Playing With Her Heart (34 page)

She gives me a curious
look, as a grin plays on her lips. “Are you asking me to move in?”

I shrug a shoulder
playfully. “You said your roommate’s moving out soon. I figured
why not.”

“So I should move in
since it’s hard to find a place in New York?” she jokes.

“That. And because it
makes it easier to fuck you, and make love to you, and kiss you, and
hold you, and touch you, and be with you,” I say, then I pause,
taking a beat, so she knows I mean this from the heart. “And
because I love you.”

She hops off the stool,
wraps her arms around me and kisses me wildly, so I take that as a
yes.

Four
Months Later

Jill

“You are the most
beautiful bride I’ve ever seen,” I say as I hand Kat a tulip
bouquet, all in purple, her favorite color.

She whispers a thanks,
takes a breath, her shoulders rising and falling, as if she’s
prepping herself for this momentous step.

“You’re not
nervous, are you?”

“I’ve never been
more sure of anything in my life.”

“Good,” I say with
a smile.

The string quartet
begins Pachelbel’s Canon, and that’s my cue as the maid of honor
to walk down the aisle, a white runner spread out across the lawn at
Le Belle Vie, an inn in Mystic, Connecticut, where Kat grew up. It is
June, and she and Bryan are getting married outside under the warm
afternoon sun on a beautiful blue-sky Saturday, the ocean waves
lapping the nearby shore.

When I reach the steps
of the gazebo, I take my spot across from the groom and his best man.
Bryan looks so handsome in his tux, and so happy as the wedding march
begins and Kat walks down the aisle. He only has eyes for her, and
she for him, as it should be.

She’s radiant, with
her hair pinned up in a gorgeous twist, in the perfect dress she
found at the bridal shop in the West Village. She reaches the gazebo
and stands across from Bryan, and the two of them are so ridiculously
happy. I catch a glimpse of Davis in the third row, looking as classy
as ever in a button-down shirt and tie that I want to unknot later.

For now, I keep my eyes
on the bride and groom as the justice of the peace begins the
proceedings.

“Dearly beloved, we
are gathered here today to celebrate one of the greatest joys in life
and witness the union of Bryan Leighton and Kat Harper in marriage,
which is an institution ordained by the state and made honorable by
the faithful keeping of good men and women,” he says. “Marriage
is founded upon sincerity, trust, and mutual love.” Then he pauses,
as if preparing for a quip. “As well as a mutual love of movies,
coffee drinks and Paris.”

I beam, and so does
Kat, and it’s all so true because that’s how Kat and Bryan fell
in love again.

“Kat and Bryan have a
strong and solid foundation. They support each other, they care for
each other and, as I understand it, Bryan is quite good at making her
laugh.”

Now it’s Bryan’s
turn to smile proudly. He won Kat back into his heart in many ways,
but especially because he always made her laugh.

Then the justice of the
peace grows more serious. “They are each other’s true and forever
loves, and today they take that pledge before God, family and
friends.” He turns to Bryan. “Do you, Bryan, take Kat to be your
lawful wedded wife?”

“I do.”

“Will you love,
respect and honor her in all your years together?”

“I will.”

Then he turns to Kat.

“Do you, Kat, take
Bryan to be your lawful wedded husband?”

“I do,” she says.

“Will you love,
respect and honor him in all your years together?”

“I will.”

After they exchange
rings, the justice of the peace says the words we’ve all come to
hear. “By the power vested in me by the state of Connecticut, I now
pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Bryan steps forward and
kisses his new wife, as a tear of happiness slides down my cheek, and
I sneak a look at the beautiful man in the third row, who’s already
looking at me.

* * *

Later, the bride and
groom dance as dusk falls, the rest of us joining them on the dance
floor in that kind of hazy, lingering after-the-cake-has-been eaten
way as the wedding party winds down.

“I know the bride is
supposed to be the most beautiful woman here, but you’ll always
hold that title for me,” Davis says, as he takes me in his arms for
a spin on the dance floor. Strings of lights twinkle from the canopy
above us. I can smell the salt water from the lazy ocean waves,
rocking the shores gently after twilight.

“As it should be.”

“And I suspect you’ll
be equally stunning tomorrow night on the red carpet,” he says.
“Have I told you how proud I am of you?”

“Only twenty million
times,” I say playfully, moving closer to him, because I am unable
to stay away. He’s been back from London for several weeks now, and
I can’t get enough of him. Even though I saw him once a week while
he was gone, it wasn’t nearly enough, and we’ve been making up
for all that lost time. Tonight is my first Saturday evening off
since I took over as Ava on opening night. But I have a good
understudy in Shelby, and I’m sure she’s kicking ass and taking
names right now back in Manhattan. The theater will be dark tomorrow
night, but Davis and I will be walking the red carpet into Avery
Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center for the 68th Annual Tony Awards since
we were both nominated for
Crash the Moon
.

“And I’m proud of
you. You’re still my favorite director,” I say as I play with the
collar on his shirt.

He laughs. “Your
only
director.”

“Hey! Just because
I’m still working my first job, doesn’t mean I can’t have a
favorite.” Then my hands stray to the buttons on his shirt and I
start to fiddle with the top one. As I do, I flash back to our first
kiss in his office, to how I couldn’t resist touching him then
either.

The mood shifts between
us as he grips my hand, and tugs me tighter against him. His voice is
rough and heated. “Jill, when you do that, it makes me want to
undress you, too.”

A ribbon of heat runs
through me. “Then we should get out of here because that’s my
favorite outfit to wear with you—nothing.”

After we say our
goodbyes, we duck into a town car that will take us all the way back
into Manhattan and down to Tribeca where we live. Davis hits the
button for the partition. “Such a long ride back to the city.
Whatever will we do,” he muses as he fingers the short hem on my
black and white dress.

“I have no idea how
we could pass the time,” I say, as he grabs my hips and shifts me
on top of him so I’m straddling him in the car. He brushes his lips
against my throat, trailing his tongue between my breasts as he hikes
up my skirt.

“Take those off,”
he tells me, and I quickly shed my panties as he unzips the crisp
gray slacks he wore to the wedding. I inch them down his hips,
licking my lips reflexively as the boxer briefs slide down too.

Then he grabs me and
brings me down on him, and I moan loudly at the delicious feeling of
him inside me. I move on him, slowly, taking my time because it’s a
two-hour ride back to the city, but even so it doesn’t take me long
because he knows what to do to bring me over the edge. He always has,
he always will, and we come together one more time.

Once we reach
Manhattan, the car heads down Columbus Avenue and Davis leans forward
and raises the partition to talk to the driver. “Can you make a
stop at Lincoln Center?”

“Yes, sir,”

I give him a curious
look.

“Getting a head start
on tomorrow?”

“Perhaps,” he says
evasively.

When we stop, he opens
the door and reaches for my hand. I’m not quite sure what the plan
is, but I go along with it, as we head up the steps of the plaza
outside Lincoln Center. The fountain shoots sprays of water high
above us in a majestic pattern, lit brightly on a summer night. We
are surrounded by the ballet, the theater, the orchestra, the opera,
and Juilliard. This is the heartbeat of the arts in New York City,
and it’s always felt like a hamlet to me.

He stops at the
fountain and pulls me in close. “I’ve always wanted to kiss you
by the fountains at Lincoln Center. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Not at all,” I
say, as he brushes his lips against mine, kissing me slowly at first,
tenderly, then claiming my mouth with his in the way I love, the way
that makes me feel like I’m his, because that’s all I want to be.

When he breaks the
kiss, I am still stunned. Because kisses from him only get better,
and I can feel this one in my knees, in my toes, all the way in my
fingertips. “You’re such a romantic,” I tell him.

“You don’t know the
half of it, Jill,” he says with a note of mischief in his voice.

“What do you mean?”

“This is what I
mean,” he says, as he bends down on one knee, reaching for my hand.
I gasp when I realize what he’s doing. “I fall more madly in love
with you every day and it’s never going to stop. I want to be with
you always, to laugh with you, and work with you, and love you more
than any man has ever loved a woman. And when we come here tomorrow
night, and walk that red carpet, I don’t want to go in as the
director and the actress. I want to go in there with you as the man
you’re going to spend the rest of your life with. Will you marry
me?”

I fall to my knees too,
wrapping my arms around his neck, and kissing him in between happy
tears and my reply. “Yes, yes, yes,” I say as I plant kisses all
over his beautiful face. “I don’t think I can stop kissing you
right now.”

“How about for ten
seconds so you can let me put this ring on you then?” he says with
a grin.

“I almost forgot
about the ring,” I say because I am overcome. I hold out my hand
and he slides a gorgeous diamond onto my ring finger. I don’t know
anything about diamonds, and I can’t tell the cut or carats, but I
don’t care because it’s from him, and it’s about us, and it’s
the most beautiful thing I’ve ever worn. “I love it so much. I
love
you
so much. I love being yours.”

“You are. Now, and always.”

THE END

Check out my other sexy contemporary romance novels!

Caught Up In Us, a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller! (Kat and Bryan’s romance!)

Pretending He's Mine, a Barnes & Noble Bestseller! (Reeve & Sutton’s romance)

Trophy Husband, a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller! (Chris & McKenna’s romance)

The Breakup Album, my next sexy contemporary romance novel releasing in October and starring Jane Black, who sang at the gala at the Plaza, is now available for pre-order.

And coming to an eReader near you in September, get ready for TRICKED AND TREATED, starring a scorchingly-hot firefighter who melts hearts and panties…in the Entangled Brazen anthology LOVERS UNMASKED,
now available for pre-order
.

I am grateful for the
support of so many amazing people. First and foremost, I am in mad
love with all my readers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for
making this possible. I love you all like crazy!!! I owe a huge
thanks to my early readers for Playing With Her Heart. My friend Cara
tirelessly read draft after draft, chapter after chapter, sharing her
feedback every step of the way and shaping this into a much better
book. Melody Grace is my plot wizard, and without her as a sounding
board I would have been lost. Love ya, girl! Violet Duke provided
keen insight to smooth out the story. Kelly’s feedback made me
smile, and I desperately needed it. And Michelle provided the final
piece of the puzzle.

I am fortunate to work
with the best cover designer there is in Sarah Hansen. I am grateful
for Ryan Orange, whose fantastic photo graces the cover. And I must
thank Steve Boyd’s parents for creating such a fine specimen.
Steve, you’re gorgeous!

My publicist Kelly at
Inkslinger PR is a cheerleader, a momma bear, a marketing genius, a
shrink and a fabulous friend.

Big thanks as well to
my indie besties—Violet Duke, Lexi Ryan, Emma Hart, Kendall Ryan,
Sawyer Bennett, Kristen Proby, Michelle Valentine, Monica Murphy and,
of course, Miss Melody Grace. (Go read Unafraid, it’s awesome!!)
Tara Simone is a fab brainstorm partner and a helluva romantic comedy
writer. (Her book Vacationista is hilarious!)

Then there are the
bloggers who make my world go round. Bloggers rock! My books would
quite simply not be in the eReaders in your hands without them. Thank
you to Book Whores Obsession, Shh…Mom’s Reading, Rock Stars of
Romance, Romance Addict, Little Black Book Blog, Flirty and Dirty
Book Blog, After the Final Chapter, Britt Blabs Books, Two Crazy
Girls with a Passion for Books, HEA Shelf Blogger, Fictional Book
Boyfriend & Book Whore, Angie’s Dreamy Reads, Becky at Reality
Bites! Let’s Get Lost, KellyVision, Geekery Book Review, Reviews by
Tammy and Kim, The Book Enthusiast, Book Nerds Anonymous, True Story
Book Blog, BestSellers & BestStellars, Chapter Break, LoveNBooks,
Such a Pretty Face, Lovin' Los Libros, Book Addict Mumma, All Booked
Out, Just Booked and many more. Thank you Kim, for your eagle eye and your much-needed final save. Also, a big thanks to Michael
Cerveris, the Tony-Award winning actor, who graciously let me give
him a cameo in this book. Go check out his band Loose Cattle—it’s
a real band! I also owe a thanks to my parents, who introduced me to
the theater long ago. Like Jill, the first show I saw was Fiddler on
the Roof and I fell in love with the theater. I have no talent for
the stage, but Broadway remains my first love as a spectator. The
inspiration for Patrick’s fictional two-day rehearsal for Guys &
Dolls stemmed from Marcus Lovett, who learned the lead role in
Carousel on Broadway in a similar time span back in 1994 when the
star fell ill. I saw his performance in Carousel—he was
magnificent.