Crashing Into Love (33 page)

Fiona couldn’t get over the way Jake had tried so hard to push away his feelings and be the most unselfish man he could by telling her to take the promotion. She teared up nearly every time she thought of it. She’d never met a man who tried so hard and dug so deep to change who he was.

But she knew Jake didn’t really have to
change
. He had only to find the part of himself he’d repressed, and she knew she’d made the right choice—the
only
choice she could live with. Paul had taken the news well, although he was sorry to lose her. He offered to let her consult as often as they could work out their schedules. For now Fiona was happy to be involved with Joe and Clark’s new research paper. Jake had expressed an interest in spending more time at the cabin and in starting a family after they were married. But he was in no rush to fill up their time alone, and that suited her just fine.

“Babe, I spoke to my cousin Savannah’s husband, Jack Remington, and got in touch with his mother, Joanie, and his brother Sage. They’re both willing to give you art lessons. Joanie is a painter, and Sage is a sculptor and painter.”

“Jake…” She didn’t know what to say. She knew his cousin Savannah, Hal Braden’s daughter, had gotten married, but she had no idea she’d married into an artistic family, and she was floored that Jake had thought of this. “When did you have time to do that?”

“When you were in the shower.”

She smiled and shook her head. “Will you ever stop surprising me?”

“Probably not, but I want your dreams to come true. I figured since I have a break after filming this movie, before we go to Sweetwater for Zane’s next film, we could fly to New York City, spend some time with the Remingtons so you can get to know them, and figure out a way to make a schedule for your art lessons.” He shrugged. “Maybe we’ll spend one week a month there while you learn to paint, or take a month when we have time off and knock around the city. Whatever you want.”

“Oh, Jake.” Fiona blinked several times, trying to stave off the tears in her eyes. “Thank you.” She pressed her lips to his.

“We’ll look for an engagement ring while we’re there.”

She felt her eyes open wide. “We don’t have to—”

He pressed his finger to her lips. “I’m taking my girl to Greece for the most romantic honeymoon. You stole my romantic
I-love-you
moment; let me have this. Please.”

The limousine pulled up in front of the restaurant, and before Fiona could say a word, Jake was out of the car and reaching for her hand.

Cameras flashed and paparazzi shouted questions, each one louder than the next. Jake tucked her beneath his arm and held her so tightly she thought he might leave fingerprints—and that would suit her just fine.

At the entrance to the restaurant, two fans pulled at Jake’s arm. He tightened his grip around Fiona’s shoulder, and when the young fans tried to push their way in on either side of him, he held them at bay.

“You can take a picture, but my left side belongs to my fiancée.”

After the fans took their picture, Jake gazed into Fiona’s eyes and pulled her into an embrace. He took her in a deep kiss that should have embarrassed her, given that about fifty cameras were aimed at them. Instead, it weakened her knees. Jake might have had to get accustomed to feeling again, but Fiona had a big adjustment of her own. Every passionate kiss and every warm embrace set her body on fire. She had to become a master at disguising the desire Jake stirred in her—and it was an adjustment she was looking forward to practicing.

He braced her against his body, wrapped in his powerful arms, and pressed his cheek to hers. “I’ve got you, Fi, and I’ll never let you go.”

The End

 Phonix

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“HEY, ARMY! GET the hell over here!” my buddy Carter Young yells from the corner, where he’s filling his plastic cup with beer. Some girl’s running her fingers through his blond hair with a fuck-me look in her eyes.

I push from the couch and look at my watch, wondering where the hell Cassidy is. It’s Saturday night at eight o’clock, and my buddy Carter’s graduation party is in full swing. I can hardly believe I’m finally out of college. Four years felt like forever when I was going to classes, playing football, and trying to keep my head above water with my grades so my parents would stay off my ass. Looking back, even now, on the day we graduated, it seems like four years went by really fast. Strange how that happens.

Carter widens his glassy blue eyes and hollers again. “Army! Come on, man. It’s our last party. Get your ass over here and toast with me.”

I’ve known Carter since we were freshmen, when we were eyeing the same girl in one of our classes. I can’t even remember which class it was, but I remember what he said to me on the way out the door that morning.
I’ll flip you for her
. The son of a bitch won the coin toss, and we’ve been each other’s wingmen ever since. Carter calls me Army because he says Wyatt Armstrong is a pussy name. Girls hear
Army
and they’re all over me. Well, except Cassidy. She calls me Wyatt, always has. I pick up a plastic cup and hold it under the nozzle, then check my watch again while he pumps the keg.
Come on, Cass. Get here already.

“To freedom!” He crashes his cup into mine, and our beers splash everywhere before we tip our heads back and drain them. “Dude, stop looking at your phone. I’ve watched you pine over Cassidy for four years. She’ll get here when she gets here.”

“
Pine,
my ass. She’s just a friend and you know it. I swear, if that fucker screws Cassidy over again and she misses this party, I’m going to kick the shit out of him.” My best friend, Cassidy Lowell, has been dating a douche bag for two years. Kyle Warner. Even his name is douchy. He graduated a year ago and works at a furniture store. Loser.

“Dude, fess up. You’ve banged her, right?” Carter flashes one of his come-on-dude-you-can-trust-me smiles.

“No, man. I told you. You don’t bone a girl you’ve known since you were five.” Cassidy’s too good of a friend to sleep with. I’ve known her since we were five, when she moved into my neighborhood in Connecticut. Her sucky parents are never home, so over the years she’s stayed at our house probably more than her own. Hell, the truth is, we’ve slept together many times. The key word being
slept
, as in not fooled around.

“That’s fucked up.” Carter stumbles backward and bumps into a hot blonde. “Hey, babe. Lemme ask you something,” he says with his face so close to hers he might as well kiss her. He lifts his cup and points his index finger at me. Carter’s blond hair is a shade lighter than the girl’s. He played football for two years, until he blew out his knee. But he’s still ripped, and the way the girl’s eyeing him, she loves it.

He wraps his arm around her neck and I check my watch again.
Goddamn it, Cassidy
. I know Kyle’s screwing her over again. He’s always forgetting to pick her up or showing up late, but Cass is a girl, and they can be really stupid when it comes to guys. She forgives him and forgets, until the next time he treats her like she doesn’t matter. I’d like to punch his lights out, but Cass gets pissed when I tell her that.

“If you were him”—Carter points to me again—“and you had a hot best friend, would you do her?”

The blonde smiles as she drags her eyes down my body. Yeah, I’m ripped, too. What twenty-two-year-old guy who likes getting laid isn’t?