Bedding The Bad Boy (Dalton Brothers Novels) (27 page)

“It also costs a fortune to rent.”

“I told you, I’m working on an investor who’s interested. He just needs us to give him a game plan for a fresh act, and to come up with that game plan, I need you to take a look at the theater and work up some new tricks with me. The tour won’t take long. We’ll just check out the place. See if it has what we need and whether it inspires us.”

“Fine.” Max grumbled as they entered the theater. Part of him wished Rhys would just leave him alone but the other part was grateful his brother was still pushing forward. Given how devastated he’d been after seeing Grace, Max should be lying around watching TV, drinking beer and eating pizza all day. But he had his family and those babies to think of, so he had to get his ass in gear some time.

He forced himself to focus on the theater lobby. It was a beauty, with wood, stone and crown molding. The theater itself was huge, with lots of space under the stage and in the wings, which was critical for an act like theirs that required large set pieces and trap doors. He felt a jolt of excitement he hadn’t felt since before Grace left.

 “Look,” he said. “We don’t know what we need yet so we might be going about this backwards. I told you Grace’s suggestion about working with a dance troupe and I think we need to give that more thought. Maybe we should wait before looking at theaters.”

“I completely agree that Grace’s suggestion has merit, but the theater is available now. We need to act before someone else does. Ah, here we are.

Rhys opened the huge doors that led into the theater itself.

“Looks like we might be too late already,” Max said.

There were people on the stage, some stretching and some dancing. “Sorry, Rhys. I know how much—”

“Max Dalton?”

He turned toward the woman who’d called him and was now moving toward him with long, graceful strides. She was wearing a leotard and tights.

“Yes?” he said.

She held out her hand. “I’m Louisa James. I run a local dance studio.”

Max shook her hand. “Right. My brother and I were just going to—” He turned to introduce the woman to Rhys, but his brother had disappeared. What the hell?

He turned back to Ms. James. “I’m sorry to disturb you. I’ll just be going.”

“Oh you didn’t disturb us. We’re here for you. Grace arranged for it.”

“Grace?” He looked around, his pulse escalating at the idea of seeing her, even as he wondered again what the hell was going on.

“She told me you were interested in incorporating some dance and acrobatics into your magic act. She arranged for me to bring several dancers so we can talk about different options.”

Max couldn’t believe it. The last time he’d seen her, Grace had wanted nothing to do with his ‘drama’. So why had she arranged for all this?

The answer was obvious.

Grace was afraid of taking a risk on him as a lover and partner. She refused to see herself as normal, kink and all. But she was a good person. A good friend. She cared about Melina and Rhys and their future. Hell, she probably cared about Max, too. Just not enough. “When did Grace contact you?”

“A few days ago.”

After he’d acted like a caveman, carried her to his car, then practically kicked her out of it because she’d hurt his feelings.

“Is Grace here?”

“No but she is in Vegas. She said she’d stop by later. Shall we talk things out?”

Grace was in Vegas. He was going to see her. He didn’t know if that was a good idea or not, and he didn’t care. “Yes, let’s do that.”

Hours later, Max sat alone in the quiet theater waiting for Grace. Louisa James and her dancers had shown him some definite possibilities for making the show bigger than ever. They’d already scheduled a time to meet again. Even if it turned out Rhys and Max couldn’t afford to lease the Paradise Theater, there were others . . .

But where was Grace?

He wanted to thank her. He wanted to ask her what all this meant. He wanted to know if she’d changed her mind about giving them another chance.

But she’d hurt him. Far more than Nancy Morrison ever had. Could he really set himself up for that kind of hurt again?

He knew now Nancy’s rejection all those years ago had more to do with her own insecurities than it had him. She’d talked a good game, but when he replayed her words, he now understood how many of them focused on her fear that he’d get bored and move on to someone else. He hadn’t seen it then and he’d let her walk away. He’d done the same with Grace.

He hadn’t wanted to, but the bottom line was he couldn’t be with a woman who didn’t believe in what they had enough to fight for it. To fight
for him
.

He heard Grace’s footsteps before he saw her. When he looked up, she was only several steps away, carrying a gift box in her hands. She looked good. She always looked good. But she also looked uncertain.

She sat next to him.

“How’d it go with Louisa?” she asked.

“We’re going to collaborate together. Thank you, Grace.”

“You’re welcome.” She cleared her throat. “How are you?”

“I’m okay.”

“Mmm.” She traced the edge of the box she carried. “That’s too bad. Because I’m miserable without you. I was kind of hopin’ you were the same.”

He remained silent. Waiting. And hoping, as well.

“You know how badly I want to be normal, Max,” she said.

He sighed and took her hands in his, the box balanced on her thighs while their joined hands rested on top of it. “You’re more fabulous than normal can ever be, Grace. I know you don’t believe that and, as we’ve already established, I can’t give you normal. Not with this life. So why are you here?”

“Because I can give
you
some normal.” He tried to pull away, but she tightened her grip on him. “I’ve been tryin’ so hard to reject the kinky, adventurous side of me that sometimes I forget it’s just
a part
of me, not all of me. There’s more to me than that, just like there’s more to you than bein’ a performer. We’ve got layers, you and I.”

“Agreed.”

“I think, between the two of us, if you’re willin’ to try again, we can have it all. I can support your career and your lifestyle, Max. That’s why I brought Louisa here. We can give each other the sexual excitement we need. But we can also give each other normal, too. Stability. Comfort. Security. Love. And eventually, if everthin’ works out well and you want it, a family.”

“Why are you sure we can have it when you weren’t sure before. What’s changed?”

“I’ve had time to talk to friends, to family, who refused to let me resign myself to a lifetime of missin’ you. And that’s what I’ll have without you, Max. A whole lot of missin’ you.”

He brought her hands to his mouth so he could kiss them. “I’ve missed you, too, Dixie.”

She leaned forward, obviously wanting him to kiss her on the mouth as much as he wanted to do it, but the box on her lap got in the way. When she pulled back, he tapped on the box lid. “Is there something inside there you want to show me?”

She looked uncertain. “Maybe there’s no need. I kind of brought it as back-up, just in case you needed to be convinced how serious I am about you, but now it seems like overkill.”

“Grace, you rented a theater and had a dance troupe show up for me. I’m pretty sure nothing in that box is going to blow my mind.”

“Okay.” She lifted the lid and took out a blanket.

He sucked in his breath. He’d been wrong.

She had blown his mind.

The blanket Grace held looked similar to the ones his mom had given Rhys and Melina for the babies. He reached out to touch it. It was soft. Almost as soft as Grace’s skin. He traced the outline of his and Grace’s names above a blank heart where a baby’s name was supposed to go.

“It’s not the real one,” she said. “Your mom has yours safely at home.”

His mom made him one? He shouldn’t be surprised, but he was.

“I had this one made because I wanted you to know this is what I want. Our names on a baby blanket that your mom makes for us. With our baby’s name in a heart underneath ours. I want time to explore our relationship and enjoy one another. But eventually, when we’re ready, I want to build a family with you.”

“I want that, too,” he said in a gravelly voice. “And Grace, I don’t need to be a magician to make it happen. You worked your way into my heart back at Lodi’s. You’ve never left. And until the time comes that we’re ready to have a baby, I’ll be your family. For now and forever.”

EPILOGUE

Max’s Magic Rule #19:

Visualize a standing O, prepare for it, perform, and reap the rewards.

Two months later, Max was in the Paradise Theater helping choreograph a new set that combined the Dalton Brothers’ magic tricks with a stunning acrobatic number courtesy of Louisa’s dance troupe. He’d just called for a break and was speaking to the show’s biggest investor—Jamie Whitcomb, Lucy’s ex—when the theater doors were flung open and Lucy came running down the aisle. When she stopped in front of them, she kept her gaze glued to Max as if Jamie didn’t exist. Jamie, however, looked at Lucy as if he wanted to throw her over his shoulder and head for the nearest bed. Actually, he looked as though any horizontal spot would do.

“Rhys and Melina are on their way to the hospital.” Lucy grabbed Max by the shirtfront and shook him even as she grinned and bounced up and down. “The babies are coming. Let’s go, Max.”

“I’ll get Grace and meet you in the parking lot,” Max said.

With a nod, Lucy turned to head outside, but froze when Jamie cupped her elbow.

“I’ll drive you to the hospital,” he said.

Lucy jerked away from his touch and narrowed her eyes. “If you want company, you can always hire a chauffer. Hell, you can hire ten. I’d rather walk down the Strip naked than go anywhere with you.”

Jamie’s fists clenched and his jaw ticked. “Damn it, Lucy. You’re being ridiculous. My money’s good enough to invest in this theater but nothing else?”

“I didn’t ask you to invest in the theater. Melina did. I simply told her I had no objection to her asking you. And I don’t. I have no objection because you mean nothing to me. You mean less than nothing.”

He crossed his arms. “If Melina wasn’t in labor I’d make you eat those words, Luce.”

“Dream on, Jamie.” She headed toward the door, calling, “Let’s
go
, Max!”

Max placed a hand on Jamie’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, man, but I’ve gotta go.”

“I’ll meet you there,” Jamie said.

Max wasn’t surprised Jamie was going to the hospital since he and Melina were friends before he’d started dating Lucy. He just hoped the two of them could keep
their
particular brand of drama under control when they got there.

Since Grace wasn’t working right now, she spent a lot of time at the theater. She planned on spending a lot more time helping Melina with the babies, too, but she was going to have to fight Max’s and Melina’s moms for that honor. Max found her talking to one of the dancers. “It’s time, Grace. Melina’s at the hospital.”

“Good Lord.” She said a quick goodbye to the other woman, grabbed Max’s hand and began dragging him to the back door. When they got to his car, however, she stopped.

 “Melina’s goin’ to be a mama,” Grace said as tears filled her eyes.

Max hugged her close. “Your time will come, Grace.”

She laughed and shook her head. “I’m not thinkin’ about myself. I’m surrounded by family and I know I’ll have more someday. It’s just… Rhys and Melina… They’re perfect together. And now their lives are goin’ to be even more perfect.”

“If anyone knows about perfection, it’s you, Dixie,” he whispered as he ran his knuckles down her cheek.

She smiled, pressed a soft kiss on his jaw, then threw open the passenger door. “Come on! The babies are coming.”

***

A week later, Max and Grace had tears in their eyes but for slightly different reasons. Rhys had convinced Melina and both sets of grandparents to go out to dinner, leaving Max and Grace alone with his niece and nephew for the first time. Now, settled into the rocking chair in the nursery, Max cradled a baby in each arm, his expression one of utter adoration.

Grace was quite familiar with that look since Max pinned it on her frequently.

Not a day passed that she didn’t feel like the luckiest woman in the world because of it.

That’s why her tears were ones of happiness
and
regret. It scared her sometimes, how close she’d been to losing him.

Max sensed her mood and looked up from the babies to frown at her. “Dixie, what’s wrong?”

She reached out and smoothed the downy hair on each of the baby’s heads. Then she cupped Max’s face in both hands, leaned down and gave him a soft kiss.

He immediately angled his head and deepened their lip action, only pulling back when Charlie squeaked. She giggled when Tabitha gurgled in response. “I was right,” she said. “They’re perfect.”

Max sobered. “Tell me,” he said.

“I’m so happy,” she said. “And I know with you in my life, I’m only goin’ to be happier. I just can’t believe I was such a fool. That I didn’t see everthin’ you were from the beginnin’. What if I nevah came to my senses? What if I let you get away?”

“That was never going to happen. You saw me, Grace,” he said. “Long before you walked into Lodi’s.”

“What do you mean?”

“No way you would’ve approached me the way you did unless you knew I had more to offer than my—”

She slapped her hand over his mouth. “Don’t you dare,” she said. “Not in front of the babies.”

He puckered his lips and kissed her palm. When she removed it, he said, “All right. I’ll wait until we’re alone to start the dirty talk. Or on second thought, maybe I’ll let you do all the talking tonight.”

“You’re just sayin’ that because hearin’ me talk southern gets you hot.”

“Everything about you gets me hot, but yeah, the way you talk, Dixie? It made me hard and got me hot before I ever laid eyes on you.”

“The time we talked, that first night on the phone, before you dragged Melina onstage to make her grand play for Rhys?”