My Only Exception (12 page)

“Braden, the problem was me. I knew I was in love with you the night you first sang ‘Desperate for You.’ That’s why I took off in the middle of the song. I didn’t give you a chance because I was terrified of getting hurt. I have
never
felt about anybody the way I feel about you. You have the power to hurt me like no one ever has, so I pushed you away.” Braden was listening intently, understanding dawning on his handsome features.

But I wasn’t done yet. “I found out that living without ever knowing what could have been between us was worse than having my heart broken. I don’t want to have to do it again.”

Braden leaned in and gently kissed me on the lips. “That is
exactly
what I needed to hear from you. And now that I have you in my arms, I don’t want to let go. Stay with me.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Stay? And what, go on tour with you?”

Braden nodded. “Absolutely.”

Oh, how I wanted to take him up on his offer, but I just couldn’t do it. It rang of my mother, and I couldn’t have that. I was going to figure out a way to keep this thing between Braden and I together without giving up my goals to do it.

“As thrilled as I am you’d want me to do that, and as tempting as that is, I have a degree in Business to earn. But —I want to make us work. I’ll visit you on tour, whatever it takes —that is, if you want.”

“I do. I agree that you shouldn’t give your life up to come with me; I just can’t stand the thought of being so far away from you. We’ll make it work, though, and we’ll do whatever we have to do to make sure that it does. And Presley?”

“Yeah?”

“I know how you have trust issues, so I’m gonna go on and warn you that you might see pictures of me with a girl. Please don’t worry. It’s the daughter of my manager. There’s nothing between us except friendship. She actually just got engaged the other day.”

Though I was happy to know that the girl he’d been pictured with was nothing more than a friend, I felt terrible that he thought I was going to continue with not trusting him.

“Braden. I’m over the trust thing, I promise. I saw the picture this morning, and while it devastated me to think that you’d moved on, I realize that the only way this is going to work is if I trust you.
And I do absolutely trust you.”

“That’s good, Presley, because I have something to show you.” He lifted the sleeve of his left arm and pointed to the intricate black pattern that had been there since I’d met him. He pointed to an area in the design and I moved closer to look.

I gasped when I realized what it was. Hidden in the elaborate design was a beautifully scripted letter ‘P.’

I looked up at him questioningly.

“I hope it doesn’t freak you out, but I had your first initial integrated into this tattoo. Whether we ever got together or not, I knew that you’d literally be forever under my skin. You’re the first girl I’ve ever loved. I wanted a lasting reminder of that.”

My eyes welled up with tears. That was quite possibly the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me. How could I have ever doubted him?

“Braden. You’re killing me. I’m already so in love with you I don’t know what to do, and then you show me something like this. What am I going to do with you?”

A crooked grin crept its way onto his face. “Well, I can think of a few things…”

I shook my head. Some things never changed. “I just bet you can.”

I padded lightly through the living room of my new apartment enjoying the feel of the plush beige carpet under my feet. Well, technically it was my and Braden’s new apartment. We had taken the next step in our relationship when we had leased the 2000-square-foot condo directly on the ocean. It was not far outside of Wilmington and allowed me to easily commute to classes and was just a short drive from my new job at a local boutique. I was hoping to open up one of my own one day, so I was really excited about getting a position that would help prepare me for the future.

For the past six months Braden and I had been alternating between me flying out to spend a weekend on the tour with him every now and then, and him taking short breaks to visit me. I had been learning to ignore both the magazine covers and Internet reports that seemed to document Braden’s every move and who, the majority of the time, reported all kinds of not-so-true things.

I’m not going to say that it didn’t bother me when I did see a picture or hear a rumor, but I had come a long way in learning to trust him. I always made sure to call and get the story straight from Braden. And he always went out of his way to make me feel secure.

Of course, there were the occasional paparazzi trying to catch a picture of Braden’s “live-in love interest.” I was pretty sure I’d never get used to seeing random shots of myself in magazines or on the Internet. Most of the time I had no idea that I was being photographed. I had taken to making sure I looked decent every time I stepped out of my apartment, just in case.

But for the most part, Braden and I had weathered the “tough” aspects of being together and, trust me, when we were together it made
everything
worth it.

The past four weeks had been the longest we’d been apart since making it official between us. Telephone calls and Skyping just weren’t cutting it.

We
craved
each other so intensely that it was almost scary.

And I had been counting down the minutes until we’d see each other again. Luckily, I wouldn’t have to wait much longer. His flight was coming in anytime now and he’d be staying for an entire week. It felt almost too good to be true. I hadn’t slept a wink the night before and had finally gotten up and put a pot of coffee on at the ungodly hour of five a.m. I then showered and dressed in a coral-striped maxi-dress that showed off my tan and the perfect amount of cleavage. My hair was behaving and I’d paid extra attention to my make-up. I wanted him to forget every girl that had ever thrown themselves at him on tour. I wasn’t quite sure I could accomplish that, but, looking in the mirror, I decided I was as close as I’d ever get.

I grabbed my cup of coffee and wandered over to the window, hoping to see Braden’s cab dropping him off. When I didn’t see any signs of him, I had to stop myself from doing an antsy dance. I never had been a very patient person.

When I finally heard the doorknob to the front door rattle, I quickly turned to watch it open. Anticipation pulled in my stomach just knowing who was on the other side.

When I saw one tan, tattooed arm slip through the door, I couldn’t contain myself any longer. I went racing across the living room, jumping into Braden’s arms before he could even set his luggage down. I buried my face in his neck and breathed in the intoxicating scent that was only him.

Braden wrapped me in his strong arms, burying his face in my hair. Having a long-distance relationship made reunions like this so much sweeter. It really sucked sometimes, being apart, but if it was the price I had to pay to have him, I’d pay it... And then some.

Braden put his lips to my ear. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve missed you?”

I squeezed him even tighter. “God, yes. You’re all I’ve thought about since I left your tour bus last month.”

He pulled back, holding me at arm’s length and letting his gaze slide seductively down me. “How do you get more gorgeous and sexy every time I see you?”

I lifted a shoulder playfully. “Just a talent I have.”

He sighed. “I’m tired of being separated. The minute you leave me, my mind gets so distracted with thoughts of you. It’s like you consume me no matter where you are.” He paused, seeming to contemplate something for a moment, and then a boyish grin spread across his lips. He then fumbled nervously in the pocket of the black leather jacket that was thrown over his arm. His hand stilled and he looked up at me with a look I’d never seen from him before. For a minute he just stared at me, like he was at a loss for words. It was so unlike him that I swallowed nervously. I tilted my head to the side, looking at him encouragingly, curious about what he wanted to say. Finally, leaving his hand in the pocket of his jacket, he took a deep breath and looked straight into my eyes.

“Presley, I had this all planned out, but I just can’t wait any longer. I’m sorry if this isn’t the most romantic way to do this, but really, Presley, you make me lose my mind when I’m around you.”

I looked at him in confusion, totally lost about where he was going with this conversation.

And then he did something that literally swept my breath away —he knelt down on one knee and pulled his hand out of his jacket pocket, bringing a black velvet box out with it. My eyes felt like they were popping out of my head in shock. It couldn’t be...

And then he opened the box and my hand flew up to cover my mouth. Standing ceremoniously inside was an enormous, twinkling diamond on a rose-gold band. Quite frankly, it could have been a teeny-tiny diamond and just the fact that it was a diamond at all
,
would have gotten the same effect from me. He took the ring from the box, never breaking eye contact. “Presley Sutton, I won’t be happy until you’re mine and mine alone. I love you and I’ve known it from the moment I met you, I just had to convince you of it. Please, make me the happiest man alive, and say you’ll marry me.”

It took me a full thirty seconds to let what he’d just said sink in. And all the while my eyes were locked onto his green ones. In the back of my mind, I was amazed that he looked so uncertain of what my answer would be. I loved him with every single piece of me. Gone were the days where I was scared to give him everything, and there was nothing in this world I wanted more than to be married to the only guy I’d ever made that exception for.

I felt the biggest smile light up my face and I threw myself into his arms again, forgetting all about the ring. I pulled back and kissed his lips before pulling away again. “Yes, Braden! Absolutely, yes, I will marry you!” Tears of pure happiness were running down my face, but I couldn’t stop smiling through them.

A look of relief crossed Braden’s face before his mouth spread into that mega-watt smile he was so famous for. “Don’t you want to put the ring on?” he asked.

I nodded, the tears of glee still blurring my vision. Braden slipped the diamond on my ring finger and then lifted my hand to kiss the place just above it.

BOOK #2  

Coming Soon!

Turn the page to read a sample of Book 1 in the vampire romance bestselling series:

PREFACE

            This was one of those pivotal points in life that people talk about; when you know that there’s no turning back and you‘ll never be the same. Experiencing death should be final, an end, but for me it was a murky integration of an end and a beginning. A month ago, I never would have imagined that I’d be willingly letting someone I love take my life, but that was exactly what I was doing.  As he drank there was no pain or fear-- just complete trust and a feeling that rivaled even what we had just experienced together. Time stopped for me and I barely noticed when an all encompassing fatigue set in. I just knew that I didn’t want Alex to stop-- no matter what. And when a chill started to set in and my heart began to stutter, I wanted to get Alex‘s reassurance that this was what I was supposed to be feeling. But my eyes were so heavy that I couldn’t open them and my lips were too weak to speak. I began to feel my now weak grasp on life slip away and I felt a moment of pure terror-- and then nothing.