King’s Million-Dollar Secret (13 page)

So the words came slowly, but they came.

Words he had never thought to say to anyone.

“I wasn't ready for you,” he started and read the confusion in her eyes. “The bet with Joe? It shouldn't have been a big deal. But then I met you and found out
you hated the Kings and I knew if I told you the truth, you'd never look at me again.”

She frowned, and bit into her bottom lip as if trying to keep herself from talking so that she could hear him out completely.

“I told myself that I wanted to change your mind about the King family,” he said and watched a flash of something in her eyes come and go. “But it wasn't only that. Like I said, I knew you'd never look at me again if you knew. And I
wanted
you to look at me, Katie,” he said, shifting one hand to cup her cheek. “I wanted a lot more than that, too.”

“You got more, Rafe,” she said, her voice so quiet he had to strain to hear her. “You got more than I ever gave anyone before. I
loved
you. So when I found out you had lied to me, it hurt far deeper than anything Cordell made me feel.”

“I know,” he told her, mentally holding fast to the word
loved.
If she had loved him then, she had to love him still. It couldn't burn out that fast, no matter how angry she was. “I know.”

He pulled her close and kissed her once, twice. It was soft and hard, passionate and tender. That one kiss carried his heart and he nearly sighed in relief when she leaned into him to return that kiss, however hesitantly she did it.

Pulling back, he let his gaze move over her features, as if burning this moment, her expression, into his brain. Finally though, he drew away and said, “I told you I wasn't ready for you and that's the honest truth. But I don't know how I could have been prepared for what you would do to me.”

“Rafe…”

He shook his head and laid his fingertips over her
mouth. “No, let me say it. You grew up with your grandmother, your mom. You knew you were loved and you knew how to respond to it. I didn't. My dad was a lousy role model and I hardly knew my mother. When I got married, it was for all the wrong reasons and when she left, my ex let me know that it was
my
failings, my inability to love, that ruined everything—”

Katie's eyes shone brightly as she reached up to smooth her palm across his jaw. “She was wrong.”

“No,” he said, “she wasn't. Because until I met you, I didn't know how to love.”

“Oh, Rafe…”

His heart felt light for the first time in days. His soul was warm again because she was near. Rafe knew that this one woman was the center of his world. If he couldn't convince her to take a chance on him—to love him in spite of all the reasons she shouldn't—then he'd never have anything worth a damn.

“Look, I'm a bad bet,” Rafe told her, determined to be completely honest with her even if it cost him what he wanted most. “I know that. But I love you, Katie. In my whole life, I've never loved anything else.”

Tears glittered in her eyes and his stomach hitched. Happy tears? Or goodbye?

She took a breath, let it slide from her lungs and admitted, “I want to believe you.”

Rafe smiled and pulled her in close to him, where she could feel the hammering of his heart in his chest. Where she would feel the strength of his love wrapping itself around her.

“Take a chance on me, Katie,” he whispered, dipping his head to kiss the curve of her neck. He inhaled the scent of her and smiled as cinnamon and vanilla surrounded him. “I swear you'll never regret it.”

“Rafe?”

He pulled back to look into her eyes and before she could speak again he said, “Marry me, Katie. Marry me and let me live with you in that great old house. Let me make you happy. I know I can. I'll prove to you that I can be what you need.”

“Yes, I'll marry you.” Finally, a slow smile curved her mouth and she reached up with both hands to cup his face between her palms. “Don't you know that you're
already
everything that I need?”

“Thank God,” he whispered and kissed her again, a promise of more to come.

“After all, you did build me a nearly perfect kitchen.”

“Nearly?”
he asked with a grin.

“Well, I've suddenly decided that since I'm marrying a carpenter, he should be able to build me a pantry.”

“Anything you want, Katie,” he promised with a grin. “But I warn you, as soon as he finds out we're getting married, my brother Sean's going to want cookies.”

“For family?” she said,
“Anything.”

Rafe dropped his head and rested his forehead against Katie's, feeling his world, his life slide into place again. The woman he loved was in the circle of his arms, and the future was suddenly looking bright. He was right where he wanted to be. Where he was supposed to be.

With Katie Charles, the cookie queen.

K
atie grinned as she looked out the kitchen window at her crowded backyard. “I never dreamed there were so many Kings in California.”

Julie King, married to Travis, laughed as she pulled a bowl of pasta salad from the fridge. “And this isn't all of them by any means.”

“Wait until your wedding,” Maggie King, wife of Justice warned her. “They'll
all
be there for that.”

“Yep,” Jericho's wife Daisy agreed. “They never miss a wedding. Jeff and Maura will even come in from Ireland for that.”

“It's a little intimidating,” Katie admitted, unwrapping a platter of cookies designed especially for their engagement party. There were dozens of golden crowns, frosted in yellow or white, with Katie and Rafe inscribed on them.

She glanced down at the emerald engagement ring
glittering on her finger and almost hugged herself just to make sure she was awake and not dreaming all of this. But remembering the night before, when Rafe had made love to her for hours and then held her as she slept was enough to convince her that yes. Her life really was perfect.

It had been a month since she'd stormed her way into his office and he laid siege to her heart with the truth. And in that time, she hadn't once regretted taking a chance on Rafe. He'd shown her in countless little ways just how important she was to him. He'd built her that specially designed pantry just as he'd promised. He sent her flowers, made her dinner and when she was tired, he gave her a fabulous foot rub that inevitably led to long, lovely hours in bed.

“Uh-oh,” Daisy said with a laugh. “I know that smile.”

“What?” Katie grinned, embarrassed to be caught daydreaming.

“It's the same one I get when I remember how I ended up with a gorgeous baby girl.” Standing up, Daisy smiled. “And speaking of Delilah, think I'll just go and make sure Jericho's not teaching her how to do something dangerous. The man's got a thing about his daughter being the first female Navy SEAL.”

“I know how she feels,” Ivy King said, rubbing a rounded belly. “Tanner already plans on our poor baby being the next computer genius of the universe. But no pressure.”

As Daisy left and the other King wives laughed and chatted about their kids and their husbands, Katie took a minute to enjoy where she was. Her nana had been right all along of course. Which Emily had continued to remind her of over the last month. Love was worth taking a chance on. Because Katie had risked it, she was
about to marry the man she loved, become a part of a huge family and, one day, start her own.

Babies. They would come soon. Rafe had already talked about how he wanted to add to the next generation of the King family.

“It's funny,” Katie said softly to the women who were already her friends as well as almost-relatives. “Just a few months ago, I hated the Kings.”

“Yeah,” Jackson's wife Casey said as she unwrapped a sheath of plastic cups, “we all heard about Cordell. If it helps, everyone knows he's a dog.”

Maggie chimed in with, “Justice offered to beat him up, as soon as Cordell arrived today, but apparently Rafe already took care of it.”

“Yeah, he did,” Katie assured them. “But as much as I hate to admit it, without Cordell being a jerk, I might never have fallen in love with Rafe.”

“So, it was worth it then?” Jesse's wife Bella asked.

“More than,” Katie assured them. Then she glanced out the window to see her neighbor Nicole walking into the yard with her son in tow. “A friend of mine just showed up. I'll be back to finish up the potato salad!”

“No, you won't,” Julie told her. “This is
your
engagement party. Go out and enjoy it. We'll take care of the setup.”

Smiling, Katie left her beautiful kitchen and walked into the yard. Her grandmother and aunt were in heaven, playing with all of the King kids. The men were gathered around the brick barbecue Rafe had finished building only last week, arguing over the best way to grill steaks. She caught a glimpse of Rafe in the middle of them all and couldn't help smiling. She had been so wrong. The rich weren't snobby. At least, the Kings weren't. They were just people.

“This is some party,” Nicole said as she walked up and gave Katie a hug.

“It is. And I'm so glad you came.”

“Wouldn't have missed it. As your future matron of honor, it's my duty to sit here and have a beer and eat steak.” Nicole picked Connor up and placed him on her hip. “And your ring bearer wants a cookie.”

Katie laughed, delighted, and leaned in to kiss Connor. “My special ring bearer can have as many cookies as I can sneak him!”

When two strong, familiar arms snaked around her middle from behind, Katie leaned back into Rafe's chest with a sigh of satisfaction.

“Hi, Nicole,” he said, planting a quick kiss on Katie's head. “Glad you could make it.”

“Are you kidding? Wouldn't be anywhere else,” she told him. Then with a wry smile at the two of them, she added, “I'll just take Connor in to grab a cookie. We'll see you later.”

Rafe turned her to face him and Katie flung her arms around his neck. He kissed her hard and long and deep and when her head was buzzing and her balance had completely dissolved, he lifted his head and looked down at her. “Have I told you today how much I love you?”

“You have,” she said, “but I never get tired of hearing it.”

“Good. I plan to say it often. Just so you never forget it.”

“Not a chance,” she promised.

He rested his forehead against hers. “So, after meeting the thundering herd of Kings, you still want to marry me next month?”

His tone was joking, but she knew that a part of him
was still worried that something might happen to tear them apart. He might not believe that he was capable of love, but Katie knew differently. Rafe King had more love to give than most men, simply because he'd never known it before. And she knew that once his heart was given, it was forever.

“You're not getting away from me now, Rafe,” she said softly. “We're getting married and I am going to love you forever.”

His eyes flashed, his mouth curved, and he pulled her in hard against him for a hug that left her breathless. But who needed to breathe when you were surrounded by love?

When he finally let her go, he draped one arm around her shoulders and, together, they walked into the circle of family.