Sweet on You (19 page)

Panic spread icy through her veins. "What's he thinking through?"

The matchmaker threw her hands in the air. "I don't know. Whatever stuff guys need to work out."

"I've got to do something."

Valentine rested a hand on her arm. "You really like him?"

"I hadn't realized how much until I'd screwed it all up."

"Are you willing to do whatever it takes? Even if you have to beg?"

"Yes. I love him," she said without hesitation, and the words felt so true and real that she wanted to smack herself on her head for not realizing sooner.

"Okay." Valentine nodded, her demeanor all business as she pulled out her phone. She swiped the screen a couple times. "He comes back in two days. I'm supposed to pick him up at the airport, but you're going in my stead."

Marley worried her lip, thinking of all the things that could go wrong. "What if he doesn't want to go with me?"

"That's not an option. Failure isn't one of the choices here. You need to make him see reason."

"I can't make him love me."

"You don't have to." The matchmaker slid off the stool and tugged her skirt down. "Come with me. We need to arm you for battle."

She obediently got off her seat. "Why are you helping me?"

"Because I'm a love advocate." She marched out the door, a skinny redhead on the charge.

Just as Valentine was about to exit, the Hulk stepped into the doorway, blocking it with his width. He glared at her like she was a gnat harassing him.

Valentine, who looked tiny compared to him, just glared back. "You're in my way."

Marley thought he was going to growl—maybe even bite the woman in two. But he surprised her by stepping aside.

"I can help." Valentine handed him a card. "Call me," she ordered as she primly walked by, her purse swinging in the crook of her elbow.

Marley followed before the Hulk decided to take it out on her. "That was impressive," she said to her friend under her breath.

"I'm going to match him up." There was a determined light in her eyes.

"I believe you." Marley strode after her. "How did you have that card ready so quickly? Do you have some stashed in your bra?"

Valentine gasped. "A bra with a built-in card holder. That's brilliant. I may have to work on that."

"Valentine, where are we going?"

"Here." She swept into Romantic Notions, the posh lingerie store, and walked right up to the young woman manning the counter. "Nicole, we need something saucy to wear. For her."

Both women turned to inspect Marley.

She wanted to duck under their calculating gazes, which she equated to being much like Superman's laser vision.

"How saucy are we talking?" Nicole asked.

"Garters," Valentine said decisively. "Stockings."

"Stockings?" Marley gulped. "I don't—"

"Really saucy then." Nicole rubbed her hands together gleefully. "We can do that."

The two women discussed her like she wasn't there. They picked out some things, debated color, and then settled on a lacy garter and black stockings, with a matching bra.

Marley held up the bra, which seemed to be missing essential parts and pieces. "This has no cups."

"I know." Nicole winked wickedly at her. "He's going to love it."

"Where are the panties?"

"No panties," Valentine said.

She shook her head. "I can't
not
wear panties."

Valentine narrowed her eyes. "You can when the stakes are so high."

Could she go without underwear? She tried to picture it.

"Look at it this way," her friend said. "If it ensured you being loved for the rest of your life, would you take the risk?"

Marley turned to Nicole. "No panties, please."

Marley teetered on the heels she wasn't used to wearing as she moved out of the way of a large family with a hundred suitcases. One of the children eyed her. Could the kid see that she was naked underneath the trench coat?

Well, she wasn't completely naked. After all, she was wearing the peek-a-boo bra, the garters, and the stockings. Otherwise she had nothing on but the expensive lotion Daniela had given her for her last birthday.

Still, just in case, she cinched the belt of her coat tighter.

To distract herself from her nerves, she pictured herself getting arrested by the airport police. She looked around, wondering if she looked like a hooker, standing against the column, waiting. She imagined being put in handcuffs and frisked.

She imagined Brian Benedict frisking her.

She fanned herself with her hand and then lifted all her hair off her neck. It was hot in this coat.

A wave of people poured out from the terminal. Marley stood up straight. Was this part of his flight? The monitor said it landed ten minutes ago.

She surveyed each passenger, looking for the right one. Just when she'd given up hope, she saw him striding through the security checkpoint.

He looked familiar but different—more tanned, his hair disheveled. He wore sandals and cargo shorts, with a long-sleeved dress shirt, sleeves rolled up, of course. His bag was slung on a shoulder, a baseball cap in the other hand.

Something inside her eased when she saw him. For the first time in days she had hope that this would turn out right.

Then he saw her, and he slowed as though he was reluctant to meet her.

No. She shook her head, tightening the belt one more time. She set her sights on him and went to meet him halfway.

She cleared her throat. "Welcome home."

"This is unexpected," he said, shifting his bag higher on his shoulder. He stopped directly in front of her. "Or are you on your way to a flashers' convention?"

She flushed, making sure the belt was still securely fastened. "Actually, I came to take you home."

Brian didn't say anything, just gazing at her like he was trying to figure her out. Then he shook his head. "I can take a cab."

"No, you can't." She stood straight, ignoring that she wobbled in the spiked heels. "Wonder Woman wouldn't let her man escape."

"Does that mean you have a red, white, and blue unitard under that trench?"

Taking a deep breath, she stepped right up to him, so she was pressed against the front of his body. In her heels, she was almost as tall as he was, so he met her gaze dead on. "I'll show you what I don't have on under here as soon as you forgive me for being slow."

He settled his glasses up his nose. "I'm not sure which part of that statement I'm supposed to glom on to."

"The part where I asked you to forgive me." She took his free hand, realizing she hadn't
really
understood how much she'd missed him until this moment. "I was so focused on the idea of what I thought I wanted, I didn't see what was in front of me until it was too late."

"What's in front of you?"

"A friend and confidante. A partner in crime." She squeezed his hand. "A lover."

"Those are my words."

"You were right. I'm not good with words, and you said it best. But they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so..." She reached into her purse and pulled out a framed photo.

He put his baseball cap on his head and took the picture. She watched his face, trying to measure how he'd feel seeing physical evidence of their love in the kiss on the pier.

Brian's expression didn't change.

Swallowing thickly, Marley said, "We looked happy. I
was
happy. I hate that I messed that up. But now that I know what I want, I'm not going to back down. I should warn you that I'll resort to anything, even not wearing panties, to get you back."

She thought his lips twitched, but she must have imagined it. "You said you didn't see what was in front of you until it was too late," he said.

"I know," she all but wailed.

He brushed her hair back. "It's not too late."

"Good." She reached up and pulled his mouth to hers. A sigh of relief went through her body the moment their lips touched. She pressed her heart to his, hoping he could hear that it beat for him.

Dropping his bag, Brian pulled her to him, squeezing her tight against him. "I was miserable this past week. The kind of miserable where I drank myself silly, only not even that helped."

She remembered the hangover she'd had after her night of drunken debauchery with Daniela and winced. "Me too."

"I was really angry with you."

"I was, too." She whispered in his ear. "But I'm going to make it up to you."

"I hope however you do it includes what you haven't got on under this coat." He tugged lightly at her belt.

"It's not much," she said with a big smile. "Want to see?"

"Yes, please." He picked up his bag, not letting go of her hand. "I hate that I have to wait till we return home."

She shook her head. "I planned ahead. I brought Daniela's delivery truck, and I parked it on the top floor of the parking lot, away from all the other cars."

Brian's grin was slow but full. "Then lead the way, Super Marley."

"Super Marley. I like that." She pictured herself in boots instead of the uncomfortable spiked heels. With a cape, of course. "What's my superpower?"

"Love," he said, squeezing her hand.

She nodded as they walked out of the terminal. "I think you may be right."

Chapter Twenty-eight

Daniela curled up on a couch, huddled in a blanket, staring at her brother. He sat in one of the oversized chairs, his feet propped on an ottoman. On his lap, he balanced his laptop, on which he was focused intently.

He'd decided to stay until Christmas. That gave her a few days with him, just the two of them. They'd agreed not to discuss work things until after the holidays, when he'd help her formulate a plan for going ahead with her charity idea.

She pursed her lips, imagining living in this big house alone. Well, not really alone, because she told Marley to stay even though she was going to strike out on her own. She liked having Marley there, though she suspected that the young woman would be moving in with her new boyfriend sooner as opposed to later.

The word
boyfriend
made her want to pout. Not that Daniela wanted a boyfriend. She wanted Nico, and Nico was definitely not a boy.

Tony closed his laptop and stared at her. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" she said, burrowing deeper in her blanket.

"You're fidgety. That actually isn't unusual since you haven't stood still since you were born, but the forlorn sighing has to go."

"I'm not sighing forlornly."

He rolled his eyes. "You want me to go break his legs and take care of it once and for all?"

She couldn't help smiling. "You're such a Guido sometimes."

"I just care about you."

Tears popped into her eyes. "I'm going to miss you when you leave."

"I'm not gone yet." He set his laptop aside. "And I wanted to talk to you about that. What if I stayed?"

She sat up. "You're thinking of staying?"

He nodded. "Most of my clients are in Los Angeles these days, and it's a closer hop to LA from here. I like San Francisco, and I'll be closer to you."

"To keep tabs on me?"

"To spend more time with you," he corrected. "You were right. My priorities have been out of whack. I need to change that. You're here, and Mom and Dad are travelling all over the world. There's nothing keeping me in New York."

"But—" Her phone rang, and it was Eve. "Hold on while I take this."

She'd barely said hello when Eve exclaimed, "Congratulations, Daniela! I didn't think you were going to do it."

"Do it?" she asked, confused.

"Finish your store. The decorations look great from what I can see through the window."

"Decorations?" Frowning, she pushed the blanket aside. "Where are there decorations?"

"Inside your showroom."

"There shouldn't be anything inside my showroom but unused two-by-fours." She glanced at her brother, who was already putting on his shoes. "You're sure it's my space?"

"Of course." Eve paused. "You didn't do it?"

"No." She rooted around the floor for her slippers. "I'll be right down."

She hung up as Tony tossed her a sweater. "Let's go," he said. "We'll drive."

It was only a few blocks away, but she didn't argue with him this time. They rushed to the shop and double-parked right outside.

Eve stood in the doorway, cuddled warmly in the arms of a large, dark-haired man Daniela recognized as her friend's new husband.

"Treat and I were on our way home and I noticed it," Eve said as Daniela and Tony joined them.

"You were working this late?" Daniela asked.

Even in the dark, she could see Eve's blush. The blonde tucked her hair behind her ear. "Treat came to pick me up and we had some dessert before leaving."

A wave of longing swept over her. She and Nico used to have "dessert" all the time. Before the sadness overwhelmed her, she focused on her store. "I haven't had the lights installed in the front," she told Tony.

"Then why is it all lit?" he asked, taking his duplicate keys out and heading to the door. She tried to go around him to get in, but he pushed her back. "Let me check it out first, just in case."

She rolled her eyes, but arguing would have just delayed things. So she stayed back, tapping her foot impatiently.

"I'll go with you," Eve's husband said, following Tony inside.

"They're so annoyingly macho sometimes," Eve said, moving to her side. "I doubt there's a bad guy in there. What bad guy would leave behind a Christmas tree and lights?"

Daniela shook her head. "I'm baffled."

"You really didn't have it done?"

"I haven't even decorated at home."

Treat poked his head out the door. "Coast is clear."

Daniela's breath caught the moment she stepped inside. It looked like a winter wonderland. Garlands decorated the walls, wrapped in twinkling white lights. Reindeer stood in a cluster to one side, and stockings hung from one wall. In the center of the room, a huge tree glittered with ornaments and lights. Under the tree, there was one present, large and obvious.