Perfect Partners (26 page)

Ryan rose and tossed the soda can into the recycling bin beneath the cabinet under the sink. “There’s loyalty for you. I’m going, but one thing first.”

Griff reached for the handle on the door. “What’s that?” He opened the door to see Chelsie on the other side.

“Invite me to the wedding,” Ryan said as he paused in front of her.

“What wedding is that?” she asked.

Ryan shrugged. “Ask your partner. Good seeing you again, Chels.”

“You too, Ryan,” she said to his retreating back.

The door closed behind him and Griff got his first good look at Chelsie. Cheeks flushed and eyes bright, she stood before him, waving a piece of paper in her hand.
The
piece of paper.

Griff held his breath.

“What is this?” she asked.

“Come.” He reached out and took her hand, leading her into the family room. With both hands on her shoulders, he eased her onto the soft cushions. “What is it you said to me when I proposed you help out with Alix?” he asked her.

She looked at him, puzzled.

He wondered if his heart had ever beat so hard or so fast. He wondered if he’d ever had as much at stake. “Let me remind you. You asked what would happen when I decided Alix was doing well enough to throw you out of her life
again.
”

She glanced down at the custody papers in her hands. “I still don’t understand what you meant… why you…”

“I gave you unconditional joint custody. Any schedule you want, any way you want.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll take her away from you somehow? You aren’t worried that maybe my parents will use this against you to sue for custody again?”

“Your parents. Well, they’re the unknown in all this. They’re a risk,” he admitted. One he’d struggled with long and hard all week.

But he’d accused Chelsie of wanting his ready-made family and then walked away instead of accepting her word, instead of believing she loved him separate and apart from Alix. He’d hurt her so deeply, he still saw it in her expression every time they were together.

Her shadowed eyes haunted his dreams. She was the last person he’d ever hurt intentionally. He saw only one way to make amends and hopefully assure their future. The only means he had to convince her of his trust was to offer the one thing he’d accused her of wanting more than him. His niece.

He couldn’t think of another way to bring them together, except to risk everything. He knelt down and stared into her eyes. “Listen to me. I love you. I want to marry you and be a real family. But if you can’t see beyond my mistakes, I understand. I’ll accept any type of shared custody arrangement you want. I’ll…

She cut him off by throwing her arms around his neck and toppling them both to the floor. “I take it this arrangement works for you?” he asked, out of breath but still needing to hear the words.

“I’m overwhelmed,” she said. “You’d do that for me?”

“Love you? Yes. Marry you? Yes.”

“Share custody of Alix even if I said no to your proposal,” Chelsie said softy.

“In a heartbeat.” Although right now he was fairly certain his own heart had stopped.

She blinked against moist eyes. “Can you move?”

“Your point?” he asked. Because if she didn’t answer him soon, he might not make it another minute.

“You’re not going anywhere, Griff, and neither am I.” Chelsie looked down at the man she loved, the man who had risked his emotional nightmare to give her what he believed she needed. What he failed to realize was the depth of that love. “You didn’t need to do this. I believed you when you said you trusted me. It’s just that I can’t give you all you deserve. The family you want, a child of your own…”

He grasped her cheeks in both hands, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Your words, Chelsie.
Not mine.
I said more children. Our children.”

She swallowed hard and tried again. “Are you sure?”

“Sure that I love you? Yes. Sure that I want to spend the rest of my life with you? Yes to that, too.”

“Sure that you can accept not having children of your own?” She asked because she had to be sure. More importantly,
he
had to be sure.

His eyes never left Chelsie’s face. “I already have all that I want. And you’re right. I do want more kids.” His fingertips brushed at the tear on her cheek. “So why wouldn’t I love any child you and I decided to adopt?”

“Adopt?”

“We both love Alix as if she were our own. As long as any other children are ours to raise and love together, why would I want more?”

Her throat hurt from holding back tears. “Are you sure?”

“That again?” he asked with a grin. He pulled her down onto the floor with him until his arms encircled her, squeezing her so tight she couldn’t help but be certain. “I’m sure,” he whispered. “Are you?”

Beyond words, Chelsie merely nodded. She had all she ever wanted and more than she’d ever dreamed.

“Now that we’ve got that settled, we can plan ahead.”

She lay her head on his shoulder and felt his strength. He’d be there for her always. She laughed. “Okay, let’s plan,” she agreed.

“For starters, I guess it’s a good thing you sublet your apartment after all.”

She feigned a loud gasp and propped herself up to look at the face she adored. “But what about that town house I rented?”

Panic flared in his eyes, causing her to shake her head in laughter and denial. “Gotcha,” Chelsie said with a grin, grateful for the love and the laughter she had found.

“That you do,” he whispered.

She wrapped her arms around him, thankful she’d been given so much.

“I don’t plan on ever letting you go.”

She smiled. “Who asked you to?”

“No more doubts? Because from now on, we share everything, good and bad.”

Chelsie smiled. “I’ll share my life with you, Griff. All you had to do was ask.”

The Right Choice

Suddenly Love (formerly titled Kismet)

Perfect Partners

Unexpected Chances (formerly titled Midnight Angel)

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Prologue

Gabe

G
abriel Dare eyed the beautiful woman with the bright smile that didn’t reach her eyes, hoping his bland expression concealed the intense emotions she roused inside him. Protective instincts the likes of which he’d never experienced before. The desire to sweep her into his arms, breathe in her unique scent no designer could have created, and steal her away from this god-awful staid country club was strong.

He had an endless supply of beautiful women all eager to share his bed, including Naomi, his latest affair, and yet they did nothing for him except accompany him on endless nights like this one. And take the edge off his need. True satisfaction hadn’t existed for him in far too long.

He was bored. Unless he was watching
her
. Then the perfection and elegance of the Hamptons club vanished, and
she
was all he saw.

Blonde hair fell down her back in less-than-perfect waves, defying the stick-straight look most women preferred. Her lush, sexy body, so unlike the females he normally bedded, had his hands itching to learn those curves and show her what true pleasure really was. She was unattainable, living with one of Wall Street’s stars, but she could do so much better.

Oddly, it wasn’t her lack of availability that appealed. She was bright, witty, and she could hold her own with just about anyone, making whoever she spoke to feel important. He admired that trait. They hadn’t spent more than a few minutes here and there in each other’s company, but she’d taken his breath away from the first look.

Gabe would do just about anything to attain something he wanted, but he drew the line at poaching on another man’s territory. Still, he had to admit she tested even his willpower, and he’d had practice at being alone. He’d married young and miscalculated badly. Afterwards, he’d been certain that after Krissie’s death, for which he felt responsible, the smart thing would be to keep a safe emotional distance from women.

One look at Isabelle Masters and he’d changed his mind. There was something about her that filled the emptiness inside him. To the point where just watching her was enough to calm his usually restless soul. Unfortunately, they didn’t run into each other nearly often enough.

Gabe ran a hand through his hair, groaning as he caught sight of Naomi making her way toward him, a cocktail plate with one celery stick and a carrot in her hand. His gaze darted to Isabelle as she crossed the room in the opposite direction, careful to avoid him as long as the man she lived with was around.

She was taken, and all he could do was admire. Look and not touch. But if she ever became available, all bets were off.

Chapter One

Isabelle

H
e begged me not to walk out the door. I did it anyway. The scariest part? How much I wanted to go. I’d spent years of my life fully invested in a relationship I’d thought meant everything to me. How could all the emotion disappear?

The answer came to me as I stood in the dark driveway by my car, the only light coming from the headlights of the vehicle I’d turned on with the push of a remote. The feelings had drained away, diminishing slowly from something I’d hoped would be full and wonderful at the age of twenty-two to something painfully empty by the time I’d reached twenty-five. I wasn’t old, but at this moment, I felt ancient and weary down to my bones.