Dare To Love Series: Daring to Chance It (Kindle Worlds Novella) (10 page)

Okay, she’d wait to see if he still showed up to take her to breakfast in the morning. If he did, she’d listen to what he had to say. She owed that much to both of them. She was finally smart enough to realize things weren’t always the way they seemed.

Be smart, Sarah. Be daring. Take a chance. Listen to his side.

Finally, when both the wine and her thoughts gave her a headache, she undressed for the third time, yanked on her sleep shirt, and crawled into bed. She was just pushing herself over the edge into sleep when her doorbell rang, followed by heavy knocking.

What the hell?

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” she shouted as she walked barefoot and bare-assed down the hall.

The pounding and bell ringing continued. She looked through the security peephole and took a step back.
Beau? Here? At oh-dark-whatever?
Raking her hand through her hair, she undid the locks on the door and pulled it open. He nearly fell into the foyer.

“Beau? What is going on?”

Beau knew he’d taken a big risk coming over here like this. He was afraid, though, if he called first, Sarah would hang up on him. Getting rid of Lacey had taken some doing, especially when he forcibly escorted her out to her car. What a nasty scene that had been. He’d actually threatened to have the cops come and haul her off before she’d gotten the message.

All the way over here, he’d alternately prayed and beaten himself up for his stupidity. He had no idea what he’d find at Sarah’s, but he was determined to deal with whatever was going on. He couldn’t lose her. That wasn’t an option he’d even consider.

At least she’d opened the door for him. The sight of her in her rumpled sleep shirt made his cock stand at attention. He sent it an urgent message to stand down. This wasn’t the time for sex, not until he made her understand what was going on and how he felt about her.

He took a good look at her framed in the doorway. She hadn’t been crying, thank god, but he didn’t know if that was a good sign or a bad one. Hopefully, she was so mad, tears weren’t an option. Anger he could deal with more easily. He didn’t mind pissing her off. It was the heartbreak he saw on her face that nearly destroyed him. He wanted to haul her into his arms and kiss her, but he had shit to take care of first.

“I know it’s late,” he began, “but no way could I wait until morning. Please, can I come in, Sarah? Please? I’ll get down on my knees and beg if that’s what it takes, but I need to tell you what that was all about.” And he definitely would do that.

She stared at him for a long time, obviously trying to get a read on him. He knew he was a mess. His clothes probably looked like he’d slept in them, and his hair was unkempt. He hadn’t taken the time to put himself together after the confrontation with Lacey. He’d barely been able to keep himself from killing her. Then the big, messy scene getting her out of the house.

Fuck. Not what he needed after five hard days, when all he’d wanted was to take Sarah in his arms.

“Please?” he begged again, anguish swirling inside him.

She hauled in a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“Okay. Yes. Because I’d really like to hear whatever you have to say.” She walked ahead of him into the living room, flicking on a couple of lamps then turning when she heard the door close. “How about some coffee? Or would you rather have a drink?”

“I’m pretty sure alcohol is the last thing I need, although getting drunk might help wipe away what happened at the house. But I will take coffee. Thanks.”

While she brewed two cups in her single-serving coffeemaker, he stood looking out the big window in the living room. He was willing to bargain with the devil himself if it meant getting her back.

“Here you go,” she told him in a soft voice, handing him a mug.

He took the coffee from her. “Thank you.”

“Would you like to sit down?” she asked, oh so politely.

“No.” He shook his head then took a swallow of the hot liquid, hoping it would clear his brain and help him focus. “But I’d appreciate it if you did. It will make this easier.”

Something flashed across her face. Pain? Anger? And all his fault. Damn Lacey for doing this, and damn him for not laying it all out for Sarah in the beginning.

“If you like.” She sounded the way she might speak to a stranger.

Fuck.

She curled herself into a corner of the couch, sipped at her coffee, and looked at him expectantly.

Where to start? Jesus, what a mess.

“First of all,” he began “what you saw at the house tonight had no basis in reality. I want you to know that right from the start. You have no idea how sorry I am you got caught in a messy situation.”

“Messy situation,” she repeated. “That’s an interesting description of what happened.”

“It’s the damn truth.” He paced back and forth, unable to stand still. “I should have told you everything about Lacey to begin with.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “You should have.” She cocked her head. “So, why didn’t you?”

“Because I was a coward.”

She frowned. “A coward? I don’t understand.”

Another slug of coffee. More pacing. Finally, he set the mug down and shoved his hands in the pockets of his slacks.

“I didn’t tell you because I was embarrassed about the whole thing. Ashamed.”

Sarah lifted her eyebrows. “Ashamed? Embarrassed?” she repeated. “About what?”

“That I’d been stupid enough to marry a brainless gold digger like Lacey Everhart.” And wasn’t that the uncomfortable reality, after all. For a man who thought he was so smart, he’d been pretty fucking stupid. “I don’t have much of an excuse, Sarah. I was beating myself up for walking out on you the way I did in New Orleans. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I couldn’t stop dreaming about you every damn night. That one night was so incredible, I couldn’t get it out of my head.”

“And?” she prompted.

“And I’m not the playboy type, no matter what you might have thought. Once I got my feet under me, got fully established in the NFL, I wanted to get married, have a home and a family. It’s what I’ve always wanted, not the kind of party life some of the guys seem to live for.”

“Isn’t that what you got?”

“Oh, yeah. Right.” He snorted. “I guess I got what I deserved, marriage to a lush who slept with anything in pants when I wasn’t around. Someone who spent my money like I was printing it in the basement and thought she deserved a reward for giving birth to a child she then ignored.”

“Not the happy little family, I guess.” There was no mistaking the edge to her voice.

“Far from it.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I’d found her in bed with my backup on the team, the most recent in a long line of playmates. Then Babs clued me in to how she was around Toby, either being mean or ignoring him altogether. That was the frosting on the cake.” He reached for his mug, looked into it and, discovering it empty, set it down again. “I wanted it with you, Sarah. Lacey was a poor substitute, and I guess I deserved whatever I got.”

“I’ll get some more coffee.” Sarah started to rise from the couch.

“No.” He held up a hand. “I’m fine. No, not fine,” he corrected himself, “but I don’t think I should drink more coffee.”

She was silent for a long moment. “That must all have been so devastating for you, Beau,” she said at last.

He relaxed an infinite amount when her voice sounded softer, warmer.

“And humiliating,” he went on. “All the world could see how stupid I’d been.” He clenched his fists then relaxed them. He hadn’t let any grass grow under his feet that time. “But one thing money can buy you is a damn good lawyer.” He started pacing again. “Mine was a shark. Before I could blink, I was divorced, Lacey had a hefty property settlement, and I had sole custody of Toby.”

“Lucky for him,” she said.

He could almost see a smile on her face. Still, he knew he was not out of the woods here yet. Far from it.

“The divorce decree stipulated she have no contact with him,” he went on, rubbing the back of his neck to ease some of the tension there. “I guess, when he’s old enough, I can tell him the truth, and he can decide for himself if he wants to get to know her. But, in the meantime, she gets nowhere near him or the money faucet shuts off. And that’s the last thing she wants.”

“So, what was tonight all about? Please help me understand.”

“Lacey is desperate, apparently more so than usual. She gets her money as a monthly allowance. Otherwise, she’d blow the whole thing. I found out she’s gotten herself deep in debt and wanted back on the gravy train.” He shuddered. “I’d shoot myself first.”

“But she knew—”

“The codes. And she had keys. I know, I know.” He looked off at a point somewhere, anywhere but at her. A bitter taste washed into his mouth. He’d been shocked and disappointed when he’d gotten the answer to that question. Someone was going to lose their job and their head over it.

“So how—”

Beau held out his hand, palm up, silently asking her to finish listening to him. “Here’s another kick in the pants. It seems she’s been staying here in some cheap motel, looking for an opening to wedge herself into my life again. I learned she’s been fucking Rich, the guy from my agent’s office who handles some of my stuff, like this trip. He got everything for her. Even called to tell her I got out of the dinner tonight, so I’d be home earlier than I expected.” The anger he felt about that, the sense of betrayal, still boiled in his system. He forced himself to push that aside, turn and look at Sarah. God, she was so beautiful, so real, so…so…everything.

He could see his words shocked her.

“How awful to be betrayed like that by someone you trust.”

“No shit. He’ll be lucky if he gets a job picking up trash after this. Anyway, he overheard me talking to you on the phone, so he knew I had no plans to see you tonight. That left the coast clear for her to do her dirty work.”

Sarah wrinkled her forehead. “But she had no idea I’d be coming to the house. So, what was her Plan B?”

“Get this.” Beau rubbed his face again, as if he could wipe everything away. “She actually planned to call you and say she was phoning for me and you should just come on ahead.”

“And I made it easier for her.” Sarah uncurled her legs, leaned forward, and placed her coffee mug on the low table, the liquid now gone cold. “I wouldn’t have done it, you know. Come if she’d called me. You’d never have someone contact me that way. You’d do it yourself.”

“But she didn’t know that.” Beau stopped and pulled her up from the couch so she was facing him. The simple contact of his hands against her soft skin sent a blast of heat through him. It also anchored him. He felt as if he was fighting for his life here. He couldn’t lose her, not after finding her again. “When I saw your car out front, I thought, Damn! Sarah’s here. Thank god, because that’s the only face I want to see right now.”

“Didn’t you see the other car?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, but it looks a lot like Babs’ car. I thought for some reason she’d left it parked outside.”

Her lips formed an O.

He stroked his thumbs over her cheekbones. “Do you believe me? Please, Sarah, say that you do.”

“First, tell me what happens next with Lacey.”

A hard look came over his face. “I told her if she didn’t get the hell out of my house, I’d call the cops and have them arrest her for trespassing. My attorney will be in court first thing in the morning to get a restraining order. She’ll have to stay away from Toby. Me and you as well. Violate the order, go to jail.”

He looked directly into her eyes, trying to read whatever was in there. Did she believe him? Would she give him another chance or kick his ass to kingdom come instead? Couldn’t she see how desperate he was?

When she didn’t say anything, panic raced through him. “Sarah, I am so damn sorry this mess spilled over onto you. I should have told you at the beginning.”

“Yes,” she agreed, “you should have.” And then she smoothed her palm over one of his cheeks as if she could wipe away the mess. “But at least you did now.”

“I did, and I’ll never keep anything from you again. I love you so much.” He brushed a soft kiss over her lips. “Take a chance on me, Sarah. I dare you to take a chance.”

He could hardly breathe while he waited for her answer.

“You know,” she said in that soft voice, “when I saw you at Thunder headquarters and learned you were on the team, I wondered if fate had brought us together here in Miami, and whether fate meant for us to be together.”

Then she smiled, and in that expression was everything he’d been hoping for and been too afraid to even expect.

“So I’ll take that dare, Mr. Football Hero, and dare you right back. How could I not?”

“Thank god,” he breathed.

He wrapped his arms around her and took her mouth in a kiss that scorched him to the soles of his feet. He’d spend the rest of his life telling her how much he loved her, starting with this kiss.

“Wow!” she said, blinking, when he lifted his head. “Just wow.”

“You’re not kidding.” He vowed then and there never to do anything stupid to endanger their relationship again, and to keep anything from ever spoiling it.