Speed of My Heart (15 page)

Cole pulled his Lamborghini up to a restaurant in downtown Charlotte. I eyed the ritzy exterior a bit warily. It seemed very fancy for just a meeting with his family, but I kept that thought to myself.

"You know," I said, as a valet rushed to open the door for me, "this might be the most obnoxious car I've ever ridden in."

Cole laughed, reaching over to pat my leg condescendingly. "You just wait until I get you in the car I race.
That's
my real baby."

I smiled over at him with my own condescending look and patted his leg. "Dream on, buddy." There wasn't a chance in hell I'd be getting in that.

Cole just chuckled, placing a hand on the small of my back and guiding me inside. A man standing at a podium just inside the entrance, greeted Cole immediately by name. I raised an eyebrow. Clearly, he was known here. The man led us to a small, secluded table on a vacant patio outside. The railings and trees around the patio were lit with twinkling lights. It might have been the most classically romantic spot I’d ever been in. A bottle of champagne was already waiting on the table and soft music wafted from inside. As I sat down, I looked at Cole in confusion. "This table is for two. I thought we were meeting your family here?”

Cole still hadn't sat down and I was starting to become a little apprehensive. Maybe I was feeding off of the incredibly nervous, almost agitated, state Cole was in. Just as I was about to freak out, Cole dropped down on one knee in front of me.

For a minute, I just stared at him, bewildered. Had he dropped something? And then, when he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box, it hit me. My jaw dropped. Cole couldn't be doing what I thought he was doing, could he? A shaky hand flew to cover my lips, but I couldn't take my eyes off of the box. Cole flipped it open, revealing a twinkling diamond ring inside. My eyes widened, flying up to meet Cole's.

"Mara," he said slowly, a nervous smile on his beautiful lips, "If I have to let you get on that plane in a few days, I'll just end up chasing after you. I want to wake up with you next to me every day for the rest of our lives. You're the only one I could imagine being the mother of my children, and the one person on this earth I can't live without."

I was frozen, like a marble statue.

Cole took a deep, restoring breath, before asking tenderly, "Mara, will you marry me?"

There were a million and one ways I thought this night would turn out
this was not one of them. This was beyond what my mind could have conjured.

I started nodding my head before Cole could finish getting the words from his mouth. I jumped up, completely disregarding the ring, and threw myself into his arms. I grabbed his face between my hands and pulled his lips to mine passionately. When we finally parted, both of us breathless, he asked, "Is that a yes?"

My eyes were blurry from the tears that I hadn't realized were there. I nodded. "Yes, Cole. Absolutely, yes."

Sliding the ring I'd completely forgotten about onto my finger, he reached up, brushing a strand of hair from my face. "I've wanted to do this from the very first time I saw you in that coffee shop. I knew, that very day, I was going to marry you. And when I almost lost you all those months ago, and I knew I'd have to give you time to figure out what you wanted, it almost killed me. I've been freaking out since the time I woke up this morning because this was the day I'd be laying it all out. I was scared it was too soon for you and you'd say no, and then I'd have to work that much harder to convince you. Because, there was no way in hell I was letting my heart walk away from me, Mara. No way."

I smiled at him through the tears. "So that's why you were acting so uptight today? You didn't have anything to worry about, Cole," I promised. "Wild horses couldn't have torn me away from you," I said teasingly. It seemed like forever ago since he'd told me the same thing while I'd lain in my bed —broken.

Cole pulled me to my feet. "I think someone once told me it was 'wild horses couldn't drag me away'," he quoted, tapping me on the nose with one finger playfully.

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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.

CHAPTER 1

            The sun was setting behind the enormous stone grey building that rose high into the quickly darkening sky above me. My stomach fluttered precariously as I took one step away from the relative comfort of the sleek black Audi I had parked on the curb in front of my new home. Home… I was having a hard time imagining this place as a home. How this huge concrete building would ever feel comfortably like home, I had no idea. I glanced back at my car. I hoped it wouldn’t get dinged or scratched by any of the other cars whizzing in and out of traffic or squeezing into the tight parking spots that lined the street. It had been my one splurge after graduating college and landing this new job in Charlotte. The run down Honda my aunt and uncle had scraped together the funds for when I started driving was now a thing of the past.

            People walked with quick determination on the sidewalk in front of me. Most barely glancing my way as they talked or text on their phones. I wasn’t used to such anonymity. In the small town I was from you were expected to smile and wave at just about everyone you encountered. That obviously wouldn’t be expected here. But then again, that was the point of moving to Charlotte. Leaving behind all the expectations of living in a small town felt like a lead weight off my shoulders. I took a calming breath, deciding I had better stop staring and move out of these people’s way before I was trampled. I glanced down at my soft brown cowboy boots and aqua blue sundress and then to the people walking hurriedly by. Yep, there was a kaleidoscope of styles going on. I was relieved I didn’t stand out. I had worried that it would be clear to everyone who walked by that I was completely out of my element. Goosebumps were popping up on my arms in the cooling night air and I wished that I had thrown on a cardigan before setting out.

            Seeing a break in the traffic I hurried up the stone stairs and into the building. A doorman whisked open the front door and I hurried in. As I stepped into the entryway I took in the dark cherry hardwoods that covered the long corridor. It was lined with rows of white doors that were elegantly adorned with shiny brass hardware. Wow, it was beautiful in here. The floors sparkled, the railings gleamed, and I could see a state of the art gym to the right just off the entrance. I was definitely not used to this kind of luxury. Life with my aunt and uncle hadn’t afforded many luxuries and the only luxury I could possibly have looked forward to back home was a small house with my long time boyfriend, Brad. He hadn’t shared my passion for moving somewhere with a population bigger than 10,000, so we had amicably parted ways just before I left. Surprisingly, as long as we’d been together it wasn’t very hard to end things. Our relationship had always been a little too comfortable, without the sparks and fire that people sometimes describe. He had seemed pretty upset, but I was sure in a few months he would move on and find someone who’s vision of the future included staying right where they had always been.

            Once I had made the decision to leave, no amount of pleading could deter me and I had set about looking for a place to live in Charlotte, North Carolina. I lucked out when I saw a post on a social network from Anna, a friend of mine from high school. Her roommate had recently moved out and she was looking for a replacement. We had always gotten along really well in school, and though it had been four years, I was looking forward to renewing our friendship. Anna was always a positive, outgoing person who made good grades and was very reliable. At least she used to be. Hopefully she had not changed too much, but either way I would make do. She now worked as an assistant editor at Mode magazine. Honestly, by the rent she was charging me, she probably didn’t need the money. It was more likely that she wanted the company of having someone else living with her.
            I swallowed back a tiny bit of nervousness and made a beeline for the stainless steel elevator up ahead. After stepping off the elevator onto the seventh floor, I found the door to my new apartment and knocked several times. Almost immediately the door flew open and Anna stood in the doorway. She had straight, strawberry blonde hair, big green eyes and a tan, slender figure. Freckles scattered her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. She wore black yoga pants and a black tank top. “Brooke!” She stepped forward and gave me a tight hug. “You have no idea how happy I am you’re here. I’ve been so lonely living by myself these past two months!”
            I laughed with relief that Anna was obviously excited about my arrival and stepped back. It was a little nerve racking moving into someone else’s place. I had always lived with my aunt and uncle, commuting back and forth to the local college, so I wasn’t use to the whole roommate thing yet. I smiled back at Anna. “You have no idea how happy I am to be here! The timing was perfect. I think this must have been meant to be.”