Thrill Me (25 page)

“I won't say I should have told you, because I believe that my promise to Elaine was something I couldn't break. I also get that from your perspective I betrayed you and I lied. Both of which are unforgivable.”

The shot shifted to one of the mountains, then the field. The two of them came into view. They were standing close, talking. She'd muted the sound of their voices, so there were only the gestures, then intensity. Then the kiss.

“This is the wrong place, the wrong time, but I still wanted you to know. I love you. I've loved you for the past ten years—I just didn't realize it. Whatever happens, you'll always have a place in my heart. I didn't want you to leave without knowing that. Goodbye Del.”

Her voice faded and the kiss ended, then the screen went dark.

Maya sat in her chair for a few more minutes, then knew there was nothing left to do. She'd said it all—laid herself bare. Now it was up to him.

She figured her odds were well less than 50 percent. Del didn't believe in second chances and she'd already had hers. He wasn't going to give her a third. Even so, she could walk away knowing she'd been brave. She'd told the truth.

* * *

D
EL
STAYED
UP
through the night. There were hours of videos. He didn't know when Maya had found the time to edit it all, but she had. She'd taken raw footage, badly filmed sequences and turned them into something impressive. Somehow she'd discovered the very essence of each scene and highlighted it.

By the time the sun had come up, he knew that he'd been the asshole his brothers had claimed and then some. Maya had done nothing but give since she'd moved back to town. She'd worked hard at her job, she'd helped him, helped his mom and had even taught that class. She'd been a friend, a lover—she'd supported him and his family.

And she'd lied to him. She'd withheld significant information about his mother and her illness. He knew better than to trust her again. How could he—

He put in the last DVD. His computer screen filled with a shot of the town. The camera panned to him doing push-ups in the park. There was plenty of background noise, then Maya's voice as she teased him.

“I'm not impressed by your push-ups,” she said, her voice picked up by the microphone he wore.

“Sure you are.”

She laughed.

There was a pause in the sound, then he heard her speaking—but not from that day. Instead, it was a voice-over.

He listened to the first couple of sentences, and then paused the video and leaned back in his chair. He remembered that day in the park and dozens of other days with her. He knew how she liked her coffee and how careful she was when she framed her shots. She would always take time to speak to a kid or pet a dog or make a couple of old ladies feel special. She was loyal and unshakable. She wouldn't betray her friend...not even to her lover.

She'd lied to him, and he would bet anything that if the circumstances happened a second time, she would do it again. Which meant that if he needed to trust her absolutely, he couldn't.

Or could he? Wouldn't she be as loyal to him? Did what she'd been through with Elaine mean she would risk anger and loss to do the right thing?

He was tired and confused, and the truth that would change everything seemed just out of reach. She'd told him, and his mother had told him, and he'd stubbornly refused to believe either of them. Maya hadn't wanted to keep the secret, but she had. She hadn't been acting out of spite but out of love for his mother. For her friend.

That was what it came down to. He didn't have to agree with what she'd done, nor did he have to like it. But if he accepted her reasons, then he had to admit that within that context, she'd done the right thing. Her intent hadn't been to lie—it had been to protect.

He looked at the screen again and pushed the play button. He smiled as he saw Maya trying to read the light meter while he jostled her. She laughed and looked at him. He pushed the pause button again.

She was so beautiful, he thought absently. Her smile, her eyes. He wanted her—what man wouldn't? But it was more than that. He respected her. He needed her. He wanted to work with her and—

The freight train of truth ran right through him then. It whistled and vibrated the house and left him shaken and feeling pretty damned stupid.

He didn't want to just work with Maya. He didn't want a business partner. He wanted to be with her always. Permanently. He wanted to marry her—because he loved her. That was why he was so pissed about his mom and everything else. He didn't want her to be someone he couldn't trust because she was everything to him.

How could he not have seen that before? How could he not have realized she was his world?

He stood and grabbed his truck keys, then ran outside. He hadn't showered or eaten. At least he was dressed and wearing shoes. He drove the short distance to Maya's quiet neighborhood.

It was still early. Kids had yet to leave for school, and most of the adults were getting ready for work. Maya was on her front porch, watering her yellowing plants. She looked up when he pulled into her driveway, but didn't move from the porch. He stepped out of the truck. His chest was tight with nerves and fear. What if he'd waited too long to figure out what mattered?

“Stop watering,” he told her. “That's why your plants are dying. They don't need water every single day.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

He pointed to the can she held. “Let them get thirsty once in a while.”

“Oh. You think?”

She put down the can and moved to the stairs. He walked closer.

“You look awful,” she told him.

“I haven't slept. I watched the videos. You did a great job.”

Something flared in her green eyes. An emotion he couldn't read. Hope, maybe? “The last one,” she began.

“I didn't finish it.”

She bit her lower lip. “That's not why you're here?”

“No. I'm here because I realized the truth.” He walked a couple of steps closer. “I don't agree with what you did, Maya, but now I get why you did it. I understand it wasn't about me at all, but about you and my mom.”

“It was, and I never wanted to keep the truth from you.”

“I know. You're a good person. A loyal friend. You're a lot of things. Beautiful, smart, funny.” Damn. He was doing this all wrong. The words all crowded up inside of him, and he didn't know which ones to say first.

“I want us to work together,” he told her. “Do the commercials, then start on the other projects we talked about. We're a good team.”

He frowned. That wasn't right at all. Why didn't he get to the point?

“But not as a business.” He crossed the last few feet separating them, then climbed the two steps to join her on the porch. He took her hands in his. “I love you, Maya. Maybe I never stopped. I was so angry, and I know now it's because I had thought we'd be together always. We belong together. I hope I can make you see that. I want us to be partners in everything. We'll make a home here in Fool's Gold. A home base. Can we do that? Is there a chance, or have I hurt you too much?”

She stared at him. A single tear slipped down her cheek. He brushed it away.

“I love you,” he repeated.

“You really didn't watch the end of the video?” she asked.

“No. What does that have to do with anything?”

She smiled, then sniffed, then raised herself on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his.

“I love you, Del. I've loved you for the past ten years. Maybe all my life.”

The tightness in his chest eased as he pulled her close. “Yeah?”

She laughed. “Yes. I want all that, too. Us working together and having Fool's Gold as the place we always come back to.”

“You're going to marry me?”

She looked up at him. “I'm going to marry you.”

“I love it when a plan comes together,” he said right before he kissed her.

Later, after they'd made love, they went back to his place. Together, curled up on his sofa, they watched the last video together. Del held her close as he listened to her tell him she loved him.

“You're pretty good on camera,” he told her.

She snuggled against him. “Only with you. On my own, I'm a disaster.”

“Me, too.”

“Then it's good we're a team.”

“You know it.”

* * * * *

Read on for an extract from MARRY ME AT CHRISTMAS by Susan Mallery

“D
O
THEY
KNOW
they look like pumpkins?”

Madeline Krug appreciated that Rosalind asked the question very softly. One of the first rules of running a successful wedding gown store was to not insult the bride or her wedding party. And while she normally would have mentioned that to her assistant, in this case the question was kind of legitimate.

It wasn't just the very full skirt on the bridesmaids' dresses. A billowing that was oddly, well, pumpkin shaped. It wasn't the colors, which ranged from tangerine to coral to, um, pumpkin. But when those two elements were put together with a pale green crown of leaves and tiny flowers on each of their six heads, the overall effect was just a little...pumpkiny.

“The bride told me this is exactly what she wanted,” Madeline murmured. “That she's been dreaming about her wedding since she was a little girl and these are the dresses she pictured. She was thrilled we could find them.”

Madeline smiled at her assistant. “Every bride has a perfect dress and a vision for what she wants her wedding party to look like. Our job is to find out what that dream is and make it come true.”

Rosalind looked doubtful, but nodded, as if taking mental notes.

The fortysomething brunette had been working at Paper Moon for about a month now. With her kids all in middle and high school, she'd wanted to return to the workforce. Madeline needed someone she could depend on and Rosalind came with good references. So far, they were doing well as a team, although Rosalind still found the various bridal idiosyncrasies surprising.

Madeline returned her attention to the wedding party. She double-checked the fit of each dress, confirmed the bride was giddy with happiness, then promised a final pressing before the dresses were picked up the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Because the, um, pumpkin wedding was the Saturday after the holiday.

By three o'clock the bridal party had left. Madeline retreated to her office to finish up some paperwork. After processing invoices, confirming a couple of deliveries and noting when her favorite bridal designer's new summer collection would be available, she leaned back in her chair and allowed herself a rare moment of contentment.

She loved her job. She wasn't saving the world or finding a new source of renewable energy—but in her own small way, she helped people be happy. Brides came in all shapes, sizes and temperaments, but for the most part, she loved each one of them. She loved the look on their faces when they found the right dress. The happy tears were so satisfying.

Sure there was drama, but she could handle a little drama. It kept things interesting. And when the drama was over and the bride emailed her a picture of herself on the big day, well, nothing was sweeter.

She was just plain lucky, she thought. If not in love, then certainly in every other part of her life. Because—

“Hello, Madeline.”

Two simple words spoken in a kind voice. That should have been fine. Or even nice. Instead, Madeline stared at the well-dressed woman standing in the doorway of her office and knew that her life was about to change. She couldn't say how or why, but as surely as the sun would rise in the east, when Mayor Marsha Tilson showed up looking slightly expectant, things happened.

“Ma'am,” Madeline said, instantly coming to her feet. Because that was how she'd been raised. You stood when an older person came in the room.

Mayor Marsha had been the mayor of Fool's Gold for longer than Madeline had been alive. She was, in fact, California's longest serving mayor. She was much loved, warm, caring and had a way of knowing things that no one had ever been able to explain. Madeline had always liked her. She found her a little scary, but she liked her.

“Do you have a minute?” the mayor asked, already walking into the small office and taking a seat.

“Of course.”

Madeline was a little relieved when Dellina Ridge, Fool's Gold's event planner, followed the mayor into her office and offered a reassuring smile. Dellina was a good friend. If something bad was about to happen, not only would Dellina have warned her but she would have offered moral support and brownies.

“As you know,” Mayor Marsha began when they were all seated, “the holidays are a busy time here in town.”

Madeline nodded. Fool's Gold loved to celebrate in every way possible. From mid-November until after the first of the year, there was always something going on. Lucky for her, it was an especially slow time at Paper Moon, which meant she got to enjoy everything going on around her.

The rhythm of a bridal shop was different from regular retail. Come January second, when a lot of stores slowed down, she would be juggling newly engaged brides-to-be. Many a proposal would be made on either Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve. But that wasn't why the mayor was here.

Mayor Marsha glanced at Dellina, who scooted to the front of her chair and gave another smile.

“It's me,” Dellina admitted, sounding a little rueful. “I'm totally scrambling. The Hendrix family is planning a huge party on New Year's Eve, there are a dozen holiday events and three weddings, and I'm up to my eyebrows in invitations and details. I can't take on one more thing.”

Madeline still wasn't sure where this was all going. “If you need me to help with something, I'm happy to,” she said slowly. Of course she would be there for her friend. But why wouldn't Dellina have come to her directly? They'd known each other all their lives. Why involve the mayor?

Dellina shifted slightly. “Yes, well, it's more than my usual panicked call to come stuff goodie bags. It's a wedding.”

Madeline looked between the two of them. “I don't understand,” she admitted.

“There's going to be a wedding the Saturday after Christmas,” the mayor said happily. “You know how I love a wedding. This will be a small affair. Right now the guest list is at forty. I suspect it will grow a little, but shouldn't be more than fifty or fifty-five people. There's no location issue—everything will be at the bride's brother's house. The catering is taken care of.”

“Ana Raquel is handling that,” Dellina added. “She had a cancellation and can fit in the wedding. So it's just the basic details. Dress, invitations, decorations. I know it's a lot to ask...” Her friend shook her head. “I'm sorry. We haven't asked yet, have we?”

Mayor Marsha patted Dellina's hand. “I'll do the asking, dear. Madeline, your town needs you to plan a wedding. Are you up for it?”

“I don't know,” Madeline admitted. “I've never done anything like that before. I work with brides and we talk details, but to take a wedding from start to finish, even a small one, would be challenging.”

Which was as close to saying no as she was going to get, she thought as the mayor continued to look at her with that steady, supportive
You'll do what I say because I have powers and you've never once refused me anything
look that was both famous and inescapable.

“I have a master list and I'd be happy to help,” Dellina added. “I'm sorry to put you in this position.”

“Don't apologize,” Mayor Marsha said firmly. “I'm to blame. When I spoke with Dellina earlier today and she said she wasn't available, we brainstormed who we could ask. You're the one we both thought of.”

Madeline got the subtext of the message. Dellina had been as trapped as she was now. When Mayor Marsha wanted something done, she was unstoppable. Which meant saying no wasn't an option.

Planning a wedding in seven weeks, over the holidays, when she'd never done much more than be a bridesmaid and sell wedding dresses? Were they crazy?

“Sure,” she said easily. “I'm in.” She frowned as she realized she didn't know anyone who had recently gotten engaged, or even who was planning a holiday wedding. “Oh, who's getting married?”

“Ginger Blaze.”

The name meant nothing. “She's not local. Is her fiancé...”

Madeline felt her heart stop. Physically stop. There had been steady beating, then nothing. That was followed by a distinct popping sound in her ears along with panic. Cold, slimy, I-can't-breathe panic.

“Blaze,” she whispered. Quite the trick what with her heart stopped and her lungs not working. “Blaze as in
Jonny
Blaze?”

Mayor Marsha nodded. “Ginger is his younger sister. I believe she lives in San Francisco. She's in a PhD program. Something with biology or genetics. Mr. Blaze wasn't clear. However, he asked me to help him find someone to plan the wedding with him. That's when I approached Dellina. You know the rest, my dear.”

Jonny Blaze? The tall, handsome action-movie star who had recently moved to a ranch outside of town? The man who had a body like a god and a smile that reduced perfectly intelligent, articulate women to puddles? Jonny Blaze, who was, unbeknownst to him, of course, her movie-star boyfriend?

No. She couldn't. She had a mad crush on him. Every time she'd seen him in town, she'd stared like an idiot. She'd babbled and he hadn't been closer than twenty-five feet. She couldn't imagine being next to him, let alone working with him.

I can't.
There. She'd said it. Or at least thought it. Which was practically the same thing. She couldn't.

“From what I can tell, Mr. Blaze is a very nice man,” the mayor was saying. “He wants to fit in. Be a part of the community. As you know, we take the well-being of our citizens very seriously. Mr. Blaze needs a refuge from the trappings of his career and we can provide that. The quiet, everyday kind of life he craves.”

“The wedding is going to be close friends and family,” Dellina added. “It's small and intimate. I swear, if I had an extra second, I'd take it on.”

“You're already doing too much,” Madeline said, pleased she could speak. “I know you. You're running in forty-five directions.”

If it were anyone else, she thought frantically. But it wasn't and saying no had never been an option.

She drew in a breath and told herself she was strong. She was mature. At the very least, she could keep from squealing in his presence.

“I'm happy to help,” she said.

“Excellent.” Mayor Marsha nodded. “You're meeting with him in an hour.”

Of course she was, Madeline thought, not even surprised. Because that was how the mayor got things done. A well-planned ambush followed by a lack of time to come to one's senses.

An hour. Not nearly enough time to lose five pounds, have a makeover and become glamorous and sophisticated. Why, oh, why hadn't she learned French? Or aikido? Anything that would make her interesting for Jonny Blaze? She briefly wondered if aikido was the martial arts training or the dog breed, then sighed. Too late to worry about that now. As it was, she was going to be stuck being herself.

Copyright © 2015 by Susan Mallery Inc.