"You didn't hurt me."
"Sir, I think I did. You're in the hospital."
"Not for long. Just waiting for my discharge papers."
Jake tried to mask his relief. "You're going to be okay, then?"
"You've won, Jake. I've already made calls to release the permits. You'll be back in business tomorrow."
"It was you." Jake didn't know whether to be relieved or furious. Probably both.
"Yes, of course it was me. And my daughter knows everything. She overheard me talking to Alex. Celebrating. I faked my heart attack. And now I've lost my daughter.
She's left me."
Jake waited to see the remorse on Raymond Fairchild's face. The hurt at what he'd caused.
It didn't appear. Instead, the man was angry.
He hated losing.
Unfreakingbelievable.
"I hope you're happy," Fairchild said.
Jake shook his head. "I'm not happy at all. I wish things could be different. For Lucy. I've never seen a woman more devoted to her father, and a man so completely blind to what he had. She loved you. And all she wanted was your love in return."
"I do love her."
Jake snorted. "You don't even know what it means."
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"I've given her everything."
"Except what she really needed from you. For someone who's supposed to be so smart, you're really stupid, Fairchild."
Raymond lifted his chin and sniffed. "She's angry right now, but Lucille will come around to my way of thinking. Eventually."
"You think so?"
"Of course. She's a Fairchild. She has grown up with the finest things life has to offer. Do you think she'll be satisfied with someone like you?"
Jake let his lips curl. "Maybe. Maybe not. But I'll bet she won't be fooled by a prick like you ever again."
Fairchild's lips set in a thin line, his face turning a bright red. "You can leave my room. I don't ever want to see you again."
"Gladly."
Jake turned and walked out the door.
He thought he'd be happy to hear that his permits would be released.
Instead, only one thought occupied his mind. The only thing that really mattered.
Lucy.
Lucy waited until the staff had cleared out for the day before she headed into the office to grab some important files. She didn't know where she was going to go after that.
Not to her home. She didn't have a home anymore. And certainly not to Jake's. Not after what she'd done to him. He'd never want to see her again.
She palmed her stomach, the thought of everything she'd lost because of her stupid mistakes making her knot up inside.
She packed up the files she'd need over the next several days and picked up her briefcase, deciding to stop off at the coffee shop for a latte. As she passed by the construction site, her heart ached. She pushed on, determined to shut Jake out of her mind.
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When a wolf whistle rang out, she stopped dead in her tracks and whirled around.
There, leaning against one of the huge yellow pieces of machinery, was Jake, his arms folded across his chest. God, he looked good in worn jeans and a white shirt. He pushed off the machinery and walked toward her.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey."
"I saw your father today."
Her eyes widened. "You did?"
"Yeah. I went to the hospital to apologize to him."
"Jake, you didn't have to--"
"Yeah, I did. I went off on him like a crazy man. That's not like me. I don't blow up and lose my temper like that. But I also don't like being manipulated. I knew your father had squashed my permits."
"Yes. He did. You were right and I didn't believe you. I'm sorry."
"No. I'm sorry, for embarrassing you at work, and for pushing your dad around."
She lifted her chin. "He deserved it."
"No he didn't. I should have called you with what I knew and let you do some investigating."
"And I should have believed in you right away. I'm through siding with my father.
He's used me for the last time."
"I'm sorry, Lucy. I wish he could be different."
She shrugged. "I've come to the realization that he's incapable of loving me. That's not my fault. It's his problem."
"You're right, it is."
They stared at each other for a few minutes. Then Jake took the briefcase from her hands. "Heavy."
"I took several of my case files from the office so I can work at...well, wherever home will be for the next few days until I can figure things out."
He looked down at the briefcase in his hands, then swept his gaze back up to her.
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"I liked having you work at my kitchen table next to me."
Her heart seemed to hover somewhere in the middle of her chest, fluttering like wild butterflies. "I liked that, too."
"We've both made mistakes throughout our attempts at having a relationship, Lucy."
"Yes, we have. And for the ones I made, Jake, I'm so sorry."
"I'm kind of new at this, so I screwed up. I'm impatient. I hated your father interfering, and I didn't take tender care of your heart and your feelings like I should have. That made me no better than him."
Dissolving into tears out here on a public street wouldn't be a good idea. But Jake was making her resolve difficult saying things like that. "You're nothing like my father.
And I'm sorry for not standing with you against him. I know him better than anyone, know the level of deviousness he's capable of, and still I wanted to believe that he wouldn't have done something as horrible as shut your company down. But he did, and I'll never forgive him for that."
Jake put his arm around her and pulled her close to him, then moved them toward the trailer. "Oh, I don't know about that. Maybe that's how he wanted to show you he cared about you."
"Quit making excuses for him. He did it because he wants to control me."
"You're right. He's a bastard and he doesn't deserve to have you for a daughter."
She laughed. "I don't want to talk about my father anymore."
"Okay. Let's talk about us instead."
Jake opened the trailer door for her and she stepped inside. When he closed the door and flipped on the lights, she smiled at the bouquet of roses sitting amidst the chaos of paperwork on his desk. She turned to him and smiled.
"I was going to come up to your office, but then I saw you walking by."
"They're beautiful. Thank you."
He pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her. "I love you, Lucy Fairchild. Come live with me."
Her eyes widened. "You want me to live with you?"
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"I want a lot more than that. I want a future with you. I want forever with you. But let's start there. We'll take things slow and step by step."
She grinned, sniffed. "I'd like that."
"I have to warn you, though, it'll be a big change in lifestyle for you. I'm just a plain guy. I don't have a lot of money, I can't offer you much, but I have a heart rich with love for you."
Lucy let the tears fall now, unashamed of letting Jake see the emotion she could no longer hold in. She pressed her lips to his, kissing him with all the love she had. She felt like she was going to burst.
"I love you, Jake Dalton. And I'm no longer rich, either. I'm going to reassign all my cases, and then I'm quitting the firm and I'm going to go back to school."
He pulled up a chair and pulled Lucy onto his lap. "Is that right?"
"Yes. It's time I start living my dream."
He nibbled her neck and she shivered with delight.
"And what would that dream be, Miss Fairchild?"
"I want a house out in th
e suburbs with the man I love. And I want to be a kindergarten teacher."
He leaned back and smiled at her. "I think that sounds like a perfect life. I dare you to make it work."
She held out her hand. "I'll take that dare. You're on."
They shook hands, and this time she knew they were both going to win.
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About the Author
Jaci Burton is a National Bestselling author, published in multiple genres. Her life is spent juggling deadlines and trying to keep the characters straight in all her books. Jaci is an award winning author, and has won the Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine's Reviewer's Choice Award. Jaci makes her home in northeast Oklahoma with her husband and more dogs than she can wrangle.
Look for these titles by Jaci Burton
Now Available:
Nothing Personal
Rescue Me
Show Me
Unwrapped
Coming Soon:
Crimson Ties
Unraveled
He's the protector she never wanted--and the love she can't let go.
Lessons in Trust
(c) 2008 Kate Davies
Princess Lucia du Charbonneaux loves her life. Afforded a level of autonomy rarely enjoyed by royalty, she lives on her own and chooses staff members who give her the space she needs. But her new bodyguard refuses to play by the rules. His insistence on shadowing her 24/7 is cramping her style--and the sparks flying between them are on the verge of melting her carefully constructed Ice Princess facade. He needs to go before those sparks get too hot.
Eric Delmonico would be happy to leave. The infuriating, challenging, whip-smart princess is a royal pain. Not to mention her sinfully sexy body keeps him up at night in more ways than one. But her brother gave Eric the job, and he is determined to stay until the threat against her is neutralized.
An attempt is made on her life, and Eric spirits her away to a safe house in the country where passion ignites, leaving them both shaken. Together they must work to find the assassin before Lucia's safety--and the connection between them--are lost forever.
Warning: This book contains hot lovin' and frank language.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Lessons in Trust:
It was well past one a.m. when Eric finished his debrief session with palace security.
He'd placed two guards outside Lucia's suite and another patrolling the grounds outside the living quarters while he was gone, but he still felt better coming back to guard her himself.
It was his job, after all. It had nothing to do with anything personal.
She should have been long asleep. But as he let himself into the suite, she stood up from the couch and took a step forward. "Well?"
He shook his head. "They drove away before gate security could get a read on the license plate."
"It's like a bad dream." She wrapped her arms around her stomach, pacing a little. "I mean, it didn't really seem real until now."
He nodded. There wasn't much he could say.
"I don't know how I'll ever be able to get to sleep tonight," she said with a self-conscious laugh. "I keep remembering that race through the alley. You really did take our lives in your hands."
He shrugged. "I've been teaching evasive driving for five years. That was a piece of cake."
"Still..." She sighed and dropped down on the couch. She'd changed after he brought her back to the suite, he noticed. Her outfit was probably called a lounge set, but it looked like a pair of sweats and a T-shirt to him. It was probably a testament to how messed up he was that he found her more attractive in that than the designer dress she'd worn to the premiere. "It's a bit different for me, isn't it? I've never been in a situation such as this before."
She looked shaken. Against his better judgment he went over to the couch and sat down next to her.
The princess didn't move. She just sat staring forward, her eyes wide. Steeling himself, he picked up one of her hands and held it. It was cold as a block of ice.
"It's tough when reality hits you in the face, isn't it?" She still didn't respond, so he put one arm around her shoulders. "Hey, buck up, okay? You're fine. You're safe."
With a little sob, she turned and buried her face in his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him and holding on for dear life.
And it was his movie theater fantasy come to life, both better and far worse than the imagined version. She was warm and soft and pliant in his arms, her curves fitting against him perfectly. She took a deep, shuddering breath, and her breasts lifted, her nipples brushing against him through the soft fabric of her outfit. Damn. Was she not wearing a bra?
He gritted his teeth and rubbed her back, trying to comfort her without getting too wrapped up in how good it felt to have her in his arms.
Finally she let go, shifting away from him with a shaky laugh. "You must think I'm an absolute goose," she said. "To get emotional about something so silly."
"It's not silly." He crossed his legs, resting one ankle on the opposite knee, hoping it would mask the evidence of his reaction to her closeness. "And it's not just about being followed tonight. This was just the catalyst that made it real to you."
She nodded.
"I've worked with some of the most high-powered people in the world. Every one of them, to a person, had a moment when the threat against them came home in a very personal way. And every one of them reacted in a way that they thought was over the top.
It's not. It's human nature."
She looked at him for a minute, then wrapped her arms around his neck again.
"Thank you," she breathed, before kissing him softly on the lips.
Holy hell. That innocent touch seared him to his toes. She pulled back, her eyes wide. Then her gaze dropped to his mouth and she licked her lips.
Fuck it. He dipped his head and kissed her back. Really kissed her, the way he'd wanted to almost from the moment he met her.
His mouth covered hers, his tongue darting out to stroke along the seam of her mouth. With a whimper, she opened to him, matching him stroke for stroke as their tongues dueled.
She was heat and fire, her fingers tunneling through his hair as she held his head for her sensual assault. He pulled her into his lap, smoothing his hand down her back to rest on the curve of her hip.
And then it dipped lower, stroking the curve of her ass, while she moaned into his mouth and wriggled closer in his lap. She kissed him again, or he kissed her. He really couldn't decide which was the more accurate description. And honestly? He couldn't bring himself to care.
Her hands were everywhere, in his hair, down his back, tunneling under his shirt to stroke the heated skin underneath. He shuddered at the sensation of her slender fingers roaming his naked flesh.
Suddenly, she pulled away, her mouth damp and a little swollen, her eyes dazed. "I, uh..."
Reluctantly he released his hold on her, letting her scramble off his lap and put her clothing to rights. He shoved a hand through his hair and blew out a quick breath.
"I am so sorry," she said finally, looking everywhere but at him. "That was entirely out of line."
"Yes, it was." He ignored the pained look on her face. "It was also entirely mutual."
She looked up at that. "I practically attacked you."
"Bullshit." He waited until she made eye contact. "If anything, I took advantage of you. You've been through a stressful event, and you're vulnerable. I should have been more professional."
"I disagree, but thank you, Mr. Delmonico."
He laughed at that. "Don't you think we're beyond formal titles now?"
"You're right." She looked down, smiling sheepishly. "Eric."
He liked the way his name sounded on her lips. Probably too much. He stood abruptly. "I'd better go."
"Where are you going to stay tonight?"
"I'm sure they can find a room for me," he said. "You've got two guards outside your suite. You'll be safe tonight."
"There's a g
uest room," she said softly. "You're welcome to stay."
"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Princess."
She stood as well, going toe-to-toe with him. "No formal titles, remember?"
"You got it...Lucia." He looked around the suite. "Guest room, huh?"
She pointed across the room at the door midway down the long wall. "It seems silly for you to find another place to stay when there is a perfectly good room next door."
He was tempted. God knows he was tempted.
"There's a lock on the door," she said, as if reading his mind.
He walked over to the door and tested the lock. It was adequate for an interior door.
"Is there one on your door too?"
"Of course." She picked at an imaginary piece of lint on her shirt. "Everyone needs privacy from time to time."
Or a dose of sanity.
"I'll stay," he said. "But use that lock."
Whether to keep her in or keep him out, he couldn't say. All he knew was that both of them needed the distance to get back on even footing by the morning.
He grabbed his coat and headed for the guest room door. It would be a good thing to be close, in any case.
She watched him go, her eyes bright and knowing.
He carried the image with him to his temporary room, and well into the night.
He wasn't part of her balance sheet. But one week in his bed could tip the scales.
To Do List
(c) 2007 Lauren Dane
Since she could pick up a pencil, Belle Taylor has used lists and charts to map out her life. When she achieves a goal, she marks it off her to do list. Simple. But now, just steps away from her corner-office, name-on-the-letterhead goal, she realizes that the life she thought she wanted may come at too high a price.
Exhausted, she retreats home for Christmas vacation to rethink her life, complete with all-new lists. What she hadn't expected is Rafe Bettencourt, her brother's best friend, the man who she thought only saw her as a pesky younger sister. But when he kisses her under the mistletoe, Belle finds herself with a whole new set of goals to balance with what she thought she always wanted.
Rafe knows Belle is trying to figure out what to do with her life. He also knows he's done loving her from afar, and he's not beneath making it as hard as possible for her to choose to return to San Francisco.