Made To Love Her (12 page)

My eyebrows furrow as I think. It takes a moment, but I remember. “The ones of us in the car together?”

“Yeah… they looked like we were involved, and then we did get involved, so…” She throws her hands up like there’s nothing more to say.

“So you decide to make us uninvolved?”

I glance at her and she shrugs indifferently.

I take another quick look at her before pulling in the parking lot of the party-planning place. “I wish you wouldn’t have left.”

“I wish I wouldn’t have left, either.”

I pull into a stall then turn to face her. We’re trapped in the moment, gazing into each other’s eyes.

Suddenly, the phone rings on the console. Grace’s name comes up. I contemplate answering her call. I’ve already spent a ton of time listening to her complain about the bid being submitted without her interior design proposal attached. Just like Gabrielle Oslo, Grace’s father nurtured her into a spoiled brat who thinks the world revolves around her.

“Aren’t you going to answer it?” Carter asks.

“It’s Grace.”

“I can see that. You know she’s just going to keep calling until you pick up.”

“You’re right.” I sigh and answer the call. “Yes, Grace.”

“Just so you know, I submitted my portion with the bid.”

“Really? How did you do that?”

“Don’t sound so excited, Robert. I know you’ve never been on my side.”

I take a deep breath and run my hands through my hair. “Believe what you will.”

“Do you want to know how I was able to submit after the deadline?”

“Sure. You’re going to tell me anyway.”

“I know somebody,” she answers.

Typical Grace.

Carter nudges me on the shoulder and mouths. “Ask her who?”

I frown, taken aback. “Who?” I ask before I can make sense out of why Carter would want me to ask Grace that.

“Are you in your car?” Grace asks.

“Um, yes.”

She snorts cynically. “Is someone with you?”

“What?”

“Carter?” Grace calls.

Carter rolls her eyes like she’s been caught. “Hi, Grace.” Her tone is deadpan.

“I knew you two would find your way back together at that wedding, but Robert darling, you’re fraternizing with the enemy. You see, Metropolis has also put a bid in for the Atlantic Metropolitan Library Project. Haven’t you, little Miss Muffet?” Grace says cynically.

“Hey,” I chastise. “Play nice.”

“You know what? I have nothing else to say to you other than see you Monday bright and early in your office.” Grace hangs up.

Carter and I look at each other as if we just experienced a hit and run.

“So what was that anyway?” I ask.

Carter’s eyes expand. “I don’t know. She’s always been wacky.”

I shake my head while smirking. “No, not that. You asking me to ask her for the name of her special person.”

“Oh…” She grins mischievously.

“Humph…” I narrow my eyes to study her pretty but shrewd face. “Are we at war?”

Carter shrugs. “Maybe. But first let’s build Vince and his bride a castle that beats all wedding tents.” She holds out her hand for me to shake.

At least I’ll be seeing her sooner after the wedding is over than I thought. I know our bid and the one from Metropolis will definitely be among the final bids. Metropolis has an advantage over us, though, because they’re already on the East Coast. I will have to station a temporary team in Maryland until I get a full-time office up and functioning there. I want an Atlantic Coast presence. The Atlantic Metropolitan Library Project is going to be RT Creative’s first major project in that region, and it’s going to put us on the map in no time flat.

I take hold of her hand. “Deal.”

We squeeze each other’s hands and don’t let go.
What if I tugged her closely and kissed her lips?
I ask myself just before our mouths come together. The warmth of her tongue swirls around mine. But we’re not going at it all fast and furious. My lips want to take their time with her lips. My tongue wants to taste her deeply. My loins throb for more. My hand slides up her T-shirt and under her bra. I find her tit and squeeze it. My mouth wants to taste her nipple, so it slides down her neck, kissing, biting, and licking.

I step my foot down, and the engine roars. “Shit.” I rip my lips off hers.

Carter’s eyes are wide and dazed. “We better get inside.” She’s breathing heavily.

Thank goodness I had the car in park. “Yeah.”

She gets out of the car. I’m slightly dizzy as I hop out. We come together on her side. It takes every bit of my willpower not to take her in the backseat.

“Ready?” I say.

She nods.

We trek across the parking lot with the appropriate amount of space between us.

T
he heart monitor
beeps out of control. Vince gags, choking. I watch, horrified, as his skin turns blue. I reach out for him, but I can’t touch him.

“Maggie?” I hear him say in a calm voice.

I wake with a gasp, facing Vince’s bright-green eyes.

His face beams. “Hey, beautiful,” he whispers.

Thank God I was dreaming. The color has returned to his skin. There are no tubes or monitors attached to him, and his shirt is off. He looks and smells showered and shaved.

“How long have you been awake?” I ask.

“About two hours. You were tired, babe.”

I flip on my back and breathe until the exhaustion passes. “I guess I was. I was just so worried about you.”

“Come here.” Vince opens his arms to receive me.

I scoot against his warm and hard body, but before we merge, I check his skin for bruises. “No one hurt you?” I ask.

“Not my body anyway.” He pulls me against him, and my backside meets his front.

We’re so close that it’s as if our figures have been glued together. I love being consumed by his heat and feeling his heart beat against my back. Never again do I want to be separated from Vincent Adams. I still have to pinch myself. Never would I have thought when we were in high school that we would end up here together.

“If they didn’t hurt your body, then did they hurt your mind?” I ask. I feel his pause.

“It’s the week we’re getting married, and then this happened. That’s what I hate.”

“I know,” I say with a sigh. “And it was Gabrielle
and
Cindy O’lay.” My lips gather tightly.

“I didn’t even know they knew each other. When I escaped, I kind of remember running into one or both of them. My memory’s foggy, but I think Gabrielle said something about me not getting away from her this time.” He grimaces as he thinks. “Then Jack told me to run. I didn’t know it was him at first. After I woke up, he told me.”

“Everything?” I ask.

“Everything.”

I feel so relieved about that. “Yeah… Jack’s been surprising through all of this. I don’t know who or what he is anymore.”

“I always knew he had some clout. He got Peter to sell his stake in my company with no pushback. That guy fights to the bitter end, but he didn’t go to war with Jack.”

I sigh. “Well, whoever or whatever he is, I’m happy he’s my cousin and he loves me. If it wasn’t for him, I would’ve never found you.”

“It would’ve been harder without Jack, but I would’ve found my way back to you, baby. I was on my way when Jack showed up.”

We kiss, and as usual, I turn lightheaded.

“Are you ready to become Mrs. Adams?” he whispers passionately.

I close my eyes and indulgently brush my face against the skin of his chest. “So… ready.”

Vince and I lie close for a long time. It’s funny… before he was ripped out of my life, I was so yearning to make love to him, but not anymore. I just want his heart, his spirit, and his soul.

“Hey?” he whispers and guides me to turn and face him.

I sniff to stop the tears. My heart was so overwhelmed that I started to cry.

He kisses the wetness on my cheek. “I’m okay.”

“I know you are. I just…” I kiss him, and the tears return.

Vince is stimulated by our kiss. He smoothly rolls on top of me, planting himself between my thighs. My knees flow up, and my legs ceremoniously wrap around his lower back. Every body movement, every whirl of our tongues and meshing of our lips is passionate. My soul whimpers and moans because it loves being entwined with his. Vince reaches down to put himself inside me. The pleasure makes me sigh on first thrust. He shifts in and out of me, so slowly and deeply. My insides grasp at his rigidness, tingling with each prod. I wrap my arms him and hold him tightly. I want him so much that I cannot breathe—I cannot live.

“Oh, Vince,” I moan.

He releases himself inside me, and I hold him tighter.

“I love you,” he says.

“I love you,” I say.

Tears trail down my face. I believe we’ve reached nirvana.

V
ince
and I have officially cast aside our pact to wait until we’re married to make love. We make love many times throughout the day. I only leave him so that the nurses can draw blood. It’s also scary to learn that one more dose of what that doctor gave him could’ve poisoned and killed him. He was lucky to get away when he did.

Jack has already flown back to Denver to be with Daisy. The cook has dinner brought to our room. Dinner is a light, creamy chicken soup soufflé. After we finish eating, Vince calls his mother and apologizes for leaving so abruptly. I can tell that it kills him to lie to her, but he continues to apologize until she believes him. We cuddle and sleep the night away.

Our flight from Southampton leaves at six in the morning, and we agreed to wait until tomorrow to see the setup for the wedding and reception. However, we are having dinner at Jack’s house tonight with our friends, although Vince and I have been warned not to step foot into the backyard.

As soon as we arrive in Denver, Vince and I go check out of our room at the Ritz-Carlton. One aspect of making Anne happy was agreeing to return to her house for the night. Lexie and Maddie pounce on Vince as soon as we step into the foyer.

“Fancy having you back,” Lexie says snottily.

“We were supposed to plan your wedding, not that bitchy harlot,” Maddie says.

I’m pretty sure they’re referring to Monroe.

Vince sighs tiredly. His arm that’s around my waist grips me tighter, and I take it as good sign. “You know, after what you pulled with Emily, I’m not on your side with this one.”

Lexie’s eyes expand as though he just spit on her. “You promised.”

Vince blows a breath that so strong it rattles his lips. “Lexie, not now.”

She smashes her hands on her hips. “Then when.”

He shakes his head as we look into each other’s eyes. “Let’s get our stuff to the room. We have a long day.”

I nod, and we continue up the stairs. I’m proud of Vince for finally sticking up for himself, and me. I hear Lexie stomp off and say that she’s not going to the wedding.

“Me, neither,” Maddie says.

Vince just doesn’t seem to give a damn.

M
y final dress
fitting is scheduled at the same time as Vince’s suit fitting with his best man and groomsmen. Since we’re all going to be drinking champagne, Monroe ordered a chauffeured SUV to take us to my fitting. I’m here with Monroe, Hannah, and Cleo. Being separated from Vince after what we went through is tough, but at least I’ll see him at dinner this evening.

“Oh, so really, Cindy O’lay was part of the whole kidnapping scheme?” Hannah asks while sitting in the waiting area.

I cringe while in the dressing room. The saleswoman, Brandy, is zipping the back of my dress, which is a white silky mermaid gown with a sweetheart neckline.

I smile timidly at Brandy. By the look on her face, she’s recognized the name. “Can we not talk about that right now?” I say.

“Oh,” Hannah says like she just put her shoe in her mouth. “Of course.”

“Let’s see, let’s see, let’s see!” Cleo says, clapping her hands.

Brandy steps back to get an eyeful of me. “You’re so beautiful,” she says earnestly. “Like a goddess.”

I smile. “Thank you.” I step from behind the curtain and out into the waiting room.

Monroe puts her hand over her mouth and gasps. “Oh my Lord, Maggie, you’re a real bride.”

I smile squeamishly. “I guess I am.”

Cleo is just shaking her head. “I can’t believe this is you standing in front of us like this.”

I scoff and roll my eyes. “I know, right. Me, Miss
I ain’t ever getting married
.”

Hannah is already snapping shots of me. “Stop yapping and pose, damn it,” she demands.

I feel divine, so I swish my body this way and that, giving her all kinds of angles. After my one-woman fashion show ends, we sit in the waiting room while Brandy prepares my dress to go, and I drink my second glass of champagne. We reminisce about all the frogs I kissed before Vince, and how I broke up with each of them because of one stupid reason or another.

“There was the farter,” Cleo says. “I can imagine Vince not farting.”

I sniff a chuckle. “He farts.”

Hannah snaps her fingers. “Oh, remember the one who left gobs of toothpaste in her sink?”

“Oh, yes, Mags couldn’t have that,” Monroe says with a cynical roll of her eyes.

We all laugh.

“Then there was the bad driver,” Cleo says.

“The one who couldn’t look her in the eyes for more than four seconds,” Hannah adds.

I point at each of them. “Never trust a man who can’t look you in the eyes.”

“But you said Vince couldn’t look you in the eyes at first.”

I grunt. “True… that’s true.” My head is spinning. I’m tipsy.

“Then there was the guy who ate with his elbows on the table. Remember that one?” Cleo says.

“The one who stuffed his napkin in his collar,” Hannah says.

“Yeah, but… she was right to give that one the boot.” Cleo scrunches her nose. “Who does that?”

Monroe sighs. “We can add to the list forever. But we’re not.” She lifts her glass. “Cheers to Vince, the one who did not let Maggie get away.”

I chuckle and drink to that. I guess I have been finicky in the past. It’s funny how quickly the mind recovers from trauma. It’s as if Jack’s and my expedition to find Vince happened years ago, but our ordeal only ended yesterday. Here I am smiling, happy and excited about taking my vows of forever with the only man I can ever love like this. And it’s enough for me to forgive Cindy and Gabrielle for what they’ve done—at least for now.

F
rom the dress shop
, we go to the Cherry Creek Shopping Center so they can buy me something new and something blue. They all chip in to buy me a sapphire-and-diamond ankle bracelet that costs a pretty penny.

On the way back to the house, Monroe assures me that Anne has the something old part handled and Daisy has the borrowed. I also get to hear the play-by-play of Monroe and Daisy’s triumph over Lexie and Maddie.

“Now, Allie…” Monroe shakes her finger at me. “She’s your ally.”

“I know! I was starting to get that before what happened to Vince happened,” I say.

It grows eerily quiet. I think they all want to know more but realize that I’d rather not talk about it in detail.

“Well, I’m just glad he’s okay,” Cleo says.

I smile at her. “Me too.”

“Anyway, why haven’t you ever told me Daisy is like the coolest?” Monroe asks.

I wiggle my head as though I can’t believe she just said that. “I told you that a thousand times.”

Monroe tilts her head to think. “Oh, right, you did. But I’m not jealous of her anymore, so…”

I toss my head back and laugh. It feels so good to be this happy again.

Hannah leans over to pat me on the thigh. “Oh, Robert Tango. I like him.” Her eyes expand as though she just saw something tasty to eat. “I want him.”

“Ugh.” Monroe rolls her eyes. “He’s not interested in you.”

“Not yet. So, Maggie, tell me all about him.”

I recall the last two telephone conversations he had with Vince. “Well… he’s changed a lot in the last six or seven months, so he’s still pretty fragile.”

“What do you mean by
fragile
?”

“He realized he was on a road going nowhere, and he wanted to change that. And actually, he has.”

“So he’s no longer a scoundrel?”

Monroe and I say no at the same time.

“He and I are becoming really good friends,” Monroe says while nodding.

Hannah grunts. “Oh, now I get it.
You
want to fuck him.”

“No. I don’t,” Monroe states staunchly.

“Actually, I can see the two of you being friends. You have a lot in common,” I say.

Monroe shakes her hands as if to say that’s the point. “I know. He actually called his therapist and asked her to recommend someone in LA for me that would be good for someone with his kinds of issues.”

“Mommy issues?” Cleo says.

Monroe shoots her finger at her. “Exactly.”

“So did the therapist call you?” I ask.

“I have my first appointment next Wednesday.” Monroe narrows an eye at me. “By the way, what are you going to do about Mo&Ma?”

I sigh exasperatedly. I really don’t want to talk about this at the moment, but there’s no better time than the present. I have Cleo and Hannah here to offer guidance. “I don’t know, Roe. I really dislike our clients, and I’m tired of forklifting them out of their mountain of shit.”

Monroe nods as though she’s really considering what I just said. “They are pretty repulsive. I mean Delta?” She shakes her head. “Let’s brainstorm, come up with a new way to operate, because we’re good together, Mags, and you know it.”

Suddenly, I feel this void when thinking of Mo&Ma. “You know, why don’t you do something else, Roe?”

“I
am
doing something else. I could be living off my trust fund while fucking pretty boys in exotic destinations.”

“True. But you’ve been running away from your talents ever since we were in the tenth grade. The problem is you want to avoid any parallels with your mother, but remember the time you played Rizzo in
Grease
?”

“I remember that,” Hannah says. “You brought the house down.”

“You’re an actress, Monroe. That movie you made with Charlie about your mother was great and successful. Make another movie and star in it. You have the money and the contacts.”

Monroe studies her lap with a grimace. I’m glad she’s doing that. She does that when I strike a nerve.

“I don’t know,” she finally says with a sigh.

“Well, just think about it. Will you?”

She shrugs. “I will. But you, Hannah, leave Tango alone. He’s in love with Vince’s cousin.”

I frown. “You mean Carter?”

“Yes.”

“That’s right. They know each other. She worked at the architect firm Vince took over. But now she works in DC.”

“So, Monroe… he lives in SF. She lives in DC. And I have an assignment in SF for as long as it takes,” Hannah says.