels on the marble in the entryway. He hadn’t realized he was holding his breath until she stopped in the doorway of the ballroom and he exhaled in a rush.
Her long, silvery-blond hair hung around her shoulders. She’d pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head, which held her hair back from her heart-shaped face. Her lips were full, tempting, reminding him of how long it had been since he kissed her. Her silvery-gray eyes watched him warily, and he reminded himself getting her here had only been step one.
“Seems like someone lied to me about the party,” Marielle said. She stayed in the doorway watching him.
“I asked her to do this,” Inigo said.
She stood there for a few more moments while he just tried to figure out what to say. How could he make things right? He realized all of the advice that everyone had given him wasn’t helping. He didn’t want to screw this up but was very afraid he would.
“Why am I here, Inigo?” she asked.
“Firstly, it’s my fault that everything came out about you and Jose. I want to apologize for that,” he said.
“You leaked it?”
“No. But I had mentioned it to someone on my team and he spilled it—accidentally but still...”
“Not Keke?”
“No, never. Elena really likes you, and so does Keke. He would never hurt anyone,” Inigo said.
“Good. I liked them too,” Marielle said. “Thanks for clearing that up. You could have left a message with that information.”
“I could have. But Carlton told me to stop calling and texting,” Inigo said. “And I’m not going to. I didn’t invite you here today for that. I just wanted to clear it up before I told you...well, what I want to tell you.”
He felt really hot. Like his entire neck and torso were covered in sweat, and she still just stood there watching him.
“I’m listening.”
Oh, God. Could he do this? Tell her he loved her? But he knew he had to. He couldn’t keep moving through life at Mach 1 and
hoping that when he finally slowed down he’d have someone waiting for him.
He had rehearsed some romantic-sounding things but now standing here, drenched in his own sweat, they were gone.
“I love you.”
God. He’d blurted it out, just sort of yelled it across the room.
“What?”
“I’m messing this up,” he said, tugging at the collar of his shirt and crossing the room to her. He stopped when he was a few feet away, because he caught a whiff of her perfume and it made him remember how her entire body felt in his arms.
“I love you, Marielle. I wanted you to come back here because this is where I started falling for you that very first night when you crooked your finger at me.”
“You did?” she asked, arching one eyebrow at him. “Your dad had to shove you toward me.”
“Only because I knew that once I went to you, you would be forever in my heart. It took me a long time to realize that, but it’s the truth. I love you.”
She gave him a sort of sad smile. “But unless I’m wrong Bianca isn’t going to be too thrilled to have me in your life and I don’t blame her.”
“She’s—”
“No, we can’t ignore her feelings on this, Inigo,” she said. “My mom told me she still hates the woman my father had the affair with all those years ago, and Mom never has to see her. How would it be fair to Bianca for me to be in her life?”
“I was afraid you would feel that way,” he admitted. “You have such a good heart. Bianca wanted to come with me today, but she’s just given birth and travel is out of the question,” Inigo said. “But she sent this video message for you.”
Marielle blinked at him, then shook her head. “What?”
“Just watch the message and then we can talk,” he said, handing her his phone.
She looked at him, hesitating a moment, before pressing the screen to start the video.
“Marielle, I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to talk to you in person,” Bianca said in the video. “While your affair with Jose was a shock to my system and something that was devastating when it happened, I’ve moved on to a rich life surrounded by a family that I love. If I know anything about Inigo he wouldn’t have continued to see you if there wasn’t something special in you. I’m not saying you and I are going to be besties starting tomorrow but I would like to get to know you better. I forgive you.”
The message ended and Marielle let her hand holding the phone fall to her side. There were tears in her eyes as she looked back over at him.
“Thank you for this,” she said.
“You’re welcome. I love you, Marielle, and there is nothing I won’t do to get you into my life. That is, if you want me.”
She crooked her finger at him.
He closed the distance between them, stopping when they were only a few inches apart. He was waiting but his heart was full of hope.
“I love you too, Speedy,” Marielle said.
He lifted her into his arms and kissed her. It didn’t matter when they both knew it, just that they had admitted their feelings for each other.
“I know it won’t be easy, but I want... I want us to spend the rest of our lives together. We can figure it out as we go along,” he said.
“I like that idea,” she said.
Epilogue
One year later
The past year of Inigo’s life had gone by at a fast pace. He’d won several races during the Formula One season and had finished in the top five. Keke and Marco were both overjoyed with that result and were looking at ways to improve for the coming season, but everyone agreed he was on the right track. Everyone had said that his happiness off the track had brought him the results he’d never been able to achieve by himself.
Dante had left the Moretti Motors team and gone to work in MotoGP. After revealing that he’d been drinking the night of the leak with Curtis Hemlin, another engineer on the team, an investigation had been launched. It turned out, Curtis had been the one leaking Inigo’s times to the bookies. Curtis had been fired and was under criminal investigation. Malcolm’s undercover gambling had helped them get the proof they needed that Curtis was the saboteur. Dante had offered heartfelt apologies to both Marielle and Bianca, and Inigo was glad the other man had found a fresh start.
Malcolm and Helena had been married in the fall; practically the entire town of Cole’s Hill had been there. Malcolm had written his own vows and made Helena and all the women in attendance swoon at his promises to be his own man and try to avoid temptation. Malcolm really seemed to be a new man after all he’d been through.
Most surprising of all, his sister and Marielle were becoming friends. Once the ugliness of Jose’s behavior was out in the open, the two women were both able to move past it. Which was more than Inigo could have hoped for.
Now he couldn’t help watching Marielle across the room at Scarlet’s New Year’s Eve party. The last year had been a busy one for her as well. She’d been honest about her affair with Jose, and that had won her more followers because she’d told the truth. She’d taken on more brand work, and Inigo was in awe of how she managed everything.
He noticed her height, as always, but also the way her hair hung down her back. The dress she wore was one of those shimmery shift dresses she favored, leaving the majority of her back bare. Inigo had taken advantage of that all evening, loving the feel of his hand on her bare skin.
The edges of her tattoo were visible. She’d had a tiny race car added underneath the poison apple. She no longer thought of herself as a sinner, she’d told him, now that they were living together in their truth.
Tonight he hoped to ask her to be his wife. The last year had tested them, and they’d found their own way of living together while he traveled around the world and trained and she worked. He was already talking to Keke. In a few years, after he’d won a championship, he hoped to retire from driving and move up into management at Moretti Motors.
“Sweetie,” his mom said, coming over to him and handing him a glass of champagne. “I had hoped I wouldn’t have to tell you this, but it’s time to ask Marielle to marry you.”
“Mom.”
“I thought you’d do it last year when you were both home for Thanksgiving,” she added.
“You can’t be in charge of this,” he said to her.
“In charge of what, son? You know your mom only has your best interests at heart,” his father said as he came over, putting his hand on his shoulder and squeezing.
“I do,” his mom said. “You need to put a ring on Marielle’s finger. She’s not the kind of woman who will wait forever.”
“Listen to her, son,” his father said.
“I love you both, but I will do this when I’m ready,” he said, hugging them. He walked away, a bit irked that they were pressing him on the very night when he intended to propose.
He’d had the ring for three months now, an exquisite bespoke piece that his sister-in-law Pippa had designed for him and had made at House of Hamilton, the royal London jewelers. He’d been waiting for the right moment and knew that it was tonight.
Marielle glanced over at him and waggled her eyebrows, then she crooked her finger at him, beckoning him toward her. He moved slowly across the room, and then when he was a few feet from her, he went down on one knee.
She just stared at him.
“Are you doing this?”
“I am,” he said. “Marielle, you own me heart and soul, and I can’t imagine my life without you by my side. Would you please do me the honor of marrying me?”
The music had stopped, and everyone had turned to stare at them, but he had eyes only for her. She was the only one here who mattered at this moment, and she knew it.
She nodded. “Yes!”
He got to his feet, took out the ring and put it on her finger. He lifted her into his arms and whispered aga
inst her lips, “I love you.”
She put her hands on either side of his head and kissed him back long and deep. “I love you too.”
Applause broke out, and their families all came over to congratulate them. Inigo’s life had always seemed better as he’d raced through it, not letting anything touch him. But he knew that it had been empty without this woman he loved by his side.
* * *
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Scandal rocks the Bisset family
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Twin Scandals
by Fiona Brand
One Night to Risk It All Page 15